Improving students participation in english classroom activities in mixed ability classes at dai tu high school in thai nguyen province, an action research

■ \ á;Kv: &NỊ.R M im - K r W -*v> *:trằiô'.lù*v?X'>ằN |N EWẽF.1 ô \*VV.'V Ui.XFX ôằY Ci ,-,ãã :* A I N f ï r.;* 'K * m O ’ T v « ! ’ *JW*ịásĩẠ*ĩ H ỉằtMtỉ-'- r ■ ' U l K - ' V I ,1 : ôằã :Ă.WTS(- Mi' ĐTSVá “a a đ a ú í í ! » Ị ị ậ M H ^ y ẹ y ^ t ^ ị B ý K - •r • < MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI THANH HONG IMPROVING STUDENTS' PARTICIPATION IN ENGLISH CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES IN MIXED ABILITY CLASSES AT DAI TU HIGH SCHOOL IN THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE, AN ACTION RESEARCH SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF I I IE MASTER 1N.-T.ES0L ; ™NGTAM 11 SUPERVISOR: HOANG VAN HOAT M.A Hanoi January 2007 m A B S T R A C T VI L IS T O F T A B L E S V II L IS T O F F I G U R E S .V III L IS T O F C H A R T S .IX C H A P T E R 1: IN T R O D U C T IO N 1.1 B a c k g r o u n d 1.2 A ims to th e s t u d y of t h e s t u d y 1.3 R esea rch 1.4 S c o pe q u e s t io n s of t h e s t u d y 1.5 S ig n ific a n c e of th e st u d y 1.6 O r g a n iza tio n of th e t h e s is C H A P T E R 2: L IT E R A T U R E R E V IE W 2.1 E n g lish l a n g u a g e teaching in m ixed a b ility c l a ss e s 1.1 Definitions o f mixed ability class 2.1.2 Problems in mixed ability classes 1.3 Teaching techniques used in mixed ability classes 10 2.1.3.1 G rading task s 10 2.1.3.2 Pair and group w o rk 11 2.1.3.3 D ealing with different learning s p e e d s 12 2.2 S t u d e n t s ' pa rticipa tio n in cla ssro o m a c tiv it ies in m ixed a bility CLASSES 13 2.2.1 Definitions o f students' participation 13 2.2.2 The role o f students' participation in the second language learning 14 2.2.3 Factors affecting students' participation in classroom activities in mixed ability classroom 15 2.2.3.1 Teachers' teaching m ethods 15 / 2.2.3.2 Teachers' personalities and characteristics .17 2.2.3.3 Students’ learning styles .18 2.2.3.4 Students’ m otivation 20 2.2.3.5 The text book 21 2.3 S om e po in ts of view on cla ssro o m action r e se a r c h 21 2.4 P rev io u s st u d ies on s t u d e n t s ’ pa rticipa tio n in E nglish learning in m ixed a b ility c l a s s 23 2.5 S u m m a r y 24 C H A P T E R 3: M E T H O D O L O G Y 26 3.1 M e t h o d o l o g y 26 3.1.1 Research m ethod 26 3.1.2 Action research procedure 27 3.2 D ata c o lle c tio n in s t r u m e n t s .29 3.2.1 Questionnaires 29 3.2.2 Classroom observation .31 3.3 T he d escr iptio n of th e su b jec ts of th e st u d y 32 3.3.1 The researcher 32 3.3.2 The observer 32 3.3.3 The subject students 32 3.3.4 The subject teachers 33 3.4 D ata c o llec tio n p r o c e d u r e 34 3.5 S u m m a r y 35 C H A P T E R 4: D A T A A N A L Y SIS AND D IS C U S S IO N 37 4.1 DATAL COLLECTED BEFORE ACTION PLAN 37 4.1.1 Data from teachers ’ questionnaire 37 4.1.1.1 Level o f students’ participation in classroom activities 37 4.1.1.2 T he m ost influential factors on students’ participation in classroom a c tiv itie s 38 4.1.1.3 M ain causes o f students’ low participation 38 4.1.1.4 Classroom activities used in mixed ability classes at Dai Tu high school 39 4.1.1.5 Teachers’ solutions to stimulate students’ participation in English classroom activities at Dai Tu high s c h o o l 39 4.1.1.6 T eachers’ suggestions to improve students’ participation in classroom a c tiv ities 40 4.1.2 Data from students ' questionnaire 41 4.1.2.1 Students’ attitudes towards learning E n g lish 41 4.1.2.2 Students’ impression on the English le ss o n s 42 4.1.2.3 Students’ impression on the classroom activities 43 4.1.2.4 Students’ involvement in the classroom activities 44 4.1.2.5 Students’ opinions on the appropriateness o f the classroom activities for students’ lev els 44 4.1.2.6 Students’ opinions on the appropriateness o f the m aterial 45 4.1.2.7 Students’ opinions on the appropriateness o f the teaching method used in English lessons 46 4.1.3 Data from Classroom