The following suggestions for further studies are made with a view to compensating for the shortcomings of my study. Firstly, later research on this topic should be conducted on a larger number of subjects. In addition, a supplementary qualitative data collection instrument such as interview or video recorder can be employed so that more sufficient data can be collected. Furthermore, a further study can focus on communicative speaking activities to improve students’ English speaking skills.
Following are some suggested topics for further research on developing speaking skills for part-time working learners.
- Communicative activities to enhance students’ English speaking skills - Strategies to maximize students’ participation in English speaking lessons - Personalizing oral activities to increase students’ participation
- Using authentic materials to motivate students in English speaking lessons - Understanding and meeting English learners’ needs in the speaking lessons - Creating a classroom atmosphere conducive to English speaking learning.
REFERENCES
1. Bailey, K. M. and Savage, M. (1994), New ways in Teaching Speaking, Teachers of English to Speakers of other Languages, Inc.
2. Bailey, K.M (2005) Practical English Language Teaching: Speaking. New York: Mc Graw Hill
3. Barry, K. (1993), Beginning Teaching (2nd edition), Wentworth Falls: Social Science Press.
4. Brown, H. D. (1994), Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents.
5. Byrne, D. (1988), Focus on the Classroom, Hongkong: Modern English Publications.
6. Carroll, J.B. (1962). The prediction of success in intensive foreign language training.
Retrieved in Language Aptitude Reconsidered. ERIC Digest http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9215/language.htm
7. Gardner R.C. and Lambert W.E. (1972), Attitudes and Motivation in Second Language Learning, Newbury House Publishers.
8. Harmer, J. (2001), How to Teach English, Malaysia: Longman.
9. Harmer, J. (2001). The practice of English language teaching. 3 rd ed. Longman
10. Haycraft, J. (1978), An Introduction to English Language Teaching, Harlow:
Longman.
11. Hamzah & Ting (2009), Teaching Speaking Skills through Group Work Activities: A case study in SMK DAMAI JAYA, University Technology Malaysia.
12. Huong, N.T.T (2010), Teaching Speaking Skill to non-majored MA Students at VNUH, submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts at ULIS, VNU.
13.Lile, W.T, Motivation in ESL classroom, Retrieved in http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Lile- Motivation.html
14. Nolaso, R. &. Arthur, L.(1988) Large classes, London: Macmillan Publishers.
15. Nunan, D. (1999), Second Language Teaching & Learning, Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.
16. O'Malley, J.M. and Chamot, A.U. (1990), Learning Strategies in Second Language Acquisition, Cambridge: CUP
17. Oxford, R. L., & Shearin, J. (1998), Language Learning Motivation: Expanding the Theoretical Framework, The Modern Language Journal, 78, 12-28.
18. Rubin, J. and Wenden, A. (1987), Learner strategies in language learning, London:
Prentice Hall.
19. Savignon, S.J. (1991), Communicative Language Teaching: State of the Art, TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 2. (Summer, 1991), pp. 261-277.
20. Tarone, E. (1983), Some thoughts on the notion of “communication strategy”, in C.
Faerch and G. Kasper (Eds.), Strategies in interlanguage communication (pp. 61- 74). London: Longman.
21. Tsui, A. (1996), Recitence and Anxiety in Second Language Learning, In K. Bailey &
D. 19. Underwood, M. (1987). Effective Class Management. NewYork:
Longman.
22. Ur, P. (1996), A Course in Language Teaching, Cambridge [England]; New York:
Cambridge University Press.
23. Urrutia, W., & Vega, E. (2006), Encouraging teenagers to improve speaking skills through games in a Colombian public school, PROFILE Issues in Teachers' Professional Development, 12(2).
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (for students)
This survey questionnaire is designed for my study “An Investigation into the Teaching of Speaking Skills to Second-Degree Freshmen at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University Hanoi”. Your assistance in filling the following items is highly appreciated. You can be confident that your identity will be kept confidential and your answers will be used for the purpose of this research only.
