A study on the use of communicative activities to enhance 12th grade students speaking skill in hong lam upper secondary school masters thesis in education

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI KIEU VAN A STUDY ON THE USE OF COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE 12th GRADE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL IN HONG LAM UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION NGHE AN - 2014 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI KIEU VAN A STUDY ON THE USE OF COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE 12th GRADE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL IN HONG LAM UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Code: 60.14.01.11 MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Supervisor: Nguyen Gia Viet, Ph.D Nghe An, 2014 ACCEPTANCE I hereby state that I: Nguyen Thi Kieu Van, being a candidate for the degree of Master accept requirements of the College related to the retention and use of Master‟s graduation Paper deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the thesis September, 2014 Signature Nguyen Thi Kieu Van i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study would not have been completed without the support of many people, to all of whom I am profoundly indebted Foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Nguyen Gia Viet, Ph.D for the continuous support of my M.A study and research, for his patience, motivation, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge His guidance helped me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my M.A study Also, sincere thanks are due to the teachers and 12th students at Hong Lam Upper Secondary School for allowing me to administer the test and interview schedule during their invaluable time class Without their patience in participating in doing questionnaires as well as interviews, the study could not have been completed Last but not least, I would love to send my gratitude to my family, especially my husband and friends for their continual encouragements during the time I conducted the study ii ABSTRACT Although speaking is recognized as a crucial part of second language teaching, it has been undervalued by English teachers in Vietnamese classrooms Many teachers are still using traditional techniques such as repetition drills and memorization of dialogues The use of communicative activities, in spite of having been known to teachers in Vietnam, has been really limited due to many reasons, such as teachers‟ low proficiency, class size, limited teaching facilities, and tight teaching schedules There have been a few research studies that investigated effectiveness of communicative activities in the classroom in some part of the world However, very few studies have been conducted in Vietnam about how teachers and students perceived about these activities in upper secondary schools Especially, no research has been carried out in Hong Lam Upper Secondary School This research study aims to investigate the use of communicative activities to enhance speaking skill for 12th grade students in Hong Lam UPSS It uses two sets of questionnaires for teachers and students in Hong Lam Upper Secondary School A total of survey questionnaires for teachers and survey questionnaires for students were collected The data collected were coded in charts and percentage was yielded and figures were built as to address the research questions The data showed that the majority of the student participants were inclined to communicative activities As for the teachers, based on the results of the study, a number of implications and suggestions have been provided for teachers, students, policy makers, and researchers The findings of this study, being a case study, cannot be generalized, but they contribute to the academic understanding of a context where little research has been done Generally, the students are not interested in doing speaking tasks that are given in the textbooks Also, they are not aware of whether these tasks are effective for them or not Nevertheless, they express their desire for some types of communicative activities that they have chances to work with iii For the teachers, most of them admit that they often have difficulties in using communicative activities to teach speaking skill for their 12th grade students The study aims to serve as a useful source of reference for teachers, students and those who are interested in this subject matter iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages ACCEPTANCE i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vii ABBREVIATIONS viii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Scope of the study 1.4 Methods of the study 1.5 The organization of the thesis CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Review of Previous Studies 2.2 Theoretical Background of Communicative Activities 2.2.1 Definition of The Communicative Activities 2.2.2 Features of Communicative Activities 2.2.3 Types of Communicative Activities 2.2.4 Factors Affecting Communicative Activities 15 2.3 Speaking 23 2.3.1 Speaking as a Skill 23 2.3.2 The role of speaking in language learning and teaching 24 2.3.3 Approaches to the teaching of speaking 26 2.3.4 Teaching speaking in rural areas 29 2.3.5 Teaching Speaking In Upper Secondary School 29 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 31 3.1 An overview of the research site 31 v 3.2 Participants 32 3.3 Methods of data