A study on the reality of teaching conversational skills to non-English major students at Phuong Dong Unversity: Difficulties and some suggested teaching techniques

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES Hoàng lê hanh A study on the reality of teaching conversational skills to nonEnglish major students at Phuong Dong University: difficulties and some suggested teaching techniques ( Nghiên cứu thực trạng việc dạy kỹ hội thoại cho sinh viên không chuyên tiếng anh tr-ờng Đại học Ph-ơng Đông: khó khăn kĩ thuật giảng dạy) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Hanoi – 2011 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES Hoàng lê hanh A study on the reality of teaching conversational skills to non-English major students at Phuong Dong University: difficulties and some suggested teaching techniques ( Nghiên cứu thực trạng việc dạy kỹ hội thoại cho sinh viên không chuyên tiếng anh tr-ờng đại học ph-ơng đông: khó khăn kĩ thuật giảng dạy) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: Ngun ViƯt Hïng, MA Hanoi – 2011 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of originality of study project report i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii Table of contents iv List of abbreviations and tables vi PART A: INTRODUCTION Error! Bookmark not defined The rationale of the study Error! Bookmark not defined Aims of the study Error! Bookmark not defined Research questions of the study Error! Bookmark not defined Scope of the study Error! Bookmark not defined Methodology Error! Bookmark not defined Design of the study Error! Bookmark not defined PART B: DEVELOPMENT Error! Bookmark not defined CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW Error! Bookmark not defined 1.1 Overview of teaching speaking skills to foreign learners of EnglishError! Bookmark not defined 1.1.1 Nature of speaking skill Error! Bookmark not defined 1.1.2 Teaching speaking skill- methodological objectives Error! Bookmark not defined 1.2 Conversations Error! Bookmark not defined 1.2.1 Concepts of conversation Error! Bookmark not defined 1.2.3 Units of conversation Error! Bookmark not defined 1.2.4 Native speakers' conversation Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3 Teaching conversational skills Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3.1 Approaches to teaching conversation skills Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3.2 Principles of teaching conversational skill Error! Bookmark not defined CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY Error! Bookmark not defined 2.1 The research context Error! Bookmark not defined v 2.1.1 Description of the English course for non-English major students and its objectives at the faculty of foreign languages, Phuong Dong University Error! Bookmark not defined 2.1.2 Description of the students at Phuong Dong UniversityError! Bookmark not defined 2.1.3 Description of the teachers at Phuong Dong UniversityError! Bookmark not defined 2.2 Methods of the study Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3 Research design Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3.1 Sample and sampling Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3.2 Research Instruments Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3.3 Data collection Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3.4 Data analysis Error! Bookmark not defined CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION Error! Bookmark not defined 3.1 Teachers and students’ personal information Error! Bookmark not defined 3.2 Difficulties from teachers and students Error! Bookmark not defined 3.2.1 Students’ English proficiency and learning motivationError! Bookmark not defined 3.2.2 Students’ attitudes toward speaking skill Error! Bookmark not defined 3.2.3 Teachers/ students’ perception of English conversationsError! Bookmark not defined 3.2.4 Difficulties of teaching and learning conversations and conversational activities in classesError! Bookmark not defined 3.3 Suggested techniques and activities for teaching conversational skills to non- English major students Error! Bookmark not defined 3.3 Overview of teaching problems Error! Bookmark not defined 3.3.2 Suggested teaching techniques to improve the effectiveness of teaching conversations to non-English major at Phuong Dong University Error! Bookmark not defined 3.4 Activities used in conversation classes to improve students’ conversational skillsError! Bookmark not defined PART C: CONCLUSION 45 1) Limitations of the study 45 2) Suggestions for further study .45 REFERENCES Error! Bookmark not defined APPENDICES Error! Bookmark not defined VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES Hoàng lê hanh A study on the reality of teaching conversational skills to nonEnglish major students at Phuong Dong University: difficulties and some suggested teaching techniques ( Nghiªn cøu thùc trạng việc dạy kỹ hội thoại cho sinh viên không chuyên tiếng anh tr-ờng đại học ph-ơng đông: khó khăn kĩ thuật giảng dạy) THESIS SUMMARY Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: NguyÔn ViÖt Hïng, MA Hanoi - 2011 PART A: INTRODUCTION The rationale of the study The actual performance of English speaking tests showed that students were more confident in speaking individually if they had information for the teachers‟ questions However, when they were asked to interact with other student in conversations, they spent a lot of time preparing for these and finally still felt worried and did an unnatural and