Using drama to reduce anxiety in speaking english for sixth graders an action research project at a lower secondary school in thanh oai district

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* NGUYỄN HỒNG HẠNH USING DRAMA TO REDUCE ANXIETY IN SPEAKING ENGLISH FOR SIXTH GRADERS: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AT A LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL IN THANH OAI DISTRICT (Sử dụng kịch để làm giảm lo lắng việc nói tiếng Anh cho học sinh lớp 6: Nghiên cứu cải tiến sư phạm trường THCS huyện Thanh Oai) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 HANOI - 2018 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* NGUYỄN HỒNG HẠNH USING DRAMA TO REDUCE ANXIETY IN SPEAKING ENGLISH FOR SIXTH GRADERS: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AT A LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL IN THANH OAI DISTRICT (Sử dụng kịch để làm giảm lo lắng việc nói tiếng Anh cho học sinh lớp 6: Nghiên cứu cải tiến sư phạm trường THCS huyện Thanh Oai) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Mai Hương, Ph.D HANOI - 2018 DECLARATION I, the undersigned, declare that this thesis is the result of my own research and has not been submitted to any other university or institution partially or wholly Except where the reference is indicated, no other person‘s work has been used without due acknowledgement in text of the thesis Hanoi, 2018 M.A Student, Nguyễn Hồng Hạnh Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Date:…………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support from a number of people First and foremost, I would like to send my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Dr Nguyễn Thị Mai Hương for her enthusiastic guidance, insightful comments, and valuable support throughout my research I would also like to thank all of the lecturers of the Faculty of Post - Graduate Studies, Vietnam National University for their useful lectures and materials which are of great value to my thesis A special word of thanks goes to all of my colleagues and the students under my investigation for their useful support Last but not least, I owe my gratitude to my family members for their support and encouragement ii ABSTRACT Speaking is regarded as a key skill in real-life communication and in language learning alike This study was conducted to help 35 sixth graders to reduce their anxiety level towards speaking the target language in an EFL classroom setting The study was carried out for six months of the academic year (2017-2018), using preand post-intervention questionnaires, observations and students‘ reflections The findings showed that the students‘ English proficiency, the teacher‘s strictness and explicit mistake/error correction, the learners‘ communication apprehension, fear of being called to speak the target language and fear of being negatively evaluated were the factors causing the students‘ nervousness in speaking the target language Besides, the findings revealed that drama assisted considerably in lowering the students‘ anxiety level towards speaking the target language in their EFL classroom Key words: Reduce, anxiety, target language, EFL classroom, drama iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF CHARTS ix PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Aims and objectives Research questions Scope of the study Methods of the study Significance of the research Structural organization of the thesis PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Theoretical background 1.1.1 The Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) 1.1.2 Anxiety in L2 speaking 1.1.3 Drama in language teaching 10 1.1.4 Roles of drama in language teaching 11 1.1.5 Types of drama techniques 12 1.2 Review of previous related studies 15 1.2.1 Previous studies overseas 15 1.2.2 Previous studies in Viet Nam 17 1.3 Summary 19 iv CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY .20 2.1 Restatement of the research questions 20 2.2 The setting of the study 20 2.3 Participants .22 2.3.1 Students .22 2.3.2 Teacher 22 2.4 Research design and research instruments .22 2.5 Research procedures .23 2.6 Summary 33 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 34 3.1 Data analysis methods 34 3.2 Pre- and post- intervention questionnaires .34 3.2.1 Items from to 34 3.2.2 Items from to 16 .36 3.2.3 Summary 45 3.3 Teacher‘s checklist 44 3.4 Teacher‘s diary 46 3.5 Students‘ reflections .47 3.6 Summary 48 CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION 49 4.1 What factors contribute to the students‘ anxiety in speaking English in their EFL classroom? .49 4.2 How drama activities help to lower the students‘ anxiety level in speaking English in their EFL classroom? 