SOME SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE GRADE 12 STUDENTS SPEAKING SKILL IN ENGLISH CLASSES AT NONG CONG 3 UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL

13 INITIATIVE: “SOME SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE GRADE 12 STUDENTS' SPEAKING SKILL IN ENGLISH CLASSES AT NONG CONG 3 UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL” PART 1: REASONS FOR TOPIC CHOICE In the

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGES

1 Students’ psychological characteristics in learning Englis 4

2 Importance in stimulating participation of students in

5.1 Warm-up activities and games. 13

INITIATIVE: “SOME SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE

GRADE 12 STUDENTS' SPEAKING SKILL IN ENGLISH CLASSES AT NONG CONG 3 UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL”

PART 1: REASONS FOR TOPIC CHOICE

In the world of the integration and development with the multilateralrelations and information explosion, English remains an important role incomprehensive development for each student However, in fact, I realize mystudents find it very difficult to express their ideas in English and they even donot know how to keep the conversation going on They are usually stressed andpassive when being asked to participate in speaking activities More importantly,

the topics chosen are quite broad and the way teachers develop them is not veryinteresting Some topics are beyond students’ enjoyment And some require adeep common knowledge which students usually lack If students have no ideawhat to say, they may lose confidence and feel uncomfortable and makemistakes Consequently, teaching and learning in the speaking lessons are boringand ineffective Therefore, it is essential that we carry out better methods inorder that students have certain abilities of English communication Nowadays,

in the process of teaching method improvement, the main purpose is to form anddevelop the knowledge and skills in using English English 12 gets in closecontact with distinct skills: listening, speaking, and reading To practice theseskills, each student has to work diligently with his/her partners Consequently,they can speak English more fluently With the aim at developing speaking skill,

I am going to present the subject: “SOME SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS TO

IMPROVE GRADE 12 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL IN ENGLISH CLASSES AT NONG CONG 3 UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL.”

This research is to help students simply communicate with the classmates

It also helps teachers build the content of a teaching lesson As a result, studentswill be effectively attracted to English lessons

PART 2: CONTENT

I THEORETICAL BASIS

1 Students’ psychological characteristics in learning English.

Students own age characteristics and innate skills which help them inlearning language process Teachers must fully understand and take fulladvantages of them effectively These specific characteristics are: They learn aforeign language naturally as they learn their mother tongue They learn itthrough encouragement, which depends on each teacher’s methods If they areeffectively motivated, they will perform better and more enthusiastically.Besides, they learn through their listening and repeating, through cooperationand reciprocation in reliable atmosphere; and through interesting activities fromwhich they gain their aims

One of the things that makes teaching a source of endless fascination isthe fact that no two classes are ever the same There always exists the complexinterpersonal chemistry between teacher and students and between student andstudent In any given classroom, the factors such as position attitudes andindividuals’ personalities will be in constant interaction creating a dynamic,unstable environment that can either facilitate the learning process or seriouslyimpair it The role of expectations of both teachers and learners will beconditioned by individual personality factors such as introversion, cognitivestyle, prior learning and teaching experiences, and cultural factors.

Real-life observation also tells us that even if language learners can beshown to be following a common developmental route, they differ greatly indegree of ultimate success which they achieve As a teacher, one should beaware that learners differ in ways that careful thought when making decisionsabout what to be taught and how to teach Social psychologists have arguedconsistently that differences in learning outcomes must be due to individualdifferences between learners, and many proposals have been made concerningthe characteristics which supposedly cause these differences

Gardner and MacIntyre (1992, 1993) divided what they saw as the mostimportant learners’ traits into two groups, the cognitive and affective Cognitivefactors include students’ intelligence, language aptitude and language learningstrategies Most discussions have limited affective factors to personalitycharacteristics, language attitudes, motivation and emotional responses to thelanguage learning process or language anxiety

Krashen (1985) has suggested the notion of the affective filter This is arepresentation of the way in which affective factors such as attitudes, anxiety,competitiveness and other emotional responses can help or hinder languagelearning A learner who has generally negative attitudes towards learning Alearner who has generally negative attitudes towards learning English will have

a high effective filter and the task for the teacher will be sustantial The precisefunctioning of this filter highlights the role of the teacher in creating beneficialconditions for language learning

The degree to which any of the factors discussed will become significant

in a particular learning and teaching situation will depend partly on the reasonswhy learners are learning English Any individual may be influenced by a

variety of motivations which will affect such things as anxiety, attitudes orwillingness to try new learning strategies.