unstructured conversation Some of them even failed to speak from the very beginning of the conversation The result of the interviews and tests suggested me a topic for my minor thesis in the Master course in English Teaching Methodology; that is “A study on the reality of teaching conversational skills to non-English major students at Phuong Dong University (PDU): difficulties and some suggested teaching techniques.” The paper attempts to clarify the difficulties of teaching conversational skills and suggest some activities that are practical in teaching these skills in English speaking lessons Some suggestions in teaching and learning methods are also put forward, which are relevant to CLT application Aims of the study The research investigates the reality of teaching conversational skills to non-English major at Phuong Dong University The main goal of the research is to identify the difficulties of teacher and students when they deal with conversational skills to recommend techniques and activities in classes to help teachers reduce difficulties Research questions of the study The study aims at answering the following questions What are the difficulties of teachers at Phuong Dong University conversational skills to nonEnglish major students? What are the difficulties of non-English major students at Phuong Dong University when learning conversational skills? What techniques and activities are effective to teach non-English major students at Phuong Dong University conversational skills? Scope of the study In this study, the investigator intended to focus on the difficulties of teachers and non English major students when they teach and learn conversational skills Because these obstacles are the common worry among teachers and learners and from these difficulties, techniques are selected to help teachers reduce them in teaching and help students to have more confidence in conversing in English classes Methods of the study To fulfill the above aims, the investigator has chosen both qualitative and quantitative methods for the study All the comments, remarks, suggestions and conclusions are drawn out from factual research, observation, experience and discussion among teachers and learners Data for analysis are gained through the following sources: - Survey questionnaire: This method is used to find out the difficulties the teachers and students at Phuong Dong University face when they interact in conversation lessons The questionnaires are useful for getting data of the attitudes and behaviors of the teachers and learners when facing these difficulties It is very convenient for the researcher to conduct the research when she does not have much time for the research and she does not need to directly it - Interviews and observation: The methods are significant in getting more qualitative data by getting closer to the objects of the study Moreover, observation done by the researcher is leading to more objective data and open new perspective of the study Design of the study This minor thesis consists of three parts: Part A -INTRODUCTION: states the rationale, aims, research questions and design of the study Part B – DEVELOPMENT: includes three chapters: Chapter 1- LITERATURE REVIEW: provides theoretical background that is relevant to the purpose of the study Chapter - METHODOLOGY: presents the methodology of the study including the research context, methods of the study, research design Chapter 3- FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION: deals with the data analysis of two questionnaires designed for teachers and on English major students to find out their difficulties in teaching and learning conversational skills and the finding of the study and suggests some useful techniques for teaching conversational skills to non- English major students Part C- CONCLUSION: summarizes some main contents of the study, points out the limitations and suggest directions for further study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Overview of teaching speaking skills to foreign learners of English 1.1.1 Nature of speaking skill Oral skill or speaking skill among four macro skills (including listening, speaking, reading, and writing) is considered one of the most important in learning languages According to Bygate (1987), speaking help learners “carries out many of their basic transactions It is the skill by which they are most frequently judged, and through which they make and lose friends It is the par excellence of social solidarity, of social ranking, of professional advancement and of business It is also a medium through which much language is learnt, and for many is particularly conductive for learning.” For some language learners, learning to speak a language is learning the language and their improvement in the language competence is the progress in speaking competence That results from the fact that listening and speaking skills is used much more than reading and writing skills in daily life Speaking and listening skills are used in daily communications and learning these skills is learning to communicate 1.1.2 Teaching speaking skill-methodological objectives The development of different approaches asserts a different perspective on the importance of speaking and teaching speaking skill For many years, language teaching aims at helping learners achieve linguistic competence, which is the ability to master the sounds, words, and grammar patterns In the mid-1970s, the notion of linguistic competence is extended to the communicative