An investigation into classroom opportunities for and constraints on the teaching and learning of english speaking skills at phuong dong university

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES o0o NGUYỄN THỊ NGA AN INVESTIGATION INTO CLASSROOM OPPORTUNITIES FOR AND CONSTRAINTS ON THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS AT PHUONG DONG UNIVERSITY Nghiên cứu thuận lợi trở ngại lớp học việc dạy học nói tiếng Anh trường Đại học Phương Đông M.A MINOR PROGRAM THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 Hanoi, 2015 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES o0o NGUYỄN THỊ NGA AN INVESTIGATION INTO CLASSROOM OPPORTUNITIES FOR AND CONSTRAINTS ON THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS AT PHUONG DONG UNIVERSITY Nghiên cứu thuận lợi trở ngại lớp học việc dạy học nói tiếng Anh trường Đại học Phương Đơng M.A MINOR PROGRAM THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: Assoc Prof Le Van Canh, PhD Hanoi, 2015 DECLARATION I, Nguyễn Thị Nga, K22 being a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts hereby certify that this minor thesis entitled AN INVESTIGATION INTO CLASSROOM OPPORTUNITIES FOR AND CONSTRAINTS ON THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS AT PHUONG DONG UNIVERSITY is completely the result of my own work for the Degree of Master at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi and that this thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or institution Hanoi, December 8th , 2015 Candidate Nguyễn Thị Nga i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help, encouragement and support of a number of people who all deserve my sincerest gratitude and appreciation First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Le Van Canh, Ph.D for his continuous support, his patience, motivation and immense knowledge His guidance helped me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis I could not have imagined having a better supervisor for my thesis Secondly, I would like to send my thanks to all lectures and the staff of the Faculty of Post Graduate Studies at University of Languages and International Studies of Vietnam National University Hanoi for their useful materials, instructions and enthusiasm which are of great importance to this thesis My special thanks also go to my colleagues and students of Phuong Dong University whose valuable advice, tremendous assistance and cooperation are indispensable for the thesis Without their help, this study could not have been fulfilled I find myself indebt to my beloved family- my parents, my husband, my sisters and brothers and all my friends who have always stood for me with their consideration and encouragements to help me overcome all problems to complete this thesis Last but not least, I would like to send my special thanks to my readers for their concern, interest and comments for this study ii ABSTRACT This thesis aims at investigating the classroom opportunities for and constraints on the teaching and learning of speaking skills of non-major students at Phuong Dong University Specifically, the study has been conducted in the form of a survey research with three instruments: the classroom observation, the questionnaire and the interview The participants are 70 non-major students and 3English teachers from Phuong Dong University The data revealed that students of Phuong Dong University experience certain opportunities as well as difficulties from themselves and from their teachers when taking part in speaking activities and techniques given by their teachers during speaking lessons Some recommendations to overcome the difficulties are also given in the thesis It is hoped that this thesis will be useful for both teachers and students of Phuong Dong University in their teaching and learning of English speaking skills iii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Students’ English learning history Table 2: Students’ general opinions on language skills Table 3: Students’ opinions on speaking skill Table 4: Students’ assessment of their speaking skills Table 5: Students’ assessment of speaking activities in speaking lessons Table 6: Students’ participation in speaking class Table 7: Tteachers’’ instructions in speaking class Table 8: Teachers’ mistake correction Table 9: Students’ opportunities in speaking activities during speaking lessons Table 10: Students’ difficulties in speaking activities during speaking lessons iv TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF TABLES iv PART I: INTRODUCTION .1 Rationale Aims and objectives of the study Research methodology Scope of the study Structure of the thesis PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition of speaking skills .5 1.2 Importance of speaking skills in ELT .6 1.3 Approaches to teaching and learning speaking skill .7 1.4 Interaction Hypothesis in second language acquisition 1.4.1.Interaction Hypothesis 1.4.2.The Interaction Hypothesis and classroom interaction .10 1.5 Patterns of classroom interaction 11 1.5.1.Teacher-learner interaction 11 1.5.2.Learner- learner interaction 12 CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY 14 2.1 The research context 14 2.2 Methods of the study 15 2.3 Research questions 15 2.4 Participants .16 2.5 Data collection instruments .16 2.5.1 Observation .16 v 2.5.2 Questionnaire 