Using role play to enhance 10th graders’speaking ability at tan ky high school

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY PHAN THỊ HUỆ USING ROLE PLAY TO ENHANCE 10th GRADERS’ SPEAKING ABILITY AT TAN KY HIGH SCHOOL MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Nghệ An, 2018 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY PHAN THỊ HUỆ USING ROLE PLAY TO ENHANCE 10th GRADERS’ SPEAKING ABILITY AT TAN KY HIGH SCHOOL Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Code: 8140111 MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Supervisor: Ngơ Đình Phương, Assoc Prof., Ph.D Nghệ An, 2018 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission from associates, and have not been published elsewhere Author Phan Thị Huệ i ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Ph.D Ngơ Đình Phương His expert guidance, vast knowledge of educational research and teaching experience greatly supported me during the time I carried out this research I am also grateful to all my lecturers during my study at Vinh University for their sincere support and consideration which have enabled me to pursue and finish the course I would also like to sincerely thank all the teachers and the students of classes 10C2 and 10C12 at Tan Ky high school for their cooperation in giving me precious information ii ABSTRACT The fluency of speaking skill is one of the critically important purposes in learning a foreign language in modern times However, in fact, teachers and students of Tan Ky high school have met numerous problems in teaching and learning English, especially in speaking skill I, therefore, conducted this study with the aim of examining how the speaking skill of 10th graders at Tan Ky high school can be enhanced by using Role Play activity, and investigating the students’ attitudes toward using Role Play in teaching and learning English, and the use of roleplay by teachers in teaching speaking skill as well The research was conducted among nine teachers and seventy students of grade 10 To complete this study, both quantitative and qualitative methods including survey questionnaire and classroom observation were employed The findings of the research proved that Role Play is an efficient teaching technique that should be widely applied in teaching and learning English speaking to enhance 10th graders’ speaking ability In conclusion, this thesis is hoped to help improve the teaching and learning of speaking ability skill at Tan Ky high school as stated iii TABLE OF CONTENT STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii ABBREVIATION .iv LIST OF CHARTS .v LIST OF TABLES vi TABLE OF CONTENT vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study 1.2 Aims and objectives of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Methods of the study 1.7 Organization of the study .4 2.1 Speaking skill 2.1.1 Definition of speaking .5 2.1.2 Types of Classroom Speaking Performance .6 2.2 Teaching speaking 2.2.1 Teaching Speaking in Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) 2.2.2 Stages of a Teaching Speaking 2.2.3 Speaking Activities .11 2.2.4 Activities to Promote speaking 14 2.2.5 Guidance for Teachers in Teaching Speaking 18 2.3 Teaching Speaking through Role-Play 19 2.3.1 Definition of Role-Play .19 2.3.2 The Reasons for Choosing Role-Play Technique .21 2.3.3 Implementing Role-Play Technique in the Classroom .22 iv 2.4 Previous research 28 2.5 Conclusion 28 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 31 3.1 Study setting 31 3.1.1 Theoretical setting .31 3.1.2 Practical setting 33 3.2 Participants .34 3.3 Materials .35 3.3.1 The curriculum and the textbook Tieng Anh 10 35 3.3.2 Research instruments 36 3.4 Procedure .37 3.4.1 Procedures of data collection 37 3.4.2 Procedures of data analysis 38 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 39 4.1 Data analysis and discussion from Phase 39 4.1.1 Data analysis from Phase 39 4.1.2 Discussion from Phase .45 4.2 Data analysis and discussion from Phase 46 4.2.1 Data analysis from students’ survey questionnaires 46 4.2.2 Data analysis from teachers’ questionnaires .48 4.2.3 Data analysis from class observation 54 4.2.4 Discussion from Phase .55 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 56 5.1 Conclusion 56 5.2 Pedagogical implications .57 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further studies 63 REFERENCES 65 APPENDICES .1 APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONAIRES FOR STUDENTS APPENDIX 2: SURVEY QUESTIONAIRES FOR TEACHERS .2 v APPENDIX 3: SURVEY QUESTIONAIRES FOR STUDENTS .3 APPENDIX 4: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES FOR TEACHERS APPENDIX 5: CHECKLIST FOR CLASSROOM OBSERVATION vi LIST OF ABBREVIATION CLT: Communicative Language Teaching TEFL: Teaching English as Foreign Language vii LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: Language used by students in speaking lesson 40 Chart 2: Teachers’ and students’ self-evaluation towards students’ speaking ability 41 viii work with different people but also limit the discomfort of some students who not work well with each other In addition, in order to assure that all work in groups effectively, the teacher or the members of the group should elect a group leader who will monitor the work of the whole group and ensure the equal participation of each member in his/her group Next, the researcher would like to suggest some ways to arrange pair work and group work In terms of pair work, members of the class face their partners by turning side ways with the ones sitting beside or turning round with partners at the table in front of or behind Teachers can pair the strong with the strong, the weak with the weak or the strong with the weak students Perhaps, in a very controlled activity, better students cooperating with weaker ones might work well since they can support each other In a freer activity, the strong with the strong will be of benefit Variety in the pairings