Using eliciting techniques to stimulate 10th form students to talk in english classes at luu nhan chu high school, thai nguyen

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES  - - HỒ SỸ THANH TH USING ELICITING TECHNIQUES TO STIMULATE 10 FORM STUDENTS TO TALK IN ENGLISH CLASSES AT LUU NHAN CHU HIGH SCHOOL IN THAI NGUYEN (SỬ DỤNG CÁC THỦ THUẬT GỢI MỞ ĐỂ KHUYẾN KHÍCH HỌC SINH LỚP 10 NÓI TRONG CÁC GIỜ HỌC TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG LƯU NHÂN CHÚ, THÁI NGUYÊN) M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60 14 10 SUPERVISOR: PHAN HOÀNG YẾN, MA Hanoi - 2012 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES viii PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale for the study The objectives of the study The research questions The scope of the study The significance of the study .3 Methods of the study 6.1 Data collection method .3 6.2 Data analysis method Organization of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 An overview of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) 1.1.1 Definition and characteristics of CLT 1.1.2 Types of communicative activities 1.2 Eliciting techniques 1.2.1 Definition 1.2.2 Types of eliciting 1.2.3 Benefits and hindrances of using eliciting techniques 11 1.3 Teachers‟ roles in stimulating students to talk .12 v CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY .14 2.1 Participants .14 2.1.1 Population 14 2.1.2 Sampling method 14 2.2 Description 14 2.2.1 Students .14 2.2.2 Teachers .15 2.3 Research instruments 16 2.3.1 Questionnaires .16 2.3.2 Teacher interview 16 2.3.3 Lesson observation 17 2.4 Data collection procedure .17 2.5 Data analysis procedure 19 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 21 3.1 Data analysis 21 3.1.1 Research question 1: The current situation of applying eliciting techniques to stimulate 10th form students to talk in English classes at Luu Nhan Chu high school 21 3.1.2 Research question 2: Benefits of teachers‟ using eliciting techniques in stimulating 10th form students to talk 26 3.1.3 Research question 3: Difficulties of applying eliciting techniques to th stimulate 10 form students to talk in English classes as reported by teachers 28 3.1.4 Research question 4: Solutions to those difficulties as suggested by teachers 30 3.2 Discussion of results .32 th 3.2.1 The current situation of using eliciting techniques to stimulate 10 form students to talk at Luu Nhan Chu high school .32 3.2.2 The benefits of eliciting techniques in stimulating 10th form students to talk .33 vi 3.2.3 Teachers‟ difficulties in using eliciting techniques .34 3.2.4 Solutions to hindrances as suggested by teachers 35 PART C: CONCLUSION 37 Conclusion 37 Pedagogical implications 38 Limitations of the research 39 Suggestions for further research 39 REFERENCES 40 APPENDICES I APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS I APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (for teachers) V APPENDIX 3: THE DESCRIPTION OF OBSERVATION CHECKLIST VI vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS TTT: Teacher talking time STT: Student talking time CLT: Communicative Language Teaching viii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Summary of selected students 15 Table 2: Summary of selected teachers 15 Table 3: Eliciting techniques and frequency (Teachers‟ opinions) .23 Table 4: Teachers‟ giving feedback to students‟ talk 25 Table 5: Benefits of eliciting techniques (Students‟ opinions) 27 Table 6: Benefits of eliciting techniques (Teachers‟ opinions) .27 Figure Eliciting techniques and frequency (Students‟ opinions) 22 Figure Teachers‟ giving feedback to students‟ talk (students‟ opinions) 24 Figure 3: Difficulties in using eliciting techniques (Teachers‟ opinions) .28 PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale for the study Nowadays, English is used all over the world for communication It is necessary for everybody in the world in general and in Vietnam in particular to communicate in English with people from other countries In the field of language teaching, CLT has been widely applied in Vietnam recently However, its result is not effective According to Le and Roger (2009), “in recent years, national curriculums based on CLT principles have been introduced into school systems in many Asian countries but the results have not always been successful” In many English c lassrooms, students have few opportunities to speak English The communicative approach emphasizes ways to increase student-talk and decrease teacher-talk In the teaching situations, the students usually keep quiet in English lessons Many students with good knowledge of grammar can be good at reading and writing exercises but they cannot express themselves in English It is hard for them to respond spontaneously and naturally Additionally, studying a foreign language is more difficult than studying students‟ mother tongue Therefore, a good teacher should choose an appropriate technique to make it easier for them to learn, so it is necessary for a teacher to use a teaching technique to enable students to use their communication competence optimally The employment of eliciting techniques is one of ways to increase student-talk and reduce teacher-talk It is also a useful technique to stimulate students to talk Finally, regarding the subject of the study, grade-10 students