17 2.5.3 Interview 17 2.6 Data collection procedure 18 2.7 Data analysis .19 2.8 Summary 19 CHAPTER THREE: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 20 3.1 Presentation and analysis of data 20 3.1.1 Data from classroom observation 20 3.1.2 Data from survey questionnaire and interviews 22 3.1.2.1 Students’ English learning history 22 3.1.2.2 Students’ opinions on language skills 22 3.1.2.3 Students’ assessment of speaking activities in speaking lessons 25 3.1.2.4 Students’ participation in speaking class .26 3.1.2.5 Teachers’ manners in classroom .28 3.1.2.6 Students’ opportunities in speaking activities during speaking lesson .30 3.1.2.7 Students’ difficulties in speaking activities during speaking lesson .35 3.1.3 Conclusion .39 3.2 Feasible solutions 40 3.2.1 Helping the students to improve their grammatical structures and enrich their vocabulary 40 3.2.2 Eliminating the students’ anxiety 41 3.2.3 Reducing the students’ use of Vietnamese during pair work and group work 42 3.2.4 Allocating enough time for each activity 42 3.2.5 Making the classroom under control 43 3.2.6 Teaching students strategies to develop speaking skills 43 3.2.6.1 Using minimal responses 44 3.2.6.2 Recognizing scripts .44 vi 3.2.6.3 Using language to talk about language .45 PART III:CONCLUSION 46 Conclusion 46 Limitations of the study 46 Suggestions for further study 47 REFERENCES 48 APPENDIX I Appendix 1: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS I Appendix :INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS IV Appendix 3:INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS V Appendix 4: OBSERVATION SHEET VI Appendix : 1st OBSERVATION VII Appendix : 2nd OBSERVATION XI Appendix : 3rd OBSERVATION XIII vii PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale Amid the context of international integration and globalization, English has become an international language and increasingly proved its important role in all fields of life, including education In recent years, Vietnam has eye-witnessed an upward trend of teaching and learning English, especially when students are fully aware of educational opportunities that they can benefit from the mastery of English In Vietnam, English is taught as a foreign language that has four skills, namely listening, reading, speaking and writing Among these four skills, speaking seems to be the most demanding but central skill However, students have experienced lots of problems during their speaking learning Despite the fact that some students who have learnt the English language for more than ten years, they are unable to use the language fluently and effectively They are often passive and shy in using English in real communication The reasons behind this problem are various Some students say that they don’t know what to say or afraid of making mistakes Others claim that lack of ideas, vocabulary or stimuli are factors inhabiting them from participating in speaking tasks The teachers of English are also to blame in this situation They may not have provided enough opportunities to students for improving their communication skills Besides, they may not have properly used classroom techniques or strategies in developing English for communication Therefore, all these factors have made the process of teaching and learning speaking skills become irrelevant, boring and sometimes a burden, too With years of experience in teaching English at Phuong Dong University, I realized that during the process of teaching and learning speaking skill, both teachers and non-major students at my own university have experienced not only opportunities but constraints as well Actually, being aware of this current situation, in some ways, will enable the people involved to continue to benefit from the advantages and try to identify and suggest practical solutions to the problems they have to encounter This awareness will also pay the way for the APPENDIX Appendix QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS This questionnaire is designed with a view to investigating the opportunities for as well as constraints on the teaching and learning of English speaking skills at Phuong Dong University Your completion of this questionnaire is highly appreciated The data collected are used in the research paper only, not for any other purpose Thank you for your cooperation! Male Age………… Female Class………… Please complete the following questions For questions 9, 10 you may tick more than one option Did you learn English before going to University Yes No If yes, how many years did you learn English before going to University? …………years Which skill you find the most difficult among the four skills? Listening skill Speaking skill Reading skill Writing skill What is your opinion of speaking skills? Very important Important A little bit important Not important at all How you assess your English speaking skill? Good I Not very good Bad Very bad What you think about speaking activities in your speaking lesson? Very interesting Quite interesting Boring Very boring What you often in speaking class? Actively take part in speaking activities Only take part in the activities I like Passively take part in when I am asked Do other things instead How does your English teacher give you instructions for speaking activities? First in English, then in Vietnamese