(Luận văn thạc sĩ) teaching speaking skills for the first year students at thai nguyen college of economics and technology problems and recommendations

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES - - TRẦN THỊ THẢO TEACHING SPEAKING SKILLS FOR THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT THAI NGUYEN COLLEGE OF ECONOMICS AND TECHNOLOGY : PROBLEMS AND RECOMMENDATIONS (DẠY KỸ NĂNG NÓI CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG KINH TẾ KỸ THUẬT THÁI NGUYÊN : CÁC VẤN ĐỀ VÀ GỢI Ý GIẢI QUYẾT) M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 601410 Thai Nguyen - 2012 CONTENTS PART A: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………… 1 Rationales of the study………………………… Aims………………………………………………………………………….2 Research questions………………………………………………………….2 Scope of the study………………………………………………………… Organization of the study……………….……………….……… .3 PART B: DEVELOPMENT……………………………………………… .….4 Chapter 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND……………………………….4 1.1 The nature of speaking………………………… …………….……4 1.1.1 Definition of speaking……………………………………… ….4 1.1.2 Characteristics of speaking……………………………………….5 1.1.3 Development approach in teaching speaking skills………………5 1.2 Difficulties in teaching and learning speaking skills 1.2.1 Difficulties from teachers‟ view……….………………………… 1.2.2 Difficulties from non-native students in studying speaking skill…10 1.2.3 Difficulties from external factors ………………………… ……11 1.3 The roles of speaking skills….……………………………… ………11 1.3.1 Teaching speaking skills on Vietnamese teachers‟ view 11 1.3.2 Learning speaking skills in Vietnam ……………………………13 Chapter 2: RESEARCH METHODS………………………………… 14 2.1 The reality of teaching and learning English speaking skills at Thai Nguyen College of Economics and Technology………………… .14 iv 2.1.1 Overview of the English course and its objectives … … 14 2.1.2 Description of the students……………………………… …… 15 2.1.3 Description of the teachers………………………………………16 2.2 The research methods…………………………………… ………….17 2.3 Data analysis………………………… ………………………………18 2.3.1 Procedure of the survey……… …………………… 18 2.3.2 Presentation of the statistical results……… .…………19 Chapter 3: FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS……………………27 3.1 Findings 27 3.1.1 Problems from the teachers…………………… ……27 3.1.2 Problems from the students…………………… ……29 3.1.3 Problems from other factors……………… ………32 3.2 Recommendations……………………………… .…34 3.2.1 Overview………………………………………… …34 3.2.2 Suggested solutions for the situation at the college… ……35 3.2.3 Some teaching strategies for the teachers………………… 36 3.2.4 Some suggested activities in speaking lessons…………… 38 PART C: CONCLUSION……………………………………………………… 41 REFERENCES………………………………………………………………… 42 APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………….I v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS TNC-ET: Thai Nguyen College of Economics and Technology GE: General English PPP: Presentation, Practice and Production ESP: English for Specific Purposes TTT: Teacher talking time STT: Student talking time ELT: English language teaching No of students: Number of students No of teachers: Number of teachers MA: Master of Arts LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Speaking activities and topics designed for New Headway Elementary 14 Table 2: Students‟ opinion on learning English……………………………………19 Table 3: The reasons that make students unwilling to speak in English class… …20 Table 4: Students‟ assessment of speaking activities given by teachers… ………22 Table 5: Teachers‟ English communicative competence……………………… …23 Table 6: Teachers‟ difficulties in teaching speaking at TNC-ET……………… 24 Table 7: What teachers to motivate students to speak in English class……… 25 PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationales of the study The main reason for choosing this topic for my thesis was realizing how important speaking English is in every day situations Speaking a foreign language represents one of the essential requirements of today´s society No one can deny the universality of English Outside English-speaking countries, English has become a compulsory component of education in many countries This trend also applies in Vietnam At many schools and universities, English is chosen as a compulsory subject for students as English is considered to be a useful tool to access the world knowledge It is considered as one of the most influencing factors while applying for a job or sustaining in a particular work position under the condition of advancing the language level However, though the importance of English has been recognized, how it is taught can often be questioned When we were students before, we learnt in traditional ways-teachers read, explained grammar units and students copied, took notes The teaching of oral English was especially neglected with my former teachers I had very little emphasis in schools at secondary level on teaching oral English In the upper grades, even at my university, educators tended to particularly focus on reading, writing, and academic content, and diminish the importance of helping students to speak English better And now we become teachers, standing in front of new students and transmit a foreign language to them We really want to make a better effect In my college, Thai Nguyen College of Economics and Technology (TNCET), students accumulate credits of English out of total credits for an undergraduate degree