Improving english speaking activities of the first year non english major students at hanoi community college

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES -o0o TRẦN MỸ HẠNH IMPROVING ENGLISH SPEAKING ACTIVITIES OF THE FIRSTYEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HA NOI COMMUNITY COLLEGE Nâng cao hoạt động nói tiếng Anh sinh viên năm thứ không chuyên ngữ trường Cao đẳng Cộng đồng Hà Nội M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 HANOI – 2014 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES -o0o TRẦN MỸ HẠNH IMPROVING ENGLISH SPEAKING ACTIVITIES OF THE FIRSTYEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HA NOI COMMUNITY COLLEGE Nâng cao hoạt động nói tiếng Anh sinh viên năm thứ không chuyên ngữ trường Cao đẳng Cộng đồng Hà Nội M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: PROF NGUYỄN HÒA HANOI – 2014 DECLARATION I hereby certify that the minor thesis entitled “Improving English speaking activities of the first-year non-English major students at Ha Noi Community College” is the result of my own research and that it has not been submitted for any other degree Hà Nội, August, 2014 Student‟s signature Trần Mỹ Hạnh i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To accomplish this study, I am indebted to many people for their thoughtful help First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Prof Nguyen Hoa for his patient and enthusiastic guidance, encouragement, and invaluable assistance throughout my research I am also grateful to the lecturers and all the staff members of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for providing me valuable lessons, support and encouragement in fulfillment of this thesis My sincere thanks go to all my colleagues and my students at Hanoi Community College Without their enthusiasm and help, I would not have been able to conduct my research I would like to express my appreciation to my friends and relatives who have contributed in the fulfillment of this study Last but not least, my sincere thanks go to my dear family, my parents and my husband for their enormous spiritual support Their great encouragement and love have helped me to overcome the difficulties during my study ii ABSTRACT This thesis is carried out to investigate the use of pair work and group work activities to develop speaking skills for the first year non-English major students at Hanoi Community College It sought the answer to the question: “How can pair work and group work contribute to improving speaking skills of the 1st year nonEnglish major students at HCC?” The study is carried out in two classes (target class and control class ) which are taught differently by the researcher and another teacher at HCC One class is taught according to the program of the course book “Lifelines - Pre-intermediate” The other is designed to use pair/group work activities in speaking lessons In this study, two data collection instruments are used: pre-test/post-test and questionnaires The results of the research indicate that pair/group work activities motivate the students in their speaking lessons After seven weeks, the students‟ speaking competence improves Besides, the students become more interested in pair work and group work activities These activities help students feel confident to speak English These make them have high motivation in speaking lessons Moreover, they have more opportunities to communicate in the teaching language in a variety of real life situation iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HCC: Hanoi Community College LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS TABLES Table 1: Students‟ opinion about speaking skills Table 2: Students‟ opportunities to speak English in speaking lessons Table 3: The frequency of speaking activities in class Table 4: Students‟ attitudes to the topics of speaking Table 5: Students‟ participation in speaking lessons Table 6: Students‟ attitudes to classroom atmosphere Table 7: Totals (agree% + strongly agree%) measurement: Questionnaire CHARTS Chart 1: Results of pre-test of the target class and the control class Chart : Results of post-test of the target class and the control class Chart 3: Comparing