This study is the use of outdoor activities to develop speaking skill

PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study In this era, the era of science and technology boom, the trend of globalization and integration among countries also poses a very important task for our country's education sector Above all times, language disagreement is a heavy barrier to the cooperation and acquisition of scientific, technical and cultural advances between nations and peoples Many countries around the world are using English as the national language, English has been chosen as the international language Therefore, the Ministry of Education and Training has brought English into Vietnam's education program since the primary level However, the ability to continue teaching in English of Vietnamese students and students is not yet proficient, not commensurate with the level compared to other subjects Thinking to create a communication environment for students to practice conditions is the necessary method to improve their ability to learn foreign languages However, the class time is limited with large knowledge content and large number of students, so the implementation of extracurricular activities both enhances the spirit of interest in the subject and consolidates the amount of knowledge in the classroom creating a comfortable atmosphere for communication is extremely helpful to overcome these difficulties In order to improve the efficiency of teaching English in high school and to practice communication skills for students, I choose the subject of "A study on the use of outdoor activities to develop speaking skills" Aims of the study The objectives of the study are as follows: 1) to clarify whether or not outdoor activities can increase the students’ speaking ability, 2) to describe the implementation of outdoor activities in increasing students’ speaking ability, 3) to identify the strength and weakness of outdoor activity in increasing students’ speaking ability Scope of the study This study is the use of outdoor activities to develop Speaking skill for graders at Hung Loc Secondary school Methodology The study mainly uses document research methods to understand the history of research issues, to grasp the contents of previous authors' study, as well as based on reality This essay uses methods such as description, collation, comparison, statistics, and classification Design of the study The study consists of three parts Part A is an introduction that presents the arguments, literature review, purpose, and scope of the study as well as the methodology for the research Part B is the main part consisting of three chapters Chapter one is about the theoretical background for research This chapter aims to establish an investigative framework Chapter two focuses on studying outdoor activities, investigating and analyzing results Chapter three deals with the ability to apply learning outcomes to teaching and applying outdoor activities It discusses some challenges in teaching and learning English It also gives some suggestions for teaching English The final section concludes with a summary of the research and provides possible conclusions and recommendations for further research PART B: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Theoretical background 1.1 English speaking skill 1.1.1 Definition of speaking skill Among four skills of learning English, speaking merges as one of the most important ones that are really essential to master for the purpose of language communication However, what is exactly speaking skill? “Speaking is the delivery of language through the mouth” Oxford dictionaries define “Speaking is the action of conveying information or expressing one’s feelings in speech” In addition, Speaking is "the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts" (Chaney, 1998) Speaking is a crucial part of second language learning and teaching In learning English, speaking skill is defined in different ways “Speaking is a productive skill in the oral mode It is like the other skills, is more complicated than it seems at the first and involves more than just pronouncing words.” (Azem, M & Dogar, M H., 2011) Hornby (1995) defines that speaking is the skill that the students will be judged upon most in real-life situations It is an important part of everyday interaction and most often the first impression of a person is based on his/her ability to speak fluently and comprehensively Additionally, “Speaking is one of the skills that have to be mastered by students in learning English Speaking is an essential tool for communicating” (Grognet A.G, 1997) Speaking skill has many different aspects including two major categories – accuracy, involving the correct use of vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation practiced through controlled and guided activities; and, fluency considered to be “the ability to keep going when speaking spontaneously” (Harmer, 2001) Bryne, D (1986) additionally declares that accuracy refers to the use of correct forms where utterances not contain errors affecting the phonological, syntactic and semantic or discourse features of a language; fluency may be defined as the ability to get across communicative intent without too much hesitation and too many pauses to cause barriers or a breakdown in communication In this case, instant correction may be inappropriate and could interfere with the aims of the speaking activity 2.1.2 The importance of English speaking skill Speaking skill is really essential as it gives students the opportunity to practice real-life conversations in the classroom The teacher can use it as a tool to check how much students have learned Speaking skill is very important in stages of language learning (Azem, M & Dogar, M.H., 2011) Stage 1: Pre-production This is called the silent stage