Using project based teaching to enhance 11th grade students at a high school in hung yen

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* NGUYỄN THỊ DUYÊN USING PROJECT-BASED TEACHING TO ENHANCE 11TH GRADE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN HUNG YEN (Sử dụng phương pháp dạy học dự án để nâng cao kỹ nói cho học sinh lớp 11 trường THPT Hưng Yên) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 HANOI - 2019 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* NGUYỄN THỊ DUYÊN USING PROJECT-BASED TEACHING TO ENHANCE 11TH GRADE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN HUNG YEN (Sử dụng phương pháp dạy học dự án để nâng cao kỹ nói cho học sinh lớp 11 trường THPT Hưng Yên) Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231.01 Supervisor : Prof Dr Nguyễn Hòa HANOI – 2019 DECLARATION I, Nguyễn Thị Duyên, declare that this thesis and the work presented it are my own and has been generated by me as the result of my own original research It has not been submitted to any other university or institution wholly or partially Hanoi, April 2019 Nguyễn Thị Duyên i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor Prof Dr Nguyen Hoa Vietnam National University, Hanoi – University of Languages and International Studies who gave me a lot of valuable guidance, encouragements, criticisms and correction throughout my thesis writing The door of Prof Nguyen Hoa’s office was always open whenever I ran into a trouble spot or had a question about my research or writing He consistently allowed this paper to be my own work, but steered me in the right direction whenever he thought I needed it I would also like to thank thirty 11th grade students at a local school in Hung Yen province Without their passionate participation and input, the validation survey could not have been successfully conducted My sincere thanks go to my family, my colleagues and my friends for their encouragement and support that help me to complete my work ii ABSTRACT The present study entitled “Using Project-based teaching to enhance 11th grade students’ speaking skills at a high school in Hung yen” was conducted to address two issues: exploring the students’ attitudes toward the implementation of Projectbased teaching in their English lessons and the impacts of using Project-based teaching on students’ English speaking The instruments employed for data collection and analysis of the study included two tests, a questionnaire and an interview with six students Research findings showed that the students had positive attitudes towards the use of Project-based teaching in their English lesson It also revealed that Project-based teaching was beneficial to help students improve their oral competence Based on the findings, some implications would be suggested for both the teacher and the students With all this information, this study is expected to be significant to both teachers and students in teaching and learning English speaking skills iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF CHARTS ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Aims of the study Significance of the study 4 Scope of the study 5 Methods of the study .5 Structure of the thesis CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Speaking in foreign language learning 2.1.1 Definitions of speaking 2.1.2 Components of speaking skills 2.1.3 Teaching speaking skills 2.2 Project-based learning 10 2.2.1 Definitions of project-based learning .10 2.2.2 Theoretical framing of project-based learning .11 2.2.3 The project as a process 13 2.3 Some previous studies 15 2.3.1 Advantages of project-based learning 15 2.3.2 Disadvantages of project-based Learning 16 2.3.3 PBL in teaching and learning English in Vietnam context .17 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 18 3.1 Context of the study 18 iv 3.1.1 The current situation of teaching and learning English at the school 18 3.1.2 The teaching program and materials 19 3.2 The participants 20 3.3 Design of the study 21 3.3.1 Action research .21 3.3.2 Procedures of the study 21 3.3.3 Data collection instruments 27 3.4 Data analytic method 31 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 33 4.1 Analysis of the speaking tests 33 4.2 Analysis of the survey questionnaire 35 4.3 Analysis of the interview 40 4.4 Discussion of the findings 42 4.4.1 Achievement 42 4.4.2 Attitudes 43 4.5 Summary 44 