Attitudes of teachers and first year non english major students at hanoi university of industry towards the use of visual AIDS in english speaking lessons

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES TRƯƠNG THỊ THANH HOÀI ATTITUDES OF TEACHERS AND FIRST-YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY TOWARDS THE USE OF VISUAL AIDS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS (Thái độ giáo viên sinh viên năm thứ không chuyên tiếng Anh trường đại học Công Nghiệp Hà Nội việc sử dụng giáo cụ trực quan học nói tiếng Anh) M.A Minor thesis Field: English teaching methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Mai Ngọc Khôi, M.A Hanoi, 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Declaration …………………………………………………………… I Acknowledgements …………………………………………………… i Abstract ………………………………………………………………… Iii Table of contents ……………………………………………………… Iv List of abbreviations …………………………………………………… Vii List of tables and charts ……………………………………………… viii PART A: INTRODUCTION ………………………………………… 1 Rationale Aims of the study……………………………………………………… Significance of the study……………………………………………… Scope of the study…………………………………………………… Methods of the study ………………………………………… Organization of the study …………………………………………… PART B: DEVELOPMENT ……………………………………… CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW …………………………… 1.1 Attitudes …………………………………………………………… 1.1.1 Definitions of attitude ……………………………………… 1.1.2 Components of attitude ……………………………………… 1.1.3 Relationship between belief, perception and attitude ……… 1.2 Speaking skills ……………………………………………………… 1.2.1 Definition of speaking ……………………………………… 1.2.2 Speaking in relation to three other skills …………………… 1.2.3.The role of speaking in communicative language teaching … 1.3 Visual Aids ………………………………………………………… 1.3.1 Definitions of visual aids …………………………………… 1.3.2 Benefits of using visual aids in teaching speaking…………… 1.3.3 Types of visual aids ………………………………………… 11 1.3.3.1 Chalkboards and whiteboards …………………………… 11 1.3.3.2 Pictures ………………………………………………… 12 1.3.3.2.1 Wall pictures ………………………………………… 12 1.3.3.2.2 Wall charts…………………………………………… 1.3.3.2.3 Flash cards …………………………………………… 1.3.3.2.3.1 Picture flash cards ……………………………… 1.3.3.2.3.2 Word flash cards ………………………………… 1.3.3.2.4 Work cards and work sheets ………………………… 13 13 13 14 15 15 1.3.3.3 Realia ……………………………………………………… 15 1.3.3.4 Authentic printed materials ……………………………… 15 1.3.3.5 Overhead projectors ……………………………………… 15 1.3.3.6 Computers and videos …………………………………… 16 1.3.4 Studies concerning the use of visual aids in the Vietnamese context 16 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY …………………………………… 17 2.1 The context of Hanoi University of Industry………………………… 2.1.1 Teachers ……………………………………………………… 2.1.2 Students ……………………………………………………… 2.1.3 Teaching and learning facilities ……………………………… 2.2 The study …………………………………………………………… 2.2.1 Research questions …………………………………………… 17 17 17 18 18 18 2.2.2 Selection of participants ……………………………………… 18 2.3 Instruments ………………………………………………………… 19 2.3.1 The questionnaires …………………………………………… 19 2.3.2 The direct interviews ……………………………………… 20 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION …………… 22 3.1 The data analysis …………………………………………………… 22 3.1.1 The participants’ age, gender and years of experience ……… 22 3.1.2 Research question ………………………………………… 23 3.1.2.1 The teachers’ attitudes towards speaking and visual aids in speaking lessons ………………………………………………………… 23 3.1.2.2 The students’ attitudes towards speaking and visual aids in 25 speaking lessons ………………………………………………………… 3.1.3 Research question …………………………………………… 26 3.1.4 Research question …………………………………………… 29 3.1.5 Research question …………………………………………… 30 3.1.6 Research question ………………………………………… 32 3.2 Discussion and findings …………………………………………… 35 PART C: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ………… 38 Conclusion of the study ……………………………………………… 38 Recommendations …………………………………………………… 38 Limitations and suggestions for further study ……………………… 41 43 REFERENCES APPENDIXES Appendix Survey questionnaire for teachers Appendix Survey questionnaire for students Appendix Interview for teachers Appendix Interview for students LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT: Communicative Language Teaching HaUI: Hanoi University of Industry LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS Page Table Teachers’ age, gender, years of experience, qualification………………… 22 Table Students’ age, gender, years of learning English …………………………… 22 Table 3: Teachers’ attitudes toward speaking and visual aids in speaking lessons … 23 Table 4: Teachers’ attitudes toward speaking and visual aids in speaking lessons … 25 Table 5: Frequency of teachers’ using specific visual aids from teachers’ view points 27 Table 6: Frequency of teachers’ using specific visual aids from students’ view points 28 Table Purposes of visual aids in teaching speaking skills from teachers’ view points 31 Table The purposes of visual aids in teaching speaking from students’ view points 31 Chart 1: Favorite types of visual