Using scripted role play to improve high school weak students’ speaking performances

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY  TRẦN THỊ MAI M A THESIS USING SCRIPTED ROLE-PLAY TO IMPROVE HIGH SCHOOL WEAK STUDENTS’ SPEAKING PERFORMANCES SỬ DỤNG KĨ THUẬT ĐÓNG VAI CÓ KỊCH BẢN NHẰM CẢI THIỆN KĨ NĂNG NÓI TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH YẾU BẬC TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Language (TESOL) Code: 60.14.01.11 NGHE AN- 2017 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY - TRẦN THỊ MAI M A THESIS USING SCRIPTED ROLE-PLAY TO IMPROVE HIGH SCHOOL WEAK STUDENTS’ SPEAKING PERFORMANCES SỬ DỤNG KĨ THUẬT ĐÓNG VAI CÓ KỊCH BẢN NHẰM CẢI THIỆN KĨ NĂNG NÓI TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH YẾU BẬC TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Language (TESOL) Code: 60.14.01.11 SUPERVISOR: NGUYỄN THỊ QUYẾT, Ph.D NGHE AN - 2017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I gratefully acknowledge the encouragement and support of many individuals in assisting me to accomplish this study First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my beloved supervisor Nguyen Thi Quyet, Ph.D for her valuable time, suggestions, guidance, and assistance in this study Without her help, the thesis would not have been completed I would also like to thank the students of the classes I visited in order to collect information for my research Without their help, this study could not have been successful Finally, my thanks go to my colleagues, friends and especially my beloved family I feel greatly indebted to them for their essential help and encouragement i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is my own work The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission, and have not been published elsewhere ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.4 Scope of study 1.5 Method of the study .3 1.6 Organization of the thesis CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 Speaking skill .5 2.1.1 Definition of speaking skill 2.1.2 Types of spoken language .5 2.1.3 Characteristics of spoken language .6 2.1.4 Aspects of speaking skills 2.1.5 Communicative competence 2.1.6 Teaching Speaking .9 2.1.6.1 Principles for teaching speaking 10 2.1.6.2 Types of classroom speaking performance 13 2.1.6.3 Classroom speaking activities .15 2.1.6.4 Designing lesson plans 17 2.1.6.5 The roles of the teacher and the students in speaking class 18 2.1.7 Difficulties learners have when learning speaking 19 2.1.8 The assessment of speaking skill 20 2.2 Role-play 21 2.2.1 The definition of role-play 21 2.2.2 The Advantages of role-play .22 2.2.3 Steps in applying role-play 24 2.2.4 Types Role-plays 30 2.2.4.1 Scripted role-play 30 2.2.4.2 Unscripted role-play 31 2.2.4.3 The strength of using Scripted role-play .32 2.2.4.4 Memorization in role-plays 33 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 33 iii 3.1 Research questions .34 3.2 Participants 34 3.3 Materials .34 3.4 Procedure 36 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 39 4.1 Results 39 4.1.1 The results of The general English test .39 4.1.2 Pre- and post-test results 40 4.1.3 Results from Questionnaires 47 4.2 Discussion 50 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION .52 5.1 Conclusion 52 5.2 Implications 53 5.3 Limitations of the study .53 5.4 Suggestions for further study .54 REFERENCES 55 APPENDIX A I APPENDIX B IV APPENDIX C V APPENDIX D VI APPENDIX E VII APPENDIX F VIII APPENDIX G IX APPENDIX H X APPENDIX I XI APPENDIX J XII APPENDIX K XIV APPENDIX L XIX iv LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: List the sixteen topics in the textbook “English 10” .35 Table 2: The lesson plan’s time allocation 36 Table 1: The average total scores and standard deviations of the general English test in the experimental group and the control group 39 Table 2: The means, medians and modes of the experimental group in the pre-test and the post-test .40 Table 3: The means, medians and modes of the control group in the pre-test and the post-test 40 Table 4: Student satisfaction levels in scripted role-play for improving speaking skills .48 v LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1: The improvement of students of the experimental group in all aspects of speaking skills from the pre-test to the post-test .42 Figure 2: The grammar results of both groups in the pre-test and the post-test 43 Figure 3: The vocabulary results of both groups in the pre-test and the post-test 44 Figure 4: The pronunciation results of both