Difficulties in teaching english speaking skills to the tenth form students at van canh high school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ THÚY DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS TO THE TENTH FORM STUDENTS AT VAN CANH HIGH SCHOOL (Những khó khăn việc dạy kĩ nói cho học sinh lớp 10 trường THPT Vân Canh) M.A MINOR THESIS Field : Code : Hanoi, 2011 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ THÚY DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS TO THE TENTH FORM STUDENTS AT VAN CANH HIGH SCHOOL (Những khó khăn việc dạy kĩ nói cho học sinh lớp 10 trường THPT Vân Canh) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 Supervisor: Prof Dr Hoàng Văn Vân LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Students‟ level of language learning 16 Table 2: Students‟ motivation for learning English 16 Table 3a: The frequency of using techniques 20 Table 3b: Students‟ opinions towards teachers‟ teaching speaking techniques .21 Table 4: Students‟ difficulties in speaking lessons 22 Table 5: Factors affecting students‟ participating in English classroom activities 23 Table 6: Students‟ expectation from the teachers 23 Table 7: The teachers‟ age and their teaching experience 24 Table 8: Teachers‟ difficulties in teaching English speaking skills 26 Table 9: Teachers‟ solutions to the problems 27 Table 10: Teachers‟ suggestions to overcome the difficulties 28 Figure 1: Students‟ attitudes towards English speaking skills 17 Figure 2: Students‟ opinions on the speaking topics in the textbooks 18 Figure 3: Frequency of students‟ speaking participation 18 Figure 4: Opportunities to use English outside classroom 19 Figure 5: Students‟ self-improvement of speaking skills 19 Figure 6: Teachers‟ attitude towards speaking skills 25 Figure 7: Teachers‟ techniques of teaching speaking skills 26 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT: Communication Language Teaching PW: pair work GR: group work I: interview UP: using pictures G: game D: drama De: debate RP: role play ST: story telling P: presentation N : number %: percentage TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration i Acknowledgements ii Abstract …iii List of tables and figures iv List of abbreviations v Table of contents vi Part A: Introduction 1 Rationale Aims and significance of the study Scope of the study Research questions Research methods Design of study Part B: The study Chapter 1: Literature review 1.1 Communicative approach to language teaching 1.1.1 What is meant by communication? 1.1.2 Communicative language teaching 1.1.2.1 Nature of communicative language teaching 1.1.2.2 The techniques of communicative language teaching 1.2 Overview of speaking activities 1.2.1 What is meant by speaking skills? 1.2.2 Theories of teaching speaking skills 1.2.2.1 Functions of spoken Language 1.2.2.2 The role of speaking skills in communication approach 1.2.3 Characteristics of a successful speaking activity 1.2.4 Principles in teaching speaking in CLT 1.2.5 Problems with speaking activities 1.2.6 Factors affecting English speaking skills 1.2.6.1 Aptitude 10 1.2.6.2 Motivation 10 1.2.6 Learning strategies 12 1.2.6.4 Anxiety 12 Chapter 2: The study 13 2.1 Context of the study 13 2.1.1 An overview of the research site 13 2.1.2 Description of the students at Van Canh High School 13 2.1.3 Description of the teachers at Van Canh High School 14 2.1.4 Description of physical setting 14 2.2 Methodology 14 2.2.1 Participants 14 2.2.2 Research instruments 15 2.2.3 Data analysis 15 2.3 Presentation of statistical results 15 2.3.1 Results and discussions from the questionnaires for the students 15 2.3.2 Results and discussions from the questionnaires for the teachers 24 Chapter 3: Findings 29 3.1 Difficulties from the students 29 3.1.1 Lack of motivation 29 3.1.2 Anxiety or lack of confidence 29 3.1.3 Lack of vocabularies, structures 30 3.1.4 Lack of opportunities to use English in real life 30 3.1.5 Low linguistic competence and low communicative competence 31 3.1.6 Using mother tongue problem 31 3.1.7 Pronunciation problems 31 10 3.2 Difficulties from the teachers 31 3.3 Other difficulties 32 3.3.1 Large class size 32 3.3.2 Time constraint 32 3.3.3 Lack of reference materials 32 3.3.4 Lack of facilities 33 Part C: Conclusion 34 Summary of the study 34 Suggestions 34 2.1 Motivate students to participate in the speaking skills lessons 35 2.1.1 Create a warm class atmosphere 35 2.1.2 Vary the teaching techniques 36 2.1.3 Provide more interesting topics to motivate students‟ participation 37 2.1.4 Encourage students to participate in the speaking activities 37 2.1.5 Equip teaching facilities 38 2.2 Help students to be confident 38 2.3 Help students overcome pronunciation problems 39 2.4 Overcome