aids used in speaking lessons from the view points of teachers and students ……………………………………………………………… Chart 2: Teachers’ techniques of using visual aids ………………………………… 26 Chart The students’ favorite activities when learning speaking through visual aids 30 Chart 4: Teachers’ difficulties in using visual aids to teach speaking ……………… 32 Chart 5: Students’ difficulties in learning speaking through visual aids …………… 33 29 PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale In recent years, English has become an important language It is not only spoken by most native speakers but also the second and official language in many countries Since Vietnam joined the WTO (the World Trade Organization), teaching and learning English as a foreign language has taken an important part and English has become a compulsory subject in most national curriculum It is undeniable that the goal of learning and teaching English is to make students master the communicative activities As for the students at Hanoi University of Industry in general and the freshmen in particular, learning speaking skill is a really important task Most of the students at HaUI are non-English majors so they often find speaking the most challenging to them to acquire English In fact, what students are wondering is always haunted in the researcher’s mind most of the time, which urges her to find a suitable solution to motivate them in English speaking lessons Among proper solutions, using visual aids to teach speaking has been proved to be an effective way When mentioned the importance of visual aids in learning and teaching a language, Bowen emphasized that “learning is a complex process and visual aids are a great help in stimulating the learning of a foreign language The students must use his ears as well as his eyes but it is the eye that is primary channel of learning” (1982, p1) Chamberlain (1980) also pointed out that 83% of the information received by the brain comes through sight and only 11% comes through hearing This means in the learning process, what students see and touch will be perceived in their mind better than what they can hear only Visual aids can create many communicative situations to encourage students to speak and make teaching and learning easier and more pleasant as well as more productive A teaching lesson which is provided with an appropriate type of visual aids will be an active one in which all students are willing to speak the given topic For example, a map can be fully made use in asking and giving direction lessons or a real object, a picture can be a good illustrator in describing lessons For the reasons mentioned above, the researcher chooses “Attitudes of teachers and first-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry towards the use of visuals aids in English speaking lessons” as the title for this research with the hope that it will reveal the application of visual aids in teaching speaking and some benefits of using visual aids in teaching and learning English speaking skills What’s more, some suggestions of exploiting visual aids more effectively to teach speaking skills will be given with the hope of providing useful source and reference for teachers at HaUI in particular and for all teachers of English in general to motivate their dear students in English speaking lessons Last but not least, it is expected that the research would be a certain contribution to the improvement of teaching speaking skills for first-year non-English major students at HaUI The aims of the study - To investigate the teachers and students’ attitudes toward speaking skills - To investigate the teachers and students’ attitudes toward the use of visual aids in teaching and learning speaking skills - To investigate the application of visual aids in the field of teaching speaking skills - To explore the benefits of using visual aids in teaching and learning speaking skills - To explore the problems faced by teachers and first-year non-English major students at HaUI - To give some recommendations to exploit visual aids more effectively Significance of the study This study helps point out the teachers and students at HaUI’s attitudes toward visual aids in teaching and learning speaking skill Particularly, this study is carried out with the hope to provide an insight into current teaching situation of using visual aids in English speaking lessons to teach first-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry Last but not least, it is hoped that the study would make some suggestions of applying and exploiting visuals in teaching English speaking so that the teachers can have proper adjustment to their teaching methods Research scope of the study This paper is restricted to mention the visuals which can be used for teaching and learning speaking Some other kinds of visual aids such as teachers’ gestures, facial expression are not intended to be covered because they are mostly used in teaching vocabulary This paper only focuses on types of visual aids such as boards, pictures, realia, video, etc