A study on the effects of project based learning on efl secondary schoolers’speaking ability

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYỄN THỊ MỸ LỆ A STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING ON EFL SECONDARY SCHOOLERS’ SPEAKING ABILITY Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Language MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION CODE: 8140111 Supervisor TRAN BA TIEN, Ph D Vinh, June 2018 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My first acknowledgements are made to my supervisor, Dr Tran Ba Tien, for his valuable directions, comments, corrections, and his kindly constant encouragement during the development of this study report Without his help, the research paper could not have been completed I own a great deal to all of my lecturers for their helpful instruction during my pursuing the MA program at Foreign Languages Department, Vinh University They also provided me with necessary references for the paper I wish to thank my colleagues at Vinh Phuc Secondary School for their constructive suggestions about this research In addition, I also would like to give my special thanks to the students at Vinh Phuc Secondary School who have provided the indispensable data I am grateful to my family whose support has been especially important to the success of my educational endeavors, especially my husband, who also encourages and shares the hardship with me Last but not least, I would also like to express my sincere thanks to my classmates in the Master Course Class, my friends and others who have assisted me to complete the study Nguyen Thi My Le i ABSTRACT It is an undeniable fact that English is playing a more and more important role in society nowadays due to the fact that this language has been served as a means of communication among people working in different professional fields That is also the reason why speaking plays an important role in learning English The aim of this study is finding an effective way to improve speaking skill by using Project-Based Learning method The study report is presented some introduction and concepts concerned with the investigation and paid attention to the theories of the Project-Based Learning included the definitions of Language Teaching Approaches and the goals, the characteristics of the approach, the advantages and disadvantages in adaptation PBL will show its effectiveness when teachers know when to use it and apply in suitable lessons Together with the topics in the textbook, teachers can provide some outside familiar and interesting related topics to the real life so that students can practice speaking and presenting their opinion in front of class or the public The study has shown that the importance and development of speaking skills by using PBL The results of the study have showed that the situations and conditions in which many high school students are learning English may not help them develop their speaking skills properly Based on above reasons, I would like to conduct the research entitled “A study on the effects of project-based learning on EFL secondary schoolers’ speaking ability” Nguyen Thi My Le ii TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF CHARTS vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Significance of the study 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Organization of the study Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Language Teaching Approaches 2.1.1 The Grammar-Translation Method 2.1.2 The Direct Method 2.1.3 The Audio-lingual Method 2.1.4 The Communicative Language Teaching 2.1.5 The Project-Based Learning 2.1.5.1 Definition of Project-Based Learning 2.1.5.2 Characteristics of Project-Based Learning 2.1.5.3 Benefits of Project-Based Learning 2.1.5.4 Teacher’s role in Project-Based Learning 2.1.5.5 Students’ role in Project-Based Learning 2.1.5.6 Advantages and disadvantages of PBL 10 2.1.5.7 Stages of Project - Based Learning 11 2.2 The Speaking Skill 12 2.2.1 What is speaking? 12 2.2.2 Attitude toward learning English 13 2.2.3 Motivation 14 Nguyen Thi My Le iii 2.2.4 The importance of teaching speaking skill 14 2.2.5 How to teach speaking 15 2.2.6 Problems with speaking activities and solutions 15 2.2.6.1 Problems 15 2.2.6.2 Solutions 16 2.2.7 Assessing speaking 17 2.3 Strategies for developing speaking in PBL 18 2.3.1 Developing speaking activities: 18 2.3.2 Some techniques of PBL 18 2.3.3 Implementation of PBL 19 2.3.4 Some PBL activities 20 2.3.4.1 Discussion 20 2.3.4.2 Role-play 21 2.3.4.3 Games 21 2.3.4.4 Songs 21 2.3.4.5 Pair work or group work 22 Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 23 3.1 Research setting 23 3.2 Research questions 23 3.3 Scope of the study 24 3.4 Method of the study 24 3.5 Research design 24 3.6 Research method 25 3.7 Participants 25 3.8 Data collection instruments 25 3.8.1 Survey questionnaires: 25 3.8.2 Classroom observations 26 3.9 Data collection procedures 26 3.10 An introduction to the current Textbook Tieng Anh 27 3.10.1 The contents of the current Textbook Tieng Anh 27 3.10.2 The structure of the current Textbook Tieng Anh 27 3.10.3 The projects in the current Textbook Tieng Anh 28 Nguyen Thi My Le iv 3.11 Summary 28 Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 29 4.1.1 Students‟ opinions of learning English 29 4.1.2 Students‟ opinions towards speaking activities 30 4.1.3 Students‟ attitude toward applying PBL in the speaking lesson 33 4.1.4 The effects of PBL