Using English reading texts as input for speaking tasks at Phuc Yen College of Industry.

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES    ĐỖ THỊ LAN HƯƠNG USING ENGLISH READING TEXTS AS INPUT FOR SPEAKING TASKS AT PHUC YEN COLLEGE OF INDUSTRY SỬ DỤNG BÀI ĐỌC TIẾNG ANH LÀM NGUỒN NGỮ LIỆU CHO CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG NÓI TẠI TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG CÔNG NGHIỆP PHÚC YÊN MINOR PROGRAM THESIS Field: English methodology Code: 601410 HANOI, 2012 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES    ĐỖ THỊ LAN HƯƠNG USING ENGLISH READING TEXTS AS INPUT FOR SPEAKING TASKS AT PHUC YEN COLLEGE OF INDUSTRY SỬ DỤNG BÀI ĐỌC TIẾNG ANH LÀM NGUỒN NGỮ LIỆU CHO CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG NĨI TẠI TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG CƠNG NGHIỆP PHÚC YÊN MINOR PROGRAM THESIS Field: English methodology Code: 601410 Supervisor: MA Pham Minh Hien HANOI, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Declaration i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii Table of contents v List of tables ix PART ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study 1.2 Focus of the study 1.3 Purposes of the study 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Methods of the study 1.7 Design of the study PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW Theory of input 1.1 Definitions of input 1.2 The input hypothesis of Krashen‟s theory 1.3 Reading texts as comprehensible input Communicative approach 2.1 Definition of Communicative Language Teaching i 2.2 Communicative activities .10 Speaking skills 10 3.1 What is speaking? 10 3.2 Characteristics of speaking 11 3.3 Functions of speaking 12 3.4 The nature of teaching speaking .15 CHAPTER TWO: DEVELOPMENT OF THE STUDY 18 2.1 The overview of teaching and learning situations at Phuc Yen College of Industry .18 2.1.1 An overview of Phuc Yen College of Industry 18 2.1.2 Students‟ background 19 2.1.3 Teachers and teaching methods .19 2.1.4 Course books and teaching materials for teaching speaking skills 20 2.2 Methodology of the study 21 2.2.1 Rationale for the use of action research 21 2.2.2 Description of subjects and participants in the study .21 2.2.3 The instruments for carrying out the study 22 2.2.3.1 The research questions .22 2.2.3.2 The methods for the data collection 22 2.2.3.3 The methods for processing and analyzing the data 24 CHAPTER THREE: DATA COLLECTION AND DISCUSSION 26 3.1 Findings from the teacher’s classroom observation .26 3.2 Findings from the questionnaires 27 ii 3.2.1 Questionnaire No.1 .27 3.2.1.1 Students‟ background of learning English 27 3.2.1.2 Students‟ reasons for learning English .28 3.2.1.3 Students‟ attitude towards learning English speaking skills 29 3.2.1.4 Time and materials used for learning speaking at school 30 3.2.1.5 Factors that make students feel difficult in learning speaking .31 3.2.1.6 Students‟ desire from speaking lessons 32 3.2.2 Questionnaire No.2 .33 3.2.2.1 Students‟ responses to question .33 3.2.2.2 Students‟ responses to question .34 3.2.2.3 Students‟ responses to questions 3, 35 3.3 Findings from the pre-test and the post-test 35 3.4 Data discussion .38 3.4.1 Students’ difficulties in learning speaking skills .38 3.4.2 The effects of English reading texts used as input for speaking tasks 39 PART THREE: CONCLUSION 40 Summary of the findings 40 Implications and suggestions for teaching speaking using English reading texts as input for speaking tasks 41 Limitations of the study and recommendations for further study 41 Conclusion .42 References .44 Appendix I Appendix II Appendix IV iii Appendix VI iv LIST OF TABLES Page Table Students‟ background of learning English 27 Table Students‟ time of learning English 28 Table Students‟ reasons for learning English 29 Table Students‟ attitude towards speaking skills 29 Table Time for learning speaking at school 30 Table Materials used for learning speaking 31 Table Students‟ difficulties in learning speaking 31 Table Students‟ desire from speaking lessons 32 Table Students‟ responses to question (Questionnaire No.2) 33 Table 10 Students‟ responses to question (Questionnaire No.2) 34 Table 11 Students‟ responses to questions 3, (Questionnaire No.2) 35 Table 12 Results from pre-test 36 Table 13 Results from post-test 37 v PART ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study Nowadays, English has been considered as an international language that is used in every field of life As a result, English is the foreign language that is most widely used and taught in all over the world as well as in Vietnam However, how to teach the language effectively to enable students to use it successfully in communication is really a big question faced by all English teachers The ability of students communicate naturally in English is one of the long term goals that language teachers would like to achieve in class According to Bygate (1987), the problem in teaching a foreign language or a second language is to prepare the students to use the language In mastering English, the students should be able to know and apply four language skills such as listening, reading, speaking, and writing, because they would make someone become perfect in using language Indeed, it is a demanding task for language teachers to provide sufficient inputs