which are well applicable to particular conditions at Hanoi University of Industry Methods of the study To reach the aims of this study, both qualitative and quantitative approaches are made used of Data are collected from the survey questionnaires and direct interviews The quantitative data obtained from survey questionnaires were then analyzed statistically Direct 10 interview was carried out to supplement the survey questionnaires Both of the two methods are hoped to bring about valid and reliable data 11 Organization of the study The study consists three main parts: Part one: Introduction which provides specific reference to the rationale, aims, significance, scope, methodology, and organization of the study Part two: Development which includes three chapters - Chapter one: Literature review which gives the brief view on attitudes, the basic theoretical background of speaking skills and the overall view of visual aids - Chapter two: Methodology that gives the research questions and describes an insight into research methods to find out the answers to research questions This chapter also gives the brief view on the subjects, the procedures and the instruments to collect data employed to seek for the answers to the research questions - Chapter three: Data analysis and discussion show the data collected from the survey questionnaires and the interview Also, these data will be discussed in this chapter Part three: Conclusion which reviews the main findings of the study, offers some recommendations of using visual aids to teach speaking skills effectively as well as some suggestions for further study 12 PART C: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS This is the final part of the thesis with the purposes of summarizing the main issues discussed in the study; provide some practical recommendations for a better use of visual aids and showing the limitations and suggestions for further study Conclusion of the study Mastering speaking English is one of the most challenges for all of the first year non English major students at HaUI This becomes a great obsession in all the teachers’ mind find out a suitable solution to stimulate her dear students In the process of teaching and learning speaking English, using visual aids is considered to be a good choice The effectiveness they can bring is undeniable These reasons are the driving force for the researcher to carry out an investigation into visual aids in English speaking lessons perceived by teachers and first year non English major students at Hanoi University of Industry The aims of the study are the investigation into teachers and students’ attitudes toward speaking skill, the use of visual aids, their benefits as well as some recommendations to exploit visual aids more effectively In order to achieve these aims, survey questionnaire and interview were the main methods employed The results show that most of the teachers and first year non English major students have positive attitudes toward speaking skill and visual aids They highly appreciate the role of visual aids in teaching and learning speaking and they also have their great interest in speaking lessons with the help of visual aids Although teachers have positive attitudes towards using visual aids, they not exploit them to their fullest potentials They not use visual aids frequently in speaking lessons What’s more, they not diversify techniques as well as types of visual aids Their exploitation of visual aids does not, to some extent, meet students’ interest However, they highly appreciate the benefits they can get from visual aids when teaching and learning speaking The research also finds out some difficulties both teachers and students face with visual aids in speaking lessons and provide some recommendations to help teachers use visual aids more effectively in the implication of the study Recommendations We can not deny the role of visual aids in English speaking lessons However, according to the questionnaires and the interviews, visual aids are actually exploited in teaching speaking for first year students at HaUI, but not to their fullest potentials It is strongly recommended that teachers should use visual aids more regularly, vary types of visual aids as well as 50 associated techniques What’s more, students’ interest needs taking into consideration by the teachers so that teachers can motivate and stimulate them in their speaking learning The result of the research also reveals some challenges that teachers have to face with when using visual aids in speaking lessons The first prominent problem is lack of time It is time that has great influence on teachers’ preparation However, with the frequency of teaching now, teachers have little time to focus on choosing or designing visual aids Teachers’ working hours should be reduced immediately by the authorities of HaUI and the managing board of Faculty of Foreign Language so that teachers may have more time to prepare visual aids The second problem is lack of money It is advisable that