Sự tham gia của sinh viên vào hoạt động thảo luận nhóm trong nhóm trong giờ học nói tiếng anh ở felte ulis vnu

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP SỰ THAM GIA CỦA SINH VIÊN VÀO HOẠT ĐỘNG THẢO LUẬN NHÓM TRONG GIỜ HỌC NÓI TIẾNG ANH Ở FELTE – ULIS – VNU Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Th.s Lưu Ngọc Ly Sinh viên : Nguyễn Thu Hiền Khóa : QH2016 HÀ NỘI – 2020 ACCEPTANCE PAGE I hereby state that I, Nguyen Thu Hien, class QH2016.F1.E10, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (English Language Teaching) accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor‟s Graduation Paper deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper Hanoi, May 7, 2020 Signature Nguyen Thu Hien ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would not have been able to reach the destination of the long journey to the Bachelor‟s Degree without the support and encouragement of many people Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to those who made significant contributions to the completion of the thesis I first would like to express my sincere thanks to my thesis supervisor, Luu Ngoc Ly (M.A) for her positive attitude, support, critical feedback and encouragement throughout the study Without her advice over the long haul, I would certainly not have been able to complete the thesis I am extremely grateful to my family for inspiring me to get through the difficult time with their never-ending love, patience and financial support whenever I need My special thanks also go to the lecturers and students at the Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, who facilitated the data collection Their support, cooperation and kindness were essential contributions to the value of this study i ABSTRACT Group discussion has been widely implemented in EFL classrooms in Vietnamese tertiary context as an effective strategy in the development of students‟ communicative competence Though the implementation of group discussion has been explored by prior researchers from different perspectives, the level of students‟ participation in this activity has not been shed light on with adequate research This study sought to occupy this research space by investigating the level of students‟ participation in group discussion in Englishspeaking lessons and identifying the affecting factors as well This study was conducted with a total of 101 students at the Faculty of English Language Teacher Education – University of Languages and International Studies – Vietnam National University, Hanoi Both quantitative and qualitative methods were adopted Drawing on the data collected by means of the questionnaire, observation and interview, several findings were registered The results of the study indicated that though a majority of students participated in the activity, the participation frequency and quality remained at a rather low level The level of participation among individuals also varied significantly A number of factors were identified as exerting impacts on their participation, including students‟ attitude towards the value of group discussion, linguistic factors, pedagogical factors, personality, and socio-cultural factors Among these factors, linguistic elements, discussion topics, knowledge preparation and the lack of confidence emerged as the major determinants of students‟ participation in group discussion From these findings, pedagogical implications and recommendations for future studies were put forward Key words: Group discussion, students‟ participation, affecting factors ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements Abstract List of tables, figures and abbreviations CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM SCOPE OF THE STUDY 4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 5 ORGANIZATION CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW GROUP DISCUSSION IN EFL CLASSES 1.1 Definition of group discussion 1.2 Benefits of group discussion in teaching speaking 1.3 Concerns about group discussion in teaching speaking STUDENTS‟ PARTICIPATION IN GROUP DISCUSSION 2.1 Definition of students‟ participation 2.2 Indicators of participation in group discussion 2.3 Aspects in the evaluation of participation level in group discussion 10 2.4 Factors affecting students‟ participation in group discussion 11 SUMMARY 14 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 15 RESEARCH DESIGN 15 SAMPLING 16 2.1 Participants 16 2.2 Study site 17 DATA COLLECTION 17 3.1 Instruments 17 3.2 Procedure of data collection 24 DATA ANALYSIS 26 iii 4.1 Analyzing the quantitative data 26 4.2 Analyzing the qualitative data 26 SUMMARY 27 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 28 RESEARCH QUESTION 1: THE LEVEL OF STUDENTS‟ PARTICIPATION IN GROUP DISCUSSION IN ENGLISH-SPEAKING LESSONS 28 1.1 Participation frequency 28 1.2 Participation quality 35 1.3 Summary 39 RESEARCH QUESTION 2: FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS‟ PARTICIPATION IN GROUP DISCUSSION 39 2.1 Students‟ attitude