Limitations and suggestions for further study- 123docz.net

Within the scope of a minor thesis, limitations are inevitable. Firstly, some changes introduced during the semester were only applicable to the author’s own class, so it could be too generalized to adopt these changes without adaptation in other classes with different students. In addition, observation was made by the teacher only; as a result, its result might be quite subjective. Finally, the researcher’ practical experience and knowledge of this field is limited, the given pedagogical implications are therefore likely to be subjective and incomplete.

Due to time constraint, the suggestions are the author’s subjective opinions without being applied yet. Hopefully, these ones will be applied in the future research to see how effectively they work.

(LUAN.van.THAC.si).an.action.research.on.developing.speaking.skill.throught.oral.presentations.with.reference.to.the.coursebook.talk.time.for.the.second.year.non.major.students.at.hanoi.university.of.industry(LUAN.van.THAC.si).an.action.research.on.developing.speaking.skill.throught.oral.presentations.with.reference.to.the.coursebook.talk.time.for.the.second.year.non.major.students.at.hanoi.university.of.industry(LUAN.van.THAC.si).an.action.research.on.developing.speaking.skill.throught.oral.presentations.with.reference.to.the.coursebook.talk.time.for.the.second.year.non.major.students.at.hanoi.university.of.industry(LUAN.van.THAC.si).an.action.research.on.developing.speaking.skill.throught.oral.presentations.with.reference.to.the.coursebook.talk.time.for.the.second.year.non.major.students.at.hanoi.university.of.industry

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pp.167-178.

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Cambridge University Press.

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Brown, H.D. (1994). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents.

Burns, A. & Joyce, H. (2002). Focus on Speaking. Sydney: National Centre for English language Teaching and Research, Macquarie University.

Clark, D. Big Dog’s Leadership Page-Presentation Skills. Retrieved on 10 August 2010 at http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadpres.html.

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Prentice Hall.

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Palgrave Macmillan.

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Gerald I. Susman, “Action Research: A Sociotechnical Systems Perspective,” ed.

G. Morgan (London: Sage Publications, 1983) p.102.

Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. Oral Communication Skills: Teaching Tips of the Week, Teaching Today. Retrieved from the www on October 15 th 2011 at http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/weeklytips.phtml/88

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Taiwan: Shih Chien University Press.

Mertler, C.A. (2006). Action research: teachers as researchers in the classroom. USA: Sage Publication, Inc.

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“Dạy và học ngoại ngữ trong hệ thống giáo dục quốc dân giai đoạn 2008-2020”.

Retrieved from the www on October 15 th 2011 at

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APPENDIXES

APPENDIX 1

THE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDENTS

This survey questionnaire is designed for my thesis on “An action research on developing speaking skill through oral presentations with reference to the coursebook “Talk time” for the second-year non-major students at Hanoi University of Industry”.

Your assistance in completing this questionnaire is highly appreciated. You will be confident that you will not be identified in any cases.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Section 1: Personal information (tick the appropriate box or write down the answer)

 Gender: - Male □ - Female □

 Age: ………..

 Place where you have grown up: - Urban □ - Rural □

 How long have you been learning English? (circle the correct answer) A. ≤ 2 years

B. More than 2 years, but ≤ 5 years C. More than 5 years, but ≤ 10 years D. > 10 years

 Have you ever made an oral presentation in English lessons?

A. Yes B. No

Section 2: Your attitudes toward the use of oral presentations in English lessons Put a tick () in the appropriate boxes below

Statements Strongly

disagree

Disagree Don’t know

Agree Strongly agree

General beliefs in the usefulness of oral presentations 1. Making oral presentations helps

me learn English better.

2. Oral presentation skills are important in English learning.

3. Listening to my classmates’

presentations is helpful for me in learning English.

4. Making oral presentations in class helps me practice my speaking skill.

5. Making oral presentations in class helps me to be more aware of my pronunciation.

6. Making oral presentations in class helps me widen my vocabulary.

7. I acquire a lot of new knowledge about the topics of presentations.

8. After doing presentations in English, I feel more confident in speaking English in class.

9. I am interested in searching for information and preparing for my presentations.

10. Through searching and reading many materials, my reading skills are improved.

General belief about their own ability to do oral presentations 11. Making English oral

presentations is easy to me.

