Difficulties of english public speaking skill and strategies for self study of the first year students of faculty of english at thuongmai university

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During the process of making my graduation paper, I met a lot of difficulties and arising matters Luckily, I received many supports and helps from my teachers and friends to finish tudy in the best way First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Ms Do Thi Bich Dao for her precious guidance and remarks that she gave me throughout the research In addition, I wish to express my gratitude to all teachers from English Faculty at Thuongmai University for their help and support Thanks to their useful and valuable lectures in four years learning at the university, I have had much more experience as well as knowledge for myself so that I can finish this study Then, I would like to give my thanks to seventy K55 students of English Faculty at Thuongmai University for their warm co-operation during the time I collected data and information for my own study Finally, I take this opportunity to send thanks to my friends who always stand by me and give me their motivation, supports and sincere suggestions to accomplish this research I also thank my parents for the unceasing encouragement, support and attention This graduation paper would properly have some unexpected mistakes and shortcomings I would be grateful and happy to receive comments and suggestions from teachers to better my study ABSTRACT Today, the position of English in the areas of life is increasingly important and necessary In order to learn English well and fluently, learners must improve their language skills Public-speaking which can be regarded as the most difficult skill in learning foreign languages in general and English in particular It is the skill that learners face many difficulties and challenges Students at Thuongmai University also face many difficulties in studying English public-speaking With the aims to help firstyear English majors at Thuongmai University improve English public-speaking skill, this paper was conducted This thesis focuses on three main issues: the attitudes of first-year English major students at Thuongmai University toward public-speaking skill, the difficulties in public-speaking skill experienced by the first-year students of Faculty of English at Thuong Mai University and suggested solutions to help freshman at Thuongmai University improve their English public-speaking skill Through that, the author would like to summarize the main issues and recommend students and teachers some relevant suggestions The researcher hopes that this study could be useful to other researchers who concern about English publicspeaking skill, concurrently helps teacher enhance the quality of English speaking lessons TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, AND ABBREVIATIONS CHAPTER I: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale of the study English is a universal language Although the English language does not have the largest number of native speakers in the world, it has the widest reach of any language spoken today Both native and second-language speakers of English are found on every continent, and English has become the lingua franca in many fields, including business, politics, science, technology, and entertainment, to name a few English is the working language of many international organizations, like NATO and the European Union, and it is the language of global advertising It is also the mostused language of the internet, accounting for more than half of all websites For many people, learning English is a way to get access to a broader range of information, connections, and opportunities The ability to speak becomes very important in our technological age, however, students are still significantly deficient in their ability to make oral presentations (Sayed, 2005) Delivering an oral presentation, which is a form of public speaking, strikes fear in many students According to Brewer (2001), public speaking is one of the most reported fears in the American public Some students with weak speaking competence may have a greater challenge in delivering oral presentations because of problems with expressive communication skills They often experience difficulty in determining what to say, remembering how to say it, and saying it aloud in front of others (Nippold, Hesketh, Duthie, & Mansfield, 2005; Scott & Windsor, 2000) Research shows that a course in public speaking can offset this deficiency According to Hansen (2008), many creative ways can be used for teaching public speaking to help students learn how to speak effectively in front of audience Among those ways are formal lessons in each phase of public speaking and practicing impromptu speeches in small groups Consequently, teachers and students must therefore work more efficiently and effectively toward the goal of academic success Because of its importance, English is always highly and positively appreciated in Vietnam English is being taught from kindergarten to university and higher levels as a compulsory subject However, English education in Vietnam relies heavily on learning grammar, writing and does not focus on speaking and communicating in English In addition, the university entrance examination only tests English theories through grammar and reading skill That is one of the diverse reasons why students’ English speaking skill is weaker in comparison with listening, reading and writing skills Another situation is that although many students can speak English and communicate with others in English, they find it difficult to express their views in front of the crowd The ability to communicate in English with others is important, but if we want to succeed in both life and work, we need to have the ability