AN INVESTIAGTION INTO THE USE OF PAIR WORK AND GROUP WORK ACTIVITIES TO DEVELOP SPEAKING SKILLS OF THE FIRST YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THE FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

This thesis was carried out to investigate the use of pair work and groupwork activities to develop speaking skills for the first year English major students atthe Faculty of Foreign Lan

To the best of my knowledge and belief, this minor thesis contains nomaterial which has previously been submitted and accepted for any other degree inany university The thesis is my own work and based on my own research Itinvolves no material previously published or written by any other person, exceptwhere due reference is acknowledged in the paper

Signature: _

i

First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge and thank my supervisor,

Ms Tran Hien Lan for her valuable guidance, critical feedback and enormousencouragement, without which my thesis would be far from completion

I am also grateful to all the lecturers of the Post-graduate Department,Vietnam national University, Hanoi, University of Languages and InternationalStudies for their guidance and enthusiasm during my course

My sincere thanks go to all my colleagues and my students at Faculty ofForeign Languages, Thai Nguyen University

Finally, I would like to express my thanks to my friends who were willing tohelp me during the course In particular, I find myself indebted to my familyespecially my husband and my son for their love, care and tolerance when I was inthe process of writing this thesis

ii

This thesis was carried out to investigate the use of pair work and groupwork activities to develop speaking skills for the first year English major students atthe Faculty of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University It sought the answers tothe following questions:

1 How pair work and group work activities are used to teach the 1st year Englishmajor students at FFL, TNU?

2 What difficulties do the teachers cope with in using pair work and group workactivities in the speaking class of the 1st year English major students at FFL, TNU?

3 What suggestions are needed to make pair work and group work activitieseffective and successful in developing speaking skill for the 1st year English majorstudents at FFL, TNU?

Survey questionnaires for teachers and students were employed to findanswers to these three questions The findings of the research revealed that pairwork and group work were frequently applied in English speaking class with twomain activities that students have to master are discussion and role-play The use ofpair work and group work activities are also beneficial for both teachers andlearners However, there were some problems such as students low proficiency andtheir passive way of learning styles, which prevent them from taking part in pairwork and group work activities Teachers lack time and have to deal with large andmulti-level classes in unqualified conditions hindering them a lot in implementingpair work and group work activities to teach English speaking

It is hoped that this thesis will help other teachers of English be aware of thebenefits of pair work and group work activities and apply them in their teachingEnglish speaking successfully and effectively

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Declaration i

Acknowledgements ii

Abstract iii

Table of contents iv

Abbreviations viii

PART I: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale of the study 1

2 Aims of the study 2

3 Scope of the study 2

4 Research questions 3

5 Methods of the study 3

6 Design of the study 3

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT 4

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

1.1 Communicative Language Teaching 4

1.1.1 Traditional methods of second language teaching 4

1.1.2 Communicative language teaching method 5

1.2 The communicative learning process 8

1.3 Pair work and group work 10

1.3.1 Definition and description 10

iv

1.3.2 Common pair work and group work oral activities 12

1.3.2.1 Role-play 12

1.3.2.2 Information gap activity 13

1.3.2.3 Problem solving 13

1.3.2.4 Communication games 14

1.3.2.5 Discussion 14

1.3.3 Advantages and disadvantages of using pair work and group work activities 15

1.3.3.1 Advantages of using pair work and group work activities 15

1.3.3.2 Disadvantages of using pair work and group work activities 16

CHAPTER 2: DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF THE STUDY 19

2.1 Design and methodology 19

2.1.1 The setting of the study 19

2.1.2 Data collection instrument 20

2.1.3 The Participants 21

2.1.3.1 The students 21

2.1.3.2 The teachers 21

2.2 Presentation and discussion of the results 22

2.2.1 Students’ survey 22

2.2.1.1 Students’ opinions about speaking skills 22

2.2.1.2 Students’ judgments about the use of pair work and group work activities in English speaking class at FFL - TNU 23

