Tieng Anh THPT - Bui Thi Hang - THPT Mai Anh Tuan - Nga Son

PART 1: INTRODUCTION “Using role-play technique to interest students and improve their speaking skill in teaching English 11 in Mai Anh Tuan Upper Secondary school ” Reasons for doing the research: In this globalization are English is very important as international language, and it is also used in many aspects such as social, economic, political, culture, education, and others That is one of the reasons that we have to study English more seriously and try to be able to speak it fluently In fact, the mastery of speaking English is really important Having the ability in speaking English is urgent in order they can keep pace with the advancement of the era However there is a fact of the Speaking Skill in high school: * Teachers: The English teachers not create the English speaking atmosphere They not give chances to the students to express their feeling by communicating to each other They not present knowledge such as, language function and language competence to students They teach and explain the English phrases or daily speaking expressions without giving a lot of time to practice * Students: Most students study English and hope they can understand English actively In fact, they don’t have lot of chances to practice English in communication They are reluctant to speak and afraid to make mistakes They prefer speaking Vietnamese to English at the time the teacher does not give speaking test They know much about English but they don’t know how to use it in communication They feel frustrated because they find themselves unable to express themselves clearly or to apply speaking expression in different atmospheres The common problems are because they are lack of vocabularies, practice and motivation in speaking So the teacher should make the learning activity in the class more interesting and enjoyable In adition, some research shows when children engage in dramatic play they deepen their understanding of the world and develop skills that will serve them throughout their lives To engage in dramatic play with others, children have to negotiate roles, agree on a topic, and cooperate to portray different situations They recreate life experiences and try to cope with their fears by acting out roles and situations that worry them Research also shows that children who engage in dramatic play tend to demonstrate more empathy toward others because they have tried out being someone else for a while When they pretend, children create pictures in their minds about past experiences and the situations they imagine These images are a form of abstract thinking Therefore, in a classroom, besides other oral activities like picture description, storytelling and quizzing, we have also given them role play For this reason, I have tried to chage the way how the English teaching and learning can improve the students’ speaking mastery That is using role play as one method to teach English by creating English speaking atmosphere in class After using this echnique, I realize that Role-play is really one alternative of effective teaching English to improve speaking skill And now I would like to share the teaching experience through the research: “Using role-play technique to interest students and improve their speaking skill in teaching English 11 in Mai Anh Tuan Upper Secondary school ” Objectives of the study: - I made an effort to innovate the English teaching and learning method based communication approach and find out the best way for my students to improve English speaking ability - It can help students to practice their ability in their communication - I aimed to see the effectiveness of using role play in enhancing English speaking skills of the students in a class and also the advantage of role-play in English teaching and learning Participants and range of the study: - 52 students of class 11B of Mai Anh Tuan Upper Secondary School took part in the investigation process - teachers of English who are also teaching in grade 11 in Mai Anh Tuan Upper Secondary School - The research took place in English periods in grade 11 in Mai Anh Tuan Upper Secondary School Methods of studying: Experimental method Objects teachers 50 grade 11 students Data collection Classroom observations Structures of the theme: including parts: PART 1: Introduction Reasons for doing the research Objectives of the study Participants and range of the research: Methods of studying: Structures of the theme: including parts: PART 2: CONTENT I Definition of Role Play II Types of Role Play: III The aims of role-play: Questionaire IV Significance of Role Play in Developing Speaking Skills: V Note of using role-play technique in teaching English VI Some of the possible teacher roles are: VII Using role-play technique in teaching English 11 PART : Conclusion PART : Refferences materials PART 2: CONTENT I Definition of Role Play - A role play is a kind of a life game that has a goal, rules and involved a feeling of fun In the role play the students are put in a certain atmosphere outside of the class atmosphere - A Role-play is a classroom activity allowing the students to practice the language, the aspects of role behavior and the roles outside the classroom that they may need to know - Role Play in Classroom Activity : According to Little Wood: In role-play