time constraint problem 39 2.5 Improve students‟ linguistic competence 39 2.6 Overcome the using mother tongue problem 40 2.7 Create opportunities for students to use English in real life 40 Limitations of the study 41 Suggestions for the further study 41 References 42 Appendix 1a I Appendix 1b V Appendix IX Appendix XIII 11 PART A INTRODUCTION Rationale One of the main tasks assigned to foreign language teaching at school is that of training students to be communicatively competent Speaking is "the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts" (Chaney, 1998: 13) In any second language teaching and learning, speaking is always believed to be the most vital skill Learning a target language makes no sense if you cannot communicate in it successfully For many years, teaching speaking has been undervalued and English teachers have continued to teach speaking just as a repetition of drills or memorization of dialogues However, with the rapid progress of globalization, English speaking skill is thought to be the key to one‟s success in his career The goal of teaching speaking should improve students' communicative skills, because, only in that way, students can express themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules appropriate in each communicative circumstance Classroom activities that develop learners‟ ability to express themselves through speech would therefore seem an important component of a language course However, due to some objective and subjective reasons, teaching and learning English in general and teaching and learning speaking in particular does not come up to the study goals A great deal of researches has shown that students are often hesitant and anxious about speaking the target language in class Despite teachers‟ efforts to provide students with opportunities to develop their communicative skills, how to teach and learn speaking skills effectively is still a challenging question to both teachers and students to many high schools in Vietnam At Van Canh High School, the situation is the same For most students, they find speaking especially important yet challenging one What can we, as teachers, to help our learners overcome their problems and take advantage of opportunities to practice speaking? For me, as a teacher, mastering methodology is very important Especially, I am interested in teaching speaking skills But how to conduct an effective speaking lesson is very difficult Therefore, I hope that the study will help to facilitate my teaching 12 All the above mentioned reasons have inspired the writer to conduct a research titled “Difficulties in teaching English speaking skills to the tenth form students at Van Canh High School.” Aims and significance of the study This study is aimed at finding out the difficulties in teaching and learning English th speaking skills that 10 form students and English teachers at Van Canh High School have encountered Also it is expected to investigate the causes of those difficulties Through this some solutions to solve these problems will be suggested The study is carried out with the hope to be of some help to improve the effectiveness of English learning and teaching at van Canh High School Scope of the study th The study only focuses on the difficulties that 10 form students and English teachers at Van Canh High school have encountered in speaking skills Research questions th (1) What are the difficulties encountered by the English teachers and the 10 form students in teaching and learning English speaking skills at Van Canh High School? (2) What are the causes of those difficulties and how to solve them? Research methods In order to meet the aims of the study, quantitative method was used Two survey questionnaires were used to collect data for the study - The first survey questionnaire was carried out on 107 tenth form students from classes at Van Canh High School - The second one is carried out on English teachers of Van Canh High School All comments, remarks, recommendations, assumptions and conclusions provided in the study based on the analysis of the statistics from the survey questionnaires conducted with the th 10 form students and English teachers of Van Canh High School 13 Design of study This study consists of parts: Part A: Introduction presents the rationale, the aims, scope, the method and design of the study The research questions are also mentioned in this part Part B: The study consists of chapters: Chapter 1: Literature Review reviews the theory about CLT and speaking skills Chapter 2: The study – The study setting is presented in this chapter Data collection and analysis are also presented in this chapter Chapter 3: Findings focuses on the difficulties facing the English teachers at Van Canh High School and their students in teaching English speaking skills Part C: Conclusion summarizes all the key issues of the study and suggests some techniques for the English teachers to teach speaking skills more effectively The limitations of the study and some suggestions for further study are also mentioned in this part 55 Theo em chủ đề nói sách giáo khoa tiếng Anh lớp 10 ( chương trình chuẩn )mà em học là: Khó Dễ Rất thú vị Nhàm chán Phù hợp Không phù hợp Ý kiến khác (xin em vui lòng ghi rõ ý kiến gì?)