A study on the effect of teachers oral feedback on students interesr in english speaking lessons at an lao high school

vietnam national university, hanoi UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY of post - graduate studies HOÀNG THỊ NGỌC MAI A STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF TEACHERS' ORAL FEEDBACK ON STUDENTS' INTEREST IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS AT AN LAO HIGH SCHOOL NGHIÊN CỨU ẢNH HƯỞNG TỪ NHỮNG NHẬN XÉT NÓI CỦA GIÁO VIÊN ĐỐI VỚI HỨNG THÚ CỦA HỌC SINH TRONG CÁC GIỜ HỌC NÓI TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG THPT AN LÃO M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 HANOI - 2012 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES HOÀNG THỊ NGỌC MAI A STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF TEACHERS' ORAL FEEDBACK ON STUDENTS' INTEREST IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS ATPARTAN LAO– INTRODUHIGHSCHOTINOL Rationale The world is presently witnessing a rapid increase in the use of English as a NGHIÊN CỨU ẢNH HƯỞNG TỪ NHỮNG NHẬN XÉT NÓI CỦA language of wider communication Using English frequently is an important GIÁO VIÊN ĐỐI VỚI HỨNG THÚ CỦA HỌC SINH TRONG CÁC requirement in all aspects of life At schools, teachers and students have paid much GIỜ HỌC NÓI TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG THPT AN LÃO attention to all four major language skills: reading, speaking, listening and writing Among these skills, speaking is considered as the most important one Speaking is the productive skill in the oral mode It, like the other skills, is more complicated than it M.A MINOR THESIS seems at first and involves more than just pronouncing words After learning speaking skill, it is easier to develop reading and writing skill But how can we speak English fluently? The first factor we have to mention is the interest in speaking because “We just well when we like it.” Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: Dương Thị Nụ, Ph.D In the process of teaching and learning English, there are many factors affecting the success of language learners such as aptitude, age, personality, interest and so on, among which interest plays an important role With years of experience in teaching English at high school, I have realized that there are many factors affecting students in HANOI - 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Candidate's statement …………………………………………………………… i Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………… ii Abstract………………………………………………………………………… iii Table of contents……………………………………………………………… iv List of charts and tables………………………………………………………… vi PART A: INTRODUCTION………………………………………………… 1 Rationale of the research……………………………………………………… Aims of the research ………………………………………………………… Research questions…………………………………………………………… Methods of the research……………………………………………………… Scope of the research ………………………………………………………… Design of the research………………………………………… PART B: DEVELOPMENT ………………………………………………… Chapter 1: Theoretical back ground………………………………………… 1.1 Teaching English speaking skill …………………………………………… 1.1.1 Definition of speaking skill ……………………………………………… 1.1.2 Typical features of speaking skill ………………………………………… 1.2.3 The roles of the teacher in different stages of teaching s 1.2 Feedback …………………………………………………………………… 1.2.1 Definitions of feedback ………………………………… 1.2.2 Types of oral feedback ………………………………… 1.2.3 The importance of teachers' feedback in teaching and le Chapter 2: The study………………………………………………………… 17 iv 2.1 Justification for data collection instruments ………………………………… 18 2.2 Description of the subjects ………………………………………………… 2.3 Instruments of the study…………………………………………………… 2.4 Description of the procedures……………………………………………… 2.5 Preliminary results ………………………………………………………… CHAPTER 3: Findings, discussion and recommendations………………… 3.1 Findings and discussion …………………………………………………… 3.1.1 Results from interview with teachers……………………………………… 3.1.2 Results from questionnaires for students ………………………………… 3.1.3 Students‟ opinions on the oral feedback…………………………………… 3.1.4 The types of oral feedback that teachers gave to students in speaking lessons…………………………………………………………………………… 3.1.5 The effect of teachers‟ oral feedback on students‟ interest in speaking lessons……………………………………………………… 3.2 Recommendations…………………………………………………………… PART C: CONCLUSIONS…………………………………………………… Recapitutation………………………………………………………………… Conclusions…………………………………………………………………… Limitations and suggestions for further study………………………………… REFERENCES………………………………………………………………… APPENDIXES ……………………………………………………… v 18 19 20 20 20 21 26 28 30 33 36 36 35 36 37 I LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES Table 1: Purposes of learning English……………………………… 21 Chart 1: Students‟ perceived importance of English………………… 23 Chart 2: Students‟ attitude to learn English speaking……………… 23 Chart 3: Students‟ desire to learn English speaking………………… 24 Chart 4: Students‟ interest in learning speaking…………………… 25 Chart 5: Students‟ frequency of speaking English in class time…… 25 Chart 6: Students‟ reluctance of speaking English…………………… 26 Chart 7: Students‟ Beliefs on the Importance of Feedback………… 27 Chart 8: Students‟ Opinions on Teachers‟ Feedback Frequency …… 27 Chart 9: Students‟ comprehension of teacher feedback……………… 28 Table 2: The types of feedback used in classroom in four different classrooms Chart 10: Students' preferences for kinds of feedback……………… vi 29 30 PART A – INTRODUCTION Rationale The world is presently witnessing a rapid increase in the use of English as a language of wider communication Using English frequently is an important requirement in all aspects of life At schools, teachers and students have paid much attention to all four major language skills: reading, speaking, listening and writing Among these skills, speaking is considered as the most important one Speaking is the productive skill in the oral mode It, like the other skills, is more complicated than it seems at first and involves more than just pronouncing words After learning speaking skill, it is easier to develop reading and writing skill But how can we speak English fluently? The first factor we have to mention is the interest in speaking because “We just well when we like it.” In the process of teaching and learning English, there are many factors affecting the success of language learners such as aptitude, age, personality, interest and so on, among which interest plays an important role With years of experience in teaching English at high school, I have realized that there are many factors affecting students in speaking English, one of which is teachers‟ oral feedback This is the reason why I choose to study the effect of teachers‟ oral feedback on students‟ interest in speaking lessons at An Lao High School This study will examine types of oral feedback that teachers at An Lao High School often use in speaking lessons and their effect on students‟ interest The researcher hopes that this study will figure out some useful ways to help teachers and students enhance their interest in speaking lessons Aims of the research The research is conducted to identify the ways teachers at An Lao High School often give oral feedback in speaking lessons Basing on this fact, the researcher tries to find out the fact of teachers' oral feedback at An Lao High School and the effect of this feedback on students‟ interest in speaking lessons Specifically, this research tries to explore the potential sources causing the lack of confidence of students when speaking English in class Furthermore, the researcher tries to find out some effective ways to give oral feedback with the anticipation of helping teachers of English at An Lao High School improve the quality of their teaching the speaking skill Research questions To achieve the aims which are mentioned above, the following research questions were raised for exploration: What types of oral feedback does the teacher give to respond to the students‟ performance in speaking lessons at An Lao High School? What are the effects of teacher‟s oral feedback on students‟ interest in speaking lessons? Methods of the research The research is to explore the effects regarding oral feedback in speaking lessons The data was collected through interviews and classroom observations The data collected was then analyzed to gain the insights and implications of the study After the data is collected, analyzed and discussed, some conclusions will be drawn, and some suggestions will be made in the study Scope of the research Feedback in speaking skill is such a broad topic that the researcher cannot discuss all the aspects related Therefore, within the framework of a minor thesis, this research focuses only on the teachers‟ oral feedback in responding to the students‟ speaking tasks at An Lao High School To improve interest in speaking skills for the students at An Lao High School, various activities can be used, and a number of things should be done However, the researcher only intends to overview a brief of the current situations of teaching and learning English speaking skills at An Lao High School, and to analyze the effects of teachers‟ oral feedback on students‟ interest and to make some recommendations to motivate students to speak English more The research was carried out with the participation of school teachers of English and 120 students at 11 th grade from 11B1 to 11B5 of An Lao High School Design of the research The research is divided