IV.2. Recommendations for teachers to improve students’ talking time
IV.2.2 Recommendation for the teachers
IV.2.2.2. Suggested activities to increase students’ participation in oral activities
Pair work
It is always advisable for the language teacher to develop strategies for enhancing the degree of students‟ participation in speaking activities and well-organized pair work is one of the most important ways of achieving this. In pair work, it is a good idea to get students to work with the person sitting directly in front of or behind them in the large class.
Moving the seat to work in pair with other students should be encouraged.
Pair work, which is preferred by most of the students at DDHS, clearly has a number of advantages: it offers intensive, realistic practice in speaking and listening, and it promotes a friendly classroom ambiance that is conducive to learning. But beyond that, pair work has another important advantage that activities done with larger groups do not have; that is the only way of getting everyone in a classroom speaking and listening at the same time. In other words, it is an efficient, productive way of spending precious classroom time.
To apply this technique effectively and properly, the teachers should bear in mind that it is difficult for them to keep control and to hear what their students are saying. Therefore, they must set up activities that are appropriate to the needs of your students and the stage of the lesson.
Group work
Group work can be considered as an effective solution for teachers to teach in large-sized class. It may take time and class might be noisy; however, according to Ur (1996) group work has some certain advantages. The first advantage of group work is of course the increased participation. If you have five or six groups then there will be five or six times the amount of talking. The second one is the motivation of participants because they are active and feel important during these activities. This is partly a function of the release from inhibition, but the other factors also play a part. Last but not least, group work frees the teacher from her usual role of instructor-corrector-controller, and allows her to wander freely round the class, giving help where needed and so on…
It is clear that the advantages of group work are enormous. However, teachers should pay much attention to the following points when they want to design group work activities:
- Be conscious of group size. In general, groups of four or five members work best. Larger groups decrease each member's opportunity to participate actively (Smith, 1986)
- Create assignments that fit the students' skills and abilities. Early in the term, assign relatively easy tasks. As students become more knowledgeable, increase the difficulty level. (Cooper, 1990)
- Help groups plan how to proceed. Ask each group to devise a plan of action: who will be doing what and when. Review the groups' written plans or meet with each group to discuss its plan.
- Regularly check in with the groups. If the task spans several weeks, you will want to establish checkpoints with the groups. Ask groups to turn in outlines or drafts or to meet with you.
Role play
According to the result of the survey, role-play is an activity which used by over half of the teachers. The use of role-play has added a tremendous number of possibilities for communication practice. Students are no longer limited to the kind of language used by learners in a classroom: they can be shopkeepers or spies, grandparents or children, authority figures or subordinates, etc. Moreover, role-play exercises are usually based on real-life situations; hence, the speech they require is close to genuine discourse, and provides useful practice in this kind of language the learner may eventually need to use in similar situations outside the classroom.
Role-play requires careful preparation and organization. Role cards should be prepared in advanced and the situation must be realistic and interesting to attract every class member. To this kind of activity, some students may feel unwilling to participate; therefore, the teachers ought to walk round the room to observe and encourage reluctant who escapes from joining them with the same suggestion and remind them not to speak in mother tongue.
Basing on teaching experiences of the researcher, the teachers should follow steps when they want to design a role-play activity:
- Step 1: Teachers choose interesting situation (teachers can use situation outside the textbook)
- Step 2: give it to students and ask them to take the roles of the subjects in the conversation.
Students can choose the role suitable with them and practice with another partner at the same table or in front of them or behind them.
- Step 3: Ask students to change subjects and create new conversations
- Step 4: Ask students to remember their roles in the conversation and then act creatively with their partners in front of other members in the class. This step can be difficult but can motivate good students and create an exciting class air.
Games for speaking
Games are activities that can help the teachers to create contexts in which language is useful and meaningful (Andrew Wright, and Michael Buckby, 1984). In the whole process of teaching and learning by games, students can take part widely and are open-minded.
Besides, “Games are highly motivating because they are amusing and interesting. They can be used to give practice in all language skills and be used to practice many types of communication” (Ersoz, 2000). Games can be played at the opening stages of lessons or at the production phase or whenever students feel tired after long time of learning; they will draw more attention to the lesson with lower stress.