the teachers should know how to choose and make visual aids economically The best way is to collect visual aids from available sources such as pictures from textbooks,, magazines, newspapers, real objects, etc It would be of great advantage if the teachers can make visual aids by themselves Also, they should be supported more budgets to make more effective visuals Another problem is inconvenience for storing and carrying Here are some suggestions to overcome this matter - Large sheets of paper should be bound round the edges to prevent them from tearing The best ways to protect them is that teachers should not round them up, but hang over on the wall - Small sheets of paper such as flash cards, work cards and work sheets which get a lot of handling are differently protected + Cover the sheets with transparent cellophane and fix them in position with transparent adhesive tape or keep it a clear plastic envelop + Paint them over with glue size to close the pores in the paper and then paint them with paper varnish - To store pictures, teachers should classify them into categories There are different criteria that teachers can base on to classify The most popular one is on the subject matter of the pictures such as: transport, houses, landscapes, animal, human body, hobbies, weather, clothes, etc Teachers can also base on image type to classify pictures There are some basic categories such as color photographs, black and white categories, color drawings, black and white drawings, cartoons, etc Another way to classify pictures is depending on the size of the images such as: large, medium, small, etc After classify visual aids, with small sheets of paper, teachers should put each category into a box or an envelop with the name of the set written in large letter at the top With the 51 large sheets of paper, teachers ought to hang them over different places with the name of categories over them Moreover, Internet is the large source where teachers can make use of for their teaching purposes Some following websites contribute various choices of visual aids such as: flashcards, worksheets, video, wall posters, and picture flashcards http://baigiang.violet.vn/ http://www.mes-english.com/ http://www.eslhq.com/forums/worksheets/esl-worksheets/clothing-activity- worksheets-2365/ http://bogglesworldesl.com/ http://www.esltower.com/ http://www.eslhq.com/forums/worksheets/esl-worksheets/ In order to deal with the difficulties in choosing appropriate techniques and selecting the suitable visual aids, the following principles should be seriously taken into consideration in order to achieve certain success in exploiting visual aids in teaching speaking:  Principles for choosing and designing visual aids Visual aids can bring speaking class many benefits However, they are means to an ends, not an end in themselves Therefore, in order to exploit them to the fullest potentials, teachers should consider carefully the following principles - Attractiveness: The content of the visual aids should capture the interest and imagination of the class members - Relevance: The visual aids should be appropriate for the purpose of the lessons However, fascinating the visual aids might be to the students, they are of no use to the teachers in that particular lesson if they not contribute directly to the aim of the lesson - Recognition: The significant features of the picture should be within the students’ knowledge cultural understanding For example, it is not advisable to ask students in rural area to describe a computer or name equipment in a supermarket, which they have never had an access to - Size: A picture to be chosen or presented before the whole class should be large enough to be seen clearly by all Visual aids intended for group or pair work can be proportionally smaller to be moved from hand to hand - Clarity: A crowded picture, an ambiguous action can make students confuse when working with them Students should be able to see the relevant details clearly Strong outlines and contrast in tone and color are important avoiding ambiguity - Available resources: A teacher should choose visual aids which are available in the classroom or easy to find such as pictures in newspapers, magazines, etc Besides, these aids 52 must serve a number of purposes, be reused in different ways with different groups In short, teachers should always consider the related factors in teaching to decide kinds of visual aids to be used as well as their size and content In conclusion, in order to be successful in designing and choosing visual aids for the speaking lessons, it is very important for the teachers to have a thorough understanding about their teaching condition, students’ characteristics, objectives of the lessons so that they can make full use of visual aids  Principles for using visual aids After deciding the suitable visual aids to use, teachers should also bare in mind some principles to use them - Visual aids must be prepared in advance: Teachers must be sure that all the teaching material aids are well