because speaking is still limited; beginners listen and imitate rather than speak due to their difficulties in vocabulary and grammatical structures Listening comprehension activities should be focused on instead of communicative ones because learners at this period will need much repetition of English Stage 2: Early production Learners are able to speak well in tasks thanks to what they have been memorized although errors may occur Speaking is begun Stage 3: Speech emergence Learners can speak a lot with their enhanced vocabulary At this stage, short conversations between classmates are absolutely possible They can understand the information from others and respond as well as make more questions to their partners in the manner of no attention to grammatical structures Stage 4: Intermediate fluency At the stage, discussions are improved More complex sentences are used in speaking to express their opinions and share their thoughts Learners are able to ask questions to clarify what they are not clear Also, there is an expanding of the talking topic Stage 5: Advanced fluency Learners will be near-native speakers at this stage With their amount of vocabulary, they can react directly without any proper preparation when speaking Their facility in discussions has increased In learning speaking skill, a lot of learners regard speaking ability as the measure of knowing a language and as the most important skill that they can acquire Speaking involves three areas of knowledge: - Mechanics (pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary): Using the right words in the right order with the correct pronunciation - Functions (transaction and interaction): Knowing when clarity of message is essential and when precise understanding is not required - Social and cultural rules and norms (turn-taking, rate of speech, length of pauses between speakers, relative roles of participants): Understanding how to take into account who is speaking to whom, in what circumstances, about what, and for what reasons The communicative language teaching (CLT) requires teachers to help students develop speaking by providing authentic practice that prepares them for reallife communication situations 2.2 Outdoor activies 2.1.1 Definition of outdoor activities Outdoor activities in the concept of teaching method innovation are a form of active, useful and effective self-study, connecting the podium to real life, expanding and expanding the school of thought - auctions of birth tablets for students; promote the positive, proactive creativity of learners, re-check the quality of teaching in the main time Therefore, extracurricular activities are both educational and aesthetic, "Contributing to creating a cultural lifestyle and the ability to enjoy art and culture for students Through extracurricular activities, students have balanced intellectual, ethical, physical and aesthetic development "(Comment by Phan Trong, Teaching Method National University Press, 1996, page 38) Speaking in high school is a big challenge for teachers, because teachers should increase student interest so they are motivated to speak In addition, teachers should create some interesting ways for their students such as roles, research clubs, jigsaw, word guessing, discussion, group discussions and visual explanations These can reduce students' boredom in language learning, especially speaking Speaking is a very important skill for junior high school students because it prepares them to face the global world However, there are three issues in determining speaking instruction for middle school students: 1) limited vocabulary will make it impossible for them to say any words during teaching and learning 2) Limited grammar, they are also afraid to arrange words into a sentence The mistake of using grammar is a big problem for students to speak well 3) lack of confidence, it will be an obstacle to create speaking ability for students Outdoor activities are activities that can be done by people to lose boredom It is more interesting than indoor activities, because these activities are conducted outdoors When we are outdoors, we may be more motivated to learn something (Patmonodewo, 2003: 12) Outdoors, children can perform many activities, such as running, jumping, climbing and other activities Therefore, when children learn in the real world, they can easily understand information or documents because they can in both research and play outdoors Junior high school, so they still need time to learn with the game so that students understand the material easily, especially the ability to speak Outdoor activities involve fun and boring methods Therefore, researchers try to solve the problem through some interesting methods in speech teaching 2.1.2 The importance of English outdoor activites Through outdoor games and group discussions, students will practice leadership skills, including vision and goal-setting skills, team encouragement, project planning, and intent perseverance overcome challenges More importantly, your sharing sessions on how to pursue and create extra-curricular activities will help students from where the fixation program will begin their own activities Therefore, although parents or students can find extracurricular activities, if they not meet the above factors, it will be difficult for students to become "special" to their abilities Monitoring the process of innovating teaching methods in high schools in recent years, the innovation content has focused on the formal time, while the extracurricular form is less focused on implementation Is the extra-curricular activity of students not important, does not play a role in improving the quality of teaching and learning subjects? It is time to redefine the position, the role of extracurricular activities, promote the high level of creativity, creativity