towards the value of group discussion activity 39 2.2 Linguistic factors 42 2.3 Socio-cultural factors 45 2.4 Pedagogical factors 48 2.5 Personality factors 51 2.6 Summary 54 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 54 MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE RESEACH 55 1.1 The level of students‟ participation in group discussion 55 1.2 Factors affecting students‟ participation in group discussion 56 PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS 57 2.1 Expand students‟ vocabulary 58 2.2 Improve students‟ pronunciation 58 2.3 Reduce the fear of making mistakes 58 2.4 Minimize the use of the first language 58 2.5 Enhance the elaboration of ideas 59 2.6 Encourage students to ask quality questions 59 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 60 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 60 REFERENCES 62 APPENDICES 70 iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CEFR Common European Framework of Reference EFL English as a Foreign Language FELTE Faculty of English Language Teacher Education L1 Native language L2 Second language ULIS University of Languages and International Studies VNU Vietnam National University LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Basic information about participants (p 16) Table 2: Coding scheme (p 21) Table 3: The percentage of students orally participating in observed discussions (p 30) Table 4: Overall participation frequency and the variance in participation frequency among students (p 30) Table 5: The percentage of students showing each indicator of participation (p 32) Table 6: The number of participation instances regarding each indicator (p 33) v Table 7: Frequency of three participation indicators (p 34) Table 8: Quality of expressing opinions and giving comments regarding elaboration of ideas (p 36) Table 9: Quality of questions posed in recorded discussions (p 37) Table 10: Descriptive results of students‟ attitude towards the value of group discussion activity (p 40) Table 11: Descriptive results of linguistic factors (p 42) Table 12: Descriptive results of socio-cultural factors (p 46) Table 13: Descriptive results of pedagogical factors (p 49) Table 14: Descriptive results of personality factors (p 52) LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Data collection (p 25) Figure 2: Students‟ responses towards the frequency of their participation in group discussion in English-speaking lessons (p 29) Figure 3: Students' reported general behaviors in group discussion (p 31) Figure 4: Students‟ attitude towards the value of group discussion (p 40) Figure 5: The percentage of choices towards linguistic factors (p 42) Figure 6: The percentage of choices towards socio-cultural factors (p 45) Figure 7: The percentage of choices towards pedagogical factors (p 49) Figure 8: The percentage of choices towards personality factor (p 52) vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY In Vietnam, the aim of accelerating the integration in a globalized economy has created the driving force for major reforms in the education system, in which English language teaching and learning plan is emphasized In 2008, the Government of Vietnam launched a national foreign language education policy known as Teaching and learning foreign languages in the national education system from 2008 to 2020 Accordingly, English curriculum for university students directs towards learners‟ capability to use this language confidently in their daily communication, study and work in an integrated and multicultural environment (Vietnam‟s Prime Minister, 2008) In other words, the policy places a high value on learners‟ communicative competence This goal has posed certain challenges to English teaching and learning in Vietnamese universities and colleges due to the long existence of traditional teaching approaches, which emphasize the transmission of grammatical knowledge rather than communicative performance (Vietnam News, 2018) Hence, the transformation in teaching methods in tertiary context has been required to bridge this enduring gap With the aim of becoming a research-oriented university in language education, linguistics and international studies, the University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS), one of the members of Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU), carries out the mission of offering courses in developing learners‟ proficiency in different languages At undergraduate level, Faculty of English Language Teacher Education (FELTE) offers training in English teaching methodology and related fields, which serves the purpose of enhancing English language education in Vietnam in general With a view to reaching the target of providing language courses of high quality in accordance with the policy mentioned above, EFL classes at FELTE – ULIS – VNU require a high level of students‟ interaction, active participation and the integration of real-life matters into lessons as well This aim has put forward the demand of