prepared and ready for the teaching period so that during the lesson, teachers can use them conveniently and control the class procedure smoothly - Teachers must master the way of using visual aids: In order to make the teaching and learning process operate smoothly, teachers have to practice to be skilled in displaying of the chosen visual aids - Always use the visual aids at the right time and right place: If visual aids are prepared to appear suddenly, secretly and at the right time, they can interest and surprise the students When visual aids are not necessary anymore, they must be put away to avoid distracting students and wasting time - Visual aids should be handed in accordance with clear instruction and explanation: When displaying visual aids, it is necessary to create students a chance to observe and give them clear explanation and instruction so that they not misunderstand the aim of the lesson and know what they have to In brief, visual aids themselves are not teaching techniques but teaching aids, which help in communicative purposed when being applied into communicative activities Visual aids can become a source of help for speaking teaching and learning if teachers know how to design, choose and deal with them effectively and appropriately Limitations and suggestions for further study In any research projects, limitations are inevitable This study is of no exception First of all, this research did not extend the analysis to determine if demographic factor (age, gender, years of experience and field of teaching) have effect on teachers’ perception, practice and opinion Further research can be conducted to determine these factors 53 Secondly, the result of the study will be more valid if observation is additionally employed However, due to the feature of teaching at HaUI, the researcher is sometimes sent on a teaching mission to other provinces, observation can not be carried out continuously Thirdly, the recommendations in chapter are likely to be subjective and incomplete Also, the study does not investigate and recommend techniques and activities for using different kinds of visual aids in teaching speaking These matters should be focused on in further studies Last but not least, the study is limited in the fact that the data may not fully reflect all aspects of teachers and students’ evaluation of the use of visual aids in speaking lessons For example, their responses to the questions in the interviews may not fully reflect their attitudes and reaction towards visual aids in speaking lessons Here and there in the questionnaires and the interviews, they seem to contradict themselves in giving their responses Because of limited time, knowledge and experience, mistakes committed during the process of the study are unavoidable All comments and suggestions on this paper are welcome and highly appreciated In conclusion, in spite of some limitations and inevitable shortcomings, the research, to some extent, has succeeded in answering the research questions Hopefully, this research would serve as a good source of information to any persons and studies concerning 54 REFERENCES Bygate, M (1987) Speaking Oxford: Oxford University Byrne, D (1976) Teaching oral English New York: Longman House Bowen, B.M (1982) Look here! Visual aids in Language Teaching Hongkong: The MacMillan Press Limited Brown, H.D (1994) Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents Brown, G and Yule, G ( 1989) Teaching the Spoken Language, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Canale, M and Swain, M ( 1980) Approaches to Communicative Competence, SEAMO Regional Language Center 14 Applied Linguistics 1, 147 Canh, Le Van ( 2004) Understanding Foreign Language Teaching Methodology, Hanoi National University Press Chamberlain, A (1980) The impact of audio-visual aids in the language classroom, Guilines for audio-visual aids, 4, 1-22 Chaney, A.L, and T.L Burk (1998) Teaching Oral Communication in Grades K8 Boston: Allyn&Bacon 10 Dictionary of English Language and Culture (1998) Spain: Addison Wesley Longman 11 Doff, A (1988) Teach English: A training Course for Teachers Cambridge: Cambridge University Press&The British Council 12 Fazio, R.H (1986) How attitudes guide behavior? The handbook of motivation and cognition: Foundations of social behavior New York; Guilford Press 13 Hymes, D (1971) Competence and performance in linguistic theory London Academic Press 14 Jung, C.G (1971) Psychological Types, Collected Works, Volume 6, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 15 Lee, W.R and Coppen, H (1970) Simple Audio-Visual aids to foreign language teaching Oxford University Press 55 16 Littlewood, W, (1990) Communicative language teaching Cambridge University Press 17 Morgan, B (1982) Look here! Visual aids in language teaching Hongkong: Macmillan Press 18 Nunan, D (1992) Research Methods in Language Learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 19 Richard R Bootzin, Gordon H Bower, Jennifer Crocker, Elizabeth Hall (1991) Psychology today Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 20 Rivers, W.M (1967) Teaching foreign language skills Chicago: University Chicago Press 21 Triandis, H (1971) Attitude and Attitude Change New York: Wiley 22 Ur, Penny (1991) A course in language teching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 23 Webster (1983) Effective Teaching Methods Ohio: Merrill Publishing Company 24 Widdowson, H.G (1990) The teaching English as Communication Oxford: Oxford University Press 25 Wright, A & Haleem, S (1991) Visuals for the language classroom London: Longman Group UK Limited 56 Appendix Survey questionnaire for teachers Survey conductor: Truong Thi Thanh Hoai, teacher of English at Faculty of Foreign Language, Hanoi University of Industry This survey questionnaire is designed for my research paper entitled: “Attitudes of teachers and first-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry towards the use of visual aids in English speaking lessons” Your assistance in completing the following items would be highly appreciated You can be absolutely sure that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Please fill in your personal information Age: Sex: How many years have you been teaching English? (Please put a tick ())  years What is your qualification? A Bachelor in teaching English as a foreign language B Master of art in teaching English as a foreign language C Doctor of Philosophy in teaching English as a foreign language D Others: (please specify)…………………………… To what extent you agree with the following statements? (Please put a tick () where you think appropriate) Statements Strongly agree 5.1 Speaking skills are important 5.2 Teaching speaking skills for students is necessary 5.3 Using visual aids in speaking lessons is useful and effective 5.4 It is interesting to use visual aids to teach speaking 5.5 My students are excited when I use visual aids in speaking lessons 57 Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree Do you use visual aids in teaching speaking? (Please put a tick ()) Yes No What kinds of visual aids you prefer using in teaching speaking? Please put a tick () where you think appropriate (You may have more than one choice) A Boards E Overhead projectors B Pictures (pictures in the course books, wall pictures, wall posters, flash F Computers and videos card, Work cards and work sheets, etc) C Realia ( real objects) G Others (please specify)…………… D Authentic printed materials How often you use the following visual aids to teach speaking? (Please put a tick () where you think appropriate.) Kinds of visual aids Always Usually Often Sometimes Rarely Never 8.1 Boards 8.2 Pictures (pictures in the course books, wall pictures, wall posters, flash card, Work cards and work sheets, etc) 8.3 Realia (real objects) 8.4 Authentic printed materials 8.5 Overhead projectors 8.6 Computers and videos To what extent you agree with the following statements? Visual aids can be used in speaking lessons …………………………… (Please put a tick () where you think appropriate) Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree agree 9.1 to motivate students to talk 9.2 to make the lessons lively and interesting 58 Strongly disagree Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 9.3 to provide students with real communicative environment 9.4 to draw my students’ attention 9.5 to be fashionable because my colleagues use them Your other purposes of using visual aids in teaching speaking (please specify)………………………………………………………………………………… 10 Which of the following techniques you use with visual aids? Please put a tick () where you think appropriate (You may have more than one choice) A Drilling D Describing B Making dialogues E Telling story C Having discussion F Others (please specify)…………… 11 Which difficulties you have when using visual aids in speaking lessons? Please put a tick () where you think appropriate (You may have more than one choice) A No time to prepare B Lack of money C Inconvenience for storing and carrying D Failure in class management E Failure in choosing appropriate techniques F Difficulty in selecting the suitable visual aids G Others (please specify)………………………………………………………… 12 In your opinion, using visual aids in teaching speaking can ……………… (Please put a tick () where you think appropriate) Strongly agree Agree Neutral 12.1 help the students be more confident to speak 12.2 help students remember much longer 12.3 create communicative environment 12.4 make the class more colorful 12.5 provide non- verbal cues Thank you very much for your assistance! 59 Disagree Strongly disagree APPENDIX Survey questionnaire for students Survey conductor: Truong Thi Thanh Hoai, teacher of English at Faculty of Foreign Language, Hanoi University of Industry This survey questionnaire is designed for my research paper entitled: “Attitudes of teachers and first-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry towards the use of visual aids in English speaking lessons” Your assistance in completing the following items would be highly appreciated You can be absolutely sure that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Please fill in your personal information Age: Sex: How many years have you been teaching English?  