pre-test and post-test scores of the target class (KT1-K8) Chart 4: Comparing pre-test and post-test scores of the control class (KT2-K8) Chart : Comparing post-test scores of the target class (KT1-K8) and the control class (KT2-K8) iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration i Acknowledgements .ii Abstract iii List of abbreviations iv List of figures and tables iv Table of contents v PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Aims of the study Research questions Scope of the study Methods Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 The nature of speaking 1.2 Types of activities in teaching speaking skills 1.2.1 Interview 1.2.2 Role - play 1.2.3 Games 1.2.4 Conversation grid 1.2.5 Jigsaws 1.2.6 Problem solving 1.3 Pair work and group work 1.3.1 Definition 1.3.2 Advantages and disadvantages of using pair work and group work 1.3.2.1 Advantages of using pair work and group work activities 1.3.2.2 Disadvantages of using pair work and group work activities 1.4 The roles of the teachers and students in pair work and group work activities 10 1.4.1 The roles of the teachers in pair work and group work activities 10 v 1.4.2 The roles of the students in pair work and group work activities 11 1.5 Criteria of an effective speaking activity 12 1.6 Procedures for pair work and group work 12 1.6.1 Selecting and organizing activities for pair work and group work 12 1.6.2 Planning pair work and group work activities 13 1.7 Previous research on pair and group work 14 1.8 Concluding remarks 16 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 17 2.1 Research question 17 2.2 The setting of the study 17 2.3 The textbook 18 2.4 The participants 18 2.4.1 The students 18 2.4.2 The teachers 19 2.5 Data collection instruments 19 2.5.1 Questionnaire 19 2.5.1.1 Reasons for choosing questionnaire 19 2.5.1.2 Description of the questionnaire 19 2.5.2 Pre-test 21 2.5.3 Post-test 21 2.6 Data collection procedures 21 2.7 Data analysis procedures: 23 2.8 Concluding remarks 24 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 25 3.1 Findings and discussion from the pre-questionnaire 25 3.1.1 Students’ opinion about speaking skills 25 3.1.2 Students’ opportunities to speak English in speaking lessons 26 3.1.3 The frequency of speaking activities in class 26 3.1.4 Students’ attitudes to the topics of speaking 27 3.1.5 Students’ participation in speaking lessons 27 3.1.6 Students’ attitudes to classroom atmosphere 28 3.2 Findings and discussion from the post questionnaire 29 vi 3.3 Findings from the pre-test and post-test 31 3.3.1 Results of the pre-test 32 3.3.2 Results of the post-test 32 3.3.3 Comparing pre-test and post-test scores of the target class (KT1-K8 33 3.3.4 Comparing pre-test and post-test scores of the control class (KT2-K8) 34 3.3.5 Comparing post-test scores of the target class (KT1-K8) and the control class (KT2K8) 34 3.3.6 The correlation between results of post-questionnaire and post-test scores 35 3.4 Concluding remarks 36 PART 3: CONCLUSION 37 Recapitulation 37 Conclusions 37 Implications 38 Limitations of the study 39 Suggestions for further study 39 REFERENCES 40 APPENDIX I vii PART A: INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the rationale, aims, scope, research questions, research methods and design of the study Rationale Nowadays, English has been used more and more widely and important in every part of the world It is considered to play a crucial role on the path of industrialization and modernization of the country as well as in the process of intergration and globalization in the world Therefore, the need for learning it has increased rapidly English is a useful means they need for their future career since it equips them with linguistic, social and cultural knowledge and provides them with access to the modern world in the era of informatics and technology It is used as the official language in many powerful and developed countries In addition, it is also considered as the medium of communication in many fields such as science, technology, business, education, commerce, and so on In Vietnam, English is also a compulsory subject to be taught and learned at schools and universities It plays