2.2.1.3 Students’ difficulties when working in pairs/ groups 27

v

2.2.1.4 Students’ desires to learn English speaking skills via pair work and group

work 28

2.2.2 Teachers’ survey 31

2.2.2.1 Teachers’ opinions on teaching speaking skills 31

2.2.2.2 Teachers’ opinions about the use of pair work and group work activities to teach English speaking skills 32

2.2.2.3 Teachers’ current teaching methods of using pair work and group work activities in English speaking class 34

2.2.2.4 Teachers’ difficulties in using pair work and group work activities to teach English speaking skills 37

2.2.2.5 Teachers’ solutions to overcome difficulties in using pair work and group work activities 39

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION 40

3.1 Findings 40

3.1.1 How pair work and group work activities are used at FFL – TNU 40

3.1.2 Difficulties in applying pair work and group work activities 42

3.1.2.1 Students’ difficulties 42

3.1.2.2 Teachers’ difficulties 43

3.1.2.3 Classroom conditions’ difficulties 44

3.2 Recommendations 44

PART 3: CONCLUSION 47

1 Summary of the study 47

2 Limitations of the study 48

3 Recommendations for further research 48

vi

APPENDIX ……… I

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS I

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS IV

vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONSFFL, TNU: Faculty of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University

CLT: Communicative Language Teaching

TESOL: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

TEFL: Teaching English as Foreign Language

TESL: Teaching English as a Second Language

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1:Students’opinions about speaking skills

Table 2: Students’ judgments about how they like to practise speaking in Englishspeaking class at FFL – TNU

Table 3: Students’ judgments about the frequency of their teachers to organize pairwork and group work activities in an English speaking class

Table 4: Students’ judgments about their participation in pair and group workactivities in an English speaking class

Table 5: Students’ judgments about the benefits of pair work and group workactivities to their speaking skills

Table 6: Students’ difficulties when working in pairs/ groups

Table 7: Students’ desires to learn English speaking skills via pair work and group workTable 8: Teachers’ opinions about English speaking skills

Table 9: Teachers’ opinions about the use of pair work and group work activities toteach English speaking skills

Table 10: Teachers’ current teaching methods of using pair work and group workactivities in English speaking class

Table 11: Teachers’ difficulties in using pair work and group work activities toteach English speaking skills

Table 12: Teachers’ solutions to overcome difficulties in using pair work and groupwork activities

viii

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

“Better English, more opportunities” has become a target of most universitystudents in recent years English is a useful means they need for their future careersince it equips them with linguistic, social and cultural knowledge and providesthem with access to the modern world in the era of informatics and technology It isused as the official language in many powerful and developed countries.Additionally, it is also considered as the means of communication in a number ofaspects such as business, education, science, and so on Therefore, English teachingand learning play an important role in social developing policies in a large number

of countries throughout the world

In Vietnam, English has been used widely, and becomes the most popularlanguage in the country Because of our country’s regional and global participation

in every aspect, the demand for English speaking people has increased English isalso a compulsory subject to be taught and learned at schools and universities With

a strategic view to the future, teaching and learning English in recent years arechanging There have been several international organizations and projects andteachers who attended TESOL, TEFL, or TESL courses with efforts to introduceand apply new approaches, methodology and techniques to their teaching of Englishnationwide Methodologically, the methods of English teaching have shifted fromtraditional grammar translation approach to communicative approach New syllabi,new textbooks which focus on communicative-oriented and learner-centered havebeen designed Therefore, according to the National Foreign Language Project

2020, teachers of English have to improve their capability of communicatingsuccessfully in English Not to be the exception to the trend, teaching English at theFaculty of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University (FFL, TNU) is also thestrategic duty of all teachers and students Although communicative languageteaching is the aim to approach, the process to achieve is quite difficult

1

As a teacher of English at the FFL, TNU, I would like to help my students tomaster the language and have an ability to communicate confidently in English.However, there still remain some questions that how can we cooperate newapproaches with the previous one and how to implement them in class One of theeffective ways that I often work with students in our speaking class is pair work andgroup work From what I have experienced, this kind of activities has createdchances for students to talk and communicate with each other in English naturally

For the above reasons, the researcher chose the topic “An investigation intothe use of pair work and group work activities to develop speaking skill of the 1styear English major students at FFL, TNU.”

