Using communicative classroom activities to support EFL students’ oral presentation: An action research project at Nguyen Trai-Ba Dinh High school in Hanoi

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES BÙI THỊ THỦY Bùi Thị Thủy ENGLISH LANGUAGE USING COMMUNICATIVE CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT EFL STUDENTS’ ORAL PRESENTATION: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AT NGUYEN TRAI-BA DINH HIGH SCHOOL IN HA NOI MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSE: 2017 – 2019 HA NOI, 2019 VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Bùi Thị Thủy USING COMMUNICATIVE CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT EFL STUDENTS’ ORAL PRESENTATION: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AT NGUYEN TRAI-BA DINH HIGH SCHOOL IN HANOI Field: English Language Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Việt Nga, Ph.D HA NOI, 2019 DECLARATION BY AUTHOR I, Bùi thị Thủy, certify that the thesis entitled “Using communicative classroom activities to support EFL students’ oral presentation: An action research project at Nguyen Trai-Ba Dinh High School in Hanoi” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts in English language I confirm that this thesis has not been submitted for any other degrees The research reported in this thesis was approved by Graduate Academy of Social Sciences Author’s Signature Bùi Thị Thủy Approved by SUPERVISOR Nguyễn Thị Việt Nga, Ph.D Date: ………………………… i ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS Although only one name appears as the author of this work, writing a thesis is indeed a collaborative effort I would like to express my sincere thanks to the many people who made it possible First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my M.A thesis’s supervisor, Dr Nguyễn Thị Việt Nga for her kind consultation, invaluable encouragement as well as thorough correction in the process of completion Without her helpful guidance, this study would not have been achieved Next, I would like to convey my sincere appreciation and thanks to Mr Đặng Nguyên Giang and the staff of the Department of Foreign Languages, Graduate Academy of Social Sciences for granting me the honor of writing this thesis as well as their assistance and most valuable comments Specially, millions of my special thanks go to the teachers and students of Nguyen Trai- Ba Dinh High School who participated in this study for their kind and patient co-operation and encouragement They helped provide me with valuable data for the study so that I could have a better view of activities in presentation task in English speaking classes at Nguyen Trai- Ba Dinh High School in Ha Noi Finally, I am deeply indebted to my family for their sympathy and support during all the time I was studying for M.A degree at Graduate Academy of Social Sciences Without their unconditional love and sincere contribution, I could not have overcome my difficulties and concentrated on my studies ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION BY AUTHOR i ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS ii ABSTRACT vi LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES & CHARTS viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims and Objectives of the Study 1.3 Research Questions 1.4 Scope of the Study 1.5 Significance of the Study 1.6 Research Methods 1.7 Structure of the Study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Communicative Competence 2.2 Communicative Language Teaching 2.3 Communicative Activities 2.3.1 Definition of Communicative Activities 2.3.2 Characteristics of Communicative Activities 2.4 Oral Presentation 10 2.4.1 General Understanding of Oral Presentation 10 2.4.2 Skills/ Sub-skills Involved in Oral Presentation 12 2.4.3 The Problems Faced by Students When Doing Oral Presentation 15 2.4.4.2 Organization of the Presentation 19 iii 2.4.4.3 Presentation Skills 20 2.4.4.4 Performing Self Reflections 21 2.4.5 Evaluating and Assessing an Oral Presentation 22 2.5 Classroom Communicative Activities to Support Oral Presentation 23 2.6 Previous Studies 27 2.7 Summary 29 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 30 3.1 Research Design 30 3.1.1 Definitions of Action Research 30 3.3.2 Action Research Procedures 33 3.2 The Context of the Study 35 3.3 Participants 36 3.3.1 The Researcher- Teacher 36 3.3.2 The Teachers 37 3.3.3 The Students 37 3.4 Procedures of the Current Study 38 3.4.1 