Using project based learning to improve 8th graders’ english speaking skill

Ministry of education and training Vinh university NguyỄn ThỊ HiỀn USING PROJECT-BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE 8TH GRADERS’ ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Nghệ An, 2019 Ministry of education and training Vinh university NguyỄn ThỊ HiỀn USING PROJECT-BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE 8TH GRADERS’ ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL Major: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching Code: 8.14.01.11 MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Supervisor : Huỳnh Anh Tuấn, Ph.D Nghệ An, 2019 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study entitled “Using Project- based Learning to improve 8th graders’ English speaking skill” is my own work The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission, and have not been published elsewhere Author Nguyen Thi Hien i ABSTRACT This research was conducted to grade - students at a secondary school in Nghe An in the Academic Year of 2018/2019 This study aimed to find out whether Project-Based Learning could improve students’ speaking skill or not and what speaking aspects were improved through PBL Besides this, we can find out the strengths and weaknesses of the use of PBL in improving students’ speaking skill The action research was conducted in two cycles Each cycle consisted of four meetings The research procedures were divided into four stages: planning, acting, observing, and reflecting In collecting the data, the writer used observation, field notes, questionnaire, and test The result of the research indicated that Project-Based Learning could improve the students’ speaking skill which consisted of vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, fluency, and comprehension aspects; The progress was showed by the increases in the scores achieved in the tests from the pre-test to the cycle post-test and then the final cycle post-test The strengths of Project-Based Learning implementation in teaching speaking could be also shown as follows: Project-Based Learning increased the students’ interest and motivation in following the classroom activities, and the students’ positive responses were also indicated by the students’ good interaction and collaboration in a group work Meanwhile the weaknesses of PBL implementation are: some students still did not take part or were not really active like the others and they depended on the teachers in doing project Based on the result of the study, the researcher concluded that PBL is an appropriate and effective teaching – learning technique which can be applied in improving students’ speaking skills ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I am sincerely grateful to my supervisor, Dr Huynh Anh Tuan, who directly gave me precious advice and valuable guidance that help me to carry out the study Without his help, I could not have finished the thesis I also wish to express my gratitude to my friends and colleagues due to their constructive comments and criticisms Besides, I would like to thank the students of class 8A at the Secondary School where the study was carried out for their active participation in my study Additionally, I am in debt of the author of the books and studies that are relevant to my study, I have read their ideas for reference, writing Literature Review and applying them creatively Lastly but not least, I wish to express my special thanks to my husband and all the members of my family, who always give me their love, care, support and encouragement iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS PBL: Project-based Learning CAR: Classroom Action Research CLT: Communicative Language Teaching EFL: English as a foreign Language GTM: Grammar Translation Method iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF CHARTS viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims and Objectives 1.2.1 Aims of the study 1.2.2 Objectives of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Research methods 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the study 1.7 Structure of the thesis CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Speaking 2.1.1 Definition of Speaking 2.1.2 Aspects of speaking skills 2.1.3 Speaking problems 2.1.4 Assessing speaking skill 2.2 Project- based learning (PBL) 14 2.2.1 Definitions of PBL 14 2.2.2 Characteristics of PBL 16 v 2.2.3 Benefits of PBL in teaching English as a foreign language 16 2.2.4 Challenges of PBL in English classroom 17 2.2.5 Stages in project work 18 2.2.6 Applying PBL in improving speaking skill 19 2.3 Related previous studies 20 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 22 3.1 Context of the study 22 3.2 Research approach 24 3.3 Research method 26 3.4 Data collection instruments 26 3.5 Data collection procedures 28 3.6 The projects in Tieng Anh 28 3.7 Data analytical framework 29 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 33 4.1 The improvement of the students’ speaking skill 33 4.2 The attitudes of the students toward the application of PBL in improving their speaking skill 41 4.3 The challenges that teacher can encounter when applying PBL in improving secondary school students’ speaking skill 49 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 51 5.1 Recapitulation of the research 51 5.2 Implications 52 5.3 Limitations 53 5.4 Suggestions for further research 53 REFERENCES 55 Appendix 58 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 The Criteria of Speaking Aspects 30 Table 3.2 The increase of the Student Number in Speaking Aspect Criteria 31 Table 4.1 The Criteria of Speaking Aspects 35 Table 4.2 The increase of the Student Number in Speaking Aspect Criteria 35 Table 4.3: The students’ Pre-Speaking Test Result 37 Table 4.4: The students’ Post-Speaking Test Result in cycle 38 Table 4.5: The students’ Post-Speaking Test Result in cycle 39 Table 4.6: Students’ motivation of learning English Speaking Skill 42 Table 4.7: The factors affect Students’ Speaking Abilities 43 Table 4.8: Students’ attitude toward speaking lesson using PBL 45 Table 4.9: Students’ Interest in Types of Speaking Activities 46 Table 4.10: Students’ motivation in taking part in projects 47 vii LIST OF CHARTS Chart 4.1: Students’ Speaking Mean Score in each cycle 40 Chart 4.2: Students’ opinion about the most difficult skill 41 Chart 4.3: Students’ opinion for the frequency of speaking English 43 Chart 4.4 Teachers’ attitude about students’ mistakes 44 Chart 4.5: Students’ Participation in projects 46 Chart 4.6: The effectiveness of the use of PBL 48 viii - Introduce