…………………………………… nào? Mức độ tham gia vào hoạt động nói tiếng Anh lớp em Luôn Thường xuyên Thỉnh thoảng Không ( ngoại trừ giáo viên gọi) Em có hội thực hành nói tiếng Anh ngồi lớp học em hay khơng? Có nhiều hội Thỉnh thoảng Khơng Em làm để trau dồi kỹ nói tiếng Anh mình: (1 ln luôn; thường xuyên; thỉnh thoảng; không bao giờ) Tích cực tham gia hoạt động nói lớp em Tham gia hoạt động ngoại khóa câu lạc tiếng Anh trường… Nghe đọc theo băng đĩa hình qua internet Tham gia tập nói tiếng Anh theo nhóm ngồi lớp học Nói chuyện với người nước ngồi Các hoạt động khác (xin em vui lịng ghi rõ hoạt động gì?) ……………………………………………………………………………… Giáo viên em có tổ chức hoạt động sau học nói khơng, em thích hoạt động khơng thích hoạt động nào: (1 luôn; thường xuyên; thỉnh thoảng; không bao giờ) Trò chơi Sử dụng tranh ảnh, vật thật, … Thích Khơng thích Sử dụng trang thiết bị máy móc, cơng nghệ thơng tin… Diễn kịch 56 Phỏng vấn Đóng vai Tranh luận Thuyết trình Kể chuyện Thảo luận theo nhóm Thực hành theo cặp Những hoạt động khác (xin em vui lòng ghi rõ hoạt động gì?) ………………………………………… Theo em hoạt động có phù hợp với em hay khơng? Có Khơng Nếu khơng chúng có vấn đề gì?…………………………………………………………… Nếu em mắc lỗi nói giáo viên em thường: Ngắt lời em để chữa lỗi Giận ngắt lời em để chữa lỗi Đợi cho em nói xong lỗi chữa Đợi cho em nói xong lỗi gọi bạn lớp chữa Các cách khác(xin em vui lòng ghi rõ cách gì?)……………………………………… 10 Trong tiết học kỹ nói em có gặp khó khăn sau khơng: (1 luôn; thường xuyên; thỉnh thoảng; không bao giờ) Em không hiểu yêu cầu thực hành( hay yêu cầu giáo viên) Em khơng có ý để nói Em khơng diễn đạt ý thiếu từ vựng cấu trúc Lớp q đơng nên em khơng có hội để nói Ngại nói tiếng Anh trước lớp sợ mắc lỗi Ngại nói bạn xung quanh em chưa quen biết Phát âm tiếng anh em không chuẩn nên em không tự tin 57 Thiếu hiểu biết vấn đề văn hóa, lĩnh vực khác đời sống xã hội Những khó khăn khác (xin em vui lịng ghi rõ khó khăn gì?) …………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 11 Theo em tác nhân làm cho em gặp khó khăn trên: Mục đích học tiếng anh em để giao tiếp Chủ đề tẻ nhạt Cách dạy giáo viên tẻ nhạt Giáo viên sử dụng dụng cụ trực quan tranh ảnh, vật thật… Khơng có đầy đủ trang thiết bị công nghệ thông tin nên khơng gây hứng thú để em nói Cách sửa lỗi giáo viên khơng phù hợp Do tính rụt rè, nhút nhát, hay e thẹn… Do bạn lớp nên làm cho em ngại giao tiếp tiếng anh Kỹ giao tiếp Cách bố trí bàn ghế lớp học khơng phù hợp Các nguyên nhân khác (xin em vui lòng ghi rõ nguyên nhân gì?) ………………… 12 Theo em giáo viên phải làm để em hăng say tham gia vào hoạt động nói: Khơng ngắt lời, khơng la mắng em mắc lỗi Thường xuyên thay đổi cách tổ chức hoạt động nói Cho điểm cộng điểm em tham gia thường xuyên Tuyên dương khen ngợi trước lớp Tăng cường sử dụng dụng cụ trực quan, cơng nghệ thơng tin học nói Tăng cường tổ chức trị chơi ngơn ngữ tiết hoc nói để em tham gia nói tự nhiên Thường xuyên tổ chức hoạt động ngoại khóa câu lạc nói tiếng anh, đố vui để học, … Các cách khác(xin em vui lòng ghi rõ cách gì?)…………………………………… 58 Appendix 1b (English version) SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS This survey questionnaire is designed for my research into the difficulties in teaching English speaking skills to the tenth-form students at Van Canh High School Your responses are very important to the success of the survey The data will be used only for the purpose of research, not for any other purposes, and you can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Your co-operation will be highly appreciated Thank you very much for your co-operation! Please feel free to write down some information about yourselves! Age: ………………………………… Gender: male female Years of learning English: …………… Address: rural city Questions Put tick(s) (√) to choose the suitable answer(s) for the following questions: Your result in the last term is… : Very bad Bad Fare Good Excellent According to you, which skill is the most difficult? Listening Speaking Reading Writing Why you learn English? A compulsory subject English is interesting For entertainment Widen the society, culture and language knowledge To get a good job in the future To communicate with the foreigners English is the most important mean of communication Others (please