An investigation into the effects of English new on Speaking skill of junior majoring in English at Tay Do University

ABSTRACT Speaking plays a great role in developing English proficiency Therefore, students should apply some effective methods to build this skill and one of them is listening to English news This method might have good effects on students speaking skill which could link the factors of vocabulary, grammar, knowledge, confidence and other skills all together This study “An investigation into the effects of English news on speaking skill of juniors majoring in English at Tay Do University” aimed to investigate the effects of English news on speaking skill Data were collected from 34 juniors majoring in English course at Tay Do University and teachers teaching speaking at the same school The instruments of this research included questionnaire and interview The findings revealed that listening to English news resulted in positive influences on developing students’ speaking ability It showed the effects on students’ abilities such as background knowledge, vocabulary, pronunciation, logically thinking and listening skill which would help students improve their speaking skill i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my profoundly indebted to many teachers and students for their help in my study Firstly, I sincerely thank to Tay Do University, particularly Faculty of Linguistics and Literature, for giving chance to conduct my research Secondly, I am extremely grateful to Ms Dang Thi Bao Dung for her guidance throughout the project She always gaves me instructions, corrections, comments and provides me referent materials during the time I did my research I would not have been able to complete the study properly without her timely and helpful advice Then, I would like to gratefully thank experienced teachers who spent priceless time giving truthful and helpful information to providing this study Additionally, many thanks to students of English class course for supporting helpful information to finish my research Finally, my heartfelt gratitude goes to my beloved family and dear friends, without whose encouragement, inspiration and consolation support over time and distance, I could not complete this report ii COMMENTS …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT………………………………………………………….………………….i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…………………………………………… ……….….……ii COMMENTS…………….…………………………………………….…….…………iii TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………….… iv LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………… ….….… vii LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………….viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.Rationale: 2.Research aims - Research questions: 2.1.Research aim: 2.2.Research questions: 3.Significance: 4.Organization: CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.Definitions of the term speaking: 2.The importance of speaking skill: 3.Factors affecting speaking: 3.1.Pronunciation: 3.2.Vocabulary: 3.3.Grammatical structures: 10 3.4.Accent and interpretation: 11 3.5.Confidence: 13 3.6.Speaking environment: 14 4.The effects of English news on speaking skill: 15 4.1.Widening knowledge: 15 iv 4.2.Enriching vocabulary: 16 4.3.Learning pronunciation: 17 4.4.Thinking logically: 18 4.5.Improving listening skill: 18 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 20 1.Design: 20 2.Participants: 20 3.Instruments: 21 3.1.Questionnaire: 21 3.2.Interview: 21 4.Procedure: 22 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 23 1.Result: 23 1.1.Result of the questionnaire: 23 1.1.1.The participants’ learning and practicing time: 23 1.1.2.Environment: 25 1.1.3.Attitude and motivation: 26 1.1.4.Factors affecting students’ speaking ability: 28 1.1.4.1.Pronunciation: 28 1.1.4.2.Vocabulary: 30 1.1.4.3.Grammatical structures: 31 1.1.4.4.Accent and interpretation: 32 1.1.4.5.Confidence: 33 1.1.4.6.Environment: 34 1.1.5.The awareness about the benefits of English news: 35 1.1.5.1.Widening knowledge: 35 1.1.5.2.Enriching vocabulary: 37 v 1.1.5.3.Learning pronunciation: 38 1.1.5.4.Thinking logically: 40 1.1.5.5.Improving listening skill: 40 1.2.Result of the interview: 42 1.2.1.Students’ interview: 42 1.2.2.Teachers’ interview: 43 2.Discussion: 44 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 47 1.Conclusions: 47 2.Limitations: 48 3.Implications: 48 4.Recommendations: 49 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………….….…….ix APPENDIES……………………………………………………….…… …….…….xiii APPENDIX 1…………………………………………………….……….…….….….xiii APPENDIX 2……………………………………………………….…….……… …xxi APPENDIX 3…………………………………………………….……….…… … xxiii vi LIST OF FIGURES Figures Name Page Figure Percentage of participants’ English learning years 24 Figure The juniors’ self-evaluation on speaking level 25 Figure Participants’ residences 26 Figure Students’ thinking about English speaking 27 Figure Students’ favorite subject 27 Figure Participants’ problem in producing sounds 29 Figure Participants’ attitude toward English grammar in speaking English 32 Figure Participants’ thinking about the affection of environment 35 vii LIST OF TABLES Tables Name Page Table The amount of time students spend on practicing speaking everyday 24 Table Some methods chosen to improve their speaking skill 29 Table The results of statements about students’ pronunciation 28 Table Participants’ vocabulary knowledge Table Participants’ attitude toward English grammar in speaking English 31 Table