an instrumental role Understanding the necessity of English in the development of the society in general and of each individual in particular, every learner wants to be competent in English and uses it to communicate with foreigners That‟s why most schools now focus on developing students‟ ability to speak English Among the four skills in learning English, speaking and writing are the productive skills However, speaking is regarded as very important for language teaching and learning Speaking is the bridge to reach other skills Speaking helps learners to read better, to listen more effectively and write more accurately Speaking is surely the most effective means of communication (Ur, 1996) So learners of English should have motivation and positive attitude to learn English speaking At Hanoi Community College, students seem to have lost interest in learning English and they are not active in participating in speaking activities Teachers tried PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA Phiếu điều tra thiết kế cho nghiên cứu “ Nâng cao hoạt động nói tiếng Anh sinh viên năm thứ không chuyên trường Cao đẳng Cộng đồng Hà Nội” Câu trả lời xác bạn quan trọng cho thành công nghiên cứu.Tôi xin đảm bảo thông tin cá nhân bạn giữ kín Bạn tích () vào câu trả lời thích hợp: Phần thơng tin cá nhân: • Họ tên: ………………………………………… • Giới tính: • Tuổi: ……………………………………………… • Số năm học tiếng Anh: Nam Nữ 1-3 năm 3-5 năm Trên năm Hồn tồn Câu hỏi • Kỹ nói quan trọng • Bạn thích học kỹ nói • Bạn thấy tự tin nói tiếng Anh trước lớp • Bạn có có nhiều hội nói tiếng Anh học nói • Giáo viên thường xuyên sử dụng hoạt động theo cặp học nói • Giáo viên thường xun sử dụng hoạt động theo nhóm học nói • Giáo viên thường xuyên sử dụng hoạt động đóng vai học nói III Hồn khơng Khơng tồn đồng ý đồng ý Đồng ý đồng ý • Các chủ đề nói thú vị • Bạn hứng thú làm việc học nói • Bầu khơng khí học nói sơi động Cảm ơn nhiều hợp tác bạn! IV APPENDIX POST-QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS This survey questionnaire is designed for my research into “Improving English speaking activities of the first-year non-English major students at Ha Noi Community College” Your faithful answers to the questions are very important to the success of the study Please be sure that the data collected are used in the research paper only and that you are not identified Please tick () the answer where necessary: Background information: • Full name: ………………………………………… • Gender: • Age: ……………………………………………… • Years of learning English: Male Female 1-3 years Questions • Strongly disagree Pair/group work activities increased opportunities for me to practice speaking skills • Pair/group work activities motivated me to participate in speaking lessons • Pair/group work activities helped me feel relaxed because the class attention did not focus on me only • The use of pair/group work activities in our speaking lessons was interesting and useful • The pair/group activities were applied suitably to practice and V 3-5 years Disagree over years agree Strongly agree improve my speaking skills • When the teacher used pair/group work activities, I participated enthusiastically • I felt more confident when I spoke English after attending to pair and group work activities • My ability of speaking English is better after the program • I could speak longer comprehensible sentences after the program • Pair/group work activities helped me have more vocabulary, grammar structures… to speak English • The classroom atmosphere was exciting when the teacher used pair/group work activities in our speaking lessons • I would recommend the pair/group work activities in our speaking lessons next year Thank you very much for your cooperation! VI PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA Phiếu điều tra thiết kế cho nghiên cứu “ Nâng cao hoạt động nói tiếng Anh sinh viên năm thứ không chuyên trường Cao đẳng Cộng đồng Hà Nội” Câu trả lời xác bạn quan trọng cho thành công nghiên cứu Tôi xin đảm bảo thông tin cá nhân bạn giữ kín Bạn tích () vào câu trả lời thích hợp: Phần thơng tin cá nhân: • Họ tên: ………………………………………… • Giới tính: • Tuổi: ……………………………………………… • Số năm học tiếng Anh: Nam Nữ 1-3 năm 3-5 năm Trên năm