Co-operative learning as an approach to improving speaking skills for the second-year non-major students of English at Hanoi University of Business and Technology

Vietnam national university, Hanoi University of language and international studies Department of post graduate studies Co-operative learning as an approach to improving speaking skills for the second-year non-major students of English at Hanoi University of business and technology CÁCH THỨC HỌC TẬP HỢP TÁC NHƯ MỘT ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG CẢI THIỆN KỸ NĂNG NĨI CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI KHƠNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KINH DOANH VÀ CÔNG NGHỆ HÀ NỘI M.A THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 By : Vu Thi Bich Thuy Supervisor : Le Van Canh, M.A Hanoi, 12 – 2008 Vietnam national university, Hanoi University of language and international studies Department of post graduate studies Co-operative learning as an approach to improving speaking skills for the second-year non-major students of English at Hanoi University of business and technology CÁCH THỨC HỌC TẬP HỢP TÁC NHƯ MỘT ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG CẢI THIỆN KỸ NĂNG NĨI CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI KHƠNG CHUN TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KINH DOANH VÀ CÔNG NGHỆ HÀ NỘI M.A THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 By : Vu Thi Bich Thuy Supervisor : Le Van Canh, M.A Hanoi, 12 – 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS LISTS OF APPENDIXES CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction 1 Rationale 1 Identification of the problem Scopes, objective and research questions for the study Methods of the study Design of the study CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1 Introduction 2 Concepts related to the study 2 Communicative language teaching and the teaching of speaking skills 2 Speaking skills in General Business English 2 Cooperative learning 11 2 Definitions of cooperative learning 11 2 Cooperative learning structures 12 2 3 Benefits of cooperative learning in language teaching 14 2.2.3.4 Previous studies on cooperative learning with reference to the enhancement of students’ speaking skills 17 18 Conclusion CHAPER 3: THE STUDY 19 Introduction 19 Context of the study 19 The learning context 19 2 The learning materials 19 3 Methods of data collection 20 The participants 22 The students 22 The teachers 23 The procedures of the study 23 Problem identification 23 Plan of action 24 3.5.2.1 Determine the students’ need in continuous classroom interaction 2 Organize groups 24 24 5.2 Implement cooperative learning structured activities basing on the course book and start the observation schedule and journals 25 Evaluate students’ speaking proficiency 25 5 Analyze the data 26 Findings 26 Conclusion CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS The effects on the students’ participation 1 Frequency of students’ participation in pre- and post- activities 26 27 27 27 Comparison of the students’ participation 29 The effects on the students’ speaking performance 31 Students’ attitudes towards cooperative learning 32 4 Discussion of the findings 34 4 What are the effects of cooperative learning on students’ participation on group activities and their progress in speaking skills? 4 What are the students’ attitudes towards cooperative learning? Conclusion CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 34 35 36 37 Summary of the major findings 37 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies 38 Pedagogical implications of the study 39 Conclusion 40 LIST OF REFERENCES LIST OF APPENDIXES LISTS OF APPENDIXES Appendix 1: Lists of tables Table 1: Speaking criteria and marking scales i Table 2: Record of students‟ scores in the pre-test ii Table 3: Frequency of students‟ participation in pre- and post- activities – gr iii Table 4: Frequency of students‟ participation in pre- and post- activities – gr iii Table 5: Frequency of students‟ participation in pre- and post- activities – gr iv Table 6: Frequency of students‟ participation in pre- and post- activities – gr iv Table 7: Frequency of students‟ participation in pre- and post- activities – gr v Table 8: Frequency of students‟ participation in pre- and post- activities – gr v Table 9: Record of students‟ scores in the pre-and post tests vi Appendix 2: Lists of charts Chart 1: Comparison of the students’ participation – GROUP vii Chart 2: Comparison of the students’ participation – GROUP vii Chart 3: Comparison of the students’ participation – GROUP viii Chart 4: Comparison of the students’ participation – GROUP ix Chart 5: Comparison of the students’ participation – GROUP ix Chart 6: Comparison of the students’ participation – GROUP x Appendix 3: Observation schedules xi Appendix 4: Sample oral tests of modules xii Appendix 5: Sample cooperative learning lessons xx Appendix 6: Optional prompts for students’ journals xxviii Appendix 7: Some typical students’ journals xxix Appendix 8: The multiple intelligent test xxx CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction This chapter is concerned with the rationale behind the researcher‟s decision of choosing the thesis subject, and the way she identified the problem facing her students‟ English speaking skills Besides, the scope, the objectives, and the research questions as well as the methods and design of the study are also stated clearly Rationale Never before has English become so pervasive as nowadays, and English has formally been an important subject in our educational system “Better English, more opportunities” is the answer given by most Vietnamese university students when asked about their goal of learning English English can help students prepare well for their future careers as it can not only equip them with a useful source of personal, linguistic, social and cultural knowledge but also provide them with access to modern technology and information concerning a variety of issues in modern society Especially, our country‟s recent regional and global participation has been increasing the demand for English speaking people who are expected to communicate verbally with the outside world and access modern technology Vietnamese students, who are intelligent and hard working, no doubt, have no difficulties in mastering English grammar and vocabulary Most of them, however, have difficulties in English communicating For these reasons, at the tertiary level where the source of English teachers for the whole country is provided, English teaching has been granted special support from educational authorities However, finding out the most appropriate English teaching method that can satisfy the need of the society is still a big problem for generations of teachers in Vietnam Thanks to the efforts of several international projects and organizations, the teaching and learning English in Vietnam has been considerably changing in the past years Various new approaches, methods and techniques on the teaching of English have been introduced and applied in colleges and universities nationwide Generally, English teaching has shifted from the traditional grammar translation approach to the communicative approach To be successful in their real classroom‟s contexts, which are communication-oriented and learner-centered, teachers of English are doing their best to improve their teaching skills Identification of the problem It is undeniable that it is very important for teachers to analyze, to reflect on and to make use of their own situations To some extent, learner-centered teaching is only rhetorical in Vietnam at present Theoretically, learner-centered teaching requires learners to play the role as negotiators and interactors while teachers as facilitators, analysts, counselors and managers In the real classroom, many people, including the researcher herself, have misunderstood this approach before this research When this method was first introduced to Vietnamese education, most teachers just assigned worksheets to students and then left them to work by themselves without observing, analyzing, and reflecting on them while they participated in the task That is a dangerous idea because some students not have the maturity to the task by themselves They may need some help to finish the task If they not receive help from anybody, especially their teacher, they might develop negative attitudes towards language learning which are very difficult to change If teachers are not clear about this approach, they may create dangerous gaps unconsciously Gradually, if they are concerned about what this approach means exactly, they may promote students‟ confidence in language learning, especially speaking skills Speaking English is one of the most important skills for students and will help them find a good job in the future For over several years, the researcher herself has found that students would like to speak but they feel they lack confidence in speaking As a result, they think that English is very difficult for them and they become bored with learning the skills The action research study of how to promote students speaking English through co-operative learning is very important because it may also help them to develop other skills Moreover, Richards (2004: 3) states, “Employers too insist their employees have good English language skills and fluency in English is a prerequisite for success and advancement in many fields of employment in today‟s world.” In order to help English learners make progress in speaking, it is a good idea to focus on their communication skills Edge (1993: 17) identified the importance of communication that communication is at the heart of modern English Language Teaching (ELT), the goal of language teaching and part of the learning process Luoma (2004: ix) added that “the ability to speak in a foreign language is at the very heart of what it means to be able to use a foreign language.” Wongsuwana (2006: 44) also stated that speech can be trained and it does not depend on talent However, one main reason why English speaking learning in Vietnam is not very successful is that most learners lack the opportunity to learn, and to speak