groups in the pre-test and the post-test 45 Figure 5: The comprehension results of both groups in the pre-test and the post-test 46 Figure 6: The fluency results of both groups in the pre-test and the post-test 47 Figure 7: Students’ attitudes toward using scripted role-play 50 vi ABSTRACT Role-play is very prominent in English speaking classroom because it allows students to have more oral practice in different social contexts and roles The purpose of this study was the to find out whether or not scripted role-play could make a difference in improving weak students’ speaking skill achievement and investigate the students’ attitudes toward using these activities in teaching speaking skill The population of research was 70 tenth grade students of Trieu Son High school in the academic year of 2016 - 2017 divided into two groups, experimental group and control group The author carried out the general English test, pre-test, post test with questionnaires for students The rubric was used to measure students’ speaking performance The findings showed that (1) there was a significant improvement in speaking skill of the weak students, (2) there was also a significant mean difference between the speaking skill of the experimental and control group, (3) The students were interested in scripted role play activities, they felt more confident and relaxed when acting out roles in public Hence, from the research findings, it could be concluded that scripted role-play can significantly improve the weak students’ speaking skill achievement in English teaching and learning environment vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale In this globalization era, English has become an the important means of international communication It plays recognizable roles in almost every society, whether large or small, across the globe Today, everyone needs to know English in order to get connected with world communities and to exploit their knowledge resources Indeed, the use of English has been increasing throughout the world The increasing demand of good communication skills in English has activated English teaching around the world (Richard, 2006) English language competence, especially the ability to communicate in English becomes a primary concern of teaching programs launched at any education level in countries In Vietnam, today English is taught in every level; Vietnamese students are required to study the language from primary school to university In fact, most of them spend more than six years learning English through formal education Despite such a long time of learning English in school, the results of their studying immensely vary In teaching and learning English, there are four micro language skills, they are speaking, listening, reading and writing One of those components, speaking, as a productive skill, seems intuitively the most important of all the four language skills because it can distinctly show the correctness and language errors that a language learner makes As English teachers, we can see that in some English classes there are few students who can speak the language fluently The first problem faced by students in speaking skill that they not have sufficient vocabulary As a result, they find it difficult to express their ideas when the teacher wants them to speak in English The second problem is that the students feel afraid of making mistakes when they converse in English Therefore, many students are not confident to speak and take part in classroom interactions In addition to, A possible reason for this is that the English classroom is too rigid The students always sit and listen to the teacher emphasizing the structure of language rather than participating in activities that promote communication skills, or the development of even basic oral ability The APPENDIX C THE PRE ENGLISH SPEAKING TEST Topics for speaking Introduce yourself - What’s your name? - Where and when were you born? - What is your hobby? Talk about your family - How many people are there in your family? - What does your father/ mother/ sister/ brother do? - What is your hobby? - What does your father/ mother/ sister/ brother in the free time? V APPENDIX D THE POST ENGLISH SPEAKING TEST Topics for speaking: Introduce yourself - What’s your name? - Where and when were you born? - What is your hobby? Talk about your hobby (music/ film/ sport/ ……… ) - What kinds of music/ film/ sport you like? Why? - When you often listen to music/ watch film/ play sport?