Improving english speaking skill of 4th graders by using readers theater an action research project at an english center in yên bái

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES  HOÀNG THỊ QUỲNH IMPROVING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL OF 4TH GRADERS BY USING READERS THEATER: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AT AN ENGLISH CENTER IN YÊN BÁI Cải thiện kỹ nói tiếng Anh học sinh lớp việc sử dụng hoạt động đọc truyện biểu diễn : Nghiên cứu cải tiến sư phạm trung tâm Anh ngữ Yên Bái MA MINOR THESIS Major: English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231.01 HÀ NỘI – 2018 i VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES  HOÀNG THỊ QUỲNH IMPROVING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL OF 4TH GRADERS BY USING READERS THEATER: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AT AN ENGLISH CENTER IN YÊN BÁI Cải thiện kỹ nói tiếng Anh học sinh lớp việc sử dụng hoạt động đọc truyện biểu diễn : Nghiên cứu cải tiến sư phạm trung tâm Anh ngữ Yên Bái MA MINOR THESIS Major : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231.01 Supervisor: assoc Prof Lâm Quang Đông PhD HÀ NỘI – 2018 ii ABSTRACT One very popular problem in English speaking classrooms is the lack of chances for students to practice speaking in a meaningful context Students‟ practice may be considered the crucial element that helps them achieve success in learning speaking, but many learners may tend to avoid practicing speaking in class Improving oral proficiency in EFL classroom and creating an enjoyable learning atmosphere have long been the major goals for most EFL instructors One effective approach in teaching speaking skill which may help to provide students with opportunities in practicing speaking English is the use of a drama technique called Readers Theater (RT) RT is a presentational performance when the “actors” first read a story before transforming it into a script involving several characters; then they use their voice, facial expressions and gestures to portray those characters All the actors keep looking at the script during the performance and there is no need to memorize the script Accordingly, the objective of this study was to uncover how RT improves speaking skill among the students at a center in Yen Bai The second was to find out more information on students‟ attitudes towards the practice of RT in their speaking class, the disadvantages, if any, that students may encounter besides its advantages Generally, the study aims to see how RT works with this group of students in a local Vietnamese context The research was conducted with 16 fourth-graders in an English center in Yen Bai Using the design of Classroom Action Research, this study followed the steps of reconnaissance, planning, action and observation, reflection, and data analysis The data were obtained through classroom observation, questionnaire survey and tests The findings of the research suggested that using RT in the language classroom benefit students‟ learning in different ways Students‟ speaking skill was improved both in linguistic and paralinguistic features Students also have positive attitudes toward the use of RT in class I therefore recommend RT as an effective technique in helping students in the process of improving their speaking proficiency iii DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it are my own and have been generated by me as the result of my own original research I confirm that:  This work was done wholly while I am in candidature for a Master degree at this University;  This thesis has never been submitted partially or wholly for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution;  Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed;  Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work;  I have acknowledged all main sources of help;  Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself I am fully aware that should this declaration be found to be false, disciplinary action could be taken and penalties imposed in accordance with University policy and rules Hanoi, 2018 Author iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all I would like to thank Assoc Prof Dr Lâm Quang Đông for his exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the writing of this thesis Without his help, I would have never been able to finish this thesis I also take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to all my lecturers at the Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies for their valuable lectures which have helped me a great deal in gaining a lot of theoretical as well as practical knowledge My special thanks go to the manager and teachers at Yen Bai center for Foreign Languages and Informatics in general and 16 grade-4 students in particular I am grateful to them for their cooperation during the period of my research Finally, I would also like to express my deep gratitude and love to my devoted parents, my brother, my husband and my friends who gave me time and encouraged me to complete this study v CONTENTS ABSTRACT i DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS INTRODUCTION Rationale Objectives Research Questions Methodology Significance 5.1 Practical Significance 5.2 Theoretical Significance Organization of the Thesis CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Speaking 1.1.1 Definition of Speaking 1.1.2 Micro- and Macro-Speaking Skills 10 1.2 Teaching Speaking 10 1.3 Readers Theater 12 1.4 Advantages of Readers Theater in Teaching and Learning Speaking Skill 13 1.5 How is Readers Theater Applied and Studied around the World? 