English in an English environment; and for interaction in daily life Therefore, it is essential to find out the solution to the problem so that English learners have more opportunities to communicated, as well as to interact with one another in a so-called close-to-real English speaking environment One of the teaching strategies that reflects the principle of learnercenteredness is groupwork, which is designed by Nunan and Lamb (1996: 142) as any classroom activity in which students perform collaborative tasks with one or more partners It has been considered one of the major changes to the dynamics of classroom interaction wrought by student-centered teaching Groupwork can greatly increase the amount of active speaking and listening undertaken by all the students in the language class Groupwork has especially received more and more emphasis in language classroom and groupwork activities are used in many aspects of the second language instructions, particularly in encouraging students‟ oral practice Working in groups, students are not passively sitting and listening to the teachers, but joining actively in the learning process However, it is not always true that whenever students are asked to work in groups, the cooperation will occur Generally, there are problems such as some group members dominate the group and impede the participation of others Therefore, how to organize groupwork successfully in the classrooms is the question of great concern for many language researchers as well as language teachers In learner-centered approach, group work is the most effective way to reach success; and cooperative learning is undeniably the most flexible and powerful grouping strategies as in cooperative learning, learners work together to accomplish a shared goal Therefore, they are motivated to work together for mutual benefit in order to meet their own and each other‟s learning Cooperative learning can create an environment in which students‟ need of love, belongingness, power, freedom and fun can be met in a way that is beneficial for both academic achievement and the development of the learners‟ social and learning skills Cooperative learning implementing programs have been applied successfully by thousands of teachers from all over the world However, the application of cooperative learning has not been popular in Vietnam There have been few studies on cooperative learning application in teaching English, particularly in teaching speaking As teaching English at Hanoi University of Business and Technology, the researcher sometimes failed to organize her second year students, who were non-major students of English, to work successfully in group activities The students came from different regions all over Vietnam, and even though their acquisition of English grammar and vocabulary was quite good, most of them got difficulties in speaking because of many reasons The students mostly had very little chance to use English in communication, so they were very shy to speak Moreover, some students who came from urban areas often had better speaking skills than those who came from rural areas During speaking activities, the strong ones talked a lot, the average spoke some, and the weak students seemed to keep silent all the time The researcher had carried some strategies such as talking to them to find out their problems, choosing the interesting topics, monitoring frequently to help, encouraging the weak ones to speak and asking the strong ones to help their friends by assigning the roles for them and keep asking questions to force them to speak This did not help a lot Therefore, the fundamental reasons causing this problem was really a big question for her She kept on finding the ways to get all her students equally involved in the class speaking activities During the search, the researcher had found some articles and books about implementing cooperative learning strategies to improve group activities in which cooperative learning can be used as a mean to improve students‟ cooperation, participation and even their language proficiency According to these articles and books, the benefit of cooperative learning had been explored in Vietnam and should be taken into account For all the above reasons, it is strongly desirable for the researcher to propose “Cooperative learning as an approach to improving speaking skills for the second-year nonmajor students of English at Hanoi University of Business and Technology” as the subject of this study Scopes, objective and research questions for the study This study was a kind of action research which was designed and conducted by the researcher herself The study was limited to the investigation of students‟ attitudes towards cooperative learning, the level of their participation in groupwork, which was a dimension of cooperative learning, in classroom speaking activities as well as the effect of cooperative learning on the students‟ speaking performance The study was conducted on the second-year students who were studying English as a minor subject at Hanoi xviii STUDENT A You have 05 minutes to prepare together Part 1: Work with your partner to read aloud the following dialogue: Student A: Good morning Student B: Good morning All right, we are here to negotiate our website designing contract First, let‟s talk about payment You want to charge us $50 an hour? Student A: Yes, that‟s the normal fee for the job Student B: Well, we‟d prefer to pay you a fixed amount for the work We can offer you $6,000 Student A: I see $6000 Mmm, that could be all right for this kind of work How about paying me half when I start the work and half at the end? Student B: Yes, I think we could arrange that OK, I agree Student A: Thank you Now, let‟s talk about the design of the website Will we have book covers on it? Student B: Absolutely, I‟d like to display a large number of book covers on every page What you think? Student A: Well, it‟s a bit too much, I‟d say A lot of pictures take too long to download I‟d prefer one big image How about that? Student B: Mmm, I don‟t know People like to see the book covers It draws them into the website Student A: Maybe you are right How about two covers per page, then? Student B: OK, that sounds reasonable Part 2: Situation You are the Director of Sun-Silk Company You meet the Director of Sunshine Company to negotiate the details of a possible selling online joint venture You want: Length of contract - Three years Destinations - Only focus on European holidays which you are offering Customers - Aim at the 30-50 age group Management - Sun-Silk because of greater experience in offering holidays Discus with the Director of Sunshine Company to reach the following agreement: a three-year contract, European holidays, all age group, both company but each for different parts The following are some steps that should be included in your conversation: - Greeting - Negotiating (making concessions, rejecting suggestions, focusing the discussion…) - Agreeing on the given information xix ORAL PROGRESS TEST A4 Number: STUDENT B You have 05 minutes to prepare together Part 1: Work with your partner to read aloud the following dialogue: Student A: Good morning Student B: Good morning All right, we are here to negotiate our website designing contract First, let‟s talk about payment You want to charge us $50 an hour? Student A: Yes, that‟s the normal fee for the job Student B: Well, we‟d prefer to pay you a fixed amount for the work We can offer you $6,000 Student A: I see $6000 Mmm, that could be all right for this kind of work How about paying me half when I start the work and half at the end? Student B: Yes, I think we could arrange that OK, I agree Student A: Thank you Now, let‟s talk about the design of the website Will we have book covers on it? Student B: Absolutely, I‟d like to display a large number of book covers on every page What you think? Student A: Well, it‟s a bit too much, I‟d say A lot of pictures take too long to download I‟d prefer one big image How about that? Student B: Mmm, I don‟t know People like to see the book covers It draws them into the website Student A: Maybe you are right How about two covers per page, then? Student B: OK, that sounds reasonable Part 2: Situation You are the Director of Sunshine Company You meet the Director of Sun-Silk Company to negotiate the details of a possible selling online joint venture You want: Length of contract - Five years Destinations - Offer all the holidays in both companies‟ catalogues Customers - Aim at all age group Management - Sunshine because of greater experience of selling online Discus with the Director of Sun-Silk Company to reach the following agreement: a three-year contract, European holidays, all age group, both company but each for different parts The following are some steps that should be included in your conversation: - Greeting - Negotiating (making concessions, rejecting suggestions, focusing the discussion…) - Agreeing on the given information xx Appendix 5: sample cooperative learning lessons LESSON Structure: Pair work, Role play, Rally-table Lesson objective: To practice making phone calls Background: Students should have learned some structures used in telephoning Materials: Course book Market Leader Pre-Intermediate – U1 – Part: Skills Procedure:  Ask Ss to practice, in pairs, the expressions in the Useful language box Circulate, monitor and assist with pronunciation and friendly intonation if necessary  Move on to the role play Get Ss to look at the job advertisement Help with any difficulties of understanding and then explain the background of the role play  Allocate roles Make sure that Ss are looking at the correct page for their role Check that Ss with the A role understand that they will play two different people in the two role plays: Laurie Thompson‟s colleague and then Laurie Thompson Ss with the B role card play themselves  Get Ss to role play the first call in pairs (Use telephone equipment if available; otherwise get Ss to sit back-to-back) Circulate, monitor and assist if necessary, especially with expressions relating to making telephone calls and applying for jobs  Bring the class to order Praise strong language points and work on two or three points that require