An investigation into oral errors in english speaking classes of 10th form non english majors at phan boi chau specializing high school, nghe an

1 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES LÊ THU HƯƠNG AN INVESTIGATION INTO ORAL ERRORS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES OF 10TH - FORM NON-ENGLISH MAJORS AT PHAN BOI CHAU SPECIALIZING HIGH SCHOOL, NGHE AN (Nghiên cứu lỗi nói học sinh lớp 10 không chuyên trường THPT chuyên Phan Bội Châu, Nghệ An) MA MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 Hanoi - 2010 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES LÊ THU HƯƠNG AN INVESTIGATION INTO ORAL ERRORS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES OF 10TH - FORM NON-ENGLISH MAJORS AT PHAN BOI CHAU SPECIALIZING HIGH SCHOOL, NGHE AN (Nghiên cứu lỗi nói học sinh lớp 10 khơng chun trường THPT chuyên Phan Bội Châu, Nghệ An) MA MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 Supervisor: Phạm Minh Hiền, MA Hanoi - 2010 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The reason for learning English Table 2: Students’ attitude toward English speaking skills Table 3: Students’ ability of speaking English in classrooms Table 4: Frequency of students’ oral errors in English speaking classes Table 5: Types of students’ oral errors in English speaking classes Table 6: The omission of the inflectional suffixes in English speaking classes Table 7: The errors of mispronouncing the voiceless /s/ Table 8: The errors of adding “s” or other sounds to a certain number of words Table 9: The error of mispronouncing /s/ for /∫/ Table 10: The error of mispronouncing the fricative sound /ð/ Table 11: The error of mispronouncing vowel sounds Table 12: Teachers’ attitude toward students’ oral errors and oral error correction Table 13: Types of students’ oral error correction Table 14: Teachers’ techniques used to correct students’ oral errors DECLARATION………………………………………………………………………………i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT LIST OF TABLES TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………………………….v PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationales of the study Aims of the study Scope of the study Research questions Methods of the study Significance of the study Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW I Overview I.1 Definition of speaking I.2 The characteristics of speaking I.3 The importance of speaking I.4 Learners’ errors I.4.1 Definition of error I.4.2 Oral error I.5 Errors and Mistakes I.6 Causes of Errors I.6.1 Mother-Tongue Interference I.6.2 Overgeneralization I.6.3 Interlanguage I.6.4 Simplification I.6.5 Teaching materials and methodology I.7 Techniques used to correct learners’ oral errors I.7.1 Self- correction I.7.2 Peer- correction I.7.3 Teacher Correction CHAPTER II: METHODS OF THE STUDY II.1 Background of the study II.1.1 Description of the teachers of English at PBC Specializing High School II.1.2 The students at Phan Boi Chau Specializing High School II.1.3 The current situation of English teaching and learning at PBC Specializing High School II.1.3.1 The materials of teaching and learning II.1.3.2 The teaching and learning English speaking skills II Data collection II.2.1 The instruments for collecting data II.2.2 Procedures and method of the study CHAPTER III: THE STUDY III.3 Data analysis, findings and discussion III.3.1 The reality of Students’ English speaking at PBC Specializing High School III.3.1.1 The reason for learning English III.3.1.2 Students’ attitude toward English speaking skills III.3.1.3 Students’ ability of speaking English in classrooms III.3.1.4 Frequency of students’ oral errors in English speaking classes III.3.1.5 Types of students’ oral errors in English speaking classes III.3.1.6 Factors causing students’oral errors in their English speaking III.3.2 Strategies for correcting students’ oral errors at PBC Specializing High School III.3.2.1 Teachers’ attitude toward students’ oral errors and oral error correction III.3.2.2 Teachers’ decisions on what to correct III.3.2.3 Teachers’ techniques used to correct students’ oral errors III.4 Some suggested solutions to correct students’ oral errors effectively III.5 Summary PART C: CONCLUSIONS ………………………… I Conclusions II Implications III Limitations of the study IV Suggestion for further study REFERENCES APPENDICES APPENDIX A: TEACHER SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE APPENDIX B: STUDENT SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE APPENDIX C: CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS 10 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS L1: First language L2: Second language CLT: Communicative Language Teaching 11 PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationales of the study English has been playing an important role in the world’s social life In Vietnam, English is widely used by not only foreigners but also Vietnamese people as a language of work and business There have been an increasing number of people desiring to know English with the hope of keeping up with the latest modern technology in the world English has now been taught not only at all universities and colleges, but also at almost every senior high school and it is considered as a compulsory subject at secondary school Therefore, teaching and learning English is now considered as a necessity in the society with the aim of mastering an international language Being aware of the importance of teaching and learning English, methodology for teaching learning English as a foreign language has been considerably changing in order to enhance the abilities of English language learners, especially speaking English to meet the needs required by their work At Phan Boi Chau Specializing High School, English is a compulsory subject in the curriculum and it is considered as a major subject for the high school examination It is taught with the purpose that students have some basic knowledge of English in order to communicate and to use it as a key to science and technology However, there still exist many difficulties facing English language teachers in Vietnam in general and English language teachers at Phan Boi Chau Specializing High School in particular in teaching speaking skills to students In the teaching situations, the students usually keep quiet in speaking lessons; they mind speaking English There are many students who have good knowledge of grammar, can reading and writing exercises wonderfully but 12 they cannot express themselves in English and find it hard to response spontaneously and naturally One of the reasons for this is that students often make oral errors in speaking As we know, it is inevitable for learners to make errors in their learning process At Phan Boi Chau Specializing High School I have found that most of the non-English majors who specialize in natural subjects such as: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology… or social subjects such as: Literature, History and Geography often make oral errors in their speaking For most students, they find speaking especially important yet most challenging one although they are given more chances to practise speaking English during all English lessons They are always passive and not familiar with, even afraid of taking part in pair-work or group-work activities in classrooms In addition, many students feel shy and ashamed when making errors in speaking As a result, there are various kinds of oral errors appearing in students’ English speaking Those are the reasons that inspire me with the desire to conduct An investigation into oral errors in English speaking classes of 10th - form NonEnglish Majors at Phan Boi Chau Specializing High School, Nghe An Aims of the study This research is designed to investigate Students’ oral errors and the strategies of oral correction at Phan Boi Chau Specializing High School, Nghe An It has purposes: * to clarify the reality of students’ English speaking in classrooms * to find out kinds of oral errors that students make when they speak English in classrooms 13 * to gain an insight into the teachers’ attitude toward students’ oral errors and oral error correction * to help teachers develop their possible strategies for oral error corrections Scope of the study The study concentrates only on investigating students’ oral errors in their English speaking classes and teachers’ strategies of oral error correction at Phan Boi Chau Specializing High School, Nghe An The study mainly focuses on the learners in the tenth form at Phan Boi Chau Specializing High School, Nghe An Research questions 4.1 What is the reality of students’ English speaking at Phan Boi Chau Specializing High School, Nghe An? 4.2 What are teachers’ attitude toward students’ oral errors and oral error correction? 4.3 What are the types of oral errors often made by students at Phan Boi Chau Specializing High School, Nghe An? What are the causes of these oral errors? 