The proportion of English compared to other subjects, then, is relatively small The requirement, however, after they graduate, is equal to level B in language education These people are required to reach a sufficient level in a foreign language in order to accomplish communication in their jobs That means the curriculums must emphasize on oral communication How we can it when it is is surprising to learn that many of the students are incapable of using their English to talk, even in class We now mainly spend time talking with students about a particular topic and making sure they know vocabulary words connected with that topic as a preview to reading a passage or a story We consider that is all about teaching oral English We have had numerous studies on this situation and various solutions, recommendations and suggestions, including changing teaching methods, changing syllabus or textbooks, upgrading teachers‟ qualifications, changing formats of speaking tests and so on But what is the main difficulty and where we can find suitable solutions for the situation we encounter everyday are the questions that urge me to make my writing about this matter My research is conducted on Teaching speaking skills to first- year students at Thai Nguyen College of Economics and Technology: problems and recommendations Aims of the study The study is aimed at:  Investigating the current English speaking teaching and learning situations of the first-year students at TNC-ET on the basis of finding out relevant difficulties experienced by the teachers of English and some other external reasons  Identifying the factors which make the students inhibited or unwilling to speak English in class  Making some suggestions for the teachers at TNC-ET with the hope of helping the students overcome their inhibition and unwillingness, and thereby, improve their speaking skills  Suggesting some realistic and appropriate class teaching techniques with the hope that they can enhance the learners in speaking skills Research questions The above aims can be realized through the following research questions: What are the problems in teaching and learning speaking skills for the firstyear students at TNC-ET? How can teachers and students minimize these difficulties? Scope of the study Although problems in teaching practices in my college exist in the four macro-skills, we have chosen to focus on difficulties in teaching speaking skills to first-year students at TNC-ET for the fact that mastering speaking is so central to language learning that when we refer to speaking a language, we often mean knowing a language In addition, some recommendations for the teachers of English to decrease those difficulties are also proposed Also, due to the researcher‟s limited ability, time constraints and narrow-scaled study, this study only involves a small number of TNC-ET non-English students in their first academic year (i.e., 50 firstyear students of 2nd semester) Organization of the study The study consists of three parts Part A, Introduction, deals with general rationales of the study, aims of the study, research questions, scope of the study, and the outline of the study Part B, Development, is composed of three chapters Chapter One, Theoretical Background, reviews the theoretical literature involving the difficulties in teaching speaking skill to non-English major students in three relating areas: nature of oral communication; the difficulties in teaching and learning English speaking skills; and the roles of speaking skills in the views of teachers and students Chapter Two, Research Methods, mentions the concrete reality of teaching and learning speaking skills at TNCET, methods of the study and data analysis Chapter Three, Findings and Recommendations, presents and discusses the problems just found out in teaching the skill of speaking to first-year students of English at TNC-ET including the difficulties caused by teachers themselves, students and objective factors It also gives the recommendations and activities in reducing those difficulties suggested by the participants of the study The last part is the conclusion of the study, which presents the overview of the study Besides, the limitations of the thesis are pointed out and the areas for further study are also proposed PART B: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 The nature of speaking 1.1.1 Definition of speaking According to Brown, 1994; Burns & Joyce, 1997, speaking is “an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information” Its form and meaning are dependent on the context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking It is often spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving According to Burn & Joyce, 1997, "speaking" is the delivery of language through the mouth To speak, we create sounds using many parts of our body, including the lungs, vocal tract, vocal chords, tongue, teeth and lips In the framework of how we learn our first language, language has been divided into different skill areas A child first learns to practice language through the skill of listening Later, a child uses language by speaking combined with listening Then, when school begins, children learn the skills of reading and writing So speaking is usually the second of the four language skills that we learn This vocalized form of language usually requires at least one listener When two or more people speak or talk