to speak English in front of many people because successful people are the ones who dare to express personal opinions and protect it from the witness of many people Furthermore, the Faculty of English at Thuongmai University trains all the major subjects in English The method of studying in university is completely different from that of high school The main type of exercises are presentations, personal views presenting before the class Discussion points for major subjects also are evaluated through English public-speaking skills It requires each student in the faculty a strong basic background of knowledge in not only English theories but also English practical skills, especially, to the first-year students They have to quickly adapt to a new learning environment where they will listen to the lectures then express ideas in English, present in English regularly at class, make assumed English conversations, etc Nevertheless, a majority of them have to struggle with English speaking skill that makes them difficult in doing tasks at class This problem seriously affects their study results and quality of English lessons Moreover, there have been many researches on speaking skill of TMU students, but very few people have studied specifically about difficulties in English publicspeaking that first-year English students have experienced Therefore, I conducted the research titled “Difficulties of English public-speaking skill and strategies for selfstudy of the first-year students of Faculty of English at Thuongmai University’’ with the aim to help the students to boost public-speaking skill in particular and in general, to enhance their English qualification 1.2 Previous Studies Demands of the academic disciplines as well as the versatility and competitiveness in today's job market have prompted scholars, educators and researchers to emphasise the importance of learners' success in handling oral communication skills, in general, and public speaking skills, in particular (Payne and Carlin 1994; Yamashiro and Johnson, 1997; Lucas, 2007) There are many studies which are done to help people to improve English public-speaking In line with this necessity, the investigation draws into the public speaking skills needs of the English majors at University Sains Malaysia (USM) (2016) The study aims to identify the forms and skills of public speaking frequently used by the students It also explores the students' lacks of communication apprehension in public speaking Thirty-nine second, third and fourth year students majoring in English at the School of Humanities, USM participated in the study The results indicated that besides the frequent use of a number of preparation and delivery skills by the English majors, certain types of speech, such as small group, informative and persuasive appeared to be among the communicative tasks the students confront in their academic discourse discipline The findings also revealed that the majority of the respondents are competent enough in performing almost all the public speaking skills Taylor (2011) conducted a study on the effectiveness of self and peer-review on communication apprehension and speech performance of undergraduate students The purpose of this study was to determine if self- and peer-reviews affect communication apprehension and speech performance in undergraduate students Data were collected from 183 participants who were registered in a public speaking course A two-way mixed model analysis of variance was used to compare the differences in participants' pretest and posttest scores of the public speaking communication apprehension-Public Speaking Subscale The results from the data suggested the difference in the post-test scores of the self-review and the peer-review groups were not significant A two-way mixed model analysis of variance was also conducted to determine if any differences existed in the participants' speech performances on three speeches over time Students in the peer-review group showed significantly better scores on their speech performance evaluations from speech to speech compared to students in the selfreview treatment Pribyl et al (2001) conducted a study to test the effectiveness of a skills-based program as a method for reducing anxiety during public speaking Twenty-five Japanese college sophomores were exposed to a systematic approach for developing a presentation that was theoretically linked to mechanisms to reduce communication apprehension (CA) Students gave four presentations that were graded by both teacher and peer evaluation Results indicated that the experimental group reported a significantly greater drop in public speaking anxiety than control group of 86 students did Castillo (2010) conducted a study to assess the effectiveness of public speaking instruction on students’ cognitive learning, skill development, and communication apprehension Participants in this study included 140 undergraduate students at a university in the South-western United States Hypotheses and research questions focused on determining whether public speaking instruction makes a difference for students who receive instruction as opposed to students who not achieve three outcomes: cognitive, behavioural, and affective Results of the study were discussed Conclusions, limitations, and topics for further research were addressed Johnson (2012) conducted a study to examine the effect of previous public speaking instruction, public speaking extra-curricular activity, gender, and self-esteem on public speaking anxiety for students in a college-level public speaking course Results indicated students with prior instruction or public speaking extra-curricular experience had lower levels of public speaking anxiety No significant difference was found with regard to gender and self-esteem as moderators on previous public speaking instruction 1.3 Aims of The Study This graduation paper aims to find out the real current situation of English public speaking skills and strategies for self-study for first-year English majors at Thuongmai University ?” More specifically, this study is considered as a process to explore the answers to the following questions: • What are the attitudes of first-year English major students at Thuongmai University toward public-speaking skill? • What are difficulties in public-speaking skill experienced by the first-year students of Faculty of English at Thuongmai University? • What solutions can be suggested to improve public-speaking skill of the firstyear students of Faculty of English at Thuongmai University? 