into three main parts as follows: Part A Introduction, presents an overview of the study in which the rationale for the research, the research problem, the purposes, the research questions, the scope of the study, the research method, as well as the design of the study were briefly presented Part B Development, consists of three chapters Chapter one is the theoretical background including the definition of feedback, as well as an overview on the ways that teachers at An Lao High School give oral feedback in speaking lessons These lay the foundation for the choice of the medium for the research More specifically, it presents a number of research in which feedback has been used to help students make improvement in their language study Chapter two is a detailed discussion of the method used in the study This chapter presents a thorough justification for the use of continuous feedback and action research It also gives a thorough description of the research‟s components, as well as the research program Chapter three discusses the findings of the research and provides pedagogical implications, as well as presents limitations of the research It also suggests direction for further research in the same field Part C Conclusion, summarizes the main issues of the study PART B – DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 Teaching English speaking skill 1.1.1 Definition of speaking skill Florez (1999) defined speaking was „an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information‟ (Balley, 2005: 2) It is „often spontaneous, open- ended and evolving‟, but it is not completely unpredictable In other words, „speaking consists of producing systematic verbal utterances to convey meaning‟ (Balley, 2005:2) Bygate (1997) stated that speaking was a skill which deserved attention every bit as much as literacy skill It is often thought of as a „popular‟ form of expression that uses the unprestigious „colloquial‟ register Speaking is in many ways an undervalued skill Perhaps this is because we can almost all speak, and so take the skill too much for granted In his own view, Mackey (1965) shows that „oral expression involves not only the use of the right sounds in the right patterns of rhythm and intonation, but also a choice of words and inflections in the right order to convey the right meaning‟(Bygate,1997: 5) According to Mackey, for the student who wants to be good at speaking, he/she has to choose the right forms, put them in correct order, sound it like native speaker and even produce the right meanings 1.1.2 Typical features of speaking skill Communicative and whole language instructional approaches promote integration of speaking, listening, reading, and writing in ways that reflect natural language use But opportunities for speaking and listening require structure and planning if they are to support language development Outside the classroom, through interesting oral feedback Our teacher can visit these programs to learn some experiences in giving an effective oral feedback Finally, teacher should create a friendly learning environment In speaking lessons, teachers should try to narrow the gap between teacher and students Teachers should encourage students to communicate with them to help students become more confident Sometimes, in class, teacher and students can discuss like friends so students will not be shy when giving their own opinions This chapter has pointed out recommendations and suggestions for teachers of English, based on the results discussed before The researcher hopes that all the suggestions will be useful for those who concern about teacher‟s corrective feedback 34 PART C - CONCLUSION This part will deal with a recapitulation of the study, conclusions, limitations and suggestions for further study Recapitulation This study has shown the real situations of teaching and learning speaking English at An Lao High School Most of students at An Lao High School know the importance of learning speaking English and many of them want to speak English well However, there are many factors affecting students‟ interest in learning speaking lessons Among these factors, teachers‟ oral feedback is one of the most important These feedbacks have both positive and negative effect to students‟ interest in learning speaking English This study was carried out with the purposes of answering two main questions: What types of oral feedback does the teacher give to respond to the students‟ performance in speaking lessons at An Lao High School? What are the effects of teacher‟s oral feedback on students‟ interest in speaking lessons? In order to explore the effects regarding oral feedback in speaking lessons The reseacher collected data through interviews and classroom