2 Aims of the study

This study aims to:

- Investigate the current situation of using pair work and group workactivities in teaching and learning speaking skill at FFL, TNU

- Identify the difficulties for the teachers to apply pair work and group work

in the speaking class of 1st year English major students at FFL, TNU

- Give practical recommendations for the use of pair and group work todevelop speaking skill for 1st year English major students at FFL, TNU

3 Scope of the study

Teachers can employ a variety of techniques and methods to improvespeaking skill of 1st year students at FFL, TNU However, the researcher onlyintends to examine the current situation of using pair work and group work inspeaking class of 1st year students at FFL, TNU and making some suggestions forimprovement Additionally, the study is only limited to the 1st year students at FFL,TNU, therefore, their opinions about pair work and group work may not berepresentative of all students at FFL, TNU in particular and all students learningEnglish throughout the country in common

2

5 Methods of the study

To investigate the situation of the study, the researcher uses the followingmethods

The quantitative method used in this study is survey questionnaire A survey on theuse of pair work and group work in teaching and studying speaking skill will beconducted

6 Design of the study

The study consists of three main parts:

Part 1: Introduction; includes the rationale, aims, scope, research questions,methods and design of the study

Part 2: Development; is divided into three chapters

- Chapter 1: Literature review, reviews some key theories related to the study such

as communicative language teaching, communication learning process, definitions

of pair work and group work along with some common pair work and group workoral activities The chapter also mentions advantages and disadvantages of usingpair work and group work

- Chapter 2: Design and analysis of the research

- Chapter 3: Findings and recommendations

Part 3: Conclusion

3

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Communicative Language Teaching

1.1.1 Traditional methods of second language teaching

How to teach foreign languages always stay at the core of any discussion aboutmethod innovation Changes in language teaching methods throughout history havereflected recognition of changes in the kind of proficiency learners need In the past,there are two methods applied to teach language, which consists of the Grammar-Translation method and the Audio-Lingual method

 The Grammar-Translation method: By the late nineteenth century and the

twentieth, the Grammar-Translation method was the primary used to teachlanguage This approach based on the study of Latin became the standardway of studying foreign languages in schools A typical textbook in the mid-nineteenth century therefore consisted of chapters or lessons organizedaround grammar points The Grammar-Translation method embraced a widerange of approach, but, generally speaking, it viewed foreign language study

as a “mental discipline and intellectual development” (Richards and Rodgers,1986) This kind of approach focused on grammatical analysis andtranslation According to Richards and Rodgers (1986:5), “it hence viewlanguage learning as consisting of little more than memorizing rules andfacts in order to understand and manipulate the morphology and syntax ofthe foreign language.” In this method, reading and writing are major focusand little or no attention is paid to speaking or listening Students who aretaught in this way do not have chance to practise their speaking and listening

 The lingual method: The theory of language underlying

Audio-lingualism was known as Structural Linguistics, resulted from the World

4

War II and viewed language as “a system of structurally related elements forthe encoding of meaning, the elements being phonemes, morphemes, words,structures, and sentence types.” The overall goal of the Audio-Lingualmethod was to create linguistic competence in learners Through tapes,visual aids, the students listened and then repeated several times to memorizethe pronunciation as well as vocabulary Therefore, just listening andspeaking skills of students could be drilled in a mechanical way

However, the above two methods only focus on grammar, linguistic competenceand individual learning Grammar-translation method was based on language study(grammar, literature) and written exercises (translation) rather than real lifecommunication and speech As a result, after several years of studying, studentsmight have a fairly good knowledge of grammar and translating skills, but couldhardly communicate The overall goal of the Audio-lingual method was to createcommunicative competence in learners However, it was thought that the mosteffective way to do this was for students to “overlearn” the language being studiedthrough extensive repetition and a variety of elaborate drills These old methods fellout of fashion because in recent years, people tend to learn language bycommunicating and keep on searching for a new method which is the combination

of the old ones

1.1.2 Communicative language teaching method

The origins of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) are to be found inthe changes in the British language teaching transition dating from the late 1960s.According to Richards and Rodgers (1996), the work of the Council of Europe, thewritings of Wilkins (1972), Widdowson, Candlin, Christopher Brumfit, KeithJohnson, and other British applied linguists on the theoretical basis for acommunicative or functional approach to language teaching Later on, the rapidapplication of these ideas by textbook writers, the equally rapid acceptance of thesenew principles by British language teaching specialists, curriculum developmentcenters, and even governments gave prominence nationally and internationally to

5

what came to be referred to as the Communicative Approach, or CommunicativeLanguage Teaching (CLT)