it Get individual Ss to say the improved versions  Get one pair to the role play for the whole class, integrate the improvements  Get Ss to role play the second call in pairs Circulate, monitor and assist if necessary  Again, praise strong language points and work on two or three points that require it, get individual Ss to say the improved versions  Get one of the pairs to the role play for the whole class, integrating the improvements LESSON Structure: Pair work, Role play xxi Lesson objective: To practice making phone calls Background: Students should have learned some structures used in telephoning Materials: Course book Market Leader Pre-Inter – U1 – Resource bank Procedure: Part A  Get Ss to the exercise as preparation for the role play Can I talk to Beryl Yang, please? I‟d like to speak to Beryl Yang, please Just a moment I‟m putting you through Just a moment I‟ll connect you Is that Beryl Yang? Beryl Yang speaking Hello This is Andre Solano, from Solano and Associates I‟m phoning about the proposal you sent us The reason I‟m calling is that we want to discuss it further 10 We‟ve lost your e-mail address Can (or Could) you give it to me? Part B  Divide the class into groups of five  Give each student a copy of the instructions to the telephone call  Get Ss to sit back-to-back to simulate the phone calls or, even better, get them to use real phone extensions  When then situation is clear, begin the role play  Circulate and monitor Note down language points for praise and correction afterwards, especially in language used while making telephone calls  Bring the class to order Praise strong language points and work on half a dozen points that need improving, get Ss to say the correct forms xxii  Get one or two of the groups to their role play for the whole class Model answer A: Hello Can I talk to Beryl Yang, please? C: Just a moment I‟ll connect you A: Thank you B: Hello A: Is that Beryl Yang? B: Yes, Beryl Yang speaking A: I‟m phoning about the proposal for a new office building that you sent us B: Right A: The reason I‟m calling is that we want to discuss it further B: OK We‟ve lost your e-mail address Could you give it to me? xxiii LESSON Structure: Pair work, Role play, Round-table, Teammate Consult Lesson objective: To practice the language of discussion (giving ideas, agreeing, disagreeing with others, etc.) Background: Students should have learned some structures used in discussing Materials: Course book Market Leader Pre-Intermediate – U1 – Case study Procedure:  Divide the class into groups of five Get each group to analyze the written information about all the candidates Circulate, monitor and assist if necessary Get each group to appoint a spokesperson who takes notes of the key points for each candidate, without getting into comparing the merits of the candidates  Play the recordings to the whole class, stop at the end of the recording for each candidate and explain difficulties  Alternatively, if the room is big enough and if there is sufficient equipment, allocate one to each group and get the groups to specialize in a particular candidate, so, for example, one or two of the groups listen only to Joanna Pelc‟s interview Circulate, monitor and assist if necessary Then ask the spokesperson for each group to summarize for the whole class the interview that they listened to  Get Ss to discuss the relative merits of each candidate for the job in their groups Appoint a spokesperson in each group to note down the main points of the discussion and the reasons for the choice of candidate Circulate, monitor and assist if necessary  Then get the whole class to discuss who should be chosen for the job, under the direction of the chair if you have decided to appoint one  While the discussion is going on, note down strong language points plus half a dozen points that need improvement Come back to them when a candidate has been selected and the discussion is over Concentrate on the language used to - Describe people in the context of the job interviews, such as calm, relaxed, gets on well with others - Make contrast, for example Pelc was rather aggressive at the interview whereas Belinski seemed nervous xxiv LESSON Structure: Pair work, Role play, Rally-table, Think - Pair - Share Lesson objective: To practice negotiating to reach agreement Background: Students should have learned some structures used in negotiating Materials: Course book Market Leader Pre-Intermediate – U2 – Part: Skills Procedure:  As with the role plays, ensure that Ss understand the general situation: a representative of a website maintenance company meets a company manager to negotiate a maintenance contract for the company‟s website Explain if necessary that websites need maintaining and updating if they are to function properly  Before asking Ss to look at their role card, get them to look at the Useful language and practice the expressions, asking individual Ss to read them after you with appropriate intonation Insist on correct pronunciation of the contractions We’d and I’ll  Allocate the roles Give Ss plenty of time to assimilate the information and prepare their