1.4 Research subjects Research subjects are freshmen, currently studying at the Faculty of English of TMU Public speaking is one of the most fears of freshmen, some students with weak speaking competence may have a greater challenge in delivering oral presentations because of problems with expressive communication skills This research benefits students by providing them with the basic public speaking skills to be successful in the personal, professional, and academic areas of their lives Most freshmen in the English department have difficulty giving presentations in English Before going to college, high school students only focus on learning grammar and vocabulary without taking time to practice language skills, especially publicspeaking practice in particular The goal of high school students is to achieve a high score on the university exam and the University entrance examination only tests English theories through grammar and reading skill If speaking lessons taken place in classroom, they just only provide students with limited chances to practice speaking in front of the whole class That is one of the diverse reasons why students’ English speaking skill is weaker, especially public speaking skills Some students in the city are more fortunate to be taught speaking skills, but students can only use speaking skills at the normal level of communication There are very few freshmen can confidently speak in public Therefore, it is necessary to a research on the subject “Difficulties of English public-speaking skill and strategies for self-study of the first-year students of Faculty of English at Thuong Mai University” 1.5 Scope of The Study The scope of this study is “English public-speaking skill” The study focuses on understanding and investigating the difficulties that students face and proposing solutions for those Due to time and ability limitations, the researcher only concentrated on the first-year student of TMU's English Department This research is randomly conducted to 70 students of first-year English major students (Course 55-K55) at Thuongmai University The researcher will invite participants to fill up the survey questionnaire The thesis did not study or interview other subjects such as teachers or parents 1.6 Research Methodology 1.6.1 Research Design The selected approach for this research project is quantitative type of study The quantitative type of the research is designed a questionnaire consisting of smaller and more specific questions These questions are in closed ended format (questions are available with answers), questions in open ended format 1.6.2 Population and Sample of the Study This study is conducted at Thuongmai University which is located at 79 Ho Tung Mau Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi The sample is 70 first-year students from the Faculty of English 1.6.3 Research Instruments In order to examine the detected English speaking skill problems among firstyear students whose major is English language, questionnaires and interviews were used in this study Thus this study not only indicated clearly the issue but also provided opportunities for students to talk about their experiences in their simple own words These questionnaires were conducted by 70 students who are freshmen at the Faculty of English at Thuongmai University and the interviews were conducted randomly among seventy students having done the questionnaire 1.6.4 Data Collection The author uses survey questionnaires to collect data and information The questionnaire will be divided into major parts (from part I to part IV) The first part referred to personal information Part II contains 06 questions, understanding the attitude of students toward learning public-speaking skill for example, “How often you use English public-speaking skill?; Do you like subjects related to English publicspeaking?; Do you think that it is difficult to have good English public-speaking skill?; How you think about the importance of English public-speaking skill?; How you evaluate your English public-speaking skill now?; How much are you interested in improving your English public-speaking?” The researcher used Likert scale to discover the respondents’ attitudes toward learning and practicing English public speaking Part III includes 03 questions to find the difficulties in public-speaking skill experienced by the first-year students The researcher listed several difficulties such as: “Vocabulary; Pronunciation; Grammar; Mistakes in the way of talking; No 10 • The Ministry of Education and Training should change the text book of secondary schools and high schools towards focusing more on speaking and listening as well 38 • Be a teaching assistant in English centers • Speak English every moment • Speak English without fear of making mistakes CHAPTER IV: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 4.1 Recommendations 4.1.1 For students 4.1.1.1 Overcoming fear of public speaking The fear of public speaking should not turn into an obstacle to students professional and personal growth If they are worried that fear may worsen instead of improving their presentation The researcher