A survey on techniques of teaching conversations in textbooks for secondary school students in phu yen province m a 60 14 10

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE A SURVEY ON TECHNIQUES OF TEACHING CONVERSATIONS IN TEXTBOOKS FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN PHU YEN PROVINCE Submitted to the Department of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By LE VAN THINH Supervised by Dr LE THI ANH PHUONG HO CHI MINH CITY, MARCH 2012 i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, LE VAN THINH, being the candidate for the degree of Master of Arts in TESOL, accept the requirements of the university related to the retention and use of Master’s Thesis deposited in the University Library I agree that the original of my Master’s Thesis deposited in the University Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established at the Library for the care, loan and reproduction for theses Ho Chi Minh, December 2011 Signature ……………………… LE VAN THINH ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and above all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr Le Thi Anh Phuong, for her insightful comments, patience, great care and constant encouragement throughout the research process Without her guidance and comments, I would not have completed my thesis My gratitude also goes to all the English teachers at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities for their valuable instructions during the course, as well as other staffs at this university for their helpful support during my studies I would like to express my special thanks to all the secondary school teachers who kindly allowed me to observe their classes and shared their opinions in the interviews, as well as those who enthusiastically responded to the questionnaires They contributed an essential core that makes up the major content of the study I am also indebted to the board of the principals in 14 secondary schools in Phu Yen, who had granted me permission and support to conduct the research I am thankful to all the academic staff who gave me helpful information during process of collecting data Finally, I thank my family and friends for their great support and assistance in completing this work iii CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled: A SURVEY ON TECHNIQUES IN TEACHING CONVERSATIONS IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL ENGLISH TEXTBOOK IN PHU YEN PROVINCE in terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s Program issued by the Higher Degree Committee This thesis has not previously been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institutions Ho Chi Minh, December 2011 LE VAN THINH iv TABLE OF CONTENTS RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF ABBRIVIATIONS ix LIST OF TABLES ix ABSTRACT x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Secondary school context 1.2.1 Students 1.2.2 Tests and exams 1.3 Aims of the study 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Definition of key terms 1.5.1 Techniques 1.5.2 Conversations 1.6 Constraints of the study 1.7 Organization of the thesis Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Communicative competence 2.2 Competence and performance 2.3 Language skills 2.4 Speaking skills 2.4.1 Accuracy and fluency 10 2.4.2 Spoken and written language 11 v 2.5 Features of conversations 12 2.5.1 Conversation units 12 2.5.2 Vocabulary and grammatical features 12 2.5.3 Discourse features 13 2.5.4 Non-verbal expressions 14 2.5.5 Acquiring L2 conversational competence 14 2.6 Role of textbooks and textbook conversations 15 2.7 Teaching speaking skills and techniques in teaching conversations 16 2.7.1 Objectives of teaching conversations 17 2.7.2 Approaches in teaching conversations 18 2.7.3 Teaching language components 21 2.7.3.1 Teaching vocabulary 21 2.7.3.2 Teaching structures 22 2.7.3.3 Teaching pronunciation 24 2.7.3.4 Previous studies on teaching speaking in Vietnam 26 2.8 Summary 27 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 28 3.1 Research questions 28 3.2 Research methodology 28 3.2.1 Research instruments 30 3.2.1.1 Classroom observation 30 3.2.1.2 The interview 31 3.2.1.3 The questionnaire 31 3.2.2 Subjects 33 vi 3.2.2.1 Subjects for classroom observation and interviews 33 3.2.2.2 Questionnaire subjects 33 3.2.3 Description of the English textbook involved 34 3.2.4 Description of the conversations 36 3.2.5 Guidelines for teaching conversations 37 3.3 Data collection procedures 38 3.3.1 Classroom observation 38 3.3.2 Interviews 38 3.3.3 Questionnaire 39 3.3.3.1 Pilot questionnaire 39 3.3.3.2 Main questionnaire 39 3.4 Data treatment 40 3.4.1 Classroom observation 40 3.4.2 Interview data 40 3.4.3 Questionnaire data 40 CHAPTER IV: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 41 4.1 Results 41 4.1.1 Teaching objectives 41 4.1.2 Teaching conversations 44 4.1.2.1 Teaching activities 44 4.1.2.2 Time distribution 49 4.1.2.3 Teaching vocabulary 52 4.1.2.4 Teaching structures 54 4.1.2.5 Teaching pronunciation 56 vii 4.1.3 Difficulties in teaching conversations 62 4.2 Main findings 64 5.1 Conclusions 67 5.2 Recommendations 69 5.2.1 To the course book writer 