In English only In Vietnamese only What does your English teacher often when you make mistakes in speaking class? Get angry and interrupt you to correct Wait until you finish the task, point out the mistakes and then correct Wait until you finish the task, point out the mistakes and encourage you and your classmates to correct Do nothing How speaking activities used by your English teacher help you in speaking class? Provide you with chances to speak in class Provide you with chances to learn from your classmates II Improve your English proficiency (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation…) Make you more confidence when speaking in front of class Create an enjoyable and motivating atmosphere in class Others 10 What difficulties you meet when taking part in speaking activities in speaking class? I not have enough time to prepare There is too much noise so I can’t concentrate Some activities are difficult so I have to use Vietnamese during pair work and group work I am unable to find words or structures to express my ideas I feel nervous because I am afraid of being wrong or losing face The teacher speaks so quickly that I can’t understand Others III Appendix INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS Do you often pay attention to speaking activities in your speaking lessons? What you think about your teachers’ pedagogical methods during speaking lessons? In what way speaking activities benefit your speaking ability? What factors prevent you from taking part in speaking activities in classroom? IV Appendix INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS What activities you often use when teaching speaking skills to nonmajor students? Why you often use these activities? How students benefit from these activities? What difficulties you have to encounter when applying these speaking activities during speaking lesson ? V Appendix OBSERVATION SHEET Name of observer :………………………………… Date and time of observation:………………………………… Length of observation: ……………………………………… Teacher :……………………………………………… Number of students:……………………………………… Lesson :………………………………………………… Objectives of the observation :…………………………………… Time Teacher’s activities VI Student’s activities Appendix 1st OBSERVATION Name of observer : Ms Nga Date and time of observation : August, 3rd 2015 Length of observation: 100 minutes ( 7a.m- 8.50 a.m with a ten-minute break) Teacher :Ms M Class: A5 Number of students: 25 Lesson : Unit 1, Lesson 3& Objectives of the observation: Find out activities and techniques the teacher uses in speaking lesson Time Teacher’s activities 7.00 Greet students + Students’ activities Check Greet the teacher attendance 7.10 + Begin the lesson by asking + students students repeat some words randomly 7.20 list chosen as related to subjects subjects as possible + Check pronunciation, read +Spell the words and repeat out loud after the teacher Point to some pictures related Work in pairs to find out the to some subjects on the board names of the subjects in each picture 7.30 +Call one volunteer group to Answer the question answer +Ask what subjects they like and don’t like 7.35 many +Give some structures and Work individually expressions to talk about likes and dislikes +Tell students to prepare a VII short talk about their favorite and least favorite subject +Walk and monitor the class 7.45 Choose students to talk in Receive good marks if front of class doing well 7.50 BREAK BREAK 8.00 Point to the conversation in Look at the book and guess coursebook the main content of the conversation 8.05 Play the radio Listen to the radio Read out loud each sentence in Repeat after the teacher the conversation 8.20 Appoint students practice the Work in pairs sample conversation Ask students to build up their own conversation 8.35 Call volunteer pairs of Listen and check mistakes of students to speak in front of students speaking class Listen and check any mistakes 8.50 Assign homework Observation diary The teacher opened the class by greeting to the students Then, she continued checking the attendance of the students by reading the list of the students After checking the attendance of the students, the teacher began the lesson The topic of the lesson was about Education The teacher asked the students to repeat some new words related to subjects in English they had learned last lesson students were called randomly to answer her question They were told to list as many English subjects as possible They did the task quite well However, there seemed to be some problems with their pronunciation The teacher realized this problem VIII and asked those students to spell the word they had said She wrote the word on board, read out loud again and asked them to repeat correctly After checking the last lesson, the teacher told students to look at their book There were some pictures related to the name of some subjects They were asked to work in pairs to find out the subject in each picture As the pictures were very clear and the subjects were quite familiar to them, they did the task quickly Then she asked her students to express their opinions about which subject they like and which ones they don’t like She taught them some basic structures to talk about likes and dislikes The grammar structures, intonation and examples were given clearly to the students After that, all students were told to prepare a short talk about their favorite and least favorite subjects in 10 minutes They worked independently Meanwhile, the teacher walked around the class to make sure that every student was working and helped them if there was any problem Some students worked enthusiastically while others remained silent and just talked when the teacher came to them After 10 minutes, the teachers pointed some students to come in front of the class to make a short speech They could choose to talk about either their favorite or least favorite subjects The teacher and students gave applause to support them Students who did well received good mark from the teacher The class began their second speaking period after having a ten-minute break In this period, they came to a short conversation in the book First of all, they looked at pictures and suggested words in order to guess the main content of the conversation After that, they listened to the tape to check whether they were wrong or right After each sentence, the teacher also asked them to repeat to make sure that they could listen correctly and understand the main content of the conversation Then it’s time for students to practice the conversation in pairs Two students sitting next to each other were told to form a pair with one asked and one answered the question pairs of students were called randomly to practice the conversation again While the conversation was conducted, the teacher listened carefully to each student for any errors in pronunciation, and was quick to correct any student who was incorrect Students seemed to take part in IX the conversation with much enthusiasm, even if they were unsure of the pronunciation of any word Finally, basing on the model conversation each pair of students had to build up their own conversation with the similar questions but different answers depending on their own experiences pairs of students volunteered to come in front of the class and practiced the conversation The teacher and other students listened carefully then found out and corrected any mistakes they made during the conversation Towards the end of the class, the teacher asked the students to practice the conversation again at home and revised some main structures they learned today X Appendix 2nd OBSERVATION Name of observer : Ms Nga Date and time of observation : August, 20th 2015 Length of observation: 100 minutes ( 7a.m- 8.50 a.m with a ten-minute break) Teacher :Ms C Class: A3 Number of students: 24 Lesson : Unit 2, Lesson 3& Objectives of the observation: Find out activities and techniques the teacher uses in speaking lesson Time 7.00 7.10 7.20 7.30 7.45 7.50 8.00 8.30 8.45 Teacher’s activities Greet students + Check attendance + Begin the lesson by handing out 12 pictures of months + Call one group to + Ask questions and correct some mistakes of students + Assign exercise in course book Students’ activities Greet the teacher + Work in group to complete names of 12 months + Raise hand to answer question + Do the exercise individually and check with partner +Ask student to listen to the + Listen and check tape to check BREAK BREAK + Give model structures and + Prepare a short talk in 15 expressions minutes + Call students to talk + Listen and identify ( volunteer and random) mistakes Assign homework Observation diary The second observation took place in another class under the responsibility of Ms C The topic of the lesson that day was “seasons and months” The teacher came into the class, greeting the students and the students answered the greeting Then, she started off her lesson by handing out some pieces of paper containing 12 pictures XI related to 12 months in a year The teacher divided the class into groups of four or five and and got each group to complete the name of each month in each picture Each group worked actively to quickly finish the task The teacher called one group to the task She encouraged the whole class to listen to find out any mistakes that group made during performing the task and then corrected those mistakes together with the class After that, the teacher proceeded to start her lesson on seasons and months by asking the following question “How many seasons are there in Vietnam? What are they? When is each season ?” The students raised their hands and answered the questions The teacher rectified some grammatical mistakes or incomplete sentences answered by students Next, the teacher asked students to look at a small paragraph on their book The paragraph was a kind of gap-filling exercise which was about the seasons in Pakistan Students looked through the whole paragraph and guessed what kind of information should be added there Then they were given minutes to the exercise individually and checked with the one sitting next to them after finishing After that, they listened to the tape to check the answer After a short break, students are asked to practice speaking They were supposed to talk about seasons in their own hometown or city Before the practice time, the teacher gave students some model structures for students to follow Basing on the model structures and the paragraph in their book, students had 15 minutes to prepare a short talk about the topic given Working individually was again required at this time While they were practicing, the teacher came to some students to listen