Some possible suggestions for improving students talking time in class at hoang van thu high school, nam dinh

1 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** LÊ THỊ THÙY DƯƠNG SOME POSSIBLE SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING STUDENTS’ TALKING TIME IN CLASS AT HOANG VAN THU HIGH SCHOOL, NAM DINH (Một số gợi ý có tính khả thi nhằm mục đích tăng cường thời gian nói học sinh lớp học trường THPT Hoàng Văn Thụ, tỉnh Nam Định) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Hanoi – 2010 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** LÊ THỊ THÙY DƯƠNG SOME POSSIBLE SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING STUDENTS’ TALKING TIME IN CLASS AT HOANG VAN THU HIGH SCHOOL, NAM DINH (Một số gợi ý có tính khả thi nhằm mục đích tăng cườngthời gian nói học sinh lớp học trường THPT Hoàng Văn Thụ, tỉnh Nam Định) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: VŨ THỊ BÍCH ĐÀO, M.A Hanoi - 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS Candidate’s statement i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii Table of contents iv List of abbreviations viii List of tables ix List of figures x PART I INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Aims of the study 3.Research question 4.Scope of the study 5.Methodology of the study 6.Significance of the study 7.Design of the study PART II DEVELOPMENT Chapter I - LITERATURE REVIEW I.1 Communicative Language Teaching I.1.1 Definition of CLT I.1.2 Characteristics of CLT I.2 Student talking time and second language acquisition I.2.1 The theory of student talking time and second language acquisitio of some linguistics I.2.1.1 Krashen’s comprehensible input I.2.1.2 Swain’s output hypothesis I.2.1.3 Long’s interaction hypothesis I.2.2 Perspectives on student talking time I.2.3 Studies on student talking time I.3 Factors affecting student talking time in speaking lessons I.3.1 Motivation I.3.2 Attitudes of the learners I.3.3 Psychological factors Chapter II – THE STUDY II.1 An overview of English teaching and learning at Hoang Van Thu high school, Nam Dinh …………………………………………………………………… .15 II.1.1 Hoang Van Thu high school 15 II.1.2 English teachers at Hoang Van Thu high school 15 th II.1.3 The 11 -form students and observation classes 11 II.1.4 Tieng Anh 11 textbook and its speaking lessons II.2 Research method II.2.1 The subjects of the study II.2.2 The instruments 16 II.2.3 Procedures II.2.4 Method Chapter III - STATISTICAL RESULTS AND DATA ANALYSIS III.1 Data analysis from learners’ questionnaires III.1.1 Students’ opinions about speaking topics in the new text book “Tieng Anh 11” III.1.2 Students’ attitudes towards learning oral skill III.1.3 Students’ and teachers’ talking time in speaking lesson III.1.4 Reasons making students reluctant to speak in English speaking lessons … 20 III.1.5 Teachers’ current methods applied at Hoang Van Thu high school III.1.6 Students’ expectation towards their teachers III.2 Data analysis from teachers’ questionnaires III.2.1 Teachers’ assessment of the new text book “Tieng Anh 11” III.2.2 Teachers’ perception of CLT III.2.3 Teachers’ current teaching methods III.2.4 Difficulties teachers have encountered in their teaching process III.2.5 The ways teachers use to motivate students at Hoang Van Thu high school III.2.6 Teachers’ assessment on student talking time in a speaking lesson III.3 Observations Chapter IV - FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS IV.1 Findings IV.1.1 Current teaching methods IV.1.2 Learners’ difficulties in getting involved in speaking lessons IV.1.2.1 Students’ prior learning experiences IV.1.2.2 Low level of English language proficiency IV.1.2.3 Anxiety or shyness in class IV.1.2.4 Low motivation IV.1.3 Teachers’ difficulties in teaching speaking in speaking lessons IV.1.4 Student talking time and teacher talking time in speaking lessons IV.1.5 Learners’ expectations towards teachers IV.2 Recommendations for teachers to improve students’ talking time IV.2.1 Suggestions for the teachers IV.2.2 Activities for improving students’ talking time in class IV.2.2.1 Pair work and group work IV.2.2.2 Role-play IV.2.2.3 Topic discussion IV.2.2.4 Oral presentation PART III CONCLUSION III.1 Summary of the study III.2 Limitations and suggestions for further study REFERENCES APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX 10 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ***** CLT: Communicative Language Teaching STT: Student talking time TTT: Teacher talking time ELT: English language teaching L1: first language L2: second language 11 LIST OF TABLES - ***** - Table 1: Students’ and teachers’ talking time in speaking lesson Table 2: Teachers’ current methods applied at Hoang Van Thu high school Table 3: Teachers’ current teaching methods Table 4: The ways teachers use to motivate their students Table 5: STT and TTT in observations 12 LIST OF FIGURES ***** Figure 1: Students’ opinions about speaking topics in the new text book “Tieng Anh 11” Figure 2: Students’ attitudes towards learning oral skill Figure 3: Reasons for the students’ reluctance to speak in English speaking lessons Figure 4: Students’ expectation towards their teachers Figure 5: Teachers’ assessment of the new text book “Tieng Anh 11” Figure 6: Teachers’ perception of CLT Figure 7: Difficulties teachers have encountered in their teaching process Figure 8: Teachers’ assessment on students’ talking time in a speaking lesson Figure 9: STT and TTT in class 11A1 Figure 10: STT and TTT in class 11A2 Figure 11: STT and TTT in class 11A3 Figure 12: STT and TTT in class 11A4 13 Part I: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study It is undeniable that English, the main language of many countries in the world, has become a language for global communication It is considered as the medium of communication in many different fields such as: science, technology, politics, economics, aviation and so on In fact, with the spread of globalization and the rapid expansion of information and technology, English has become more and more important for any countries in the world At upper secondary schools Vietnam, English is now a compulsory subject for all students Due to its importance, English has received a lot of attention from students As for them, the four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing are very important but speaking skill is the top priority among the four “Speaking in a second or foreign language has often been viewed as the most demanding of the four skills.” (Bailey, Kathleen M & Savage, Lance, 1994:vii) For that reason, speaking is the direct communication helping learners achieve their learning and working However, one of the problems people care most in a speaking lesson is talking time Studies of classroom discourse in ELT consistently show that teachers talk more than learners In particular, most questions in the classroom are asked by teachers, these tend to be of the display type, and learners‟ responses to them tend to be short Most teachers readily agree that students should receive as much opportunity to speak as possible when learning English as a foreign 48 teaching speaking, STT and TTT in speaking lessons and students‟ expectations towards teachers Depending on this situation, some suggestions for teachers have been made and some suggested activities that help students increase their talking time in class including pair work, group work, role play, oral presentation and topic discussion with the hope of giving some contributions to improve the current teaching and learning situation at Hoang Van Thu high school, based on findings from the survey questionnaires and observation Last comes part three, conclusion, in which the limitations and suggestions for further study are presented Limitations and suggestions for further study Although the researcher has made efforts towards carrying out this study, the research cannot avoid some limitations Firstly, the research has been carried out in a very small scope The number of students and teachers involved in the survey is still limited, to some extent; the results may not be generalized for all students at school Secondly, the target subjects of the study are just for students of grade 11 at school, not all students in speaking lessons Thirdly, the two Questionnaires focus mainly on the findings out factors affecting both teachers and students in speaking lessons and teachers‟ activities to improve student talking time in speaking lessons, so there are possible inadequateness of their content Hence, there should be techniques appropriate to students at Hoang Van Thu school to help them to improve their talking time in speaking lessons To get a better and more efficient study, surely the researcher in the coming time should invite more students and teachers to participate in the studies 49 REFERENCES Allwright D., Bailey K.M (1991), Focus on the language classroom: An Introduction to classroom research for language teachers, Cambridge University Press, pp 147 Bailey K M., Long M H., & Peck, S (1983), Second language acquisition studies Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House Bailey Kathleen M and Savage Lance (1994), New ways in teaching speaking TESOL Brown H D (1994), Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy London: Prentice Hall Regents Brumfit C J., Johnson K (1979), The communicative approach to language teaching, Oxford University Press, pp 201 Canale M., Swain M (1980), Theoretical Bases of Communicative approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing Oxford: OUP Dillon J (1988), Questioning and teaching London: Croom Helm Ltd Hamer J (2007), How to teach English London: Pearson Krashen S D (1983), The natural approach, Language acquisition in the classroom, Alemany Press,Regents/ Prentice Hall, pp 37, pp.56-57 10 Krashen S D (1981), Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition English Language Teaching series London: Prentice- Hall International (UK) Lmt 11 Lightbown P M., Spada N (1999), How languages are learned: Oxford University Press, pp 43-44 12 Le Van Canh (1999), Language and Vietnamese