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION .46 5.1 Recapitulation of the research 46 5.2 Recommendations of the study 46 5.2.1 The teachers 47 5.2.2 The students .47 5.2.3 The school administrators .47 5.3 Limitations of the study .48 5.4 Suggestions for further research .48 REFERENCES 49 APPENDICES I Appendix – A Sample DESCRIPTION OF A PROJECT I Appendix – PRE-TESTS XIX Appendix – POST-TESTS XXIII v Appendix – Rating scale for Speaking test XXVII Appendix – THE QUESTIONNAIRE XXXI Appendix – INTERVIEW XXXVI Appendix – TRANSCRIPTS OF THE INTERVIEWS XXXVII vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL : English as a Foreign Language ESL : English as the Second Language ELT : English Language Teaching MOET : Ministry of Education and Training PBL : Project-based Learning TESOL : Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages ZPD : The Zone of Proximal Development CEFR : The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages vii LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Procedures of the study 22 Table 4.1: The results of pre-test and post-test 33 Table 4.2: Students’ responses to the questionnaire 36 viii SPEAKING TEST Part – Interview (2 minutes) Tell something about yourself - Can you introduce something about yourself? (Name, address, job, class, school, hobby,…) Part - Individual long turn (3 minutes) Topic card: Talk aboutone of the serious problems facing our world nowadays Students should answer:  List the alarming problems facing people nowadays?  What you think the most serious problem?  What are the causes of the problem?  How can people to solve that problem? Part - Discussion(3 minutes) (Teacher can ask some of the questions only)  What are the environmental impacts of human activities?  What are the consequences of environmental pollution?  What people should to protect our environment?  What did you to contribute to solving these problems? SPEAKING TEST Part – Interview (2 minutes) Tell something about yourself - Can you introduce something about yourself? (Name, address, job, class, school, hobby,…) Part - Individual long turn (3 minutes) Topic card: Talking about a person you admire the most Students should answer:  What is the person you admire the most?  How does he/ she look like? XXV  What is he/ she like?  What you like most about him/ her? Part – Discussion (3 minutes) (Teacher can ask some of the questions only)  Where you live, in the city or in the countryside?  What are the people in your neighborhood like?  Is it convenient living in your neighborhood?  What are the ways to stay in touch with other people? XXVI Appendix – Rating scale for Speaking test Assessing criteria (1) Message content Addressing the test questions Richness of ideas (2) Vocabulary and grammar range Use of appropriate words and phrases to make meaning clear 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 -Partially -Address less address the test than half of the questions questions -Address most of the questions -Address almost all of the questions -Present limited ideas about the topic -Present relevant ideas about the topic but often lack reasons, examples or explanations 3-4 -Present relevant ideas about the topic but sometimes lack reasons, examples or explanations 5-6 -Present a range of relevant ideas about the topic with reasons, examples and explanations -Address all the questions of the task sufficiently and effectively -Present a wide range of relevant ideas about the topic with reasons, examples and explanations 7-8 9-10 -Uses basic vocabulary related to given situations -Uses appropriate vocabulary related to given situations Is occasionally inaccurate -Uses a range of appropriate vocabulary of given situations -Is generally accurate with some incorrect words -Uses a wide range of appropriate vocabulary,especially less common words (collocations) of given situations -Is generally accurate with a few incorrect words 1-2 -Use limited range of basic vocabulary XXVII Mark Mark Control of basic grammar (tenses, subject-verb agreement) and use of sentence patterns (simple and complex) to make meaning clear (3)Pronunciation Volume, Pronunciation, word stress, speech rhythm (4) Fluency and coherence Frequency of pauses, short and long delays Use of discourse organizing words, connectors (and, -Shows only limited control of a few grammatical forms -Shows some control of grammatical forms (simple structures) -Shows