An action research on methods to improve students’ confidence in speaking English at Nguyen Ba Ngoc lower secondary school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ TUYẾT ANH AN ACTION RESEARCH ON METHODS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ CONFIDENCE IN SPEAKING ENGLISH AT NGUYEN BA NGOC LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL Nghiên cứu hành đô ̣ng nhằ m nâng cao khả tư ̣ tin tiế ng anh của ho ̣c sinh lớp tại trường Trung ho ̣c sở Nguyễn Bá Ngo ̣c M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 HA NOI 2014 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ TUYẾT ANH AN ACTION RESEARCH ON METHODS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ CONFIDENCE IN SPEAKING ENGLISH AT NGUYEN BA NGOC LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL Nghiên cứu hành đô ̣ng nhằ m nâng cao khả tư ̣ tin tiế ng anh của ho ̣c sinh lớp tại trường Trung ho ̣c sở Nguyễn Bá Ngo ̣c M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: PROF.DR HOÀNG VĂN VÂN HA NOI 2014 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis is the results of my own research and that the substance of the thesis has not, wholly or part, been submitted for a degree to any other university or institution Hanoi, June, 2014 Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Anh i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In completing my thesis, I have received warmly help from my supervisor, teachers and students of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School, family and friends First and for most, I would like to show my deep gratitude to Prof Dr Hoàng Văn Vân who directly guides me Thanks to his useful advice and detailed comments in the preparation as well as the correction Besides he always supported and created favorable conditions for me to complete this thesis Secondly, I would also like to express my deep thanks to the staff of the Faculty of Post- graduate Studies ULIS for their help and for their interesting lectures and support, which are really useful for this research Thirdly, I would like to send my sincere thanks to the headmaster of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School for giving a chance to talk and exchange ideas with the teachers and students Fourthly, I also would like to send my special thanks to all English teachers at my school who take part in my talks and share their experience Finally, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my family and my friends for their supports and encouragement Without them I might not have been able to complete the research ii ABSTRACT This research is conducted with the purpose to improving students‟ confidence in speaking skill at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School The subjects of the study are 65 ninth graders of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School The data are collected through talks with colleagues, students‟ pre- questionnaire and post- questionnaires and analysis of the textbook The research was conducted during the first semester of the school year The study shows that most students at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School experience many difficulties in speaking English They are not confident when they speak or talk with their teachers and their friends To make situation better, an action plan was made which focus on using warm up activities, group work and project - based activities to help students to improve speaking skill I hope that the study will be helpful to English teachers who share the same aspiration to help students to solve their problems in improving their students‟ confidence in speaking English Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Anh iii LISTS OF CHARTS CHARTS Chart 1: Students‟ evaluation on their confidence Chart 2: Factors making students lack of self confidence Chart 3: Teaching method‟s affection Chart 4: Students‟ impression on the textbook and English speaking lessons Chart 5: Students‟ frequency of speaking English in class Chart 6: Students‟ frequency self- study at home after school Chart 7: What makes students interested in learning English speaking skill best iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Declaration i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii List of charts and tables iv Table of Contents v PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the research Aims of the research 2.1 Aim 2.2 Objectives Scope of the research Research questions Methodology Design of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT Chapter I: literature review 1.1 Speaking skills 1.1.1 Definitions of speaking and speaking skill 1.1.1.1 What is speaking? 