were new comers so they were believed to be worth researching They are not familiar with the curriculum of new textbook Tieng Anh 10 whose amount of knowledge is too large They find it difficult to speak English in the class Based on the consideration above, the present study tries to investigate the current situation of the eliciting techniques used by the teachers to stimulate grade-10 students to talk in English classes at Luu Nhan Chu high school The objectives of the study The study aims to: Investigate the current situation of using eliciting techniques to th stimulate 10 form students to talk at Luu Nhan Chu high school, specifically, it looks deeper into teachers‟ choices of different techniques, the frequency of teachers‟ elicitation together with students‟ response and teachers‟ feedback Examine teachers‟ and students‟ evaluation on the benefits of eliciting techniques Identify difficulties in the process of using these eliciting techniques, followed by teachers‟ suggestions to overcome these problems The research questions The study is conducted to answer the following questions: 2.1 What is the current situation of using eliciting techniques to stimulate 10th form students to talk in English classes at Luu Nhan Chu high school? 2.2 What are the benefits of eliciting techniques in stimulating students to talk as perceived by students and teachers? 2.3 What are the difficulties in using these eliciting techniques as reported by teachers? 2.4 What solutions teachers suggest to overcome identified problems? The scope of the study Due to the limit of the thesis, only Luu Nhan Chu high school was chosen as the research setting This study is concerned with eliciting techniques used to stimulate grade-10 students‟ talk at Luu Nhan Chu high school Therefore, the research is not planning on studying a larger population of the whole students at Luu Nhan Chu high school The significance of the study It is hoped that the findings of the study contribute theoretically and practically to the improvement of teaching and learning process It can bring a number of benefits to involved parties namely students, teachers, educational administrators and researchers of the related fields Firstly, teachers of upper-secondary schools in Luu Nhan Chu high school are those who receive benefits from the information the research provides The findings can be used as a reference for teachers Teachers will have an overall look at the situation of their own using eliciting techniques to stimulate students to talk The study is also important for the students It is expected that the students can more actively participate, will not be anxious to speak English, be brave to answer teachers‟ questions, and be able to communicate English well Furthermore, the study can give contribution to other researchers as references in conducting further research They may get other techniques to encourage students to talk In general, students, teachers, educational administrators and researchers are those who are likely to benefit from the study Methods of the study 6.1 Data collection method In order to get thorough understanding of the issue, the research is conducted in both qualitative and quantitative approach The researcher used questionnaires, interviews and observations to collect data Concerning questionnaires, a total number of 120 students coming from four classes were involved in the study Semi-structure interviews were conducted among four English teachers For lesson observations, only one was done and chosen as a representative sample to be analyzed in order to validate the data collected from the first two instruments 6.2 Data analysis method The information collected from questionnaires, observation and interviews was transcribed, analyzed and the data was reported Organization of the study Apart from acknowledgement, table of contents and appendices, this paper is structured in three main parts namely, Introduction, Development and Conclusion The first part “Introduction” presents the rationale, objectives, research questions, scope of the study, the significance of the study, methodology and its organization The second part “Development” includes three chapters Chapter reviews the related literature which involves the general concepts as well as characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), the eliciting techniques and teachers‟ roles in stimulating students to talk Chapter defines the methodology of the research including features of the participants, contexts, research instruments, data collection and data analysis procedure Chapter analyzes and discusses the findings, which gives comprehensive answers to the four research questions The third part “Conclusion” presents the summary of the major findings, implications, limitations of the study and recommendations for further research 35 3.2.4 Solutions to hindrances as suggested by teachers When being asked about measures to overcome the listed difficulties, all interviewed teachers offered meaningful solutions to tackle particular difficulties Firstly, in order to cope with the most common problem-time consumption, the majority of teachers proposed two measures, including “being flexible in managing time” and “preparing the lesson plans carefully” Also, according to interviewed teachers in the current study, it was necessary to choose what