collection 32 3.3.1 Instrumental Development 33 3.3.2 Procedures of data collection 34 3.3.3 Methods and procedures of data analysis 35 3.4 Summary 36 CHAPTER RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 37 4.1 Evaluation of the English 12 textbook 37 4.1.1 Overview of the English 12 textbook 37 4.1.2 Evaluation of Speaking Skill 38 4.2 Results from the survey questionnaires 41 4.2.1 The frequency and interest of each kind of communicative activities in class 44 4.2.2 Difficulties that the teachers have when using communicative activities 49 4.3 Findings and Discussion 50 4.4 Implications 52 4.4.1 Implications for teaching each kind of communicative activities 52 4.4.2 Giving students inspiration by activities involving the lesson 58 4.4.3 Using the situation in introduction 59 CHAPTER CONCLUSION 60 5.1 Summary of Findings 60 5.2 Limitations of the Research 62 5.3 Further Research 62 REFERENCES 64 APPENDIX vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Pages Tables: Table 3.1 Summary of selected students 32 Table 4.1 Topics in English 12 37 Table 4.2 Students' evaluative attitudes toward textbook speaking tasks 43 Figures: Figure 4.1 The frequency of using speaking tasks in textbook 42 Figure 4.2 The attitude of students towards doing speaking tasks in textbook 42 Figure 4.3 The evaluation of the effectiveness of speaking tasks in textbook 43 Figure 4.4 The frequency of using acting from a script/simulation and role play, given by students 44 Figure 4.5 The frequency of using acting from a script/simulation and role play, given by teacher 45 Figure 4.6 Interest in acting from a script/simulation and role play, given by students 45 Figure 4.7 The frequency of using communication games, given by students 46 Figure 4.8 The frequency of using communication games, given by teachers 46 Figure 4.9 The interest of using communication games 47 Figure 4.10 The frequency of using discussion in class, given by students 48 Figure 4.11 The frequency of using discussion in class, given by teachers 48 Figure 4.12 Interest of the students in discussion 49 Figure 4.13 Some kinds of communicative activities that teachers have difficulties when teaching speaking skill 50 vii ABBREVIATIONS EFL : English as a Foreign Language UPSS : Upper Secondary School HFLSS : Hanoi Foreign Language Specializing School C.A : Communicative Activities CLT : Communicative Language Teaching MOET : Ministry of Education and Training viii work, share, interest, closely, personal secret, make an important decision 12‟ Work in pairs III WHILE-SPEAKING Activity Ask and answer about family Ask life and answer about family life Have Ss work in pairs, prepare a list of Note down if necessary questions to each other to find out whether their family life is alike or not Suggested questions: Practice talking to peer - Who works in your family? Checking for each other - Who does the household chores? Present before class - What are you responsible for? Work in small groups - What interest does your family share Discuss and note down closely? Each member practices Who you often share your secret presenting in his/her own - with? group - Who you talk to before making a Others check decision? Leader will present in front Move around to give help and jot down Ss‟ of the class mistakes in pronunciation and grammar for later correction Call on some pairs to present in front of the class Feedback on the Ss‟ work 12‟ Activity Role-play Work Arrange Ss to work in groups of four of five and act as if they were members of a family in pairs, discuss freely what they think (the father, the mother, the eldest child, the youngest child or the son, the daughter) Each person in the family says something about their family and duties to their family Call on some groups to act out in front of the class Make correction if needed and make comments Suggested ideas - I am the eldest child in my family I come from a family of five: my father, mother, sister, brother and I My parents love children very much and have done everything for our upbringing - As a father I‟ve got a lot of duty to I have to go to work to support my family I‟ve got to help my wife with housework - As a mother, I have to household chores and keep the house in order I have to cook meals, go shopping, wash up my husband sometimes helps me - After school I always make time to help my mum with housework and my younger sister with homework, sometime I have to look after my Listen carefully Note down little brother - We always try to get on well with one another in order to create a happy and harmonious home environment 10‟ IV POST-SPEAKING Discussion Have Ss work in pairs, discuss the question: “ Why should family members share household chores? Help Ss to list some benefits of sharing the housework - Relieve the burden on parents‟ shoulder - Members become more close to each other - Children aware of the value of labor - Help children become more independent Perhaps some Ss don‟t agree with the above idea, Let them discuss freely 1‟ V HOMEWORK Summarize the main points Ask Ss to write a short passage about their family Remind Ss to prepare for the next lesson Lesson Plan UNIT 2: CULTURAL DIVERSITY PERIOD 2: SPEAKING (Tiếng Anh 12) I Aim: Expressing one‟s point of view II Objectives: By the end of the lesson, Ss will be able to: - compare and contrast the cultural of a Western country and an Eastern one - express their point of view on cultural matters related to family life by