for students to be competent speakers of English Speaking is one of the language skills that should be mastered by language learners With speaking, the students can make a good communication to the others For most people, mastering the art of speaking is the most important aspect of learning a second or foreign language A successful language learner is measured by their ability in carrying out conversation in daily life, therefore, speaking is a main part of language The fluent speaking will be a positive impact for all people in studying language Hence, in teaching and learning of language, speaking should be the first purpose in developing language in all levels of education As a teacher of Phuc Yen College of Industry, through self-observation and my own five-year teaching experience, the author sees that during speaking lessons, classroom interaction is restricted Usually, students feel insecure about their level of English and they face problems communicating as well as expressing themselves in the target language As a result, few students in the class get involved in the activities conducted by teachers while others rather remain silent as they are in fear of making mistakes and not know what and how to speak in speaking lessons Obviously, one of the biggest challenges to the teacher is to find effective ways to improve their students‟ communicative skills This paper addresses this issue by using English reading texts as a means to provide comprehensible input in learning speaking skills because reading texts are a valuable source providing information, grammar structure, vocabulary, etc for students in developing their English competence While a considerable amount of research has been conducted to investigate the effectiveness of using reading texts to develop students‟ reading skills, little has been particularly done on its effectiveness in improving students‟ speaking skills For these reasons, the author decided to conduct a study on “Using English reading texts as input for speaking tasks at Phuc Yen College of Industry” This study primarily examines the students‟ difficulties in their learning speaking skills It then investigates the effectiveness of English reading texts used as input for speaking tasks The author does hope that this study will be of help for those who want to find effective ways of teaching and learning speaking skills 1.2 Focus of the study The study focuses on effects of using English reading texts as input for speaking tasks to carry out communicative classroom tasks in the lessons of speaking skills employed by English teachers to enhance the effect of using it as a means to provide comprehensible input in teaching and learning speaking skills 1.3 Purposes of the study The purpose of the study is to improve English speaking skills for first-year non-English majors at Phuc Yen College of Industry It has three purposes as follows: - To identify students‟ difficulties in their English speaking skills - To exploit English reading texts used as input for speaking tasks in speaking lessons to improve their speaking skills - To justify the effectiveness of using English reading texts as input for speaking tasks in teaching speaking skills to first-year non-English majors 1.4 Research questions Regarding the importance of speaking teaching, purposes of the research, this study is accomplished to find the answer to the question “How effectively are English reading texts used as input for speaking tasks exploited to improve firstyear non-English majors’ speaking skills at Phuc Yen College of Industry?” Specifically, the study addressed the following three research questions: - What are the students‟ difficulties in English speaking? - Are English reading texts used as input for speaking tasks effective in teaching non-English majors‟ speaking skills? - If yes, how effective is it? 1.5 Scope of the study The study concentrates on improving first-year non-English majors at Phuc Yen College of Industry by using English reading texts as input for speaking tasks Within its scope, the research was only aimed at justifying the effectiveness of using English reading texts as input in teaching English speaking skills to first-year non-English majors Only accuracy of speaking skills will be considered in order to evaluate students‟ improvement after using English reading texts 1.6 Methods of the study This study is conducted as an action research because it is aimed at improving first-year non-English majors‟ speaking skills In order to get data, a combination of different instruments, namely class observation, questionnaire and audio-recording is used The combination of different instruments used in this teaching speaking helps improve students‟ speaking skills for first-year non-English majors at Phuc Yen College of Industry Implications and suggestions for teaching speaking using English reading texts as input for speaking tasks The findings of the study implicate that: - English reading texts used as input for speaking tasks should be integrated in teaching and learning English speaking skills in order to increase the quality of foreign language education as well as to keep along with the present teaching trend in the world - During the first lessons with the application of English reading texts used as input for speaking tasks, the students could face