sufficient control of grammatical forms (simple and complex structures) -Shows a good degree of control of grammatical forms (simple and complex structures) -Shows a very good degree of control of grammatical forms (simple and complex structures) 1-2 -Speak very softly, pronounce most of the words incorrectly with no word stress and intonation 1-2 3-4 -Usually speak softly and pronounce many words incorrectly -Usually ignore word stress and intonation 5-6 -Sometimes speak softly and pronounce some words incorrectly -Often ignore word stress and intonation 7-8 -Speak clearly, pronounce a few words incorrectly with word stress and intonation 9-10 -Speak clearly, pronounce most of the words correctly with appropriate word stress and intonation Mark 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 Mark -Pause frequently with lots of long delays -May not use any basic linking words -Sometimes pause with long delays - Sometimes pause with short delays -Uses limited basic conjunctions - Pause appropriately - Speak fluently with short delays Uses basic linking Appropriately uses words such as: and, basic linking words but, so, because, such as: and, but, so, XXVIII - Pause appropriately - Speak very fluently Effectively uses basic linking words such as: and, but, so, but, first, next, because…) (5) Interactive communication Confidence, willingness to communicate 1-2 -Not confident and willing to communicate such as: and, etc but sometimes because, etc but, so, because, inappropriately etc inappropriately 3-4 5-6 7-8 because,… -Maintains simple exchanges, at slow speech, with some difficulty - Requires a lot of repetition, rephrasing and repair -Very confident and willing to maintain exchanges - Requires no prompting and support - Is effective in turntaking -Quite confident to maintain exchanges with some difficulty -Requires prompting and support Score = Total : XXIX -Confident and willing to maintain exchanges - Requires very little prompting and support - Is effective in turntaking most of the time 9-10 Mark PHIẾU CHẤM ĐIỂM KỸ NĂNG NÓI ĐỀ THI SỐ: ……., Bàn số: …… Họ tên thí sinh: …………………………………………… Điểm: ……./10 Ngày sinh: ……………………………….……., Phòng thi: …………………………… Nội dung & Mức 10 10 Phát âm 10 Độ lưu loát& Liên 10 10 độ hoàn thành Ngữ pháp &Từ vựng kết Tương tác giao tiếp Tổng điểm: …… Điểm quy đổi = Tổng điểm : (thang 10): ……… XXX Appendix – THE QUESTIONNAIRE QUESTIONNAIRE (ENGLISH) My name is Nguyen Thi Duyen from QH 2017.D1-K26 at Post-graduate studies, ULIS, VNU At present, I’m conducting my M.A thesis entitled “Using projectbased teaching to enhance 11th grade students’ speaking skills at a high school in Hung Yen” This survey questionnaire is designed to collect data for the study which aims at finding out the students’ attitudes toward project-based learning, its benefits as well as the students’ difficulties during the implementation of the projects Your responses to the questionnaire will be of great value to the thesis and kept confidentially Thank you! QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS Question 1: What you think about the optional lessons using Project-based learning? Choose ONE option that best describe your choice a Very interesting  b Somewhat interesting  c Neutral  d Uninteresting  Question 2: The benefit(s) of project-based learning applied in English speaking lessons is/are Put a tick (√) in any option that suits you a Learning is more fun and students are more motivated  b Students can enrich their background knowledge through  research work c Students can develop some soft skills such as group work,  presentation, communication, etc d Students can be exposed to and learn how to deal with real-life  situations Question 3: Which criterion/ criteria of your speaking skills has/ have been improved when you complete the projects? XXXI Put a tick (√) in any option that suits you a fluency  b vocabulary  c grammatical accuracy  d pronunciation  e interactive communication  Question 4: During the implementation of the project, I myself met some difficulties such as (tick all appropriate boxes that indicate your choice) a Time and energy consumption  b Ineffective group work  c Limited access to necessary materials and technology  d Lack of instructions and guidance from the teacher  e Others (Please specify) - The end Thank you very much for your collaboration! Would you please provide your personal information? Full name: ……………………………… Sex: Male Female Attending any other English course: ………………………………………………… XXXII QUESTIONNAIRE (VIETNAMESE) BẢN KHẢO SÁT Tên Nguyễn Thị Duyên, học viên cao học lớp QH 2017.D1-K26 Khoa Sau đại học, trường Đại học Ngoại Ngữ, ĐHQGHN Hiện tại, tiến hành nghiên cứu với đề tài “Sử dụng phương pháp dạy học dự án để nâng cao kỹ nói cho học sinh lớp 11 trường THPT Hưng n” Nghiên cứu thực với mục đích tìm hiểu thái độ học sinh với phương pháp dạy học dự án lợi ích mà phương pháp mang lại việc cải thiện kĩ nói cho học sinh số vấn đề khó khăn học sinh thực dự án Sự hợp tác em với câu trả lời chân thực đóng vai trò quan trọng tới thành công nghiên cứu Những thông tin em cung cấp giữ kín dùng cho mục đích nghiên cứu Cảm ơn giúp đỡ em! Câu hỏi 1: Em nghĩ tiết học tự chọn mà sử dụng phương pháp dạy học dự án? Chọn MỘT đáp án với em a Rất thú vị  b Khá thú vị  c Bình thường  d Khơng thú vị  Câu hỏi 2: Những lợi ích phương pháp dạy học dự án mà áp dụng học kỹ nói Tiếng Anh gì? Đánh dấu tick (√)vào đáp án phù hợp với em a Việc học dự án thú vị, tạo hứng thú cho học sinh thực hành kỹ  nói b Học sinh mở rộng vốn kiến thức chung thực  dự án c Học sinh phát triển kỹ mềm làm việc  nhóm, thuyết trình, giao tiếp, v.v… d Học sinh có học cách giải vấn đề thực tiễn XXXIII  Câu hỏi 3: Tiêu chí kỹ nói em cải thiện thông qua việc học dự án? Đánh dấu tick (√) vào đáp án phù hợp với em a Độ lưu loát  b Từ vựng  c Ngữ pháp  d.Phát âm  e Hoàn thành nội dung nói  Câu hỏi 4: Trong trình thực dự án, thân em gặp khó khăn … Đánh dấu tick (√) vào đáp án phù hợp với em a Mất nhiều thời gian công sức  b Làm việc nhóm khơng hiệu  c Việc tiếp cận tài liệu cơng nghệ hạn chế  d Thiếu bảo hướng dẫn từ giáo viên  e Ý kiến khác (Xin ghi cụ thể) Cảm ơn em hợp tác! Xin vui lòng cung cấp số thông tin cá nhân bạn? Họ tên: ………………………………………………………………… Giới tính: □ Nam □ Nữ Bạn có tham dự khóa học Tiếng Anh khác không? …………………………………… XXXIV RESPONSE TO QUESTIONNAIRE Question 1: What you think about the optional lessons using Project-based learning? Choose ONE option that best describe your choice a.Very interesting b.Somewhat interesting c.Neutral d Uninteresting Question 2: The benefit(s) of project-based learning applied in English speaking lessons is/are Put a tick (√) in any option that suits you a Learning is more fun and students are more motivated b Students can enrich their background knowledge through research work c Students can develop some soft skills such as group work, presentation, communication, etc d Students can be exposed to and learn how to deal with reallife situations Question 3: Which criterion/ criteria of your speaking skills has/ have been improved when you complete the projects? Put a tick (√) in any option that suits you a.Message content b.Vocabulary and grammar range c.Pronunciation d.Fluency and coherence e.Interactive communication Question 4: During the implementation of the project, I myself met some difficulties such as (tick all appropriate boxes that indicate your choice) a Time and energy consumption b Ineffective group work c Limited access to necessary materials and technology d Lack of instructions and guidance from the teacher e Other (Please specify) XXXV No of Percent students ages 11 14 36.7 46.6 16.7 No of Percent students ages 20 21 66.7 70.0 23 76.7 16 53.3 No of students Percent ages 22 23 20 18 21 No of students 73.3 76.7 66.7 60.0 70.0 Percent ages 17 16 56.7 53.3 26.7 6.7 Appendix – INTERVIEW INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Do you like project-based learning activities? Why?/ Or why not? Do you think project-based learning activities help you improve your English speaking skills? If yes, in what way? If not, please tell me your reasons CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN Em có thích học theo dự án khơng? Tại thích?/ Tại khơng thích? Em có nghĩ việc học theo dự án giúp em cải thiện kỹ nói tiếng Anh khơng? Nếu có giúp em cải thiện gì?