The communicative approach could be said to be the product of educatorsand linguists who had been dissatisfied with the audio-lingual and grammar-translation methods of foreign language teaching It starts from a theory of language

as communication The goal of language teaching is to develop what Hymes (1972)referred to as “communicative competence.” Another theorist frequently studied onthe communicative nature of language is Henry Widdowson He presented a view ofthe relationship between linguistic systems and their communicative values in textand discourse in his book Teaching Language as Communication (1978).Widdowson focused on the communicative acts underlying the ability to uselanguage for different purposes Authentic language use and classroom exchangeswhere students were engaged in real communication with one another becamepopular

Today, language is considered as a dynamic resource for the creation ofmeaning In terms of learning, it is obviously accepted that we need to distinguishbetween “learning what” and “knowing how” To say by other words, it is necessaryfor us to distinguish between knowing a variety of grammatical rules and havingcapability of using these rules effectively and suitably in communication No longerbeing considered as passive, learners are seen as active participants in thenegotiation of meaning Communicative language teaching makes use of real lifesituations that need communication It provides students with a number ofopportunities to use communicative purposes The teacher builds up a situation thatstudents may encounter in real life; therefore, it is familiar and useful for them tolearn purposefully Unlike the audio-lingual method of language teaching, whichdepends much on repetition and drills, the communicative approach can makestudents react and response to the various class exercises The real life simulationschange from day to day, so students’ motivation to learn comes from their desire tocommunicate in meaningful ways about meaningful topics

6

In this book Communicative Language Teaching Today (2006), Richards

points out that in recent years, language learning has been viewed from a differentperspective It is seen as resulting from processes such as:

 Interaction between the learner and users of the language

 Collaborative creation of meaning

 Creating meaningful and purposeful interaction through language

 Negotiation of meaning as the learner and his or her interlocutor arrive atunderstanding

 Learning through attending to the feedback learners get when they use thelanguage

 Paying attention to the language one hears (the input) and trying toincorporate new forms into one’s developing communicative competence

 Trying out and experimenting with different ways of saying things

According to Littlewood, there are four domains of skill which makes up aperson’s communicative competence, which must be recognized in foreignlanguage teaching:

 The learner must attain as high a degree as possible of linguistic competence.That is, he must develop skill in manipulating the linguistic system, to thepoint where he can use it spontaneously and flexibly in order to express hisintended message

 The learner must distinguish between the forms he has mastered as part ofhis linguistic competence and the communicative functions, which theyperform In other words, items mastered as part of a linguistic system mustalso be understood as part of a communicative system

 The learner must develop skills and strategies for using language tocommunicative meaning as effectively as possible in concrete situations Hemust learn to use feedback to judge his success and if necessary, remedyfailure by using different language

7

 The learner must become aware of the social meaning of language forms Formany learners, this may not entail the ability to vary their own speed to varytheir own speed to suit different social circumstances but rather the ability touse general acceptable forms and avoid potential offensive ones

 The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation

 The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on languagesbut also on the learning process itself

 An enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences as importantcontributing elements to classroom learning

 An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activationoutside the classroom

Due to these outstanding characteristics, communicative language teachinghas been widely applied for language teaching and learning Today it hasbecome a priority in the determination of method of teaching and learningforeign language

1.2 The communicative learning process

The learning process in general and the communicative learning process inparticular are made through activities

According to Littlewood (1981: 86) reflects a sequence of activitiesrepresented as follow:

8Pre-communicative activities

Social interaction activities

Quasi – communicative activities

Functional communicative activitiesStructural activities

Communicative activities

Pre-communicative activities are “learner was not engaged in activitieswhere his main purpose was to communicate meanings effectively to a partner.Rather, his main purpose was to produce certain language forms in an acceptableway.” (Littlewood, 1981:16) In this kind of activities, the teachers isolate specificelements of knowledge on skill, which compose communicative ability and providelearners with opportunities to practise them separately The learners; therefore, arebeing trained in the part-skills of communication rather than practicing the totalskill to be acquired They are subdivided into structural activities and quasi-communicative activities The first sub-division focuses on the grammatical systemand on the ways in which linguistic items can be combined On the other hand, thesecond sub-division is made to help learner relate forms and structures tocommunicative functions, specific meanings and social context Littlewood alsopoints out that the aim of Pre-communicative activities is providing learners with afluent command of the linguistic system, without requiring them to use this systemfor communicative purpose Accordingly, the main purpose of learners is to producelanguage which is acceptable, which means sufficiently accurate or appropriaterather than to communicate meanings effectively