activity learners are asked to imagine them selves in a situation which could occur out side the class room; to adopt a specific role in this situation; and to behave as if the situation really excited in accordance with their roles II Types of Role Play: According to Byrne , role play can be classified into two types: Scripted Role Play (controlled) Unscripted Role Play (uncontrolled) Depending on my students’ level I often use Scripted Role Play III The aims of role-play: - It is interesting and useful to students because it emphasizes the real-world It presents the students a valuable opportunity to learn and practice the language The students are set in a certain situation like the real life - It's fun and motivating This role playing exercises can motivate them in learning the language It is widely agreed that learning takes place when activities are engaging and memorable - Quieter students get the chance to express themselves in a more forthright way - The world of the classroom is broadened to include the outside world Thus, it offers a wider range of language opportunities - A role play uses different communicative techniques and develops fluency in the language - role-plays help students work together as a team or group, and communicate in order to understand each other, because role-plays are not simple acts of reading or reproduction the information from a piece of paper; - Students who will at some point travel to an English-speaking country are given a chance to rehearse their English in a safe environment Real situations can be created and students can benefit from the practice Mistakes can be made with no drastic consequences IV Significance of Role Play in Developing Speaking Skills: - Role play is a technique which can develops students’ fluency in the target language, promotes students to interact with others in the classroom, increases motivation and makes the teaching-learning process more enjoyable As for the shy students, role play helps provide a mask, where students with difficulty in conversation are open minded In addition, it is fun, very attractive to students, allows classes to be dynamic and enthusiastic and most learners will agree that enjoyment leads to better learning - Scripted role play come up to help the students to improve students speaking ability It will provide the students opportunity to use the target language to communicate with the other and here scripted role play is the solution communicative activity for them - Role-play allows students to explore their inner resources, empathize with other, and use their own experiences as scaffolds upon which credible actions As a result, students can improve their ability to produce the target language, acquire many of its nonverbal nuances, improve the ability to work cooperatively in group situations, and effectively deal with affective issues Role play has high appeal for students because it allows them to be creative and to put themselves in another person’s place for a while V Note of using role-play technique in teaching English Role-playing exercises can be hard work, both in preparation and in implementation Therefore, the teacher should consider the following points: - The teacher should prepare the students by asking questions before performing a role play - The teacher should give clare exlanation and instruction in directing students using role- play - The questions should incorporate the major parts of the role play and the vocabulary/idioms involved After the question answer session the students should be comfortable with what they need to - Allow the students a few minutes to study the role cards and work out some key sentences The teacher can help the students where ever needed - Each role play should be performed at least twice with the students changing roles - In group situations the stronger students can act out the role play to the whole class - The teacher can take one of the roles if needed - The teacher should control students’ activities - Avoid making corrections until the role play is finished VI Some of the possible teacher roles are: Facilitator : As students practise the role-play they might find that they are stuck for words and phrases In the practice stage the teacher has a chance to ‘feed-in’ the appropriate language This may need the teacher to act as a sort of ‘walking dictionary’, monitoring the class and offering assistance as and when necessary feeding-in the language students need is fundamental By doing so, they will learn new vocabulary and structure in a natural and memorable environment It is a chance to use real and natural language 2 Spectator : The teacher watches the role-play and offers comments and advice at the end Participant : It is sometimes appropriate to get involved and take part in the role-play yourself VII Using role-play technique in teaching English 11 Role-play is possible at various levels providing the students have been thoroughly prepared Try to think through the language the students will need and make sure this language has been presented Students may need the extra support of having the language on the board I usually used role-play activities not only in speaking lessons but also in other skill lessons in teaching English 11 Why not extend an appropriate reading or a listening from a English 11 and turn it