THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES CAO XUAN HIEU EMPLOYING PHOTOVOICE IN IMPROVING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL AT THE PRIMARY SCHOOL M.A THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201 THAI NGUYEN – 2024 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES CAO XUAN HIEU EMPLOYING PHOTOVOICE IN IMPROVING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL AT THE PRIMARY SCHOOL M.A THESIS (APPLICATION ORIENTATION) Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Nong Thi Hien Huong, Ph. THAI NGUYEN - 2024 ĐẠI HỌC THÁI NGUYÊN TRƯỜNG NGOẠI NGỮ CAO XUÂN HIẾU ỨNG DỤNG HÌNH ẢNH ĐỂ CẢI THIỆN KỸ NĂNG NÓI CỦA HỌC SINH CẤP TIỂU HỌC LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ (Định hướng ứng dụng) Ngành: Ngôn ngữ Anh Mã số: 8220201 Cán bộ hướng dẫn: TS. Nông Thị Hiền Hương THÁI NGUYÊN - 2024 i DECLARATION I hereby certify that the thesis, "Employing photovoice in improving students' speaking skill at the primary school", is the outcome of my own research for the Degree of Master at the School of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University, and that this thesis has not been submitted for any other degrees. Approved by Author’s signature SUPERVISOR Nông Thi Hien Huong, PhD Cao Xuan Hieu Date, …….
February, 2024 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For helping me with the implementation of this study, I would like to express my sincere and heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to Nong Thi Hien Huong, PhD. She is my dissertation supervisor, who I consider to be a great blessing. Without her ongoing encouragement and assistance, my paper would not have been finished. I was able to boldly present my views in my article because to her kindness and constructive critique.
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all of my lecturers at School of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University for their support, insightful classes, which have enriched both my theoretical and practical understanding. Finally, I would like to thank my loving parents and my supportive coworkers at Iris Primary School for giving me the time and support I needed to finish this study. iii ABSTRACT English language acquisition in general and English speaking skills in particular have always been the central goal of English Language Education. However, it is not always easy to improve students’ speaking competences.
At Iris School, primary school students do not seem to be able to speak English effectively in spite of effort made by teachers and administrators. In order to figure out one suitable method for this situation, an action study was implemented at Iris school with the participation of 90 grade-3 students and 2 volunteer teachers. With the aim of exploring the influence of photovoice technique on students’ speaking level and the attitudes of students and teachers toward the use of photovoice technique, a set of pre-test and post-test and interviews served as research instruments. The actions to be taken include using photovoice to teach speaking, putting picture- based activities into practice, providing feedback on students' performance, and getting students to speak English comfortably.
The findings indicate that photovoice technique had a positive influence on students’ speaking skill and students and teachers had positive attitudes toward the use of photovoice in English classes. In addition, the support from parents and the guidance from teacher were the motivation for students to be engaged and active in the speaking classroom. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS.
v LIST OF TABLES. vii LIST OF FIGURES. viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. Statement of the problems.
Scope of the study. Significance of the study. Structure of the thesis. 5 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.
Definition of speaking. Aims of speaking. Definitions of photovoice. The benefits of photovoice.
Context of the study. Data collection procedure. Data collection and instruments. RESULTS AND FINDINGS.
Pre-test results. Mid-test results. Post-test results. Findings and Discussion.
Findings and discussion for research question 1. Findings and discussion for research question 2. Implications of the study. Limitations of the study suggestions for further research.
49 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 3. Demographic information on the students in the study. Demographic information on the teachers in the study. Speaking rating scale.
Pre-test result in Class 1, 2, and 3. Mean scores of pre-test result in Class 1,2, and 3. Multiple comparisons of pre-test result of Class 1,2 and 3. Mid-test result in Class 1, 2, and 3.
Mean scores of Mid-test result in Class 1,2, and 3. Multiple comparisons of Mid-test result in Class 1,2, and 3. Post-test result in Class 1, 2, and 3. Mean scores of post-test result in Class 1,2 and 3.
Multiple comparisons of post-test results in Class 1,2 and 3. Comparison of mean scores of Class 1, 2 and 3. 36 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Action research cycle.
The comparison of mean scores of Class 1, 2 , and 3. 34 viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter discusses the reasons for selecting this study, as well as the scope and participants of the study. The structure of this study is also introduced in this chapter. Rationale English is currently the official language of communication in many nations, and it is widely spoken all over the world as the common language of international trade, business, entertainment and education (Rao, 2019; Wang & Burris, 2019).
This is the justification for why English is better than less popular languages. With the fast escalating demands of globalization in many domains, such as the business, the environment, and culture, the standards for English language proficiency in Vietnam have dramatically evolved over the previous 20 years. Dao (2015) stated that English has become a crucial foreign language, particularly for the younger Vietnamese population. In particular, it is covered in practically every school and university's curriculum.