Pedagogical Contexts Paper presented at the Fourth International Conference on Language and Development Hanoi, Vietnam 13 Nunan D (1989), Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom Cambridge University Press, pp 194 14 Nunan D (1991), Language Teaching Methodology, London: Pretice Halls 15 Nunan D (1999), Second Language Teaching and Learning Heinle & Heinle Publishers 50 16 Richards J C., Platt J., Platt H (1992), Dictionary of language Teaching and Applied Linguistics Longman, pp 65 17 Swain M (1985), Communicative competence: some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development In S Gass & C Madden (Eds.), Input in second language acquisition (pp 235-253) Rowley, MA: Newbury House, pp 248-249 18 Swain M (1995), Three functions of output in second language learning In G Cook & B Seidlhofer (Eds.), Principles and practice in applied linguistics: Studies in honor of H G Widdowson (pp 125-144) Oxford: Oxford University Press 19 Tucker G.R., Corson D (1997), Encyclopedia of Language and Education: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp 97-99 20 Tsuit, A.B.M (1995), Classroom interaction London: Penguin 21 Ur Penny (1996), A Course in Language Teaching Practice and Theory Cambridge University Press 22 Ur Penny (1991), Discussion that Work, Cambridge University Press 23 Wood W L (1981), Communicative Language Teaching Cambridge University Press, pp 92-94 24 Wragg, E.C & Brown, G (2001), Questioning in the primary school London: Routledge 25 in Nguyen Thi Le Thuy (2008), How to maximize part- time students’ involvement English speaking lessons at Hai Phong foreign languages centre M.A Minor Thesis 26 http://blog.mangolanguages.com/tag/interaction-hypothesis/ 27 http://leap.tki.org.nz/supporting language development/focus on language/ learning from listening and reading wrapper 51 APPENDICES Appendix SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS This survey questionnaire is designed to collect data for the study “Some possible suggestions for improving students’ talking time in class at Hoang Van Thu high school, Nam Dinh.” This study aims at finding out the real situation of teaching and learning speaking with the new set of English textbook 11 I would be grateful if you could answer the following questions by circling A, B, C or D (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.) Your responses to the questionnaire will be of great value to the thesis and kept confidentially Thank you! 11”? What you think about the speaking topics in the text book “Tieng Anh A Interesting C Difficult B Boring D Easy How important is speaking skill to you? Why? A Extremely important because I need it for my future job B Important because I can communicate with other people in English C A little important because I only use it in English speaking lessons D Unimportant because we never use it in the exams at school Do you often speak English in speaking lessons? E Yes I always volunteer to speak F Yes I speak when I like the topics G No I only speak when the teacher orders me H No I never speak and often keep silent in speaking lessons 4.On average, your talking time accounts for ……… of a speaking lesson E Less than 30% F From 30 to 50% 52 G From 50% to 70% H More than 70% Your teachers’ talking time accounts for ……… of a speaking lesson E Less than 30% F From 30% to 50% G From 50% to 70% H More than 70% Why are you reluctant to speak in English speaking lessons? A Being afraid of losing face B Being not used to speaking English in front of other people C Boring teaching method D Learning goal is not to communicate What difficulties you face when learning to speak English? A Lack of vocabularies B Lack of structures C Not enough time for preparation D Poor ideas After giving a topic, your teachers often A Provide new words and structures relating to given topic B Provide main ideas of the topic C Let students discuss the topic in pairs or groups D Immediately ask you to discuss the topics What your teachers after you finish your presentation? A Give good comments although your presentation is not really good B Point out your mistakes and encourage you to correct your mistakes by yourselves C Point out and correct your mistakes D Criticize your mistakes 10 A What your teachers when you make mistakes in speaking? Interrupt you and correct your mistakes immediately B Not correct your mistakes and encourages you to continue speaking until you finish C Wait until you finish, point out your mistakes and encourage you to correct your mistakes by yourself D Just listen to you 11 What would you like your teacher to to encourage you to speak in English speaking lessons? 