Factors affecting students'''' interest in learning speaking skills at Finance and Accounting Department, Hoa Binh University

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES PHẠM THỊ VÂN FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS’ INTEREST IN LEARNING SPEAKING SKILLS AT FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT, HOA BINH UNIVERSITY (Những yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến hứng thú việc học kỹ nói sinh viên khoa Tài Chính Kế Tốn trường Đại học Hịa Bình) M.A.MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI - 2015 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES PHẠM THỊ VÂN FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS’ INTEREST IN LEARNING SPEAKING SKILLS AT FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT, HOA BINH UNIVERSITY (Những yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến hứng thú việc học kỹ nói sinh viên khoa Tài Chính Kế Tốn trường Đại học Hịa Bình) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Dr Phạm Đăng Bình HANOI - 2015 DECLARATION I, Pham Thi Van, hereby state that, this minor thesis entitled: “Factors affecting students' interest in learning speaking skills at Finance and Accounting Department, Hoa Binh University” is the result of my own research and all the material in this study which is not my own work has been identified and acknowledged I also state that the substance of the thesis has not, wholly or in part, been submitted for any degree to any other universities institutions Hanoi, April, 2015 Phạm Thị Vân i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS During the process of writing this thesis, I have been fortunate to receive supports and assistance from many people First and foremost, I am deeply grateful to my supervisor, Dr Phạm Đăng Bình, who has been ready and willing to help me make my study possible He has put enormous effort into editing and in providing valuable comments I would not have completed the thesis without his help and sympathy I would also like to convey my deepest thanks to all my teachers of the post graduate Department of University of languages and International studies - Vietnam National University and Hoa Binh University whose fundamental knowledge about language and language teaching and learning is of great importance to the achievement of my academic study I am most thankful to the students of Finance and Accounting Department, Hoa Binh University who help me to gather information for my survey questionnaire I would also like to take this opportunity to show my deep thanks to all the teachers at Finance and Accounting Department, Hoa Binh University for their constructive suggestion for this research, and for their willingness to give information for my survey questionnaire Last but not least, I owe my deep thanks to my family and friends who have helped and encouraged me while I was conducting the research ii ABSTRACT It is considered that speaking is given the most important account of four skills in learning English In comparison with other skills, speaking will be used most often in our life However, in reality, students at Finance and Accounting Department, Hoa Binh University are not much interested in speaking English The study focuses on the factors affecting students' interest in learning speaking skills at Finance and Accounting Department, Hoa Binh University Once the problems have been identified, suggestions to improve the situation of teaching and learning English for teachers and students at Finance and Accounting Department, Hoa Binh University would be made In this paper, the researcher uses “survey questionnaire” for 150 students at Finance and Accounting Department and seven teachers teaching the students iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT: Communicative Language Teaching HBU: Hoa Binh University iv LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS Tables Table 1: Students’ reasons for learning speaking skill Table 2: Students’ interest in speaking activities Table 3: Students’ factors make them not interested in speaking English Table 4a, 4b: Students’ opinions about your teacher’s method and characteristics Table 5: Students’ opinion about classroom’s size, facilities, and materials for speaking Table 6: Teachers’ attitude towards speaking skill Table 7a: Teachers’ method Table b: Teachers’ activities Table 8: Teachers’ opinion of students’ factors making them less interested in speaking English? Table 9: Teachers’ suggestions to enhance students’ interest in speaking activities Charts Chart 1: Students’ years of learning English Chart 2: Students’ opinions about the importance of English speaking skill Chart 3: Students’ assessment about their own abilities in speaking skill Chart 4: Teachers’ assessment about students’ speaking ability v TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration i Acknowledgements .ii Abstract iii List of abbreviations iv List of tables and charts v Table