*********************
Your Personal Information
Male Female Age …….
How long have you been learning English? …… years
Part 1: Students’ attitudes towards the learning of English speaking skills 1. How important is English speaking to you?
A. Very important B. Important
C. A little important D. Unimportant
2. How is your effort in learning to speak English?
A. Very high B. High C. Quite high D. Low E. Very low
3. Do you often speak English in speaking lessons?
A. Yes. I always volunteer to speak
B. Yes. I speak when I like the topics.
C. No. I only speak when the teacher orders me.
D. No. I never speak and often keep silent in speaking lessons.
Part 2: Students’ difficulties in the learning of English speaking skills
4. Do you feel reluctant to speak in English speaking lessons? If yes, why? If no, skip this question.
A. Being afraid of losing face when making mistakes and being laughed at by my classmates
B. Being not used to speaking English in front of other people, therefore, feel nervous C. Learning goal is not to communicate, so feel indifferent in the speaking class D. Feeling bored and demotivated because the topic is too easy or too difficult
E. Others………
5. What difficulties do you face when learning to speak English? (Choose no more than 2 options)
A. Lack of vocabulary to express my idea B. Not enough time for preparation
C. I don’t have ideas to talk about the topic.
D. My pronunciation is very poor E. My grammar is very poor
Part 3: Students’ feedbacks on their speaking class
6. What do you think of the textbook you are using at your English speaking class?
A. Many activities are unsuitable and boring.
B. Many activities are interesting and suitable.
C. Many activities are difficult and boring.
D. Many activities are easy and boring.
7. On average, students’ talking time accounts for ……… of a speaking lesson in your class.
A. Less than 30%, and your teachers talk for more than 70%
B. From 30 to 50%, and your teachers talk from 50% to 70%
C. From 50% to 70%, and your teachers talk from 30% to 50%
D. More than 70%, and your teachers talk for less than 30%
8. What do you think about your teachers’ talking time?
A. too much B. much C. all right D. little E. too little 9. After giving a topic, your teachers often (Choose no more than 2 options)
A. Provide new words and structures related to the given topic.
B. Provide main ideas of the topic.
C. Let students discuss the topic in pair or group.
D. Immediately ask you to discuss the topic.
E. Others ………
10. What does your teacher do while you practice Speaking?
A. Go around the class to monitor and help you with new words or structures when you need.
B. Stay at their seat and relax.
C. Take time to do other things.
D. Others (please specify)……….
11. What do your teachers do after you finish your speaking performance?
A. Give good comments although your presentation is not really good.
B. Point out your mistakes and encourage you to correct your mistakes by yourselves.
C. Point out and correct your mistakes D. Criticize your mistakes
E. Others ………
12. What do your teachers do when you make mistakes in speaking?
A. Interrupt you and correct your mistakes immediately.
B. Not correct your mistakes and encourages you to continue speaking until you finish.
C. Wait until you finish, point out your mistakes and encourage you to correct your mistakes by yourself.
D. Just listen to you until you finish and no correction.
13. How do you think about your class’ speaking lessons?
A. All students are very active
B. Many students are active, happy and willing to speak
C. Many students are reluctant to speak and the class is quite boring.
D. All students are reluctant to speak and the class is very boring.
E. It depends, some students are active and others are passive.
Part 4: Students’ learning preferences
14. What would you like your teacher to do to encourage you to speak in English speaking lessons? (Choose no more than 2 options)
A. Not interrupt when you make mistakes.
B. Give marks or comments for your speaking performance C. Give you speaking tasks suitable to your ability.
D. Create a co-operative English learning environment.
E. Combine textbook and other relevant materials
F. Give more careful instructions at the beginning of the activity 15. Please read the sentences carefully, tick the ones that apply to you
In class, I like to learn by games.
In class, I like to learn by pictures, films and video.
I like to learn the target language in pairs and groups.
I like to practice English in real situations.
I like the teacher to let me find my mistakes.
