CHAPTER III: MAJOR FINDINGS, DISCUSSIONS AND
3.1. Major findings and discussions
3.1.1. The importance of group work activities in speaking class
3.1.1.1. Students’ assessment about the importance of group work activities in speaking class
Chart 1: Students’ assessment about the importance of group work activities in the speaking class
Chart 2: Teachers’ assessment about the importance of group work activities in the speaking class
The data from chart 1 shows that there are no students and no teachers who consider group work activities are not very important or not important at all. Surprisingly, 67% of the students highly appreciate the role of group work activities and show that group work is important in the speaking class. The rest of respondents (33%) consider group work very important. It is clear that those first year non-English- major students pay a lot of attention to group work activities and really like to work in groups to practice speaking English. The results from the data of teachers’
very important
33%
important 67%
not very important
0%
not important
at all 0%
very important
80%
important 20%
not very important
0%
not important at all
0%
questionnaire surveys also represent the teachers’ opinion about the importance of group work. 80% of teachers consider group work very important while only 20%
of them say that group work is important.
The author interviews some students and teachers if they like group work in speaking class and receive the same answers:
“I really like participating in group work activities in speaking lessons. This is a very good opportunity for us to speak English with each other, to express our ideas freely without anxiety of making mistakes. We can exchange information, look up new words in the dictionary, and practice with our partners before making presentation for the teacher or in front of the class. This helps us feel more confident when speaking English.” (H)
“In the speaking class, group work is very important. It is a good opportunity for students to practice English with their partners, to prepare their presentation before talking with the teachers. Therefore, they will feel more confident and less anxious in speaking English. The speaking class would be so boring if there were no group work activities”. (Teacher T)
3.1.1.2. The frequency of organizing group work in speaking class
Chart 3: Students’ opinion about the frequency of organizing group work in the speaking class
always 15%
often 54%
sometimes 28%
rarely 3%
never 0%
Chart 4: Teachers’ opinion about the frequency of organizing group work in the speaking class
As can be seen from chart 2, the teachers and students share nearly same opinion about the frequency of organizing group work in speaking class. More than a half of students (54%) say that their teachers often organize group work in speaking class while 15% of them always work in group in speaking class. Only 3% of the respondents rarely have group work in speaking class. Besides, the results from the chart 4 show 60% of teachers say they often organize group work in the class, 20% always, and 20% sometimes involve their students in group work activities. It is easy to recognize teachers teaching speaking skill for the first year students take high consideration in organizing group work to improve their speaking skill and confidence in speaking. All of them have had opportunities to study about CLT, benefits of group work so they do not forget to take advantage of this method in teaching speaking for students.
3.1.1.3. The teachers’ methods of encouraging students to speak
Chart 5: Students’ assessment of the teachers’ methods of encouraging students to speak
always 20%
ofen 60%
sometimes 20%
rarely 0%
never 0%
give presents 8%
give good mark 43%
give good comments
49%
do nothing 0%
Chart 6: The teachers’ methods of encouraging students to speak
As can be seen, the most common methods the teachers use to encourage students to speak English are giving good marks (43% of students) and giving good comments (49% of students). 60% of teachers who were asked to complete the questionnaire give good mark as the most popular way to encourage students to speak. This way is very suitable for large size classes in Faculty of Finance and Banking, VCU, with about 50 students in a class. Giving good marks and giving good comments are easier to implement in comparison to giving presents because of the big number of students in a class. Therefore, only 8% of the participants say that their teachers give presents for them to encourage students to speak English. No teachers do anything to motivate students to be more active in the speaking class. It shows that students’ confidence, motivating, and willingness to speak come from the teachers’
appropriate method in stimulating them to speak as much as possible.