Hoàn toàn Câu hỏi • Các hoạt động theo cặp nhóm làm tăng hội cho bạn thực hành kỹ nói • Các hoạt động theo cặp nhóm tạo hứng thú cho bạn tham gia vào học nói • Các hoạt động theo cặp nhóm giúp bạn cảm thấy thoải lớp khơng tập trung vào bạn • Sử dụng hoạt động theo cặp nhóm học nói bạn thú vị hữu ích • Các hoạt động theo cặp nhóm VII Hồn khơng Khơng tồn đồng ý đồng ý Đồng ý đồng ý áp dụng cách phù hợp để luyện tập cải thiện khả nói bạn • Bạn tham gia nhiệt tình giáo viên sử dụng hoạt động theo cặp nhóm • Sau tham gia vào hoạt động theo cặp nhóm, bạn thấy tự tin nói tiếng Anh • Sau chương trình khả nói tiếng Anh bạn tốt • Sau chương trình, bạn nói câu ngữ pháp dài • Các hoạt động theo cặp nhóm giúp bạn có thêm vốn từ vựng, cấu trúc để nói • Bầu khơng khí lớp học nói sơi động giáo viên sử dụng hoạt động theo cặp nhóm • Bạn muốn đề xuất hoạt động theo cặp nhóm học nói vào năm tới Cảm ơn nhiều hợp tác bạn! VIII APPENDIX SPEAKING EVALUATION SHEET Adopted from rating by Soubakeavathi Rethinasamy, (2006) Full name: …………………………… Date of birth: ………………………… Date of testing: ……………………… Criteria Pronunciation (2.5) Remarks Marks - Clear articulation with accurate stress, rhythm and intonation - Speech is intelligible and comprehensible - Cause no major strain on the listener Fluency (2.5) - Interaction is well paced and spontaneous with a degree of confidence; no or little hesitation or restart Content (2.5) - Able to understand prompt and respond appropriate to the prompt - Develop topics reasonable Accuracy - Language structure are generally accurate (2.5) with only minor slips corrected with restart/repetition - Word choice is appropriate with the prompt - Meaning comes across clearly Total Interviewer Interviewer IX APPENDIX SAMPLE SPEAKING PRE-TEST – PRE-INTERMEDIATE LEVEL Part Content Time 2-3 mins Self introduction The exam taker is asked to talk about his or her background (name, age, family and job etc…) 3-5 mins Topic • The examiner will give the exam taker a topic: “Talk about your life” • The examiner have minute to prepare • The exam taker should say: + I was born… + I grew up in… + I started school in… + I left school in… + I went to university /college + I started work in… + I got a job in… mins Questions and Answers The examiner will ask the exam taker some questions about the topic you presented in the previous part • Do you like your life? Why? • Do you want to make some changes in your life? X APPENDIX SAMPLE SPEAKING POST-TEST – PRE-INTERMEDIATE LEVEL Part Content Time 2-3 mins Self introduction The exam taker is asked to talk about his or her background (name, age, family and job etc…) 3-5 mins Topic • The examiner will give the exam taker a topic: “Talk about your favourite food and drink” • The examiner have minute to prepare • The examiner should say: • I‟d like… mins Questions and Answers The examiner will ask the exam taker some questions about the topic you presented in the previous part • Do you often cook for their family? • Do you often go for a meal wih your friends? • What‟s your favourite restaurants? XI APPENDIX 6: RESULTS OF PRE-TEST RESULTS OF THE PRE-TEST IN THE CONTROL CLASS (KT2-K8) Mark No Pronunciation Fluency Grammar Content Total score S1 1.0 1.0 1.0 2.0 5.0 S2 1.5 1.5 2.0 2.0 7.0 S3 1.0 1.5 1.5 1.5 5.5 S4 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 4.0 S5 1.5 0.5 1.5 1.0 4.5 S6 1.0 1.5 1.0 1.0 4.5 S7 1.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 5.0 S8 1.5 1.5 1.0 1.0 5.5 S9 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.5 5.0 S10 2.0 1.5 1.0 1.5 6.0 S11 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.5 4.5 S12 2.0 1.5 2.5 1.0 7.0 S13 1.0 1.5 2.0 1.0 5.5 S14 0.5 2.0 1.5 1.5 5.5 S15 1.5 1.0 1.0 1.5 5.0 S16 1.0 1.5 1.5 1.5 5.5 S17 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.0 4.5 S18 0.5 1.5 2.0 1.0 5.0 S19 1.5 1.5 1.0 1.5 5.5 S20 2.0 2.0 1.0 1.5 6.5 XII RESULTS OF THE PRE-TEST IN THE TARGET CLASS (KT1-K8) Mark No Pronunciation Fluency Grammar Content Total score S1 1.0 1.0 1.5 2.0 5.5 S2 1.0 0.5 2.0 1.5 5.0 S3 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.5 4.5 S4 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 6.0 S5 2.0 1.5 1.5 1.5 6.5 S6 1.5 0.5 2.0 1.0 5.0 S7 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 4.0 S8 1.5 1.5 0.5 1.5 5.0 S9 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 5.0 S10 1.5 1.0 1.0 1.5 5.5 S11 2.0 1.5 1.0 1.5 6.0 S12 0.5 2.0 1.5 0.5 4.5 S13 1.0 1.5 1.5 1.0 5.0 S14 0.5 1.0 1.5 1.5 4.5 S15 1.0 1.5 1.0 1.5 5.0 S16 1.5 1.0 1.5 1.0 5.0 S17 1.0 1.5 1.0 2.0 5.5 S18 1.5 1.5 2.0 0.5 5.0 S19 2.