roles Circulate, monitor and assist if necessary  When the Ss are ready, get them to start the role play in pairs  Circulate and monitor Note language points for praise and correction afterwards, especially negotiation language  When Ss have finished, ask one or two pairs to explain what happened in their negotiation and what the final outcome was  Praise strong language points that you heard and discuss half a dozen points that need improvement, getting individual Ss to say the correct forms  Ask individual pairs to re-enact parts of their negotiation containing the forms you have worked on, getting them to put the correct forms into practice xxv LESSON Structure: Role play, Round – Table, Teammates Consult Lesson objective: To practice negotiating to reach agreement Background: Students should have learned some structures used in negotiating Materials: Course book Market Leader Pre-Inter – U2 – Resource bank Procedure:  Divide the class into groups of five Give the role card to each student  Point out that Ss must negotiate the number of copies to be bought and the discount to be given They not have to negotiate anything else  When the situation is clear, begin the role play  Circulate and monitor Note down language points for praise and correction afterwards, especially in the area of negotiation  Bring the class to order Praise strong language points and work on half a dozen points that need improving, getting Ss to say the correct forms  Get one or two of the groups to their role play for the whole class LESSON Structure: Pair work, Role play, Round-table, Teammates Consult Lesson objective: To practice negotiating to reach agreement Background: Students should have learned some structures used in negotiating Materials: Course book Market Leader Pre-Intermediate – U2 – Case study Procedure:  Divide the class into six groups for parallel negotiations  Make sure each group understand which side it will be negotiating for Appoint a lead negotiator in each team  Circulate, monitor and assist Ss in preparing for the negotiation Get them to write down key expressions they will use, like the ones in italics under „Length of contract‟ on the role cards xxvi  When the groups are ready, tell them to begin Circulate and monitor Note language points for praise and correction afterwards, especially negotiation language  Warn groups when they have 10, then minutes left, hurry them to reach an agreement  When groups have finished, ask a member of each group to describe the negotiating process and the final agreement Get an observer to describe the process  Praise strong language points; discuss half a dozen points that need improvement, getting individual Ss to say the correct forms  Ask pairs of Ss to re-enact short parts of the negotiation containing the forms that the teacher has worked on, get them to put the correct forms into practice LESSON Structure: Role play, Round-table, Teammates Consult Lesson objective: To practice making presentations Background: Ss should have learned structures used in making presentations Materials: Course book Market Leader Pre-Inter – U3 – Resource bank Procedure:  Divide the class into groups of five Give each student a copy of the notes and tell them which company they are going to present  Give Ss time to prepare their presentations Each student then gives their presentation to the other members of their group  Circulate and monitor Note down language points for praise and correction afterwards, especially in relation to presentation language  Bring the class to order Praise strong language points and work on half a dozen points that need improving, getting Ss to say the correct forms  Get one or two Ss to give their presentations to the whole class xxvii LESSON Structure: Pair work, Role play, Rally-table Lesson objective: To practice making presentations Background: Ss should have learned structures used in making presentations Materials: Course book Market Leader Pre-Intermediate – U3 – Case study Procedure:  Put Ss in pairs and tell them that they will weigh up the different options Warn them that one member of each pair may have to present the findings of the pair, so one member of each pair should note down the main points from the discussion and what their final choice of options is  Circulate, monitor Note down language points for praise and correction afterwards, especially those relating to planning and growth  When the pairs have drawn up their plans, call the whole class to order, praise some of the good language you heard and work on half a dozen points that needs improving Get individual Ss to say the correct forms  Get two or three pairs to present their investment plans Try to choose pairs whose ideas are different in order to give variety and stimulate discussion, note down language points for praise and correction afterwards, this time concentrating on presentation language  Praise some of the good presentations language and discuss half a dozen points that need improving Get individual Ss to say the correct forms  Get Ss to discuss the different plans as groups of five Circulate and monitor