Basing on the researcher‟s real experience of teaching, a guessing game (a flashcard or a picture) that is not shown to the class, the students must guess what it is by asking questions) is one of the most suitable types of games for students at DDHS because it is based on the simplest types of utterances: simple questions or statements, brief phrases, single words.
PART THREE: CONCLUSION
I. Conclusion
The study was carried out with the help of the Grade 11th students at DDHS to find out the strategies to increase students‟ participation in oral activities. The findings show that a considerable number of students unwilling to speak English in class. The longer the silence takes over the class, the more the teachers try to find out the ways to stimulate their students. This actually makes the researcher carry out this study. The study consists of three main parts, namely: the introduction, the development, the conclusion
The first part presents the rationale, the aim, the scope, the research questions, the method and the design of the study. In the rationale, the importance of studying English in general and the learning speaking skill in particular was discussed. To answer three research questions raised in this study, both quantitative and qualitative methods have been applied to collect data through 2 questionnaires and classroom observation.
The second part includes four chapters: Chapter one: Literature Review presents definition of strategies, teaching strategies; concepts of communicative language teaching (CLT);
nature of speaking skill and principles of teaching speaking. Furthermore, this chapter also deals with definition of students‟ participation, and" factors affecting students‟
participation as well. Chapter two, namely The Study, states the current situation of teaching and learning English speaking skill at DDHS. Besides, it talks about the methodology, the instrument, and the subjects of the study. Chapter three: Statistics and Analysis of Data, analyses the collected data to answer the three research questions. The last chapter – Findings and Recommendations – consists of the author‟s findings of levels of students‟ participation in speaking lessons, learner‟s factors affecting students‟
participation in oral activities, teacher‟s difficulties in teaching speaking, and current teaching methods. Another important part of this chapter is some suggested strategies and activities which help overcome the major difficulties as well as improve the quality of teaching and learning speaking at DDHS.
The third part – Conclusion – in which the summary of the study, some limitations of the study are displayed.
II. Limitations and suggestions of the study
Although the researcher has made effort toward carrying out this study such as the triangulation of data collection methods, namely observation, survey questionnaires for learners and teachers, due to the limitation of time, lack of resources and the researcher‟s ability, shortcomings are unavoidable.
Firstly, the research has been carried out in a very small scope. The number of students and teachers involved in the survey is still limited, so to some extend, the findings may not be generalized to all students at DDHS.
Secondly, the researcher only used survey questionnaires and classroom observation as the main instrument for data collection. In order to make the obtained results more reliable, different instruments for data collection should be applied.
Thirdly, the strategies suggested in this research are selected from different reliable but limited sources.
To carry out better and more efficient study with large scope, surely the researcher in the coming time with her further research should invite more learners at other levels and more teachers to participate in the studies.
REFERENCES
1. Brown, (1994). Teaching by Principles. Cambridge University Press
2. Brown, H. Douglas (2007). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. White Plains NY
3. Brown, G and Yule, G. (1983). Teaching the Spoken Language. CUP
4. Burkart, G.S. (1998). Spoken Language: What it is and how to teach it.
Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics, 1998. Retrieved from www.nclrc.org.
5. Bygate, M. (1987). Speaking. Oxford University, Longman 6. Byrne. (1991). Teaching Oral English. Longman.
7. Cooper, J. (1990) Cooperative Learning and College Instruction. Long Beach:
Institute for Teaching and Learning, California State University
8. Ersoz, A. (2000). Six Games for the EFL/ESL Classroom. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. VI, No. 6,
9. Gardner, R.C & Lambert, W. (1985). Attitude and Motivation in Second Language Learning. Newbury House, Rowley Mass
10. Harmer, J. (2001). The Practice of English Language Teaching (3rd ed.). Essex:
Longman
11. M. Bailey, K. & Savage, L. (1994). New Ways in Teaching Speaking. Oxford University Press.
12. M. Bailey, K. (2005). Practical English Language Teaching: Speaking. New York
13. Mackey, W.F. (1965). Language Teaching Analysis. London and Harlow, Longman
14. Nunan, D. (1989). Designing Task for The Communicative Classroom. Cambridge University Press
15. Nunan, D. (1991). Language Teaching Methodology. Prentice Hall International Ltd
16. Smith, K. A. (1986) "Cooperative Learning Groups." In S. F. Schmoberg (ed.), Strategies for Active Teaching and Learning in University Classrooms.