offers for the students Practical Ways to transform it into unshakable confidence and excitement Deep breathing Such strong emotions as anxiety and fear trigger in the students’ body when speaking in front of crowd very specific response: the muscles tighten, the heart rate increases, the blood pressure goes up and the breathing becomes shallow, since the breathing rate is directly connected to emotional reaction, the fastest and easiest way to take presenter emotions under control and regain confidence is through deep breathing Shifting focus outwards Witt (2009), assistant professor of communication studies at Texas Christian University, believes that many people perform worse than they could because they focus too much on their physical symptoms (shaky hands, sweaty palms) and on their embarrassment instead concentrating on their breathing and their speech This problem could be easily avoided by shifting focus from how we feel or look to the message we want to share with our audience Visualizing To ensure that the presentation goes smoothly, aside from actual preparation and the rehearsal of presenters' speech, take 10-15 minutes a day to relax, close the eyes and visualize the room which presenter are speaking in, confidently delivering speech, smiling and moving across the stage Focusing on facts, not fears Instead of focusing on irrational fears, students should concentrate thoughts on positive facts such as: "I have practiced my speech many times", "I am an expert on this topic", "I have notes with major bullet points to keep the structure of my talk" Focusing on positive facts and on what students can offer takes their thought away from irrational 39 Building presenters’ speech on clarity, not complexity While it is often tempting to include as much useful information in students' speech as possible, practice shows that this might not be a good idea Organizing the speech or presentation around much about running out of time for two or three main points, allows students to relax and not worry about mentioning something important to the listeners 4.1.1.2 Fulfill the gap in English theory Firstly, students should focus on learning vocabulary Knowing more words in a language gives learners greater choice and power when trying to express their thoughts and ideas Having a larger vocabulary will help people understand native speakers better and read more complicated texts Gleaning new words day in, day out is a good way to widen their vocabulary However, they must not only learn the common meaning of the word but also make sure that they know how to pronounce it correctly and the exact meaning with each appropriate context It is also important that learners learn words in groups For example, in daily conversation people always say in phrases and chunks such as a glass of wine, a pint of beer, a cup of tea, a pot of coffee, etc instead of a single word Therefore, it is better to learn those phrases rather than merely single words such as: wine, beer, tea and so on Besides, students can benefit from learning words that are related This method allows students to understand deeply about the language they are using and through that they can express their thought by speaking more clearly Moreover, students need to read about academic documents to enlarge knowledge in many aspects Learning thematic vocabulary and discussing topics connected with it can expand students’ lexical horizons That will help increase language source in order to avoid a lack of ideas Secondly, although they have strong grammar foundation, it is necessary to study more complex structures Instead of explaining everything at length, it is better to look for a structure that will make their speech smooth, concise and even more professional Grammar is the root of language The fact is that grammar connects language components together That evidently helps students deal with coherence problems that were mentioned above However, students should notice that when they 40 are speaking, there is no time for thinking much about grammar so they have to learn carefully before Thirdly, students can improve their pronunciation, accent and intonation through studying well phonetics and phonology Practice pronouncing minimal pairs (words that differ in just one sound) to sharpen distinctions between difficult phonemes Students should work out which English sounds present the most problems for native speakers of their language and focus on these through drilling and repetition Additionally, there are many foreign teachers teaching online The author would like to mention some reputation channels such as Rachel’s English, Jade Joddle, Sozo Exchange, BBC Learning English, etc Freshmen totally can take advantage of huge resources in the Internet to learn English better 4.1.1.3 Pratise as much as possible There is no denying the fact that "Practice makes perfect" Student simply cannot be a confident and compelling speaker without practice Therefore, students should seek opportunities to speak in front of others as much as possible For example, Toastmasters is a club geared specifically towards aspiring speakers, and students can get plenty of practice at Toastmasters sessions Besides, learners could also put themselves in situations that require public speaking, such as by cross-training a group from another department, or by volunteering to speak at team meetings Furthermore, 4.0 century gives students amazing opportunities to practice speaking on their electronic devices such as : smart phone, smart watch, tablet, etc That means they can save time by studying everywhere, at anytime instead of going to classes in a constant time If learners are going to deliver a presentation or prepared speech, it is necessary to create it as early as possible The earlier students put it together, the more time they will have to practice