observation 47 4.1.3.1 O bservation sheet on students’ m otivation 47 4.1.4 Summary .48 4.2 T he action p l a n 49 4.2.1 Description o f the action p la n 49 4.3 D ata c o llec ted during and from ex perim en ta l t e a c h in g 51 4.3.1 Classroom observation .51 4.3.2 Questionnaire survey 52 4.3.2.1 Students’ attitudes towards learning E n g lish 53 4.3.2.2 Students’ impression on the English le ss o n s 53 4.3.2.3 Students’ impression on the classroom activities 54 4.3.2.4 Students’ involvement in the classroom activities 55 4.3.2.5 Students’ opinions on the appropriateness o f the classroom activities for students’ lev els 55 4.3.2.6 Students’ opinions on the appropriateness o f the m aterials 56 4.3.2.7 Students’ opinions on the appropriateness o f the teaching method 57 4.4 E valu a tion o f th e a ctio n p l a n 58 4.4.1 Achieved objectives 58 4.4.1.1 Im provem ents in students’ percentage o f time to be on task 58 4.4.1.2 O bjectives achieved by applying grading tasks in the English le sso n s 58 4.4.2 Unachieved objectives 59 4.4.3 Derived difficulties 60 4.5 S u m m a r y 60 C H A P T E R 5: R E C O M M E N D A T IO N AND C O N C L U S IO N 61 5.1 M a jo r fin d in g s 61 5.2 R e c o m m e n d a t io n s 61 5.2.1 Recommendations coming from objectives achieved by applying grading tasks in the classroom activities 62 5.2.2 Recommendations coming from unachieved objectives 62 5.2.3 Recommendations coming from the derived difficulties .62 5.3 L im itations a n d su g g estio n s for further r e se a r c h 63 5.4 C o n c l u s io n 64 R E F E R E N C E S 66 A P P E N D IC E S 71 A ppendix 1: Q u estio n n a ir e for t e a c h e r s 71 A ppendix 2A: Q u estio n n a ir e for st u d e n t s 73 A ppendix 2B: Q u estio n n a ir e for students A ppendix 3: O bserv a tio n A ppendix 4: A (V ietn a m ese v ersio n ) 75 s h e e t : O n - ta sk b e h a v io u r 77 sa m ple o f a lesson plan using g d in g t a s k s 79 A ppendix 5: P erso n a l e x p e r ie n c e s 85 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First o f all I would like to sincerely and wholeheartedly thank my thesis supervisor Mr Hoang Van Hoat M.A for his valuable comments and instructions, his considerate assistance and criticism and his kind encouragement and correction, without which I would find it difficult to complete my dissertation A lot o f thanks are sent to Ms Nguyen Thai Ha (M.A) from the Post Graduate Studies Department o f Hanoi University for her precious suggestions and criticism I would also like to acknowledge my debt to Dr Vu Van Dai, Head o f the Department o f Post graduate studies, and the whole staff o f this Department for organising this Master course I also acknowledge my great gratitude to all my lecturers at Hanoi University during my M.A course whose precious knowledge and enthusiasm have inspired me greatly to carry out this thesis My sincere thanks are due to my colleagues and all my students who offered excellent assistance in the data collection Last but not least, I wish to say thank you to my family, my mother, my older sisters, my brother, especially my husband for their love, care and tolerance that encourage me a lot in completing this thesis ABSTRACT Teachers o f English at Dai Tu high school in Thai Nguyen province always meet some difficulties in teaching beacause they teach in mixed ability classes with students’ low participation in classroom activities On the other hand, the students often passively sit, keep chatting in class and not ask their teacher even when they have problem This has results in the challenges to the teachers in the process o f teaching as well as improving the quality and effect o f English teaching and learning With an effort to fin d the main causes o f students’ low participation in the classroom activities and to enhance students’ participation in classroom activities in m ixed ability classes, an action research was chosen to carry out the study This action research has investigated the main causes o f students’ participation in English learning