integrating cooperative activities into lessons, which, as Leite (2009) stated, act as a catalyst to students‟ interaction and the use of target language Among the cooperative learning activities that should be applied in EFL classes to promote communicative competence, group discussion, which provides students with opportunities to use the target language to interpret and express real-life messages, can be seen as a useful tool (Stroud, 2017) However, along with obvious benefits, this activity also presents tough challenges that teachers need to take into account to enhance students‟ participation in group discussion implementation (Alaro, 2017) STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM There have been various researchers taking group discussion activity in EFL classes into consideration from different perspectives As Stroud (2017) claimed, the use of group discussion in EFL speaking lessons is widely perceived as beneficial Accordingly, some worth mentioning advantages of this activity in EFL classes are the increase in the use of target language and the promotion of learning autonomy Nonetheless, the implementation of this activity is apparently not a simple process There are certain obstacles that may impinge negatively on group discussion, which were pointed out in previous studies Firstly, if the group discussion is not well managed and organized, it may promote errors, noise and anxiety (Brown, 2001) Secondly, this activity requires a high level of students‟ oral engagement, otherwise, the learning targets cannot be fulfilled (Liu, 2009) Considering Vietnamese EFL context, prior authors, namely Le (2019) and Tran (2013), have taken an interest in the implementation of group discussion What have been exploited in these studies are various factors having influence on students‟ participation For instance, Le (2019) named a range of factors which Stroud, R (2017) Second language group discussion participation: A closer examination of „barriers‟ and „boosts‟ Proceedings of the international conference on education and learning Storch N (2010) Critical feedback on written corrective feedback research International journal of English studies, 10(2), 29-46 Sukirlan, M (2014) Teaching communication strategies in an EFL class of tertiary level Theory and practice in language studies, 4(10), 2033-2041 Swain, M (1993) The output hypothesis: Just speaking and writing aren‟t enough The Canadian modern language review, 50, 158-164 Tanveer, M (2007) Investigation of the factors that cause language anxiety for ESL/EFL learners in learning speaking skills and the influence it casts on communication in the target language (Master) University of Glasgow Tong, J (2010) Some observations of students' reticent and participatory behavior in Hong Kong English classrooms Electronic journal of foreign language teaching, 7(2), 239-254 Tran, T (2013) The causes of passiveness in learning of Vietnamese students VNU Journal of education research, 29(2), 72-84 Vietnam‟s Prime Minister (2008) Decision on ratifying the project „Teaching and learning foreign languages in the national education system from 2008 to 2020‟, 1400/QĐ-TTg Hanoi: Prime Minister Vietnam News (2018) National foreign language project fails to fulfill targets Retrieved from https://vietnamnews.vn/society/420711/national-foreignLanguage-project-fails-to-fulfill-targets.html Wang, P (2010) A case study of an in-class silent postgraduate Chinese student in London Metropolitan University A journey of learning TESOL Journal, 2, 207-214 68 Weaver, R R., & Jiang, Q (2005) Classroom organization and participation: college students' perceptions Journal of higher education, 76(5), 570-601 Retrieved from https://ohiostatepress.org Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J S (2000) Expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation Contemporary educational psychology, 25(1), 68–81 Wilkinson, D., & Birmingham, P (2003) Using research instruments: A guide for researchers (p 117) New York: Taylor & Francis e-Library Williams, J (2006) Combining communication strategies and vocabulary development The Internet TESL Journal, 12(2) Retrieved from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Williams-CommunicationStrategies.html Woods, D (2003) The social construction of beliefs in the language classroom (pp 201-227) Dordrecht: Springer Young, D J (1991) Creating a low-anxiety classroom environment: What does language anxiety research suggest? The Modern Language Journal, 75(4), 429 69 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: Questionnaire on students’ participation in group discussion This questionnaire is part of a study conducted to investigate students‟ participation in group discussion Please be informed: - This is not a test; there are no right or wrong answers - Your answers will be kept confidential Please answer the items as honestly as possible Your cooperation in completing this questionnaire is greatly appreciated Thank you so much for your support Name (optional): Class: Gender: Male Female Others PART 1: The level of participation into group discussion 1.1 Based on your learning experience in English speaking lessons in the 2nd year at the university, please indicate your response by ticking (√) the appropriate box How often you have group discussion activity in English speaking lessons? Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never How often you participate in group discussion activity in English speaking lessons? Always Usually Sometimes 70 Rarely Never * If you choose “Never”, please move to Part ** If you choose other options, please go on with section 1.2 below 1.2 Put a tick (√) to Yes/No column to reflect your general behavior in group discussion in speaking lessons Yes No I am willing to express my opinion in group discussions I am willing to ask questions if a group member says something unclear to me or if their ideas are different from mine I am willing to give comments on my friends‟ ideas I often expand and clarify my opinions and comments instead of only stating them without supporting ideas I try to communicate in English and avoid using Vietnamese in group discussion PART 2: Factors affecting students’ participation in group discussion To what extent you agree with each of the following statements? Please circle the appropriate number 1-Strongly disagree 2-Disagree 3- Neither agree nor disagree 71 4- Agree 5- Strongly agree Factors affecting your participation in group discussion A Beliefs towards the values of group discussion Group discussion is not really effective in Opinion 5 improving speaking skills Group discussion causes unnecessary chaos in classrooms Group discussion is time-consuming B Linguistic factors Opinion I am worried about noticeable grammatical errors when I speak I am worried about my pronunciation when I speak I not have enough vocabulary to express my ideas C Socio-cultural factors I not want to give unfavorable comments on Opinion 5 other members‟ opinions because I am afraid that they will lose face I expect to learn from teachers‟ guidance rather than from other students I am not used to expressing my own opinions because I am not often expected to so in daily 72 life D Pedagogical factors Opinion When I not have enough knowledge about the 5 5 given topic, I feel reluctant to participate in discussion I am afraid of my teachers' comments when expressing my opinions The way teachers form groups makes me feel reluctant to participate in group discussions When the topic does not interest me, I not contribute much to the discussion E Personality factors Opinion I always feel that other students‟ ideas are better 5 than mine I not contribute much to group discussion because I am shy I just not like expressing my ideas 73 If you have any other opinions, please specify them: ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND COOPERATION thuhiennguyen.ulis@gmail.com 74 APPENDIX 2: Group Participation Observation Checklist & Note- takings Class: Number of students: Date: Time: Topic: Number of groups: Note: An instance of participation is marked by a tick Group: Frequency Quality Student O (Express opinion) Q (Ask questions) C (Give comments) Express opinions and give comments (I) Information statement S1 S2 S3 S4 75 (R) Reasoning Ask questions L H (Low-cognitive) (High-cognitive) SAMPLE OF AN ANALYZED SCRIPT AND OBSERVATION CHECKLIST Topic: What are the advantages and disadvantages of three farming methods: genetically modified, conventional and organic? Group: Number of students: (Students quietly take notes in some minutes) S1: So now I will tell you about one advantage It‟s about GM foods that you can improve nutrients of our food Uhm, this is because GM food are always add genes to it, so that you can produce more nutrients, and our body short it off … (noise) (O-R) One disadvantage of it, I think is that genes are suitable for the demand, which always … They can produce by adding a lot substance or… Because the genes are not always single, they are mixed with different genes And to separate the genes, they need to various testing, experimenting to our health It can also result in the expensive cost (O-R) That‟s all my opinion S2: So, I reckon that yielding GM foods can also protect the environment For example, if you could yield certain genes into potatoes, which could be like, help resistant You don‟t need to use pesticides to kill the insect But the potatoes itself can produce some kind of substance resist or fight against insects or any kind of animals that could be … (O-R) S1: So, what is the disadvantage? (Q-L) S2: GM food could be unexpected to disease It could lead to, sometimes, the modified genetically foods can result in some expected modifications in the genes of people, so it could lead to new disease or even more dangerous if it can develop some kind of cancer, which is very hard to kill Yeah, so I mean GM food can create more disease, more new disease (O-R) 76 S3: (Vietnamese) Teacher: So what are disadvantages you have