to each other, the conversation is called a "dialogue" Speech can flow naturally from one person to another in the form of dialogue It can also be planned and rehearsed, as in the delivery of a speech or presentation Speaking can be formal or informal:  Informal speaking is typically used with family and friends, or people you know well  Formal speaking occurs in business or academic situations, or when meeting people for the first time Speaking is probably the language skill that most language learners wish to perfect as soon as possible 1.1.2 Characteristics of speaking According to Bygate (1987), speaking has the following characteristics: Firstly, its form and meaning are dependent on the context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking It is often spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving Secondly, the learners must know how to produce specific points of language such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary, but also they understand when, why, and in what ways to produce language Thirdly, speech has its own features, structures, and conventions different from written language Lastly, Bygate (1987) considers speaking as an undervalued skill in many ways The reason is that almost all people can speak, and so take speaking skill too much for granted Bygate also highly appreciates speaking skill by stating that speaking is the medium through which much language is learnt To sum up, it is undeniable that speaking is the key to communication By considering what good speakers do, what speaking tasks can be used in class, and what specific needs learners report, teachers can help learners improve their speaking and overall oral competency 1.1.3 Development approach in teaching speaking skills Speaking in traditional methodologies usually meant repeating after the teachers, memorizing a dialogue, or responding to drills.The emergence of communication language teaching in the 1980s led to changed views of syllabuses and methodology, which are continuing to shape approaches to teaching speaking skills today Grammar-based syllabuses were replaced by communicative ones built around notions, functions, skills, tasks, and other non-grammatical units of organization Fluency became a goal for speaking courses and this could be developed through the phases in teaching speaking skills that required learners to attempt real communication, despite limited proficiency in English Therefore, it is essential that language teachers pay great attention to teaching speaking Rather than leading students to pure memorization, providing a rich environment where meaningful communication takes place is desired With this aim, the following part will search the three main phases for an effective speaking lesson: Presentation phase, Produce phase and Production phase In the Presentation phase, the teacher is a model, when students are aiming for accuracy The teacher says new language and asks students to repeat until they are correct and confident with their pronunciation of the new language The teacher is a prompt during the Practice phase, encouraging students to think about how to use the new language they are learning During the Production phase, the teacher is organizer, encourager and monitor as students work in pairs or groups to practice fluency He needs to organize the groups, encourages students who may be afraid of making mistakes or may not know what to say, and be a monitor to keep the noise at an acceptable level and to make sure that everyone is doing what they are supposed to Baker and Westrup (2003) denote some important features of the Presentation phase of a PPP lesson: - This phase should only last about or 10 minutes - The information the teacher gives is for students to use later in the lesson - The teacher should try to involve students in this stage as much as possible When presenting new language, it is important to include four things:  What the new language means;  When the new language is normally used;  The grammatical form;  The pronunciation of the new language, that is, the sounds and stress and the intonation pattern; Teacher can present language directly, present through situations, present through pictures and real objects, present through students„ own knowledge From the students‟ perspectives, it seems that the teachers should create a better English learning environment and introduce more extracurricular communicative activities Based on the findings of the study, a number of suggestions for the situations at the college and some coping strategies for alleviating the difficulties in teaching the skills of speaking to first-year students were given to the teachers of English at TNC-ET 3.2.2 Suggested solutions for the situations at the college Although learners are the center of the teaching process, teachers are not a much less important factor To solve the problems thoroughly, the teachers must be changed from attitude to mind However, all of this process depends on the teachers a lot When the teaching problems were given to discuss, it is lucky that all the teachers in the college recognize the need for improvement in their own teaching According to the teachers of English, they had to improve their English communicative ability, familiarize themselves with the limited timeframe and large and multilevel classes by applying suitable classroom techniques and activities and help their students