activities in mixed ability classes at Dai Tu high school in Thai Nguyen province, implemented an intervention with the use o f grading tasks in learning activities fo r increasing students participation in classroom activities, discussed and recommended practical teaching ideas to improve the effectiveness o f teaching and learning English in mixed ability classes As a result o f the intervention, the study demonstrated that the main cause o f students ' low participation was the inappropriateness o f the classroom activities, material and teaching method used in the English lessons; and i f the English teachers in Dai Tu high school have a good teaching method, prepare and organize the lesson plan carefully with the activities that are graded at different levels o f difficulty to suit different levels o f students when teaching English in mixed ability classes, they can increase students ’ participation in the learning activities Fable 2: Teachers' profiles Page 34 Table 3: Students’ on-task behaviour (Before experimentalteaching) Page 47 I able 4: Students’ on-task behaviour (After experimental teaching) Page 52 Widdowson, H J (1990) Aspects o f Language Teaching Oxford: Oxford University Press Willing, K (1988) Learning Styles in Adult Migrant Education Sydney: National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS This questionnaire aims at collecting information for the M.A thesis o f increasing students' participation in English classroom activities in mixed ability classes We would highly appreciate your honesty and your effort in completing this questionnaire and the information you provide us will be very useful for my study You can be sure that the data collected will be used in the research paper only, not for any other purposes Thank you so much in advance Please tick (V ) or provide appropriate answer(s) for the following questions What you think about level o f students' participation in your class(es) ? A no participation B low level o f participation C average level o f participation D high level o f participation In your opinion, what factors have the most influence on the students' participation in English classroom activities? A Teaching method B Teacher's characteristic and personality C Textbook D Students' learning style What you think about the reasons why students not participate fully and actively in classroom activities in your class(es)? A The textbook is not interesting enough B There are so many different levels in my class C Some students cannot follow the same activity with the stronger students D Students' motivation is low E Other ideas (please specify): Which classroom activities you use with your mixed ability class? A Grading task B Pair- and group-work C Open-ended activities D Activities to deal with different learning speeds What have you ever done to stimulate students' participation in English classroom activities? A Using marks, praises and encouragement B Using dicipline to ask students to participate C Using appropriate activities with level o f each student in my class D Personalising the tasks E Do nothing F Other ideas (please specify): What should teachers to improve students' participation in English learning activities? A Using marks, praises and encouragement B Changing new teaching method C Using appropriate activities with level o f each student in my class D Using dicipline to ask students to participate E Personalising the tasks F Other ideas (please specify): Thank you fo r your co-operation APPENDIX 2A: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (adapted from Doan Xuan Hien 2005) Dear participant, Please fill in this questionnaire and return it to us We need your frank opinion about the English lessons to make them more relevant and interesting, as well as to meet your needs We thank you for your cooperation Please, circle or tick the answer that best described your ideas or impressions and add final comments at the bottom o f the sheet you wish Do you like learning English? A Yes B May be C No Overall impression On the