Trying to practice speaking alone, using the resources that students will rely on at the event and tweaking the words until they flow smoothly and easily Then, if appropriate, a dummy run in front of a small audience, this will help learners calm their jitters and make they feel more comfortable with the material When the students deliver their speeches, the audience can also give them useful feedback, both on material and on performance 41 4.1.1.4 Watch Recordings of Your Speeches Whenever possible, learners should record their presentations and speeches Students can improve their speaking skills dramatically by watching themselves later, then working on improving in areas that did not go well When learners watch their records again, notice any verbal stalls, such as "um" or "like." In addition, it is important to look at the body language and answer the questions: are you swaying, leaning on the podium, or leaning heavily on one leg? Are you looking at the audience? Did you smile? Did you speak clearly at all times? Moreover, paying attention to the gestures is also a necessary step before speaking Let's reconsider whether they actually appear natural or forced Make sure that people can see them, especially if students are standing behind a podium Last but not least, when the students practice English public-speaking, how should they handle interruptions such as a sneeze or a question that was not prepared? Their faces should show surprise, hesitation, annoyance or not? Each student should practice managing interruptions like these smoothly, so that they can be even better next time and gradually master this skill 4.1.1.5 Apply new methods and look for the most appropriate one There is no way which is suitable with everyone Thus, students should be brave to apply new methods in their study It will be difficult at first but if the method becomes effective, your effort becomes worthy as well By applying various ways in studying a language, learners have chance to train themselves more patient as well as find out their strengths and weaknesses It will be a long and hard process An irrelevant method could makes learners feel boring even pessimistic about their study because they not see any improvement As a results, it wastes time to over think On contrary, a relevant one can not only boost learners’ productivity in studying but also make them satisfied about their enhancement Besides, there are so many good methods as mentioned in Chapter that were suggested by the author and researched students such as: Watch US-UK presentation program and repeat, practice by yourself in front of the mirror at , take part in international volunteer campaigns, overcome the personal psychological issues, spend more time practising presenting, be a teaching assistant in English centers 42 4.1.2 For teachers As the figures shown, most of the students lack the essential strategies so that teaching them public-speaking strategies becomes necessary These followings are the strategies: 4.1.2.1 Developing speaking materials Improving speaking materials is a necessary task since most of the materials used in TMU are commercial ones They are used for general learners Besides, teachers also develop speaking tasks from other resources to give students supplementary materials For instance, teachers can choose the speaking activities from different textbooks which suit with students' abilities to replace the one in the main textbook It is very lucky that there is variety of textbooks to choose: (1) English Knowhow - Elementary (Angela Balckwell, Therese Naber, Susan Banman Sileci); (2) New Headway - Elementary (Liz & John Soars); (3) Language to go - Elementary (Araminta Crace & Robin Wileman); (4) Lifeline – Elementary (Tom Hutchinson) Interestingly, there have been many websites supplying the speaking materials, teachers can consult and take the activities that are suitable to their speaking lesson 4.1.2.2 Creating public-speaking environment for students Learning environment for public-speaking skills, which is both inside and outside class, is a vital key affecting the learning and teaching speaking quality Teachers can create the speaking environment in their own class by asking students to use English presentation in class; encouraging students to use English whenever they want to ask or say anything Discussion and role play also are good techniques to motivate students to speak Englisgh Teachers can arrange table in U-shape or in Oshape in stead of in row as usual This will make the class freer Furthermore, teachers should encourage the students to speak English even when they are not in the class 4.1.2.3 Reducing the class size In the pedagogical point of view, the smaller the class is the more chances students have to involve and interact with the others For the teachers, small class tends to help them manage their students and teaching activities easier Reducing class size is one of the best solutions in order to improve and upgrade the teaching and learning English public-speaking quality 43 4.1.2.4 Ranking the students' ability Mixed ability class is an obstacle for the teachers and students in learning English To help students study English better, it is necessary to organize placement tests at the beginning of the first semester This helps to rank students according to their abilities It is much easier for the teachers to teach equal-ability class than mixed ability class The ranking gives students chances to further enlarge their knowledge or to add needed knowledge 4.2 Suggestions for further studies In most research projects, limitations are inevitable This study is of no exception This study is to investigate difficulties of English public-speaking skill and strategies for self-study of the first-year students of Faculty of English at Thuongmai University However, the result of the