to elicit and when to elicit This point was backed up by Doff (1988:161): “Most teachers would not try to elicit all the time” “Preparing the lesson plans carefully” was backed up by Rudder (2002) According to his ideas, teachers should make the lesson plans carefully so that eliciting techniques are always ready to be used in all focused skills and lesson stages Visibly, these measures are well-reinforced by the literature review in the field Secondly, to deal with students‟ incomprehensibility of techniques, meaningful solutions were given by teachers participating in the present study, namely using simple language, body language, and using Vietnamese There is a th fact that 10 students‟ English competence in the study‟s context is not good, so interviewed teachers chose to use Vietnamese and body language to help low level students understand techniques applied in classes Surprisingly, these suggestions were not touched in previous studies in the field Thirdly, concerning the problem related to students‟ shyness and lack of confidence, motivating students and conducting games and activities were offered by teachers According to the teachers, games and activities helped their students overcome their‟ lack of confidence when students took part in these interesting activities The majority of teachers also mentioned choosing 36 interesting topics to stimulate students to talk According to Ur (1996:87), “learners are eager to speak because they are interested in the task” Besides, introducing games and activities was supported in Rudder (2000) as “the teacher is obliged to create and implement both controlled and free activities that encourage students to speak” With regard to “teaching and learning conditions”, teachers made full use of available facilities such as textbooks, blackboard and handouts Also, using pair work to overcome the problem of small-sized classroom was chosen with the highest percentage of teachers To sum up, this chapter has presented all findings from survey questionnaires, interviews and observations Some of the findings corresponded to those of the previous studies and the theory presented in the literature review whereas some were slightly different Four research questions were fully addressed based on reliable and valid data 37 PART C: CONCLUSION Conclusion Eliciting techniques always play a very special role in stimulating students to talk in English classes These techniques are not only important to a single skill but also other language skills and components Therefore, the study investigated into the employment of eliciting in stimulating students to talk in English classes Moreover, the scope of this study is 10 th form students at Luu Nhan Chu high school in Thai Nguyen 120 students and four teachers from four classes were selected to participate in the survey In order to implement this research, the author used many different methods including questionnaires, interviews and observations The result of the study shows that questioning is applied with the highest frequency among other eliciting techniques as reported by students and teachers About teachers‟ giving feedback to students‟ response, “both giving compliment and correcting students‟ answers” was chosen by the majority of teachers and students Regarding the benefits of eliciting techniques in stimulating students to talk, while the majority of students chose “giving students more chance to talk”, all teachers reported that these techniques helped “students talk more easily” Concerning difficulties of using eliciting techniques, teachers listed five major problems, namely time consumption, students‟ shyness and lack of confidence, students‟ incomprehensibility of techniques, small-sized classrooms and lack of modern facilities The solutions were given to deal with the identified problems, namely flexibility, preparation of lessons in advance, choosing interesting topics and motivating students, and making full use of available facilities In a nutshell, those findings fully addressed the four research questions 38 Pedagogical implications In order to apply the eliciting techniques in stimulating students to talk more effectively, the researcher would like to propose some recommendations as follows Regarding the use of questions, questions are very important in deciding the effectiveness in stimulating students to talk However, teachers cannot succeed in eliciting students‟ talk if their eliciting questions are not appropriate and they not know how and when to use questions Below are some implications for using questions in stimulating students to talk Initially, questions used to elicit students‟ talk should be simple and understandable This helps weak students comprehend what the teacher is explaining or asking Secondly, teachers should be flexible in asking questions For instance, the teacher should vary her/his questions according to the difficulty of the question Additionally, students should be given time to think before giving the answers, which helps students avoid being nervous Also, teachers are suggested to use various types of questions This helps avoid boring repetition and inspire students to raise voice Doff (1998:23) stated that “It is possible to ask many different kinds of questions, and to ask questions in many different ways.” Concerning the ways of giving feedback, it is recommended that teachers should both compliment and correct students‟ answers Some words to compliment such as “that‟s good”, “good” or “excellent” will make students more confident and maintain students‟ positive attitudes towards teachers‟ elicitation Besides, instant correction should not be used to avoid making students shy This way of correction is well-supported by Doff (1988:179): “First let students finish utterance Students find it disconcerting to be interrupted mid-stream.” 