of contents vi Part A: Introduction 1.Rationale of the study Aims of the study 3.Significance of the study 4.Scope of the study Research method of the study 6.Organization of the study Part B: Development Chapter 1: Literature review 1.1.Interest 1.2.Theory of speaking 1.1.1.Concept of speaking 1.1.2.The role of speaking in teaching and learning 1.1.3.Teaching speaking skills in CLT approach 1.3 Factors affecting students’ interest in speaking 1.3.1 Students’ factors 1.3.1.1 Students’ language proficiency leve 1.3.1.2 Students’ personality factors 1.3.2.Teachers’ factors 1.3.2.1 Teachers’ teaching methods 1.3.2.2 Teachers’ knowledge and characteristics 10 1.3.3 Objective factors 10 vi 1.3.3.1 Classroom size 10 1.3.3.2 Facilities in classroom 11 1.3.3.3 Reading materials and their roles 11 Chapter 2: Methodology Background of the study 13 2.1.1 Short description of Hoa Binh University ( HBU) 13 2.1.2 The teachers 13 2.1.3 The students at the Finance and Accounting Department 13 2.1.4 The materials and syllabus 14 2.2 Research questions 16 2.3 Participants 16 2.4 Data collection instruments 16 2.5 Conclusion 17 Chapter 3: Results and discussions 18 3.1 Data analysis 18 3.1.1 Results from survey questionnaires for students 18 3.1.1.1 Students’ years of learning English 18 3.1.1.2 Students’ opinions about the importance of English speaking skill 19 3.1.1.3 Students’ reasons for learning speaking skill 19 3.1.1.4 Students’ assessment about their own abilities in speaking skill 20 3.1.1.5 Students’ interest in speaking activities 21 3.1.1.6 Students’ factors make them less interested in speaking English 21 3.1.1.7 Students’ opinions about your teacher’s method and characteristics.22 3.1.1.8 Students’ opinion about classroom’s size, facilities, and materials for speaking 23 3.1.2 Results from survey questionnaires for teachers 24 3.1.2.1 Teachers’ attitude towards speaking kill 24 3.1.2.2 Teachers’ assessment about students’ speaking ability 25 3.1.2.3 Teachers’ method and activities 25 vii 3.1.2.4 Teachers’ opinion of students’ factors making them less interested in speaking English 27 3.1.2.5 Teachers’ suggestions to enhance students’ interest in speaking activities 28 3.2 Findings and discussion 28 3.2.1 Students’ little interest in speaking English 29 3.2.2 Students’ factors 29 3.2.3 Teachers’ factors 29 3.2.4 Classroom factors 30 3.2.5 Material factors 30 3.2.6 Conclusion 31 Chapter 4: Implications and recommendations 32 4.1 The students 32 4.2 The teachers 32 4.3 The classroom 33 Part C: Conclusion 34 Summary of the study 34 Limitation and suggestions for further study 35 2.1 Limitation 35 2.2 Suggestions for further study 35 References 37 Appendices I viii CHAPTER 4: IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 4.1.The students According to the above findings, the researcher would like to give some suggestions to enhance the students' interest in learning speaking skills Firstly, most students not join speaking lesson much because they are shy and nervous when speaking in front of other people and anxious about making mistakes and being laughed by other students To solve the problem, they should try to practice speaking at home alone or with a friend If they practice at home, no one can laugh at them and they can speak more fluently As a result, they will feel more confident to speak out in class Secondly, to have motivation for speaking English, the students should not consider English as a difficult and compulsory subject They should think that it is a useful tool for them to discover the knowledge and the key for their job in the future From the thought, they will not be stressful in learning it Finally, to enhance the pronunciation, stress and intonation; grammar structures and vocabulary, the students should set up the habit of self-study They can watch their favorite films, read news on Internet, newspapers and magazines with their favorite topics in English After watching and reading, they should try to tell the content of the films or news in their words By doing it every day, they will gradually get used to speaking English and feel more confident to express their ideas in English 4.2 The teachers Because most of the students are shy, nervous when speaking and are worried about being laughed when they make mistakes, the teachers should encourage the students to speak by creating a pleasant, friendly and co-operative classroom atmosphere; and establish close relationship with the students Especially, the teachers should make supportive comments on the student’s 32 mistakes instead of criticism comments so that the students not feel ashamed of making mistakes Moreover, to avoid the students’ boredom and enhance their interest as well as motivation, teachers should apply a lot of activities in speaking such as games, role-play, discussion or interview, etc In addition, teachers should not focus much on grammar, and structures when teaching speaking They should create maximum opportunity for the