some difficulties with the frequent use of speaking activities, pronunciation of new words, etc The teacher should take this into consideration and be ready to give the needy students timely support The role of teachers in controlling the class is very important In this case teachers should be the instructor, supervisor and facilitator - English reading texts are a kind of authentic materials, so when using them, teachers should design relevant speaking tasks for students‟ level The researcher hopes that the study, somehow, helps teachers get to know more about English reading texts as input for speaking tasks and its useful application in speaking classes Limitations of the study and recommendations for further study Although the researcher has made efforts toward carrying out this study, due to the limitation of time, lack of resources and the researcher‟s ability, drawbacks are unavoidable The study has some beneficial contributions to English speaking teaching and learning, but it still has some limitations as follows First, as an action research with its typical characteristic defined as „situational‟, this study is prone to lack generalization The use of English reading 40 texts as input for speaking tasks has worked quite successfully in the researcher‟s class but may not be applied to other classes in other contexts This research, therefore, has unavoidable limited application Second, the researcher could not control all the variables and constructs during the research project The students‟ improvement may result from other factors such as their high motivation, learning from other classes or self-learning, etc Furthermore, within the minor thesis, the researcher only tests the students‟ accuracy, regardless other aspects of students‟ speaking performance such as fluency, timing and manner The students may improve their accuracy in their speech, but not other aspects In consideration of the limitation of the study, there are some suggestions for further research concerning teaching speaking skills at Phuc Yen College of Industry in particular and at other educational and training institutes in general: - A study on using English reading texts as input for speaking tasks with the tests focusing on the combination of accuracy and fluency - A study on using English listening lessons as input for speaking tasks in speaking lessons Conclusion It is apparent that the students at Phuc Yen College of Industry have difficulties in speaking lessons Students often find it hard to express their ideas because they lack information, vocabulary, grammatical structures and general knowledge Besides, the time for speaking lessons for most non-English majors of all courses is limited due to the course designed Students not have many chances to learn speaking Therefore, they feel inconfident and afraid of speaking Being a teacher who teaches general English for non-English major students, the researcher has considered these difficulties and has decided to conduct this study 41 The material used for teaching speaking in the study is the English reading texts in the students‟ textbook Lifelines, pre-intermediate by Tom Hutchinson, 2002 in order to help students improve speaking skills in particular and understand the whole units in general The English reading texts in the book contain all the vocabulary and grammar points of the lessons, so they help a lot in learning speaking So far the three questions have been answered through the results of the data analysis These data indicate a very positive prospect and effect of using English reading texts as input in speaking lessons Using English reading texts for developing speaking skills is highly appreciated by the students in the study The researcher did this research with the hope to provide her colleagues and students a better view-point about using reading texts to teach speaking and it is also her small contribution to the quality of teaching and learning speaking at Phuc Yen College of Industry 42 REFERENCES Bailey, K.M and Savage, L (1994) New Ways in Teaching Speaking The USA: Teachers of English to Speakers Bialystok, E (1978) A Theoretical Model of Second Language Learning A Journal of Research in Language Studies Bialystok, E (1978) The Role of Linguistic Knowledge in Second Language Use Oxford: Oxford University Express Brown, G and Yule, G (1983) Teaching the Spoken Language Cambridge University Press Burn, A (1999) Quantitative and Qualitative Collaborative Action Research for English Language Teachers Cambridge University Press Bygate, M (1987) Speaking Oxford University Express Chaney, A and Burk, K (1998) Teaching Oral Communication in Grades K-8 Boston: Allyn&Bacon Cohen, L and Manion, L (1985) Research methods in education London: Croom Helm Crystal, D (1997) English as a Global Language Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 10 Ellis, R (1985) Understanding Second Language Acquisition Oxford: Oxford University Press 11 Ellis, R (1990) Instructed Second Language Acquisition Oxford: Basil Blackwell 43 12 Hutchinson, T (2002) Lifelines, Pre-intermediate Oxford University Press 13 Kayi, H Teaching Speaking: Activities to Promote Speaking in a Second Language Retrieved from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kayi-TeachingSpeaking.html dated 8/9/2012 14 Krashen, S (1980) The Input Hypothesis In J