1.1.1.2 What is speaking skill? 1.1.2 The difficulties in teaching and learning English speaking 1.1.3 Types of speaking 1.1.3.1 From-focused speaking 1.1.3.2 Meaning-focused speaking 1.1.3.3 Fluency-focused speaking 1.1.4 Definition of confidence 1.5 The importance of students‟ confidence in language learning 1.1.6 Main factors affecting students‟ English speaking 10 1.1.6.1 Fear of mistake 10 1.1.6.2 Shyness 10 v 1.1.6.3 Anxiety 11 1.1.6.4 Lack of confidence 11 1.1.6.5 Lack of motivation .11 1.1.6.6 Vocabulary 12 1.1.6.7 Pronunciation .12 1.1.6.8 Accent 12 CHAPTER II : THE METHODOLOGY .13 2.1.Context of the study 13 2.1.1 An overwiew of teaching and learning English at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School .13 2.2 English teaching staff 13 2.3 The student 13 2.4 English learning and teaching condition 13 2.5 Textbook 14 2.6 Participants .14 2.7 Data collecting instruments .15 2.7.1 Talks with colleagues and personal class observation 15 2.7.1.1 Talks with colleagues .15 2.7.1.2 Personal class observation 15 2.7.2 Pre-Questionnaire table for students 15 2.7.3 Post-trying out questionnaire 15 2.8 Research procedure 16 2.8.1 Phrase 1: Diagnosing 16 2.8.2 Phrase 2: Action planning .17 2.8.3 Phrase 3: Taking action 17 2.8.4 Phrase 4: Evaluating .17 2.8.5 Phrase Specifying learning 18 2.9 Summary 18 CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 19 3.1 Diagnosing data 19 3.1.1 Analysis of the textbook 19 3.1.1.1 English 19 3.1.2 Analysis of talks with colleagues 19 vi 3.1.3 Analysis of class observation 20 3.1.4 Analysis of students‟ pre-questionnaires 22 3.1.5 Drawing a plan of action to solve the problem .30 3.1.6 Some suggested solutions .31 3.1.7 Acting stage 32 3.1.7.1 Lesson using the warm up, work group and project – based activities 32 3.1.8 Action research evaluation .37 3.1.8.1 Post-questionnaire evaluation 37 3.1.9 Major findings and discussions .40 PART III: CONCLUSION 41 Recapitulation .41 Conclusions 41 Recommendations 42 Limitations and suggestions for further study 42 REFERENCES 43 APPENDICES I vii PART I: INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the research Nowadays, with the increasing development of international relations among countries, learning English, especially learning English speaking is playing a more and more important role People use English for communication and discussion at the world forums and in different aspects of life Learning a foreign language represents one of the essential requirements of today‟s society Besides other skills and knowledge, it is considered as one of the most influencing factors while applying for a job or sustaining in a particular work position under the condition of advancing the language level In Vietnam, English speaking is also very essential for people who want to find a good job Thus, learning English speaking has become more important than ever English teaching and learning in Vietnam has been developing at an unprecedented speed It has become the number one foreign language to be taught both inside and outside the formal educational system of many countries As a lower secondary English teacher, I know that how English has become one of the compulsory subjects in the curriculum and how Vietnamese education system appreciates the importance of English learning nowadays Most language teachers, following a traditional, test-oriented teaching approach, often concentrate on teaching English vocabulary, grammar, and sometimes on pronunciation, all the language elements covered in the textbooks Therefore students not spend much time on speaking and as a result they lack their confidence when speaking the language In order to study English as a foreign language and to be successful with it, students must be helped by the teacher to acquire skills in the four language skills, namely: speaking, listening, writing, and reading Of these four skills, speaking is the skill secondary school students need great support In my teaching experience, I have found that one of the aspects that they really need is to build their confidence in speaking English That is why in this thesis I want to find out the factors that Appendix 4: PRE- QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (Vietnamese) Chào em! Chào em, cô thực bảng câu hỏi điều tra với mục đích thu thập số liệu cho đề tài Nghiên cứu hành động nhm nõng cao kh nng t tin nói tiếng anh học sinh lớp trường Trung học sở Nguyễn B¸ Ngọc) C¸c em sÏ khoanh câu trả lời cho câu hỏi d-ới viết câu trả lời Cô cảm ơn tham gia cđa c¸c em Câu hỏi 1: Trong nói tiếng anh em có sợ, lúng túng khơng ? a Rất lo lắng sợ sệt b Khá lo sợ c Hơi lo sợ d Không Cõu hi 2: Khi nói tiếng anh em thiếu tự tin vì: a Thiếu từ vựng b Phát âm không c Không có để nói d Sợ mắc lỗi e Khơng thực hành nói thường xuyên Câu hỏi 3: Khi em nói bị mắc lỗi, giáo viên thường chữa lỗi sai em nào? a Ngắt lời em chữa b Cho em ngồi xuống gọi bạn khác chữa c Phê bình em nói sai trc lp d Bị yêu cầu nói ch-a có sù chuÈn bÞ Câu hỏi 4: Em thấy nội dung nói Tiếng Anh sách giáo khoa lớp tiết học nói tiếng anh lớp nh- thÕ nµo? a Q khó b Q dễ c Thú vị d Nhàm chán e B×nh th-êng IV Câu hỏi 5: Trong học nói tiếng Anh líp em có chăm luyện tập khơng ? a Luôn b Thường xuyên c Thỉnh thoảng d Gần không e Không Câu hỏi 6: Em tù häc nói tiÕng anh ë nhµ nh- thÕ nµo ? a Luôn b Thường xuyên c Thỉnh thoảng d Gần không e Không Câu hỏi 7: Điều làm em hứng thú học nói tiếng Anh nhất? a Chủ đề nói hấp dẫn b Hoạt động nói thú vị c Phương pháp dạy tốt d Ý kiến khác: V Câu hỏi 8: Trong học nói tiếng Anh em có thường xuyên thực hoạt động sau hay khơng? Có Khơng a Làm việc với bạn nhiều bạn b Đóng kịch với bạn c Chơi trị chơi d Thảo luận tự bạn tìm giải pháp e Hoàn thành hội thoại f Tạo dựng câu nói g Hỏi trả lời câu hỏi h Mơ tả tranh i Thảo luận theo chủ đề k Học trực quan( tranh ảnh, phim, ) Câu hỏi Em thấy thích thú hoạt động nào? Rất thích a Làm việc theo cặp theo nhóm b Đóng kịch c Chơi trị chơi d Thảo luận tự tìm giải pháp e Hồn thành hội thoại f Tạo dựng câu nói g Hỏi trả lời câu hỏi h Mô tả tranh i Thảo luận theo chủ đề k Học trực quan (tranh ảnh, phim, ) VI Thích Bình Khơng thường thích Ghét Câu hỏi 10 Em cã thÝch viÖc häc nãi có sử dụng hoạt động khởi động, làm việc theo nhóm hc theo d ỏn hay không? a Cã b Kh«ng VII Appendix 6: PRE- QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (English) This survey questionnaire is designed for my thesis: “An action research on methods to improve students‟ confidence in speaking English in Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School” Your assistance completing this survey questionnaire is highly appreciated Please circle the most appropriate options according to you or write the answer where necessary Question : When you speak English, Are you nervous and anxiety? a Very anxious b Quite anxious c Alittle anxious d Non Question 2: You lack of confidence, because: a Lack of vocabulary b.Wrong pronunciation c.Nothing to say d Afraid of making mistake e.Not speak very often Question 3: When you make mistake, how does your teacher often correct it? a Interrupt and correct immediately b Let you sit down and call another correct it c Criticize you before class d Being asked without preparation Question 4: How you think about the speaking contents in the text book and English speaking lessons? a Very interesting b Interesting c Normal d Not very interesting e Boring VIII Question 5: How often you speak English in English class time? a Always b Usually c Sometimes d Rarely e Never Question 6: How often you self study at home after school? a Always b Usually c Sometimes d Rarely e Never Question 7: What makes you interested in learning English speaking skill best? a Interesting topics b Exciting activities c Good teaching methods e Other: ………………………………………………………… IX Question 8: In speaking lesson, which of the following activities you often practice ? Yes No a Pair work and group work b Role play d Games e Free discussion and problem solving f Completing dialogue practice g Making up sentences orally h Question and answer exchanges i Picture description k Topic based