9

Unlikely, communicative activities are those in which “the learner has toactivate and integrate his pre-communicative knowledge and skills in order to usethem for the communication of meanings” (Littlewood, 1981:86) In this kind ofactivities, the learners engage in practising the total skills of communication Theirattention is focusing on meanings to be communicated rather than on languageitems to be learned Here again, it is subdivided into functional communicativeactivities and social interaction activities In what to be called “functionalcommunicative activities”, the learner is placed in a situation where he mustperform a task by communicating as best as he can, with whatever resources he hadavailable Contrary to this is “social interaction activities”, the learner is alsoencouraged to take account of the social context in which communication takesplace This kind of activities involves exploiting simulation and role-plays mayconsist of exactly the same tasks as functional communicative activities with addedclearly defined social contexts

To say in short, the final goal of the communicative learning process is tomake learners communicate meanings effectively in different social contexts

1.3 Pair work and group work

1.3.1 Definition and description

In recent years, it is popular for a lot of teachers to teach language as a means

of communication The target is to divide the class into pairs and groups where thenumber of students in each group is small enough to encourage them to interactwith each other to perform the task given

10

work”) This is not the same as “public” or “open” pair work, with pairs of students speaking in turn in front of the class.”

The definition of pair work in this case is an activity that gives students achance to talk to each other practice language together, study a text, researchlanguage or take part in information-gap activities They can write dialogues,predict the content of reading texts, or compare notes on what they havelistened or seen

In general, there are two main types of pair work, fixed pairs and flexible pairs, suggested by Byrne (1983) The first type is when the students work

with the same partner in order to complete task In this kind of pairs, theywill deeply understand each other and know the other’s ability Meanwhile,the second one is when students keep changing the partners They can lifttheir chairs freely to talk to any partners they like Therefore, this will makethe activity more interesting

 Group work

Adrian Doff (1988: 37) also defines group work as a process that “the teacher divides the class into small groups to work together (usually four or five students in each group), as in pair work, all the groups work at the same time.”

Another definition of group work provided by Brumfit (1984: 72) is “group

is often defined as a number of people who interact with one another, who are psychologically aware of one another and who perceive themselves to be

a group”

Shaw (1971: 7) and Mill (1967: 2) have a definition about a small group as

“units composed of two or more persons who come into contact for purpose and who consider the contact meaningful.” In other words, group is seen as a

task-oriented group in which members have a clear perception of the purposeand goal of the activity Group is made up of four or five students under thecontrol of a group leader, whose functions are as the group organizer and as a

11

mini-teacher Group work depends much on the size of group, the types ofactivity, types of lesson and types of desks and chairs in the classroom.

In groups, students can write a group story, role-play a situation, prepare apresentation, discuss an issue or come to a group decision They can alsowatch, write or perform a video sequence Obviously, group work is a co-operative activity, during which students share aims and responsibilities, theyhave chances for greater independence as they take some of their ownlearning decisions, without the teacher controlling every move, and they canwork without the pressure of the whole class listening to that they are doing.They learn to negotiate, to listen to different opinions and points of view.Students participate more equally and in most cases, they feel free toexperiment and use the target language

1.3.2 Common pair work and group work oral activities

There are a variety of pair work and group work activities used incommunicative language teaching However, this study only discusses somecommon pair work and group work to develop oral skills of students as follow:

1.3.2.1 Role-play

Role-play is an activity that the class is usually divided into pairs or groups.These pairs or groups are given situations and roles to act out This acting is donefor the sake of the language and imaginative activity, not for exhibition

According to Richards (2005: 20), role-play is an activity in which studentsare assigned roles and improvise a scene or exchanged based on given information

or clues

Role-play brings some usefulness to students Firstly, it helps students masterfields of language like vocabulary, structure, pronunciation and intonation moreeasily It also gives students opportunities to practise language in various situationsnot only in class but also outside classroom Additionally, through role-play,students are trained to deal with the unpredictable nature of language because they