is the key here A teacher should also be sensitive to the general relationship between different students and learn to note who works well with whom In terms or group work, there are a number of ways to form groups It is an important rule that the ways should be changed frequently By this way, students will have more opportunities to cooperate with different classmates, which not only increase their interest but also promote the mutual understanding in the class The followings are the recommended ways to create groups:  Number the students 1, 2, 3, 4, etc and group ones who have them same numbers  Group students according to their months of birth, the alphabetical list or basing on the colors of students’ clothes  Allow students to choose the partners with whom they think they will work well  Draw lots: students who draw the same lot will gather together 60 Although pair work and group work have prominent advantages, it is sometimes advisable for the teacher to get the whole class to work on the same task, which aims at seeking for a variety of opinions and information Working with all the other members of the class is an effective way to nourish the sense of solidarity among the students and all members will try their best to complete the common goal Activities accompanying with the whole-class work are often brainstorming and conversation in which learners are given a topic and then are asked to apply as many ideas on the topic as possible; students may feel free to express whatever their mind To sum up, an individual teacher should decide himself/herself what work arrangement would best suit his/her students in the particular situation Giving instructions Teachers must ensure that all learners understand what the task involves, what its goals are and what outcome is required The instructions teachers give are of vital importance since if students not understand clearly what they are to do, they will not be able to perform their task satisfactory As teachers’ giving instructions in a class is very essential, they should be simple, precise, and explicit In details, when giving instructions, teachers need give out all rules and requirements of the activity in note forms right at the beginning Choosing appropriate and easy-to-understand words is necessary so as to avoid misunderstanding among students In case the requirements or the rules are too ambiguous or difficult to understand, teachers can write instructions briefly on the board or instruction may be delivered in students’ mother tongue It is also a good idea to check some students’ understanding to ensure that students know what they are going to If students can not understand, teachers have to simplify the explanation and does each step gradually as models until all students see the point On giving the instructions, it is important to keep students aware of speaking in English since sometimes they tend to turn to in their mother tongue to discuss 61 difficult points or to solve a complicated puzzle Then the aim of using the target language will be broken down At such point, teachers should also remind students that using Vietnamese all the time is not allowed in a speaking lesson and the purpose of the Role Play is to allow them to practice English If anyone breaks the rule, a particular punishment for them may be used One more thing is that the time limit for the activity must be made known to students as this enables them to pace themselves and the teacher to keep track of the progress In short, what the teacher does at this stage is to provide a good model of the Role Play activity for his students to smoothly This sounds remarkably easy but can be disastrous if teachers not think of exactly what they are going to say beforehand Creating real communication information gap activities in speaking lessons Communicative learning is encouraged among Vietnamese school nowadays If teachers want to create a natural type of interaction in the classroom, they must move towards activities that are learner-based and relate to the aspects of the learners’ own lives, expectations, perceptions, and social roles It is advisable for them to select and apply Role Play tasks that happen in real life and can promote students’ communicative competence These activities should also be learner-directed in that learners themselves largely control the ways in which the interaction progresses Teachers can step aside and allow the students a greater role in managing the content and flow of the exchange By this way, teachers will not only attract confident students but also the quiet Providing support Keeping teacher talk to a minimum is a tip for maximizing the effectiveness of activities However, it does not mean no talk and no assistance at all from the teacher Some students really want to be cared for by their teacher, so some simple 62 questions or instructions can encourage them to work better Though the teachers’ support is essential It is better for the teacher to think of the best way to help The teacher should always give some cues or hints for students to solve the task by themselves instead of supplying the ultimate answer Also, teachers should be ready to give comments or feedbacks on students’ talk after each Role Play activity so as to foster their speaking ability For the students: * The students are hoped not to be shy in practising Role Play * The students are hoped to be active and creative in enriching their vocabularies * The students are hoped to use English when they practice Role Play although it is hard for them * The students should take part much in performing Role Play * The students should ask the teacher if there is something that they don’t understand regarding to Role Play 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further studies Although the researcher has made great attempts to find out the use of Role Play activity in teaching speaking skill to 10th graders at Tan Ky high school, due to the