competence-the ability to interact with other speakers, to make meaning, as distinct from the ability to perform on discrete- point tests of grammatical knowledge Therefore, teachers should study what objectives materials and methods aim at when they teach speaking skills 1.2 Conversations 1.2.1 Concepts of conversation There are varied definitions of conversation regarding its nature and functions In daily life, conversation is understood as a communicative activity in which two or more people talk about certain topics In classes, conversation is understood by some students as a list of continual questions and answers However, in some well-known books, the following authors give different views on conversation First, M Bailey (2005: 42) claims that “conversation is one of the most basic and pervasive forms of human interaction.” 1.2.2 Functions of conversation There are few authors stating the functions of conversation However, the most common ideas about that come from two authors: Brown and Yule when they assert "two different kinds of conversational interaction can be distinguished-those in which the primary focus is on the exchange of information (the transactional function of conversation), and those in which the primary purpose is to establish and maintain social relations (the interactional function of conversation)” (Brown and Yule, 1983) In transactional uses of conversation the primary focus is on the message, whereas interactional uses of conversation focus primarily on the social needs of the participants 1.2.3 Units of conversation A Turn Turn Turn [Solicit: call] [Solicit: request] [Acknowledge: thank] „Jane‟ Could I borrow your bike, please? „Thanks very much‟ Turn Turn [Give: available] [Give: comply] „Yes‟ „Sure, it‟s in the garage.‟ Exchange Exchange Exchange 1.2.4 Native speakers' conversation To learn how to make conversations successfully in English, it is best to find out the way native speakers form a conversation A normal conversation could follow these rules: o usually only one speaker speaks at a time o the speakers change o the length of the any contribution varies; o there are techniques for allowing the other party or parties to speak; o neither the content nor the amount of what we say is specified in advance (Cited from (Nolasco and Arthur, 2000: 7) 1.3.2 Principles of teaching conversational skill Teaching conversational skills should be teaching “how”, not teaching „what‟ That means teachers should teach students the way to make a normal conversation and the way to overcome obstacles in conversing Tasks and strategies they use to teach should prepare students for the following principles of conversation.( by Richard (1990: 79-80), cited from Brown(2001, p.277)) 1.3.3 Activities used for conversation classes Nolasco and Arthur (2000) claim the significance of using different types of conversation activities to students of other languages as follows: o Controlled activities: give students confidence and support o Awareness activities: Increase sensitivity in students to what they are aiming at o Fluency activities: Give students the practice they need to use English for communication o Feedback tasks: Allow students to reflect on their own performance so that they become aware of areas in which they have to improve CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 The research context 2.1.1 Description of the English course for non-English major students and its objectives at the faculty of foreign languages, Phuong Dong University The study is conducted at the faculty of foreign language, Phuong Dong University where students learning English are divided into two groups One group majoring in English spend four years learning English skills such as listening, speaking, reading, writing, translating, etc Another group majoring in Chinese, Japanese learn English as the second foreign language They learn integrated skills in a 12 credit course in three semesters Students learn some textbooks such as Know How and New Headway The aim of this course for non-English major students is to develop students‟ communicative competence in English After the course, students are expected to communicate in English at the intermediate level Students normally will learn English as a second foreign language and their need after learning this course is to communicate with foreigners in spoken form Therefore, communicative teaching method is used as the main way of instruction and interaction in class 2.1.2 Description of the students at Phuong Dong University As stated above, non-English major students at the faculty of foreign languages learn English as second foreign languages from the third semester (at the beginning of the second year) to the fifth semester (at the beginning of the third year) They start at different levels of English since some of them learn Chinese and Japanese as the main foreign languages before they enter the university Students who have a certain competence of English forget a part of what they learned after one year learning other languages 2.1.3 Description of the teachers at Phuong Dong University To ensure teaching about 800 students learning English as major and non-major subjects, the faculty of foreign languages employs and hires about 20 teachers Most of them graduated from some institutions of training teachers of English such as: The College of foreign studies, Viet Nam National University, and Ha Noi University The qualification status of the teaching contingent is that 10% have doctoral degree, 