39 Since the employment of eliciting technique is time-consuming, some recommendations for this hindrance are listed as follows First of all, it is suggested that teachers should prepare the lesson carefully in advance Also, when applying these techniques, being flexible helps teachers manage time effectively Teachers should choose what to elicit and when to elicit In order to tackle the problem of teaching and learning conditions, namely lack of modern facilities and small-sized classrooms, teachers are advised to make full use of available resources sensitively and creatively Without modern facilities, they can use other tools such as handouts, printed pictures, etc For small-sized classrooms, pair work is suitable when students not have to move around Limitations of the research Though the researcher has made efforts toward carrying out this study, due to the limitation of time, lack of resources and the researcher‟s ability, drawbacks are unavoidable First and foremost, not all the students at Luu Nhan Chu high school are involved in the survey questionnaires, to some extent; the results may not be generalized for all students Moreover, 10th form students, in majority, were not insightful enough to perceive issue Finally, because of time constraints, only one speaking lesson was observed and selected to be analyzed Suggestions for further research Firstly, the study should be conducted using a large number of participants with several teachers and classes Therefore, researchers can expand the scope on students of grade 11 and 12 In addition, the application of eliciting techniques in stimulating students to talk can be carried out in a particular teaching component or skill rather than an entire lesson 40 REFERENCES Brown, D (1994) Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy San Francisco State University Cornejo, R., Weistein, A and Najar, C (1983) Eliciting spontaneous speech in bilingual students: Methods and techniques New Mexico: Educational Resources Information Center and Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools Darn, S (2008) Asking questions The BBC and British Council Retrieved from http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/askingquestions on November 21 2008 Doff, A (1988) Teach English: A training course for teachers Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Harmer, J (1983) The practice of English language teaching Essex: Longman Group Limited Harmer, J (2001) The practice of English language teaching London: Longman ELT Le, C (2009) Curricular innovation behind closed classroom doors: A Vietnamese case study Littlewood, W.T (1981) Integrating the new and the old in a Communicative approach Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Mackey, A and Grass S.M (2005) Second language research: Methodology and Design London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 10 McDonough S (1997) Research methods for English language teachers University of Essex UK 11 Nunan, D (1991) Communicative tasks and the language curriculum, TEOSL Quarterly, 25 (2) 41 12 Pham, H (2006) Using elicitation techniques to teach Vocabulary to 11th form students in Hanoi Hanoi: English Department, CFL, VNU 13 Richard J.C (2005) Communicative Language Teaching Today New York: Cambridge University Press 14 Roger, G (1999) Teaching practice handbook-A reference book for EFL teachers in training Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 15 Rudder, M (2000) Eliciting student-talk, English Teaching Forum, 37(2), 17-19 16 Tran, H (2007) Eliciting technique to teach speaking skill to grade10 students at Hanoi Foreign Language Specializing School Hanoi: English Department, CFL, VNU 17 Ur, P (1996) A course in language teaching: Practice and Theory Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 18 Wright, A, Betteridge, M and Buckby, M (1984) Games for Language Learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press I APPENDICES APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (English version) Using eliciting techniques to stimulate 10th form students to talk in English classes I am Ho Sy Thanh, an English teacher at Luu Nhan Chu high school This survey questionnaire is intended to collect your information for my research on “Using eliciting techniques to stimulate grade 10 students to talk in English classes Your response is useful to my research A Personal information Class: English score of the last semester: B Questions I Eliciting techniques used to stimulate students to talk What techniques does your teacher use to stimulate you to talk in English classes? (More than one option can be chosen) a Asking questions b Using pictures c Conducting games and activities d Using texts and dialogues e Using non-verbal language f Others:…… (Please specify) How often does your teacher use those techniques? (Please tick in the appropriate