students to speak out so that the students will speak more fluently and confidently without worrying much about grammar and structure mistakes Particularly, teachers should not speak much but they should play a role as an instructor and an advisor They should only give instruction and make comments on the students’ speaking Finally, if the class is too large and there are a lot of the students in class, teachers should organize the students to speak in a small group so that the students can have more chance to speak and make use of speaking time instead of waiting for their speaking turn 4.3 The classroom Not only classroom’s equipments but also classroom size is very important in learning English, especially in learning speaking According to the above findings, the classroom in learning speaking is too large to get the students to be focused, which affects the quality of the speaking activities Therefore, English class should be organized in a small classroom or with a small number of students in order to get the highest quality in learning I think the dean of Finance and Accounting Department should consider the problem carefully and immediately 33 PART C: CONCLUSION This chapter will present the summary of the study and discuss its limitations and suggestions for further study Summary of the study The researcher carried out the study to find out how students at Finance and Accounting Department, Hoa Binh University are interested in learning speaking skill; factors affecting students' interest in learning speaking skills, and then give some recommendations for teachers, students to enhance students’ interest in speaking English In the study, the researcher uses two questionnaires as research instruments for both teachers and students From their responses, the three research questions have been answered For the first question “How are students interested in learning speaking skills?”, all of the students said that they are not interested in speaking skills even though they think that speaking English is very important to them They just study speaking because it is a skill of a compulsory subject and it is useful for their future job For the second question “What are the factors affecting students' interest in learning speaking skills?”, the answer is found out clearly The factors lie on students, teachers and classroom size The students are shy and nervous when speaking in front of other people and anxious about making mistakes and being laughed by other students Moreover, the teachers’ method is not appropriate They not make maximum opportunity for students to speak and they spend a lot of time on grammar and vocabulary Furthermore, the class room size is too big for the students to be concentrated on speaking For the third question “What should be done to enhance students’ interest in speaking English?”, the researcher gives some suggestions for students, 34 teachers Firstly, the students should increase self- study time so that they can feel confident when speaking in front of others They should watch their favorite films, read news on Internet, newspapers and magazines with their favorite topics in English to learn the way native speakers speak in order to apply it in their speaking Besides, they shouldn’t put a lot of stress on speaking skill or English For teachers, they should create a friendly classroom environment, make supportive comments and use various speaking activities; create chance for students to speak Especially, for classroom, it is better for students to learn in a small classroom in speaking periods so that they can focus much more As a result, they will become fonder of speaking Limitation and suggestions for further study 2.1 Limitation Though the study is carried out carefully, there are some shortcomings because of lack of time, resources and the researcher’s ability In the first point, the study is implemented with 150 students at Finance and Accounting Department and teachers Therefore, the result may not generalize for all students at Finance and Accounting Department and for all teachers Moreover, the researcher only uses survey questionnaires as the research instrument In spite of the above unavoidable limitations, the researcher hopes that the study will help students and teachers at not only Finance and Accounting Department, HBU but also those at all university and other universities in their English learning and teaching 2.2 Suggestions for further study The study only covers the possible factors affecting students' interest in learning speaking skills The subjects of the study are only students at Finance and Accounting Department, Hoa Binh University and teachers teaching the 35 students As we can see that the study mentions a very small part of teaching and learning English Therefore, the researcher would like to give some suggestions for further study: - Factors affecting students' interest in learning listening skills at Hoa Binh University - Factors affecting students' interest in learning reading skills at Hoa Binh University - Factors affecting students' interest in learning writing skills at Hoa Binh University 36 REFERENCES Barry, K ( 1993) Beginning Teaching (2nd ed) Wentworth Falls: Social Science Press Brown, H.D (1994) Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents Brown, G and Yule, G (1983) Teaching the spoken language, Cambridge University Burn, A., & Joyce, H (1997).Focus on speaking Sydney: NC ELTR Bygate, M.