A study of teaching activities to promote classroom interaction in english speaking classes at tran hung dao high school in quang binh province

MINITRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI MAI A STUDY OF TEACHING ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE CLASSROOM INTERACTION IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES AT TRAN HUNG DAO HIGH SCHOOL IN QUANG BINH PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY NGHE AN, 2017 MINITRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI MAI A STUDY OF TEACHING ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE CLASSROOM INTERACTION IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES AT TRAN HUNG DAO HIGH SCHOOL IN QUANG BINH PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.01.11 SUPERVISOR: Assoc Prof Dr NGO DINH PHUONG NGHE AN, 2017 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that the thesis entitled “A study of teaching activities to promote classroom interaction in English speaking classes at Tran Hung Dao High School in Quang Binh province” is the result of my own work The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission from assistants and have not been published elsewhere Vinh, August 2017 Author’s signature Nguyen Thi Mai ABSTRACT This study aims to examine the use of teaching activities of teachers to promote classroom interaction in English speaking classes at Tran Hung Dao High School in Quang Binh province and how the teaching activities affect classroom interaction The study employed both quantitative and qualitative research methods.The data were collected from teachers and 80 students at Tran Hung Dao High School in Quang Binh province by the research instruments: questionaire and interview The result showed that the most teachers and students were aware of the importance of classroom interaction in English speaking classes Through using teaching activities for promoting classroom interaction, teachers created an interactive atmosphere in classroom and made students more comfortable and confident in English speaking classes From the findings, the research has sought to provide practical implications for using teaching activities to improve classroom interaction and overcoming difficulties they encounter when using activities for promoting classroom interaction Limitations and suggestions for further researches were also carried out to draw more persuasive and reliable conclusion li ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to put on my thanks and sincere appreciation to the encouragement and support of many individuals in assisting me to accomplish this study First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Ngo Dinh Phuong, for his unaccountable guidance, support, help and patience Second, my gratefulness extended to all the other lecturers of College of Foreign Languages, Vinh University for teaching me and for their guidance and valuable evaluation in approving the innital proposal for this thesis Third, I gratefully wish to thank all my colleagues and my students at Tran Hung Dao High School in Quang Binh province for their help and supporting me during the time I carried out this study Finally, I would also like to thank my parents, my older brothers, my older sister, my younger sister and my friends Their encouragement and supports have been strong motivating forces for me to conduct this thesis iii TABLES OF CONTENTS Contents Pages STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ABSTRACT II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS III TABLES OF CONTENTS IV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS VII LIST OF TABLES VIII LIST OF FIGURES IX CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aim of the study 1.3 Research questions: 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Method of the study 1.6 Organization of the Study CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Classroom interaction 2.1.1 Definition of classroom interaction 2.1.2 Types of classroom interaction 2.1.2.1 Teacher-learner interaction 2.1.2.2 Learner- learner interaction 2.1.3 The role of classroom interaction 10 2.2 Speaking skill 11 2.2.1 Definition of speaking skill 11 2.2.2 The importance of speaking 12 2.2.3 Speaking difficulties of language learners 13 2.3 Teaching speaking skill 14 iv 2.3.1 Principles for teaching speaking 15 v 2.3.2 General outline of a speaking lesson 17 2.3.3 Classroom speaking activities 18 2.4 Teaching activities to promoting classroom interaction in English speaking classes 20 2.5 Effect of teaching activities on classroom interaction 22 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 24 3.1 Research questions 24 3.2 Research approach 24 3.3 Participants 25 3.4 Data collection 25 3.4.1 Questionaire 25 3.4.2 Interview 26 3.5 Research Procedure 27 3.6 Data analysis 28 CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 30 4.1 Findings 30 4.1.1 The teaching activities for promoting classroom interaction 30 4.1.1.1 Teachers’opinions about using teaching activities for promoting classroom interaction in English speaking class 30 4.1.1.2 Students’opinions about teachers’use of teaching activities for promoting classroom interaction in English speaking class 39 4.1.2 The effects of teaching activities on classroom interaction 46 4.1.2.1 Teachers’opinions on the effects of the teaching activities on classroom interaction in English speaking class 46 4.1.2.1 Students’opinions on the effects of the teaching activities on classroom interaction in English speaking class 51 4.2 Conclusion 58 vi CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 60 5.1 Summary of the findings 60 5.2 Implications 61 5.2.1 Implications for teachers 61 5.2.2 Implications for students 63 5.3 Limitations 63 5.4 Further research 63 REFERENCES 65 APPENDICES 70 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT EFL Communicative language teaching English as a foreign language ESOL English for Speakers of Other Languages ETALP English teaching and learning processes FL Foreign language N Number SL % Second language Percentage Table 4.1: Frequency of using teaching activities 32 Table 4.2: Teachers’attitude towards using teaching activities 32 Table 4.3: Teaching activity often applied in English speaking class 35 Table 4.4: Stage of speaking lesson often used classroom interaction 36 Table 4.5: Types of speaking activities used in English speaking class 37 Table 4.6: The ways for motivating students to take part in interaction 38 Table 4.7: Students’attitudes on teaching activities 44 viii APPENDICES APPENDIX TEACHER QUESTIONAIRE Dear teacher, The main purpose of this questionnaire is to collect the data about my MA research: “A study of teaching activities to promote classroom interaction in English speaking classes at Tran Hung Dao High School in Quang Binh province” Your cooperation and support for my research are appreciated and will contribute to the improvement of classroom interaction in English speaking classes Please respond to the items in this questionnaire carefully and honestly as possible This is a survey asking for your opinion Be sure that the answers you will certainly remain confidential and will only be used for research purpose Thank you for your time and your collaboration! Read the following questions carefully Please tick (v) the answer that best reflect your opinion and specify your answer when needed Does classroom interaction play an important role in English speaking class? a Yes b No In your opinion, how important are teaching activities in promoting classroom interaction? a Very important b Important c Rather important d Not important How often you apply the teaching activities for promoting classroom 71 interaction in English speaking class? a Always b Sometimes c Rarely d Never What is your attitude towards using the teaching activities for promoting classroom interaction in English speaking class? a Very interested b Interested c Not interested d Do not know How often you give your students opportunities to interact with each other in English speaking class? a Always b Sometimes c Never Which type of interaction you often use in speaking lesson? a Teacher-learner interaction b Learner-learner interaction What current teaching activity is often applied to promote classroom interaction in your English speaking class? a Individual work b Pair work c Group work d Whole class work At what stage of speaking lesson you often apply the teaching activities for promoting classroom interaction? a Pre-speaking b While-speaking c Post-speaking What types of speaking activities you use to promote classroom 72 interaction in class? a Communication games activities b Information gap activities c Role-play activities d Discussion activities e Other activities 10 How you motivate your students to interact in English speaking classroom? a I try to ask them about their interests b I choose the interesting speaking topics c I design a various speaking tasks d I create an active atmosphere in classroom through making jokes, playing games e I let my students work in pairs or groups to practice speaking f All of them 11 Do you think teaching techniques affect classroom interaction in English speaking class? a Yes b No 12 What difficulties you encounter when using teaching activities to promote classroom interaction in English speaking class? a Overcrowded classroom b Time limitation c Different levels of students d Students’ lack of background knowledge e All of them 13 How your students participate in speaking activities when you apply learner-learner interaction? a Very enthusiastic 73 b Enthusiastic c Not enthusiastic d Do not know 14 Do you think that using effectively teaching activities will help