69 5.2.2 To the principals 70 5.2.3 To teachers 70 5.2.4 To students 72 5.3 Contributions 72 5.4 Recommendation for further researches 73 REFERENCES 74 APPENDICES 82 APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE 82 APPENDIX 2: OBSERVATION SHEET 90 APPENDIX QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW 102 APPENDIX THE CONTENT OF THE TEXTBOOK 103 APPENDIX SAMPLE CONTENT OF ONE LESSON 106 viii EFL LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS English as a Foreign Language MOET Ministry of Education and Training LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Research design 30 Table 2: Questionnaire contents 32 Table 3: Basic information about respondents 34 Table 4: Typical time frame of a unit 36 Table 5: Comparison of data on teaching objectives 43 Table 6: Comparison of data on core teaching activities 47 Table 7: Comparison of data on additional activities 49 Table 8: Time distribution in observation data 49 Table 9: Time distribution in questionnaire data 50 Table 10: Comparison of data on techniques in teaching vocabulary 53 Table 11: Comparison of data on teaching strutures 55 Table 12: Pronunciation received most attention 58 Table 13: Pronunciation practice 61 Table 14: Comparison of data on number of students reading aloud in class 61 Table 15: Difficulties in teaching conversations 63 ix ABSTRACT Teaching English in context is generally very important and in high school textbooks, conversations are often used to introduce grammar and vocabulary for a new lesson However, few investigations can be found on how these conversations in EFL school textbooks are taught in Vietnam This study was an attempt to explore this practice in Year in 14 junior high schools in Phu Yen, a small province in Central Vietnam, with the hope of reflecting one aspect in EFL teaching situation in this province The data for this research came from 20 classroom observations and the subsequent interviews with 10 teachers, in addition to questionnaire responses from 50 teachers of Year in 14 secondary schools The results showed that EFL teachers in these junior secondary schools followed major steps as recommended in their teachers' book for teaching these conversations These included introducing the context of the conversation, letting students listen to the conversation, helping students practise pronunciation through role-plays before asking them to answer questions about the conversation However, some aspects in their teaching should be revised to help students develop listening and speaking skills more effectively For example, teachers did not spend enough time for students' practice of English pronunciation, or they still used a lot of translation in teaching vocabulary, rather than adopting a wide variety of other useful techniques Recommendations were given to school administrators, teachers and students in improving the teaching and learning of English, in particular the development of listening and speaking skills for students in junior secondary schools x 41 45 T gives true / false exercise T gives Ss homework Ss the true / false exercise Ss listen LESSON OBSERVATION SHEET Name of the observed: C Unit 14: WONDERS OF THE WORLD Lesson: Getting started – Listen and read Time Teachers’ activities Warm – up : T asks the following questions: Do you often play games? How you feel while you are playing games? Do you have a computer at home? Getting started T shows the pictures of the places in the textbook and asks Ss to say the names of the pictures T asks Ss to repeat the names 12 Listen and read T introduces the context and asks some questions relating the content of the conversation T writes the new words on the board and asks Ss to say the meaning in Vietnamese - bored (adj) - guessing game (n) - famous (adj) - clue (n) - Asia (n) 16 T asks Ss to repeat the words 18 T asks Ss to listen to the conversation T writes on the board the structures ‘I don’t know how to play’ T explains the structure into Vietnamese 24 T makes an example T lets Ss listen to the conversation again T asks Ss to read aloud the conversation in pairs and then ask pairs to perform in front of 92 Students’ activities Ss answer the questions Ss say the names of the places Ss repeat the names Ss say the meanings of the words learn the new words Ss repeat the words Ss listen to the conversations Ss write the structures on their notebook Ss listen to the conversation Ss work in pairs and then perform 34 38 41 44 the class T corrects some of Ss’ mistakes in pronunciation T asks Ss to Task in the textbook and then correct it T gives true / false exercise T asks Ss to translate the conversation into Vietnamese T gives Ss homework in front of the class Ss task in the textbook and then raise the answer Ss true / false exercise Ss translate the conversation into Vietnamese LESSON OBSERVATION SHEET Name of the observed: D Unit 14: WONDERS OF THE WORLD Lesson: Getting started – Listen and read Time Teachers’ activities Getting started T asks Ss to match the pictures with the names of the places T asks some more questions related to these places T asks Ss to repeat these words Listen and read T introduces the context T lets Ss