70% have MA degree and the rest have bachelor degree Most of the teachers are enthusiastic and active in teaching The frequent meetings or discussions on how to improve the teaching and learning quality are held to get new ideas about changing teaching and learning methods as well as adapting materials appropriate to students 2.2 Methods of the study The study employs both quantitative and qualitative research methods This is, according to Wisker.G (2001:138) “a common approach” Questionnaires are used as a kind of quantitative method of study to collect information from teachers and students The questionnaires include both closed and open-ended questions which give teachers and students chance to express their opinions on the difficulties of teaching and learning conversational skills as well as their favourite techniques in teaching these skills Besides, interviews and group observation are used to get quantitative data for the study Interviews get the research get closer to the participants who are teachers and students Their in-depth thinking noted during the interviews will help the researcher have more insight looks into the study issue Moreover, observations give a condition for the researcher to check whether the teachers and students what they say in the lessons 2.3 Research design 2.3.1 Sample and sampling The data of the study is collected from two main sources: survey questionnaires and interviews The survey questionnaire is conducted among 10 teachers who have from to 10 years experience in teaching non-English major students at Phuong Dong University The questionnaires for students are delivered to 100 students learning in three groups They are majoring in Chinese and Japanese and learning English as a second foreign language They are second-year students who are taking part in a second semester of their English course 2.3.2 Research Instruments The data for the study comes from both a quantitative method called survey questionnaires, and two qualitative methods namely interview and group observation 2.3.4 Data analysis Data analysis is not only the process of reading out the data collected but the process of interpreting the data under the viewpoint and experience of the researcher The analysis will bring a lot of suppositions in the research questions into light These results will be presented in forms of tables and charts that help to compare different viewpoints of teachers and students on the research problems CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION - Students’ difficulties Question 7: What difficulties you meet when you learn conversations? - Teachers’ difficulties Question 7: What difficulties did you meet when teaching conversations to non English major students? - Table 13: Teachers’ difficulties Conversational activities in classes - Question 8: Which activities has your teacher used to teach conversations? - Table 14: Conversational activities in classes Question 9: What is the attitude of non English major students toward your conversation lessons? - 3.3 Table 15: Students’ attitude toward conversation activities Suggested techniques and activities for teaching conversational skills to non- English major students - 3.3 Overview of teaching problems - - Students‟ insufficient command of English and low motivation - - Students‟ passiveness and ignorance in classes Third, large and multilevel classes - - Large classes and students‟ use of mother tongue - - Students‟ lack of ideas and speaking errors - - Teacher‟s talking time and feedback on students‟ performance - 3.3.2 Suggested teaching techniques to improve the effectiveness of teaching conversations to non- English major at Phuong Dong University a) Students‟ insufficient command of English and low motivation b) Students‟ passiveness and ignorance in classes c) Large classes and students‟ use of mother tongu d) Students‟ lack of ideas and speaking errors e) Teacher‟s talking time and feedback on students‟ performance 3.4 Activities used in conversation classes to improve students’ conversational skills According to Nolasco and Arthur (2000), there are some basic steps in teaching conversational skills to students ranging from controlled activities to free ones a Step 1- Controlled activities b Step 2: Awareness activities c Step 3: Fluency activities PART C: CONCLUSION 1) Limitations of the study The study is done during a semester which last four months when the researcher is still learning and teaching The time limitation does not allow her to carry out a quasi experimental research in which she can experiment the suggested techniques and activities in her real teaching Instead of that, survey questionnaires and interviews are use to explore the problems she searches for However, the number of participants can not present for all non-English major students so the findings might not be applied for all the subjects of the study The limitations would be avoided if the numbers of the participants were duplicated and the findings were checked or experimented 2) Suggestions for further study The study may be named “Teaching conversational skills to students at….” following the procedure of experimental research The students will be divided into two groups: controlled and experimental groups and the researcher could experiment teaching conversations to students using the suggested techniques Yet, this suggestion would be more appropriate to a bigger research which lasts for at least one year That time is sufficient for preparing and doing the research