Alatis, Current Issues in Bilingual Education Washington, D.C.: George town University Press 15 Krashen, S (1981) Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning Oxford: Pergamon Press 16 Krashen, S (1982) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition New York: Prentice – Hall International 17 Krashen, S and Terrell, T (1983) The Natural Approach: Language Acquisition in the Classroom Oxford: Pergamon Press 18 Krashen, S (1985) The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications London: Longman 19 Krashen, S (1987) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition Prentice-Hall International 20 Krashen, S (1988) Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning Prentice-Hall International 21 Krashen, S (1993b) The Power of Reading Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited 22 Krashen, S (1994) The pleasure hypothesis In J Alatis (Ed.), Georgetown University round table on language and linguistics Washington, DC.: Georgetown University Press 23 Krashen, S (2002b) The Comprehension Hypothesis and its Rivals Taipei: Crane Publishing Co 44 24 Littlewood, W (1981) Communicative Language Teaching Cambridge University Press 25 Luoma, S (2004) Assessing Speaking Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 26 Mason, B and Krashen, S (1997) Extensive reading in English as a foreign language System, 25, 91-102 27 Mills G (2003) Action Research: A guide for the teacher researcher Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall 28 Nunan, D (1989) Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom Cambridge University Press 29 Nunan, D (1992) Research Methods in Language Teaching Cambridge University Press 30 Nunan, D (1998) Language Teaching Method (A textbook for teachers) Prentice Hall, New York 31 Pattison, P (1987) Developing Communicative Skills Cambridge University Press 32 Richards, Jack C (1990) Conversationally speaking: Approaches to the teaching of conversation In Jack C Richards, The Language Teaching Matrix New York: Cambridge University Press, pp 67-85 33 Richards, Jack C (2008) Teaching Listening and Speaking: From Theory to Practice Cambridge University Press 34 Swain, M (1985) Communicative Competence: Some Roles of Comprehensible Input and Comprehensible Output in its Development In S Gass and C Madden (Eds) Input in Second Language Acquisition New York: Newbury House 35 Ur, P (1997) A Course in Language Teaching Cambridge University Press 36 Williams, J (1995) Focus on form in Communicative Language Teaching: Research findings and the classroom teacher TESOL Journal, 4(4), 12-16 Websites: 37 http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Input 45 38 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communicative_language_teaching 46 APPENDIX 1: LANGUAGE CLASSROOM OBSERVATION SHEET This observation sheet is designed to get more information about the students‟ involvement in the speaking activities It is used for observing the class as a whole, not individual student Rating Scale - Outstanding; - Good; - Fair; - Poor A LESSON PRESENTATION The activities/exercises chosen to achieve the objectives were effective 2 The time allotted for activities was appropriate 3 Use of English was appropriate to student needs B CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT The use of small groups/pair work during each activity was appropriate.4 2 The seating arrangement facilitated learning 3 The instructor divided her attention among students appropriately 4 Student participation was on task C CLASSROOM ATMOSPHERE Student participation was active and lively 2 The class atmosphere was warm, open and accepting 3 All students got involved in the speaking activities 4 The reading texts helped the students in terms of grammatical structure, vocabulary for speaking improvement I APPENDIX 2: THE STUDENTS’ QUESTIONNAIRE NO.1 (Before using English reading texts as input for speaking tasks in speaking lessons) This questionnaire is designed for my research into “Using English reading texts as input for speaking tasks” Your assistance in completing the following items is highly appreciated I promise that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Please tick (√) in the appropriate answer Where you come from? a rural area b mountainous area c town or city How long did you study English before entering Phuc Yen College of Industry? a less than years b years c years d more than years Why you want to learn English? a To go aboard b To communicate with English speaking people c To find a good job d To pass the exams and get high scores e To read newspapers, magazines and watch TV in English f Others:………………………………………… How important you think English speaking skills is? a Very b quite c Little d Not at all How you feel about English speaking? a Easy b Normal c Difficult d Very difficult How often you learn English speaking at school? a Always b Usually c Sometimes d Rarely How often your teachers use the following materials for speaking lessons? Materials Always Usually Sometimes Textbooks II Rarely Never Pictures Newspapers Handouts Magazines Songs What factors make you feel difficult when learning speaking skills? a Lack of confidence b Lack of vocabulary, grammatical structures c Lack of knowledge d Lack of speaking skills e Uninteresting speaking activities f Crowded classes g Teachers are