discussion l Visual aids (pictures, maps, music, handouts) Question How you like these techniques? Very like like normal Do not like a pair work and group work b role play c play games d Free discussion and problem solving e Completing dialogue practice f Making up sentences orally g Question and answer exchanges h Picture description i Topic based discussion k Visual aids (pictures, maps, music, handouts) Question 10 Do you like speaking English through warm up activities, work group and topics - based activities? a.Yes b.No X hate Appendix 7: POST- QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (Vietnamese) Câu hỏi 1: Sau học tiết học Tiếng Anh có sử dụng hoạt động khởi động, làm việc theo nhóm học qua dự án, em cảm thấy nào? a khó d thú vị b dễ e nhàm chán c bình thường Câu hỏi 2: Em có nghĩ tiết học có sử dụng hoạt động khởi động, làm việc theo nhóm học qua dự án giúp em học Tiếng Anh dễ không? a không đồng ý d đồng ý b không đồng ý e đồng ý c khơng có ý kiến Câu hỏi 3: Em nghĩ thay đổi số thay đổi thành công tiết học hôm nay? a Nội dung học thú vị b Khơng khí lớp học vui nhộn c Các hoạt động tập nghe nói thú vị d Tất thay đổi Câu hỏi 4: Em cảm thấy đạt tiến sau tiết học có sử dụng hoạt động khởi động, làm việc theo nhóm, học qua dự án ? a Các hoạt động nghe nói thú vị nên em tích cực tham gia b Kỹ nói em cải thiện c Em tự tin đứng trước lớp để nói d Em thực hành nghe nói tốt nhóm với bạn quen XI Appendix 8: POST- QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (English) Question 1: What you think about the lessons using warm up, work group, project- based activities? a too difficult d interesting and challenging b too easy e boring c so so Question 2: Do you think the lessons using warm up activities, work group, project- based activities have made English easier for you to learn? a extremely disagree d agree b disagree e strongly agree c I don‟t know Question 3: Which of the changes made by the teacher were successful? a Interesting stories b Good atmosphere in the lessons c Interesting activities and tasks d all of a, b, c Question 4: What are your own changes after taking part in the lessons using warm up, work group, project- based activities? a I am motivated to listen and speak in English more than before because the teacher gives out many interesting activities b I have made progress in speaking c I am confident enough to act in groups even though I stand in front of the class d I can work better because I work with my acquaintances XII Appendix 9: Unit a trip to the countryside lesson speak ( p24) October 2nd 2013 at 8.20 a.m LEVEL: ninth graders LENGTH: 45 minutes TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS: 65 (2 CLASSES) TEXTBOOK: TIẾNG ANH OBJECTIVE: By the end of the lesson students will: - Practice asking for and giving information about home village - Will be able to talk about their home village LANGUAGE TARGET: - Vocabulary: route, pond, parking lot, cattle, fruit garden - Language: Ask for and giving information - Skills: Speaking skill to talk about the home village - Attitude: love and be proud of the countryside Work arrangement: pair work, group work, topic- based activities Preparation Teacher: book, power point Students: book, picture of their home village Anticipated problems Problem: Ss may forget how to talk about the position and distance Solution: Ts should revise some structures, models Procedure Warm-up: Brain storming (5’) Teacher gives topic sentence, students think of it for a while and answer the question What things you often see in a village? - a rice paddy field - cattle - a vegetable garden XIII - a river flowing across the village - an old house - a fruit tree Pre- speaking Pre- teach ( 7’) To the north To the south Do… for a living Students read the given question and information carefully Students practice in pair (S1,S2) ask and answer about the village‟s information Ex: S1: Where is your home village? S2: It is to the south of the city What about your home village? S1: Oh, It is the north of the city ……………………… Teacher calls a good pair student to practice first Then the weak pair will talk after that While- speaking (15’) Students work in pair practice asking and answering about the real information of their village The students not have