CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTION1.1.BackgroundNowadays, in the greatly integrating world, to develop and affirm Vietnam’s position in the world, Vietnamese people not only need to enlarge knowledge about education and culture but also know how to express themselves to other people. Moreover, in cooperation between Vietnam and foreign countries, Vietnam needs to show its strength in order to persuade and make them feel secure with thier investment. In sum, presenting ideas in front of many people is very important. Whether we are politicans, CEO, polices, a lawyers, engineers or teachers... public speaking skill is very necessary for us. Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. It is to bring another out of his bad sense into your good sense. (Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803–1882)In recent years, public speaking has become a subject in curriculum in English department at An Giang university. However, it is a new subject, students has not reached the standard of a good public speaker after the course. As a result, this study aimed to investigate the reality of the second year English majored students public speaking ability at An Giang University. Hopefully, the study can help the English majored students to improve their public speaking skill.1.2. Research tittle: the reality of the second year English majored students public speaking ability at An Giang University.1.3. Rationale:Public speaking is an important skill. Therefore, having a good English public speaking skill not only is the key to communicate effectively but it also contributes to getting ahead in our life. Public speaking is a vital skill in any area of success. If you are a student, speaking well in public will enable you to explain your ideas and persuade others to your opinions. If you are pursuing a career—in virtually any field—good speaking skills will enable you to advance far more quickly than your peers (LearningExpress, 2010)Despites such importance, lots of people get trouble with English speaking skill. According to James McCroskey’s Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety, nearly three fourths of people asked are at high level of anxiety when speaking in public:
CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Nowadays, in the greatly integrating world, to develop and affirm Vietnam’s position in the world, Vietnamese people not only need to enlarge knowledge about education and culture but also know how to express themselves to other people Moreover, in cooperation between Vietnam and foreign countries, Vietnam needs to show its strength in order to persuade and make them feel secure with thier investment In sum, presenting ideas in front of many people is very important Whether we are politicans, CEO, polices, a lawyers, engineers or teachers public speaking skill is very necessary for us Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel It is to bring another out of his bad sense into your good sense (Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803–1882) In recent years, public speaking has become a subject in curriculum in English department at An Giang university However, it is a new subject, students has not reached the standard of a good public speaker after the course As a result, this study aimed to investigate the reality of the second year English majored students public speaking ability at An Giang University Hopefully, the study can help the English majored students to improve their public speaking skill 1.2 Research tittle: the reality of the second year English majored students public speaking ability at An Giang University 1.3 Rationale: Public speaking is an important skill Therefore, having a good English public speaking skill not only is the key to communicate effectively but it also contributes to getting ahead in our life Public speaking is a vital skill in any area of success If you are a student, speaking well in public will enable you to explain your ideas and persuade others to your opinions If you are pursuing a career—in virtually any field—good speaking skills will enable you to advance far more quickly than your peers (LearningExpress, 2010) Despites such importance, lots of people get trouble with English speaking skill According to James McCroskey’s Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety, nearly three fourths of people asked are at high level of anxiety when speaking in public: High anxiety 40% Moderately high anxiety 30% Moderate anxiety 20% Moderately low anxiety 5% Low anxiety 5% Table 1.1: public speakers and anxiety (Making Friends with your Public Speaking Anxiety Monster, n.d) Public speaking is a big concern to everyone English sophomores at AGU are not exceptions Public speaking is a very familiar subject to most of English students at AGU because it was added to their curriculum for many years Teaching and learning public speaking are carefully prepared and carried out Most of English sophomores are imparted basic skills and strategies for a good public speaker However, there is a paradox is that English sophomores’ public speaking still not reach the standard of a good public speaking English sophomores haven’t applied the skill and strategies they had learned into study effectively The evidence is that many English sophomores give very poor presentations when asked to give a presentation in front of the class although they know all the necessary skills and strategies for a good public speaking A question is raised in this situation is that why can’t English sophomores apply what they have learned about public speaking into practice? This is also the reason why we launch this research This research is implemented to find out the reasons why public speaking skill of English sophomores have not been applied to practice effectively and from that find out the solutions to improve public speaking skills of English sophomores at An Giang University Also, the study helps English sophomores find the method to use public speaking skill effectively in different contexts for various purposes and raise their ability of using the actual speaking skill, from that can help English sophomores to express themselves eloquently and clearly in public 1.4 The aim This research aims to investigate (1) how the second year English majored students are aware of the important of public speaking (2) the reality of the second year English majored students’ public speaking ability (3) the difficulties and challenges facing the second year English majored students when studying public speaking 1.5 Research questions How are the second year English majored students at AGU aware of the importance of public speaking? 