The use of discussion activities to enhance the first-year students’ motivation and speaking performance: A Study at Viet-Hung Industrial University

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES o0o PHẠM THỊ BÌNH THE USE OF DISCUSSION ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE THE FIRSTYEAR STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION AND SPEAKING PERFORMANCE: A STUDY AT VIET-HUNG INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY (Sử dụng hoạt động thảo luận nhằm nâng cao động lực học tập khả nói tiếng Anh sinh viên năm thứ nhất: Một nghiên cứu trường Đại học Công nghiệp Việt-Hung) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI - 2014 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES o0o PHẠM THỊ BÌNH THE USE OF DISCUSSION ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE THE FIRSTYEAR STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION AND SPEAKING PERFORMANCE: A STUDY AT VIET-HUNG INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY (Sử dụng hoạt động thảo luận nhằm nâng cao động lực học tập khả nói tiếng Anh sinh viên năm thứ nhất: Một nghiên cứu trường Đại học Công nghiệp Việt-Hung) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr NGUYỄN VĂN ĐỘ HANOI - 2014 CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT -***** - I hereby certify that the thesis entitled THE USE OF DISCUSSION ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION AND SPEAKING PERFORMANCE: A STUDY AT VIET-HUNG INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY Is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts at Vietnam National University, Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS) and that this thesis has not been submitted for any assessment in any other formal courses of study elsewhere Ha Noi, 2014 Phạm Thị Bình i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In completion of my thesis, I have received generous advice and a great deal of support from a number of people Firstly, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr NGUYỄN VĂN ĐỘ from Thang Long University for his deliberate guidance, constructive critical feedback and his generous help in the process of completing my thesis My special thanks also go to all my respected lecturers in the M.A course for their informative and valuable lectures and the administrative staff of the Department of Post Graduate Studies, ULIS, for their help, guidance, enthusiasm and valuable support during my course of study I really wish to express my thanks to teachers and students from VIET-HUNG INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY for their kind cooperation, their participation in giving valuable information, which considerably contributed to the completion of my work Finally, I owe my deep thanks to my dear family, especially my husband, my two children for their love, material and spiritual support throughout this research and my friends who always stand for me with their consideration and encouragement ii ABSTRACT There are different communicative activities through which students’ language competence is improved with the effective implementation of the teachers Among a lot of communicative activities, using discussion activities appear to be one of the most effective teaching technique to enhance students’ motivation and speaking performance It gives students more chances to practice the target language In my university, VIET-HUNG INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY (VIU) in Son Tay town, Hanoi, all of the students are non-English major students They are quite active in the real life but they are passive in speaking English lessons and have low motivation in speaking English In general their speaking ability is very low Meanwhile, discussion activities are seldom used in teaching speaking skill for students by the teachers This research was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of using discussion activities in speaking English lessons at VIU To achieve the desired aims of the study, 80 first-years students and teachers of English at VIU were involved The data were obtained through the analysis of the students and teachers’ questionnaires as well as the observations in class when discussion activities were carried out The findings obtained indicate the students and teachers’ positive attitude towards discussion activities used in class and the improvement in the students’ motivation and speaking performance in their speaking lessons Hence, using discussion activities is an effective and practical teaching technique and should be widely used and carefully planned to teach speaking skill to students iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS VIU : Viet-Hung Industrial University EFL : English as a Foreign Language ELT : English Language teaching GE : General English ESP : English for Specific Purposes N : Number Ss : Students Ts : Teachers % : Percentage iv LIST OF TABLES & GRAPHS TABLES Table 1: Teachers’ and students’ opinions towards the importance of teaching and learning English speaking skill Table 2: Students’ use of English in speaking lessons Table 3: Teachers’ and Students’ self-evaluation towards speaking activities in the course book, which is being used to teach English for first- year students Table 4: Results from students’ survey questionnaires Table 5: Teachers’ opinions towards the importance of discussion activities in speaking lessons Table 6: Ways of motivating students to participate in discussion activities Table 7: Teachers’ preparation for discussion activities Table 8: Appropriate stages in which discussion