become efficient learners They think that they are not already doing a really good job in the classroom, a perception that will increase their interest in teaching improvement Teachers should have a hungering need to update themselves, to engage in professional growth, to expand and deepen their understanding But how can they carry out these actions gradually? They must be helped to be attentive to fresh pedagogical techniques, student learning theories, and technological advances In short, they must learn hard Even the best teachers must continue learning in order to remain their activeness in teaching To deal with the biggest problem found in the survey, the students‟ varied level of proficiency which leads to their hesitance in speaking class, teachers can make use of whole-class activities as well as pair or group work Classes can begin and end with whole-class activities to foster a sense of unity among the students Teachers can also choose to break students into pairs or groups for all or part of the 36 class time Group students of similar ability level so that they can work on the same activity at about the same pace; such groups not need to be the same size Grouping students of mixed abilities and giving them the same task allow them to help one another Teachers can have all groups working on activities concurrently, or may want to rotate between 2-3 groups, teaching a lesson to one while others work on a self-guided task The latter method requires greater preparation but is more likely to meet level-specific needs To feel confident while learning to speak a foreign language, the students are supposed to be put in a „safe environment‟ The teachers should not let many students feel that they are neglected in class Each student must speak, even only one sentence or a phrase This prevents them from embarrassement or anxiety when they are asked to express themselves because they always have supporters behind The teachers try to explain the requirement of a speaking task in English, then a little in Vietnamese after that and suggest possible ways to fulfil the task to decrease students´ concern about speaking Due to students´ different personalities and also abilities to speak a foreign language, pair work and group work are dealt with as the ways of organizing the class The advantages of this kind of work are available, especially reducing tension in class, creating a pleasant atmosphere and building up students´ independence and confidence Pair work was evaluated as more useful since it is closer to real-life situations and dealing with them is the main aim that the students are heading for Besides, teachers should provide topics which are more interesting and appropriate to students‟ age, level of English, and relating to real life to create enjoyable class atmosphere that makes reluctant learners interested in speaking Assigned topics may not inspire students to talk as much as student-selected topics Students should be given the chance to select topics themselves because the topic certainly will be in their list of favorite, and the more likely they like it, the more they are interested in discussion As students are all adults, they usually like to talk about such topics as family, love, jobs, incomes, and so on However, lessons cannot go without content and objectives of each unit of the course book being achieved, i.e., topics in the course book, although being considered boring or 37 unfamiliar ones, cannot be eliminated Teachers can make use of and introduce various ideas for discussion, spend time adapting text books, to make the topics interesting and familiar enough for students 3.2.3 Some teaching strategies for the teachers Students often think that the ability to speak a language is the product of language learning, but speaking is also a crucial part of the language learning process Effective teachers should teach students speaking strategies which they can use to help themselves expand their knowledge of language and their confidence in using it This is especially important for students at TNC-ET because the majority of them not have good knowledge of English According to Burkart (1998), speaking strategies include: using minimal responses, recognizing scripts and using language to talk about language  Using minimal responses Language learners who lack confidence in their ability to participate successfully in oral interaction often listen in silence while others the talking One way to encourage such learners to begin to participate is to help them build up a stock of minimal responses that they can use in different types of exchanges Such responses can be especially useful for beginners Minimal responses are predictable, often idiomatic phrases that conversation participants use to indicate understanding, agreement, doubt, and other responses to what another speaker is saying Having a stock of such minimal responses enables students to focus on what the other participants are saying since they not have to simultaneously plan responses  Recognizing scripts Some communication situations are associated with a predictable set of spoken exchanges-a script Greetings, apologies, compliments, invitations, and other functions which are influenced by social and cultural norms often follow certain patterns or scripts In these scripts, the relationship between a speaker‟s turn and the one that follows it can often be anticipated 38 Teachers