2 What is the reality of the second year English majored students’ public speaking ability? What are difficulties and challenges facing the second year English majored students in public speaking? 1.6 Research hypotheses Most of English majored sophomores at AGU have not been aware of the importance of public speaking The public speaking ability of English majored sophomores at AGU is bad The English majored sophomores at AGU face many difficulties and challenges in public speaking: (1) The English majored sophomores at AGU don’t have time for practicing public speaking, (2) The English majored sophomores at AGU don’t have enough supporting equipment and material for public speaking, (3) The English majored sophomores at AGU don’t have strategies for public speaking 1.7 Methodology 1.7.1 Research design: descriptive methodology 1.7.2 Participants 1.7.2.1 Research population There are 625 students majoring in English including 11 classes (DH10TA, DH10D, DH11TA, DH11AV, DH12TA, DH12AV, DH13TA, DH13AV, CD35AV, CD36AV,CD37AV) Pedagogy includes classes (DH10D, DH11AV, DH12AV, DH13AV, CD35AV, CD36AV,CD37AV) There are 40 English teachers with two teachers who teach public speaking 1.7.2.2 Research Sample Because of limited time and ability, this research cannot investigate on all English major students and all English teachers We just investigate on students in 12TA (40 students), students in 12AV (54 students), English teachers: 40 teachers Because this research is about public speaking, we only chose the students who are learning public speaking and some teachers who teach some subjects relating to public speaking to be our sample 1.7.3 Data collection instruments: To collect information for answering research questions, a questionnaire including 33 questions is designed for 69 students from DH12TA and DH12AV The reason why we choose DH12TA and DH10AV is that they already learned Public Speaking and easy to contact to get information from Also, to collect information for this research, an interview sheet including questions for an English teacher: Bui Thi Khoi Nguyen CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction The first section of this chapter will talk about the definition of some key terms that will be the basic for better understanding the followings The second section will give some information about how to become a good public speaker The third section shows the roles of public speaking 2.2 Definition of key terms: 2.2.1 What is public speaking? There are many definitions of public speaking According to Arina Nikitina (2011), public speaking is a process, an act and an art of making a speech before an audience Another definition is that Public speaking involves talking in front of a group of people, usually with some preparation It can be in front of people that you know (e.g at a family celebration) or a crowd of strangers Unlike a presentation there normally isn’t a lot of opportunity for interaction between the audience and the speaker – the speaker speaks, and the audience (hopefully) listens (Public speaking skills, 2010) According to James O’Loghlin’s view (2006), Public speaking isn’t just standing up at a wedding or giving a presentation in a lecture theatre It is what you every time you talk to a group of people If there are six people at a staff meeting and you speak, then you are public speaking Besides, Public speaking is also viewed a transactional process in which a speaker addresses a relatively large audience with a relatively continuous message (Introducing to public speaking, n.d) 2.2.2 Different types of speech: Three are types of speech: (1) prepared, (2) project, (3) personal, (4) presentations, (5) demonstrations, (6) impromptu, (7) introduction, (8) reports (discovering the treasure of public speaking, n.d) Three are also another classification is that (1) Informative Speeches (2) Demonstrative Speeches (3) Persuasive Speeches (4) Special Occasions (Public speaking success, 2010) 2.3 How to become a good public speaker: To become a good public speaker, we need to captivate the audience instantly and hold their attention during our speech By the end of the presentation make the listeners change their beliefs, even their actions According to David Harrington & Charles Lebeau (2009), we need to well in three fields: (1) The physical message is that the way we stand, where we look, how we use our hands and vary our voice send a message as well and (2) the visual message is that speech is not just about what you say What you show and how you show it is as important as what you say or (3) the story message is that a speech is like a story It has a beginning, a middle, and an end, all connected together into a single message BEEBE Susan, BEEBE Steven (n.d) stated that there are ways to become a good public speaker including (1) " Speaking with confidence; (2) the Audience-Centered Speechmaking Process; (3) ethnics and Free Speech; (4) listening to Speeches; (5) analyzing our audience; (6) developing our speech; (7) gathering supporting material; (8) supporting our speech and Organizing our speech" Another idea is that to speak in public effectively, learning characteristics of a good