the form of project teamwork plan, checklist and rubric for project assessment to students (Appendix B1, B2, B3, B4) - Give a clear explanation to help students understand all requirements before they start doing their project Step2: Divide class into groups - Divide students into groups of five members - Tell students in each group to choose 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 Step 3: Conduct the project - Encourage students to make a detailed teamwork plan for their project - Encourage students to discuss the topic in English during doing the project This means that they have to exchange their ideas and share information in English They must speak English as much as possible - Elicit the students how to talk about leisure activities: For example: * What is your favorite leisure activity? * How much time a day you spend on it? * How are your feelings about that leisure activity? * Why you like that activity? Step 4: Prepare students for information gathering and compiling and performing - Guide students how to collect information and pictures for their project - Remind students to compile the content for their project presentation - Encourage students to think about questions the teacher or other groups may ask them after their performance - Have students think about the language use, skills, the content requirements as well as the format of oral presentation Step 5: Present the project - Have students to present the final product - Set the time for each group to present and answer questions if asked 62 For example, each group has 10 minutes to present their project and minutes for question and answer section - While one group presents its project, the others observe, tick the checklist and give comments Step 6: Assess students’ work - Use the checklist for the performance (See Appendix B3) - Use the rubrics for the oral presentation (See Appendix B4) - Give constructive and positive feedback - Praise feasible projects that completely meet the requirements Step 7: Give key values - Ask students some 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 suggest some interesting leisure activities that their friends can in their free time F Self- Evaluation ……………………………………………………………………………….…… …………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………….………… ……………………………………………………………………….…………… 63 Appendix B1 Project Team plan Project Name: ……………………………………………… Group members: …………………… …………………… …………………… …………………… …………………… Task No Personal responsible Time line Comment (Activities need to be (A responsible person must (An expected (Comments done) be identified for each action completion date) are optional) step) 64 Appendix B2 Guidelines on oral presentation Project Name: ……………………………………… Group members: .…………………… …………………… …………………… …………………… …………………… I Introduction Greetings Introducing name of the project Reasons for choosing the leisure activities II Content Choose one leisure activity Describe the leisure activity Share their feelings about the activity III Conclusion Conclusion the contents Giving some key values IV Questions and answers Answer questions related to the teacher and the audience 65 Appendix B3 Checklist for Performance Project: ………………………… Group: …………………………… Teacher: ………………………… Class: ………………………… Marking Criteria Yes (√) / No (x) Have you had a group leader? Have your leader assigned tasks to Preparation members? Have you compiled the content of project? Have the members shared ideas actively? Discussion Have you discussed the activities you often in your free time? Have you taken your own photos of the Illustration leisure activities? Are your illustrated pictures easy to understand? Have your group had a good performance? Performance Have you presented fluently? Have you made any mistakes during the process of performance? 66 Comments Appendix B4 Oral Presentation rubric Topic: ………………………………… Teacher: ……………………………… Group: ……………………………… Shows a full Shows a good Shows a full Does not seem to understanding of the understanding of the understanding of understand the topic topic topic parts of the topic very well Student is able to Student is able to Student is able to Student is unable to accurately answer accurately answer most accurately answer a accurately answer almost all questions questions posted by few questions posted questions posted by posted by classmates classmates about the by classmates about classmates about about the topic topic the topic the topic Speaks clearly and Speaks clearly and Speaks clearly and Often mumbles or distinctly all (100- distinctly most (89- distinctly about 69- cannot be Clear speech and 90%) the time, and 70%) the time, and 50% of the time understood or pronunciation mispronounces 1, or mispronounces 3, or Mispronounces no mispronounces words words more than words more than words Facial expressions Facial expressions and Facial expressions Very little use of and body language body language and body language facial expressions generate a strong sometimes generate a are used to try to and body language interest and strong interest and generate enthusiasm Did not generate enthusiasm about the enthusiasm about the but seem somewhat much interest in topic with the others topic with the others pretended topic being Category Content Comprehension Enthusiasm Score presented Preparedness Student is Student seems pretty The student is Student does not completely prepared prepared but might somewhat seem at all prepared and has fully have needed a couple prepared, but it is to present rehearsed more rehearsals clear that rehearsal was lacking _ / 20 Total score 18-20: Excellent, 16- 17: Good, 13- 15: Satisfactory, 10- 12: Unsatisfactory, < 10 redo is required (Adapted from http://rubistar,4teachers.org/index.php?screen=CustomizeTemplate&bank rubric id=32§ion id=2&) 67 Appendix C Lesson Plan Tieng Anh, Book 2, Unit 7: Pollution, Lesson: Project (p.15) Environmental pollution Imagine your neighborhood is suffering from environmental pollution Work in groups - Discuss one type of pollution and its causes and effects on the natural environment and the health of the local people - Find some pictures/ photos to illustrate environmental problems - Give some solutions to reduce this type of pollution 2.Prepare and give a presentation to your class A Objectives By the end of the lesson, students will be able to: - Discuss the topic “Pollution” and develop oral presentation on pollution problems and solutions - Use key terms and grammatical structures related to “Pollution” to discuss one type of pollution (air/ water/ soil/ noise pollution) and its causes and effects 68 - Recognize the serious effects of environmental