Using project based learning to improve speaking skill for second year students at a university in vietnam

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THỊ MINH PHƢƠNG USING PROJECT- BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILL FOR SECOND YEAR STUDENTS AT A UNIVERSITY IN VIETNAM ( Sử dụng phƣơng pháp dạy học theo dự án để tăng cƣờng kỹ nói cho sinh viên năm thứ hai trƣờng đại học Việt nam ) M.A MAJOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English language teaching methodology Code: 60140111 Ha Noi, 17 thang nam 2018 i VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THỊ MINH PHƢƠNG USING PROJECT- BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILL FOR SECOND YEAR STUDENTS AT A UNIVERSITY IN VIETNAM ( Sử dụng phƣơng pháp dạy học theo dự án để tăng cƣờng kỹ nói cho sinh viên năm thứ hai trƣờng đại học Việt nam) Field: English language teaching methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Võ Đại Quang, Ph.D Ha Noi, 17 thang nam 2018 ii i DECLARATION I hereby certify that the minor thesis entitle: Using Project- Based Learning to improve speaking skill for second year students at a university in Vietnam is the result of my own work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts at Faculty at Post-graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University of Hanoi The research has not been submitted to any other universities or institutions Hanoi, 2017 i ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to send my grateful words to those people who have approved and stood by me during this hard time This thesis would not have been fulfilled without the help of many people, and I would like to show my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has taught me, inspired me, challenged me, and supported me throughout the realization of this thesis I would like to express my deepest thanks to my beloved supervisor, Assoc Prof Vo Dai Quang for his whole-hearted assistance, encouragement as well as profound guidance he gave me while I was doing my research I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all my lecturers and staff of Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, Vietnam, University of Languages and International Studies, whose support and consideration have enabled me to pursue the course I would also like to express my whole-heated thanks to teachers and all students at Ha Noi Pedagogical University for their helps and their willingness to participate in the research Without their help, this thesis would not have been completed Last but not least, I owe my sincere thanks to my family and my kind-hearted friends, who have always inspired and encouraged me to complete this study ii iii ABSTRACT Speaking is considered as one of the most challenging and difficult skills for second language learners Learning speaking is not only about producing words and sentences but communicating effectively with other speakers For many language learners, this is a difficult goal to reach In order to help students improve their speaking skill, a new method of teaching was implemented Project- Based Learning is expected to use as new method of teaching in class to change students‟ learning attitude, enhance students‟ speaking ability and provide new skills for students With these objectives, the researcher adopted t- test to see the differences between the students‟ speaking ability before and after using the new learning technique Then she used survey and interview to gather information about students‟ attitude towards this learning method The result collected and processed from the experiment proved that students have made significant improvement in their speaking skill by using ProjectBased learning and their learning attitude by using this method was positive This supported the research objectives and laid a foundation for further research in the future Keywords : Project- Based Learning, speaking skill, improve iii iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT .iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES .vi LIST OF FIGURES vii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 The aims of the study 1.3 The scope of the study 1.4 Research objectives 1.5 Research questions .6 1.6 Research significance 1.7 Research method 1.8 The outline of the study CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW .9 2.1 Theoretical Review 2.1.1 The importance of speaking 2.1.2 The speaking activities in classroom .11 2.1.3 Test of speaking .15 2.1.4 Type of scoring rubrics 17 2.2 Project- Based Learning .19 2.2.1 Characteristics of Project – Based Learning 19 2.2.2 Previous studies .25 CHAPTER RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 28 3.1 Research method 28 3.1.1 The nature of the data 29 iv v 3.1.2 Context of the study 29 3.1.3 Data collection techniques 30 3.1.4 Procedures .32 3.2 Data analysis 37 CHAPTER FINDINGS 40 4.1 Findings 40 4.1.1 The t- test results .40 4.1.2 The survey .46 4.1.3 Interview 51 4.2 Discussion 54 4.2.1 Project - Based Learning 54 4.2.2 Group work 55 CHAPTER CONCLUSION 65 5.1 Conclusion 65 5.1.1 Concluding remarks on objective 65 5.1.2 Concluding remarks on objective 67 5.2 Suggestion for further research 67 REFERENCES 69 APPENDIX v vi LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Analytic Rubric with the Criteria of Speaking Performance (Adapted from Brown (2003) and O‟Malley and Pierce (1996)) .18 Table 3.1 Experimental research procedures 32 Table 3.2 Procedures of the project 36 Table 4.1 Mean and Standard Deviation of Control and Experimental group in the pre- test 40 Table 4.2 The result of variables between Experimental group and control group in pre- test .40 Table 4.3 Scale Criteria and Tests‟ Scores of Experimental Group 41 Table 4.4 Scale Criteria and Test‟s Scores of Control Group 41 Table 4.5 One sample Kolmogorov- Smirnov test 43 Table 4.6 The result of independence t- test sample 43 Table 4.7 The group statistics of experimental group 44 Table 4.8 Group statistics of control and experimental group in the post- test 44 Table 4.9 The result of post- test between experimental group and control group 45 Table 4.10 The score Criteria 46 Table 4.11 The Interpretation of the survey result 47 Table 4.12 The result of students‟ responses to opened- ended questions 49 Table 4.13 The result of interview 52 vi vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure The category of speaking performances 13 Figure Steps of developing Project- Based Learning in the classroom 23 vii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION This chapter will provide the overview of the study such as rationale, research scope, research objectives, research questions, significance, methods, and design of the study 1.1 Rationale Effective English speaking has become an urgent requirement for students of the st 21 century Nowadays, English language has been considered as the most common language of the world when its influence is represented in almost every aspect and area of life from