speaker is very important; it makes our speeches have great effect on the people who hear them There are 10 characteristics to become a good speaker (1) knowledge; (2) preparation; (3) message; (4) language; (5) self-confidence; (6) enthusiasm; (7) listening skills; (8) sense of self; (9) integrity; (10) sincerity (Preparing yourself for public speaking, n.d) Dr Tony Alessandra (2006) also talks about the essential characteristics of an effective speaker He shows that there are characteristics of a good public speaker: (1) understands the needs of his audience (2) Attempts to meet those needs as effectively as possible (3) Is the expert on his subject and has breadth of knowledge in other areas (4) Is constantly growing and improving in his understanding of his areas of expertise and his ability to present his material effectively (5) Is enthusiastic about his subject and sincere about conveying his message to the audience (6) Has a pleasing voice and appearance The Princeton Language Institute and Lenny Laskowski mentions that to become a good public speaker, we need to use body language efficaciously, including these: (1) Proper speaking posture; (2) Gestures; (3)Body movement/walking patterns; (4)Facial expression; (5) Eye contact; (6)Your overall appearance All in all there are many characteristics to become a good public speaker It is almost the same methods Public speakers are not born They are made Someone who is a bad public speaker can become a good public speaker And a good public speaker can create as much pleasure as a bad one can create pain Good public speakers can inspire, they can move, they can cause the listener to laugh, cry and give money Sometimes they can even change a listener's life (James O'Loghlin, 2006) 2.4 The roles of public speaking: Public speaking brings many benefits for a person It can open up very good opportunities for us Many college graduates look back on all the courses they took in college and say that public speaking was one of the most valuable Here are some of the reasons why this course is considered so important (The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2004) 2.4.1 Public speaking and communication Public speaking is interrelated with communication skills and can be described as a form of communication Public speaking does not always mean that you have to give a speech to a large audience When you go for an interview, and speak to a group of interviewers or when you are giving a class presentation; all these are also forms of public speaking In such situations, if you have the ability to communicate properly, it can help you shape up your future (The importance of public speaking n.d) Although public speaking is speaking to groups, but you learn also apply to communication with individuals Throughout your life-time you will be obliged to talk in situations such as this: You sit down with a bank executive to ask for a loan so that you can buy a new car The skills of nonverbal communication (such as eye contact and facial expression) that you learn in a public speaking course should help you convey to the banker that you are a trustworthy and reliable person who will repay the loan (The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2004) 2.4.2 Public speaking and confidence Surveys have revealed that most people are afraid of public speaking more than their fear of death You can reduce your anxiety to a large extent, if you gather a thorough knowledge of the subject matter on which you are going to speak As a result, when you face the audience you just have to share with them whatever you have learned The more you practice speaking in public, you will realize your anxieties and fears associated with it going down quite remarkably (The importance of public speaking n.d) The inherent lack of confidence is something that always acts as a deterrent to effective public speaking Such courses, help in building up your confidence This is done by enhancing a person’s specific skill sets to generate maximum impact A person is shown how to maintain eye contact with the audience, and the various aspects of voice modulation This will go a long way in making the person confident about his/her abilities One of the more important aspects of confidence building is to have content that is relevant to the topic in question Moreover, speakers should also be comfortable with the content and all that is asked from them (5 reason why public speaking training is important) While attending a funeral service for a beloved aunt, Karen Walker heard the minister give a brief eulogy and then say, “Would anyone like to say a few words at our ‘open mike’?” A few people went to the microphone and shared some reminiscences, but most audience members were silent “I wanted to pay tribute to my aunt, but I was too scared,” said Walker “Most of my relatives had the same reaction I felt really bad because there were a lot of important things about my aunt and her life that were never said.” A few years later, Walker took a public speaking class, and a year or so afterwards, she attended another funeral—for her grandfather “This time I vowed that I would not pass up the opportunity to honor a wonderful person I asked to be part of the service, and I spoke about my childhood memories of my grandfather.” The eulogy, said Walker, was enjoyed and appreciated by her family “A lot of my relatives told me that I expressed beautifully what they would have said if they had had the courage and skills to stand up and speak It gave me a good feeling to know that I could represent the family in this way.” Being able to speak in public—offering a toast, sharing information, providing encouragement, attempting persuasion—can bring pleasure and joy to yourself and to others Walker said that her success was possible because of what she had learned in her public speaking class (The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2004) 2.4.3 Public speaking and