50 4.3 Summary 52 PART 3: CONCLUSION 53 Recapitulation 53 v Conclusion 54 Limitations of the study .54 Suggestions for further studies 55 REFERENCES 56 APPENDICES I Appendix 1: QUESTIONNAIRE I Appendix 2: STUDENTS‘ REFLECTIONS .VII Appendix 3: IX Appendix X Appendix 5: CHECKLIST FOR TEACHER‘S OBSERVATION .XV Appendix 6: SOME DIARY ENTRIES .XVI Appendix 7: SAMPLES XVII vi CA EFL ESL FLA FLCAS L2 SLA TEFL vii LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Frequencies and Percentages of each Individual Variable for the Pre-intervention Questionnaire 37 Table 3.2: Frequencies and Percentages of each Individual Variable for the Post-intervention Questionnaire 38 Table 3.3: Extent of anxiety in speaking L2 by the Means of Questionnaire Score 43 Table 3.4: The Overall Means and the Means of components in the Preintervention Questionnaire 43 Table 3.5: The Overall Means and the Means of components in the Postintervention Questionnaire 44 viii Items Rất khơng C Sợ phản hồi nói Tiếng Anh 13 Em e sợ bạn lớp cười vào em em mắc lỗi lúc nói Tiếng Anh trước bạn 14 Em không lo lắng việc em mắc lỗi nói Tiếng Anh ngoại ngữ em biết em mắc lỗi * 15 Em cảm thấy bạn lớp em nói Tiếng Anh tốt em 16 Em e sợ giáo viên Tiếng Anh em sửa lỗi mà em mắc em nói Tiếng Anh Cảm ơn em bớt chút thời gian hoàn thành bảng hỏi Nếu em hay có kiến gửi vào mail: cần hỏi ý địa nguyenhonghanh1973@g mail.com Hoặc tất nhiên em có ý kiến viết vào …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………… …………………………………………………………… ……………………………………… …………………………………………………………… ……………………………………… VI Appendix 2: STUDENT’S REFLECTION (English version) Class 6A2 UNIT: ……… LESSON: …………………………………… Did you speak English during this lesson? (Including volunteering, being called and working in pairs/groups) a Yes b No If not, why? …………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… Did you volunteer to speak English during this lesson? (Including being invited / not invited to speak English) a Yes b No How many times did you volunteer to speak English during this lesson? …………………………………………………………………………… How anxious did you feel when speaking English in this lesson? a very anxious b moderately anxious c neutral d slightly anxious e not anxious at all The reason(s) for your choice: …………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… Did you enjoy speaking English in this lesson? Why? …………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… Why not? …………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… VII STUDENT’S REFLECTION (Vietnamese version) [Các em trả lời câu hỏi thật với thực] Class 6A2 UNIT: ……… LESSON: …………………………………… Em có tham gia nói Tiếng Anh học hơm khơng? (tính việc em nói Tiếng Anh với bạn, em xung phong hay giáo gọi em nói Tiếng Anh trước lớp) (Hãy khoanh vào lựa chọn đây) * Có * Khơng Nếu khơng tham gia nói Tiếng Anh lần học em nêu lí vào dịng đâynhé ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… Em có xung phong nói Tiếng anh học hơm khơng? (tính việc em xung phong khơng mời nói trước lớp) (Hãy khoanh vào lựa chọn đây) * Có * Khơng Em xung phong lần học? ……………………………………………………………………………… Em có thấy lo lắng tham gia nói Tiếng Anh học không? ((Hãy khoanh vào lựa chọn đây) a lo lắng b lo lắng mức vừa phải c bình thường d lo lắng e không lo lắng chút * Em nêu rõ lí cho đáp án mà em chọn: ……………………………………………………………………………… Em có thấy hứng thú với việc nói Tiếng Anh học không? Nếu em trả lời ‗có‘ nêu lí dòng nhé: ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… Nếu em trả lời ‗khơng‘ nêu lí dòng nhé: ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… VIII Appendix 3: The pictures (Unit 8-B1) of the story about Mr Quang IX Appendix The original version Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale Horwitz, E K., Horwitz, M B., & Cope, J (1986) Please answer the following questions by providing the number correspondent to the option that best describes your opinion Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree Strongly Disagree I never feel quite sure of myself when I am speaking in my foreign language class I don't worry about making mistakes in language class I tremble when I know that I'm going to be called on in language class It frightens me when I don't understand what the teacher is saying in the foreign language It wouldn't bother me at all to take more foreign language classes During language class, I find myself thinking about things that have nothing to with the course I keep thinking that the other students are better at languages than I am I am usually at ease during tests in my language class I start to panic when I have to speak without preparation in language class 10 I worry about the consequences of failing my foreign language class 11 I don't understand why some people get so upset over foreign language classes 12 In language class, I can get so nervous I forget things I know 13 It embarrasses me to volunteer answers in my language class 14 I would not be nervous speaking the foreign language with native speakers 15 I get upset when I don't understand what the teacher is correcting 16 Even if I am well prepared for language class, I feel anxious about it 17 I often feel like not going to my language class 18 I feel confident when I speak in foreign language class X 19 I am afraid that my language teacher is ready to correct every mistake I make 20 I can feel my heart pounding when I'm going to be called on in language class 21 The more I study for a language test, the more con‐ fused I get 22 I don't feel pressure to prepare very well for language class 23 I always feel that the other students speak the foreign language better than I 24 I feel very self‐conscious about speaking the foreign language in front of other students 25 Language class moves so quickly I worry about getting left