study is not always accurate and reliable because this paper is based on quantitative methods the researcher has given survey questionnaire for students to answer This approach has many drawbacks, such as: students may choose the answers inattentively; students not want to answer too many questions, etc Thus, it would be better to use other methods in a further research Besides, due to the limitation time and ability the researcher conducted a survey with a small number of participants compared to the total number of students of English Department Therefore, the research results may not be comprehensive and persuasive Furthermore, the writer's practical experiences about public-speaking and knowledge of this field are limited, so that the suggestions in the chapter four are likely to be subjective and incomplete, leaving the issue open to debate Future work, therefore should overcome this shortcoming 44 CONCLUSION This study focuses on answering the three research questions: “What are the attitudes of first-year English major students at Thuongmai University toward public-speaking skill?" “What are difficulties in public-speaking skill experienced by the first-year students of Faculty of English at Thuong Mai University? “What solutions can be suggested to improve public-speaking skill of the first-year students of Faculty of English at Thuong Mai University?" To answer three research questions, first of all, a brief introduction of the importance of the public-speaking skills is presented in the first chapter Secondly, a review of relevant literature on public-speaking skills shows that the students should understand the nature of speaking in order to learn speaking well In this study, students can aware of many factors that affect speaking Thirdly, based on the research questions set at the beginning and all data collected from the questionnaire, the researcher found that the first-year students of Faculty of English at Thuongmai University encounter a great deal of difficulties in learning English public-speaking This study is done with the hope of helping students foresee the problems and prepare to cope with these difficulties in order to learn public-speaking with better quality The findings of the study show that there is an understanding between teachers and students, which is necessary to find out the common ways to overcome the difficulties in teaching and learning English public-speaking skill Furthermore, the study also suggests some solutions to the problems such as: overcoming fear of public speaking, fulfill the gap in English theories, improve speaking materials and create opportunities to practice speaking in fron of the public, etc 45 REFERENCES Ainslie, Susan (1994) Mixed Ability Teaching: Meeting Learners 'needs Netword 3: Teaching Language to Adults London: Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Re Baker, Joanna (2000) The English language teacher's handbook: how to teach large classes with few resources New York: Continuum; London: Cassel.search Brewer, H (2001) Ten steps to success Journal of Staff Development, 22(1), 30–31 Burns, R.B.(1979) The self-concept: in theory, measurement, development and behaviour London: Longman Carrasquillo, A L (1994) Teaching English as a second language : A resource guide, New York: Garland Publishing Castillo, G A (2010) Assessing the effectiveness of public speaking Instruction on students’ cognitive learning, skill development, and communication apprehension MA thesis, Graduate School of the University of Texas-Pan American Cunningsworth, A (1995) Choosing your coursebook Oxford: Heinemann Gardner, R & Lambert, W (1972) Attitudes and Motivation in Second Language Learning New York: Newbury House Gouws, E and Kruger, N: (1994) The Adolescent: an Educational Perspective Dubai, Butterworth Hansen, Matthew (2008) Students learn to conquer fear of public speaking Retrieved April, 22, 2013 from Omaha World- Herald https://www.omaha.com/index.php? u_page Hess, Natalie (2001) Teaching Large Multilevel Classes Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Horwitz et al, The modern language journal, 70, ii, 1986 Hymes, D H (1971) On communicative competence In J Pride and J Holmes (Eds.), Sociolinguistics Penguin, 1972 Johnson, K H (2012) The effect of a high school speech course on public speaking Anxiety for students in a college-level public speaking class PhD dissertation, Faculty of Trevecca Nazarene University School of Education Johnstone, K 1999 Research on language learning and teaching: 1997-1998 Language Learning 46 Lightbrown, P M & Spada N (2001) Factors affecting second language learning In: Candlin, C.N & Mercer, N (Eds.), English language teaching in its social context London: Routledge Lucas S E (2009) The Art of Public Speaking, 10th Edition Nikitina, N (2011) Successful Public Speaking, 10-12 Nippold, M A.,Hesketh, L J., Duthie, J.K.,&Mansfield, T.C (2005) Conversational versus expository discourse: A study of syntactic development in children, adolescents, and adults Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 48, 1048–1064 Payne, U, & Carlin, D 1994 Getting Started In Public Speaking Chicago, IL: National Textbook Company Pribyl, C B, Keaten, J, & Sakamoto, M (2001) The effectiveness of a skills-based program in reducing public speaking anxiety Japanese Psychological Research Short, 43(3), 148–155 Richards, J (2005) The Role of Textbooks in a Language Program Retrieved from the www Nov 2007 at http://www.professorjackrichards.com/work.htm Savignon, S J (2000) Communicative Language Teaching London Scarcella, R & Oxford, R (1992) The tapestry of language learning: The individual in the communicative classroom Boston, MA: Heinle and Heinle Scott, C M., & Windsor, J (2000) General language performance measures in spoken and written narrative and expository discourse of