16 1.6 How is Readers Theater Applied and Studied in Vietnam? 17 1.7 Theoretical Support for this Study 18 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 21 2.1 Research Setting 21 2.2 Research Materials 21 2.3 Data Collection Techniques and Instruments 21 2.3.1 Observation 22 2.3.2 Questionnaire Survey 22 2.3.3 Tests 23 2.4 Data Analyses 23 2.5 Research Procedure 24 2.5.1 The Situation Prior to the Research 28 2.5.2 Research Implementation 29 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 36 3.1 Readers Theater and the Improvement of Students‟ Speaking 36 3.1.1 Improvement of Speaking through Observation 36 3.1.2 Improvement of Speaking through Tests 38 3.2 Students‟ Responses toward the Implementation of Readers Theater in Speaking Classes 40 3.3 Some Cautions Concerning Readers Theater Application in Speaking Classes 42 CONCLUSIONS 44 Recapitulation 44 Implications 45 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research 45 References 46 ANNEXES 50 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Situation Prior to the Research 29 Table 2: Scores of pre-test, post-test and post-test 39 Figure 2: Cyclical Action Research Model (S Kemmis & McTaggart, 2005, p 278) 26 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL ESL RQ RT English as a Foreign Language English as a Second Language Research Question Readers Theater INTRODUCTION Rationale In order to master any language, learners have to practice all skills, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing As Rivers (2002) argues, speaking is used twice as much as reading and writing in our communication Therefore, developing learners‟ speaking skill is of vital importance in language programs in general, and EFL/ESL programs in particular Richard and Renandya (2002) also believe that speaking is one of the central elements of communication in EFL teaching It is a skill that needs special attention and instruction However, to many students, speaking seems to be the most challenging skill to develop Brown and Lee (2015) state that learning to speak a foreign language is often considered one of the most difficult for students to learn When learning speaking, learners are expected to be competent in using various language elements such as vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, amongst others, and it is so important to activate these elements in the process of teaching/learning There are many factors that may affect students‟ performance, for instance, the lack of opportunities to practice speaking in meaningful contexts Besides, class size and mixed ability class also reduce general learners‟ motivation in acquiring EFL speaking skill The students at an English center in Yen Bai, where the author is working, are no exception They experience different problems with regards to speaking Firstly, from my own observation, lack of students‟ speaking proficiency is the problem Their vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation are low, which make them unable to speak up during the speaking class In language teaching class, students rarely answer the questions given by the teacher orally It also takes them quite some time to produce an answer because they speak with a lot of pauses and they get difficulties in finding appropriate words to express their ideas The next problem is that students have low motivation in learning speaking They have little chance to use English in their daily life and speaking activities for students to practice in class are also limited and boring Furthermore, a number of techniques and strategies used in speaking classes at the center are not effective in supporting students‟ improvement in communication in the target language Activities in speaking classes are generally routines, while, as stated by Brown and Lee (2015, p 48), “routine activities in learning can make students bored As a result, their motivation and participation in learning will decrease” Learning activities become monotonous and less challenging Therefore, students are not enthusiastic and interested in joining speaking activities ANNEXE B SPEAKING TEST Pre-test This pictures show a story It’s called, “Fred’s bad day” Fred gets up late in the morning Now look at the pictures and continue the story! Post-test This pictures show a story It’s called “Ben loves ice- cream” Ben is in the kitchen His mom is giving him some ice-cream Now look at the pictures and continue the story! Post -test This pictures show a story It’s called, “Tom’s birthday at the zoo It is Tom’s birthday Tom and his friends go to the zoo Now look at the pictures and continue the story! ANNEXE C SPEAKING RUBRICS BY GALL, BORG AND GALL (2003, p 571) Range Fluency Pronunciation Accuracy Vocabulary 10 The speakers speak very fluently in communication