using structures showing agreement and disagreement such as I think , I don’t agree etc III Method: - Communicative approach IV Skills: Integrated skills (Especially speaking skill) V Teaching aids: textbook, pictures, posters PROCEDURE TIME 7‟ TEACHER‟S ACTIVITIES I WARM UP STUDENTS‟ACTIVITIES Matching Have Ss work in groups, match the pictures Listen of weddings with the country it belongs to to the teacher‟s instruction Indian wedding Work in groups Japanese wedding Be active and cooperative Lao wedding Discuss and the work as Korean wedding soon as possible Vietnamese wedding Western countries‟ wedding Call on Ss from groups to give their Leader from each group answers and explain their answers if will give the answers on a possible in front of the class Feedback and give correct answers E D F B A C poster 5‟ II PRE-SPEAKING What’s your point of view? Have Ss work in pairs, express their point Work in pairs of view on some matters related to cultural Give their own opinions views by using suitable expression freely following the example: Listen to their friends‟ I think it’s most convenient for a family of ideas four generation to ;live together under one roof The distance of ages may cause disagreement among the members It’s not true In Western countries, young people lead an independent life 15‟ III WHILE-SPEAKING Table completion Have Ss work in pairs, ask and answer about some cultural features of Vietnam If necessary, provide Ss with samples of Work in pairs Pay attention to the useful language Note down questions to be used to ask for such kinds of information Ask and answer about some cultural - How many generations live in a features of Vietnam home in Vietnam? Make - Where old-aged parents live? - Is it a good idea to ask questions about age, marriage and income in Vietnam? - Do children sleep in the same room with their parents? Go around the class to collect Ss‟ ideas between Vietnam a comparison American and Call on some pairs to present their ideas in front of the class Give collected opinions Express ideas orally  Three or sometimes four generations Listen to other pairs live under one roof  Write down Elders live their children and are taken care of by their sons  Asking about age, marriage, and income is acceptable  A Vietnamese greets the head of the family or the older person first, the younger ones  Groceries are bought everyday  Tet (Lunar New Year) is the most important  Vietnamese celebrates death days They prepare meal and invite their relatives to get together and talk about good respect of the dead person  Children often sleep with their patents 15‟ IV POST-SPEAKING Group discussion Have Ss work in groups of three or four, basing on the information found in the previous part, talk about the similarities and Work in small groups Discuss to find out the similarities as well s the differences between two nation‟s cultures the differences between Vietnamese and Pay attention to the useful American cultures languages Remind Ss of words and expressions used Notedown to compare and contrast Comparison Similarly Likewise In the same way the same be similar to the same as like also in like manner , too one way in which is similar to Both Another way in which is similar to Contrast However On the other hand In contrast even though By contrast whereas but, while .yet unlike Call on group leaders to talk about what Each leader will present their group has discussed his/her group‟ ideas in turn Comment on Ss‟ work Listen to others Give suggested answers Feedback if possible Suggested answers: Hello everybody! Each nation has its own culture, And today I will present you some of my views about differences and similarities between Vietnamese and American cultures In America, two generations live in a home, but, in Vietnam, there are even more, three or sometimes four generations living under one roof That makes Vietnamese families bigger and closer In a family, while American old-aged parents live in nursing homes, Vietnamese ones are cared for by their children Thai is a chance for the younger to express their gratitude to the one nourishing them In communication, it’s normal in Vietnam when asking someone about their age, marriage and income But, don’t ask these questions when you talk to an American if you don’t want to be considered as an impolite person When Vietnamese family members greet one another, they always greet the oldest or the most important one first In America, this is more open People can greet anyone in the family first Groceries are bought once a week in a American home People often go shopping at supermarkets In Vietnam, housewives go to the small market, buying goods every day Just in cities, some Vietnamese are used to going to supermarkets American most important holidays are Christmas, New Year holiday and Thanksgiving, whereas the most meaningful holidays in Vietnam are Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival Families also celebrate Death Anniversary and invite their relatives In Vietnam, children sleep with their parents until 10 or 11, sometimes even to 15 But, Americans let their children sleep in a private room, even a newborn All above are some pieces of information I have got from many sources I hope by understanding other nation’s culture, we will get ready better to join with the other parts of the world 3‟ V WRAPPING Listen carefully Summarize the main points Note down Assign homework APPENDIX: PICTURES FOR WARM-UP A B C D E F