school-age children with language learning disabilities Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 43, 324– 339 Sheldon, L.E (1988) Evaluating ELT Textbooks and Materials ELT Journal 42 (4) Sid Gilbert, Quality Education (2005): Does Class Size Matter?, research file, volume (1) Taylor, A D (2011) The effectiveness of self-and peer-review on communication apprehension and speech performance of undergraduate students A PhD thesisUniversity of South Alabama – College of education Webmd.com Public Speaking Fear Research Sensitizers vs Habituaters http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/20061101/fear-public-speaking Yul Iskandar (2000) Test Personaliti Jakarta Yayasan Dharma Graha 47 APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE For the graduation paper’s topic “Difficulties of English public-speaking skill and strategies for self-study of the first-year students of Faculty of English at Thuongmai University”) Dear K55N students, I am in the process of making a graduation thesis which is about the above topic I hope to receive the support of freshmen in English Faculty, Thuongmai University All of your answers are important and valuable documents for my research All information in this survey is used for the purpose of this paper only I am looking forward to your cooperation Thank you ! PART I: PERSONAL INFORMATION (Please tick the best answer) Question 1: Which is your class? K55N1 K55N2 K55N3 K55N4 Question 2: How long have you been learning English? Years Years More than years Question 3: Which level the result of your English public-speaking? Level A Level B Level C Level D Level F PART II: WHAT ARE THE ATTITUDES OF FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY TOWARD SPEAKING SKILL? Question 1: How often you use English public-speaking skill ? Always Usually Often Sometimes 48 PUBLIC- Rarely Question Do you like subjects related to English public-speaking ? Really like Average Like Do not like Question Do you think that it is difficult to have good English public-speaking skill? Easy Difficult Average Really difficult Question 4: How you think about the importance of English public-speaking skill ? Immensely important Fairly important Important Slightly important Not important at all Question 5: How you evaluate your English public-speaking skill now ? Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor Bad Question 6: How much are you interested in improving your English publicspeaking skill? Very interested Somewhat interested Neutral Not very interested 49 Not at all interested PART III: WHAT ARE DIFFICULTIES IN PUBLIC-SPEAKING SKILL EXPERIENCED BY THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS OF FACULTY OF ENGLISH AT THUONG MAI UNIVERSITY ? Question : Which problems you encounter when using English publicspeaking skill? (You can tick more than one option) Vocabulary Grammar Pronunciation Coherence Psychological problems (Anxiety, motivation, panic attacks, etc) Others: Question 2: What mistakes did you make when using English public-speaking skill? Nervousness and lost control Do not practice before officially speaking in public Try to imitate others Do not dare to share personal views Do not use "body language" Mistakes in the way of talking Others: Question 3: What are some difficulties that you have in self-study English publicspeaking? No communication environment No time for self-study Limited vocabulary Limited contextual Poor grammar Lack the opportunity to stand up to speak in front of the class 50 Bad health Others: PART IV: WHAT SOLUTIONS CAN BE SUGGESTED TO IMPROVE PUBLIC-SPEAKING SKILL OF THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS OF FACULTY OF ENGLISH AT THUONG MAI UNIVERSITY ? Question 2: What is your purpose in improving your English public-speaking skill? (You can tick more than one option) To learn major subjects at class better To meet future job requirements To communicate clearly and effectively To increase confidence in ability to speak in public To boost the other English skills ( listening, reading, writing ) Just feel have to Others: Question 3: Which methods have you been using to improve your English publicspeaking skill? (You can tick more than one option) Take part in a speaking course at an English Center Watch US-UK presentation program and repeat Practice by yourself in front of the mirror at home Practice presenting with friends Chat with foreigners on street or at a coffee shop Do a part-time job in an English spoken environment Record your own voice and correct mistakes yourself Others: Question 4: Are the methods that you have been using effective ? Yes 51 No Because: I not have time I am lazy It is not really suitable with me Others: Question 5: What are some suggestions to improve your English public-speaking skill? (You can tick more than one option) Choose an appropriate method Spend more time on practising presentasing Overcome the personal psychological issues Immerse in an English speaking environment Classroom subjects need more presentation exercises The English Department should hold more activities to enhance speaking skill for students The English Department should add speaking skill to the entrance examination as a typical requirement Others: 52 ... subject ? ?Difficulties of English public-speaking skill and strategies for self-study of the first-year students of Faculty of English at Thuong Mai University? ?? 1.5 Scope of The Study The scope of this... topic ? ?Difficulties of English public-speaking skill and strategies for self-study of the first-year students of Faculty of English at Thuongmai University? ??) Dear K55N students, I am in the process... by the first-year students of Faculty of English at Thuong Mai University? “What solutions can be suggested to improve public-speaking skill of the first-year students of Faculty of English at