Diagnosing (week 1-2) 39 3.4.2 Planning (before the beginning of week 3) 39 3.4.3 Acting and Observing (from Week to Week 16) 40 3.4.4 Reflecting (Week 17- 18) 41 3.5 Data Collection Instruments 42 3.5.1 Diagnosing 42 3.5.2 Acting and Observing 45 3.6 Data Collection 49 3.7 Data Analysis 49 3.8 Summary 50 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 51 iv 4.1 Data Collection and Analysis from Survey Questionnaire 51 4.1.1 Survey Questionnaire for Teachers 51 4.1.2 Survey Questionnaire for Students 56 4.2 The Data from the Speaking Test and English-Speaking Observation 59 4.3 The Data from the Students’ Opinions through Communicative Activities 64 4.4 Discussions of the Findings 66 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 69 5.1 Recapitulation 69 5.2 Concluding Remarks 70 5.3 Implications 71 5.3.1 Application of Communicative activities 71 5.3.2 Practical Tips for Teachers 72 5.4.1 Limitations 74 5.4.2 Suggestions for Further Studies 74 REFERENCES 75 APPENDIX I APPENDIX III APPENDIX V APPENDIX VI APPENDIX VIII APPENDIX IX APPENDIX XI APPENDIX 8: XII APPENDIX 9: XIV APPENDIX 10: XX v ABSTRACT This thesis has made attempts to examine: (1) the attitudes of the 10th graders and the teachers at Nguyen Trai- Ba Dinh High School towards communicative activities in speaking lessons, (2) if the use of communicative activities could support the students in doing oral presentation tasks Specially, an action research project was carried out with the participation of 40 students in Grade 10A8 at Nguyen Trai- Ba Dinh High School in Hanoi The study lasted 18 weeks and involved some data instruments namely questionnaire, pre-test, observation, post-test The data collected in the initial stage showed that the obstacles of doing oral presentation tasks mainly came from the teaching methods and the differences of students’ English abilities, which resulted in differences in their attitude to speaking lessons An action plan of applying communicative classroom activities was implemented The data collected in the action stage pointed out that the students’ oral presentation was improved and the positive changes in their attitude toward speaking classes were also witnessed after the intervention vi LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: A distinction between non- communicative activities 10 and communicative ones Table 2: Assessing Speaking Performance- Level B1 (CEFR) 23 Table 3: Procedures of the study 38 Table 4: Frame of Questionnaire for Teachers 44 Table 5: Frame of Questionnaire for Students 44 Table 6: A comparison of Mean Score on Pre-Test and Post- 60 Test by Three Raters Table 7: A comparison of the Speaking Observation in Each 61 Lesson Plan Table 8: The Mean Score of the Students’ Opinions toward Communicative Activities vii 65 LIST OF FIGURES & CHARTS Page Figure 1: Action Research Cycle 35 Chart 1: Category of the Questionnaire for Teachers 52 Chart 2: Category of the Questionnaire for Teachers 53 Chart 3: Category of the Questionnaire for Teachers 54 Chart 4: Category of the Questionnaire for Teachers 55 Chart 5: Category of the Questionnaire for Students 56 Chart 6: Category of the Questionnaire for Students 57 Chart 7: Category of the Questionnaire for Students 58 Chart 8: Category of the Questionnaire for Students 59 viii APPENDIX Scoring Rubric for Oral Presentations (Ellis, 2003) Level/ Category Behavior Scoring Criteria score Not able to understand or speak Only catch part of normal speech and unable continuous and accurate discourse (Communication Gist of speech is relevant and can be basically understood Need to ask for repetition or clarification Present the case clearly and develop the speech coherently and constructively Some hesitation and repetition due to a measure of language but interacts effectively Can initiate, expand and develop a theme; speaking proficiency equivalent to that of an educated speaker; express ideas clear and relevant to the topic Speech is halting and fragmentary as to make the presentation virtually impossible Fluency Usually hesitant; often forced into silence by language limitations Speech and fluency are rather strongly affected by language problem Speed of speech seems to be slightly affected by language problem VI Speech as fluent and effortless as that of a native speaker Error in grammar and word order so severe as Grammar & Vocabulary to make speech virtually unintelligible Vocabulary limitation is so extreme to make