education to politics, culture and business This proves strongly the strength and influences of this language on people‟s lives in this century It is now impossible to find a country where learning English has not become a norm From undeveloped countries in Africa to the most prosperous nations in Europe, all people know a little English which they can use and understand simple English of others, even in many countries learning English is compulsory in school and they have standard tests to verify students‟ English capacity This approves the concept that English is becoming more and more important in our lives In Vietnam, English has been considered as a compulsory subject in all levels of school Students have learned English at young age and continued enhancing their competence at university level Moreover, the teaching of English has been emphasized and invested greatly since 2020 project English becomes an important subject in all levels of school In the future, by the year 2025, Vietnamese students are expected to reach CEF level after graduation This proves the importance of teaching and learning English towards students Therefore, it can be said that English is taught popularly in Vietnam and a lot of Vietnamese students know and be capable of using English One of the compulsory language skills to second year English- majored students at Ha Noi Pedagogical University is speaking It is an important skill in teaching and 83 Trịnh Thị Hương 10 Bùi Ngọc Hương 11 Đỗ Thị Thoa 12 Bùi Thị Trinh 13 Nguyễn Thị Phương 14 Chu Thị Phương Anh 15 Nguyễn Khánh Huyền 16 Dương Thị Hà 17 Trương Thị Quỳnh 18 Nguyễn Thị Hạnh 19 Bùi Thị Minh Huyền 20 Phạm Thùy Trang 21 Vũ Trong Quyền 22 Nguyễn Hải Tâm 23 Hà Anh Tuấn 24 Bùi Thị Yến 25 Đoàn Thị Thanh Nhàn 26 Trần Khánh Huyền 27 Lê Thị Thương 84 28 Cao Thu Hương 29 Chu Thị Lan Anh 30 Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo CATEGORY Very good Good Average Poor Very poor Mean : 11.03 Minimum score : Maximum score : Standard deviation : 2.11 85 Appendix 3: The analytic rubric for the oral presentation project ( filled by teacher) A Presentation content Categories / content Introduction content Content Organization 86 Transitions Conclusion 87 B Physical presentation and delivery Categories/ Very good level Length Time used (8 minutes) Vocal Presenter spoke clearly qualities and articulate strong and voi loud volum audience can presentation easily Eye contact Speakers eye audience return to notes contact and 88 Gestures Confident gestures of all members added to hands were used describe or emphasize style, 89 Appendix 4: The survey narrative Item Concepts Question Speaking Project assessment students number appropri the topic Speaking Project- assessment students pronunc Project Based Project- Learning allowed work au interacti Activities Project students topics w useful to Students structure through took wh Project Based The situ Learning during t activities help th thinking Project Based Project learning students motivation self- reli in learni Life- socia Project skill students such collabor Language Project skill students writing, 10 Effectiveness of Students projec take gre based own lea learning tradition 92 Appendix 5: The survey result Students Item number 1 2 5 5 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 93 17 18 5 19 5 20 4 21 5 22 23 24 25 26 5 27 28 5 29 30 Score 134 131 Mean 4.43 4.37 94 Appendix The interview direction and result Interview questions direction and results Phuong: Hi everyone, My name is Phuong Once again, Thanks for coming As you know I am teaching our class by using Project Based Learning technique Now I would like to interview you some questions for my research project I hope all of you will have great time and enjoy my interview Are you ready? Students: yes Phuong : What were the differences of learning English by using project Based Learning and your previous way of learning in class? ST1: In this class, we had to communicate a lots therefore, you must be good at pronunciation and grammar ST2: This class required a lots of hard work and cooperation, we also had to read a lots Writing is a difficult skill since it related to grammar Phuong: Do you often speak at home? ST2 + ST2+ ST3: No, we dont Phuong: Why? ST2: Because we dot have any one to speak English with ST3: We don‟t speak at home because no one in my neighbour can speak English Phuong: What you find most difficult about this way of learning? ST 1: I feel that some students did not like to work in group and it was difficult to create the best result ST2: It too quite a lot of time to prepare and design and I did not have time for other subject ST3: You need to be active and responsible for your study because time is limited, if you did not work hard on it, You left behind Phuong : how you learn speaking at home? ST1: I often read questions and answers from the book ST2: I spoke with my friends sometimes ST3: I spoke with myself and sometimes I record my voice Phuong : Did the project based learning help you to improve your speaking skill? ST1:Yes, it helped me improve my fluency and pronunciation since I had to ask my 95 foreign teacher for help ST2: Definitely, it improved my speaking skill and grammar I had to read a lot of materials and writing so my grammar is improved ST3: My grammar and vocabulary were improved because I read a lot documents to find out the information and speak with my friends when we went out to shot clip Phuong: Did you often have a row when you did the project together? When? ST1: Yes, sometimes ST2: Yes, we had a quarrel when we did not work on our parts We had a lots of subjects to learn Phuong: What you find is the strength of this method? ST1: I think we have more opportunities to express our ideas ST2: we learn how to listen to other people and present our ideas, in case we did not get approval, we knew how to react in language ST3: I can take more responsibility on my own study, When I had to present in front of class, I learned to speak confidently and comfortably Phuong: Do you think this method will help you learn other skill?‟ ST1: Yes, when we made clip, we had to use “ film making studio” it was fun and great, I felt attracted and crazy to learn I really want to improve my English skill by making movie like this ST2: When we made game, we had to search for the version that suited our game and it drove me crazy but I loved to have my own successful product finally Phuong: What about you? ST3: Making journal required us a lots of skill design, writing and reading and it improved a lot my language skill I also learn how to communicate with friends effectively especially when we had argument Phuong : What is the teacher „s role in this class? ST2: Teacher gave instruction and helped us follow the process ST3: The teacher gave advice on our progress and told us how to She was a facilitator and a mentor Phuong: Thanks all of you for sharing Wish you guys a great semester All students: Thank you ... 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