listen to the conversations T asks Ss to say the words which they 10 not know and then present new words (T translates the words into Vietnamese) - bored (adj) - guessing game (n) - famous (adj) - find out (v) - clue (n) - Asia (n) T reads the words and asks Ss to repeat T plays the recordings the second time and asks Ss repeat sentence by sentence T practices the intonation of yes/no 17 questions T lets Ss work in pairs to practice the conversations 93 Students’ activities Ss match the pictures with the places Ss answer the questions Ss repeat these words Ss listen to the conversation Ss say the words that they not know Ss repeat the words Ss repeat the conversations after the recordings and practice the intonation of yes/no questions Ss practice the conversation in pairs 24 27 36 44 T asks pairs to perform in front of the class T corrects Ss’ mistakes (both pronunciation and intonation) T asks Ss to task in the textbook T corrects task T gives true/ false exercise T asks Ss to create similar conversations T gives some HW for students Three pairs perform in front of the class Ss task in the textbook Ss the exercise Ss create their own conversations LESSON OBSERVATION SHEET Name of the observed: E Unit 15: COMPUTERS Lesson: Getting started – and listen and read Time Teachers’ activities Warm – up T asks some questions ‘Do you often use computers’ ‘What you on the computer?’ Getting started T lets Ss discuss in groups of to answer the question “How computers help us?” Listen and read 17 T introduces the context by using the picture 20 T lets Ss listen to the recording T presents the following new words - Printer (n) - Connect (v) - Properly (adv) - Plug (n) - Socket (v) - Manual (n) - Guarantee (n) - Company (n) 94 Students’ activities Ss answer the questions Ss discuss in groups of Ss listen to the conversations Ss write the words in their notebook Ss repeat the words chorally and individually 28 34 38 44 (Printer, socket, plug, connect are presented by pictures, others are translated into Vietnamese) T asks Ss to practice the conversation in pairs T calls pairs to perform in front of the class (T corrects some of Ss’ mistakes in pronunciation – only word pronunciation) T asks Ss to translate the conversation into Vietnamese T explains the difference between ‘fact’ and ‘opinion’ -T asks Ss to task in the textbook -T corrects task T asks Ss to homework at home - Learn the vocabulary by heart at home - Practice the dialogue again - Prepare “speak and listen” Ss practice the conversations to read the conversations in pairs Four pairs read the conversations Ss translate the conversation into Vietnamese Ss listen to the teachers Ss task in the textbook LESSON OBSERVATION SHEET Name of the observed: F Unit 15: COMPUTERS Lesson: Getting started – Listen and read Time Teachers’ activities Getting started Teacher let’s Ss discuss the question “How computers help us?” in groups of Listen and read T introduces the context T lets Ss listen to the recording 10 T presents the following words - Printer (n) - Connect (v) - Plug (v) - Socket (v) 95 Students’ activities Ss work in groups of to answer the questions Ss listen to the recordings in groups Ss write the words on their note-books 18 22 29 34 45 - Manual (n) - Guarantee (n) (T writes all the words on the boards and asks Ss to say meanings) T asks Ss to repeat the vocabulary chorally T corrects some students’ mistakes T asks Ss to practice the conversation in pairs T calls pairs to perform in front of the class (T corrects some of Ss’ mistakes in pronunciation especially in word pronunciation) T asks Ss to task in the textbook T corrects task T gives true / false exercise T writes on the board the sentence in the conversation “Have you connected it properly?”, and then explains meanings and usage T gives Ss grammatical exercises T asks Ss to home work - Learn by heart the vocabulary - Prepare new lessons Ss repeat individually and chorally Some Ss read the words again Ss practice the conversation in pairs Two pairs perform in front of the class Ss works in groups to task Ss the exercise Ss learn the structure Ss the exercises Ss the exercises Ss listen to teachers LESSON OBSERVATION SHEET Name of the observed: G Unit15: COMPUTERS Lesson: Getting started – Listen and read Time Teachers’ activities Warm-up T lets Ss guess the picture of a computer by giving three clues - It’s a modern machine - We use to type letter, send e-mails or play games - It begins with letter C Getting started T lets Ss discuss the question “How 96 Students’ activities Ss guess the pictures basing on the clue which T gives them Ss discuss in groups and present their ideas 10 14 23 26 32 39 44 computer help us?” and presents their ideas Listen and read T introduces the context T lets Ss listen to the recordings T asks Ss to say the words they not know and write on the board T also asks them to say the meanings - Printer (n) - Connect (v) - Properly (adv) - Plug (v) - Socket (v) - Manual (n) - Guarantee (n) - Company (n) T asks Ss to read the words chorally T asks some Ss to reread the words and check their pronunciation T opens the recordings a second time and asks Ss to repeat the conversation