into a role-play? The results were humorous and I was surprised that they all really got into the roles they played To my students with their low speaking ability I conducted role-play by using scripted role-play with the following proceduce: I gave example of dialougue and related vocabulary items I explained to the students about the situation and conditon when using expression of asking and giving opinions I wrote some examples and demonstrated how to pronouce it I devided students into groups of two and gave script of dialouge Students practiced and memorized the dialouge and perform the dialouge in front of the class I gave feedback and general conclusion I also used role play cards as a suggestions for my students to make up dialouges easier I would like to give some dialouge using role-play activities in English 11 Unit 1: FRIENDSHIP * Speaking lesson: Task 3: Talk about a famous friend Student A – a journalist You are interviewing the interviewee about his/ her friend who won the first international prize in Maths Student B – an interviewee You have a friend whom you admire greatly She / He has just won the first international prize in Maths You are being interviewed by a journalist about hin/ her Suggestions to ask: Name Date of birth Answer about: Physical characteristics Name From task and 2, my students worked in pairs, gave dialouges, practiced, then Hobbies Date of birth Personalities performed in front of the class Physical characteristics Hobbies Personalities A: Hello, I’m Lam, a journalist for HOA HOC TRO magazine B: Hi, I’m Nga Nice to meet you A: I hear your closest friend has just won the first international prize in Math Could you give me some information about Minh? B: Sure No problem A: Can you tell me his name? B: Certainly He is Thinh Hoang Quan A: Can you discribe your friend? B: Well, He is neither fat nor thin He is kind of medium height He has a square face with a high broad forehead and bright brown eyes A: What is he like? B: He’s friedly and helpful And especially he has a good sense of humour He sometimes tells us some jokes which make us laugh a lot He works very hard and won the first international prize in Math He did a good job and we are so proud of him A: Thanks for giving me time Bye B: You’re welcome Bye Unit 2: PERSONAL EXPERIENCES Speaking lesson: Task 2: Ask students to practise the dialouge by using scripted role-play, then they memorized the dialouge, performed it, next they could create the same dialouge in task A: Have you 3ever spoken English to a native speaker? B: Yes I talked to an English girl last summer A: How did you meet her? B: I was walking along Trang Tien Street when an English girl came up to me and askme the wy to Hoan Kiem lake I told her then we started talking about the lake A: What did you talk about? B: Everything about the lake: its name, the great turtle in it, etc did the experience affect you? Unit A: 3: How PARTIES B: Well,lesson: it makes me more interested in learning English * Speaking Task 3: Sample: A: When are you going to take part in a competition to organize the best party? B: On Sunday morning A: What kind of parties are you going to have? B: I’m going to have a party on occasion of the teachers’ day A: Where are you going to organize it? B: At our classroom A: Who will you invite to the party? B: I will invite all of our teachers and my classmates A: How will you decorate the room? B: I’ll decorate it with flowers, pictures, colourful balloons and lights A: What kind of clothes will you dress? B: I’ll wear our uniforms A: What kind of food and drink will you prepare? B: We’ll serve salads, chicken, beef, and some kinds of drinks A: Will you organize any entertainment? Unit 4: VOLUNTEER WORK B: Yes Of course.We’ll play games, dance and sing as well Come to enjoy with *Speaking lesson: us TaskA: 2:Yes, AskI’d students love to.to practise the dialouge by using role-play Unit 6: CONPETITITONS *Speaking lesson: Task 3: Give model and ask students to practise by using the scripted role-play: A: Have you ever taken part in any competitions? B: Yes, I have I took part in “Arena 100” A: Where and when did you take part in it? B: In Ha Noi last Sunday A: What type of conversations was it? B: It was general knowledge quiz A: Who organized it? B: It is a game show created by a Dutch TV production company A: Who participated in it? B: My friends and I A: Who won the competition? B: My friend, named Nam A: Did you enjoy it? Why? B: Yes, I did Because it was interesting and I had a good opportunity to test my general knowledge Unit 7: WORLD POPULATION * Speaking lesson: Post – speaking: Teacher gives model: A: It says in the newspaper that the world population is increasing so fast What you think is the main cause of the population explosion? B: I think the main reason is that people are not properly educated so they feel free to have more children A: I quite agree with you Another cause is that they are not aware of the population explosion which can cause many serious problems B: What can be problems that face overpopulated countries? A: I think people living there have bad living conditions and not enough food to eat There is also a lack of schools and hospitals B: And what’s more there aren’t enough jobs for everyone A: What should the government to control the growth of population? B: In