whole, what you think about the English lessons in your class? A Boring B Not very interesting D Interesting E Very interesting C Quite interesting Impression o f classroom activities On the whole, what you think about the English classroom activities? A Boring B Not very interesting D Interesting E Very interesting C Quite interesting How are you involved in the English classroom activities? A Not involved B Not very involved D Involved E Very involved C Quite involved How are the classroom activities appropriate for your level? A Inappropriate B Not really appropriate C Appropriate D Quite appropriate E Really appropriate How are the materials in use are appropriate for your level? A Inappropriate B Not really appropriate C Appropriate D Quite appropriate E Really appropriate What you think about the teaching method used in English lessons? A Inappropriate for your level B Not really appropriate for your level C Appropriate for your level D Quite appropriate for your level E Really appropriate for your level Comments: Thank you fo r your co-operation APPENDIX 2B: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (VIETNAMESE VERSION) CÂU HOI KHÂO SAT Câc em than men, Hày dién vào bang câu hôi gtri lai cho chüng Chüng tơi cân nhỵrng y kién thâng thân cüa câc em vé câc gid hoc tiéng Anh lorp de làm chüng ngày thü vi phù hop hon cüng nhu dë hiëu duoc mong muô'n cüa câc em Râ't cam on sir hop tac cüa câc em Hày khoanh trơn hôc dânh dâ'u vào câu trà ldi miêu ta düng nhâ't y kién cüa em viet thêm mot vài binh luân cüa em duôi Em cô thich hoc tiéng Anh không? A.Cô B Cô thé C Khơng An tiromg chung Em nghỵ gỵ vë câc giôr hoc tiéng Anh lôp em? A Buôn chân B Không thü vj làm D Thü vi E Râ't thü vi C Khâ thü vi An tuong vê câc hoat dơng lorp Em nghỵ gỵ vê câc hoat dông gid hoc tiéng Anh? A Buôn chân B Không thü vi lâm D Thü vi E Râ't thü vj C Khâ thü vi Em tham gia vào câc hoat dônghoc tiéng Anh lôp nhu thé nào? A Không tham gia B Không tham gia may D Tham gia E Hoàn toàn tham gia C Hoi tham gia Em thâ'y câc hoat dông gid hoc tien Anh phù hop vơi trỵnh dơ cüa em nhu thé nào? A không phù hop B không thuc su phù hop D phù hop E thuc su phù hop C khâ phùhop Em thâ'y câc tài lieu dùng câc giot hoc tiéng Anh phù hop vôi trỵnh dơ cüa em nhu thé nào? A khơng phù hợp B không thực phù hợp D phù hợp E thực phù hợp c phù hợp Em nghĩ phương pháp giảng dạy giáo viênểtong học tiếng Anh? A không phù hợp B không thực phù hợp D phù hợp E thực phù hợp Ỷ kiến em: Cảm ơn hợp tác em c phù hợp APPENDIX 3: OBSERVATION SHEET: ON-TASK BEHAVIOUR (Adapted from Peacock 1997) O bserver: D a te: T eacher: C lass: Number o f students present: Description o f the activities: Instructions: These observations are designed to measure levels o f students' participation generated by the ways in which students are involved in English classroom activities Do not participate in the lesson Place yourself in an unobtrusive positioning the classroom Start the observation when the students have been working together in groups, in pairs or working individually for two minutes Observe students one by one, consecutively, clockwise around the class Identify students by name Every five seconds, write down the category best describing the observed students' behaviors at that moment, then pass on to the next student Write down the numbers sequence down to the data sheet Continue until all students have been observed 12 times Student number Scan number 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Categories; = students on task, = Students off task "On task": engaged in the pedagogic work o f the day "O ff task": a complete lack of attention to the task Q- o CO C/) OX) o U c co cd u 03 -*-* < > 03 TD =3 o Hi 0) -n c #o *♦-» c« -*-* c CO o U Ph « ts E «5 « ¡= ,o Q U Q h oo UC OS a 03 ft S -o fi T3 U U •c T3 IS a D O H 00 c -a a a x O c s- VI c -Ç P- ^cd £ tí >f< - c o JE cư) u ^ 03 M w o z Ọ u w CO ob c/i ■«—< o T3 c Cd -C «u -C ♦-* c o c/i aj 03 u -C CL (D Im CTJ d) C/5 sz f- ■5 c/) s c/3 ụ cd ? 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