In short, there exist individual differences among learners and thesedifferences play a significant role in language learning For a teacher, thechallenge must be how to enable each learner according to his or her individualcharacteristics and cultural background

2 Importance in stimulating participation of students in English lesson.

Students’ participation is very necessary for learning process to occur.Lack of participation will have negative influence on all the learning process.Through interacion in the target language students learn to communicate Hence,speaking skill is quite important

3 Speaking skill

Speaking is the productive skill in the oral mode It, like the other skills, ismore complicated than it seems at first and involves more than just pronouncingwords There are three kinds of speaking situations in which we find ourselves:

Some few speaking situations maybe totally non-interactive, such as whenrecording a speech for a radio broadcast Here are some of the micro-skillsinvolved in speaking The speaker has to:

1 Pronounce the distinctive sounds of a language clearly enough so thatpeople can distinguish them This includes making tonal distinctions

2 Use stress and rhythmic patterns, and intonation patterns of thelanguage clearly enough so that people can understand what is said

3 Use the correct forms of words This may mean, for example, changes

in the tense, case, or gender

4 Put words together in correct word order.

5 Use vocabulary appropriately

6 Use the register or language variety that is appropriate to the situationand the relatonship to the conversation partner

7 Make clear to the listener the man sentence constituents, such assubject, verb, object, by whatever means the language uses

8 Make the main ideas stand out from supporting ieas or information

9 Make the discourse hang together so that people can follow what youare saying

(Extracted from the LiguaLinks Library, Version 3.5 published on CDROM by SIL International, 1999)

II THE REAL STATE OF AFFAIRS

1 Researching method.

This research is conducted through qualitative methods The data iscollected through the questionaire for students, the interviews for teachers andthe obeservations for several classes

3 Results of the survey.

At the beginning of the school year, before applying the new teachingideas, I conducted a survey and the following are the results In terms ofstudents’ attitude, they show a very negative one to the current teaching method.37% disliked taking too many notes when learning English 72% indicated thatthey had few opportunities to participate because their classes were too crowded.Only 25% said that they liked English speaking lessons

The majority of the interviewees are experienced teachers in teachingEnglish They all agreed that the difficulty they regularly met was the big size ofclasses (30-41 students in each class)

Table of how often students participate in different activities

Activities Never Rarely Occsionally UsuallyTeam work ( 2 teams / class) 28,7 54,3 16,8 1,2Group work ( 4-5 students / group) 12,4 41,5 45,1 0

III SOLUTIONS

1 Solutions to big classes

Due to objective factors as well as real conditions, teachers often have toteach in crowded classes There are three basic solutions which have beeneffective The first is the diversification into topics, methods as well as classactivities This solution helps decrease the uninterestedness in class The second

is to create interesting activities, which brings about good effects on students.When the lesson is not too difficult, attractive activities remains attention andenthusiasm The last one is the opportunities to exchange and learn the languagefrom each other

2 Pair work

Pair work is needful for speaking practice Each pair should consist oflower and higher level students This method has good effect on lower levelstudents, as they better understand their tasks with their partner’s assistance andthey have chance to correct each other’s mistakes

3 Group work

To apply it effectively, the ways of organisation and the suitable divisionare serious issues Students in one group should be in different levels Studentsdiscuss the topics freely and express their attitude and feeling with their team