in improving the students‟ speaking skill 35 4.2 Data analysis and findings from teachers 38 4.2.1 Teachers‟ attitudes toward applying PBL in speaking lesson 38 4.2.2 Teacher‟s difficulties encountered when applying PBL 41 4.2.3 Solutions to the difficulties from the students in teaching speaking 42 4.3 Results from class observation 49 4.4 The way of testing and assessment 53 4.5 Summary 56 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 57 5.1 Discussions 57 5.1.1 Factors making students unwilling to speak English in class 57 5.1.2 Difficulties teachers have encountered in teaching speaking 58 5.1.3 Techniques and activities used by teachers 58 5.1.4 Classroom observations 59 5.2 Conclusion 59 5.3 Implications 60 5.4 Limitations of the study 61 5.5 Suggestions for Further Study 62 REFERENCES 64 APPENDIX A: 67 APPENDIX B: 71 APPENDIX C: 75 APPENDIX D: 78 APPENDIX 84 APPENDIX 85 APPENDIX 86 Nguyen Thi My Le v LIST OF TABLES List of tables Page Table 4.1: Students‟ opinions about learning English in Vietnamese high-schools 29 Table 4.2: Students‟ opinions of developing their speaking skill 31 Table 4.3: Students‟ opinions of their teacher‟s speaking 32 Table 4.4: Students‟ opinions of their English class time 33 Table 4.5: Students‟ attitude toward the speaking lessons using PBL 33 Table 4.6: Students‟ participation in projects 34 Table 4.7: Students‟ motivation in taking part in projects 35 Table 4.8: Activities applied by the teachers and students‟ preference 36 Table 4.9: Activities enjoyed most by students 37 Table 4.10: Students‟ responses to the effect of PBL 38 Table 4.11: Problems teacher faced in PBL 42 Table 4.12: Solutions to difficulties caused by the students 45 Table 4.13: Result of class observations 52 Table 4.14 Score Rubric of Speaking Test 56 LIST OF CHARTS List of charts Page Chart 4.1: The role of applying PBL in Teaching English speaking 39 Chart 4.2: Teachers‟ opinions for the frequency of using PBL 39 Chart 4.3: Teachers‟ Feedbacks on Students‟ improvement PBL to in the speaking 40 Chart 4.4: Teachers' opinions about PBL in teaching speaking 41 Nguyen Thi My Le vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as a Foreign Language AM: Audio-lingual Method CLT: Communicative Language Teaching DM: Direct Method ELT: English Language Teaching GTM: Grammar Translation Method PBL: Project-Based Learning SLA: Second Language Acquisition Nguyen Thi My Le vii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale English is now considered as the most popular language in the world It is a means of communication in the important fields of science, technology, business, and diplomacy It is also the means to enhance mutual understanding and cooperation among different countries in the fields of cultures and politics In Vietnam, English also has been introduced to educational institutions, which is learned from Primary School up to University as a compulsory subject All Vietnamese schools are deeply involved in study methods of teaching and learning English For many years, the quality of teaching and learning has been far worse than it is desired It is because that English teaching and learning have paid much attention to grammar and reading It is of the misapprehension that Vietnamese learners only need the skills of reading and writing for their academic work or future study In English, speaking skill is really considered as an initial skill that leads learners to develop the communicate competence Oral communication competence or speaking skill is the goal of English learning in many schools How to help English learners study the language effectively is still every English teacher‟s main concern that needs to be solved soon Therefore, Project-Based Learning seems to gratify the requirements of teaching language It is one of the most suitable types of methods which promotes the learners‟ interest and motivation (Brophy, 2004, as cited in Tsiplakides, 2009) Moreover, the learners will prove the ability and creativity through completing the projects and its result comes from the learners‟ experiences during their performance the projects For this reason, Project-Based Learning is put in for teaching speaking skill effectively Nguyen Thi My Le 1.2 Aims of the study This study was conducted to meet the following aims: - To find the answers to the common assumption about the learning English and the students‟ actual learning attitude to evaluate the effectiveness of the application PBL in teaching speaking - To investigate the current English speaking teaching and learning situation in order to find out the difficulties in learning and teaching English speaking at Vinh Phuc Secondary School - To give suggestions for the teachers to overcome the difficulties when they applied this method in teaching speaking skill 1.3 Significance of the study The research focuses on developing of speaking skills in language teaching and learning and understanding students‟ needs, thoughts and ideas in doing projects Thanks to the PBL, students speak English more confidently and they become active in their learning speaking For the researcher, PBL will open a new branch of discovery to an effective way of teaching speaking skill This study can be considered as a material to improve the students‟ speaking skill by creating different activities and techniques 1.4 Research questions The research aims to address the following questions: What are the students’ attitudes toward Project – Based