(1987) Speaking Oxford, OUP Byrne, D (1986).Teaching Oral English Harlow, Essex, Longman Chaney, A.L.B., &Burk, T.L (1988) Teaching Oral Communication Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 13 Chaudron, C (1988) Second Language Classrooms: Research on Teaching and Learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Dalle T & Thrush E 2003 Practising oral skills in large classes Teacher’s Edition 245 (13): 4-8 Ellis, R (1985).Understanding Second Language Acquisition Oxford: Oxford University Press Ellis , R (1994) The Study of Second Language Acquisition Oxford: Oxford University Press Harmer, J (1991) The Practice of English Language Teaching London: Longman Hayes, (1997) Helping Teachers to Cope with Large Classes, Retrieved June from ELT Journal Volume 51/2 Oxford University Press Hymes, D.H (1992) In Richards, J.C.,& Rogers, T C (1986) Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Larsen- Freeman, D (1986) Techniques and principles in language teaching, Oxford, OUP 37 Le Van Canh, (2000) Language and Vietnamese pedagogical contexts In J.Shaw, D.Lubelska, & M Noullet (Eds.), Partnership and interaction: Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Language and Development Bangkok: Asian Institute of Technolog Mathews-Aydinly, J., (2006) Promoting the success of multilevel ESL classes: What teachers and administrators can Washington, DC: Center for Adult English Language Acquisition Mitchell, R (1994) The Communicative Approach to Language Teaching in Aswarbrick (ed) Nunan, D (1992) Research Methods in Language Teaching Cambridge : CUP Pattison, P (1992), Developing communication Skills, Cambridge University Press Richards, J.C., &Lockhart, C (1994) Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classroom Cambridge University Press Rod, E (1985) Understanding Second Language Acquisition Oxford: Oxford University Press Savignon, S.J (2000) Communicative language Teaching and Learning London: Routledge Encyclopedia of Language Teaching and Learning London Routledge, 126-128 Underwood, M (1987) Effective Class Management: A practical Approach New York: Longman, 33-34 Ur, P (1996) A course in Language Teaching Practice and Theory Cambridge: CUP Ur, P (2000) A course in Language Teaching Practice and Theory Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching 38 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: Survey questionnaire for students The questionnaire is to collect the data for the study “Factors affecting students' interest in learning speaking skills at Finance and Accounting Department, Hoa Binh University” and it will be used for the purposes of data analysis Your assistance in truthfully responding the following questions is highly appreciated Your confidentiality is assured In completing these following questions, please choose the answer by circling the letter next to your choice, ticking items or expressing your ideas in the blanks Thank you very much for your cooperation! How long have you studied English? A Less than year C More than 3-6 years B 1-3 years D More than years How is English speaking skill important to you? A Very important C Little important B Important D Not important Why you study English speaking? (you can choose more than one option) A Because it is a skill of a compulsory subject B Because it is interesting C Because it is useful for the future job D Because it is helpful for you to communicate with foreigners E Others (please specify): ………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………… I What you think about your English speaking skill? A Excellent B Good C Acceptable D Bad E Very bad How much you feel interested in learning speaking skill? A Interested B Little interested C Not interested What are your factors making you not interested in speaking English? ( you can choose more than one option) A Being anxious about making mistakes and being laughed by other students B Being shy and nervous when speaking in front of other people C Lack of vocabulary and knowledge of the topic D Lack of grammar structures E Poor pronunciation, stress and intonation F Others (please specify) …………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………… 7a Are you satisfied with teachers’ method and characteristic? A Yes B No In question 7a, If you choose B, go to question 7b, if you choose A , skip question 7b and continue with question II 7b What are you unsatisfied with your teacher in aspect of method and characteristic? ( you can choose more than one option) A