/ Nếu khơng lý gì? XXXVI Appendix – TRANSCRIPTS OF THE INTERVIEWS Student 1: I like PBL because it is quite interesting I can understand the cultures of other country in the world There is one thing which makes me more interested in PBL is that I can learn about PowerPoint software I think PBL can help me improve my speaking skills I can learn a lot of new words Sometimes they are difficult to pronounce But I will use the dictionary and listen to them many times so that my pronunciation will be more accurate Student 2: Yes, I because I can go with my friends to many places, have more practical knowledge Learning through PBL is also less stressful Yes It improves the confidence in front of the crowd, improves the speaking skills, team work and ability of doing PowerPoint Student 3: I like PBL because this approach brings me more knowledge about things around me I know more about the culture, cuisine, and festivals of countries in the world But besides, PBL causes me feel stressed because I not know how I to speak well without hesitation while I not have much time because I have to learn many other subjects I think PBL helps me only improve my speaking skills partly, helps me speak English more fluently than before, helps me be more confident in front of the crowd Student 4: I like learning by project because it is quite interesting, it will help me understand more things, have more knowledge about reality This is a new way of learning, we will not be as constrained as the lessons focusing only on grammar, so they are very boring and sleepy Studying on the project will help not only be interesting but also fun and exciting I think learning by project will help me to improve my English speaking because when giving a lot of presentations, communicating in English with many people will not only help me be more confident but also improve my XXXVII speaking skills But besides, I think we have to practice listening more because I think that when listening to them, our English will be like native speakers I see now the way we talk, speak is still a bit like speaking Vietnamese Student 5: Yes, because I find project work very useful Yes, it helps me to be more confident and expand new vocabulary Student 6: I like it because I know more new knowledge, improve my vocabulary and forge teamwork skills However, I not like it because I have not practiced responding quickly because speaking is just memorization, there is no reflex Learning by project helps me to improve my vocabulary but not create reflection Student 1: Em thích học theo dự án thú vị Em tìm hiểu văn hóa nơi giới Có điều làm em thấy thích thú với việc học theo dự án em học hỏi thêm phần mềm trình chiếu powerpoint Em nghĩ việc học theo dự án giúp em cải thiện kỹ nói tiếng Anh Em học thêm nhiều từ mới, đơi chúng khó đọc Nhưng em dùng từ điển nghe lại nhiều lần để phát âm chuẩn Student 2: Em thích Vì có dự án em bạn bè nhiều nơi, có thêm nhiều kiến thức thực tế Học theo dự án bớt căng thẳng Có, giúp em cải thiện tự tin trước đám đơng, cải thiện kỹ nói, teamwork khả làm powerpoint Student 3: Em thích học theo dự án việc học mang lại cho em nhiều hiểu biết thứ xung quanh, biết nhiều văn hóa, ẩm thực, lễ hội nước giới Nhưng bên cạnh đó, học theo dự án mang lại nhiều áp lực để nói tốt mà khơng bị vấp…và nhiều tập nhiều mơn khác Em nghĩ học theo dự án giúp em cải thiện phần kỹ nói thơi ạ, giúp em nói tiếng Anh trơi chảy trước, giúp em tự tin trước đám đơng XXXVIII Student 4: Em thích học theo dự án thú vị, giúp em hiểu biết thêm nhiều điều, có nhiều kiến thức thực tế Đây cách học mẻ, khơng bị gò bó buổi học mà học ngữ pháp, nhàm chán buồn ngủ Học theo dự án giúp cho tiết học khơng thú vị mà vui vẻ, sơi Em nghĩ việc học theo dự án giúp em cải thiện kỹ nói tiếng Anh lên thuyết trình nhiều, giao tiếp tiếng Anh với nhiều giúp thân tự tin mà cải thiện kỹ nói Nhưng ngồi em nghĩ phải luyện nghe nhiều em nghĩ nghe họ nói, tiếng Anh mềm mại Em thấy cách nói, đọc cứng nói tiếng Việt Student 5: Có, em thấy việc làm dự án hữu ích Có, giúp em tự tin mở rộng vốn từ Student 6: Em thích em biết thêm nhiều kiến thức mới, cải thiện vốn từ rèn kỹ làm việc nhóm Tuy nhiên em khơng thích chưa rèn phản xạ nói thuyết trình học thuộc, khơng có phản xạ Việc học theo dự án giúp em cải thiện vốn từ chưa tạo phản xạ nói XXXIX ... ii ABSTRACT The present study entitled Using Project- based teaching to enhance 11th grade students speaking skills at a high school in Hung yen was conducted to address two issues: exploring... project- based teaching, learners have more autonomy over what they learn, maintaining interest and are motivated to take greater responsibility for their learning Project- based teaching “focuses... and culminate in realistic products or presentations" According to Thomas, “PBL is a model that organizes learning around projects.” It is a systematic teaching method that engages students in