4.4 What are the possible strategies used to correct students’ oral errors effectively? Methods of the study In the process of carrying out the study, the instruments for collecting data in this research are classroom observations In addition, questionnaires are used to collect data for the study 66 c Interlanguage d Simplification * Other causes of students’ oral errors …………………………………………………………………………………… In your opinion, correcting students’ oral errors in teaching process is: a Very important b Important c Little important d Not important When students make oral errors in their speaking, you often: a Correct only important oral errors b Correct all the oral errors students make c Correct students’ oral errors basing on the aims of the lesson Who will be in charge of correcting students’ oral errors? a Self- correction b Teacher- correction c Peer- correction Thank you for your co-operation 67 APPENDIX B: STUDENT SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE This survey questionnaire is designed for my research entitled “An investigation into oral errors in English speaking classes of 10 th - form Non-English Majors at Phan Boi Chau Specializing High School, Nghe An” Your assistance in completing items is very important to my research You can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Please read the following questions carefully and put a tick (√) on the answer you choose (you can choose more than one answer in some questions) In your opinion, learning English is a very important b important c little important d not important Why you learn English? a to pass examinations b to be a compulsory subject c to listen to songs, read books, magazines in English d to get a good job in the future * Other reasons ……………………………………………………………………………………………… How is your ability of speaking English in classroom? a Good b Normal c Bad d Too bad a Always b Sometimes c Never Do you often make oral errors when speaking English in classroom? 68 Put the following oral errors in order of frequency a Pronunciation b Missing words c Redundancy d Word order e Literal translation * Other oral errors ……………………………………………………………………………………………… If the errors are of pronunciation, what kinds of the following errors you often make in your speaking? a sound b intonation c stress What factors cause your oral errors? a Ability b Less practice c Listening and speaking skills are not paid much attention to in classroom d Learning conditions e Mother-tongue interference * Other factors …………………………………………………………………………………………… Do your teachers often correct your oral errors when you were a student at secondary school? a Yes b No When you make oral errors inyour speaking, your teachers often: a Correct only important oral errors b Correct all the oral errors c Correct the oral errors according to the aims of the lesson 69 10 Who will be in charge of correcting your oral errors? a Self-correction b Peer-correction c Teacher-correction Thank you for your co-operation 70 APPENDIX C: CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS Lesson 1: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF Class 10A1 Kinds of errors Intonation & Mispronouncing the sound /: The error of stress < >: The error of intonation : The error of mispronouncing the sounds 71 Lesson 2: SCHOOL TALKS Class 10A4 Kinds of errors Stress & Mispronouncing the sound /: The error of stress < >: The error of intonation : The error of mispronouncing the sounds 72 Lesson 4: SPECIAL EDUCATION Class 10C2 Kinds of errors correction Stress & Mispronouncing the sound /: The error of stress < >: The error of intonation : The error of mispronouncing the sounds 73 Kinds of errors Intonation & Mispronouncing the sounds /: The error of stress < >: The error of intonation : The error of mispronouncing the sounds 74 Kind of error Stress & Mispronouncing the sound /: The error of stress < >: The error of intonation : The error of mispronouncing the sounds 75 Lesson 12: MUSIC Kinds of errors Intonation & Mispronouncing the sound /: The error of stress < >: The error of intonation : The error of mispronouncing the sounds Class 10A2 76 Kinds of errors Intonation /: The error of stress < >: The error of intonation : The error of mispronouncing the sounds 77 Kinds of errors Intonation & Mispronouncing the sound /: The error of stress < >: The error of intonation : The error of mispronouncing the sounds 78 Kinds of errors Intonation & Mispronouncing the sound Mispronouncing the sound /: The error of stress < >: The error of intonation : The error of mispronouncing the sounds 79 Lesson 16: HISTORICAL PLACES Kinds of errors Intonation & Mispronouncing the sound /: The error of stress < >: The error of intonation : The error of mispronouncing the sounds Class 10A4 ... the desire to conduct An investigation into oral errors in English speaking classes of 10th - form NonEnglish Majors at Phan Boi Chau Specializing High School, Nghe An Aims of the study This research... form at Phan Boi Chau Specializing High School, Nghe An Research questions 4.1 What is the reality of students’ English speaking at Phan Boi Chau Specializing High School, Nghe An? 4.2 What are... researcher found that 10th - form NonEnglish Majors at Phan Boi Chau Specializing High School made many intonation errors in their English speaking They often say a sentence without any intonation, only