Learning activities? Does PBL help students improve their speaking skill? If so, to what extent? What difficulties the teachers meet when applying PBL to teach speaking skill to 8th grade students? Nguyen Thi My Le taught Implementation/ methods The teacher move around the class and be ready to help more for the students There are balance and variety of activities during the lesson 10 Examples and illustrations are used effectively 11 Instructional aids or resource materials are used effectively 12 Drills are used and presented effectively 13 Teachers explores genuine situations in the class 14 Structures and vocabulary are taken out of students‟ presentation and applied to the real contexts of students‟ culture and personal experience Student’s presentation 15 Students are active to their presentation 16 24 Students are encouraged to ask questions, to disagree or to express their own ideas during the presentation 17 The students are able to draw the attention with their presentation and give out comments Teacher/Student interaction Nguyen Thi My Le 76 18 Teacher is a facilitator 19 The students are communicators 20 Teacher encourages and assures full student participation 21 The students are attentive and involved 22 Teacher organizes effectively individual, pair work, and group work to the project 23 Teacher controls and directs the class Teacher’s feedback 24 Teacher gives out a clearly checklist and rubric 25 Teacher‟s feedback helps students improve their speaking skills Nguyen Thi My Le 77 APPENDIX D: PROJECT-BASED LEARNING LESSON PLAN TEXT BOOK New English 8, Book 1, Unit 3: Peoples of Viet Nam, Lesson: Project (p 35) DESCRIPTION This project is designed for the students in grade which are level of proficiency A2 The textbook of new curriculum is taught in this class during 54 periods per a semester It takes 45 minutes to carry out each period The number of students in the class is 42 This class is divided into seven groups of six students according to their choice of activity Seven groups will present their action plan and perform their ethnic fashion show in one period PROJECT Look at the different costumes of some ethnic groups Which costume you like best? Why? (Nhìn vào trang phục khác vài nhóm dân tộc Trang phục bạn thích nhất? Tại sao?) Nguyen Thi My Le 78 Design a costume based on an ethnic style you like, using cardboard, paper or cloth, and colours (Thiết kế trang phục dựa phong cách dân tộc bạn thích, sử dụng giấy bìa cứng, giấy vải màu sắc.) Organise a fashion show of the costume designs you have made among your group or class members Talk about them (Tổ chức biểu diễn thiết kế trang phục mà bạn làm số nhóm thành viên lớp bạn Nói chúng.) A OJECTIVES * Language objectives By the end of the lesson, students will be able to: - Discuss about ten ethnic groups‟ costumes in the pictures and develop oral presentation on which costume they like best Then choose one ethnic group‟s costume to perform - Improve their four language skills by describing an ethnic style they like, using cardboard, paper or cloth and colors,… - Design a costume based on an ethnic style they like by using cardboard, paper or cloth and colors,… - Perform their groups‟ costume designs in a fashion show they have made among the group or class members and describe the costume that they design * Content objectives By the end of the lesson, students will: - Value themselves as they can work together to make their favorite costume design by being creative - Build up their classmates‟ awareness of preserving and being proud of the traditional costumes - Have a deep respect for cultural tradition B LANGUAGE FOCUS - Key terms: clothing, food, customs and traditions, festivals, beliefs, ways of living, changes in the life of ethnic people over time; materials for recycling, ect Nguyen Thi My Le 79 - Key grammar/ structure: Use the present simple correctly to present their ideas C METHOD Communicative Language Teaching and Project-based Learning D TEACHING AIDS Textbook, board, chalk, pictures, photos, recycling things E PROCEDURE Step 1: Introduction a Contextualize the task - Ask students to look at the pictures and work in groups Give students about five minutes to discuss the question: Which costume you like best? Why? *Suggested answers: + I like the costume of the Pathen most They are so colorful and elaborate They have costumes including: the short blouse, long skirt, scarves, hood + I like the Ede's costume most They look simple but elegant and elaborate Moreover, they also show the beauty of the wearer - Ask students to work in groups of six and choose to make their own costume designs - Elicit ideas from each group to lead in the project assignment they are going to b Inform the class of the lesson objectives - Address the objectives of the lesson to the class and emphasize on the core value and language requirements for the project - Help students understand the instruction and procedure for conducting the project Students should following some points: + They have to collect which materials they use to make the costume + They have to find out the features of the costume in the Internet Nguyen Thi My Le 80 + They also know how to generalize and analyze the collected information + They need to have a good preparation for their presentation and their performance the project in front of the class c Timeline and assessment - Allow about two weeks for students to work on their project - Introduce the form