Note language points for praise and correction afterwards, perhaps ones related to some the teacher noted earlier  Call the class to order Work on half a dozen language points that require it  Ask a representative of each group to prepare one for the following session, allow time for the presentation(s) in a future session to recap key language from this session xxviii Appendix 6: Optional prompts for students’ journals The following are what the students could choose to write about in their journals The students were told to write their journals in Vietnamese and in English (if they were interested) Also, the students were informed that their journals would not to be marked What you think about the lesson today? How you feel when working in today‟s cooperative learning groups? (more or less comfortable, confident, easy, difficult, interested, motivated, responsible, etc.) What are your difficulties when working in today‟s cooperative learning groups? What you think about you and your peers‟ participation in today‟s cooperative learning groups? Do you think your oral communication skill become better or worse, in what way, and in what skills? What you think the teacher should to help you be better in today‟s cooperative learning groups? Do you want to learn speaking (and other skills) in cooperative learning groups? Why? Or why not? xxix Appendix 7: Some typical students’ journals xxx Appendix 8: The multiple intelligent test This form can help you determine which intelligences are strongest for you If you're a teacher or tutor, you can also use it to find out which intelligences your learner uses most often Many thanks to Dr Terry Armstrong for graciously allowing us to use his questionnaire Instructions: Read each statement carefully Choose one of the five buttons for each statement indicating how well that statement describes you = = = = = Statement Statement Statement Statement Statement does not describe you at all describes you very little describes you somewhat describes you pretty well describes you exactly 1 I pride myself on having a large vocabulary Using numbers and numerical symbols is easy for me Music is very important to me in daily life I always know where I am in relation to my home I consider myself an athlete I feel like people of all ages like me I often look for weaknesses in myself that I see in others The world of plants and animals is important to me I enjoy learning new words and so easily 10 I often develop equations to describe relationships and/or to explain my observations 11 I have wide and varied musical interests including both classical and contemporary 12 I not get lost easily and can orient myself with either maps or landmarks 13 I feel really good about being physically fit 14 I like to be with all different types of people 15 I often think about the influence I have on others 16 I enjoy my pets xxxi 17 I love to read and so daily 18 I often see mathematical ratios in the world around me 19 I have a very good sense of pitch, tempo, and rhythm 20 Knowing directions is easy for me 21 I have good balance and eye-hand coordination and enjoy sports which use a ball 22 I respond to all people enthusiastically, free of bias or prejudice 23 I believe that I am responsible for my actions and who I am 24 I like learning about nature 25 I enjoy hearing challenging lectures 26 Math has always been one of my favorite classes 27 My music education began when I was younger and still continues today 28 I have the ability to represent what I see by drawing or painting 29 My outstanding coordination and balance let me excel in high-speed activities 30 I enjoy new or unique social situations 31 I try not to waste my time on trivial pursuits 32 I enjoy caring for my house plants 33 I like to keep a daily journal of my daily experiences 34 I like to think about numerical issues and examine statistics 35 I am good at playing an instrument and singing 36 My ability to draw is recognized and complimented by others 37 I like being outdoors, enjoy the change in seasons, and look forward to different physical activities each season 38 I enjoy complimenting others when they have done well 39 I often think about the problems in my community, state, and/or world and what I can to help rectify any of them 40 I enjoy hunting and fishing 41 I read and enjoy poetry and occasionally write my own 42 I seem to understand things around me through a mathematical sense 43 I can remember the tune of a song when asked 44 I can easily duplicate color, form, shading, and texture in my work 45 I like the excitement of personal and team competition 46 I am quick to sense in others dishonesty and desire to control me 47 I am always totally honest with myself xxxii 48 I enjoy hiking in natural places 49 I talk a lot and enjoy telling stories 50 I enjoy doing puzzles 51 I take pride in my musical accomplishments 52 Seeing things in three dimensions is easy for me, and I like to make things in three dimensions 53 I like to move around a lot 54 I feel safe when I am with strangers 55 I enjoy being alone and thinking about my life and myself Find my strengths!