promotion If you want to be a leader, you had better be able to communicate, says corporate communication professor Paul Argenti (Kirk Kardashian, 2012) You develop the oral communication skills that are prized in the job market When you go to a job interview, which of the following is most likely to influence the employer when he or she decides whether to hire you? (1)The reputation of your school: (2) Your grade-point average (3) Letters of reference (4) Technical knowledge in your field (5) Oral communication skills— speaking and listening (6) Written communication skills—reading and writing (The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2004) Research shows that “oral communication skills” is the correct answer—a finding that surprises many students Surely “technical knowledge in your field” is the most important factor for jobs in science and technology, isn’t it? Not according to employers “Good grades and technical skills are important, of course,” says Marilyn Mackes, executive director of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, but they are not as highly prized as oral communication skills You can be brilliant in your field, she says, but if you can’t communicate successfully with co-workers and the public, your brilliance is of little value (The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2004) Once you have a job, being a good communicator can help you win pro-motions “If a dozen equally skilled technicians are competing for the job of manager, the winner is most likely to be the one with the best communication skills,” says Cristina Silva, human resources manager of a plant in Los Angeles (The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2004) 2.4.4 Public speaking and Personality Development When you successfully deliver a good speech, the kind of personal satisfaction you experience is unparalleled If you have a sense of self-worthiness, a positive response from the audience can help you feel more confident Thus, it can bring about a lot of improvement in your overall personality (The importance of public speaking n.d) 2.4.5 Public speaking and relationships Once you develop good public speaking skills, a marked improvement can be seen in your interpersonal skills, which in turn, will help you maintain a healthy relationship with your friends and members of your family Even in your professional life, an effective interaction with your boss, clients or subordinates will help you enhance the possibility of your advancement in your chosen profession (The importance of public speaking n.d) Therefore, at any point of time in your life, if you get an opportunity to learn public speaking skills, grab it without giving it any second thought Once you learn them, make sure you use the speaking skills as often as possible, as you can sharpen the skills further by means of more practice only The most distinguishing feature of public speaking is to deliver the speech with full confidence, credibility and conviction However, when public speaking is not done properly, there is a possibility of miscommunication that can lead to a lot of misconceptions (The importance of public speaking n.d) There are various minute facets of public speaking that you might not know about Things like creating a great first impression, when to give a pause, how to be interactive, the small but critical mistakes are all brought to a person’s attention in a training program related to public speaking (5 reasons why public speaking training is important) A person should know how and when to use humor in the speech This would keep the audience interested and attentive You can only know about these facets through a public speaking training course (5 reasons why public speaking training is important) 2.5 Public speaking theory: There have been lots of studies carried with the aim of helping people to enhance public speaking skill These studies give very clear guides about how to speak in public best Helping learner easily approach a successful speech, David Harrington and Chales LeBeau divide communicative activity of speech in to “The three messages” The first one is the physical message So, what is physical message? Briefly, physical message is the way we stand; where we look; how we use our hands and vary our voice send a message Physical message includes four skill areas: posture, eye contact, gesture and voice inflection (David Harrington and Chales LeBeau, 2009) David Harrington and Chales LeBeau(2009) also mention that physical message is an important part of a good public speaking because it sends a confident, positive, energetic and enthusiastic message to the audience The second message is the visual message The reason why visual message is important is that even if we stumble over sentences, mispronounce words, or get the numbers wrong, the audience will still understand Conveying visual message means using images to convey the information we want to send to our audience instead of using words By this method, we can impress the audience; pull their attention to our speech “One picture is worth a thousand words” (David Harrington and Chales LeBeau, 2009) Not only showing them visuals, we must explain to guide them through the visuals David Harrington and Chales LeBeau(2009) also show the glossary of visuals including graphs (consist of vertical bar graph, horizontal bar graph, pie graph, line graph), pictures ( consist of photograp, illustration, map, diagram), charts (consist of title, overview, bullet, flow) The third message is the story message The story message is the way we put our information together into a standard presentation (David Harrington and Chales LeBeau, 2009) According to David Harrington and Chales LeBeau, the story message includes three parts: the introduction (where we get our audience’s attention and preview our story), the body (where transitions connect our visuals into a story), and the conclusion (where we tell our