activities are employed in speaking lessons Table 9: Teachers’ class organization for discussion activities Table 10: Kinds of feedback to students’ speaking performance in discussion activities Table 12: Teachers’ thought about integrating discussion activities in speaking lessons Table 11: Teachers’ evaluation of students’ improvement in speaking performance in discussion activities GRAPHS Graph 1: Students’ interest in learning speaking skill Graph 2: Teachers’ and Students’ self-evaluation towards students’ speaking ability Graph 3: Students’ knowledge towards the term “Discussion activities” Graph 4: Students’ expectation about the teachers’ organization of speaking activities in speaking lessons Graph 6: Results from students’ survey questionnaires Graph 5: Teachers’ opinions about the frequency of using discussion activities in speaking lessons v TABLE OF CONTENTS CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT……………………………………………… ……… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………… …………… ii ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………… iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS……………………………………………………….… iv LIST OF TABLES & GRAPHS……………………………………………………… v TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………………… vi PART A: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………….…… 1 Statement of the Problem and the Rationale of the Study………… …… Research Aims and Research Questions ……… ……………………… 3 Scope of the Study………………………………… …………………… Significance of the Study………………………… …………………… Methodology of the Study………………………………………… …… Organization of the Study …………………………………… ………… PART B: DEVELOPMENT………………………………………………… CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………….………… 1.1 Theoretical background of motivation in language learning……… 1.1.1 Definition of motivation ………………………………… ……… 1.1.2 The role of motivation in language learning…………….………… 1.2 Teaching Speaking skill………………………………….…………… 1.2.1 Concept of speaking………………………………………………… 1.2.2 The importance of speaking skills in the classroom……….………… 1.2.3 Characteristics of a Successful Speaking Activity………… ……… 1.2.4 Factors affecting students' performance in speaking activities……… 1.2.5 Activities to promote speaking skills……………….……………… 10 1.3 Discussion activities in language teaching and learning process…… 11 1.3.1 What is Discussion? 11 vi 1.3.2 The roles of discussion in language teaching and learning…………… 11 1.3.3 Application of Discussion Activities in Speaking Lessons…….…… 12 1.3.4 Teacher responsibilities or roles in organizing discussion activities 13 1.4 Related Studies………………………………………………………… 14 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY…………………………………………… 16 2.1 Research questions…………….……………………………………… 16 2.2 Research approaches ………………………………………….……… 16 2.3 The context of the study……………………………………….……… 17 2.3.1 An Overview of Viet-Hung Industrial University and English course 17 2.3.2 The students………………………………………………… …… 18 2.3.3 The teachers ………………………………………………………… 18 2.3.4 The course book ………………………………………………… 18 2.4 The participants……………………………………………………… 19 2.5 Data collection instruments…………………………………………… 20 2.6 Procedures of data collection……………………………….………… 22 2.7 Procedures of data analysis…………………………………………… 22 CHAPTER 3: DATA, DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION…………… 23 3.1 Data analysis and discussion from phase 1…………………….…… 23 3.1.1 Data analysis from phase 1………………………………………… 23 3.1.2 Discussion from phase 1…………………………………………… 28 3.2 Data analysis and discussion from phase 2………………….……… 28 3.2.1 Data analysis from students’ survey questionnaires………………… 28 3.2.2 Data analysis from teachers’ survey questionnaires………………… 31 3.2.3 Data analysis from class observations……………………………… 34 3.2.4 Discussion from Phase 2…………………………………………… 35 PART C: CONCLUSION…………………………………………………… vii 36 Major Findings of the Research………………………………………… 36 Pedagogical Implications of the Research……………………………… 37 Contribution of the Research…………………………………………… 38 Limitations of the Research…………………………………… ……… 39 Suggestions for Further Studies………………………………………… 39 REFERENCES………………………………………………………………… 40 APPENDICES………………………………………………………………… I APPENDIX 1………………………………………………………… …………… I APPENDIX 2………………………………………………………… …………… V APPENDIX 3………………………………………………………….…………… VII APPENDIX 4…………………………………………………………….………… XI APPENDIX 5……………………………………………………….……………… XIV viii APPENDICES APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS Dear students, My name is Pham Thi Binh, a teacher of English from Foreign Language Centre at Viet-Hung Industrial University (VIU) At present, I am doing my MA thesis entitled “The use of discussion activities in enhancing the first-year students’ motivation and speaking performance: A Case Study at Viet-Hung Industrial University” This questionnaire is designed to gain and conducted a better understanding of your views on the real condition of the teaching and learning process in your English classrooms at VIU Your cooperation with sincere answers is crucial to the success of the research Your information will be kept confidential for the study purposes only Thank you very much for your cooperation! Please complete this questionnaire by circling the choices that are suitable to you How important is speaking skill to you? A Very important B Important C Not very important D Not important at all How much you feel interested in English speaking lessons? A Very interested B Not very interested C Only a little interested D Not interested at all How would you evaluate your English speaking ability? A Excellent I B Very good C Good D Average E Bad To