specify) ………………………………………………… 59 4.What you think about the speaking topics in the textbook “Tieng Anh 10”? interesting difficult all right others (please specify) ……………………………………………………………… 5.How often you take part in speaking activities in your class? Always 6.Do you have opportunities to speak English outside your classes? Usually What you to improve your English speaking skills? (1 always; often; sometimes; never ) Try to participate in English speaking activities whenever you can Take part in English speaking club at your school Listen and repeat through CD tapes or from the Internet Participate in group practicing inside and outside the classroom Talk to foreigners Try to participate in English speaking activities whenever you can Others (please specify) …………………………………………… What activities your teachers often in your English speaking classes? Which activities you like and which activities you dislike? (1 always; often; sometimes; never ) Games Using pictures, real objects Using information technology Drama Interview Role play 60 Debate Presentation Story telling Group works Pair works Others (please specify) ……………… Do you think your teachers‟ techniques of teaching speaking are suitable for you? Yes No If no, what are the problems? …………………………………………………… If you make mistakes during your performing, your teachers often: Interrupt you to correct Get angry and interrupt you to correct Wait until you finish your task and, point out the mistakes and correct them Wait until you finish your task and, point out the mistakes and ask you and your classmates to correct them Others………………………………………………………………………… 10 Do you encounter any difficulties in your English speaking classes? (1 always; often; sometimes; never ) Not understand the requirements Lack of ideas Lack of vocabularies and structures Have no opportunities to speak Afraid of making mistakes Being afraid of the strange partners Pronunciation problems Lack of society knowledge Others (please specify) ……………………………………… 61 11 What factors cause the above difficulties? (1 always; often; sometimes; never ) The aims of study English is not for communicative Boring topics Teachers‟ techniques are boring Lack of authentic materials Lack of facilities Unsuitable teachers‟ correction ways Students‟ shyness Being afraid of the strange partners Low communicative competence Classroom setting The aims of study English is not for communicative 12 According to you, what should your English teachers to encourage you to participate in English speaking activities? Do not angry with you and not interrupt you Vary the teaching techniques Give marks or add marks if you participate in the speaking activities regularly Praise you to the class Increase the use of visual aids Increase the use of language games Increase the use of information technology Organize extra activities regularly such as: English speaking clubs, quizzes, etc… Others (please specify) ……………………………………………………………… ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE! 62 Appendix SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS This survey questionnaire is designed for my research into the difficulties in teaching English speaking skills to the tenth-form students at Van Canh High School Your responses are very important to the success of the survey The data will be used only for the purpose of research, not for any other purposes, and you can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Your co-operation will be highly appreciated Thank you very much for your co-operation! Please feel free to write down some information about yourselves! Age: Gender: male female Years of teaching English:……………………… Questions Put tick(s) (√) to choose the suitable answer(s) for the following questions: Have you ever been trained in Communicative Language teaching (CLT)? Yes No If yes, where and how many times:…………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Do you apply CLT in your teaching speaking skills to your students? Yes No If no, what method you use:………………………………………… In your opinions, speaking skills are…………………………………… the most important as important as other skills not so important as other skills others (please specify) …………………………………………………… 63 In your opinion, the aim of teaching speaking at your school is to enable the students: To communicate To improve their vocabulary To practice grammar structures To practice pronunciation and intonation Others…………………………………………………………………… What you think about the speaking topics of the textbook “Tieng Anh 10” ( Basic stream)? Interesting Boring Easy Difficult All right Not suitable Others (please specify)…………………………………………………………………… What activities you often in your English speaking classes? Pair work Group work Interview Using pictures, real objects Play games Drama Debate Role play Story telling Presentation Others (please specify) ………………………………………………………………… Do you always use English in your classes? Yes No If no, specify the reasons…………………………………………………………… Do you encounter any difficulties in your teaching speaking skills to the tenth form students? 