audience what to remember from our story) From Paul N Edwards’s point of view (1998-2004), “No rule applies always and everywhere But the following principles work almost all the time”: 1) Talk rather than read Written academic language is too complex and too awkward for reading aloud Just talk — it’s easier to understand, and it allows you to make genuine contact with your audience Furthermore, it ultimately helps you to think more clearly, by forcing you to communicate your points in ordinary terms 2) Stand up unless you’re literally forced to sit People can see you better Standing also puts you in a dominant position This may sound politically incorrect, but it’s not 10 Chart 14: Making story message and visual message 4.2.1.3.5 The ways to practice public speaking of students Practicing public speaking by writing and reading information many times could help students to memorize what they are going to say easily, thus 59.4% of students wrote out what they are going to say in their speech and read it many times to practice public speaking very often 11.6% of students said that they rarely write out and read their speech many times Maybe they did not have time or they had another way to practice public speaking 29.0% of students have no ideas about this statement.The statistics are shown in this chart: Chart 15: Students’ practicing public speaking by writing and reading information many times 32 When asked how often the students practice public speaking, 53.6% of students stated that they often practiced public speaking through daily talks The amount of students who sometimes praticed public speaking daily accounts for 27.5% There are thirteen students of seventy students who rarely practice public speaking daily that accounts for 18.8% Over a half of students in the sample often practiced public speaking through daily talks This way might be also a good way for them to practice public speaking Chart 16: Students’ practicing public speaking through daily talks Making debate or discussion is also one of the best ways to practice public speaking For this reason, 42.0% of the students agreed that making debate or discussion with friends helped to improve their public speaking skill 37.7% of students have no comment about this way 20.3% of students disagreed that making debate or discussion helped them to improve public speaking skill Maybe they thought that this way was not appropriate for them to practice public speaking and they had other ways It can be seen clearly from the following chart: 33 Chart 17: Students’ making debate or discussion to practice public speaking In short, there are about 50% of students in the sample having good ability in public speaking They could use physical message, story message and visual message effectively The others is still not good, because of some difficulties that will be shown in next part 4.2.1.4 The difficulties facing English majored sophomores in public speaking There are many difficulties that the students faced in the course such as lack of confidence, lack of time to practice and prepare, lack of materials, strategies for public speaking, part-time job, etc Among them, lack of strategies for public speaking was the difficulty most students (94.2%) encountered in their study The second difficulty that (42%) of students had to cope during the course is lack of materials The next difficulty that (30.4%) of students had to part-time job Finally, lack of time for practice and prepare which accounts for the smallest proportion of students (29%) The figure is clearly illustrated in the following chart: 34 Chart 18: Students’difficulties in public speaking In brief, the learners should join all the activities in class actively to find out good strategies for learning public speaking Besides, students need to be equipped enough materials to support for their presentations effectively Finally, the learners should spend enough time for preparation to learn this subject well, especially when they had to make presentation 4.2.2 Informal interview with teacher They are serious and fond of learning this subject Students are aware of the importance of public speaking for their career as well as their communication to get ahead in the future The Teachers’ opinions to the students’ ability about learning Public Speaking in class: Almost of students are active to learn English teachers think that the effectiveness of making presentation in developing students’ public speaking skill very much Students are good at showing their ideas The Teachers’ Opinions to the students’ difficulties about learning Public Speaking in class: The reports and power points are full of colors Beside that, the outline is not only vague but also messy Especially, they did not recognize the strategies to learn public speaking well Therefore, they did not know how to when receiving the new or difficult topics from the teachers In sum, students should practice a lot to have strategies for learning public speaking Teachers need to let for students make presentation in public speaking class is very often in order that students themselves can have good methods to learn this subject Besides, they usually got students engage in discussion to develop their skill Furthermore, the teachers found that the students encountered difficulties in Public Speaking class because they did not have background knowledge enough 35 about the topic The teachers should give students more time for theory and practice, as well as preparation Besides, the students also suggested that they needed to be taught more different kinds of Public Speaking, for example Public Speaking with microphone, charts, diagrams or posters etc Finally, the administrators of the university should provide more learning supporting equipment so that both teachers and students won’t feel frustrated when they go to class Students could develop themselves a lot such as organizing and preparing the speeches and presentation