Participants’ thinking about accent and interpretation 33 Table Participants’ feeling about confidence in speaking English 34 Table The effect of English news on widening knowledge 36 Table The effect of English news on enriching vocabulary 37 30, 31 Table 10 The effect of English news on learning pronunciation 38 Table 11 The effect of English news on improving students’ thinking 40 Table 12 The effect of English news on improving listening skill 41 viii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION Chapter mentions the rationale, the research aim and research questions, the significance and the organization of the research Rationale: English may not be the most spoken language all over the world However, it is the official language in a large number of countries It is estimated that the number of people in the world that use in English to communicate on a regular basis is billion It helps people communicate with the citizens in most of countries without confusing in expressing their thinking, feelings when they know English If students have good English knowledge, it could help them find a good job with high salary Notwithstanding, learning English is not easy In communication, speaking is an important part and the main tool for human to communicate with others Speaking is the means through which learners can communicate with others to achieve certain goals or to express their thinking and feelings When speakers want to express their thinking, they should that by oral communication Therefore, the frequency of using speaking skill is very high As Rivers (1981) argues, speaking is used twice as much as reading and writing in our communication Speaking is also classified to monologue and dialogue The former focuses on giving an interrupted oral presentation and the latter on interacting with other speakers (Nunan, 1989) Speaking can also serve one of two main functions: transactional (transfer of information) and interactional (maintenance of social relationships) (Brown & Yule, 1983) In fact, transfer of information is an activity which does not lack in human’s everyday life It also causes some problems and students have to face a lot The main reasons are confidence in expressing ideas, mistakes in pronunciation, lack of knowledge and vocabulary in speaking In addition, when learning, students just keep silence and only sit in their seats, they not move around to exchange ideas or say anything This becomes the obstacles for them to find the words to say out On one hand, a large number of students who come from the countryside were familiar with the traditional methods From that, students become nervous about speaking when turning to university for learning English major Their speaking background knowledge is not enough for them to receive other knowledge in the new environment This is also the problem for most of all students majoring in English at Tay Do University They did not have to stand in front of many people to talk about any topic, show their ideas, or discuss and argue their thinking with other people They will feel so hard with new teaching methods at university Therefore, improving speaking skill as well as communication skill plays an important role in English learning However, how can students improve their speaking skill? And who could help them practice it? From the viewpoint of the researcher, listening to the news in English is a good way to improve their speaking skill They need to focus on a lot of things such as the interpretation, intonation, spelling, vocabulary, grammatical structure when listening to English news Through this study, the researcher would like to make an investigation into the effects of English news which may help students overcome difficulties in speaking and also develop their speaking ability The researcher hopes that the research will be useful with juniors majoring in English in learning speaking and become a foundation for them to build their other skills as well Research aims - Research questions: 2.1 Research aim: The research aimed at investigating the students' attitude toward the effects of news in English on speaking This study showed the relationship between listening to English 12 Huebner Theodore (1960), Audio Visual Technique in Foreign Language NewYork: Cambridge University Press 13 Jack C Richards, Willy A Renandya (2002: 204) Methodology in Language Teaching: An Anthology of Current Practice 14 Jack C Richards and Richard Schmidt (2002) Dictionary Of Language Teaching And Applied Linguistics (third edition) 15 James T Mangan (1936), You Can Do Anything! 16 John Trent (2014), Department of English Language Education The Hong Kong Institute of Education 17 Lehr, F., Osborn, J., & Hiebert, E (2004) Focus on Vocabulary Honolulu, HI: Pacific Resources for Education and Learning 18 Lowes, R., Peters, H & Turner, M (2004) The International Student's Guide: Studying English at University London, England: Sage 19 Luke Muehlhauser (2009), Intro to Logic: How to Think Better 20 Marianne - Celce-Murcia, M (1991) Language and Communication: a Time for Equilibrium and Integration In J E Alatis (Ed.), Georgetown University Round Table on Language and Linguistics 1991 (pp 223–237) Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press 21 Martin H Manser, Oxford Learner’s Dictionary.