and interest of students 2.1.3 Types of outdoor activities If you know how to control your time and have the right way to study, you will have time for extra-curricular activities Participating in these activities will help you discover yourself, discovering qualities other than intelligence in learning So, if you have never participated, now is the time to throw yourself out there and discover yourself Even if it is not for the purpose of studying abroad, these activities will help you a lot in your life Sounds interesting, right? Here are some suggestions for outdoor activities and activities you can join Type 1: Game activity: You can participate in a traffic safety game, one team will follow the instructions of the other team (in English) It is not necessary to have an achievement or a certificate of merit So you can arrange not too stressful training time to suit your study schedule Type 2: Artistic activities: You have the talent to sing, play instruments or break dance, dance classical and have participated in performances in front of the school or at gala The cultural activities are often very rich and not require you must have extraordinary talent For example, participating in singing in music shows does not require you to have a golden voice of the singer, just you have the confidence to go on stage Or the break dance performances don't have to be professional, just practice with your friends to perform or just practice Type 3: Organizational Activities - Leadership: You are the class monitor, vice president, school secretary, class secretary These are the personal titles that are persuasive for your leadership ability However, it is not necessary to have a "title" so you can be an active person, a leader You can participate in school union work, organize gala dinners, exchange programs between the class, the block in front of the school, etc These organizational tasks teach you how to work in a planned, responsible manner and ability to work in teams So, don't just be the ones participating in the fun, be the ones who make the fun Type 4: Talent: You are good at design, you are learning to draw from a young age, you are learning vocal, you are very good at playing instruments (guitar, piano, violin ), etc These special talents distinguish you from other "applicants" With these talents, you will easily "contribute to the campus" of the school in the future Chapter 2: Investigation 2.1 Background of the study Implementing innovation of English teaching methods at secondary schools is developing communication skills for students, especially the method of teaching listening and speaking skills (Listening, Speaking), I myself constantly search for optimal measures to help students practice these skills However, with objective and subjective conditions, my students still have many limitations in English speaking practice They are timid, not brave, afraid of being wrong, passive in speaking practice Perhaps because the time is not enough to give them the opportunity to practice, the results of these lessons are often not as expected Even the pretty, good children are very reluctant, lacking in confidence Although they have a real gift, the passive environment is hard to trigger interest in them So their passion is not satisfied, their forte has little opportunity to show When polling, survey the psychology of 35 students in class 6/2 years ago After studying speaking practice, I got the following result: Desire, confident children - 14,2 % Little confident 15 children 42,9% Not confident 15 children - 42,9% From the above results, it shows that when speaking practice, most students are withdrawn The lack of confidence leads to unsuccessful learning Therefore, their ability to communicate is difficult to develop well 2.2 Research questions The study made great efforts to seek the answers to the two following questions: 1) What is the actual teaching and learning of English in spoken classes of the grade students at Nghi Duc Secondary School? (2) What are the benefits and challenges of applying outdoor activities in speaking lessons? 2.3 Research subjects There were 164 the grade students at Nghi Duc Secondary School participating in the study Among them, 154 students did the questions and 10 other students participated in the interviews 2.4 Data collection tool During the study, three research methods were used: observations, questionnaires, and interviews Observe Methods of observation include systematically tracking people and recording their actions by sound, images or text providing researchers with rich and authentic data Observation is the most basic research technique we can use in the classroom (Miller, 2004) It can be used to cross-mark data from future questionnaires For these reasons, classroom observations are the first method to be implemented in this study The researcher attended a phase of an English class to get an overview of teaching and learning English at Hung Binh Secondary School The English speaking phase is the previous stage with the purpose of finding out some information related to communication activities That is: whether or not the communication activities are applied in English speaking lessons, if they are applied correctly and effectively, and how students participate in the lessons The main communication activities used were also explored by observation To prevent students from preparing themselves, the exact goals of classroom observations are not disclosed to them Table of questions A questionnaire is a research tool that includes a series of questions and other suggestions for the purpose of collecting information from findings The questionnaire has advantages over some types of surveys because they are cheap and not require much effort from the respondents They are thought to save researchers a lot of time because "They self-regulate and can be given to large groups at the same time" (Seliger & Elana, 1989) Information can be easily obtained without the presence of a researcher Moreover, these thoughts students can feel free and comfortable to answer the questions For these reasons, questionnaires were used in the study Interview Interviewing is considered a method for qualitative graduate studies that is a technique used to understand other people's experiences In this study, interviews are used to get ideas and information from students about the speaking lesson they have learned In the interview, most questions were yes / no questions with explanations Interview questions have the same content as the questionnaire They are used to collect additional information from students who have not taken questions To help students understand questions and express their ideas easily, Vietnamese is used in all both interviews 2.5 Data collection process The study was conducted as follows: - Researcher finds information about the grade English students for the first time at the school - The esearcher attended a speaking class to get an overview of teaching and learning to speak English at school - The researcher contacted the students of the four grade classes and told them the purpose of the questionnaire Then, 314 first and second questionnaires were sent to students of the four classes The researchers took back the questions the next day - The researcher contacted and interviewed 10 students per class - Researchers summarize the results from class observations, questionnaires, and interviews Chapter III: Data analysis, discussion of conclusions and recommendations 3.1 Data analysis The questions were sent to 164 students in grade (equivalent to 314 questions) but the number of questions collected was only 257 Some students did not cooperate with the researcher and were not willing to return the questionnaire ask the researcher The figures below show more clearly the stude Figure 3.1 showed the students’ participation in audoor activities It is clear that most students (110 students - more than 80 percent) at Nghi Duc Secondary School prefer to study outdoor activities in English Just over 10 percent of students don't like it This means they have a certain interest in learning activities It proves how well the students responded to some outdoor activities Some activities require them to move away from their seats; and only nearly 40 percent 46 students like it They like to move around to talk to other friends Mostly not More than 60 percent - 84 students don't like to move That means they just like to sit in their seats and talk to their old partners Do you like the speaking lesson? Why? Why not? Of the ten students interviewed, nine answered Yes Yes They all say they like to 10 speak lessons because they can practice speaking English with their friends Only one student spoke No, and his reason was that his English was not very good, so he did not feel confident speaking English Do you enjoy speaking topics in textbooks? Why? Why not? For this question, they shared the same thought They all said they only liked topics that were familiar to them like Hobbies, A Party and Entertainment They were not like topics like conquering space and Nature in danger The more familiar the topics, the more they like them The reason is that they may have enough vocabulary and interest in topics Does your teacher often use Vietnamese in speaking lessons? Their answer to this question is no line They say their teachers use English more often than Vietnamese (more than 70 percent) In cases where teachers know the students are not sure what they explain in Vietnamese Do you often use Vietnamese in speaking lessons? For this question, all answers are Yes Yes Due to a lack of vocabulary, they often discuss topics in Vietnamese then ask teachers how to speak ideas in English They even talk about topics or something outside the topics in Vietnamese when they complete the practice at the teacher's request What kind of class arrangement your teachers use, work in groups or work in groups? Which one you like? The answers are job pairs They said teachers let them work in pairs more often in groups and they also liked working in pairs In fact, they say, teachers only ask them to work with a friend next to them and not others When researchers asked whether they would like to talk to other people, they all said Yes Yes, and the reason was that they could exchange more ideas and not get bored Does your teacher often use activities such as games, discussions, role plays and classroom surveys? Do you like your teacher to use those activities more often in 11 speaking lessons? Why? Why not? The answers are seldom used, except for games Compared to the other two, discussions were used more often Students also expressed that they prefer their teachers to use those activities in speaking lessons, which makes the lessons more interesting and they feel more excited in the lessons Among the ten students, one said that he did not like those activities He thinks they take a lot of his time and his friends and he speaks in Vietnamese rather than English in activities Do you enjoy moving in some of the above activities? Why? Why not? Ten students all speak Yes They expressed that they enjoy moving and talking with other friends, not just the person next to them Talking to others can help them exchange more ideas, and also make them feel more engaging about the lessons Do you make noise in speaking? All the answers are yes They further explain that whenever they complete the practice to speak topics, they will talk about something inside and even outside the lessons, and often they speak in Vietnamese The people who make the classroom very noisy Does your teacher correct your mistakes immediately when you are