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 7.0 S20 1.5 1.5 1.0 1.0 5.0 XIII APPENDIX 7: RESULTS OF POST-TEST RESULTS OF THE POST-TEST IN THE CONTROL CLASS (KT2-K8) Mark No Pronunciation Fluency Grammar Content Total score S1 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.5 5.0 S2 1.5 1.5 2.0 1.5 6.5 S3 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 6.0 S4 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.5 4.5 S5 1.5 1.0 1.5 1.0 5.0 S6 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.0 4.5 S7 1.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 5.0 S8 1.5 1.5 1.0 1.0 5.5 S9 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.5 5.0 S10 2.0 1.5 1.5 1.5 6.5 S11 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.5 4.5 S12 1.5 1.5 2.0 1.0 6.0 S13 1.0 1.5 2.0 1.0 5.5 S14 0.5 2.0 1.5 1.5 5.5 S15 1.5 1.0 1.0 1.5 5.0 S16 1.0 1.5 1.0 1.5 5.0 S17 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.0 4.5 S18 0.5 1.5 2.0 1.0 5.0 S19 1.5 1.5 1.0 1.5 5.5 S20 2.0 2.0 1.5 1.5 7.0 XIV RESULTS OF THE POST-TEST IN THE TARGET CLASS (KT1-K8) Mark No Pronunciation Fluency Grammar Content Total score S1 1.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 6.0 S2 1.0 0.5 2.0 1.5 5.0 S3 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.5 5.0 S4 1.5 1.5 1.5 2.0 6.5 S5 2.0 1.5 1.5 2.0 7.0 S6 1.5 0.5 2.0 1.0 5.0 S7 1.5 1.0 1.0 1.5 5.5 S8 1.5 1.5 2.0 2.0 7.0 S9 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 5.0 S10 1.5 1.0 1.0 1.5 5.5 S11 2.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 7.0 S12 1.0 2.0 1.5 0.5 5.0 S13 1.0 1.5 1.5 1.0 5.0 S14 0.5 1.0 1.5 1.5 4.5 S15 1.0 1.5 1.0 1.5 5.0 S16 1.5 1.5 1.5 2.0 6.5 S17 1.5 1.5 1.0 2.0 6.0 S18 1.5 1.5 2.0 0.5 5.0 S19 2.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 7.0 S20 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 6.0 XV APPENDIX 8: LESSON PLAN Role-play “In a restaurant” I Class KT1-K8 Type of activity: Group work Function: “In a restaurant”, practice ordering a meal Level: Pre-intermediate Approximate time: 30 minutes Materials: handouts Procedure • Teach the grammar and structure about ordering a meal (the day before) • Put students in groups: Group 1: S1, S20, S19 Group 2: S2, S18, S17 Group 3: S3, S16, S15 Group 4: S4, S14, S13 Group 5: S5, S12, S11 Group 6: S6, S10, S Group 7: S7, S8 Give handouts to each group Tell them to use the details in the handouts to role-play ( One student is the waiter/ waitress, two students are the customers Make conversations using the menu) For example: Waiter: Do you want a drink? Customer: I‟ll have a mineral water? Waitress: Do you want to order now? Customer: I‟d like the soup, please Ask students role play in front of the class Teacher correct mistakes and give feedback II Class KT2-K8 XVI Type of activity: Individual work Function: “In a restaurant”, practice ordering a meal Level: Pre-intermediate Approximate time: 15 minutes Materials: handouts Procedure • Teach the grammar and structure about ordering a meal (the day before) • Tell the students work individually Give each student a handout Ask them to using structures and practice Ask students to practice in front of the class Teacher correct mistakes and give feedback XVII ... confidently in English For the above reasons, I choose the topic ? ?Improving English speaking activities of the first- year non -English major students at Hanoi Community College? ?? I hope that the research... SUPERVISOR: PROF NGUYỄN HÒA HANOI – 2014 DECLARATION I hereby certify that the minor thesis entitled ? ?Improving English speaking activities of the first- year non -English major students at Ha Noi Community. .. to answer the pre-questionnaire These will gather and analyze to identify the reality of learning speaking skills of the first year non -English major of students at HCC and students? ?? attitudes