better and more logically, exploiting Power Point advantages, and improving the body language After the survey, the results from questionnaire for students and informal interview for teacher show that students were aware of the importance of public speaking now However, about a half of students in the sample could show their public speaking skill very well The others still had shortcomings when they present their speech in public Therefore, they need to try their best to practice public speaking, but they have to face difficulties The solutions will be suggested and discussed in the next chapter so as to help students overcome difficulties 36 CHAPTER CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 5.1 Conclusion: This study is an investigation into the reality of teaching and learning public speaking of English sophomores at An Giang University The results and findings in this study show that there are only about a haft of the students are good at public speaking; the others are still in trouble with it In conclusion part, we would like to mention the issue in three parts, basing on the three research questions Research questions 1: How are English majored sophomores at AGU aware of the importance of public speaking? To see how English majored sophomores at AGU are aware of the importance of public speaking is one of the expectations of this study The findings from both questionnaire and informal interview with teachers confirm that the majority of English majored sophomores at An Giang University high evaluate the importance of public speaking But there are still some students has not seen clear the roles of public speaking Research question 2: What is the reality of English majored sophomores’ public speaking ability? One of the main purposes of this study is to clarify the reality of English majored sophomores’ public speaking ability According to the data collected from this study, about a half of the English majored sophomores are not good at public speaking Research question 3: What difficulties and challenges English majored sophomores have to face in public speaking? This is very important question in this research Knowing the elements that hinder English majored sophomores from public speaking can help to find out the solutions for improving their public speaking ability Most of the data collected from questionnaire and informal interview with teachers leads to conclusion that there are three main difficulties facing English majored sophomores in public speaking: lacking time; lacking materials and lacking strategies for study Besides, some students also get troubles with personal problems such as not confident enough to present in front of the crowd, lack of knowledge about the presented topic, etc 37 5.2 Implications: As mentioned in chapter 1, public speaking skill not only is useful for our study but also is the base of future success However, according to the results and findings in this study, An Giang University English majored sophomores’ public speaking ability is limited Therefore, in implication part, we would like to give some recommendations in order to change public speaking teaching and learning at An Giang University for the better For the administrators of An Giang University The administrators of An Giang University have made quite well arrangement for teaching and learning public speaking But there has been no public speaking contest where students can challenge themselves and show their ability So, the administrators should firstly pay attention to organizing public speaking contests in order to create more opportunities for the students to compete as well as learn from each other Additionally, the competitiveness of the contests will be really good motivation for the students to try to learn public speaking Secondly, the administrators should equip the classrooms with modern facility which is necessary for public speaking like projectors, screens, etc in order to give the students the best study conditions For teachers: As mentioned in chapter 2, practice is the key to speak in public successfully One of the best ways for students to practise public speaking is to participate in class activities So, the teachers who in charge of teaching public speaking should organize more activities, create more opportunities for the students to speak in front of class such as skits or discussion and present their own ideas This also helps to build up and strengthen students’ confidence Beside the activities in class, teachers should give them some exercises to at home enclosed precise direction to guild them how to well the exercises For example give them a present topic to prepare and then present their speech in the next class After giving the topics, the teachers should tell them where they can get information from, what they need to say about, by which ways they can practise, etc Furthermore, it is a good idea that the teachers should get together in order to share teaching materials or share ideas about what they need to teach and how to teach public speaking effectively as well as find out the teaching methods that best suit students of our school They also need to discuss about the difficulties that students have to face and find out the ways to help them overcome the drawbacks and study public speaking more effectively For students: The result of the questionnaire showed that the majority of English major sophomores not use voice inflection or eyes contact when speaking in public while they had studied all these things in 38 class This means that the students not apply the theory into practice and real public speaks Hence, the first implication that we would like to suggest is that the students should apply thoroughly what they learned in class into their real speaks In other words, they need to make the theory practical When applying successfully, they will not feel bored with the theory anymore and feel more excited and motivated to