Minneapolis: Office of Educational Development Programs, University of Minnesota
17. Ur, P. (1991). Discussion That Work. Cambridge University Press.
18. Ur, P. (1996). A Course in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press
19. Wright, A & Buckby, M. (1984). Games for Language Learning. Cambridge University Press
APPENDIX 1
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES FOR STUDENTS
Các em thân mến,
Phiếu khảo sát này nhằm mục đích tìm hiểu về việc học tiếng Anh đặc biệt là việc học kỹ năng nói (English speaking skill) của học sinh trường THPT Đông Đô, để từ đó chương trình học sẽ đáp ứng tốt hơn nhu cầu của các em. Chính vì vậy rất mong các em trả lời trung thực những câu hỏi trong phiếu này. Phiếu khảo sát này không dùng vào mục đich đánh giá mà chỉ phục vụ cho mục đích nghiên cứu. Xin chân thành cảm ơn các em.
Hướng dẫn trả lời: Phiếu khảo sát này có 4 phần. Các em hãy đánh dấu nhân chéo (x) vào các câu trả lời mà em cho là thích hợp nhất.
PHẦN 1: Quan điểm của em về kỹ năng nói tiếng Anh
1. Kỹ năng nói tiếng Anh quan trọng như thế nào với em?
A. Rất quan trọng B. Khá quan trọng C. Ít quan trọng D. Không quan trọng
2. Em thấyy các giờ học nói thú vị như thế nào?
A. Rất thú vị B. Khá thú vị C. Ít thú vị
D. Không thú vị chút nào
3. Em nghĩ gì về các chủ đề nói trong sách giáo khoa?
A. Rất hay B. Nhàm chán C. Khó
D. Dễ dàng
PHẦN 2: Các yếu tố ảnh đến sự tham gia của học sinh trong giờ học nói
4. Em đánh giá như thế nào về mức độ tham gia cua em trong các giờ học nói tiếng Anh?
A. Em rất thích nói tiếng Anh và luôn sẵn sang tham gia vào mọi hoạt động trong giờ học nói
B. Em chỉ thích nói tiếng Anh khi giáo viên hỏi và chỉ định em trả lời C. Em chỉ thích nói tiếng Anh với bạn bên cạnh hoặc bạn cùng bàn
D. Em chỉ thích nói tiếng Anh nếu như em được chuẩn bị trước nội dung ở nhà E. Em rất ngại khi phải tham gia vào các hoạt động trong giờ học nói tiếng Anh 5. Theo em, các yếu tố nào sau đây làm em cảm thấy ngại sử dụng tiếng Anh?
A. Em sợ xấu hổ
B. Em không quen nói tiếng Anh trước lớp C. Phương pháp dạy nhàm chán
D. Nội dung bài học không thú vị
E. Mục đích học tiếng Anh của em không phải là để giao tiếp
6. Điều gì dưới dây ảnh hưởng tới việc tham gia của em trong các giờ học nói?
A. Không tìm được từ và cấu trúc câu
B. Không biết gì về chủ đề nói C. Không đủ thời gian để chuẩn bị D. Phát âm sai
E. Giáo viên nói quá nhiều trên lớp
PHẦN 3: Các phương pháp đang được ứng dụng trong việc dạy kỹ năng nói 7. Sau khi đưa chủ đề nói, giáo viên của em thường...