4 Further practice

Through further practice, teacher discoves and promotes excellentlearners From controlled to free practice teachers encourage students to enlargethe topic and enhance communicative skill This stimlates the desire and ability

of creation Carefully designed lesson plans with visual aids such as pictures,real objects or real class situations are motivating Students are really attracted

to games like chain game, guesing game, Noughts and crosses, which providestudents with a great deal of excitement and enable them speaking naturalEnglish

To help students feel self-confident and see their improvement inspeaking English, teachers should set suitable goals Moreover, teachers needencourage students to speak English and accept trials and errors Teachersshould avoid correcting any mistakes, especially when they are speakingEnglish

5 Class activities and games

5.1 Warm-up activities and games.

Games are activities students do for their own sake, for the immediate fun,curiosity or competive ambition aroused by the game This category includesconventional puzzles and competitions, but also activites involving make-believe such as drama and story telling which people do for fun

5.1.1 Word by word.

Level: high beginner plus

Skills: speaking, gramma focus

Teacher’s preparation: none

Time: to serve as a short warm-up or concluding game, = 15 minutes Objectives: Through a fun, non-threatening activity, students will

improve their spoken English through gramma analysis of spoken sentences andwill listening carefully to the others

Organisation: Group work with circles of approximately 5-6 students Task: Students in turn make a story adding one word only.

As the sentences go around the circle, if a grammar mistake is made, thestudent joins a different group/circle Students should discuss briefly, ifnecessary, the error made Teacher should intervene only if students cannotresolve a grammar dispute Each time a mistake is made, a new sentence can bestarted Students should try to create a story

Teacher’s role: organize the groups, model the activity by bringing a

group to the front before the activity begins, circulating among the groups toanswer questions

5.1.2 Know it all, knowledge game

Level: intermediate advanced.

Organization: Whole class divided into six groups.

Materials: Questions

Time: 45-90 minutes

Instructions: Tell class that they are going to play a knowledge

discussion game Divide the class into teams and have them sit and choose ateam name While this is happening, put the following on the board for eachteam:

If the answer is wrong, the second team may choose to answer or theymay pass If the second team answers correctly, they get the point, if incorrectly, they lose their turn/chance at the next question Each team should have achance to answer or not answer

To score the bonus points (3), a team must first have all the categoriesregular points (1+2) before they can try a bonus question

The team with the most points wins at the end of time

Know it all, knowledge game questions(examples)

History:

1.What year did man first walk on the moon? (1969)

2.Who was the first black president of South Africa.? (Mandela)

3.What year was Jesus born? (0)

4.What year was Ho hi Minh born? (1890)

5.Who was the British Prime Minister during W.W.W.II? (Church chill)6.What happen to Julis Caesar? ( assassinated)

7.What year did India become an independent country? (1948)

8.What year was the Russian Revolution? (1017)

9.What was Australia used for by the British in the 18th and 19th centuries?(prison)

10 What year did the Soviet Union start to break up? (1991)

Entertainment:

1.In which country City is Hollywood? (Los Angles)

2.Who started in Forest Gump? (Tom Hanks)

3.Who has been called “Viet Nam ‘s answer to Madonna ( PhuongThanh)4.In which country did ballet originate? (Italy)

5.Name the 4 Beatles (John, Paul, Ringo, George)

6.How many keys are on a piano? (88)

7.In which century did Shakespeare die? (17th )

8.Where was Quang Linh born? (Hue)

9.Which movie won the most Oscars in 2004? (The Lord of the Rings)

10 How many Disney lands are there in the world? (4)

Language:

1.How do you say no in Russian? (nyet)

2.Which 2 modern languages have effected English the most? (French andGerman)

3 Which word is written the most in English ? (the)

4 Which letter is most used in English? (e)

5 What does C D stand for? (compact disc)

6 What is the past tense of seek? (sought)

7 What is a pale ale? (beer)

8 How do you say hello in Spanish? (hola)

9 How do you say good bye in Japanese? (Sayonara)

10 How do you say the letter A in Greek? (alpha)

Sport and leisure:

1 What does “love” mean in tennis? (0)

2 Where will the 2006 World Cup be played? (Germany)

3 Which is the tallest chess piece? (king)

4 What color wine should you drink with beef? (red)

5 What sport is played at Wimbledon? (tennis)

6 Which two winter sports make up a biathlon? (skiing $ shooting)

7 How many countries play in the World Cup? (32)

8 What is the national sport of Canada? (ice hockey)

9 How long is a 1/4 of a basketball game? (12 minutes)

10 What sport did Muhammad Ali play? (boxing)

Science and nature:

1 How many colors are in a rainbow? (7)

2 What is the name of the Earth’s galaxy? (Milky Way)

3 What vitamin is called Ascorbic acid? (c)

4 What 2 metals make up white gold? (gold and silver)

5 What is the chemical symbol for salt? (NaCl)

6 How many wisdom teeth do people get? (4)

7 How many wings does a flea have? (0)

8 Which is the only animal that can’t jump? (elephant)

9 Which planet is nearest the sun? (Mercury)

10 How many bones are there in human body?

5.2 Class activities:

5.2.1 Find someone who……

Make questions to find students who answer yes to the statements belowe.g Takes a shower every morning Do you take a shower every morning? If theanswer is yes, write the student’s name in the space below If the person answeryes, find out some information about the subject E.g.: Do you have time in themorning?

Try to find one name for each statement, but use one person’s name onlytwice

1 Family lives in this city

2 Likes to dance

3 Rides a bike to university

4 Smokes

5 Has a brother/ sister in this school

6 Chat on line a lot

7 Has a girlfriend / boyfriend

8 Is wearing something new

9 Likes to drink beer

10 Has been to Hue

5.2.2 Summer time:

In this class try to find someone who can answer yes to the followingitems If so, write their name and find out other information about this topic byspeaking to them

Number Topic Name information

5.3.1 Do you know me?

Think about your partner and answer the statements for him/her Don’t sayyes Write your answer under A

Answer with:

5 yes, of course!

4 yes, usually

3 Yes and no

4 No, not usually

1 No, never

1 I like to get up early!

2 I like to play many sports

3 I always spend money carefully

4 I like to stay up very late

5 I study almost every evening

6 I find it easy to make friends

7 I like to go shopping.

8 I like to spend time outdoors

9 I enjoy wearing nice fancy

clothes

10 I like to dance

11 I’m often moody

12 I usually live for the moment

13 I like to sing

14 I’m often shy to speak English

15 I’m happy at this school

Finally, calculate the differences and write them under C (e.g A= 3, B=

5, C= 2) Then, total C to find out how well you knew your partner The lowerthe number, the better!

5.3.2 Superlatives: Work with a partner Discuss the following questions.

Write the answers Be prepared to discuss them with the class

1 What is the best sport? Why?

2 What is the most beautiful place you have visited? Why?

3 When is the best movie you have ever seen? Why?

4 What is the best movie you have ever seen? Why?

5 What is the most unusual thing you have ever eaten? How was it?

6 What is the most exciting thing you have ever done? Would you do itagain?

7 What is your idea of the most handsome man/ the most beautifulwoman? Why? You have ever taken? Why?

8 What is the most difficult course you have taken? Why?

9 What is the most boring thing to you? Why?

10 What is the most expensive thing that you have ever bought? Howmuch?

11 What is the most serious problem in the world? Why?

12 What would be the nicest way to spend a weekend for you? Why?

13 (Make your own questions to ask others)

5.4 Group Work

5.4.1 The Future:

I am (I’m)

You are (you’re)

She/ He /It /Bob is (He’s, She’s, It’s, Bob’s) going to + (verb)

We are (We’re)

You (plural) are (you’re)

They are (they’re)

IMAGINING THE YEAR 2030

Take the year 2030

Minus this year

Answer

-Add the answer to Your present age

-In the year 2030 I (to be) - years old In the year 2030 I (to spend) ……….most of my time Scientists ( toinvent) ……… … ………

Young people (to play)………….……….………

My family (to live in )……… ………

In 2030 students ( to study)……… …………

People (to listen to)………

They (to eat) ……….……

Everyone ( to travel in) )………

The most serious world problem (to be)………

The answer to the problem (to be) ………

5.4.2 Do Me a Favor

Group work game

Level: high beginner-intermediate

Language functions: making requests, offering to help, accepting,

declining, refusing, making excuses

Vocabulary for common household tasks

Structures: modals, gerunds.