At home, I like to learn by watching TV in the foreign language.
I like the teacher to explain everything to us.
I want to write everything in my notebook.
I like to study the foreign language by myself.
I like the teacher to give us problem to work on.
I like to make my language performance perfect before reporting to the class.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION
APPENDIX 2
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (for teachers)
This survey questionnaire is designed for my study “An Investigation into the Teaching of Speaking Skills to Second-Degree Freshmen at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University Hanoi”. Your assistance in filling the following items is highly appreciated. You can be confident that your identity will be kept confidential and your answers will be used for the purpose of this research only.
*********************
Your Personal Information
Male Age …….
Female
How long have you been teaching English: ...year(s)
Part 1: Teachers’ attitudes towards their students’ learning of English speaking skills 1. What do you think about the importance of English speaking to your students?
A. Very important B. Important
C. A little important D. Unimportant
2. What do you think about your students’ speaking ability?
A. Very good B. Good C. Acceptable D. Bad
3. In your experience, what makes your students feel reluctant to speak English in the class?
A. Being afraid of losing face when making mistakes and being laughed at by their classmates
B. Being not used to speaking English in front of other people, therefore, feel nervous C. Learning goal is not to communicate, so feel indifferent in the speaking class
D. Feeling bored and demotivated because the topic is too easy or too difficult
E. Others………
4. In your experience, what are your students’ difficulties in learning to speak English?
A. Lack of vocabulary to express their idea B. Not enough time for preparation
C. They don’t have ideas to talk about the topic.
D. Their pronunciation is very poor E. Their grammar is very poor
Part 2: Teachers’ opinion in their teaching methodology 5. As for you, Communicative Language Teaching:
A. always emphasizes fluency over accuracy.
B. is student-centered.
C. its final goal is students’ communicative competence.
D. does not teach grammar.
E. is used only for teaching Speaking skills, not for other skills.
F. focuses on meaningful tasks rather than the language itself.
G. gives students opportunities to communicate with each other.
H. Others (please specify)……….
6. Do you apply Communicative Language Teaching in teaching Speaking?
A. Yes. B. No. I use... method.
Part 3: Teachers’ difficulties in their English speaking lesson
7. What difficulties do you meet when carrying out the speaking activities? (Choose no more than 2 options)
7.1 In terms of students’ side
A. they often keep quiet and only speak when they are asked B. learners are too shy to speak in front of the class
C. they are not interested in the topic D. they have low proficiency of English
7.2 In terms of your own side A. it is difficult to organize
B. it takes too much time to make a lesson plan
7.3 In terms of objective factors
A. lack of equipment in the classroom (computers and projectors) B. size of class
C. time allocation D. atmosphere in class
Other difficulties that you face:
………...
...
...
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION
APPENDIX 3
CLASSROOM OBSERVATION CHECKLIST 1. Date: ...
2. Teacher: ...
3. Unit: ...
4. Class: ...
5. No of students: ...
6. Materials: ...
7. Activity: ...
* Observation
1. Students’ level of participation in speaking
activities Very low 1 2 3 4 5 Very high
2. Students’ interaction with the teacher and other
partners Very bad 1 2 3 4 5 Very good
3. Students’ attitudes towards speaking activities Not interested 1 2 3 4 5 Very interested
4. Teacher’s teaching techniques & speaking activities
Not appropriate 1 2 3 4 5 Very appropriate
5. Classroom learning atmosphere Not active 1 2 3 4 5 Very active
* Comment:
………
………
………
………
………
………
………...
APPENDIX 4
SAMPLE OF THE SPEAKING ACTIVITY: SONG
APPENDIX 5
SAMPLE OF THE COMMUNICATIVE GAME: SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
APPENDIX 6
SAMPLE OF THE COMMUNICATIVE GAME: WHAT IS THE WORD?
APPENDIX 7
SAMPLE OF THE SPEAKING ACTIVITY: QUESTION AND ANSWER