… - What is your favourite singer/ film/ player? VI APPENDIX E THE PRE-TEST RESULTS OF THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP P S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 S11 S12 S13 S14 S15 S16 S17 S18 S19 S20 S21 S22 S23 S24 S25 S26 S27 S28 S29 S30 S31 S32 S33 S34 S35 Mean Gram 0.5 0.5 1 1.25 0.5 0.75 1.5 0.5 0.75 1.5 0.75 1.5 0.75 1 0.75 0.75 0.5 1.5 1.5 0.75 1.5 0.75 1 1.5 1.5 0.75 1.5 0.75 0.75 0.99 Vocab 0.5 0.25 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 1.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 1 0.71 Pronu 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.55 VII Compre 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 1 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 1 0.75 0.73 Fluency 0.75 0.25 0.5 0.25 0.5 0.25 0.25 0.5 0.25 0.25 0.5 0.25 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.75 0.25 0.5 0.25 0.75 0.5 0.25 0.25 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.5 0.44 Total scores 3.75 2.25 2.75 3.25 3.5 3.25 3.25 2.5 3.25 3.5 3.75 3.5 3.75 3.25 3.5 2.5 3.25 3.5 3.5 3.5 2.75 3.5 5.25 3.5 3.25 4.25 3.5 3.5 3.4 APPENDIX F THE POST-TEST RESULTS OF THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP P S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 S11 S12 S13 S14 S15 S16 S17 S18 S19 S20 S21 S22 S23 S24 S25 S26 S27 S28 S29 S30 S31 S32 S33 S34 S35 MEAN Gram 1.5 0.75 1.25 1.25 1.75 0.75 1.25 1.5 1.25 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.75 1.75 0.75 2 1.25 1.75 1.75 1.25 1.5 1.75 1.75 1.25 1.25 1.48 Vocab 0.75 1.5 0.75 1.75 1.5 1.25 1.5 1.75 1.5 1.5 1.25 1.5 0.75 1.5 1.75 1.25 1.25 1 1.75 0.75 1.25 1.5 1.25 1.75 1.75 1.25 1.5 1.25 1.25 1.5 1.3 Pronu 1.25 1.5 1.5 1.75 1.25 1.25 1.75 1.5 1.75 1.5 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.5 1.5 1.75 1.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 1.25 0.75 1.5 1.25 0.75 0.75 1.25 0.75 0.75 1.25 1.19 VIII Compre 1 0.75 0.75 1.25 0.75 1.25 0.75 0.75 0.75 1 0.75 1.25 0.75 0.75 1.25 1.75 0.75 0.75 1.75 1.75 1.5 1.25 0.75 0.5 1.75 1.75 1.25 0.75 1.25 1.25 1.5 1.25 1.17 Fluency 1.25 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 1.25 1.5 0.75 0.75 1.25 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 1.25 0.75 1.25 1.25 0.75 1.25 0.75 1.25 1 0.75 1.25 0.75 1.25 0.96 Total scores 4.75 5.5 5.25 6.25 6.25 6.25 5.75 6.75 5.75 6.25 5.75 6.25 5.75 5.25 6.5 6.75 5.75 5.25 5.5 6.75 6.25 5.75 5.5 6.75 6.75 5.25 7.25 5.5 6.5 6.1 APPENDIX G THE PRE-TEST RESULTS OF THE CONTROL GROUP P S36 S37 S38 S39 S40 S41 S42 S43 S44 S45 S46 S47 S48 S49 S50 S51 S52 S53 S54 S55 S56 S57 S58 S59 S60 S61 S62 S63 S64 S65 S66 S67 S68 S69 S70 S71 S72 S73 S74 S75 Mean Gram 1.25 1 0.75 0.75 1.25 0.5 0.75 1.5 0.75 0.75 1.5 0.75 0.5 1.5 1.5 0.75 1.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 1.25 1.5 0.75 1.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 1.5 0.94 Vocab 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 1.5 0.5 0.75 0.75 1 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.73 Pronu 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 1 0.6 IX Compre 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 1 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 1.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.75 1.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 1.25 0.5 0.75 0.75 Fluency 0.5 0.25 0.25 0.5 0.25 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.75 0.25 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.75 0.25 0.5 0.25 0.75 0.5 0.25 0.25 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.5 Total scores 3.5 3.75 3.25 3.5 3.75 3.5 4.25 2.75 2.75 3.25 4.25 2.75 2.5 3.5 2.25 2.75 3.75 2.75 3.75 4.25 4.25 3.75 4.75 3.5 3.75 4.25 3.5 3.52 APPENDIX H THE POST-TEST RESULTS OF THE CONTROL GROUP P S36 S37 S38 S39 S40 S41 S42 S43 S44 S45 S46 S47 S48 S49 S50 S51 S52 S53 S54 S55 S56 S57 S58 S59 S60 S61 S62 S63 S64 S65 S66 S67 S68 S69 S70 S71 S72 S73 S74 S75 Mean Gram 1.5 1.25 1.75 1.5 0.75 0.75 1.5 0.75 0.75 1.5 1.5 1.75 0.5 1.5 1.5 0.75 1.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 1.25 1.5 0.75 1.5 1.75 1.75 1.5 1.75 1.5 1.5 1.15 Vocab 0.75 1.25 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 1.5 0.5 1.25 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.75 1 0.75 0.75 0.75 1.5 0.75 0.75 1.5 0.75 0.75 1.25 1.5 1.25 0.75 1.25 0.5 0.75 0.89 Pronu 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 1,25 0.25 0.75 0.75 1.