can help students develop speaking ability by making them aware of the scripts for different situations so that they can predict what they will hear and what they will need to say in response Through interactive activities, teachers can give students practice in managing and changing the language that different scripts contain  Using language to talk about language Language learners are often too embarrassed or shy to say anything when they not understand another speaker or when they realize that a conversation partner has not understood them Teachers can help students overcome this reticence by assuring them that misunderstanding and the need for clarification can occur in any types of interaction, whatever the participants‟ language skill levels Teachers can also give students strategies and phrases to use for clarification and comprehension check By encouraging students to use clarification phrases in class when misunderstanding occurs and by responding positively when they do, teachers can create an authentic practice environment within the classroom itself As they develop control of various clarification strategies, students will gain confidence in their ability to manage the various communication situations that they may encounter outside the classroom 3.2.4 Some suggested activities in speaking lessons *Discussions After a content-based lesson, a discussion can be held for various reasons The students may aim to arrive at a conclusion, share ideas about an event, or find solutions in their discussion groups Before the discussion, it is essential that the purpose of the discussion activity is set by the teacher In this way, the discussion points are relevant to this purpose, so that students not spend their time chatting with each other about irrelevant things For example, students can become involved in agree/disagree discussions In this type of discussions, the teacher can form groups of students, preferably or in each group, and provide controversial 39 sentences like “people learn best when they read vs everyone needs a smart phone” Then each group works on their topic for a given time period, and presents their opinions to the class It is essential that the speaking should be equally divided among group members In class or group discussions, whatever the aim is, the students should always be encouraged to ask questions, paraphrase ideas, express support, check for clarification, and so on *Simulations Simulations are very similar to role-plays but what makes simulations different than role plays is that they are more elaborate In simulations, students can bring items to the class to create a realistic environment For instance, if a student is acting as a singer, she brings a microphone to sing and so on Role plays and simulations have many advantages First, since they are entertaining, they motivate the students Second, as Harmer (1984) suggests, they increase the self-confidence of hesitant students, because in role play and simulation activities, they will have a different role and not have to speak for themselves, which means they not have to take the same responsibility *Information Gap In this activity, students are supposed to be working in pairs One student will have the information that other partner does not have and the partners will share their information Information gap activities serve many purposes such as solving a problem or collecting information Also, each partner plays an important role because the task cannot be completed if the partners not provide the information the others need These activities are effective because everybody has the opportunity to talk extensively in the target language *Storytelling Students can briefly summarize a tale or story they heard from somebody beforehand, or they may create their own stories to tell their classmates Story telling fosters creative thinking It also helps students express ideas in the format of beginning, development, and ending, including the characters and setting a story has to have Students also can tell riddles or jokes For instance, at the very beginning of 40 each class session, the teacher may call a few students to tell short riddles or jokes as an opening In this way, not only will the teacher address students‟ speaking ability, but also get the attention of the class *Playing Cards In this game, students should form groups of four Each suit will represent a topic For instance:  Diamonds: Earning money  Hearts: Love and relationships  Spades: An unforgettable memory  Clubs: Best teacher Each student in a group will choose a card Then, each student will write 4-5 questions about that topic to ask the other people in the group For example: If the topic "Diamonds: Earning Money" is selected, here are some possible questions:  Is money important in your life? Why?  What is the easiest way of earning money?  