A. Cung cấp cho em từ mới và cấu trúc liên quan đến chủ đề nói B. Cung cấp cho em những ý chính của chủ đề nói
C. Khuyến khích em lập dàn ý cho chủ đề nói D. Yêu cầu em tự thảo luận chủ đề nói
8. Trong khi đang thực hành nói, nếu em mắc lỗi, giáo viên thường...
A. Rất tức giận và yêu cầu em dừng lại để chữa lỗi ngay B. Không bực mình nhưng yêu cầu em dừng lại để chữa lỗi
C. Đợi đến khi em thực hành xong mới chỉ ra các lỗi và sửa chúng cho em
D. Đợi đến khi em thực hành xong mới chỉ ra các lỗi mà em mắc phải và khuyến khích em tự sửa lỗi
PHẦN 4: Giải pháp khắc phục
9. Theo em giáo viên nên làm gì để tăng cường sự tham gia của học sinh trong các hoạt động nói (Em có thể chọn hơn 1 phương án trả lời)
A. Không yêu cầu em dừng lại khi em mắc lỗi B. Đồng ý các câu trả lời đa dạng của em
C. Giao cho em các bài tập phù hợp với khả năng của em D. Thưởng điểm hoặc quà khi em nói tốt
10. Em nghĩ gì về các hoạt động dưới được sử dụng trong giờ nói dưới đây
Rất thích Thích Không
quan tâm Không thích Không thích chút nào Làm việc theo cá nhân
Làm việc theo nhóm, cặp Sử dụng trò chơi
APPENDIX 2
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES FOR TEACHERS
Dear All teachers at Dong Do High School
This survey is designed in order to explore your student’s desire for learning English.
Therefore, as a researcher, I highly appreciate your assistance in completing this survey.
All the information is this survey is not used on the purpose of identifying; it is sole for the study purpose.
Thank you very much for your contribution
(Please show your appropriate answer by putting a tick in the appropriate column) Q1. What do you think about CLT (Communicative Language Teaching)
(You can choose all statements if you think they are true) A. Focus on meaningful tasks rather than on language itself.
B. Doesn‟t teach grammar
C. Emphasize on fluency more than accuracy D. Is learner-centered
Q2. Have you been taught in CLT?
A. Yes, in English teaching-training courses B. Yes, in English teaching workshops C. No, I have never been taught in CLT D. Others
Q.3. What teaching method are currently used in your teaching speaking A. CLT
B. Grammar translation C. Audio-lingual
D. Others
Q.4. How do you evaluate about your students’ level of participation in the classroom speaking activities?
A. My students are very afraid of participating speaking activities B. My students are quite afraid of participating speaking activities C. They are very willing to speak
D. I don‟t care
Q.5. What do you do when your students are reluctant to speak?
A. get angry
B. get them to speak
C. encourage them to speak by asking easier?
D. let them sit down and not ask them again
Q.6. When your students keep making mistakes, you are………
A. Irritated B. Little tolerant C. Tolerant D. Very Tolerant
Q.7. What are your difficulties in teaching speaking skill at your school?
A. Large-sired class B. Students‟ shyness
C. Students‟ low English proficiency D. Lack of time
Q.8. What do you usually do to make your students interested in their speaking lessons?
(Choose more than one option) A. Encourage them by grades
B. Praise them
C. Let them choose topics to discuss
D. Design appropriate speaking tasks to the learners‟ abilities
Q.9. How often do you use the following activities to motivate your students to participate more in oral activities?
Always Often Sometimes Rarely Never
Individual work Pair work &
Group work Role play
Games
APPENDIX 3
OBSERVATION SHEET
Unit 14: RECREATION
(Part B: Speaking – Expressing agreements and disagreements) Class: 11A2 and 11A3
Time allowance: 90 minutes (45 minutes for each class) Date: April, 15th, 2010
Teacher’s activities Students’
participation in Teacher’s activities
Students’ attitude toward Teacher’s
activities
Remark
1. Task 1 (5 minutes) asked the students to work individually to decide whether the expressions are agreements or disagreement.
Work individually Active Exciting
2. Task 2 (8 minutes) displayed the
situation of the task, and then let students practice the dialogue in groups of three
Practice the dialogue in groups of three
Willing to participate
Rather exciting
3. Task 3 (15