12

act imaginary roles in a lot of situations Moreover, role-play promotes interaction

in the classroom as well as increase motivation Role-play is simple to prepare, easy

to play, and along with games and other communicative activities are recommended

to be used in the English speaking class

1.3.2.2 Information gap activity

An important aspect of communication in CLT is the notion of informationgap This refers to the fact that in real communication, people normallycommunicate in order to get information they do not possess This is known as aninformation gap According to Underhill (1987), an information gap is an activitywhere one student is provided information that is kept from a partner A lot ofcommunication involves bridging information gap: you know things I don notknow, and I know things you do not know Often this is hard for students to donaturally in class, either because they might not know enough facts or becauseeveryone knows the same facts We can simulate the information gap by giving twoparticipant different information, which they have to share

Information gap may take three forms:

o One student has some information and the other has to find it byasking questions

o One student has some information and tells it to the other students

o Both students have different information and they tell each other

1.3.2.3 Problem solving

Byrne (1990) suggests an oral activity for pair work and group work.Problem solving has been used to group together a wide range of activities thatrequire students to find “solution” to problems of different kinds Puzzles,problems, and brain-teasers can also stimulate meaningful communication if

students work together to solve them “Although it may be quicker to do this alone, without distractions, students have to do it with a partner and discuss how to solve the problems Students are focused on solving the problems and coming up with the

13

correct solutions, but the purpose of the activity is to make them talk in English It doesn’t matter if they cannot get the answers- what matters is that they speak English.” (Jones, 2007: 36)

Many of these problems involve possesses that we commonly use in real life:

 We frequently hypothesize links between two things (events, actions, people,etc.)

 We detect difference (real or imaginary)

 We grade things according to criteria (subjective or objective)

Problem solving is believed to be necessary and suited to students of alllevels Because students are put in some situations that are similar to the real life,they actively join in the activities because of the feeling that they are doing withtheir language, taking the risks of experimenting what they have learned.Additionally, the lesson can become more practical and attractive to them

1.3.2.5 Discussion

According to Penny Ur (1996), discussion is the most natural and effectiveway for students to talk freely in English by thinking out some problems orsituations together through verbal interchange of ideas The word “discussion” hereincludes anything from the simplest questions to the most political andphilosophical debates

14

Discussion works best in pairs or small groups because then more people cangive their views In lager groups or in a whole class, once one person has given his

or her view, everyone else can only agree or disagree (Jones, 2007: 30)

From discussion, students learn something from what is being said ordiscussed Besides, it provides students with interest in learning in a cooperativeatmosphere When discussion are carried out in groups, students have chance toexchange their ideas or opinions They not only speak out their feelings andattitudes but also listen to what others say Additionally, the motivation ofparticipants also improves when they discuss in small group

1.3.3 Advantages and disadvantages of using pair work and group work activities

1.3.3.1 Advantages of using pair work and group work activities

Brumfit says that pair work and group work are the most effective techniques

of classroom organization which combine aspects of communication learning andnatural interaction in a stress free environment (Brumfit, 1984:78)

Pair work and group work give students more opportunities to speak English

in classroom Students participate in the lesson much more actively because they areinvolved in talking to their friends exchange opinions, practising new structuresmore than listening to their teacher talking By dividing the class into groups,students get more chances to talk than in full class organization, thus each studentcan say something Penny Ur recommends that teachers working with larger classesshould divide them into five groups which is the most effective organization forpractising speaking (Ur, 1996: 232) According to Gorgon, A (2008), theadvantages of using pair work and group work as follow:

Students may feel less anxious when they are working in a group with asmall number of people Particularly, timid students find it hard to speak in front ofthe class and teacher in their eyes seems to be a fear They become silent and cannotopen their mouth with an empty mind However, when participating in pairs orgroups, they maybe find easier to share their opinions naturally “It is generally

15

easier to show that you do not know, or do not understand something, in a smallergroup than in a large one.” (Norman, Levihn and Hedenquist, 1986: 6)

In the long run group work develops student’s independence At first,preparing a group or a pair may be time-consuming and requires more effort fromthe students However, sing this technique regularly, students will become moreefficient and skilled at practising the language They become more confident, theirmotivation also increases and they can manage without regular teacher’ssupervision Students learn how to learn and gradually take responsibility for theirown learning