pollution on human lives and give some advices on how to reduce pollution as well as make an action plan for the community to preserve the environment B Language focus - Key terms: environmental pollution, deforestation, contamination, pollutant, climate change, global warming - Key grammar/ structure: Use the conditional sentence type and modal verbs such as should/ had better/ ought to to give some advices on reducing the environmental pollution C Methods Communicative Language Teaching, Project- based Learning D Teaching aids Textbook, board, chalk, pictures, photos, posters E Procedure Step 1: Introduction a Contextualize the task - Ask students to describe some types of pollution they have learnt from the previous lessons - Have students look at some pictures about the environmental pollution Ask students to work in groups within 5minutes and discuss the question: “Where these types of pollution come from? What are their effects? What should we to reduce the types of pollution?” - Elicit ideas from each group and create students’ interest in the project assignment they are going to b Inform the class of the lesson objective - Address the objective of the lesson to the class and emphasize on the core value and language requirements for the project - Help students understand the instruction and the procedure for carrying out the project Remind students of the following points: 69 + Each group chooses a typical pollution problem related to their area + They have to describe the type of pollution or give its definition + They need to brainstorm information and illustrations related to causes and effects of this type of pollution + They discuss together and give the group’s ideas for the solutions + They should have a good preparation for their presentation on the project in front of the class c Timeline and assessment - Allow one week for students to work on the project - Introduce the form of project teamwork plan, checklist and rubric for project assessment to students (Appendix C1, C2, C3 & C4) - 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 five members - Tell students in each group to choose 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 Step 3: Conduct the project - Encourage students to make a detailed teamwork plan for their project - Encourage students to discuss the topic in English during doing the project This means that they have to exchange their ideas and share information in English They must speak English as much as possible - Elicit the students some guiding questions for discussion For example: A group is going to discuss about air pollution which is one of the serious problems happening in your neighborhood Ask them for the causes of air pollution (fumes from vehicles/ smoke from factories/…), its effects on the health of people (breathing problems, global warming) Ask students how to reduce air pollution (plant more trees, use public transport…) 70 Step 4: Prepare students for information gathering and compiling and performing - Guide students how to collect information and pictures for their project - (They may search on the Internet They may take some photos of pollution in their community) - Remind students to compile the content for their project presentation Instruct them how to put the information into categories such as causes, effects and solutions to the pollution problems - Encourage students to think about questions the teacher or other groups may ask them after their performance - Have students think about the language use, skills, the content requirements as well as the format of oral presentation Step 5: Present the project - Have students to present the final product - Set the time for each group to present and answer questions if asked For example, each group has 10 minutes to present their project and minutes for question and answer section - While one group presents its project, the others observe, tick the checklist and give comments Step 6: Assess students’ work - Use the checklist for the performance (See Appendix C3) - Use the rubrics for the oral presentation (See Appendix C 4) - Give constructive and positive feedback - Praise feasible projects that completely meet the requirements Step 7: Give key values - Ask students some 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? 71 - Encourage students to share their action plan for preserving the environment F Self- Evaluation ……………………………………………………………………………….…… …………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………….………… ……………………………………………………………………….…………… 72 Appendix C1 Project Team plan Project Name: ……………………………………………… Group members: …………………… …………………… …………………… …………………… …………………… Task No Personal responsible Time line Comment (Activities need to be (A responsible person must (An expected (Comments done) be identified for each action completion date) are optional) step) 73 Appendix C2 Guidelines on oral presentation Project Name: ……………………………………… Group members: …………………… …………………… …………………… …………………… …………………… I Introduction Greetings Introducing name of the project Reasons for choosing this type of pollution II Content Causes Effects Solutions/ Advice III Conclusion Conclusion the contents Giving some key values IV Questions and answers Answer questions related to the teacher and the audience 74 Appendix C3 Checklist for Performance Project: ………………………… Group: …………………………… Teacher: ………………………… Class: ………………………… Yes (√) Marking Criteria / No (x) Have you had a group leader? Have your leader assigned tasks to Preparation members? Have you compiled the content of project? Have the members shared ideas actively? Discussion Have you discussed the types of pollution that is happening in your neighborhood? Have you taken your own photos of the Illustration environmental pollution? Are your illustrated pictures easy to understand? Have your group had a good performance? Performance Have you presented fluently? Have you made any mistakes during the process of performance? 75 Comments 76 ... decided to conduct a study on: ? ?Using Project- based Learning to improve 8th graders’ English speaking skill? ?? 1.2 Aims and Objectives 1.2.1 Aims of the study The study aims to: - Improve the speaking. .. use of Project- based Learning help to improve the students‟ speaking skill? What are the students‟ attitudes towards the application of Projectbased Learning in improving their speaking skill? ... training Vinh university NguyỄn ThỊ HiỀn USING PROJECT- BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE 8TH GRADERS’ ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL Major: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching Code: 8.14.01.11