MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY --------------- NGUYEN HOANG MY HANH INVESTIGATING THE USE OF ENGLISH CLUBS IN ORAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT IN HUNG VUONG GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL IN GIA LAI PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of Foreign Languages HUE, 2020 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY --------------- NGUYEN HOANG MY HANH INVESTIGATING THE USE OF ENGLISH CLUBS IN ORAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT IN HUNG VUONG GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL IN GIA LAI PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE:8140111 SUPERVISOR: Dr, NGUYEN THI THANH BINH. HUE, 2020 TATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by any other person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself. i ABSTRACT There has been evidence regarding the positive impacts of English Clubs on English foreign language learners' (EFL) overall English proficiency generally, and speaking skill particularly in different contexts worldwide.
However, in Vietnam, there is a dearth of studies which investigate the benefits of English Clubs in developing oral skills. This research was conducted to study the use of English Clubs in oral skill development at Hung Vuong Gifted High School in Gia Lai. Applying a quantitative approach, this study used questionnaires to collect data, with the participation of 14 teachers of English and 50 students from different grades of the school. The data were analysed statistically.
The study‟s results reveal that the English club was organised quite frequently with about 30 members for each club meeting and group work being the most common mode. About the benefits of English Clubs in developing the students‟ oral skills, both the teacher and student participants hold an overall positive perception. Regarding the challenges, various factors were thought to hinder the effectiveness of the English club. The participants gave different suggestions to better the English club.
It is implied from this study that the English club is beneficial to the development of the students‟ speaking skill; thereby, it should be encouraged in school contexts. However, a number of factors should be taken into account. Keywords: EFL, oral skills, English Clubs, benefits, challenges ii iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
iv LIST OF TABLES. vi LIST OF FIGURES. vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .1 EFL learning environment .1 The characteristics of an EFL setting .2 The need for developing a learning environment for EFL learners. Theories and principles guiding the development of an interactive language environment .2 Speaking skill and its development in EFL contexts .2 Aspects of spoken language .3 Challenges to English speaking performance .3 English Clubs and the development of speaking skill .2 Benefits of English Clubs .3 Principles for effective English clubs .4 Challenges to the success of English clubs .5 Previous studies on the application of English clubs in EFL contexts .2 Data collection tools .5 Data collection procedure.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. The practice of the English club at the research site.2 Benefits of the English club at the research site .3 The challenges in setting up the English club .4 Efficient ways to carry out the English club. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS. Summary of the key findings.
Practice of the English club at the research site. Benefits of the English club. Challenges in setting up the English club. Suggestions for more effective operation of the English club.
Implications for teachers. Implications for students. Implications for administrators. Limitations and suggestions for further research.
58 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Scaffolding Instructional Language .1: Description of the questionnaire .2: Demographic information of the participant teachers .3: Demographic information of the participant students .1 Number of members attending a club event .1 Necessity level of each aspect for developing oral skill – Students‟ opinion.2 Necessity level of each level for developing oral skill– Teachers‟ opinion .3 Importance of English clubs for developing speaking skill – Students‟ opinion .4 Importance of English clubs for developing speaking skill– Teachers‟ opinion .5 Benefits of the English club at Hung Vuong high school – Students‟ opinion .6 Benefits of the English club at Hung Vuong high school – Teachers‟ opinion .7 Perceived benefits (%) – Students‟ opinion .8 Perceived benefits (%) – Teachers‟ opinion .1 Suggestions for efficient ways to carry out the English club .47 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1 English Clubs‟ Frequency – Students‟ opinion .2 English Clubs‟ Frequency – Teachers‟ opinion .3 Activities‟ initiation – Students‟ opinion .4 Activities‟ initiation – Teachers‟ opinion .1 Improvement – Students‟ opinion .2 Improvement – Teachers‟ opinion .3 Oral skills‟ development – Students‟ opinion .4 Oral skills‟ development – Teachers‟ opinion .1 Success of English Clubs – Students‟ opinion .2 Success of English Clubs – Teachers‟ opinion .1 English Club‟s activities – Students‟ opinion .2 English Club‟s activities – teachers‟ opinion. 48 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as Foreign Language ELT: English Language Teaching ESL: English as Second Language viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION First of all, this chapter provides readers with an introduction to the background and the rationale that highlight the need for the present research. Next, the research objectives are presented along with the questions it set out to answer. Then, the chapter elaborates on the research scope and how it would contribute to the field.
Lastly, a brief description of the study's structure is provided.1 Research rationale A widely held belief is that English is one of the most important languages in the world nowadays, and those who master English can have a large number of career opportunities later on. This is the reason why teaching and learning English plays an essential role in national education systems in countries all over the world, including Vietnam. Given the increasing significance of English in Vietnam in the context of internationalization and globalization (Van, 2018), there have been concerns about the ways to better English teaching and learning in this context. Vietnamese EFL classrooms tend to be teacher-centered (Hoa 2009; Oanh 2003).
For most of the time, teachers become the only providers while students are passive recipients. Teaching and learning take place without much input from students. Moreover, Vietnamese traditional education tends to transmit a great amount of knowledge to their students. Hiep (1999) noted that language learning in Vietnam is still a process of accumulating knowledge or a "knowledge-imparting process" (Nguyen 2003, cited in Hoa 2009, p.
Besides, English teaching mostly focused on delivering the knowledge of grammar and sentence structure; therefore, Vietnamese students were claimed not to be able to communicate in English despite a long period of time studying English at school. In an effort to improve the quality of foreign language teaching and learning in Vietnam, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has issued a new curriculum which aims more at developing Vietnamese students‟ communicative competence in a foreign language through MOET‟s three new English language communicational curricula for schools in Vietnam (Van, 2018). The three curricula are for the three levels of education, namely primary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools. 1 As we know, to promote speaking skills and stimulate the learning spirit of foreign language learners, besides studying and practising in class with the teachers and friends, creating a practising environment such as English clubs for students is necessary and will bring practical results.
This is particularly necessary in Vietnam where English is used as a foreign language (EFL). According to Krashen's (1987) theory of the second language acquisition, there is no connection whatsoever among intuitive, implicit and unconscious knowledge, i. acquisition, and formal, conscious and explicit knowledge, i. So far, the human mind has a kind of internal program or plan according to which the acquisition of some language structures occurs naturally.
Vygotsky (1978) also stated the basis of his theory is that a developing child needs social interaction to develop skills like reasoning, memory, attention, and language. Unlike Piaget's (1936) notion that children's development must necessarily precede their learning, Vygotsky argued that learning could be seen as a necessary and universal aspect of the process of developing culturally organized, precisely human psychological function. He believed that the children learn first at the social level through interactions with others; learning happens because children interact with the environment. Children do not learn because they have developed; they develop because they learn.
As argued by the above theorists, it is significant to create as many learning opportunities as possible for high school students to acquire English; hence, the organisation of English clubs as the assistance for the students to practise and develop communicative English is of great importance. Like any other provinces in Vietnam, Gia Lai province has paid much attention to developing its students‟ English language proficiency and communicative competence (Uyen, 2010). Being located in the central highland of Vietnam where a large number of ethnic minority people are living, Gia Lai seems to have more difficulties in teaching and learning a foreign language than other urban places in Vietnam. The promotion of such an extracurricular activity in a school is worth noticing.
An investigation into the practices of the English club at a high school in this Gia Lai, therefore, is necessary 1.2 Research background It cannot be denied that teaching and learning English in Vietnamese high schools has been primarily about vocabulary, grammar, reading and writing in order to help students prepare for exams, hence, most of Vietnamese students have difficulties in using English in communication (Van, 2010). 2 Besides, English learning and teaching in lower and upper secondary schools is entirely examination-based. Examinations are basically grammar-focused. As a consequence, teacher tend to teach only what can appear in English tests, but not what can meet the demands of individual students and the society.
In such a teaching context, conversational English was not taken into consideration. As a result, Vietnamse school students have been claimed not to be able to communicate in English though they studied English for quite a big amount of time at school. In the new English curricula issued by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education, communicative language teaching is one of the two approaches highlighted to enhance communicative competence for Vietnamese school students and their positive attitudes towards the communicative aspect of learning a foreign language. According to Van (2018), the three curricula (for primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary school students) are guided by the “communicative movement” in that, meaning, function and use of language are more important than its form.
They are an attempt at defining the basic minimum needs of foreign language learners in order to be able to communicate non- professionally with foreign language speakers in everyday situations on topics of general interest. It focuses on what the learner will have to be able to do in the foreign language and determines in the second place what language-forms (words, structures, etc. The ultimate goal of learning is to cultivate in students the ability to understand and to communicate in English in a variety of real-life contexts (Van, 2018, p. With the aim to develop students‟ communicative competence, beside the situated application of communicative language teaching in class, the organization of different English extracurricular activities are believed to be of great help.
This is also one of the focuses that MOET encourages schools to implement for their students in all subjects, including English (MOET, 2016). Within MOET project 2020, I, as a school teacher, have attended a training module on how to organize extracurricular activities to for school students. In reality, a lot of schools across Vietnam have implemented different out-of-class activities for students to create more activities to practice English (e.vn/xa-hoi/giao-duc/201710/day-va-hoc-tieng-anh-da-dang - cac-hoat-dong-ngoai-khoa-8055542/).