To further encourage the study of English and improve the standard of English teaching and learning in Vietnam, the Prime Minister of Vietnam released Decision 1440/QĐ-TTg "Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National Formal Education System in the Period 2008-2020." Speaking is one of the most challenging skill for students to master, but it is believed to play vital for in the master of language (Bailey, 2001). Many methods have been introduced and applied to improve students’ speaking ability, yet they are still not the strong skills of many students in many developing countries including Vietnam. Dao (2015) informed a common concern of his 330 participants in a research into their needs for improving English, detailing that speaking skills are their weakest skills and ought to be enhanced soon. Photovoice is a suitable method using pictures for supporting the process of English speaking teaching and learning.
More specifically, photovoice was first developed by Dr. Caroline Wang in the University of Michigan with the aim of empowering members of groups to collaborate with each other to enhance the 1 quality of a group or community through photographic show (Wang & Burris, 1997). This method has been credited with encouraging interactive learning and advancing student’s creative thinking (Ferdiansyah, et al., 2020); increasing students’ oral skills in an English specialized secondary class (Janu, et al., 2021); and motivating students in online English class (Nugroho & Sakhiyya, 2022). It was anticipated that using this strategy would help pupils perform better orally, suggesting that it should be used more frequently in the classroom.
In the light of the above discussion, the researcher has been inspired and motivated to conduct the research on applying photovoice in teaching speaking with the title of “Employing photovoice in improving students’ speaking skill at the primary school”. This method has never been applied in the context of grade 3 in Iris School that the researcher chooses, making it worthwhile to carry out an action research to see whether it can address the speaking weaknesses that students are facing. Statement of the problems One of the things that contributes to raising the level of education in a given school or company is the innovation of teaching techniques. For elementary school pupils who are just beginning to learn English, it is extremely crucial for teachers to innovate and be adaptable in their teaching techniques.
To improve English skills, students have experienced a wide range of methods at school and they are effective to a certain extent. Teachers have typically used techniques like mind maps and flashcards to help pupils learn English more efficiently but a new method recently popular among teachers worldwide called photovoice is claimed to improve students’ engagement and proficiency in learning English (Ferdiansyah, et al., 2020; Hidayat, et al., 2019; Janu, et al., 2021; Nugroho & Sakhiyya, 2022) The initial stage in learning English speaking skills for primary school pupils is to familiarize and create the four language skills while also building up their vocabulary and sentence structure to serve as a foundation for learning at all levels. As a result, a major challenge is ensuring that learners fully comprehend, retain, 2 and apply their understanding of words and phrases (Trinh & Pham, 2021) while Nguyen and Nguyen (2007) pointed out the lack of necessary topic-based vocabulary for students to participate in meaningful communicative activities. A distinguished researcher named Howard (1993) asserted that youngsters had a very high prevalence of visual intelligence (spatial intelligence-visual), one of the eight categories of intelligence that made up our brains.
Thus, the vivid, colorful images displayed on the primary photographs shot by the kids have a significant influence on the students' minds, making it easier for them to retain terminology and arouse their curiosity. Children become more motivated to study as a result of interest and curiosity. Many primary students have the shortage of vocabulary to express their ideas and thought. However, when they have a pleasant learning environment, they will be engaged in learning English, find it easy to grasp new vocabulary, and able to recall terminology.
As a result, teaching techniques including playing games, utilizing flashcards, singing, telling tales, and educating through internet applications have all been proved to be successful in helping kids learn (Trinh & Pham, 2021). Photovoice teaching technique which is based on using photographs captured by students themselves is, therefore, likely to stimulate student’s speaking frequency and thus skills in general (Wang & Burris, 1997). Implementing the educational objective of Iris School of "Nurturing a passion for Learning" for students is collated with its firm understanding of the need for innovation of teaching techniques. As stated in the school's educational objectives: gaining knowledge via enjoyable forms of learning, the photovoice approach not only assures learning improvements for kids but also supports them in nurturing their love of learning, ensuring students’ joyful experiences at school (Ferdiansyah, et al.
As a result, the researcher is inspired to put the method of "photovoice" in an attempt to help his primary school students with their speaking abilities during the 2022–2023 academic year because of its suitability to learners’ age as well as the course content. Research objectives The study's primary objective was to assess to what extent the photovoice technique is effective in improving speaking skills of third grade students at Iris school. The secondary one was to evaluate the attitudes of students toward the use of Photovoice in English lessons at Iris school. From that, an additional English teaching method was introduced to teachers and students also had an effective learning way to improve speaking skills.
This technique was applicable not only at Iris school but also at other educational institutions. Research questions It specifically aims to provide answers to the following queries: 1. To what extent is photovoice technique effective in teaching speaking skills of the third grade students at Iris School? 2. What are the attitudes of students and teachers toward the use of photovoice in English lessons at Iris school? 1.
Scope of the study The 90 full-time third-graders of Iris School and 2 teachers are the subjects of the investigation.