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.5 1.25 0.5 0.25 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.5 1.75 0.5 0.5 0.75 1.25 0.75 1.25 1.25 0.79 Compre 1.25 0.75 1.25 0.75 1.75 1.25 1.25 1.25 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.75 1 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 1.25 0.75 1.5 0.75 1.25 1.25 1.5 0.75 1 0.75 1.25 0.75 0.75 0.93 X Fluency 0.75 0.25 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.75 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 0.5 0.75 0.25 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.25 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.25 0.75 0.5 0.75 0.61 Total scores 4.5 4.75 5.5 4.25 4.75 4.75 4.25 2.25 3.75 4.5 4.75 4.25 4.25 4.5 3.5 4.25 3.5 3.75 3.75 3.5 3.75 3.97 3.5 3.75 4.5 3.5 4.75 4.5 6.25 4.25 4.75 5.5 5.5 4.5 5.75 4.75 5.25 4.35 APPENDIX I Role-play activities evaluation form Student Name: …………………………… ………………………… = poor = average = good = very good = excellent Score = Sum [(Score of each item *4)/10] Scoring criteria Student Grammar Vocabulary Pronunciation Comprehension Fluency Total score XI Student APPENDIX J DESCRIPTIONS OF CRITERIA LEVELS (ROLE-PLAY ACTIVITY) CONTENT The task is completed It is also clearly and effectively performed The task is completed It is generally performed clearly and effectively The task is partly completed and performed somewhat clearly and effectively The task is generally not performed clearly and effectively The task is not performed clearly and effectively VOCABULARY Use of vocabulary and idioms is virtually that of a native speaker Sometimes uses inappropriate terms and/or must rephrase ideas because of lexical inadequacies Frequently uses the wrong words; conversation somewhat limited because of inadequate vocabulary Misuse of words and very limited vocabulary make comprehension quite difficult Vocabulary limitations so extreme as to make conversation virtually impossible FLUENCY Speech as fluent and effortless as that of a native speaker Speed of speech seems to be slightly affected by language problems Speed and fluency are rather strongly affected by language problems Usually hesitant; often forced into silence by language limitations Speech is so halting and fragmentary as to make conversation virtually impossible XII COMPREHENSION Appear to understand everything without difficulty Understands nearly everything at normal speed, although occasional repetition may be necessary Understands most of what is said at slower-than-normal speed with repetition Has great difficulty following what is said Can comprehend only "social conversation" spoken slowly and with frequent repetitions Cannot be said to understand even simple conversational English PRONUNCIATION Has few traces of foreign accent Always intelligible, though one is conscious of definite accent Pronunciation problems necessitate concentrated listening and occasionally lead to misunderstanding Very hard to understand because of pronunciation problems Must frequently be asked to repeat Pronunciation problems so severe as to make speech virtually un intelligible (adapted from Harris, 1969) XIII APPENDIX K SAMPLE LESSON Unit 13: Films and cinema Part B: speaking Time: 45 minutes I Objectives: Knowledge: - By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:  Express their attitudes about film, using attitudinal adjectives  Express preferences  Talk about the plot of a film based on prompts  Get knowledge about some kinds of films Skills: - Fluency in expressing opinion and talk about favourite films II Preparation 1.Teacher : lesson plan, textbook, projector Students: textbook, notebook, III Anticipated problems - Students might not have sufficient vocabulary to talk about the topic - They might also have difficulty with the structure “ sb find sth + adj” and confuse between Adjectives ending in “ing” and “ed” - They might forget grammatical structure or vocabulary so they feel that it’s difficult to express their opinions - They may feel timid and uninteresting so they don’t want to ta ke part in the lesson - Student may make noise when playing game and moving around to interview their friends IV Procedure Organization (1m): greeting, checking attendance New lesson XIV TIME TEACHER’S ACTIVITIES STUDENTS’ ACTIVITIES I PRESENTATION Activity 1: Warm-up - Listen to the teacher and - Ask sts some questions: answer questions 4ms * Expected answer: - Watched TV “What you in free time?” - Film “Which program you watch?” (If students don’t answer “film”, teacher will suggest “what about film?”) “What was the film’s name?” “How often you watch it?” “Do you like watching film?” Why - My princess, etc -Lead in “there are many reasons to like or - Twice a week, etc dislike a film Today, we will practise - Yes