what degree you use English in speaking lessons? A Very much B Not very much C A little D Not at all How you find speaking activities in the textbook being used to teach the first- year students? A They are easy B They are normal C They are difficult I don’t have enough background knowledge and English words to express my ideas D They are very difficult I say nothing in speaking lessons To what degree you expect your teacher to set up speaking activities for you to participate to improve your speaking skill? A Very much B Not very much C A little D Not at all To what extent you know about the term “Discussion activities”? A They are activities providing opportunities for students to involve in speaking lessons B They are activities in which students are allowed to express their real opinions C Both of them D No idea Thank you very much for your cooperation! II APPENDIX (phiên tiếng Việt) BẢNG CÂU HỎI DÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN Các em sinh viên thân mến, Tơi Phạm Thị Bình, giáo viên tiếng Anh Trung tâm ngoại ngữ trường Đại học Công nghiệp Việt-Hung Hiện làm luận văn thạc sỹ với đề tài: Sử dụng hoạt động thảo luận nhằm nâng cao động lực học tập khả nói tiếng Anh sinh viên năm thứ nhất: Một nghiên cứu điển hình trường Đại học Công nghiệp Việt-Hung Bảng câu hỏi nhằm mục đích tìm hiểu ý kiến em điều kiện dạy học thực tế lớp học tiếng Anh nhà trường Sự hợp tác câu trả lời chân thành em đóng vai trị quan trọng cho thành cơng nghiên cứu Thông tin em bảo mật cho mục đích nghiên cứu Cảm ơn hợp tác em ! Em hoàn thành bảng câu hỏi cách khoanh tròn câu trả lời phù hợp với em Kỹ nói tiếng Anh quan trọng em? A Rất quan trọng B Quan trọng C Không quan trọng D Khơng quan trọng chút Em thấy thích thú mức học nói tiếng Anh ? A Rất thích B Khơng thích C Thích chút D Khơng thích chút Em đánh giá khả nói tiếng Anh nào? A Xuất sắc B Rất tốt C Tốt III D Trung bình E Tồi Mức độ sử dụng tiếng Anh học em nào? A Rất nhiều B Không nhiều C Một chút D Không sử dụng Em nhận xét hoạt đọng nói giáo trình sử dụng dạy tiếng Anh cho sinh viên năm thứ nhất? A Dễ B Bình thường C Khó Em khơng có đủ kiến thức từ tiếng Anh để diễn đạt ý D Rất khó Em khơng nói học Em mong muốn giáo viên tổ chức hoạt động để em tham gia nhằm nâng cao khả nói tới mức nào? A Rất nhiều B Không nhiều C Một chút D Không mong muốn Em hiểu “Discussion activities”? A Đó hoạt động tạo hội cho sinh viên tham gia học nói B Đó hoạt động mà sinh viên phép diễn tả ý kiến thực C Cả hai lựa chọn D Khơng có ý kiến Cảm ơn hợp tác em! IV APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS Dear colleagues, My name is Pham Thi Binh, a teacher of English from Foreign Language Centre at Viet-Hung Industrial University (VIU) At present, I am doing my MA thesis entitled “The use of discussion activities in enhancing the first-year students’ motivation and speaking performance: A Case Study at Viet-Hung Industrial University” This questionnaire is designed and conducted to gain a better understanding of your views on the real condition of the teaching and learning process your English classrooms at VIU Your cooperation with sincere answers is crucial to the success of the research Your information will be kept confidential for the study purposes only Thank you very much for your cooperation! Please complete this questionnaire by circling the choices that are suitable to you What you think about the importance of teaching English speaking to students at VIU? A Very important B Important C Not very important D Not important at all How would you evaluate your students’ speaking ability? A Excellent B Very good C Good D Average E Bad V How you find speaking activities in the textbook being used to teach the first- year students? A They are easy B They are normal C They are difficult My students don’t have enough background knowledge and English words to express their ideas D They are very difficult My students say nothing in speaking lessons How often you organize discussion activities in your speaking class? A Always B Often C Sometimes D Rarely E Never Thank you very much for your cooperation! VI APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS Dear students, This questionnaire is designed and conducted to get information about your attitudes towards speaking lessons and discussion activities after they had been applied Your cooperation with sincere answers is highly appreciated You can be confident that this questionnaire is for research only and that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Thank you very much for your cooperation! Please complete this questionnaire by circling the choices that are suitable to you Your level of interest in learning speaking skill after your teacher used the kinds of discussion activities recently in your speaking lessons? A Extremely interested B Very interested C Interested D Uninterested How feel when you take part in the discussion activities in your speaking lessons? A Extremely excited B Very excited C Excited D Unexcited How you find speaking skill in terms of difficulty? A Too difficult B Difficult C Normal D Easy In your opinion, how much does learning speaking through discussion activities help you improve your speaking English ability? A Very much B Much VII C A little D Not at all In the following table please indicate your evaluation of discussion activities that your teacher used recently in your speaking lessons? (Tick (√) in the box that best indicates your opinion) Criteria Strongly Agree agree Normal Disagree Strongly disagree A Suitability for students’ linguistic level B Suitability for students’ interest C Offering the