What you think about lottery? Etc However, the teacher should state at the very beginning of the activity that students are not allowed to prepare yes-no questions, because by saying yes or no students get little practice in spoken language production Rather, students ask open-ended questions to each other so that they reply in complete sentences *Picture Describing Another way to make use of pictures in a speaking activity is to give students just one picture and having them describe what it is in the picture For this activity students can form groups and each group is given a different picture Students discuss the picture with their groups, then, a spokesperson for each group describes 41 the picture to the whole class This activity fosters the creativity and imagination of the learners as well as their public speaking skills *Find the Difference For this activity students can work in pairs and each couple is given two different pictures, for example, picture of boys playing football and another picture of girls playing tennis Students in pairs discuss the similarities and/or differences in the pictures To sum up, it will take time to raise the standard of speaking lessons However, rather than leading students to pure memorization, providing a rich environment where meaningful communication takes place is desired With this aim, various speaking activities such as those listed above can contribute a great deal to students in developing basic interactive skills These activities make students more active in the learning process and at the same time make their learning more meaningful and fun for them 42 PART III: CONCLUSION It is likely to affirm that the study has merely mentioned a very small part of teaching speaking skills at a concrete research context This study only concentrates on relevant difficulties in teaching of English speaking skills to first-year students at TNCET and makes some suggestions for teachers and suggests certain classroom techniques and activities which help to motivate reluctant or reticent to speak English Though I have made efforts toward carrying out this study, due to the limitation of time, lack of resources and the researcher‟s ability, drawbacks are unavoidable For example, not all the first-year students at TNC-ET are involved in the survey questionnaires, so the results may not be generalized for all students The research instrument for the data collection which is simplified with few and short questions, to some extent; does not cover the whole of the dimensions of teaching speaking skills However, the current teaching and learning situations have been figured out in the study By means of this thesis I realized how important it is for the teacher to have a great amount of information concerning teaching speaking to be able to provide the students with efficient conversational lessons The methodology literature I was reading through enabled me to have a look at a speaking skill from a different point of view and think about this issue more deeply All the theoretical information I gained from this literature was used in the practical part of my thesis Based on that, I reached several findings Due to various reasons such as variety in students‟ level of language proficiency, lack of interesting topics, prior experience in learning speaking, distant teachers and fear of full English instructions, more than two-thirds of the students remain reluctant to respond to the teacher and keep quiet until they are singled out to answer questions.To meet the needs of multi-level classes, teachers need to make use of various methods, which means the teachers can never stop exerting themselves in their career In order to help reduce students‟ reticence, lessons 43 should be made with a lot of fun and comfort with interesting and motivating activities or games Besides, teachers should prepare more topics which are not only interesting but also related to students‟ life so that students have the interest in and ability to talk about them in English In addition, teachers should try to establish a friendly, supportive, and non-threatening learning environment, as well as introducing activities that motivate students to speak It is important for teachers to be friendly rather than strict and critical in class, in order to make students feel easy to speak English I hope these ideas will be considered by my colleages and they can be suggestions for further future researches concerning teaching speaking skills 44 REFERENCES Baker, J., & Westrup, H (2003), Essential speaking skills London: Continuum Brown, H.D (1994), Teaching by principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents Brown, H D (2002), Principles of Language Learning and Teaching (3rd Edition) Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press Bui, H (2004) Situation of learning English at HUS Improving English Teaching, Hanoi: Vietnam National University Bui, H (2006) “Teaching Speaking Skills at a Vietnamese University and Recommendations for Using CMC” Asian EFL Journal September Burkart, G.S (1998), “Spoken Language: What it is and how to teach it” Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics, 1998 Retrieved from http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/speaking/spindex.htm Burns, A., & Joyce, H (1997), Focus on Speaking Sydney: NCELTR Bygate, M (1987), Speaking Oxford: Oxford University Press Chaudron, C (1988), Second Language Classrooms: Research on Teaching and Learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 10 Cook, V (2000), Second Language Learning and Language Teaching (2nd Edition) Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press 11 Harmer, J (1984) The Practice of English Language Teaching London: Longman 12 Hedge, T (2000), Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom Oxford: Oxford University Press 13 Howe, A (2003) Talk is vital Literacy Today, 12 14 Hutchinson, R (2001) Lifeline Oxford: Oxford University Press 15 Koch, A.S., & Terrell, T.D (1991), “Affective reactions of foreign language students to Natural Approach activities and teaching techniques” In E.K Horwitz 45 & D.J Young (Eds.), The Language Anxiety: From Theory and Research to Classroom Implications (pp 109-126) Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall 16 Krashen, S.D (1985), The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications New York: Longman Inc 17 Larsen-Freeman, D (1986), Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching Oxford University Press 18 Littlewood, W (1994) Communicative Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 108p 19 Nunan, D (1991), Language Teaching Methodology: a textbook for Teachers Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 20 Sato, C 1990 Ethnic styles in classroom discourse In R.Scarcella et al (eds.) Developing Communicative Competence Rowley, Mass: Newbury House 21 Tsui, A (1996), “Reticence and anxiety in second language learning” In Bailey, K.M & Nunan, D (eds.): Voices from the Language Classroom Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 46 APPENDICES Appendix 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS This questionnaire is conducted with a view to finding out relevant difficulties from teachers when teaching English speaking skills to first-year students at TNCET Your completion of this questionnaire is highly appreciated The data collected are used in the research paper only, not for any other purposes Thank you for your cooperation! * Background information - Your gender:  Male  Female -Your age: …………………………………………………………………………… -Your name: ………………………………………………………………………… -Your years of teaching English: …………………………………………………… Please put a tick (v) in the box beside the option(s) appropriate to you How confident you feel about teaching speaking?  Very confident (be willing to communicate in all various situations)  Confident enough (communicate in different situations if expected)  Not very confident (avoid communicating in various situations as much as possible)  Not confident at all (feel a bit frightened if coping orally with different situations) According to you, what are the reasons for ineffective speaking lessons?  Students‟ levels of proficiency are varied  Students are unwilling to speak  Teaching speaking takes time when I have to cover all other contents of the course book  English classes are often large and multi-level  I can‟t find suitable and interesting speaking activities  I don‟t have enough time to prepare speaking activities I What you to motivate students to speak in class?  I ask the better students to speak first  I give them many questions  I create interesting games and activities  I always listen attentively to and appreciate students‟ answers  I never forget to praise them before pointing out their mistakes in speaking  I encourage students to learn by reminding them of the proportion of speaking skill in their end of course test  I introduce interesting and familiar topics  I let them talk about whatever topic they like  I ask the better students to speak after other students  I set funny classroom rules/punishment for those who keep quiet or speak Vietnamese in class II Appendix 2: PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA DÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN Phiếu điều tra nhằm tìm hiểu khó khăn mà sinh viên khơng chun tiếng Anh trường Cao đẳng Kinh tế Kỹ thuật Thái Nguyên gặp phải học kĩ nói lớp học tiếng Anh Các thông tin câu trả lời mà bạn cung cấp quan trọng cần thiết khảo sát Bạn yên tâm liệu mà bạn cung cấp sử dụng cho nghiên cứu khơng nhằm mục đích khác Cảm ơn hợp tác bạn! * Thông tin cá nhân - Giới tính:  nam  nữ - Họ tên: - Tuổi: - Lớp: - Bạn học tiếng Anh bao lâu? Bạn đánh dấu (V) vào ô bên cạnh câu trả lời mà bạn lựa chọn Lý bạn học tiếng Anh?  Tơi thích tiếng Anh  Vì tiếng Anh ngôn ngữ quốc tế  Để học văn hóa tiêu biểu  Để xin cơng việc tốt  Để giao tiếp với người nước  Nói tiếng Anh có lợi  Vì bắt buộc phải học Kỹ nói tiếng Anh quan trọng bạn?  Rất quan trọng  Khá quan trọng III  Ít quan trọng  Khơng quan trọng chút Điều khiến bạn ngại nói học tiếng Anh?  Các chủ đề nói khơng quen thuộc khơng hay  Tơi khơng tìm cụm từ xác để diễn đạt ý  Tơi khơng quen nói tiếng Anh lớp  Tôi sợ bạn cười nhạo tơi nói sai  Giáo viên thường sửa lỗi tơi nói  Mọi chuyện ổn tơi khơng nói Giáo viên khơng phàn nàn điều  Giáo viên khơng để ý đến  Giáo viên sinh viên khác nói hết  Giáo viên khơng giải thích u cầu tập tiếng Việt nên tơi khơng hiểu thầy nói Bạn có thường xuyên thấy học kỹ nói thú vị khơng?  Đơi Tơi thích hoạt động nói  Có, Tơi thích hoạt động nói  Có, Nhưng hoạt động nói khơng hay khơng thật đa dạng  Có, thường xun Tơi thích hoạt động nói  Có, thường xun Nhưng hoạt động nói khơng hay không thật đa dạng  Không Xin chân thành cảm ơn giúp đỡ bạn! IV ... speaking skills to first- year students at Thai Nguyen College of Economics and Technology: problems and recommendations Aims of the study The study is aimed at:  Investigating the current English speaking. .. communicative activities Based on the findings of the study, a number of suggestions for the situations at the college and some coping strategies for alleviating the difficulties in teaching the skills. .. by the participants of the study The last part is the conclusion of the study, which presents the overview of the study Besides, the limitations of the thesis are pointed out and the areas for