practicing speaking? Or will he / she fix it later, for the whole class? All answers are the second option They say teachers let them speak naturally If they make a mistake, their teacher will correct it later, making the whole class a common mistake 10 Do you spend time preparing speaking lessons at home? How much time did you spend? All answers to this question are no Ten students all said they did not spend time preparing for the speaking lesson They explained that they did not need to prepare anything In lessons, teachers will help them with vocabulary and structure so they can say something about the topic They used the time for other objects instead 12 Results from classroom observations, questionnaires, and interviews all show that communication activities are not applicable in English-speaking classes Some role-playing activities are used, but they are not applied as real communication activities Do you like the speaking lesson? Why? Why not? Of the ten students interviewed, nine answered Yes Yes They all say they like to speak lessons because they can practice speaking English with their friends Only one student spoke No, and his reason was that his English was not very good, so he did not feel confident speaking English Do you enjoy speaking topics in textbooks? Why? Why not? For this question, they shared the same thought They all said they only liked topics that were familiar to them like Hobbies, A Party and Entertainment They were not like topics like conquering space and Nature in danger The more familiar the topics, the more they like them The reason is that they may have enough vocabulary and interest in topics Does your teacher often use Vietnamese in speaking lessons? Their answer to this question is no line They say their teachers use English more often than Vietnamese (more than 70 percent) In cases where teachers know the students are not sure what they explain in Vietnamese Do you often use Vietnamese in speaking lessons? For this question, all answers are Yes Yes Due to a lack of vocabulary, they often discuss topics in Vietnamese then ask teachers how to speak ideas in English They even talk about topics or something outside the topics in Vietnamese when they complete the practice at the teacher's request What kind of class arrangement your teachers use, work in groups or work in groups? Which one you like? The answers are job pairs They said teachers let them work in pairs more often in groups and they also liked working in pairs In fact, they say, teachers only ask 13 them to work with a friend next to them and not others When researchers asked whether they would like to talk to other people, they all said Yes Yes, and the reason was that they could exchange more ideas and not get bored Does your teacher often use activities such as games, discussions, role plays and classroom surveys? Do you like your teacher to use those activities more often in speaking lessons? Why? Why not? The answers are seldom used, except for games Compared to the other two, discussions were used more often Students also expressed that they prefer their teachers to use those activities in speaking lessons, which makes the lessons more interesting and they feel more excited in the lessons Among the ten students, one said that he did not like those activities He thinks they take a lot of his time and his friends and he speaks in Vietnamese rather than English in activities Do you enjoy moving in some of the above activities? Why? Why not? Ten students all speak Yes They expressed that they enjoy moving and talking with other friends, not just the person next to them Talking to others can help them exchange more ideas, and also make them feel more engaging about the lessons Do you make noise in speaking? All the answers are yes They further explain that whenever they complete the practice to speak topics, they will talk about something inside and even outside the lessons, and often they speak in Vietnamese The people who make the classroom very noisy Does your teacher correct your mistakes immediately when you are practicing speaking? Or will he / she fix it later, for the whole class? All answers are the second option They say teachers let them speak naturally If they make a mistake, their teacher will correct it later, making the whole class a common mistake 10 Do you spend time preparing speaking lessons at home? How much time did 14 you spend? All answers to this question are no Ten students all said they did not spend time preparing for the speaking lesson They explained that they did not need to prepare anything In lessons, teachers will help them with vocabulary and structure so they can say something about the topic They used the time for other objects instead Results from classroom observations, questionnaires, and interviews all show that communication activities are not applicable in English-speaking classes Some role-playing activities are used, but they are not applied as real communication activities 3.2 Discussion of conclusions After comparing and calculating the result of the pre-test and post-test, it can be seen that teaching speaking ability by using outdoor activity is effective Therefore, the implementation of outdoor activities in increasing students’ speaking ability was successful There are four strengths and four weaknesses in increasing speaking using outdoor activity The descriptions are as follows: a The strength of teaching ability by using outdoor activity The advantages of teaching speaking using outdoor activity are that the students easy in mastering speaking easier and the teacher explained the pattern easier 1) The material taught is suitable for the students need in their life because the students can be more active in speaking The writer prepared materials based on daily activities which made the students easy in