your students to develop their speaking proficiency? a Yes b No 15 How effective for promoting interaction in English speaking class you find the following teaching activities? No Teaching activities Very effective Individual work Pair work Group work Whole class work 74 Effective Not effective APPENDIX A STUDENT QUESTIONAIRE Dear students, I am preparing research on “teaching activities to promote classroom interaction in English speaking classes at Tran Hung Dao High School in Quang Binh province” The main purpose of this questionnaire is to collect data about my research I would be so grateful if you could sincerely answer the following questions to help me in my research Please give your answers sincerely to guarantee the success of this research Be sure that the answers you provide will certainly remain confidential and will only be used for research purposes I would like thank you very much for your cooperation Read the following questions carefully Please tick (v) the answer that best reflect your opinion and specify your answer when needed In your opinion, how important is classroom interaction in your English speaking class? a Very important b Important c Not important How often you interact with your teacher in English speaking class? a Always b Sometimes c Rarely d Never How often you interact with other students in English speaking class? a Always b Sometimes c Rarely d Never 75 Which type of interaction you like in your English speaking class? a Teacher-learner interaction b Learner-learner interaction Does learner-learner interaction make you more comfortable in class? a Yes b No How you feel with the following teaching activities used by teacher for promoting classroom interaction? N0 Teaching activities Individual work Pair work Whole class work Very interested Interested Not interested Group work What type of speaking activities used by your teacher in English speaking class you like? a Communication games activities b Information gap activities c Role-play activities d Discussion activities e Other activities Do the teaching activities affect classroom interaction in your English speaking class? a Yes b No When your teacher applies the teaching activities for promoting interaction, you enjoy participating in classroom interaction? a Yes b No 76 10 When you not want to interact in English speaking class? a The topic is not interesting b You feel shy and unconfident c The teacher does not motivate d You not have a chance to interact e All of them 11 Please tick the response that you agree with most Statements Strongly agree Agree disagree Strongly disagree You get bored when working individually in English speaking class You feel shy and unconfident when interacting with your teacher You feel uncomfortable when talking in front of the whole class Learner-learner interaction is a best way opportunities to to give interact you in English speaking class Learning speaking will be facilitated when you are engaged in pairs or groups Pair work increases your interests and willingness to participate in classroom interaction 12 In your opinion, what kind of activity can help you have a best chance to interact 77 in English speaking class? a Individual work b Pair work c Group work d Whole class work 78 APPENDIX B STUDENT QUESTIONAIRE Học sinh thân mến, Tôi chuẩn bị nghiên cứu " Những phương pháp giáo viên để thúc đẩy tương tác lớp học nói tiếng Anh trường THPT Trần Hưng Đạo tỉnh Quảng Bình" Mục đích câu hỏi thu thập liệu nghiên cứu Tôi biết ơn bạn thành thật trả lời câu hỏi sau để giúp nghiên cứu Xin vui lòng cho biết câu trả lời bạn cách chân thành để đảm bảo thành công nghiên cứu Đảm bảo câu trả lời bạn cung cấp chắn giữ kín sử dụng cho mục đích nghiên cứu Tơi muốn cảm ơn bạn nhiều hợp tác bạn Đọc kỹ câu hỏi sau Hãy đánh dấu (V) câu trả lời phản ánh ý kiến bạn rõ câu trả lời cần thiết Theo bạn, tương tác lớp học lớp học nói tiếng Anh bạn nào? A Rất quan trọng B Quan trọng C Khơng quan trọng Bạn có thường xun tương tác với giáo viên lớp học nói tiếng Anh ? A Luôn B Đôi C Ít D Không Mức độ thường xuyên tương tác bạn với học sinh khác lớp nói tiếng Anh nào? A Ln ln B Đơi C Ít 79 D Khơng Bạn thích loại tương tác lớp học nói tiếng Anh bạn? A Tương tác giáo viên người học B Tương tác người học-người học Liệu tương tác người học người học làm cho bạn thoải mái lớp? A Có B Khơng Bạn cảm thấy với hoạt động dạy học sau sử dụng giáo viên để thúc đẩy tương tác lớp? Thứ Hoạt động dạy học Rất thích Thích Khơng thích tự Hoạt động cá nhân Hoạt động theo cặp Hoạt động theo nhóm Hoạt động lớp Các loại hoạt động nói mà giáo viên bạn sử dụng lớp học nói tiếng Anh mà bạn thích? A Hoạt động trị chơi B Điền thơng tin C Các hoạt động kịch D Hoạt động thảo luận E Các hoạt động khác Hoạt động dạy học có ảnh hưởng đến tương tác lớp học lớp học nói tiếng Anh bạn khơng? A Có B Khơng Khi giáo viên bạn áp dụng hoạt động dạy học để thúc đẩy tương tác, bạn có thích tham gia vào tương tác lớp học khơng? 