amount of time for participation D Providing opportunities for learning with peers E Increasing language practice opportunities F English is used more than Vietnamese in class G Fostering a comfortable and relaxing learning environment H Lowering anxiety and develop confidence I Should be a part in speaking lessons Thank you very much for your cooperation! VIII APPENDIX (phiên tiếng Việt) BẢNG CÂU HỎI DÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN Các em sinh viên thân mến, Bảng câu hỏi nhằm mục đích tìm hiểu thái độ em học nói hoạt động thảo luận sau áp dụng học nói Sự hợp tác câu trả lời chân thành em đánh giá cao Các em tin tưởng bảng câu hỏi phục vụ mục đích nghiên cứu thơng tin em bảo mật Cảm ơn hợp tác em ! Em hoàn thành bảng câu hỏi cách khoanh tròn câu trả lời phù hợp với em Em có thích học kỹ nói sau giáo viên sử dụng hoạt động thảo luận học nói gần đây? A Vơ thích B Rất thích C Thích D Khơng thích Em cảm thấy tham gia hoạt động thảo luận học nói? A Vơ hào hứng B Rất hào hứng C Hào hứng D Không hào hứng Em thấy kỹ nói khó nào? A Quá khó B Khó C Bình thường D Dễ Theo em, học nói thơng qua hoạt động thảo luận giúp em nâng cao khả nói tiếng Anh em tới mức nào? A Rất nhiều B Nhiều C Một chút D Không nâng cao IX Trong bảng sau em đánh giá hoạt động thảo luận mà giáo viên em áp dụng gần ( Em đánh dấu(√) vào ô lựa chọn em) Các tiêu chí đánh giá Hồn Đồng ý Bình tồn thường đồng ý Khơng Hồn đồng ý tồn khơng đồng ý A Phù hợp với trình độ ngơn ngữ sinh viên B Phù hợp với thích thú sinh viên C Tạo thời gian để tham gia D Tạo hội học bạn E Nâng cao hội thực hành ngôn ngữ F Tiếng Anh sử dụng nhiều G Tạo môi trường học tập thoải mái, dễ chịu H Giảm lo lắng, tạo tự tin I Cần lồng ghép học nói Cảm ơn hợp tác em ! X APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS Dear colleagues, This questionnaire is designed and conducted to get information about your attitudes towards speaking lessons and discussion activities after they had been applied Your cooperation with sincere answers is highly appreciated You can be confident that this questionnaire is for research only and that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Thank you very much for your cooperation! Please complete this questionnaire by circling the choices that are suitable to you What you think about the importance of discussion activities in motivating your students to speak English? A Very important B Important C Not very important at all How can you motivate your students participate in discussion activities in speaking lessons? (You can choose more than one answer) A Let students to choose topics to discuss according to their preference to the lesson B Clarify aims and establish goals for each discussion so that students enjoy thinking about the topic C Give students some useful suggestions related to the topic D Form small discussion groups where students may feel safer expressing themselves before ideas are shared with the class as a whole E Arranging the physical environment of the classroom so that it is conducive to discussion XI F Others How are discussion activities prepared for your students? (You can choose more than one answer) A Design discussion activities at the right level for students B Provide students an instruction to the topic of the lesson C Provide students necessary vocabulary and expressions before asking them to carry out the task D Prepare authentic materials and teaching aids In which stage of speaking lessons you think the appropriate time for teachers to use discussion activities? (You can choose more than one answer) A Lead-in B Pre-speaking C While-speaking D Post-speaking How you organise your class when you use discussion activities? (You can choose more than one answer) A Set up pair work B Set up small group work C Set up large group work What kinds of feedback you give to your students about their performance in discussion activities? (You can choose more than one answer) A Teacher feedback to an individual B Teacher feedback to the class C Peer feedback In your opinion, how much has your students’ speaking ability been improved after applying discussion activities in speaking lessons? A Very much XII B Much C A little C Not at all Do you think discussion activities should be a part in speaking lessons? A Yes B No XIII APPENDIX CLASSROOM OBSERVATION I Profile of the observed lesson Class:………………………………… Date of observation: ………………… Name of the observed teacher: ……………………………………………………… Lesson: ……………………………… Time: ………………… II Observation Aspects observed Notes Students’ attitude Students’ involvement Students’ language used Students’ ideas Students’ self-confident to make conversations with their friends Students’ interaction with each other The teacher’s preparation and organisation discussion activities in class Ways the teacher to encourage students to participate in discussion activities Interaction between the XIV teacher and students COMMENTS: ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… XV ... these above reasons, the researcher has decided to conduct the study of ? ?The use of discussion activities to enhance the first-year students’ motivation and speaking performance: A Study at Viet-Hung. .. that the thesis entitled THE USE OF DISCUSSION ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION AND SPEAKING PERFORMANCE: A STUDY AT VIET-HUNG INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY Is the result of my... questionnaire to the teachers and students at VIU and qualitative data were collected via the classroom observations Williams, C (2011:70) assert that “Quantitative and qualitative research methods