(New York: Oxford University Press, 1995) hal 398 22 Morley, 1991, p 496 The Pronunciation Component in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages 23 Nation, P (1990) Teaching and Learning Vocabulary Boston: Heinle & Heinle 24 Nation (2001), Learning Vocabulary in another Language Cambridge University Press x 25 Nguyen T Anh and Nguyen P Hung (2012) The Values of the ExplorationExplanation-Expression Method on High School Students’ Grammar Command and Attitude, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education English Department 26 Nunan, D (1989) Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom New York: Cambridge University Press 27 Patchara Varasarin (February, 2007) An Action Research Study of Pronunciation Training, Language Learning Strategies and Speaking Confidence 28 Poedjosoedarmo, Gloria (1995) Lectal variation in the media and the classroom: a preliminary analysis of attitudes In Teng Su Ching and Ho Mian-Lian (eds.) The English Language in Singapore: Implications for Teaching Singapore: Singapore Association for Applied Linguistics, 53-67 29 Pyles, T.&Algeo, J.(1970) English - An Introduction to Language New York: Harcourt, Brace 30 Rivers,W.(1981) Teaching Foreign Language Skills (2nd ed.) Chicago: University of Chicago Press 31 Roger Gower , Steve Walters (1995) Teaching Practice Handbook (2nd Edition) 32 Saharudin Setapa (2013), Factors affecting listening and speaking skills 33 Soanes, C., & Hawker, S (2009) The Oxford dictionary of current English Oxford: Oxford University Press 34 Stahl, S., and M Fairbanks 1986 The Effects of Vocabulary Instruction: A ModelBased Meta-Analysis Review of Educational Research, 56, pp 72-110 35 Vennapoosa (2010) Basic Skill: Speaking xi INTERNET REFERENCES Andrew Weiler (2012) "Improving Language Learning Listening Skills” Retrieved from: http://www.strategiesinlanguagelearning.com/improving-listening- skills Aaron Knight (2012) “How to Improve Your English Listening Comprehension” Retrieved from: http://www.phrasemix.com/blog/how-to-improve-your-english- listening-comprehension Nathaniel Branden (2010) “Some Thoughts on Low Self Esteem” Retrieved from: http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/some-thoughts-on-low-self-esteem/blog254581/ San Diego Lasik (1998) “Top Techniques for Improving Your American Accent” Retrieved from: http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/accenttraining.htm Underhill, A (2011) “Pronunciation: The Cinderella of Language Teaching Humanizing Language Teaching”, http://www.hltmag.co.uk/oct11/cse02.htm xii 13(5) Retrieved from: APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (An investigation into the effects of English news on speaking skill of juniors majoring in English at Tay Do University) Dear friends, My name is Huynh Vuong Minh Tri and I am currently a senior majoring in English Firstly, I am very thankful to you for spending your time helping me This questionnaire is used to collect helpful and valuable information from you Therefore, please finish all the below questions carefully because your answers are very necessary and useful to my research Once again, thank you so much! Student’s full name: …………………………………………………………………… Gender: ……………………male ……… female … …………………………… Age: …………………………………………………………………………………… Please read the following questions and circle the appropriate answer for each question Give the specific answers if needed How long have you learnt English? .years Where you come from? a City/ urban b Countryside / rural xiii In your opinion, which skill is the most important? a Listening b Speaking c Reading d Writing In your opinion, which one is the most difficult? a Listening b Speaking c Reading d Writing Which subject you like best? a Listening b Speaking c Reading d Writing What methods have you applied to improve your speaking skill? a Listening to English news b Joining speaking clubs c Communicating with foreigners d Joining into English centers e Reading English news f Reading short stories g Watching films in English h Playing games i Others… xiv What you think about speaking skill? a Very important b Important c Normal d Not important What you think about your speaking ability? a Very good b Good c Average d Bad e Very bad How many hours a day you spend on practicing speaking skill? a ………… minutes a day b ………… hour(s) a day xv This below table is about the factors affecting speakers’ speaking ability Strongly Statements agree Pronunciation plays an important role in communication The features of pronunciation can cause confusion The sounds which are produced peculiarly and the rising and falling of the voice in unexpected places in sentences will change the meaning of sentences Vocabulary is very important when learning a language Choosing the word carefully is very important when you would like to say something in front of the audiences Vocabulary is an instrument to help you to convey and perceive messages Using right grammatical structures is important when you want to speak from the simple sentences to the complex ones xvi Agree No idea Disagree Strongly disagree Improving grammar helps you know how to use grammar structures exactly in speaking English With great grammar knowledge, you would avoid using wrong grammatical functions to have appropriate sentences in speaking 10 Accent and interpretation are the two important elements in speaking skill 11 The possessing of both good accent and good interpretation, even the native’s or near-native’s accent, creates the ease in communicating, expressing ideas and meaning 12 Confidence will influence your speaking skill because you need to point out your own words to express your ideas 13 Speaking loudly and