VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN MINH SƠN A SURVEY ON STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS LEARNING SPEAKING SKILLS AT UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES, VNU (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ THÁI ĐỘ CỦA SINH VIÊN VỀ VIỆC HỌC KỸ NĂNG NÓI TẠI TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KHOA HỌC XÃ HỘI VÀ NHÂN VĂN – ĐHQG HÀ NỘI) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Hanoi, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN MINH SƠN A SURVEY ON STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS LEARNING SPEAKING SKILLS AT UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES, VNU (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ THÁI ĐỘ CỦA SINH VIÊN VỀ VIỆC HỌC KỸ NĂNG NÓI TẠI TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KHOA HỌC XÃ HỘI VÀ NHÂN VĂN – ĐHQG HÀ NỘI) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: NGUYỄN ĐỨC HOẠT, PhD Hanoi, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I, Tran Minh Son, hereby declare that the thesis entitled: “A survey on students’ attitudes towards learning speaking skills at University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU” is the result of my own research in the fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. Moreover, this thesis has not been submitted anywhere for any degree.
Hanoi, 2014 Author’s signature Trần Minh Sơn i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my affectionate and deeply-felt gratitude to my supervisor, NGUYEN DUC HOAT, PhD for his invaluable assistance, inspiration as well as guidance during the time I tried to accomplish this thesis. I owe my sincere thanks to all the lecturers in Postgraduate Department of University of Languages and International Studies for their precious lectures and ideas. Moreover, I would like to send my thanks to the lecturers and students at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU for their enthusiastic co- operation in this study. Finally, I am also deeply indebted to my family who has supported me vigorously.
Their great love and encouragement have assisted me in completing this thesis more successfully. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT Speaking is considered one of the most challenging skills which the EFL students at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU are facing. Their ability to speak English is generally limited. Therefore, the study is conducted with the aim of exploring the students’ attitudes towards learning speaking skills.
Because the study is a survey, questionnaire and semi-structured interviews are applied as main instruments of the study. The participants in the questionnaire consist of 150 first-year non-English major students (both males and females) from six classes, and thirty students in the interviews (12 males and 18 females) selected randomly from the 150 questionnaire respondents. The findings from these two instruments have demonstrated that the students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU have a positive attitude towards learning speaking skills. Most of them are aware of the importance of English speaking skills and feel comfortable to learn them.
However, their teacher’s fast speed of speaking is considered as the least positive factor involved in the students’ attitudes towards learning speaking skills. In addition, based on such findings, the researcher has offered suggestions for both lecturers and students to improve the lecturers’ teaching speaking skills and the students’ ability to speak English. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DECLARATION………………………………………………………. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………….
iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS…………………………………………. vi LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………. vii PART A: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………… 01 1. Aims of the study …………………………………………………….
The research questions………………………………………………… 02 4. Significance of the study ……………………………………………… 02 5. Scope of the study ……………………………………………………. Methods of the study ………………………………………………….
Structure of the study ………………………………………………… 03 PART B: THE STUDY…………………………………………………. 05 Chapter one: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………. Speaking skills and attitudes ………………………………………. The elements of speaking …………………………………………… 07 1.
The communicative approach in teaching English speaking skills…. The roles of attitude in language learning …………………………. The roles of attitude in learning speaking skills……………………. Summary …………………………………………………………… 13 Chapter two: METHODOLOGY……………………………………… 14 2.
14 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. The data collection instruments……………………………………… 16 2. The data collection procedure………………………………………. The data analysis procedure………………………………………….
18 Chapter three: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION……………………… 19 3. What are the students’ attitudes towards learning English speaking skills at USSH, VNU?. What are the factors influencing the students’ attitudes?. What are the suggestions for the lectures and the students? ……….
Suggestions for lecturers and students………………………………… 36 2. Suggestions for lecturers…………………………………………… 36 2. Suggestions for students……………………………………………. Limitations of the study ……………………………………………….
Suggestions for further studies ………………………………………. VI APPENDIX 3: Transcription For Interview…………………………. XI v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 1. USSH,VNU = University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU 2.
CLT = Communicative Language Teaching vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1: Students' general attitudes towards liking or disliking 19 learning English Figure 3.2: Students' general attitudes towards four English skills 20 Figure 3.3: Students' attitudes towards the importance of learning 22 English speaking skills Figure 3.4: Students' purposes of learning English speaking skills 23 Figure 3.5: Students' attitudes towards English speaking lessons 24 Figure 3.6: Students' frequency of the unwillingness to speak English in 26 speaking lessons Figure 3.7: Students' activities in speaking lessons 27 Figure 3.8: Students’ attitudes towards teachers’ teaching methods of 28 speaking skills Figure 3.9: Factors influencing students’ attitudes towards learning 30 speaking skills Figure 3.10: Students' preference for work arrangements in speaking 31 lessons Figure 3.11: Students' comprehension when the teacher explains the 32 instruction in English in speaking lessons Figure 3.12: Students’ expectations of learning speaking skills 34 vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale In learning English, EFL students at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU regard speaking skills as the most challenging skill to learn. They are not ready to stand up to practice English, even work in groups at English speaking lessons. Although the researcher is not a lecturer of USSH, VNU, he used to work as a visiting lecturer of USSH, VNU.