found? S3: Costly than normal food (O-I) Teacher: We have learnt the vocabulary S3: It‟s conventional food S4: Not really good for our health (O-I) S2: It‟s too general (C-I) S4: Genetic mutation (O-I) S2: What is mutation? (Q-H) S4: Change the order in DNA of human (O-I) 77 Observation checklist Note: An instance of participation is marked by a tick Frequency Quality Student O (Express opinion) Q (Ask questions) C (Give comments) Express opinions and give comments S1 VV V S2 VV V S3 V V S4 VVV VVV (I) Information statement (R) Reasoning VV V V VV 78 Ask questions L (Low-cognitive) H (High-cognitive) V V NOTES OF OBSERVED DISCUSSIONS Group discussion 1: Lesson: Listening- Speaking 2B Duration of group discussion: About 12 minutes Number of students: 23/27 Number of groups: Number of students in each group: 4-5 Discussion topic: What are the advantages and disadvantages of three farming methods: genetically modified, conventional and organic? Notes: Following teacher‟s instruction, most students began to take a look at the textbooks and took some notes individually in 3-4 minutes Afterwards, they started to discuss in groups of 4-5 about the advantages and disadvantages of farming methods In each group, one or two students often took the lead in the discussion and delivered various opinions Some other students listened and nodded their heads A few questions were raised such as “What you mean?”, “What about you?”, etc Most of them gave answers in English though it seemed to be difficult to express opinions in the target language Group discussion 2: Lesson: Listening- Speaking 2B Duration of group discussion: About 10 minutes Number of students: 22/24 Number of groups: Number of students in each group: 3-4 79 Discussion topic: How you understand the following farming methods: genetically modified farming method, organic method and conventional one? Notes: After the teacher gave instructions, students began to have some ideas to discuss Many students did not seem to pay attention to the task They looked hesitated to join group discussion Only three groups focused on discussing and exchanging the information However, in these groups, mother tongue was used quite a lot Some group members still joked and laughed while discussing Group discussion 3: Lesson: Listening- Speaking 2B Duration of group discussions: About 11 minutes Number of students: 20/27 Number of groups: Number of students in each group: Discussion topic: Why more and more people move from rural areas to the cities? Notes: Most students seemed to be quite interested in this activity They showed the effort to use learnt vocabulary and provided language to make a conversation Some students expressed ideas in Vietnamese and asked for help from better students to translate them into English Group discussion 4: Lesson: Listening - Speaking 2B Duration of group discussions: About 10 minutes Number of students: 24/32 80 Number of groups: Number of students in each group: 4-5 Discussion topic: What is the most important thing you notice when choosing food to buy? (appearance, nutrients, origin, farming method) Notes: Each group had one or two members who dominated the discussion The others played the role of listeners, sometimes added some words and signals implying that they were listening However, they became much more active when the teacher came and prompted 81 APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEW GUIDELINES ABOUT THE AFFECTING FACTORS TO PARTICIPATION IN GROUP DISCUSSION General questions: Do you often participate in group discussion? What motivates your participation? What demotivates your participation? Specific questions based on groups of factors: What you think about the effectiveness of group discussion activity in improving your speaking skills? Are you confident in your pronunciation/ vocabulary/ grammar? How does it affect your participation? Do you often comment or pose questions to your friends in group discussion? Why? How you feel when your opinions are corrected or commented by other members? (Do you feel embarrassed? Do you appreciate their corrections?) Are you a shy person? Does shyness affect your participation in group activities? Do you often feel your ideas are not as good as others‟? Does the way group discussion activity is organized now affect your participation? (the way teachers form group, topic of discussion, teachers‟ guidance and comments) 82 ... English-speaking lessons at FELTE – ULIS – VNU? ?? This study aims to: - Investigate students‟ participation in group discussion in English-speaking lessons at FELTE – ULIS – VNU; - Acquire a deeper... language courses of high quality in accordance with the policy mentioned above, EFL classes at FELTE – ULIS – VNU require a high level of students‟ interaction, active participation and the integration... they attend in group discussion were not provided Particularly examining EFL classes at FELTE – ULIS – VNU, the researcher has realized that though group discussion activity is commonly conducted,