observations And with the participation of 120 11th grade students and teachers of English at An Lao High School The results of the study were shown clearly through charts and tables Conclusions The study showed the fact that at An Lao High School, teachers use more negative oral feedback rather than positive one so sometimes students feel uninterested in their lessons Students feel shy when speaking in front of the class and the wrong way feedback which might hurt students‟ feeling The study has introduced some measures to help teachers have more useful ways to give effective feedback To attract students to attend the speaking activities, the teachers must act their roles in a flexible way The teacher is a guide to help 35 students to go the right way So teachers should create a friendly learning environment to make students speak English voluntarily, not passively Limitations and suggestions for further study Although the study has certain strengths, such as the triangulation of data collection methods, namely observation, survey questionnaires for learners, and rich data, due to the researcher‟s ability, it is obvious that the study has some drawbacks Firstly, the number of students involved in the survey is still limited, so the findings may, to some extent, not be generalized to all students Secondly, the study only considers the teacher feedback in one particular pedagogical situation- speaking classes at An Lao High School Further research should widen the settings to other high schools on a larger scale Because of the constraint in time and knowledge, the study still has some shortcomings Therefore, the author hopes that the further study will look for more detailed information about the method to enhance students‟ interest in speaking lessons to help students develop their speaking skill 36 REFERENCES Ayoun,D (2001) The role of negative and positive feedback in the second language acquisition of the passe compose and imparfait The modern language journal, 85, 226-238 Balley, K (1983) Competitiveness and anxiety in adult second language learning: looking at and through the diary studies in Seliger and Long (eds.) 1983 Brown, S., Amstrong, S and Thompson, G (Eds) (1998) Motivating students,London Bygate (1997) Speaking, Oxford University Press Byrne, D (1991) Teaching oral language learning, Long man Cathcart, R & J Olsen 1976 Teacher and students preferences for correction of classroom conversation Carter, R & McCarthy, M (1995) Grammar and spoken language "Applied Linguistics, 16" (2), 141-158 Chaudron, C 1988 Second language classrooms Cambridge: Cambridge University press Florez (1999) Improving Aldult English Language Learners' Speaking Skills Washington, DC 10 Gattullo, F ( 2000), Corrective feedback and teaching style: Exploring a relationship.In Moon, J and Nikolov M(Eds) Researching into English Teaching for Younger Learners Pecs: University of Pecs Press 37 11 Harmer, Jeremy 2001 The practice of English language teaching China: Pearson education limited 12 Hedge,T.(2000).Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom Oxford: Oxford University Press 13 Irons, Alastar 2008 Enhancing learning through formative assessment and feedback London and New York: Routledge 14 Krashen, S 1982 Principles and practice in second language acquisition Oxford: Pergamon Press 15 Levy, A.D & Shiraeve, E (2004) Introduction to Cross-Cultural Psychology London: Allyn and Bacon 16 Lewis, M ( 2002) Giving feedback in language classes Singapore: SEMEO Regional language centre 17 Littlewood, W (1981) “Language teaching An introduction.” Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 18 Mackey (1965), Language teaching analysis, Indiana University Press, 1967 19 Mc Namara, E ( 1999), Posistive pupil management and motivation: A secondary teachers' guide London: David Fulton Publishes 20 Rivers, w m (1987).interactive Language Teaching Cambridge University press 21 Richards, Jack C and Lockhart, Charles 1996 Reflective teaching in second language classrooms New York: Cambridge University press 1996 38 22 Robins ( 1997), Structural nested failure time model In Survival Analysis, P.K Anderfen and N Keiding Section Editors 23 Shaphier, 1993 How to make supervision and evaluation really work Action, MA: Research for better teaching, Inc 24 Tsui, A 1995 Introducing classroom interaction: Penguin Group 25 Ur, P (1996) A course in language teaching Cambridge: Cup 26 XieNan 2007 “A study of spoken transfer errors of tertiary- level EFL learners” English Edu, Vol.7 2007 27 http://www.teflchina.org/teach/speak/ 28 http://www.eflpress.com/how_to_get_your_students_t.html 29 http://teacherjoe.us/TeachersMotivate.html 30 http://englishlessons4free.com/?cat=16 31 