Therefore, he had an opportunity to know thoroughly about the real situation involved in the university’s English teaching and learning. As for most of the students at USSH, VNU, English is not an exam subject in their matriculation exam; therefore, they do not usually pay much attention to it. Moreover, their majors are not English, and they have a tendency to be more interested in their own majors such as History, Orientalism, and Philosophy. In English speaking lessons, they do not feel highly enthusiastic about speaking English.
They possess low proficiency in grammar, vocabulary as well as listening skills, leading to the fact that they are usually unconfident of speaking English and feels difficult to share their thoughts in English. In the researcher’s view, it is better for this problem to be enhanced in order to assist students in making progress in learning English speaking skills. For the reasons mentioned above, exploring the students’ attitudes towards learning speaking skills is really essential. By investigating the students’ attitudes and the factors impacting on those attitudes, the researcher may discover much more this university’s students’ expectations, from which he can offer suggestions for ways of improving students’ ability to speak English at USSH, VNU.
Aims of the study The aims of the study are: - To investigate EFL students’ attitudes towards learning speaking skills at USSH, VNU. - To find out factors influencing their attitudes in learning to speak English. 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com - To offer suggestions in order for not only USSH,VNU’s lecturers of English to develop their students’ ability to speak English at USSH,VNU but also the students to improve their attitudes towards learning speaking skills. The research questions The study is conducted in an effort to answer the following research questions: Question 1: What are the students’ attitudes towards learning English speaking skills at USSH, VNU? Question 2: What are the factors influencing the students’ attitudes? 4.
Significance of the study The study provides lecturers of English at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities –VNU with the findings involved in their students’ attitudes towards learning English speaking skills. The study will assist the lecturers in grasping their students’ expectations of learning to speak English. Furthermore, the research supplies lecturers of English at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities –VNU with suggestions to help them to enhance their students’ speaking ability. Scope of the study The study concentrates on students’ attitudes towards learning English speaking skills at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities –VNU; however, due to the time limitation, the researcher will only carry out his survey on the first-year non-English major students.
Methods of the study To conduct the survey research, the researcher used both qualitative and quantitative methods. Two main data collection instruments are survey questionnaire and interview. The survey questionnaire was delivered to students to 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com collect the data related to the study. This was also the main method used in the study.
Then, the interviews with some students took place to attain more information. The form of interview used in the study was the semi-structured interview since it would make the researcher more flexible and give the participants a degree of control during the interview. The detailed information on methods of the study will be presented in chapter two: Methodology. Structure of the study The study consists of three parts.
Part A: INTRODUCTION This part includes rationale, aims, the research questions, significance, scope, methods and design of the study. Part B: THE STUDY This part is composed of three chapters, as follows: Chapter 1: Literature review The chapter presents the previous findings relevant to the study such as the defintions of attitudes and speaking skills, the elements of speaking, the communicative approach in teaching English speaking skills, the roles of attitudes in language learning and speaking skills. Chapter 2: Methodology The chapter is involved in the introduction of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities-VNU – the research place, the information of the participants, the data collection instruments consisting of the reasons for choosing the questionnaire and interview and the categories of the twelve questions in the questionnaire. Moreover, the data collection procedures and methods of data analysis are also stated carefully.
3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Chapter 3: Findings and Discussion After collecting the results from the students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities-VNU, all the answers to the questions from the questionnaire and interview are analyzed and discussed logically and in depth in this chapter. The figures will be presented through tables and graphs. Part C: CONCLUSION This is the last part of the study, which is expected to summarize the main points of the study, including the summary of findings. Besides, the suggestions are also addressed to help not only teachers to adapt their teaching methodology to enhance their students’ speaking ability but also students to improve their attitudes towards learning speaking skills as well as their English speaking skills.
4 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART B: THE STUDY Chapter one: LITERATURE REVIEW 1. Speaking skills and attitudes 1. Speaking skills In language teaching and learning, the manner in which a language is used is called skills or language skills, and speaking is one of the four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing skills (Richards et all, 1992: 205). In teaching and learning a foreign language in general and English in particular, speaking is one of the most essential skills because it is said to be the basic for communication; moreover, speaking skills can be considered a real challenge to learners of English.