Beside practising and consolidating the language, pair work and group workhelp to integrate the class Students learn how to cooperate with one another, makecompromise, negotiate, and respect individual with different abilities and views,which is important for the class atmosphere and relationship with the teacher.Instead of sitting alone trying to understand something difficult, they can help eachother “There is a greater chance that at least one member of the group will be able

to solve a problem when it arises.” (Harmer, 1992: 245) In such a class the teacher

is no longer a supervisor but becomes a resource center and advisor for the students

“Most people learn a foreign language better with others than on their own.”(Norman, 1986: 11)

To introduce pair work and group work, teacher brings variety into theclassroom It enables him to individualize work by preparing different tasks takinginto accounts students’ abilities and potentials It is advantageous to use group workwith mixed ability classes; when both able and less able students may feel a sense ofachievement while completing the task

1.3.3.2 Disadvantages of using pair work and group work activities

Gorgon, A (2008) also points out clearly disadvantages of using pair workand group work activities as follow:

Some teachers are reluctant to use pair work and group work being afraid ofnoise or discipline problems which might occur particularly Indeed students make

16

noise while working on the task; they discuss things, check words and communicatewith one another However, this is so-called “positive noise” and it does not disturbthe students They are concentrated on the task and they do not hear it If an activitygoes on for too long; students, especially the poor ones make noise because theybecome bored, they want to get the teacher’s attention and they become disruptive

Another disadvantage of using pair work and group work activities is the use

of mother tongue When students get excited working in pairs or groups theysometimes use their mother tongue to express something they are not able toexpress in a foreign language Such a situation is normal because they want tocommunicate

One of the disadvantages of using pair work and group work activities ismaking mistakes Some teachers neglect to use pair work and group work sayingthat students make mistakes trying to express their own ideas Indeed incorrectness

is a problem yet in real life, it is communicative fluency that matters not accuracy,

so we should not be concerned too much with accuracy if we want to practise oralskills According to Doff (1988: 141), when learners work in pairs or groups it isimpossible for the teachers to listen and correct all the mistakes they make and it isnot the purpose of this activity However, she/he can reduce the number of mistakesbefore the students start working by demonstrating the activity to the class first and

by asking pairs or groups to perform in front of the class afterwards and discussingwhat they said and pointing out the most common mistakes

Putting the students into group may be a problem There is a challenge that ifthe teacher divides the class into mixed ability groups, the best students in the groupwill have to do the task while the weakest ones switch off and become disruptive.Teacher therefore should put the students into groups according to their abilities andeach group is given a task right for their level of difficulty Then the teacher maymonitor the whole class, devote more time to the students who need assistance oreven work with individual students

17

CHAPTER 2: DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF THE STUDY

2.1 Design and methodology

2.1.1 The setting of the study

The Faculty of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University (FFL- TNU)established on December, 31st 2007, based on the purpose of reorganization of theFaculty of Foreign Languages in Thai Nguyen Pedagogical University In spite ofbeing a newly-established one but the Faculty has a long and stable history ofdevelopment, connected closely with the economic, social and education-trainingdevelopment of the provinces in Northwest and Northeast of Vietnam At themoment FFL has five departments: English Department, French Department,Russian Department, Chinese Department and Basic Science Department

Because of its special characteristics, English is compulsory and studentsalways show their deep passion in English for it is their major and closely related totheir future jobs Each year, the Faculty welcomes nearly 400 students Similar toother universities nationwide, the English proficiency of students are not the same.Additionally, there are normal 40 to 45 students in each class because of the lack ofstudy facilities Besides, most of teachers are young and various in Englishproficiency There are also 4 English and American voluntary teachers workingtogether with local teachers

First year students have to learn two semesters a year and the Englishproficiency is also divided into Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2 At the end of thefirst year, they are supposed to achieve Intermediate 2 in English proficiency, which

is equivalent to B1 in CEFR The textbooks that used for first year students arecompiled by teachers of the Faculty They also cover four skills, which arelistening, speaking, reading and writing and some theoretical linguistics as well asapplied linguistics Speaking is taught as a separate subject, and the primary focus is

19

on oral communication skills, working in pairs and groups, participating discussion,and self-studying online.