to perform the expected competence The speaker never makes pronunciation mistakes in performing the expected competency; intonation and stress are appropriate; all sound are unambiguous and can be understood The speaker never makes any grammatical mistakes; both in basic grammatical structures (like phrases, simple and compound sentences) and in complex structure (like complex sentences) The speaker uses so many vocabulary variations and makes no mistakes in word choices in performing the expected competency The speaker speaks fluently in communication to perform the expected competence, but there are natural hesitations The speaker almost never makes pronunciation mistakes in performing the expected competency; intonation and stress are appropriate; a few sounds are ambiguous but can be understood The speaker almost never make any grammatical mistakes but makes very few mistakes in complex structure (like complex sentences), however those mistakes not impede meaning The speaker uses many vocabulary variations and only makes very few mistakes in word choices in performing the expected competency The speaker speaks quite fluently although there are hesitations which are not quite natural hesitations The speaker rarely makes pronunciation mistakes in performing the expected competency; intonation and stress are sometimes not quite appropriate; some sounds are rather ambiguous but can be understood The speaker makes grammatical mistakes very rare in basic grammatical structure (like phrases, simple and compound sentences) and make few mistakes in complex structure (like complex structure(like complex sentences), in performing the expected competence so that they rather impede meaning The speaker uses quite many vocabulary variations and makes few mistakes in word choices but those are sufficient and not impede meaning in performing the expected competency The speaker speaks quite fluently although there are often hesitations which are not quite natural The speaker sometimes makes pronunciation mistakes in performing the expected competence; intonation and stress are sometimes not quite appropriate; some sounds are rather ambiguous but can be understood The speaker rarely makes grammatical mistakes vary rare in basic grammatical structure (like phrases, simple and compound sentences) and makes some mistakes in complex structure (like complex sentences), So that they rather impede meaning The speaker used few vocabulary variations and uses word choices which are not quite appropriate but sufficient to perform the expected competence, he/she sometimes has to explain ideas to get the appropriate words The speaker speaks does not quite fluently; sometimes he/she is impeded by language problems so that he/ she speaks rather slowly and hesitantly; sometimes those problems disrupt performance The speaker often makes pronunciation mistakes in performing the expected competency; intonation and stress are appropriate; some sounds are rather ambiguous and rather difficult to be understood The speaker sometimes makes grammatical mistakes very rare in basic grammatical structure (like phrases, simple and compound sentences) and makes quite a lot mistakes in complex structure (like complex sentences), so that they rather impede meaning The speaker uses very few vocabulary variations and uses word choices which are not quite appropriate and not quite sufficient to perform the expected competency, he/she needs to explain ideas to get the appropriate words The speaker does not speak quite fluently; speak slowly and hesitantly; those problems disrupt the performance The speaker makes pronunciation mistakes very often in performing the expected competency; intonation and stress are appropriate; many sounds are ambiguous and difficult to be understood The speaker often makes grammatical mistakes in basic grammatical structure (like phrase, simple and compound sentences) and makes quite a lot mistakes in complex structure (like complex sentences), so that they strongly impede meaning The speaker used limited vocabulary variations and uses inappropriate word choices ideas because of the insufficient vocabulary The speaker does not speak quite fluently; like repeating and searching for words so that he/she speaks hesitantly and sometimes pauses quite long; those problems strongly disrupt the performance The speaker almost always makes pronunciation mistakes in performing the expected competency; intonation and stress are very inappropriate; many sounds are ambiguous and difficult to be understood The speaker makes very often grammatical mistakes in basic grammatical structure (like phrases, simple and compound sentences) and makes so many mistakes in complex sentences), the mistakes strongly impede communication in performing the expected competency He speaker uses limited vocabulary variations and uses many inappropriate word choices; he/she often explains ideas because of the insufficient vocabulary and sometimes asks the teacher to express certain idea The speaker speaks very slowly and discontinuously (like speaking per word with simple patterns) Even pauses very long in communication to perform the The speaker always makes pronunciation mistakes in