blank) Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never II Techniques Asking questions Using pictures Using games and activities Using texts and dialogues Using non-verbal language Others After you finish your talk, how does your teacher give feedback to your answers or ideas? a Only correct your talk b Only give compliment to your right answers c Both compliment and correct your answers d Give compliment to both right and wrong answers e Others: … (Please specify) II Benefits of teachers’ using eliciting techniques Do you think your teacher‟s using eliciting techniques brings benefits in stimulating you talk? a Yes b No If yes, what benefits are they? (More than one option can be chosen) a Giving you more chances to talk in class b Making you more confident in response to teacher c Helping you develop independent thinking d Inspiring you in involving in oral class activities e Others: … (Please specify) III CÂU HỎI KHẢO SÁT (DÀNH CHO HỌC SINH) Sử dụng thủ thuật gợi mở để khuyến khích học sinh lớp 10 nói nhiều học tiếng Anh Chào em! Tôi tên Hồ Sỹ Thanh, giáo viên Tiếng Anh trường trung học phổ thông Lưu Nhân Chú Tôi tiến hành nghiên cứu “Sử dụng thủ thuật gợi mở để khuyến khích học sinh lớp 10 nói học tiếng Anh” Câu trả lời em quan trọng nghiên cứu Cám ơn em nhiều! A Thông tin cá nhân Trường: Lớp: Điểm phẩy mơn tiếng Anh kì trước: B Câu hỏi I Các phương pháp giáo viên sử dụng để khuyến khích học sinh nói tiết học tiếng Anh Giáo viên em thường sử dụng phương pháp để khuyến khích em nói tiếng Anh? (Em chọn MỘT đáp án) a Đặt câu hỏi b Dùng tranh ảnh c Tổ chức trò chơi họat động d Sử dụng khoá hội thoại e.Sử dụng ngôn ngữ thể ( Nét mặt,cử chỉ, điệu bộ, kịch câm….) f Các phương pháp khác:…… …………….……… (xin viết rõ) Mức độ thường xuyên mà giáo viên em sử dụng phương pháp trên? (hãy đánh dấu vào trống thích hợp.) Luôn Hiếm IV Phương pháp Đặt câu hỏi Sử dụng tranh ảnh Tổ chức trò chơi hoạt động Sử dụng khóa hội thoại Sử dụng ngôn ngữ thể Các phương pháp khác… Sau bạn phát biểu tiếng Anh, giáo viên em thường hay phản hồi a Chỉ sửa lỗi sai cho bạn b Chỉ khen bạn bạn trả lời c Cả khen sửa lỗi sai d Luôn khen bạn dù bạn trả lời hay sai e Những phản hồi khác:…………………………….….(xin viết rõ) II Những lợi ích phương pháp Em có nghĩ việc sử dụng phương pháp giáo viên bạn có đem lại lợi ích việc khuyến khích bạn nói học Tiếng Anh khơng? Nếu “Có”, lợi ích gì? (Em chọn MỘT đáp án) Tạo cho bạn nhiều hội để nói Tiếng Anh lớp Giúp bạn tự tin trả lời giáo viên Giúp bạn phát triển khả tư độc lập Giúp bạn tham gia tích cực vào hoạt động nói lớp Các lợi ích khác:………………………….……… (xin viết rõ) V APPENDIX INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (for teachers) I Personal information School: Years of teaching English: II Interview questions What techniques you use to encourage your students to talk in English classes? How often you use each of the following techniques? (Asking questions, using pictures, using texts and dialogues, using games and activities, using body language) Do your students respond to your elicitation or encouragement? If yes, how you give feedback to your students‟ talk? (in terms of compliment and correction)? What you think are the outstanding benefits of eliciting techniques in stimulating students to talk? Do you have any difficulties in using those techniques? If yes, what are those difficulties? What did you or what you think you can to overcome these difficulties in applying eliciting techniques to stimulate students to talk in class? VI APPENDIX THE DESCRIPTION OF OBSERVATION CHECKLIST Date: 07 May 2012 Duration: 45 minutes Location: 10 A4, Luu Nhan Chu high school Unit: 14- World Cup- Speaking skill Teacher’s activities I Warm-up - Types of techniques and frequency - Active of using each type: Games: Jumbled words Pictures: football teams - Teacher‟s feedback to students‟ Students‟ response to the teacher response: Compliment and correct later II Speaking tasks Task - Types of techniques and frequency of using each type: + Asking questions: high frequency + Using pictures: low frequency - Giving feedback: “good”, “you have done very well”, … Non-verbal language: face expression Task - Types of eliciting techniques and Students‟ participation frequency: - Active + Questions: most often VII + Role-play (talking about world - Excited cup): once + Pictures: once + Body-language: times - Teachers‟ feedback to students‟ - Confident response: compliment and correct mistakes if necessary Task Types of eliciting techniques and Students‟ participation frequency: - Concentrated +Asking questions + Examples: twice + Dialogue: once - Teachers‟ feedback to students‟ Students‟ response to the teacher response: Compliment for correct answers only and use later correction - Confident - Active ... situation of using eliciting techniques to stimulate 10 form students to talk at Luu Nhan Chu high school .32 3.2.2 The benefits of eliciting techniques in stimulating 10th form students to. .. techniques to stimulate students to talk 3.2 Discussion of results 3.2.1 The current situation of using eliciting techniques to stimulate 10 th form students to talk at Luu Nhan Chu high school Eliciting. .. current situation of applying eliciting techniques to stimulate 10th form students to talk in English classes at Luu Nhan Chu high school In this question, the researcher investigated two main aspects,