the presentation finally impossible Grammar and word- order errors make comprehension difficult Must often rephrase sentences and/ or restrict self to basic patterns Misuse of words and very limited vocabulary make comprehension quite difficult Makes frequent errors of grammar and word order which occasionally obscure meaning Frequently uses wrong words; Presentation somewhat limited because of inadequate vocabulary Occasionally makes grammatical and/ or word- order errors which not obscure meaning Sometimes uses inappropriate terms and/ or must rephrase ideas because of lexical inadequacies Makes few (if any) noticeable errors of grammar and word- order Use of vocabulary and idioms is virtually that of a native speaker Total score 15 VII APPENDIX English Speaking Ability Evaluation □Pre- test □Post- test Student……………………………Rater……………………Date: ………… Score Category Behavior (Communication) Fluency Grammar & Vocabulary Total score: …… VIII APPENDIX The three raters’ scores in English Speaking Test Student Pre-test Post- test Rater Rater Rater Rater Rater Rater 5 9 3 8 3 3 8 3 4 5 4 8 6 8 3 8 8 9 11 12 12 10 10 11 14 14 15 10 10 10 10 13 13 13 11 3 12 10 10 11 13 4 8 14 3 8 15 8 11 13 11 16 6 9 17 6 9 18 9 9 19 3 9 20 4 10 21 6 9 10 IX 22 6 23 3 7 24 3 25 9 11 14 14 26 9 13 12 13 27 5 10 10 11 28 6 9 29 8 13 13 12 30 3 9 31 12 13 14 32 6 10 12 33 5 10 11 10 34 10 10 14 14 13 35 8 12 12 12 36 3 8 37 6 10 10 10 38 4 9 39 6 13 13 14 40 3 9 Mean 5,37 5,62 5,75 9,62 9,75 9,80 X APPENDIX Speaking Observation Form Lesson plan:……………………… Time……… Date…… Class… Performance Excellent Good Learner is active to use English during the lesson Learner enjoys speaking Learner is self-confident to make conversation among their friends Learner provides ideas in classroom Learner asks some questions about the task Learner tried to edit himself while using language Learner uses sentences while using language The speech of leaner’s speech seems to be slightly affected by language problems Learner uses appropriate vocabulary and idioms to make oral presentation 10.Learner pronounces clearly XI Fair Poor Very poor APPENDIX 8: Students’ Opinion Form The researcher would like to ask for your cooperation in providing useful information for the thesis, M.A (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Please be ensured that your information will be kept strictly confidential Please check (v) the appropriate column according to your opinion Thank you for your cooperation 5= strongly agree, 4= agree, 3= uncertain 2= disagree, 1= strongly disagree Item Level of Opinion Communicative activities are very interesting for me Communicative activities help me to speak English Communicative activities help me develop my English pronunciation Communicative activities help me improve my English ability in doing oral presentation tasks Communicative activities help me improve my grammar and vocabulary Communicative activities help me have fun in the class I have more confidence to speak English XII after I practise communicative activities in class I have more chance to participate in class activities Communicative activities help me think more analytically in English 10 Communicative activities help me speak English more fluently and correctly Total score XIII APPENDIX 9: Lesson Plan SPEAKING LESSON PLAN UNIT 3: MUSIC LESSON 4: SPEAKING Teacher: Bui Thi Thuy Textbook: English 10 New (10-year program) Time: 45 minutes Class: 10 A8 at Nguyen Trai- Ba Dinh High School A Aims and Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to: - Talk about TV shows - Present their shows to the class - Complete the table with the notes from each show - Make a list of details about their shows B Preparations: - Teacher: Handouts, textbook, pieces of papers - Students: Textbook C Methods: - The whole lesson: Integrated, mainly communicative D Procedures: Stages/ Time Warmup (7’) Teacher’s activities Students’ activities Name the pictures - Divide the class into groups - Work in group to find out the names of the competitions - Stick pictures of some Suggested answer: Music Competition/ Music competitions XIV - Ask each group to nominate Show representatives to go to the Vietnam Idol blackboard to write the names The Way to the Olympia’s Peak of the competitions Ring the Golden Bell - The group with more correct Beauty Contest answers is the winner (This activity Who Wants to Be using Millionaire? involves English for the purpose to find out the