Skill: speaking and listening

Time: 45 minutes

Preparation: copy playing card sheets(2) so that each group of students

will have one set Cut the sheets to make the playing cards If you laminate (inplastic) them first, you will have cards that you can use for many years

Procedure: Organize class into groups (about 6 per group) and distribute

one set of playing cards per group (40 cards) Review the vocabulary associated

for each pair of cards:

Household Tasks:

Answer the door Sweep the floor

Do the grocery shopping Replace the flower pot

Make some coffee Mail/post the letter

Wash the dishes Empty (take out) the trash/ garbageClean the jacket Clear the table

Mow the lawn Tidy up the CD’s

Vacuum the carpet Empty the ashtray

Close the window Make the bed

Answer the phone Hang out the laundry

Paint the door Clean the window

To play the game, students mix the cards and distribute to their group

They should keep them hidden Have students return any pairs and exchange

them In turn, a student will ask another specific student by name a question to

try to match the pair as follows:

Best to write as an example on the board, model and check for

pronunciation.

( student has? Card) Ly, could you do me a favor by…….ing the …….? (Ly has the matching Ѵ card) Sure, no problem / I’d be glad to help, etc

or (Ly hasn’t the matching card) Sorry, I’m afraid I can’t / Sorry, I’m busy Etc.OR

( Student has Ѵ card) Hung, could I help you by …….ing the …….?

?

V

Ѵ

?

Hung has the matching ? card/ sure, thanks a lot That would be great etc.

Hung would then give the card to the student who asked, who places the pair down on the desk

or (Hung hasn’t the matching card) thanks, but that’s ok / Thanks, but no thanks Etc

Continue round the circle of players taking turns asking for favors oroffering to help Other students should listen carefully to find matches whentheir turn comes

When a student has placed all his/her cards down, she/he may continueplaying by asking:

e.g.: Ly, could you do Hung a favor by ……ing the……?

If yes, the student would take both cards

Playing until all matches are made The winner is the player with the mostcards

Like many card games, the game can be a little confusing at first, butstudents quickly catch on and usually want to play a second round

Adapted from Harrah’s Communication Games (intermediate)

GROUP CONSENSUS

1 Decide what you would most like and most dislike for each category.Write your choice in the blank

2 Discuss your choices with a group You must try to arrive at a

consensus with your group.

Category Like Dislike

Time of the day

Day of the week

PART 3: CONCLUSION

After eight months of applying the new ideas, I conducted the secondsurvey and got some encouraging results The majority of the students of class12B2 and 12B7 ( 82%) liked to learn English through interesting activities such

as games, group work or team work 42% of the sample agreed that they hadmore chance to speak English in class Especially, the number of students wholoved English speaking lessons increased by 13% compared with it at thebeginning of the school year Obviously, the changes in my way of teaching hasbrought about some certain results Many students said that they overcame theshyness and anxiety to take part in these activities and the lessons in general.Although they cannot speak English fluently and accurately yet, at least theyhave had more motivation and excitement to learn it From this study, I myselfhave found that it is important to diversify topics, methods and activities as well

as to create a relaxing atmostphere for students, especially the students in remoteschools like ours to study English

Due to the limited time and the writer’s limited ability, this small convey

is only conducted in Nong Cong 3 Upper Secondary School With all the effort,the writer desires to improve the quality of teaching and learning English in theschool I desire to receive constructive comments from you

CONFIRM

OF THE HEAD OF THE UNIT

Thanh Hoa, May 15 th , 2019

COMMITMENTS DO NOT COPY

Pham Thi Thuy