not enthusiastic h Little time for speaking activities What you want from speaking lessons? a Have more time to work in pairs/groups b Teacher‟s appropriate teaching methods and materials c Have more time for speaking lessons d More interesting topics e Friendlier teachers f Others:……………………………………………… Thank you very much for your assistance III APPENDIX 3: THE STUDENTS’ QUESTIONNAIRE NO.2 (After using English reading texts as input for speaking tasks in speaking lessons) This questionnaire is designed for my research into “Using English reading texts as input for speaking tasks” Your assistance in completing the following items is highly appreciated I promise that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Please tick (√) in the appropriate answer In general, using English reading texts as input for speaking tasks is: Very A lot A little much Not Not at very all much a useful for speaking skills b interesting c helpful (providing necessary information, vocabulary, grammatical structures) d being encouraged e confident f being interested in the activities Using English reading texts as input for speaking tasks help you: strongly agree agree not sure disagree Increase your confidence in speaking Be more creative and active Improve your vocabulary Improve your using of English structures Get a lot of information IV strongly disagree Enrich your general knowledge Improve your reading and speaking skills In general, are you interested in the use of English reading texts as input for speaking tasks? a Yes Reason:……………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… b No Reason:……………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… c No idea Do you think that the use of English reading texts as input for speaking tasks should be widely used in speaking lessons? a Yes Reason:…………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… b No Reason:…………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… c No idea Thank you very much for your assistance V APPENDIX 4: SAMPLE OF SPEAKING LESSON USING ENGLISH READING TEXTS AS INPUT FOR SPEAKING TASKS Week 1: Unit Topic: Nature’s children Proficiency level: First-year non-English major students at Phuc Yen College of Industry Objectives: To improve students‟ speaking skills on the base of using the reading text with the focus on using should/ shouldn‟t, students have chance to work in groups Materials: Reading text “Nature‟s children” on page 10, 11 of the book Lifelines, Pre-intermediate by Tom Hutchinson, Oxford University Express, 2002 Language skills: Reading, speaking, writing Language use: Activities: Group works, presentation Time: 45 minutes Procedure: - Teacher asks students to look at the two pictures on page 11 in the textbook and after reading the first paragraph, in groups of five, students discuss the questions: + Who are these people? + What kind of lifestyle you think they have? + What they do? - Students, together with teacher, discuss the questions - Students are asked to read the text within 5-7 minutes to check the ideas - After 20-25 minutes, each group of students will express their performance in front of the class with the speaking activities: + Summary of the reading text + Describe Paul‟s lifestyle and his father‟s lifestyle + Make five sentences with should/ shouldn‟t VI * During the time of the students‟ working, the teacher goes around for observation and supporting the groups Reading text: Nature’s children in the textbook Lifelines, Pre-intermediate by Tom Hutchinson Cambridge University Press It‟s summer and the New Age Travellers are here again In their vans, old buses and caravans, they move from place to place Angry MPs, farmers and local people appear on television and complain about them: “The police shouldn‟t allow it! They should put them all in the army!” etc., etc The Travellers don‟t have jobs, because they don‟t stay in one place long enough They are the children of nature – modern gypsies When autumn comes, they disappear and we don‟t see them on the news any more In fact, they move to cities and look for empty houses for the winter Perhaps the children go to school for a few months Paul and Janice are Travellers They aren‟t married They have two children called Moonstone and Saffron Their file is very simple During the day they sit and talk to their friends while the children play In the evenings they usually eat together with other families around a big fire, and somebody usually plays a guitar or switches on a CD player They live on social security benefits If they need extra money, Janice makes jewellery and sells it at markets and fairs Both Paul and Janice come from normal middle class families That‟s one reason why Paul prefers the life of a Traveller As Paul explains, “My father works in an office He catches the same train to work every day He comes home at 5.30 And why does he it? To pay the mortgage on the house But then what does he in his free time? He works! He decorates the house, he digs the garden, and he washes the car He thinks he‟s free, but he‟s really just a slave Well, I don‟t want to be like that.” What should we about the Travellers? They‟re rebels against respectable society and they don‟t care what we think But why shouldn‟t they their own VII thing? As I sit here at my desk and think about my mortgage, the insurance, and taxes, I wonder who‟s right VIII