80 A Có B Khơng 10 Khi bạn khơng muốn tương tác lớp học nói tiếng Anh ? A Chủ đề không thú vị B Bạn cảm thấy xấu hổ không tự tin C Giáo viên không động viên D Bạn khơng có hội để tương tác E Tất đáp án 11 Vui lòng đánh dấu câu trả lời mà bạn đồng ý Câu Hoàn toàn đồng ý Bạn cảm thấy chán làm việc cá nhân lớp học nói tiếng Anh Bạn cảm thấy xấu hổ không tự tin giao tiếp với giáo viên bạn Bạn cảm thấy khơng thoải mái nói trước lớp Sự tương tác người học người học cách tốt để tạo hội cho bạn giao tiếp lớp học nói tiếng Anh Việc học nói gắn kết chặt chẽ bạn tham gia vào cặp nhóm 81 Đồng ý Khơng Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý đồng ý Làm việc theo cặp làm tăng hứng thú bạn sẵn lòng tham gia vào tương tác lớp học 12 Theo bạn, loại hoạt động giúp bạn có hội tốt để tương tác tong lớp học nói tiếng Anh? A Hoạt động cá nhân B Hoạt động theo cặp C Hoạt động nhóm D Hoạt động tồn lớp 82 APPENDIX TEACHER INTERVIEW Dear teachers, This interview aims at collecting information about the teachers’ techniques to promote classroom interaction in English speaking classes I would be grateful if you could answer these questions in order to help me in my research for the Master’s degree Thank you for your collaboration According to you, how important is classroom interaction in English speaking class? Do you like using the teaching activities for promoting classroom interaction in your English speaking class? Do you often give opportunities to your student interact in your English speaking class? What type of classroom interaction you often use in your English speaking class? What kind of activity you often apply to promote classroom interaction in English speaking class? In your English speaking class, how you often motivate your student to interact? Do you think your teaching activities affect classroom interaction in English speaking class? What difficulties you encounter when using teaching activities to promote classroom interaction in English speaking class? When applying the teaching activities, your students enjoy the learner- learner interaction? Why? Why not? 10 In your opinion, what activity is effective for promoting classroom interaction in English speaking class? STUDENT INTERVIEW 83 APPENDIX B Dear students, This interview aims at collecting information about the teaching activities to promote classroom interaction in English speaking classes I would be grateful if you could answer these questions in order to help me in my research for the master’s degree Thank you for your collaboration The questions Does classroom interaction plays an important role in English speaking class? Why? Why not? What type of classroom interaction used by your teacher in English speaking class you like? In your English speaking class, you often have opportunities to interact with other students? Do you enjoy English speaking activities? Why? Why not? When learning speaking, you enjoy working in pairs or groups? Why/Why not? In your opinion, teaching activities affect classroom interaction in your English speaking class? When you not want to interact in English speaking class? Do you think working in pair can help you to have a best chance to interact in your English speaking class? Why? Why not? CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN DÀNH CHO HỌC SINH (vietnamese version) Học sinh thân mến, Các câu hỏi vấn nhằm mục đích thu thập thông tin kỹ thuật giáo viên để thúc đẩy tương tác lớp học nói tiếng Anh Tôi biết 84 APPENDIX A ơn bạn trả lời câu hỏi để giúp nghiên cứu Cảm ơn bạn hợp tác Câu hỏi Tương tác lớp học có quan trọng lớp học nói tiếng Anh khơng? Tại có khơng? Bạn thích loại tương tác mà giáo viên bạn sử dụng lớp học nói tiếng Anh? Bạn thường có hội để tương tác với học sinh khác lớp học nói tiếng Anh khơng? Bạn có thích hoạt động nói khơng? Tại có khơng? Khi học nói tiếng Anh, bạn có thích làm việc theo cặp hay nhóm khơng? Tại có khơng? Theo ban, hoạt động dạy học có ảnh hưởng đén tương tác lớp học lớp học nói bạn không? Khi bạn không muốn tương tác lớp học nói? Bạn có nghĩ làm việc theo cặp tạo cho bạn hội tốt để tương tác lớp học nói khơng? Tại có khơng? 85 ... aims to examine the use of teaching activities of teachers to promote classroom interaction in English speaking classes at Tran Hung Dao High School in Quang Binh province and how the teaching activities. .. activities that teachers use in the English speaking classes to promote classroom interaction at Tran Hung Dao High School in Quang Binh province and the effects of teaching activities in classroom. ..MINITRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI MAI A STUDY OF TEACHING ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE CLASSROOM INTERACTION IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES AT TRAN HUNG DAO HIGH SCHOOL IN QUANG