12. I am confident in doing oral presentations in English.

13. I’m afraid of making oral presentations in English lessons.

General attitudes towards oral presentations 14. I am interested in making oral

presentations in English lessons as a learning activity.

Section 3: Your suggestions to increase the effectiveness of oral presentations in English lessons (you can circle more than one choice)

15. What aspects of your presentations do you like your teacher to give more feedback?

A. The content of presentations B. The organization of presentations C. Your grammar mistakes

D. Your pronunciation mistakes E. Your intonation

F. Your body language, facial expressions, eye contact and gestures

G. Others: ………

16. What should the teacher do to help you make oral presentations better?

A. Provide more instructions and guidance before the students do their presentations.

B. Encourage and compliment on the students’ presentations more.

C. Give the list of topics which the students have to do their presentations on D. Let the students decide which topic they will do their presentations on.

E. Give the students more time to do oral presentations.

F. Ask the students to do more than one presentation during the semester.

G.Others:

………

17. What should the students do before class to make good presentations and improve their speaking skill?

A. Make the outline of the presentation.

B. Assign work among the students in a group.

C. Search the information from many sources of materials D. Prepare power-point slides carefully.

E. Check the words’ phonetic spellings before making the presentations.

F. Practise making their presentations at home.

G. Others: ………

Thank you for your support!

APPENDIX 2

OBSERVATION SHEET

Class:………

Date: ……… Number of the lesson:………

Topic of the lesson:………

Group: ………

Very good

good satisfactory Need

improvement

Other comments 1. Overall impression

- Confidence - Good preparation 2. Presentation Techniques

- Audibility/Loudness of voice

- Eye contact - Facial expression - Gesture

- Fluency - Pronunciation - Pace (fast or slow) - Intonation

3. Organization - Introduction

(announcing the topic/setting the scene to gain interest) - Body (details &

explanations)

- Conclusion (summary

& closing statements)

4. Content

- Relevance to the topic - Clarity of ideas - Original & creative

ideas 5. Language

- Complete sentences - Correct grammar - Choice of words,

including connectives 6. Question – answer

(notice how many questions are asked and how they answer the questions)

7. Other students’ comment (Note down students’

comments and give

feedbacks)

(Adapted from http://cd.emb.gov.hk/eng/consultation/download/Appendices.pdf)

APPENDIX 3

PROMPTS FOR STUDENT JOURNALS

1. What do you think about the presentations today? (Are they good/ quite good/ very good/ bad/interesting/ boring…? And why?)

2. What can you learn from today’s presentations? (About the knowledge, about the speaking skills, about the presentation skills…..)

3. What needs improvement to make a better presentation? (About PPT slides, about the content of presentations, about classmates’ pronunciation, about presentation skills such as using body language, eye contact……)

4. What do you think the teacher should do to help the students make oral presentations better?

APPENDIX 4

SUGGESTED LANGUAGE USED IN AN ORAL PRESENTATION

I. Introduction

I.1. Getting the audience's attention and signal the beginning Right. Well. OK. Let's begin.

Can we start?

Shall we start?

Could I have your attention please?

I.2. Greeting

Good morning Good afternoon Good evening Hello

I.3. Introducing the presenter(s)

Let me introduce the members of my group……..

There are 3 members in my group…… My name is…………

I.4. Introducing the topic

Today I’d like to talk about……

The topic I will discuss today is………

The subject of my presentation is………..

In this presentation I´m going to discuss ……….

I.5. Introduce the main content

My presentation will be divided into 3 main parts……….

I’ll be developing 3 main points……..

I have divided my presentation (up) into 3 parts…….

II. Development

II.1. Moving on other points

Regarding ... My next point will be...

Now I will move on to talk about…...

That's all I would like to say about...and now let us turn to ....

Now that we've seen... let us turn to…

Limitations and suggestions for further study

Planning, preparing, rehearsing and presenting