home village can change the information in suggested section Teacher controls the class and help weak students Teacher asks some pairs to practice the dialogue before class and suggests correcting mistake after each dialogue Post- speaking (15’) After practicing the dialogue in pair thoroughly, teacher asks students to describe their home village by writing about ten sentences Teacher writes some deliberate mistake on the board and asks students to correct it Home work (2’) Learn by heart the home village‟s writing XIV Unit The media Lesson speak ( p 42) November 6th 2013 at 10:20 a.m LEVEL: ninth graders LENGTH: 45 minutes TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS: 65 (2 CLASSES) TEXTBOOK: TIẾNG ANH OBJECTIVE: By the end of the lesson students will: - Practice speaking about the programs on TV - Will be able to talk to their friends about the programs that they like or dislike LANGUAGE TARGET: - Vocabulary: violent, documentary, informative, telegraph, assignment, journalism - Language: Tag questions; gerund - Skills: Speaking skill to talk about the programs that they like or dislike using Tag questions - Attitude: be interested in media and know about the convenience of internet in the life Work arrangement: pair work, group work, topic- based activities Preparation Teacher: book, power point Students: information about media, web, Internet Anticipated problems Problem: Ss won‟t have enough time to practice all the lessons Solution: Ts should give some suggestions Class organization Warm up (7’): Net word Teacher asks students to work in group in minutes to write about T.V programs then write quickly on the paper XV Folk Music Health for everyone Drama Children’s Corner Wildlife World News Safe Traffic News TV programs Film Cartoon Sports Weather Forecast Documentary …………… Literature & Art Teacher checks the answers then gives mark for the best group and gives students some questions Are these programs interesting, aren‟t these? Which programs you like best? Pre – speaking (7’) Pre- teach violent: documentary: informative: Teacher introduces the situation of the dialogue, asks students to listen and then practice the dialogue in pair, ask and answer the question: Does Lien like sports TV programs? What does Lien like, why? Teacher asks students in order to let them find out the model sentence Model: You like watching sports, don‟t you? You don‟t like foreign films, you? Teacher checks students‟ understanding about the model by asking How many parts does the question have? How does the question form? XVI When does the question use? While speaking (15’) Students read the dialogue in pair again and work together to build the similar dialogue which talk about their favorite TV programs and explain the reason they like ex: S1: You like watching sports, don‟t you? S2: Not really Some sports are violent, and I don‟t like them I prefer cartoons They are interesting S1: You don‟t like Literature and Art, you? S2: No, I don‟t I am not interested in them? DAILY TELEVISION GUIDE Thursday, Oct 16 VTV1 VTV2 VTV3 8.30 Folk music 9.15 Documentary: Dien Bien Phu Battle 6.00 Football: Newcastle vs Southampton 10.00 Cartoon: Tom & Jerry 13.00 Learning English through Songs 11.30 Children’s Corner 18.15 Literature & Art 14.00 Health for Everyone 15.15 Film: Being a Mother (Viet Nam) 19.00 News 15.30 Gardening: How to Plant Pear Trees 21.00 Song I Love 20.00 Safe Traffic News 21.30 Wildlife World 22.00 Sport: English Badminton 21.30 Drama: Love and Life 22.15 Weather Forecast 23.30 English News Teacher gives some suggestions, adjectives and help students when they need Teacher calls students practice in pair, listen to them, give them good mark and corrects the mistake if necessary Post – speaking (15’) Students talk about these programs they like or dislike, ask their friend and tick V if they like or X if they don‟t like XVII Name news drama You V X Wildlife World V Literature & Art Health Children‟ for s Corner Everyone Folk Music V V X Lan Minh Students write information in their paper and tell it to their friend Home work (3’) - Students write sentences with tag question - Ask their member of their family about the favorite programs, tick the answer on the table and talk about it in the next period XVIII