them speak After that, volunteering students and other students called by random came to the board and made their own speech While they were speaking, the teacher, the teacher constantly reminded them to speak loudly to make sure for the whole class to hear Mistakes and comments were given to students to help them make progress the next time Finally, when the bell rang, the teacher promptly ended the class and didn’t forget to remind students about homework She asked students to their internet research on seasons in one place in the world they liked best and also made a short speech about that fact XII Appendix 3rd OBSERVATION Name of observer : Ms Nga Date and time of observation : August, 20th 2015 Length of observation: 100 minutes ( 7a.m- 8.50 a.m with a ten-minute break) Teacher :Ms H Class: A3 Number of students: 21 Lesson : Unit 3, Lesson 3& Objectives of the observation: Find out activities and techniques the teacher uses in speaking lesson Time 7.00 7.10 7.35 7.50 8.00 8.15 Teacher’s activities Students’ activities +Greet students Greet the teacher + Check attendance + Begin the lesson by playing + Work individually a game answer questions + Ask students look at their books; get the main content of conversation + Play the radio to listen + Check spelling mistakes BREAK + Ask students to practice conversation in pairs + Assign the role of each pair + Invite students to stand up for practicing +Ask students work individually to make a short speech + Listen to some students and check 8.35 to + Work individually + Listen and repeat BREAK + Work in pairs + Work individually + Ask students to listen to a + Listen and repeat with song correct pronunciation 8.45 + Say goodbye + Say goodbye Observation diary XIII In the third observation, the lesson focused on the topic “Work and Business” After the greeting between the teacher and students, the teacher checked the attendance of students Then the whole class started their lesson The teacher started the lesson by playing a game “What I do” She gave oral instructions to the whole class and sometimes used Vietnamese to explain the rule of the game if there were some students not understanding Students had to guess which job the teacher was talking about by basing on three clues of the teacher which are from difficult to easy If any student had their answer, they could raise their hand to give the answer to the teacher and received a small gift from the teacher with the correct answer To make sure that they knew exactly the answer, the teacher also asked them to spell that word and wrote on the board The game took place under the active participation of the whole class, which gave students motivation to continue their lesson Next, the teacher moved on to the main part of the lesson today She told students to look at the page in the textbook where there was a conversation basing on the form of questions and answers between a boy and a girl with some suggested words and pictures Students had one minute to look at the conversation The teacher then asked them if they could get the main content of the conversation and some students raised their hands to answer She listened to different answers from students and told them to listen to the tape in order to check The tape was played for two times For the first time, they listened to know what the conversation was about Then they listened and repeat after each sentence in the conversation in the second time The teacher would also helped students with the meaning and spelling of any word they didn’t know Students went on with their lesson after having a short break in 10 minutes At this time, they were told to work in pairs to practice the conversation again However, the teacher assigned the role each member had to play Students on her left hand asked and the ones on her right hand answered the questions She gave them minutes to practice and randomly invited some pairs to stand up and make the conversation As the conversation was about asking and answering information about your parents’ jobs with simple structures and expressions, students hardly had difficulty in doing the task After working in pairs, students were required to work individually to make a short speech about their mothers or fathers’ job The teacher encouraged and managed to help students speak up more by providing prompts and guidance as they spoke XIV Finally, the teacher ended up the lesson with a read aloud activity where the students sang a song entitled “Be what you wanna be” The song depicted various jobs that students had already learned in their lesson They first listened to the song and then try to sing it again with correct pronunciation The bell rang and the whole class said goodbye to each other XV ... ? ?An investigation into classroom opportunities for and constraints on the teaching and learning of English speaking skills at Phuong Dong University? ?? Aims and objectives of the study The study... hereby certify that this minor thesis entitled AN INVESTIGATION INTO CLASSROOM OPPORTUNITIES FOR AND CONSTRAINTS ON THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS AT PHUONG DONG UNIVERSITY is... take part in the study Scope of the study This study only focuses on the classroom opportunities and constraints on the teaching and learning of English speaking skills at Phuong Dong University