learn The data collected from the questionnaire also showed that most of students don’t have strategies for learning which play a very important role in successful public speaking Thus, it is essential for the students to identify learning strategies for themselves One suggested way is to study the strategies that the great speakers apply and then find out the best suitable for them Moreover, the students also need to strengthen their confidence at first through daily talks, then take chance to speak in front of many people, a group of friends first, then in front of the crowd Also, the students should enrich their knowledge in various fields in order to have enough information about the topic they present The more information about the topic they have, the more confident they are and the more successful their speeches are In addition, the students should spend more time to pratise their speeches at home by many ways such as speak in front of a mirror or a group of friends Finally, in order to shorten the time for theory in class and make the lesson more accessible, the students should read over the course-book at home Especially, they should finish all the exercises given 5.3 Limitations of the study: Because of the limited time and ability, the study is conducted on a small scale of English majored sophomores at An Giang University instead a larger scale and use only two data collection instruments: questionnaire and interview The exactitude of the data collected from the questionnaire is affected by the truthfulness of the sample 5.4 Further study: Because the limited time, this study is conducted on a small scale of English majored sophomores at An Giang University, so the result of the research cannot be recognized for all the students in Vietnam We hope that there will be more research which is conducted in larger scale so that the result will be more reliable and representative 39 REFERENCES reason why public speaking training is important (n.d) from: http://www.businesstrainingdirect.co.uk/references/public-speaking-training-07-01-08.php BEEBE, S., BEEBE S (n.d) Public Speaking an Audience-centered Approach (6th ed) Blake, J., (2011) Ways to Practice and Improve Your Public Speaking Skill, from: http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2011/01/27/8-ways-to-practice-and-improve-yourpublic-speaking-skills/ Discovering the treasure of public speaking, (n.d) From: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/4h/4h19700.pdf Harrington, D and LeBeeau,C., (2009) Speaking of speech new edition 2nd ed Tokyo: Macmillan Languagehouse In the humanities < http://www.cgu.edu/PDFFiles/Writing%20Center/Edwards-How%20to %20Give%20an%20Academic%20Talk.pdf> Introducing to public speaking, (n.d) From: http://www.ablongman.com/devito Kardashian, K.,(2012) The CEO’s Speech from: http://www.businessworld.in/en/storypage/-/bw/the-ceo%E2%80%99sspeech/678405.0/page/0 Kleiser, G.,(2006) Successful Methods of Public Speaking Laskowski, L., and The Princeton Language Institute (2001) 10 Days to More Confident Public Speaking Making Friends with your Public Speaking Anxiety Monster,(n.d) From: http://speakingcenter.uncg.edu/ /anxiety/Anxiety_Presenter.pdf Nikitina, A., (2011) Sucessful public speaking Ventus Publishing Aps O'Loghlin, J., (2006) A complete guide to public speaking Crows Nest NSW 2065: Allen & Unwin Paul, N, (1998-2004) How to give an academic talk: changing the culture of public speaking Public speaking skills, (2010) From: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/public-speakingskills Public speaking success in 20 minutes, (2010) New York: LearningExpress The importance of public speaking (n.d) from: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/the-importance-ofpublic-speaking.html The Mc-Graw Hill Companies (2004) Public speaking for College and Career Tony Alessandra, D., (2006) Characteristics of Effective Public Speakers 40 QUESTIONNAIRE APPENDIX (for STUDENTS) This questionnaire is used for the study “the reality of the second year English majored students public speaking ability” at An Giang University Your answer is important to the success of this research Please read the following sentences carefully then mark X in the box that best express your agreement to each sentence A) General informations: Gender: Major: Faculty: You are year English major student You have learn English for years B) Contents: I These are statements relating to the students’ awareness about the importance of public speaking Level of agreement No Your ideas about the following sentences Strongly agree 1.1 1.2 1.3 Public speaking is very important for my future job Public speaking is very important for my study Public speaking helps me improve communication skills Public speaking helps to get promotion in 1.4 my career Public speaking helps me to be more 1.5 opened and active 1.6 Studying public speaking helps me to know how to start a conversation well 41 Agree No idea Disagree Strongly disagree Public speaking does not help me to have 1.7 good relationships II These are statements relating to the public speaking ability of the second year English majored students No 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 Your ideas about the following sentences Strongly agree I always use eyes contact effectively when speaking in public I always have appropriate posture when I speak in front of the crowd I always use appropriate gesture when speaking in public I use voice inflection when speaking in public I’m often confident when I speak in front of the crowd I’m always enthusiastic when presenting in front of the crowd I have enough knowledge to provide for my audience I not prepare carefully before my speech I dress formally when appearing in front of the crowd I use my humor when necessary I often use graphs, pictures, charts to 2.11 illustrate and support my idea when speaking in public 2.12 I outline my speech clearly and logically 2.13 I always