behind 26 I feel more tense and nervous in my language class than in my other classes 27 I get nervous and confused when I am speaking in my language class 28 When I'm on my way to language class, I feel very sure and relaxed 29 I get nervous when I don't understand every word the language teacher says 30 I feel overwhelmed by the number of rules you have to learn to speak a foreign language 31 I am afraid that the other students will laugh at me when I speak the foreign language 32 I would probably feel comfortable around native speakers of the foreign language 33 I get nervous when the language teacher asks questions which I haven't prepared in advance XI Table a: Comparison between the questionnaire and the original FLCAS The pre-intervention questionnaire I never feel quite sure of myself when I am speaking English in front of others in the language classroom I feel confident when I speak English in the language classroom * I get confused when I am speaking English in my language class I dare not volunteer to speak English in my language class 10 When being called to speak English in my language class, I can get so nervous that I forget things I know 11 In my English class, I tremble when the teacher invites me to speak what I have not prepared in advance 12 Even if I am well prepared for a speaking task I am about to do, I feel anxious about it 13 I am afraid that my classmates will laugh at my mistakes when I speak English in front of them 14 I don't worry about making mistakes when speaking English in front of my class although I know that I may make mistakes * 15 I always feel that my classmates speak English better than I 16 I am afraid that my English language teacher is ready to correct every mistake I make in speaking English XII Reflections who volunteered (being invited / not invited to Reflection speak) being students in speaking English interested Number of students Number of Number of times each student Table b: Results from Students’ reflections once 14 out of 35 Reflection2 out of 35 out of 35 once 16 out of 35 Reflection3 out of 30 + 10 volunteers reported not to be once, twice 16 out of 30 invited + 10 once, volunteers twice, 28 out of reported three, 35 not to be four Reflec tio n out of 35 invited out of 34 Reflection + 16 volunteers reported not to be invited once, twice, three 26 out of 34 XIII 2018 , March 20 th Reflection 2018 2018 March th March 12 , Reflection Reflection th , XIV Appendix 5: CHECKLIST FOR TEACHER’S OBSERVATION Periods Period: Unit: Lesson: Period: Unit: Lesson: Period: Unit: Lesson: Period: Unit: Lesson: Period: Unit: Lesson: Period: Unit: Lesson: XV Appendix 6: SOME DIARY ENTRIES th ENTRY 1: (Written on October 14 , 2017) So far I have taught two drama-embedded lessons in the classroom During this one-month period, I decided to give only one drama-inserted lesson per week Indeed, I could see some differences between the taught drama-embedded and non drama-embedded lessons That is, the drama-based speaking activities were more exciting than the usual speaking ones and they attracted better involvement from the students Also, the classroom atmosphere during the drama-based activities was fairly exciting and there was more laughter I observed that a small number of students started to volunteer for the classroom drama-based oral performances Although they made some mistakes or errors in grammar and pronunciation, I did not give them any explicit mistake / error correction Instead, I managed to remember their common shortcomings for my later implicit correction ENTRY 2: th March 21 , 2018 th I stopped applying drama to the sixth graders yesterday (March 20 , 2018) Here I mean that the students‘ last drama-embedded lesson was on that day I saw that the drama activities made the classroom really friendly and interesting The students‘ enthusiastic involvement could be clearly realized Interestingly, I could see the weaker students‘ certain contribution to the drama-based speaking activities Indeed, these very low level students were very excited about participating in miming activities and they could give non-verbal successful performances Despite they spoke very little English, their miming acting could help create verbal discussion in L2 among their classmates as the audience Thanks to having more chances to practice speaking L2 in a friendly environment, I could see some st progress in my students‘ ability in speaking L2 This morning (March 21 , 2018) I did not employ drama in the classroom any more, but I continued to observe this non drama-integrated lesson and I still saw a positive effect of the drama application on the students XVI Appendix 7: SAMPLES XVII ... nowadays advocate some elements of a ‗Communicative Approach‘ and therefore recognize and appreciate the value of drama in language teaching So far drama in language teaching has been defined in. .. verbal language and physical actions; (2) Drama games stimulate students for imagination and creativity so that they can go beyond what has been taught and invent new situations; (3) Drama games... social setting of language learners, so drama becomes an effective tool that involves students in a shared context, facilitating language learning in an effective and pleasant style Drama can