The activities that students usually take part in are rope-play, discuss anddebate to encourage real communication In the first semester, students work mostly

in pairs, they have right to choose their partners or be chosen random by the teacher,play various characters in communicative situations In the second semester,students work mostly in small group of five to discuss about one topic At the end ofeach semester, they have to take oral examination in pairs and in groupsrespectively

2.1.2 Data collection instrument

The survey questionnaire is one of the most effective instruments forcollecting data in social science According to Gillham (2000), questionnaire is lesspressure on respondents, not under pressure of interview bias, and analysis ofanswers is straightforward Therefore, this study used the survey questionnaire asthe official mean to fulfill the aims Two kinds of survey questionnaire weredesigned to examine the teacher’s and students’ opinions on the use of pair workand group work activities to develop speaking skills The questionnaire for studentswith 14 questions written in English, were administered to 100 randomly chosenstudents The questionnaire was divided into 4 main parts as follows:

Part 1: Students’ opinions about speaking skills (Question 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Part 2: Students’ judgments about the use of pair work and group work activities in

English speaking class at FFL- TNU (Question 6, 7, 8, 9)

Part 3: Student’s difficulties when working in pairs or in groups (Question 10, 11) Part 4: Students’ desires to learn English via pair work and group work activities

(Question 12, 13, 14)

The second questionnaire which included 14 questions, were given to 10teachers of English at the FFL- TNU The questionnaire was also written in Englishand divided into 5 main parts as follow:

Part 1: Teachers’ opinion about teaching English speaking skills (Question 1, 2)

20

Part 2: Teachers’ opinions about the use of pair work and group work activities to

teach speaking skills (Question 3, 4, 5)

Part 3: Teachers’ current teaching methods of using pair work and group work

activities in speaking class (Question 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)

Part 4: Teachers’ difficulties in using pair work and group work activities to teach

English speaking skills (Question 12, 13)

Part 5: Teachers’ solutions to overcome difficulties in using pair work and group

work activities (Question 14)

For deep and further information of collected statistics, the researcher hasconducted interviews with some students and teachers at the faculty

2.1.3 The Participants

2.1.3.1 The students

100 first year English major students were chosen at random to participate inthe first questionnaire Students are various in terms of ages and hometown Theyages from 18 and come from different parts of Vietnam Almost all of them have 8years learning English both at Secondary and High school, while a small number ofthem learn English only at High school They are not the same at Englishproficiency level, especially in English speaking skills

2.1.3.2 The teachers

10 teachers of English at FFL – TNU teaching the first year English majorstudents took part in answering the second survey questionnaire There are two maleand eight female teachers Their ages range from 24 to 36 with at least 2 years ofteaching English They were mostly trained as teachers of English at Thai NguyenEducation University They are all well-trained with high qualified in BA Degree.Half of them got MA Degree and one third of them is taking Ph.D course in EFL

21

Options

2.2 Presentation and discussion of the results

The data collected has been summarized and presented in the form of table.The researcher discusses the data from students’ questionnaire first, and later on, thedata from teachers’ questionnaire will be discussed

2.2.1 Students’ survey

2.2.1.1 Students’ opinions about speaking skills

Table 1:Students’opinions about speaking skills (by percentage)

C I like speaking English

D I want to master communicativeEnglish

E I will be able to talk with Englishpeople when I have chance

4 A very difficult C easy

B difficult D very easy

the respondents say that the reason why they learning English speaking is itsimportance for their future job Moreover, 48% of them believe that they couldcommunicate with English speaking people when they have chance, so it isimportant for them to learn English speaking skills Another interesting information

is 94% of students feel interested and very interested when they speak English.However, 82% admitted that speaking English is not easy and there still exists 59%

of them feel unconfident when they speak English both in class and outsideclassroom

In general, it can be concluded that English speaking skills is very importantand interesting for most of the first year English major students at FFL- TNU

2.2.1.2 Students’ judgments about the use of pair work and group work activities in English speaking class at FFL - TNU

Table 2: Students’ judgments about how they like to practise speaking in English speaking class at FFL – TNU (Question 6)(by percentage)

Not at all Little Rather Much Very

It is amazing that nearly half of them (49%) like speaking in pairs Only 13%

of them chose “little” as they preference in working in Additionally, 18% of

23

In conclusion, the analysis of the data in Table 2 reveals that most of thestudents like to learn English speaking skills in pairs and in groups

Table 3: Students’ judgments about the frequency of their teachers to organize pair work and group work activities in an English speaking class (Question 7)(by percentage)

24