fluently when communicating creates the confidence in communication 14 Outside forces distract your focus on other saying xvii This table is about the benefits of listening to the news in English Strongly Statements agree Listening to the news brings you a lot of types of knowledge in many majors or factors in the world Thanks to news, you can get some knowledge that you have never known before Knowledge from the news may be useful in discussing, expropriating and explaining your ideas in speaking The new could help you remember your old knowledge by some typical topics You can take note the meanings, structures, word forms learned from news When listening to English news, you will hear a lot of kinds of words to enlarge your vocabulary You can learn both simple words and complicated words by English news xviii Agree No idea Disagree Strongly disagree You may know how to use exactly the word in some certain cases by listening to English news You can imitate the pronunciation of the MCs in the news 10 You can possess a good accent by spending time listening to English news 11 Thought out the news, you can know how to pronounce the words correctly to avoid misunderstanding 12 English news may help you improve your speaking because editors will speak out the words fluently, clearly, so it is easy for you to follow 13 The news can help you know how to make the connection between your sayings 14 You could use contractions naturally (gonna, kinda, wanna, outta, etc) when speaking by listening to English news 15 You will learn how to arrange the information in your mind to express ideas effectively by news in English xix 16 You can learn how to think logically by English news that may help you in communicating 17 In the news, you can learn many different sentence structures to apply for communication 18 You can know how to use connected speech through the news 19 In communication, you can use words stress exactly by listening to English news 20 The news can help you know some words which are abbreviated Thanks for your help! xx APPENDIX INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (For students) (An investigation into the effects of English news on speaking skill of juniors majoring in English at Tay Do University) Dear friends, My name is Huynh Vuong Minh Tri and I am currently a senior majoring in English Firstly, I am very thankful to you for spending your time helping me These interview questions are used to collect helpful and valuable information from you Therefore, please finish all the below questions carefully because your answers are very necessary and useful to my research Once again, thank you so much! Name: ………………………………………………… Age: …………………………………………………… Gender: male female Do you like English speaking subject? Why or why not? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… xxi What you think about the importance of speaking skill in real life? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… What you to improve your speaking skill? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Do you think that listening to English news can help you improve your speaking skill? If yes, how can listening to the news help you improve your speaking skill? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you very much for your help! xxii APPENDIX INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (For teachers) (An investigation into the effects of English news on speaking skill of juniors majoring in English at Tay Do University) Dear teachers, My name is Huynh Vuong Minh Tri and I am currently a senior majoring in English Firstly, I am very thankful to you for spending your time helping me These interview questions are used to collect helpful and valuable information from you Therefore, please finish all the below questions carefully because your answers are very necessary and useful to my research Once again, thank you so much! Name: ………………………………………………… Age: …………………………………………………… Years of teaching: ……………………………………… Gender: male female Do you think speaking is very important and useful in real life? Why or why not? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… xxiii What you think about your students’ speaking proficiency? ……………………………………………………………….………………………… ……………………………………………………………….………………………… ……………………………………………………………….………………………… ……………………………………………………………….………………………… ……………………………………………………………….………………………… ……………………………………………………………….………………………… In your opinion, what should they to improve their speaking skill? ……………………………………………………………….………………………… ……………………………………………………………….………………………… ……………………………………………………………….………………………… ……………………………………………………………….………………………… ……………………………………………………………….………………………… ……………………………………………………………….………………………… Do you think that listening to English news is a good way to improve students’ speaking skill? Why or why not? ………………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you very much for your help! xxiv ... native speakers usually find it hard to speak or write a sentence grammatically They sometimes make some mistakes which often cause the changing of the meaning of sentences, especially in the paragraphs... speaking skill 2.2 Research questions: To possess a good speaking skill is a challenge to almost learners, especially people who not have enough time to practice speaking skill regularly Spending... English 3.1 Pronunciation: In almost all languages, the communication between human and human is the first factor that people have to focus on It is the beginning of all things like exchange goods,