mastering the vocabulary used 2) The teaching-learning process became more interesting and boring The teaching-learning process was interesting because the topic was based in a daily context Sometimes, it makes the students boring because the students did not master a lot of vocabulary 3) The students are more creative because they can study in outdoor The setting of outdoor made the students did not get bored because there was scenery to refresh their mind 15 4) The relationships among the students are good Students cooperation and interaction are good because they could share their idea together b The weaknesses of increasing students’ speaking ability using outdoor activity 1) The outdoor activity cannot be implemented effectively to the students who have limited vocabulary and lack of grammar to express their ideas speaking are spontaneous So the students should master vocabulary and grammar to express their idea If the students did not able in mastering vocabulary and grammar, they would find difficulty in speaking 2) The students who have lower capability in speaking are difficult in joining teaching-learning process well Speaking skills needed good intonation, pronunciation, etc in order to be good speakers These aspects should be mastered by students 3) The activities are dominated by the students who have good capability because the students have a low capability to feel unconfident in speaking So, that they are left their friends 4) It is time consuming The teacher should manage the time carefully because doing outdoor activities needs a lot of time PART C: CONCLUSION 1.1 Concluding remarks Based on the research result, the researcher can draw the conclusion concerning in increasing students’ speaking ability using outdoor activity in grade Outdoor activities can increase students’ speaking ability Besides, outdoor 16 activities increase the students' motivation in learning English and the students become more active in the classroom and more confident to speak English The strength of increasing students’ speaking ability using outdoor activity is, the material taught is suitable with the students need in their life because the students can be more active in speaking, the teaching-learning process became more interesting and boring, the students are more creative because they can study in outdoor, the relationships among the students are good The weaknesses of increasing students’ speaking ability using outdoor activity are, the outdoor activity cannot be implemented effectively to the students who have limited vocabulary and lack grammar to express the ideas, the students who have the lower capability in speaking are difficult in joining teaching-learning process well, the activity are dominated by the students who have good capability, the teacher should manage the time carefully because doing outdoor activity needs much time 1.2 Suggestions for further research The researcher draw suggest for the teacher, the students, and other researchers To the teacher: 1) the teacher should make the students learn more active, 2).the the teacher should create the situation of teachinglearning process as enjoyable and interesting as possible, 3) the teacher should use interesting media in teaching English especially in teaching speaking, 4) the teacher has to control the class well To the students: 1) The Students are expected to be active, more motivated, and creative so that they can follow the class activities, 2) the students must pay attention to the teacher’s explanation, 3) The students should be more confident in speaking class, 17 4) the students should have practice more in exploring of speaking skill To other researcher, the writer realizes that this research is far from being perfect There are still many weaknesses dealing with the teaching - learning process that is done This research paper only gives a little contribution in English teaching However the writer hopes that this research paper can be used as one of references for other researchers in conducting a better research APPENDIX : QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (Mark X for your answer) How often does your teacher use the following audoor activities in speaking lessons? Rarely Sometimes Usually Games 18 Always Discussions Role-plays Class surveys What other audoor activities does your teacher usually use in speaking lessons? ………………………………………………………………………………… .…………………………………………………………………………………… Strongly Strongly Agree Disagree agree disagree You feel more interested in the speaking lessons thanks to the activities In speaking lessons, you usually work in pairs or groups rather than individually When working in pairs or groups, you focus on the given topics in English Sometimes you talk about other topics in Vietnamese The time your teacher gives you is enough for your practice You usually not want to move in some activities Your teacher does not correct your mistakes immediately when you are practicing References 1.Arikunto, S 2006 Prosedur Penelitian Tindakan Praktek Jakarta: Rineka Cipta 2.Hornby, A.S., Oxford Advanced Learner¶s Dictionary of Current English Oxford: Oxford 19 University Press, 1995 3.Patmonodewo, S 2003 Pendidikan Anak Prasekolah Jakarta: Rineka Cipta 20 ... Methodology The study mainly uses document research methods to understand the history of research issues, to grasp the contents of previous authors'' study, as well as based on reality This essay uses... they like them The reason is that they may have enough vocabulary and interest in topics Does your teacher often use Vietnamese in speaking lessons? Their answer to this question is no line They... the study as well as the methodology for the research Part B is the main part consisting of three chapters Chapter one is about the theoretical background for research This chapter aims to establish