Teachers focus much on grammar B Teachers talk more than students C Teachers speak so quickly D Teachers don’t carry out various speaking activities E Teachers are unfriendly and unenthusiastic F Teachers don’t create pleasant and encouraging learning atmosphere in class G Others ( please specify)……………… What you think about your classroom’s size, facilities, and materials for speaking? (Tick on the items that apply you) Good Acceptable Bad Classroom’s Too Too size small large Facilities in classroom Materials used in speaking lesson Thank you for taking time to complete this questionnaire! III APPENDIX 2: PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA NGHIÊN CỨU DÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN Phiếu điều tra thực để thu thập liệu cho nghiên cứu “Những yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến hứng thú việc học kỹ nói sinh viên khoa Tài Chính Kế Tốn trường Đại học Hịa Bình” kết phiếu điều tra sử dụng cho mục đích nghiên cứu phân tích số liệu Sự giúp đỡ bạn việc trả lời câu hỏi đánh giá cao Thông tin bạn bảo mật tuyệt đối Để hoàn thành câu hỏi đây, vui lòng chọn câu trả lời cách khoanh tròn vào đáp án lựa chọn, tích vào mục phù hợp với câu trả lời bạn, viết ý kiến bạn vào chỗ trống Xin chân thành cảm ơn hợp tác bạn! 1.Bạn học Tiếng Anh bao lâu? A Dưới năm C Nhiều năm đến năm B Từ đến năm D Nhiều năm Bạn nghĩ kĩ nói Tiếng Anh quan trọng với bạn nào? A Rất quan trọng C Không quan trọng B Quan trọng D Không quan trọng chút Tại bạn học kĩ nói Tiếng Anh ( Bạn chọn nhiều đáp án) A Bởi mơn học bắt buộc B Bởi thú vị C Bởi hữu ích cho cơng việc tương lai D Bởi giúp bạn giao tiếp với người nước ngồi E Ý kiến khác ( vui lịng nói rõ) ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… IV Bạn nghĩ kĩ nói Tiếng Anh bạn A Rất tốt B Tốt C Tạm D Tồi E Rất tồi Mức độ bạn thích học kĩ nói nào? A Thích B Khơng thích C Khơng thích Những yếu tố từ bạn làm cho bạn khơng thích học kĩ nói ( bạn chọn nhiều đáp án) A Bạn lo lắng việc mắc lỗi nói bị bạn khác cười B Bạn ngại lo lắng đứng trước bạn sinh viên khác C Bạn thiếu từ vựng kiến thức chủ đề nói D Bạn cịn thiếu cấu trúc ngữ pháp E Kĩ phát âm, trọng âm, ngữ điệu bạn yếu F Ý kiến khác ( vui lịng nói rõ) ………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………… 7a Bạn có hài lịng với phương pháp dạy tính cách giáo viên khơng? A Có B Khơng Nếu bạn chọn B, bạn tiếp tục trả lời câu hỏi 7b, bạn chọn A, bạn bỏ qua câu 7b tiếp tục trả lời câu V 7b Bạn không hài lịng điều phương pháp tính cách giáo viên? A Giáo viên tập trung nhiều vào ngữ pháp nói B Giáo viên nói nhiều sinh viên C Giáo viên nói nhanh D Giáo viên khơng tổ chức nhiều hoạt động nói lớp E Giáo viên không thân thiện không nhiệt tình F Giáo viên khơng tạo khơng khí thoải mái lớp học G Ý kiến khác ( vui lịng nói rõ) ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Bạn nghĩ kích thước phịng học, sở vật chất phịng học tài liệu sử dụng học nói? ( Tích đáp án thích hợp) Tốt Tạm Khơng tốt Kích thước lớp Quá học nhỏ Cơ sở vật chất Tài liệu Cảm ơn bạn dành thời gian trả lời câu hỏi ! VI Quá to APPENDIX 3: SURVEY QUESTIONAIRE FOR TEACHERS This questionnaire is designed for English teachers at Hoa Binh University to collect data for the study “Factors affecting students' interest in learning speaking skills at Finance and Accounting Department, Hoa Binh University It would be helpful if you truthfully provide the information asked and not leave any items unanswered The data is used for the study purpose only Thank you very much! How is teaching speaking skill important to you? A Very important B Important C Little important How much you feel interested in teaching speaking skill? A Interested B Little interested C Not interested How you evaluate your students’ speaking ability? A Excellent B Good C Acceptable D Bad What methods are you teaching in your speaking lesson? A Audio-Lingual method B Grammar-Translation method C Communicative language teaching approach (CLT) D Combination of different methods E Others ( please specify)………………………………… VII 5.What kinds of communicative activities you usually use (you can choose more than one option) A Questions and answers B Discussion C Games D Role-play E Information gap What are students’ factors making them not interested in speaking English? ( you can choose more than one option) A Being anxious about making mistakes and being laughed by other students B.Being shy and nervous when speaking in front of other people C.Lack of vocabulary and knowledge of the topic D Lack of grammar structures E Poor pronunciation, stress and intonation F Others ( please specify)………………………………………… What should teachers to enhance students’ interest in speaking activities? ( you can choose more than one option) A Create a co-operative learning environment ( group work, pair work) B Use various communicative activities (games, role-play, interview…) C Use other relevant sources of materials together with textbooks D Others ( please specify):……………………………………………… VIII