use transitions in my speech 42 Level of agreement No Agree Disagree idea Strongly disagree 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 I not conclude main ideas at the end of my speech I am always ready for answering audiences’ questions I not like to answer any question from audience I write out what I’m going to say in my speech and read it many times I not combine reading draft and using gesture, facial expression at the same time I use simple words and simplify the information when I present my speech I not control my voice to pull audience’s attention I practice public speaking through daily talks I make debates with my friends to improve my public speaking 43 III These are statements relating to difficulties facing the second year English majored students in public speaking No 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Your ideas about the following Strongly sentences agree I not have time to practice public speaking I part-time job I not have enough equipment (laptop, internet, books, etc…) I have strategies for studying public speaking THE END! 44 Level of agreement No Agree Disagree idea Strongly disagree INTERVIEW SHEET For teachers I APPENDIX General information: Name: Gender: Age: Teaching’s time: II Interview questions: How you think English majored sophomores are aware of the importance of public speaking skill? How they learn in class? What is your idea about English majored sophomores’ public speaking ability? In your opinion, what difficulties English majored sophomores have to face in public speaking? THANK YOU! 45 Assignation of work: Chapter 1: Vo Thanh Thao Chapter 2: Le Nhat Thanh Chapter 3: Nguyen Thi Yen Nhi Chapter 4: Vang Thi Kieu Duyen Chapter 5: Lam Thi Ven Acknowlegdement, references, table of contents, questionnaire, interview sheet: all members in the group 46 [...]... consists of 2 instructors of English (both of them are female) from the Department of Foreign Language at An Giang University The second group includes 69 students of 12AV and 12TA They are the second- year students of the Department of Foreign Language Overall, they are at the ages of from 21 to 23 and have studied English for an average of 7 years; i.e they are supposed to have an intermediate level of English. .. how often the students practice public speaking, 53.6% of students stated that they often practiced public speaking through daily talks The amount of students who sometimes praticed public speaking daily accounts for 27.5% There are thirteen students of seventy students who rarely practice public speaking daily that accounts for 18.8% Over a half of students in the sample often practiced public speaking. .. in public speaking The two next questions discuss on the students attitude when they speak in front of the crowd How the students ’preparation in public speaking are refer in two next questions The 2.9 question investigate the students appearance when they are in public speaking The 2.10 question asks whether the students add humor in their speech The two next questions ask the students for using the. .. about the importance of public speaking, the reality of English sophomores’ English public speaking ability, and what some difficulties and challenges of English sophomores’ English public speaking ability are Particularly, the first seven questions ask the students awareness how important public speaking is and its role in life The four next questions refer to the physical message which the students. .. 24 4.2.1.2 Students awareness about the important of public speaking In general, the students had various ideas or feelings around the importance of Public Speaking It was reflected through the questionnaires investigating the students opinion But the majority of the students high evaluate the importance of Public speaking 94.2 % students believe that public speaking is very important for their study... during the study to answer the three research questions: 1 How are English majored sophomores at AGU aware of the importance of public speaking? 2 What is the reality of English sophomores’ English public speaking ability? 3 What difficulties and challenges English majored sophomores have to face in public speaking? This chapter consists of six sections The first section of this chapter states the research... questionnaire for students and informal interview for teacher show that students were aware of the importance of public speaking now However, about a half of students in the sample could show their public speaking skill very well The others still had shortcomings when they present their speech in public Therefore, they need to try their best to practice public speaking, but they have to face difficulties The solutions... investigating students opinion about the importance of Public Speaking shows that the majority of students high evaluate the importance of Public Speaking However, there is still some students misevaluate it We can see from the chart above, the number of students who think that Public Speaking does not help to have good relationship reach 24.6%, it is not a small number 4.2.1.3 Students ability in public speaking. .. teacher They are serious and fond of learning this subject Students are aware of the importance of public speaking for their career as well as their communication to get ahead in the future The Teachers’ opinions to the students ability about learning Public Speaking in class: Almost of students are active to learn English teachers think that the effectiveness of making presentation in developing students ... improve the students public speaking The final four questions discuss the difficulties the students deal with speaking in front of the crowd 20 3.2.2.2 Informal interview with teachers The purpose of these interviews is to explore teachers’ ideas about the reality of public speaking ability of English majored sophomores An interview checklist including 3 questions were designed to ask 2 the teachers