limitation of time and experience, mistakes and limits are unavoidable in this study First of all, limitation is about the population of the study The subjects of the study were only seventy 10th graders students at Tan Ky high school So, further studies should also investigate into the larger subjects Next, because of the limitation of time the researcher could not recheck the effectiveness of Role Play in this paper; therefore, to get a more reliable and complete result further studies may combine different tools for data collection like pre-test, post-test and proficiency tests as research instruments which help to accurately assess the students’ speaking ability before and using Role Play Furthermore, the research can not cover all the uses of role play in four 63 language skills and language elements; therefore, further study can focus on the use of role play as a motivator in reading classes, writing classes, listening classes I would also wish to apply this excellent teaching-learning stratergy for students of grade eleven and grade twelve if I had more time and knowledge Finally, the researcher implemented the study with the hope to find out the use of Role Play to develop speaking skill Further studies should have a deeper insight into the exploitation of others communicative activities to develop speaking skill 64 REFERENCES Brown, H Douglas 2001 Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy San Francisco: San Francisco University Brown, H.D 2001 Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy (2nd ed.) New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc Bygate, M (1977), Speaking, Oxford University Press Chaney, A.L., T.L Burke, Teaching Oral Communication in Grades K-8 Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998 Cross, David 1991 A Practical Handbook of Language Teaching London: Cassel Doff, Adrian, Teach English: A Training Course for Teachers Trainer’s Handbooks The British Council: Cambridge University Press Inc., 1988 Doff, Adrian 1990 Teach English: a Training Course for Teachers Great Britain: Cambridge University Press H Douglas Brown, Principles of language learning and teaching, Sancisco Sate University Harmer, J 2001.The Practice of English Language Teaching (rev ed) London: Longman Harmer, Jeremy, The Practice of English Language Teaching: Longman Handbooks for Language Teaching USA: Longman Inc., 1983 Harmer, Jeremy 1991 The Practice of English Language Teaching (2nd edition) Harlow: Longman Harris, D.P 1969 Testing English as a Second Language New York: McGraw Hill Company Hoang Van Van (2006), Tieng Anh 10, Nha xuat ban giao duc 65 Huebner, Theodore, Audio Visual Technique in Foreign Language New York: Cambridge University Press, 1960 Hughes, Arthur 2003 Testing for Language Teachers Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Hughes, Arthur 2003 Testing for Language Teachers Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Kayi, H (2006) Teaching Speaking: Activities to Promote Speaking in a Second Language University of Nevada, from http://iteslj.org/ Kayi, Hayriye, Teaching Speaking: Activities to Promote Speaking in a Second Language The Internet TESL Journal, Vol XII, No 11, November 2006 Hedge, T (2000) Teaching and learning in the language classroom New York: Oxford University Press Kemmis, S & McTaggart, R 1988 The Action Research Planner Victoria: Deaken University Press Klippel, Friederike 1984 Keep Talking: Communicative Fluency Activities for Language Teaching Great Britain: Cambridge University Press Ladouse G P 1997 Role-Play Oxford: Oxford University Press Krashen, S D (1982) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition New York: Pergamon Press Ladousse, Gillian Porter, Role Play: Resources Book for the Teacher Series New York: Oxford University Press, 1995 LittleWood, W (1981) Communicative Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University 66 Nation, I S P., & Newton, J (2009) Teaching ESL/EFL Listening and Speaking ESL & Applied Linguistics Professional Series Routledge Taylor & Francis Group Luu Quy Khuong, (2006) A practical course for teaching as a foreign language, University of Da Nang college of foreign languages department of English Nguyen Thi Van Lam, M.A Ngo Dinh Phuong, Ph.D (2007) English Teaching Methodology, Vinh University Nunan, David 1991 Language Teaching Methodology: A Textbook for teacher Prentice Hall International Group (UK) Ltd Oxford Advanced Dictionary Oxford University Press, 1995 67 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONAIRES FOR STUDENTS This survey is designed to collect information about the real condition of the classroom problems in the English teaching and learning process at Tan Ky high school I am grateful for your cooperation in completing this questionnaire Please be assured that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Please circle the appropriate answers for the following questions You may choose more than one option What you think about the importance of learning speaking skill at high school? A Very important B Important C Not very important How much are you interested in learning speaking skills? A Very much B Not very much C Not at all Which language you often use in speaking lessons? A Using English only B Using more English than Vietnamese C Using more Vietnamese than English D Using Vietnamese only What is your opinion about your speaking competence? A Poor B Average D Very good E Excellent C Good How can you evaluate speaking activities in the textbook English 10? A Difficult B Difficult but interesting C Interesting D Easy To what extent you know about the term “Role Play”? A It is an activity in which students are put in the real situations B It is an activity that provide students with the chances to practice speaking in a creative way C Both of them D No idea Thank you for your co-operation! APPENDIX 2: SURVEY QUESTIONAIRES FOR TEACHERS This survey is designed to collect information