my opinion they should raise their people’s awareness of the problem of overpopulation A: That sounds good but what they exactly? B: They should carry out population education programs and tell them about family planning A: Ok It sounds better Unit 8: CELEBRATIONS * Reading lesson: After you read: Sample A: Did you have any preparation for your last Tet’s holiday B: Oh, certainly I did a lot of things A: What did you exactly? B: As usual I helped my parents with cleaning and decorating the house A: Oh, so did I What did you on the first day of Tet? B: I went to visit my grandparents, relatives and friends A Did you go to church or pagoda? B: Yes I went there and pray for my family A: During Tet day did you ate traditional food B: yes, of course We ate Chung cakes, sugar apples… A: What activities did you enjoy doing most? B: I enjoy gathering all members of my family And I think it’s my traditional custom We shoul remain and preserve it * Speaking lesson: -Using task as a sample and ask students to take turns and practise Unit 9: THE POST OFFICE * Speaking lesson: - Using task as a sample and ask students to take turns and practise - Task 3: SITUATION 1: A: Good afternoon Can I help you? B: I want to subscribe to Lao Dong Daily A: Yes sir how long you want to subscribe to it? B: For one year, please A: Where you want to get the newspaper? B: At home, please My address is 67 Ngoc Ha street, Ha Noi A: What time you want to get the newspaper? B: Before 6.30 every morning, please A: To OK,other 6.30 every units morning I also gave dialouges and asked studens to practise then they B: Yeah! Thank you A: You areand welcome remember use the languge naturally and can make up their own conversation Especially, they are more interesed in learning Emglish PART 3: CONCLUSION Based on the observation result, before implementing role-play activities students in class 11B showed that they were very passive Most student in the class did not participate in class conversation, discussion and shy in giving oral presentation In other words, they have problems with their confidence They did not know how to express their ideas, fellings in English And they found every speaking lesson boring and even stressful However after year I have used role-play technique in English periods, students’ opinion, ability of English speaking have chaged much The writer distributed survey questionnaire: Fill up this section Please respond to the statements by ticking the appropriate boxes (A = agree, N = neutral, DA = disagree) Questions A agree = N = DA neutral = disagre e Role play is interesting; I feel fun, 45 cheerful and comfortable Role play is difficult 10 15 25 Role play helps to enhance speaking 40 ability It helps to overcome nervousness I 43 feel more confident It gives an opportunity to express 45 emotions freely I participate in English lessons more 45 actively I enjoy learning English more My pronunciation is getting better 43 and better 50 students in class 11B filled up the questionnaire form Of them, about ninety percent students agreed that role play is interesting ; about eighty percent students said that role play helped to increase their speaking ability and they also thought that they could show creativity more in role play rather than other activities About fifty percent students found it to be an easy method to communicate as they had complete freedom to select the vocabulary Tưenty percent found it difficult as they had to act and speak - Evaluation on Students’ participation in role play activities Based on the research conducted in class 11B of Mai Anh Tuan upper secondary school, I concluded that Role play activities are really effective and should be applied widely and regularly in teaching English to improve students’ speaking skill and make the English speaking lessons more exciting In a few words, we can say that role play technique has positive impact in improving learners’ speaking skills as it gives the students a chance to explore different situations of real life and enables them to speak accurately and confidently in that situation in the target language PART 4: REFERENCE MATERIALS Role Play Scenarios for English Classroom Activities Ments, V M (1999) The effective use of role-play: practical techniques for improving learning (2nd ed.) Retrieved May 12, 2012 , from http://books.google.com.bd/books/about/The_Effective_Use_of_Role_Play.html ?id=GbXOYf8aTIC&redir_esc=y Kenneth O Gangel (2008).Teaching Through Role Playing from http://www.bible.Org.// Journal [11] Scullard, S (1986).Teaching Speaking Skill from Role – play to Communicative Competence via Information – gap and Information – gap activities: One Teacher’s Approach – The British Journal of Language Teaching, No  ... English who are also teaching in grade 11 in Mai Anh Tuan Upper Secondary School - The research took place in English periods in grade 11 in Mai Anh Tuan Upper Secondary School Methods of studying:... of role-play in English teaching and learning Participants and range of the study: - 52 students of class 11B of Mai Anh Tuan Upper Secondary School took part in the investigation process - teachers... research: “Using role-play technique to interest students and improve their speaking skill in teaching English 11 in Mai Anh Tuan Upper Secondary school ” Objectives of the study: - I made an effort