I because it is speaking about why you love or hate a film interesting We start our lesson today, unit 13: films and cinema Part B: speaking” - Listen carefully and play Activity 2: Pre-teach vocabulary and game Grammar “Well, we have just known how much other like some kind of film, now you want to know why they like or dislike some kind of film, so we will move to task 2” 6ms - Ask students to brainstorm all the adjectives that can be used to describe films - Give suggestion by showing some emotion icons to describe adjectives XV Note: Ss may confuse these adjectives with their “ed” counterparts, so T should be ready to explain the differences (eg I’m interested in action film/ Action films are interesting) - T explains the meaning of some adjectives if necessary - Introduce the structures Sb finds st/sb + adj which can be used to express one’s opinion about something or someone eg: I find horror films interesting - Get sts to make sentences with the structure - T elicits the expressions of agreement and disagreement - Show the table on the screen - Check with teacher Agreement Disagreement -I agree with you -I don’t think so -Yes, exactly! -Yes, but -Right! -Do you think so? -Sure! -You can’t * Expected answer: be + Yes + Boy over flower, etc serious! -You must be + Because it’s romantic, etc kidding! -Listen and write down on - Introduce the structure: Noun Prefer + Noun + V-ing to + V-ing Ex: I prefer science fiction film to thriller He prefers watching TV to listening to XVI notebook radio - Let ss to give some more examples Activity 3: Preparation time for scripted -Listen to teacher’s instruction role-play - Ask ss to work in group of to make an 8ms interview to ask and answer about the kinds of film they like, reasons, and the kind of film they prefer II PRACTICE - Ask ss to act about their roles in front of -Work in groups of to 15ms the class prepare the conversation in - Give feedback the interview III PRODUCTION 10ms “Talk about a film they have ever seen.” - Instruct sts to work in pair, ask and answer - Report in front of class questions about a film they have seen, using - Listen to teacher the suggestion given in the textbook - Give sts an example (show on screen) A: can you tell me a name of the film you have seen? B: It’s “Bong dung muon khoc” A: Where did you see it? B: I saw it on TV A: What kind of film is it? B: It is love story film A: Who are the main characters? B: They are Bao Nam and Truc A: How you feel about it? B: It is interesting XVII - Make conversation A: Why you prefer it to other film? 1m B: because It is very moving and amusing - Present their works - Call on some pairs to make conversation - Listen to teacher - Check Homework - Ask ss to practice the dialogues in the - Listen to teacher lesson again - Prepare the new lesson XVIII APPENDIX L: QUESTIONAIRS The questionnaires are designed to investigate the attitude of the students toward using scripted role-play in speaking classroom Your assistance in completing the following questions is greatly appreciated Please feel free to complete this questionnaire as you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Thank you very much for your cooperation Please put a cross on the column that you agree with Satisfaction levels Very Statement satisfied My English speaking ability has been improved I can speak English fluently The scripted role-play helps my pronunciation scripted role- play activities get me to use appropriate language I enjoy working with others during role-play activities The teacher empowers the students to independently communicate The scripted role-play is a communicative activity, and I feel comfortable discussing any topic The scripted role-play promotes team-work and builds up relationship with the group The scripted role-play helps me gain confidence 10 The scripted role-play helps me understand the English speaking in different situations XIX Satisfied Quite Not satisfied satisfied ... What extent is using scripted role- play to improve weak students’ speaking performances ? What are the students’ attitudes toward using scripted role- play in teaching and learning speaking? 1.4... this role- play type for weak students in Vietnam Based on these reasons, the researcher is interested in conducting a study on ? ?Using scripted role- play to improve high school weak students’ speaking. .. focuses on two types scripted and unscripted role- play and shows which of these types is suitable for weak students 2.2.4.1 Scripted role- play Scripted role- play refers to role- play activities that