names of the competitions It also creates a desire to communicate Students communicate with others to find out the answers to win the game.) - Answer T’s questions (Students’ answers may vary)  Lead-in: -Ask Ss questions: + How often you watch TV contest shows? What are your favorite shows? + What you think about Vietnam Idol and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? XV a - Today’s speaking lesson will help you know more about these shows - inform the class of the lesson Activity objectives : talking about TV - Listen to the teacher (10’) shows - write Talking about TV shows on - Look at the board the board and draw Ss’ attention to the TV blurbs - read the TV blurbs - give Ss time to read the TV - listen and take notes blurbs - give comments on the pictures - pre-teach some words : - work in pairs to complete the celebrity panel ( groups of judges table including famous people) VNR Records (names - complete the table on the board of recording company ) a Suggested answers : Vietnam Idol : ( Teacher’s activities involve - to find a pop star using language for a purpose) - the winner will be chosen by a - elicit comments on the pictures celebrity panel and home viewers and get Ss to brainstorm the - the winner will get a recording names of some celebrities related contract with VNR Records to Vietnam Idol shows Who Wants to be a Millionaire - ask Ss to work in pairs to - to find a winner who will get a complete the table (These create big sum of money a desire to - the winner will answer a series communicative Students try to of general knowledge questions XVI communicative to complete the - the amount of prize-money increases with the number of table) - call on some Ss to write the table questions on the board and get the class to suggest the facts to complete the table (They encourage students to contribute their ideas.) - draw Ss’ attention to the - read the instructions carefully instructions - read the information Activity - get Ss to read the information - work individually to write down (12’) and make sure that they the facts understand the activity - some Ss write their ideas about - ask Ss to work individually to their shows on the board write down the facts for their - give comments imaginary TV shows - call on some Ss to write the details about their shows on the board - elicit comments from the class This is an interactive and cooperative activity Activity - ask Ss to work in pairs to - work in pairs to discuss (15’) discuss, and come to an agreement on the facts used for their - give presentation combined imaginary TV shows XVII - have Ss rehearse the presentation (This encourages students to be in front of the class They should creative and contribute their focus on learning tips for their ideas presentations This also makes students work - make sure Ss understand the tips independently off the teacher and apply them for their In this activity students determine presentations what they want to write and say.) - read the information and ask if Ss understand the words presentation, eye contact, and beforehand - give time for Ss to rehearse before their presentations In case there is a shortage of time, let this activity be prepared at home, and the presentation will be done during the next class Tips for presentations + smile, make eye contact + speak clearly, not too quickly + keep notes on small note cards E Homework (1’): - Teacher summarizes the main point and assigns homework: - Students, at home, have to write a few sentences expressing their opinions on one of the game shows mentioned in the last activity above and exercises in Workbook  Comments/ Feedbacks: XVIII ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… …… XIX APPENDIX 10: Unit 3: Music- Lesson: Speaking (English 10 New) XX ... activities to support EFL students’ oral presentation: An action research project at Nguyen Trai-Ba Dinh High school in Hanoi? ?? to find out the solutions, and, to help improve the teaching and learning... GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Bùi Thị Thủy USING COMMUNICATIVE CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT EFL STUDENTS’ ORAL PRESENTATION: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AT NGUYEN TRAI-BA DINH HIGH SCHOOL. .. ? ?Using communicative classroom activities to support EFL students’ oral presentation: An action research project at Nguyen Trai-Ba Dinh High School in Hanoi? ?? is the result of my own research for the