performing the expected competency; many sounds are ambiguous because pronunciation is not clear; speaks without considering The speaker almost always makes grammatical mistakes in basic grammatical structure (like phrases, simple and compound sentences); cannot The speaker uses limited vocabulary variations to perform the expected competency so that communication is rather difficult to expected competency intonation and stress use complex structure well, the mistakes disrupt communication in performing the expected competency understand, he/she often asks the teacher to express the ideas The speaker speaks very slowly and often discontinuously ( like speaking per word with simple patterns) Even suddenly stops The speaker always makes pronunciation mistakes in performing the expected competency; such as many sounds are ambiguous because pronunciation is not clear The speaker always makes grammatical mistakes in most of the basic grammatical structure (like phrase sentences) and there is no effort to use complex structure well; the mistakes strongly disrupt communication in performing the expected competency The speaker uses very limited vocabulary variations to perform the expected competency so that communication is difficult to understand he/she often has to ask the teacher to express the ideas The speaker communicates very difficultly; he/she speaks very slowly and always discontinuously even stops The speaker cannot pronounce well at all The speaker has no mastery of grammar to perform the expected competency so that the grammatical structures are entirely incorrect The speaker has no vocabulary mastery to perform the expected competency so that communication is unclear and very difficult to understand, he/she always asks the teacher to be able to express the ideas ANNEXE D SURVEY PHIẾU THĂM DÒ Ý KIẾN HỌC SINH VỀ HOẠT ĐỘNG ĐỌC TRUYỆN BIỂU DIỄN Phát biểu Không đồng ý Tơi thích hoạt động đọc trun biểu diễn Tiết học vui nhộn với hoạt động đọc truyện biểu diễn Tơi thích làm việc với bạn để viết kịch biểu diễn Tơi đọc từ tiếng Anh tốt Tơi tự tin tham gia hoạt động đọc truyện biểu diễn Tơi thích học học nhóm Sau xem bạn tơi biểu diễn, tơi muốn cải Khơng có ý kiến Đồng ý thiện tiếng Anh Tơi học cách giao tiếp nhóm tơi xem nhóm khác biểu diễn ANNEXE E LESSON PLAN SAMPLE Lesson 2(cycle 1): Writing script Time: 45 minutes Student profile Age 10, the 4th grade of elementary school, Mover class Objectives By the end of the lesson, students should be able to - Write a complete script from the story given Materials - Copies of the story - papers Warm – up (5’) Related to - Ask Ss: the previous What is the story you read last lesson? How many characters does the story have? lesson What are the characters? What happened in the story? Introduce - Show the story and tell students that they are going to work in group and write the script from the story they read the lesson Pre - writing (5’) Form groups - Count 1, to divide students in group - Choose one leader for each group - Ask the group leader to decide the one who is the writer Model - Explain students how to write script by writing a sample Example: Sister: I am sick I have a fever While – Writing (30’) - Have students in group discuss and write the scripts - Go around to observe and give help if necessary Post – Writing (2’) - Collect groups‟ scripts Wrap up(3’) - Summary the main points of the lesson End up activity - Have students sing the goodbye song ANNEXE F STORIES ANNEXE G STUDENT’S SCRIPTS SAMPLE Narrator: What‟s the matter with you? Sister: I am sick I have a fever Narrator: Let‟s take you to doctor Jen Sister: What‟s the matter with you? Brother: I feel sick I have a tummy ache Narrator: Let‟s take you to doctor Jen Brother: What‟s the matter with you? Father: I am sick I have a cough Narrator: Let‟s take you to doctor Jen Father: What‟s the matter with you? Mother: I am ill I have a sore throat Narrator: Let‟s take you to doctor Jen Mother: What‟s the matter with you? Grandfather: I don‟t feel well I have a sore knee Narrator: Let‟s visit doctor Jen Grandfather: What‟s the matter with you? Grandmother: I have an earache I can‟t hear well Narrator: Let‟s take you to doctor Jen Doctor Jen makes my family feel better Whole family: When we are sick, we go to doctor Jen She makes us feel better Whole family: oh, no! Our dog browser is sick We can‟t take him to Doctor Jen We will take him to the vet ANNEXE H PHOTOGRAPHS Students were reading the story Students were underlining their lines The teacher was modeling in rehearing stage Students were rehearing the scripts Students were performing ... fluency” (McAndrews, 2004) 1.4 Advantages of Readers Theater in Teaching and Learning Speaking Skill Readers Theater is one of many types of drama activities which have been used in teaching language... involving the application of RT in teaching speaking, this study is based on the following theoretical foundations, including: what is speaking in language teaching/learning; what is involved in. .. distinguishes between two main purposes for speaking: transactional and interpersonal The former relates to conveying information and exchange of goods and services and the latter to creating and