years To what extent you agree with the following statements? (Please put a tick () where you think appropriate) Strongly Statements Agree agree Among the four skills, speaking is very important Learning speaking is difficult Learning speaking skill is necessary Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree Speaking lessons provided with visual aids are useful and effective I am interested in learning speaking when the teacher uses visual aids Do your teachers use visual aids in teaching speaking? Yes No (Please put a tick () where you think appropriate) What kinds of visual aids are you interested in when you learn speaking? Please put a tick () where you think appropriate (You may have more than one choice) 60 A Boards B Pictures C Realia ( real objects) D Authentic printed materials E Overhead projectors F Computers and videos G Others (please specify)…………… ………………………………………… How often does your teacher use visual aids in teaching speaking? Please put a tick () where you think appropriate (You may have more than one choice) Kinds of visual aids 7.1 Boards Always Usually Often Sometimes Rarely Never 7.2 Pictures (pictures in the course books, wall pictures, wall posters, flash card, work cards and work sheets, etc) 7.3 Realia ( real objects) 7.4 Authentic printed materials 7.5 Overhead projectors 7.6 Computers and videos Which of the following activities embedded in visual aids you like taking part in when learning speaking? Please put a tick () where you think appropriate (You may have more than one choice) A Drilling B Making Dialogues C Having discussion D Describing E Telling story F Others (please specify)…………… To what extent you agree with the following statement? Your teacher’s use of visual aids in speaking lessons can………………………… Please put a tick (V) where you think appropriate Strongly agree Agree 9.1 encourage students to talk 9.2 make the lessons lively and interesting 9.3 provide students with real communicative environment 9.4 draw students’ attention 61 Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree Others (please specify)……………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… 10 In your opinion, speaking lessons provided with visual aids can help you……………………… (Please put a tick (V) where you think appropriate) Strongly agree Agree Neutra l Disagree Strongly disagree 11.1 remember the lessons better 11.2 be confident to speak 11.3 get involved in communicative environment 11.4 get more motivated in speaking 11.5 Get more ideas Other benefits you can get (please specify)……………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… 11 What are the problems you face with in learning speaking through visual aids? Please put a tick () where you think appropriate (You may have more than one choice) A The visual aids are too small B They are ambiguous C They are not lively D You feel bored and distracted Other problems ( please specify)…………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you for your assistance! 62 APPENDIX Interview questions for teachers What is the level of your students’ speaking ability in general? How important is it to teach speaking skills for students? Why? How interested are you in using visual aids to teach speaking? When teaching speaking, what kinds of visual aids are you most interested in? Why? At which stages of the speaking lesson you often use visual aids? How much visual aids help you in teaching speaking? What problems you find the most difficult when teaching speaking through visual aids? What suggestions can you make to exploit visual aids more effectively in teaching speaking? Thank you for answering the questions! 63 APPENDIX Interview questions for students How good you think your speaking level is? In your opinion, how important is it to learn speaking skills? Why? Is speaking English difficult or easy? Why? How interested are you in speaking lessons using visual aids? When learning speaking, what kinds of visual aids are you most interested in? How much visual aids help you in learning speaking? What problems you find the most difficult when learning speaking through visual aids? What suggestions can you make so that the teachers can exploit visual aids in speaking lessons more effectively? Thank you for answering the questions! 64 ... non major 1st year students and teachers of English at HaUI to find out learning and teaching English speaking status and their attitude towards speaking and visual aids in English speaking lessons. .. and students? ?? attitude towards speaking skill, visual aids and the current situation of using visual aids in teaching and learning speaking at HaUI, the benefits of visual aids in speaking lessons. .. an investigation into visual aids in English speaking lessons perceived by teachers and first year non English major students at Hanoi University of Industry The aims of the study are the investigation