about the real condition of the classroom problems in the English teaching and learning process at Tan Ky high school I am grateful for your cooperation in completing this questionnaire Please be assured that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Please circle the appropriate answers for the following questions You may choose more than one option What you think about the importance of teaching speaking skill at high school? A Very important B Important C Not very important What is your opinion about your students’ speaking competence? A Poor B Average C Good D Very good E Excellent How can you evaluate speaking activities in the textbook English 10? A Difficult B Difficult but interesting C Interesting D Easy How often are Role Play organized in your speaking lessons? A Always B Usually C Sometimes D Seldom E Never Thank you for your co-operation! APPENDIX 3: SURVEY QUESTIONAIRES FOR STUDENTS This survey questionnaire is designed and conducted to find out students’ attitudes towards applying or using Role Play in speaking lessons to developing speaking skills for the students I am grateful for your co-operation in finishing this questionnaire Please be assured that you will not be identified in any discussions of the data Please circle the appropriate answers for the following questions You may choose more than one option Do you like acting Role Play in your speaking lessons? A Yes B No How you feel while you are acting Role Play? A Very excited B Excited C Bored C Nothing Which language you use in Role Play? A Using English only B Using more English than Vietnamese C Using more Vietnamese than English D Using Vietnamese only Do you think using Role Play in English speaking classes can help improve your speaking skills? A Yes B No How can Role Play help motivate you in the speaking lesson? A Role Play gives me chances to interact with other members in real situations and make me more relaxed & enjoyable B Role Play are not helpful at all How can you evaluate your improvement in speaking competence after using Role Play in speaking lesson? A Very much B A little C Not at all Should Role Play be integrated in speaking lessons? A Yes B No Thank you for your co-operation! APPENDIX 4: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES FOR TEACHERS This survey questionnaire is designed and conducted to investigate the use of Role Play by teachers to teach speaking skill and teachers’ evaluation towards applying or using Role Play in speaking lessons to enhancing speaking competence for the students I am grateful for your co-operation in finishing this questionnaire Please be assured that you will not be identified in any discussions of the data Please circle the appropriate answers for the following questions You may choose more than one option In your opinion, how important are Role Play in motivating speaking competence for students? A Very important B Important C Not important at all How can you motivate your students to take part in Role Play in speaking lessons? A Let students choose topics themselves to discuss B Be a role model to your students C Give students some useful suggestions related to the topic D Give students clear instructions before Role Play E Others How you prepare for Role Play for your students? A Design suitable Role Play for students B Provide students with background information on the topic C Pre-teach necessary vocabulary and structures D Prepare authentic materials and teaching aids When is the best time for teachers to Role Play in speaking lessons? A Warm up B Pre- speaking C While- speaking D Post- speaking How you organize your class for doing Role Play? A Divide the class into pairs or individuals B Divide the class into groups of 3-4 students C Either Which kind of correction techniques you often use in giving feedback on your students’ doing Role Play? A Self-correction B Peer correction C Teacher correction D All of them How can you evaluate your students’ improvement in speaking competence after using Role Play in speaking lesson? A Very much B A little C Not at all Should Role Play be integrated in speaking lessons? A Yes B No Thank you for your co-operation! APPENDIX 5: CHECKLIST FOR CLASSROOM OBSERVATION Class: …………………………………………………… Date: ……………………………………………………… Unit: ……………………………………………………… Lesson: …………………………………………………… Teacher in charge: ……………………………………… No Teaching & Learning Behavior The students’ motivation and speaking competence improve considerably Most students have confidence to learn the speaking skill in the classroom During speaking classroom students use their mother tongue more Most of the students show their interest to learn the speaking skill Most of the teachers agreed that the best time to implement Role Play in speaking lessons was while- speaking stage Teachers use appropriate to solve students’ lack of motivation in the classroom Most students participate in the speaking lesson Most of the teachers consider providing students with useful suggestions related to the topic and clear instructions before Role Play Although some of the students still made some mistakes including pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and fluency, the number of those who did had reduced 10 The majority of students admitted that using Role Play in English speaking classes can help improve their speaking skills Yes No ... students at Tan Ky high school towards using Role Play in a speaking lesson? How teachers of English at Tan Ky high school teach speaking to 10th graders with Role Play? In what ways Role Play enhance. .. investigating the use of Role Play in speaking lessons at Tan Ky high school, in details, its aims are: *) Exploring the attitudes of students at Tan Ky high school towards applying the Role Play. .. how the speaking skill of 10th graders at Tan Ky high school can be enhanced by using Role Play activity, and investigating the students’ attitudes toward using Role Play in teaching and learning