http://www.ehow.com/how_4443399_teach-someone-speak-english.html 32 http://www.kidsource.com/education/motivation.lang.learn.html 33 http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/SLA/Motivation.htm 34 http://giftedkids.about.com/od/glossary/g/intrinsic.htm 39 APPENDIX 1: INTERVIEW FOR TEACHERS The interview questions are designed for my thesis “A study on the effect of teachers’ oral feedback on students’ interest in English speaking lessons at An Lao High School” It is highly appreciated if you could spend your little time completing truthfully the question All the information provided by you is solely for the study purpose Please respond to each statement or question and complete all of them as frankly and accurately as you can Age: How many years have you been a teacher of English? Do you often give oral feedback on students in speaking lessons? How you often give oral feedback on students in speaking lessons? What you think about the effects of teacher‟s oral feedback to students‟ interest in speaking lessons? What you think the teachers should when giving oral feedback to students in speaking lesson? Why? Thank you for your cooperation I APPENDIX 2: CÂU HỎI ĐIỀU TRA DÀNH CHO HỌC SINH Những câu hỏi thiết kế nhằm phục vụ cho nghiên cứu ảnh hưởng từ nhận xét nói giáo viên hứng thú học nói Tiếng Anh em học sinh Ý kiến tham gia em đánh giá cao sử dụng hữu ích nghiên cứu Tôi xin đảm bảo thông tin em cung cấp nhằm mục đích nghiên cứu, khơng nhằm mục đích khác Xin cảm ơn tham gia em I Thông tin cá nhân : (Điền thông tin vào chỗ trống) - Giới tính: Nam: Nữ: - Tuổi: ………………… - Em học Tiếng anh rồi?: ………….năm II Hứng thú học nói Tiếng Anh học sinh ( Chọn ý mà em cho phù hợp với em nhất) Tại em muốn học nói Tiếng Anh? A Đây kỹ mà dễ dành điểm cao B Đây kỹ năn bắt buộc chương trình học Tiếng Anh C Em thích đất nước Anh, đặc biệt văn hóa người nơi D Kỹ nói Tiếng Anh giúp em hát nghe hát Tiến Anh E Em nghĩ kỹ nói cần thiết cho em xin việc sau F Em muốn thi đỗ vào trường đại học G Em muốn học nước Theo em, kỹ nói có tầm quan trọng nào? A Rất quan trọng B Khá quan trọng C Bình thường D Hơi quan trọng E Khơng quan trọng Thái độ em học nói Tiếng Anh nào? A Rất tập trung II B Tập trung C Bình thường D Ít tập trung E Khơng tập trung Sự nỗ lực học nói Tiếng Anh em nào? A Rất cao B Cao C Bình thường D Thấp E Rất thấp Niềm mong muốn học nói Tiếng Anh em nào? A Rất muốn B Muốn C Bình thường D Ít mong muốn E Khơng mong muốn Em thấy học nói Tiếng Anh có thú vị không? A Rất thú vị B Thú vị C Bình thường D Kém thú vị E Khơng thú vị Em thường tham gia hoạt động nói học nói Tiếng Anh nào? A Rất thường xuyên B Thường xuyên C Thỉnh thoảng D Hiếm E Không trừ giáo viên yêu cầu Em có cảm thấy bị miễn cưỡng học nói Tiếng Anh khơng? III A Có, thường xuyên B Có, thường xuyên C Có, D Khơng, em thích học nói Tiếng Anh E Khơng, em thích học nói Tiếng Anh III Ý kiến em nhận xét giáo viên Đánh dấu vào ý thích hợp đưa câu trả lời ngắn Theo em, nhận xét nói giáo viên quan trọng học nói? A Không quan trọng B Quan trọng C Rất quan trọng Các thầy ( cơ) giáo em có thường nhận xét em nói Tiếng Anh khơng? A Không B Gần không C Thỉnh thoảng D Thường xuyên E Rất thường xuyên F ý kiến khác ( ghi ngắn gọn, rõ ràng)………………………………… Em có cảm thấy dễ hiểu nhận xét giáo viên khơng? A Có B Khơng IV Các cách thức nhận xét giáo viên học nói Tiếng Anh Đọc đánh dấu vào thích hợp Cách thức nhận xét a Cơng nhận câu trả lời b Chỉ chỗ sai IV c Nhắc lại câu trả lời d Tuyên dương e Phê bình f Phát triển ý thay đổi câu trả lời g Tổng kết lại câu trả lời Em muốn nhận nhận xét từ giáo viên? A Nhận xét mang tính chất tuyên dương, động viên, khuyến khích B Nhận xét mang tính chất phê bình, góp ý C Cả Cảm ơn hợp tác em! V APPENDIX 3: OBSERVATION SHEET Observer:………………………… Date:……………………… Teacher: ………………………………………………………………… Class: ……………………… Period:………… Instruction: This sheet is for observing the teachers‟ oral feedback and students‟ interest when learning speaking skill Start the observation when students begin the lesson Observe students and put a tick in the appropriate column Stop the observation when the lesson finishes Period ( 15 mins.) Period VI ... Recapitulation This study has shown the real situations of teaching and learning speaking English at An Lao High School Most of students at An Lao High School know the importance of learning speaking English. .. at An Lao High School often give oral feedback in speaking lessons Basing on this fact, the researcher tries to find out the fact of teachers' oral feedback at An Lao High School and the effect. .. definition of feedback, as well as an overview on the ways that teachers at An Lao High School give oral feedback in speaking lessons These lay the foundation for the choice of the medium for the