sentence by sentence T asks Ss to practice the conversation in pairs T calls pairs to re-read the conversation (T corrects some of students’ mistakes in pronunciation) T writes down the structure “I know how to connect a printer…” and translates the structure into Vietnamese T makes an example T asks Ss to make examples T asks Ss to task in the textbook T asks Ss to translate the conversation into Vietnamese T asks Ss to learn by heart the conversation T asks Ss to homework - Learn by heart the vocabulary - Prepare the new lesson 97 Ss listen to the recordings Ss tell the unknown words and their meanings Ss translate the instruction Ss read the words chorally again Some Ss read the words Ss look at the pictures Ss read the conversations after the recordings Ss practice the conversations in pairs Three pairs reread the conversation Sts write down the structures on their notebook Ss make examples Ss task in the textbook Ss translate the conversation into Vietnamese Ss learn by heart the conversations LESSON OBSERVATION SHEET Name of the observed: H Unit 15: COMPUTERS Lesson: Getting started – Listen and read Time Teachers’ activities Check-up T calls two Ss to check the old lessons by writing new words Getting started T asks Ss to work in groups of to list the benefits of the computers T synthesizes ideas from each group and writes on the board 10 Listen and read T introduces the context by asking true / false questions 13 T let Ss listen to the recordings T presents vocabulary (T self-selects vocabulary) - Printer (n) - Connect (v) - Properly (adv) - Plug (v) - Socket (v) - Manual (n) - To be under guarantee - Company (n) T presents some words such as printer, socket, manual and plug by pictures and the word ‘connect’ by gesture T reads the words and asks Ss to repeat the 21 words T lets Ss listen the conversation again T lets Ss practice the conversations in pairs T calls pairs to reread the conversation 28 T corrects some Ss’ mistakes T explains the differences between ‘fact’ and ‘opinion’ and T asks Ss to task in the 98 Students’ activities Two Ss go to the board and write new words Ss make a list of the benefits of the computers Ss say their ideas Ss listens to the recording Ss writes the words on their notebooks Ss repeat the conversation after the recording (Sentence by sentence) Ss read the words Ss listen to the conversation again Ss practice the conversation in pairs Three pairs reread the conversation Ss task in the textbook 36 44 textbook T gives true / false exercise T writes the sentence ‘Have you connected it properly?’ T explains meanings and usage T makes an example and asks Ss to make examples T asks Ss to homework - Prepare the lesson at home - Learn by heart the vocabulary Ss true / false exercise Ss write the structure in their notebook Ss make examples LESSON OBSERVATION SHEET Name of the observed: I Lesson: Getting started – HOW CAN COMPUTER HELP US? Lesson: Getting started – Listen and read Time Teachers’ activities Warm – up T asks some following questions How you feel today? Do you have a computer? Do you like to play games? Getting started T lets Ss discuss the question “How computer help us?” T summarizes Ss’ ideas 13 Listen and read T introduces the context by using pictures T lets Ss listen to the conversation 16 T asks Ss to read the conversation in pairs T asks pairs to read the conversation again T corrects some of Ss’ mistakes in pronunciation (only word pronunciation) 23 T presents some new words - Socket (n) - Connect (v) - Plug (n) - Manual (n) - To be under guarantee (T draws the pictures of socket, printer and 99 Students’ activities Ss answer the questions Ss discuss in groups Ss listen to the conversation Ss read the conversations in pairs Some pairs read the conversations Ss write the words on their notebooks 31 36 38 44 plug on the board; T translates the others) conversation) T writes the structure ‘I know how to connect a printer’ T explains the meaning and makes an example T asks Ss to make the examples T asks Ss to listen to the conversation again T explains the difference between ‘fact’ and ‘figure’ T asks Ss to task in the textbook T corrects task T asks Ss to learn by heart the vocabulary at home T asks Ss to prepare the new lesson Ss write the structures on their notebook Ss make examples Ss listen to the conversation again Ss task in the textbook LESSON OBSERVATION SHEET 10 Name of the observed: J Lesson: Getting started – HOW CAN COMPUTER HELP US? Lesson: Getting started – Listen and read Time Teachers’ activities Check – up T asks two Ss to check the old lesson (checking vocabulary) Getting started T asks Ss to discuss the question “How computer help us?” 14 Listen and read T introduces the context by using the picture T lets Ss listen to the recording 17 T asks Ss to say the words they are not familiar and write on the board and translate into Vietnamese - Printer (n) - Connect (v) - Properly (adv) - Plug (v) - Socket (v) - Manual (n) 100 Students’ activities Two Ss go to the board and write some new words Ss discuss in groups Ss listen to the recordings Ss say their unfamiliar words Ss write the words on their notebooks 26 33 39 43 45 - Guarantee (n) - Company (n) T asks Ss to repeat the word chorally and individually T asks Ss to listen to the recording again T lets Ss practice the conversation in pairs T calls pairs to reread the conversation again (T corrects some of Ss’ mistakes in pronunciation) T explains the difference between ‘fact’ and ‘figure’ -T asks Ss to work in group task in the conversation -T corrects task T writes the structure ‘I know how to connect a printer’ T explains the structure in Vietnamese and makes an example T asks Ss to make examples T reviews the words T asks Ss to prepare the new lesson 101 Ss repeat chorally and individually Ss listen to the recordings a second time Two pairs read the conversation Ss listen Ss task in the textbook Ss write the structure in their notebook Ss make examples Ss review the lesson APPENDIX QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW Interviewee: Date: Interview began: Interview finished: Actual duration: Q1 What are the objectives of teaching the conversations in Year textbook? Q2 How were the conversations in this textbook taught? Q3 What techniques you often use to present vocabulary? Q4 What steps you use to present structures in the conversations? Q5 How could you help students improve their pronunciation? Q6 Do you often practice intonation and rhythm while teaching conversations? Q7 What were teachers’ difficulties in teaching conversations? 102 APPENDIX THE CONTENT OF THE TEXTBOOK Units My friends Making arrangements At home Our past Competences     Introduce people Respond to instructions Describe people Write about oneself and about other people  Talk about intentions  Use the telephone to make and confirm arrangements  Take a telephone message  Simple tenses  Present simple to talk about general truths  Not adjective + enough + to-infinitive  Talk about intentions with be going to  Adverbs of place      Reflexive pronouns  Modals: must, have to, ought to  Why – because      Study habits     The young pioneers club My neighborhood Language focus     Describe places Describe situations Ask for and give reasons Write a description of a room Talk about past events Express feelings Distinguish between facts and opinions Write a short imaginary story Give instructions and advice Express obligation Write a letter to a friend Talk about the future Ask for favors and offer assistance Write a letter telling about a future plan Make comparisons Ask for information and assistance Write a community notice 103  Past simple  Prepositions of time: in on, at, after, before, between  Used to  Adverbs of manner  Modal: should  Commands, requests and advice in reported speech  Present simple with future meaning  Gerunds  Modals: may, can, could  Present perfect with for and since  Comparison with like, (not) as….as, (not) the same as, different from Country life and city life A first-aid course 10 Recycling 11 Traveling around Vietnam 12 A vacation abroad 13 Festivals 14 Wonders of the world  Talk about differences  Talk about future events and changes  Write a letter to a friend  Make and respond to offers, promises, and requests  Give instructions  Write a thank-you note  Give and respond to instructions  Talk about feelings  Write a set of instructions  Express interest  Make and respond to formal requests  Make suggestions  Complete a narrative  Make plans  Make, accept and decline invitations  Ask and answer about the weather  Write a postcard  Ask for explanation of events  Give an account of something  Write a paragraph about what was done  Seek information  Recognize and correct mistakes  Prepare and complete a questionnaire  Write a letter to a friend 104  Present progress - To talk about the future - To show changes with get and become  Comparative and superlative adjectives  In order to, so as to  Future simple  Modal will to make requests, offers and promises  Passive forms  Adjectives followed by - an infinitive - a noun clause  -ed and –ing participles  Requests with - Would/ you mind if…? - Would / you mind + V-ing?  Past progressive  Past progressive with when and while  Progressive tenses with always  Passive form: be + past participle  Compound words  Reported speech  Passive forms  Indirect questions with if and whether  Question words before toinfinitives 15 Computers 16 Inventions     Express opinion Agree and disagree Complete a flow chart Write a set of instructions  Say what something was like  Talk about processes  Write about a process 105  Present perfect with yet and already  Comparison of present perfect and past simple  Passive forms  Sequence markers APPENDIX SAMPLE CONTENT OF ONE LESSON 106 ... create similar conversations such as co-constructing, creating and personalizing, communicating and dialogue as learning In teaching conversations, some language components such as vocabulary,... in language teaching and learning, not speaking The lack of emphasis on speaking skills may have explained the lack of research on learners' speaking skills or the teaching of conversations in. .. pronunciation and grammar are presented to help students understand the conversations before creating similar ones 2.7.3 Teaching language components Language components of conversations consist