of project teamwork plan to students, checklist and rubric for project assessment to students (Appendix 1,2,3,4) - Give a clear explanation to help students understand all requirements before they start doing their project Step 2: Divide class into groups - Divide students into groups of members - Have students in each group vote a leader who will assign tasks to the members and monitor teamwork and a note-taker who will be responsible for taking notes of group ideas for later discussions For example: the group leader has to guide and divides work among members in the group; member has a duty in collecting the information and writing the content of presentation; member who is good at speaking has to make a presentation; members 4, 5, are in charge of collecting materials for making cloth Especially, all members in group have to work together to make the costume Step 3: Conduct the project - Encourage students to make a detail teamwork plan for their project (See appendix 1) - Elicit the students how to make and perform their costume in the fashion show For example, their performance should include some information: What type of the costume and what kind of the materials the groups use; How they are performed; What music they use; How they use their speaking skill;… Step 4: Prepare students for information gathering and compiling and performing - Guide students how to collect information for their project Nguyen Thi My Le 81 - Guide students how to collect material for their project - Remind students that they need to compile, evaluate, and synthesize for their project presentation - Remind students that what they need for their project performance Step 5: Present the project - Have students think about the language use, skills, the content requirements, and oral presentation (see Appendix 3) - Set the time for each group to present and perform For example, each group has minutes to present their project to the whole class and minutes for question and answer section - While one group presents its project, the others observe, take notes and tick the checklist and give comments (see Appendix 4) Step 6: Assess students’ work - Use the rubrics for the oral presentation (see Appendix 3) - Use the checklist for the performance (see Appendix 4) - Give constructive and positive feedback - Praise feasible projects that completely meet the requirements Step 7: Give key values - Ask students the following questions to identify key values after doing the project  What have you learned today?  What is the value of your project?  How you feel about your project? - Encourage students to talk about their own ethnic group and focus on one or two aspects such as clothing, food, ways of living, customs and traditions, festivals, beliefs, ect Nguyen Thi My Le 82 SELF- EVALUATION ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Nguyen Thi My Le 83 APPENDIX PROJECT TEAMWORK PLAN Project Name Team Members Product: Due Date: Person responsible Task (A (Activities need to be done) must be identified for each responsible action step) person Timeline (An Comment expected (Comments completion date) are optional.) Nguyen Thi My Le 84 APPENDIX GUIDELINES ON ORAL PRESENTATION Name of the Project: _ Names of the Group members: 2. 3. 4. 5. _ 6. I INTRODUCTION Greetings Introducing name of project Reasons for choosing the costume II CONTENT  What materials  How to make the costume  Real significance of the costume III CONCLUSION Concluding the contents Giving some key values IV QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Answer questions related to the topic from the teacher and the audience Nguyen Thi My Le 85 APPENDIX ORAL PRESENTATION RUBRIC Topic: Teacher: Group: _ CATEGORY Shows Content a full Shows a good Shows understanding the topic of understanding of the topic SCOR a E good Does not seem to understanding of understand parts of the topic the topic very well Student is able to Student is able Student is able to Student is unable accurately answer to almost Comprehension all answer questions by accurately accurately answer to most a few questions answer questions posted questions posted classmates posted about the topic accurately by posted by classmates classmates by about classmates about the topic the topic about the topic Speaks clearly and Speaks distinctly all (100- and Clear speech and 90%) pronunciation and the clearly Speaks clearly and Often mumbles or distinctly distinctly time, most (89-75%) 74-60% the time, about cannot of but time the understood OR mispronounces mispronounces no mispronounces Mispronounces no more words more 1, 2, or words be than than words words Facial expressions Facial Enthusiasm Facial expressions Very little use of and body language expressions and and body language facial expressions generate a strong body language are used to try to or body language Nguyen Thi My Le 86 interest and sometimes enthusiasm about generate the topic with the strong others generate Did not generate a enthusiasm, interest seem but much interest in somewhat topic and enthusiasm pretended being presented about the topic with the others Student completely Preparedness is Student seems The student pretty prepared somewhat is Student does not seem prepared and has but might have prepared, but it is prepared fully rehearsed at all to needed a couple clear that rehearsal present more rehearsals was lacking Total score / 20 18-20: Excellent, 16-17: Good, 13-15: Satisfactory, 10-12: Unsatisfactory,