64 Yes No If yes, they are…………………………………………………………… Students‟ low linguistic competence Teachers‟ low linguistic competence Lack of teachers‟ self- confidence Students‟ lack of motivation Students‟ shyness Students‟ use of mother- tongue during group work/ pair work Lack of time Lack of necessary facilities Large and multi-level classes Difficult and boring speaking topics Others (please specify) …………………………………………………………… When your students reluctant to speaking English in classes, you usually……… Get angry and ask them to stand Encourage them to speak by asking easier questions Let them sit down and never ask them again Others (please specify) ……………………………………………………………… 10 When your students show low motivation in speaking lessons, you often… Change the atmosphere of the class (play games, sing an English song…) Suggest interesting topics for discussion Go on discussing that topic Others…………………………………………………………………… 11 How you deal with students‟ low linguistic competence? Give students time to prepare Simplify the speaking topics and tasks Give instructions in Vietnamese Criticize them Others (please specify) ………………………………………………………… 65 12 What you to prevent your students from using Vietnamese in speaking classes? Go round more often to check students‟ practising Remind them to speak English Criticize them Others (please specify) ……………………………………………………………… 13 What, you think, should be done to improve teaching speaking skills to the tenth form students at Van Canh High School? Use more authentic materials Vary the techniques you are using Have further training on teaching methods Attend workshops or seminars on CLT to exchange teaching experience Have self-improvement in methodology as well as linguistic competence Adapt the speaking tasks to suit the students Organize extracurricular activities more regularly Facilitate necessary equipment Others (please specify) ………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE! 66 Appendix Some adapted speaking activity samples Sample Unit 1: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF…… Task 1: (P14) Game: “face to face” Ask from eight to ten students to make a circle in front of the class, the teacher ask them to tell the name of the subjects they know one by one Who can't tell will be the loser and doesn't have the right to continue the game Who is the last will be the winner Through this game students can remember the words deeply Moreover, they can have chances to practice speaking and listening, too Sample 2: Unit 5: TECHNOLOGY AND YOU Task 1: (P56) Game1: “Tell what you see” Ask the students to glance the pictures below, then tell the name of the machines they saw Who can tell the most will be the winner 67 For the classes with good students the game “stepping stones” can be used Game 2: “stepping stones” Divide the classes into two groups Cover the pictures above in “stones” and put them into a “river” Each team will choose a “stone” to step When the foot is put on the “stone” the picture will be uncovered and they have to ask and answer the questions about the pictures like this: A: Can / could you tell me what a cell phone is used for? B: Well, it is used to talk to people when you are away from home If they can't talk they'll be eaten by crocodile Who is the survivor will be the winner Sample 3: Unit 13: FILMS AND CINEMA Warm- up Game 1: “Talk what you see” Ask the students to glance the pictures below, then tell the name of the kinds of film they saw Who can tell the most will be the winner Love story film (Romantic film) Cartoon 68 Science fiction War film action film thriller detective film We can also conduct the game “face to face” Etc Game 2: For the good classes we can conduct the game “Twenty questions” or “What's my name?” One student will tell the class the characteristics of the film and the others will guess the kind of the film ... difficulties in teaching English speaking skills According to the information obtained from the survey, the English teachers at Van Canh High School have encountered several problems They complained that... speaking skills in order to improve the teaching and learning at Van Canh High school 2.1 Motivate students to participate in the speaking skills lessons Language learning is most effective when students' ... aimed at finding out the difficulties in teaching and learning English th speaking skills that 10 form students and English teachers at Van Canh High School have encountered Also it is expected to