53 A Not interrupt when you make mistakes B Give marks C Give you speaking tasks suitable to your ability D Organize more activities Thank you very much for your co-operation! Appendix SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS This survey questionnaire is designed to collect data for the study “Some possible suggestions for improving students’ talking time in class at Hoang Van Thu high school, Nam Dinh.” This study aims at finding out the real situation of teaching and learning speaking with the new set of English textbook 11 I would be grateful if you could answer the following questions by circling A, B, C or D (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.) Your responses to the questionnaire will be of great value to the thesis and kept confidentially Thank you! What you think about the speaking topics of the new set of English textbooks? A good but difficult B good and appropriate C similar to the old one D not good for high school students What you think about CLT? ( circle all the statement if you find them all true) A Is learner-centered B Does not teach grammar C Emphasizes on fluency than on accuracy D Focuses on meaningful tasks rather than on language itself What teaching method you use to teach speaking skills? D Grammar- Translation method E Communicative Language Teaching F Audio-lingual method G Others What you often when your students make mistakes? D Keep silent, smile and encourage them to continue 54 E Keep silent but not smile or encourage them F Stop them and correct the mistakes immediately G Get angry When your learners are reluctant to speak, you E get angry F get them to speak G encourage them to speak by asking easier questions H let them sit down and call others What are the difficulties that you have experienced when teaching speaking skill in class? A Large-sized class B Learners‟ low English proficiency C Not enough time D Learners‟ reluctance E Multi-level class What you usually to motivate your learners to take part in their speaking lessons? D Encourage them to speak English by giving them good marks E Praise them F Let them choose topics to discuss D Do nothing What you often to create a close relation with your students in speaking classes? E Remain in the teacher‟ seat F Often stand in front of the students near the blackboard G Often stand near the students who tend to speak much H Walk around the class and give help What you think teachers should to prevent your students from using Vietnamese in group work or pair work? E Move around to observe F Remind them to speak English G Let them be H Criticize them 10 How much time your students speak English in a speaking lesson? A Less than 30% of the time in a lesson 55 B From 30% to 50% of the time in a lesson C From 50% to 70% of the time in a lesson D More than 70% of the time in a lesson Thank you very much for your co-operation! Appendix 3: A sample of observation sheet recording Minute Teacher Talking Time Student Talking Time 56 42 45 Appendix OBSERVATION SHEET Unit 13: HOBBIES Section B: Speaking Class 11A2 Time allowance; 45 minutes th Date; April, 20 , 2010  Objectives: By the end of the lesson, ss will be able to: - Talk about a hobby, collection - Improve speaking skill  Lexical items: words related to hobby/ collection  Structure/ grammar: Simple present  Teaching aids: text book, chalk, board, etc  Procedure: Time Contents 4’ I Warm up: - Give the verbs that go with collect buy classify organize exchange 57 10’ II Pre – speaking: - Say which of the following you would like/ not like to and why  Model: Iterviewing T: Which of the hobbies would you like to do? S: Swimming I like it because it’s good for my health and helps me to stay fit T: And which one wouldn’t you like to do? S: Fishing I’m not patient 10’ enough III While – speaking: Lan is talking to Huong about her hobby of collecting books Practise reading their dialogue with a partner 20’ IV Post – Speaking: - Make a similar dialogue about collecting stamps T: What is your hobby? S: I like collecting stamps T: Could you tell me how to collect stamps? S: I can buy them from the post office I get them from members of my family, friends, relatives, postmen I can make pen friends with people overseas, exchange stamps with others T: Could you tell me how to organize stamps? S: I classify them into categories: 58 animals, plants, birds, landscape, people( heroes, politicians, football players, singers etc) T: Where you keep your stamps? S: In albums T: What you collect stamps for? S: I think: I collect stamps to broaden my knowledge, I can know more about landscape, people, animals, plants and trees T: I see What you plan to next? S: I’ll collect more stamps and attend stamp exhibitions to learn more from experience collectors T: I wish I would see your albums someday 1’ V Homework: * practise the dialogue with a partner if possible 59 - 1’ ... study ? ?Some possible suggestions for improving students? ?? talking time in class at Hoang Van Thu high school, Nam Dinh. ” 2.Aim of the study The study is aimed at: Investigating the current speaking... talking time at Hoang Van Thu high school in Nam What should teachers to improve students? ?? talking time in class at Hoang Van Thu high school? Scope of the study With the purpose of helping students. .. English teaching and learning at Hoang Van Thu high school, Nam Dinh …………………………………………………………………… .15 II.1.1 Hoang Van Thu high school 15 II.1.2 English teachers at Hoang Van Thu high school