Lesson Plan UNIT 3: WAYS OF SOCIALISING SPEAKING AIMS Expressing and responding compliments OBJECTIVES By the end of the lesson, students will: - Practise speaking exactly and appropriately about the ways of socialising, based on the vocabulary and structures that they have learnt in the lesson - Make dialogues to practise giving and responding to compliments, based on the given information TEACHING AIDS: -Textbook, pictures, cassette, tape, handouts and real objects METHOD Communicative approach SKILL Integrated skill (especially speaking skill) PROCEDURE TIME TEACHER‟S ACTIVITIES 5‟ Warm-up STUDENTS‟ACTIVITIES * Guessing word: What is it? - Divide the class into two groups - Listen to the - Say that he has a word in his mind and he teacher going to give some information about the word Members of each group will listen - Work in groups and may stop at any information they hear - Listen and find out the to guess what the word is Each group has answers only two chances to guess the word The first group to tell exactly what the word is Answer key: wins the game COMPLIMENT - Give information about the word 1.It‟s a noun 2.It has got ten letters - Listen to the teacher 3.It is an expression by word or action, or -Take notes and practise admiration reading vocabulary 4.It shows one respect, give and respond your feeling about things which are beautiful, good, or interesting, etc “What is the word?” 8‟ Pre- speaking * Task 1:Practise reading these dialogues -Work in pairs, practise - Introduces the task: You are going to work reading these dialogues in your group to practise reading these - Some Ss playthe role in dialogues, paying attention to how people front of the class give and respond to compliments in each - Listen & look at the information in the task situation Elicit the new words by asking Ss - Work in pairs * Vocabulary: + Compliments(n) + Terrific(a) + Hairstyle(n) + Kidding(a) - Some pairs to act out their - Ask Ss to take notes and practise reading conversation in front of the class vocabulary - Ask Ss to work in pairs, practise reading these dialogues, paying attention to how people give and respond to compliments in - Take notes each situation - Ask Ss to play the roles in the dialogues 20‟ While- speaking * Task 2: Giving compliments - Read the cues once Ask Ss to listen and - Work in groups - Listen to the look at the information in the task teacher - Explain the situations of each dialogues - Guide Ss to use suitable compliments in each dialogues to practise giving compliments to suit the responses - Move around to give help - Call on some pairs to act out their conversation in front of the class - Act out their - Give comments on their conversations & conversation in front give feedback: of the class David: You really have a beautiful dress It is the most beautiful dress I have seen Hung: Your motorbike is really terrific Then… Michel: I Though your badminton was a lot better … * Task 3: Prepared Talk - Read the cues once Ask Ss to listen and - Work in pairs look at the information in the task - Share with the other pairs - Explain the situations of each dialogues - Present the dialogues - Guide Ss to use suitable compliments in each dialogues, using the cues Take note teacher‟s feedback - Ask Ss to work in pairs, practise - Make compliments and responding compliments to suit the responses about something responses or performances of your - Move around to give help friends in class - Call on some pairs to act out their conversation in front of the class - Give comments on their conversations & give feedback You:+Thank you, Phil I think you can it as well as I +Thank you, Peter That’s a nice compliment +You must be kidding I think it is acceptable 10‟ Post speaking * Task 4: Role Play - Before getting Ss to discuss, T reminds them of some useful expressions for giving and responding compliments in Task 1.Then divide the class into small groups of or & gets them to discuss the task - Go around to check and offer help - After checking that all the groups have finished, T calls on the representative of each group to report their peer‟ ideas - Listen & take note of their errors & feedback after that: + A nice pair of glasses: A: Your pair of glasses are really nice I really like them B: Really, Peter I just bought it yesterday + A new and expensive watch: A: You really have a new and expensive watch, ……… How did you get it? B: Thank you, my father bought it for me on my birthday + A new cell phone: A: Your new cell phone looks great I have never seen such a nice one before B: Thanks I finally found a suitable one for me 1‟ HOMEWORK Retell the main points of this lesson - Make compliments and responses about something or performances of your friends in class: (Study/ Speaking English/ Singing/ Briefcase/ a new pen/ a nice hat/, ) - Prepare the next part: Unit: C Listening ...MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI KIEU VAN A STUDY ON THE USE OF COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE 12th GRADE STUDENTS? ?? SPEAKING SKILL IN HONG LAM UPPER SECONDARY. .. for 12th grade students in rural areas such as at Hong Lam UPSS 1.2 Aims of the study According to the importance of the participation of students in speaking lessons, this study aims at investigating... investigating the use of communicative activities to enhance speaking skill for 12th grade students in Hong Lam UPSS With the reasons mentioned above, the specific aims of the study, accordingly, are: