UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES-VNU, HANOI POST-GRADUATE DEPARTMENT NGUYỄN THANH DUNG CHALLENGES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TASK-BASED APPROACH TO TEACHING SPEAKING TO NON-MAJOR STUDENTS OF ENGLISH AT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF ART EDUCATION (NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN CỦA VIỆC ÁP DỤNG ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG DỰA TRÊN NHIỆM VỤ VÀO DẠY NÓI CHO SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƯ PHẠM NGHỆ THUẬT TRUNG ƯƠNG) M. Minor thesis Field: Methodology Code: 601410 HANOI-2009 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES-VNU, HANOI POST-GRADUATE DEPARTMENT NGUYỄN THANH DUNG CHALLENGES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TASK-BASED APPROACH TO TEACHING SPEAKING TO NON-MAJOR STUDENTS OF ENGLISH AT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF ART EDUCATION (NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN CỦA VIỆC ÁP DỤNG ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG DỰA TRÊN NHIỆM VỤ VÀO DẠY NÓI CHO SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƯ PHẠM NGHỆ THUẬT TRUNG ƯƠNG) M. Minor thesis Field: Methodology Code: 601410 Supervisor: Prof. Hoàng Văn Vân HANOI-2009 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com iv CONTENTS Page Declaration.
iii Table of contents. iv List of abbreviation. v List of tables. viii PART A: INTRODUCTION.
Rationale of the study. Aims and research questions of the study. Methods of the study. Scope of the study.
Significance of the study. Design of the study. 4 Chapter 1: Literature review. Definition of Task-based language teaching.
Definition of task within Task-based language teaching. Criterial features of task within Task-based language teaching. Types of tasks within Task-based language teaching. The principles of Task-based language teaching.
The framework for Task-based instruction. The role of teacher and learner in Task-based language teaching. The strengths of Task-based language teaching. Previous studies related to applying Task-based language teaching.
14 Chapter 2: Current situation of English teaching and learning at NUAE. Description of students. 17 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail. Description of teachers.
Description of the teaching facilities and the teaching materials. Description of the objective and the time allocation of the English 18 course. Description of the current method of teaching English. 19 Chapter 3: Challenges in the implementation of the Task-based approach to 21 teaching speaking to students at NUAE.
The challenges perceived from contrasting the literature of the Task-based 21 approach with the current English teaching and learning at NUAE. Lack of appropriate teaching conditions. Lack of Task-based teaching materials. Students’ lack of active role.
Teacher’s lack of high level of creativity. The challenges perceived by teachers and students after trial task-based speaking lessons. Instruments for data collection. Analysis of questionnaire.
Analysis of the classroom observation. Analysis of the interview. Fidings and discussions. Inappropriate teaching condition.
Inappropriate teaching material. Students’ low English proficiency. Students’ resistance in engaging in tasks. Students’ overuse of mother tongue during tasks.
Recommendations for the application of the Task-based approach to teaching speaking at NUAE. 35 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com vi PART C: CONCLUSION. Summary of the study. Limitations of the study.
Suggestions for further study. VIII Appendix III. XIII Appendix VI. XV TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS M.A: Master of Arts NUAE: National University of Art Education TBA: Task-based approach TBLT: Task-based language teaching TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com viii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Willis’ model for Task-based instruction 10 Table 2: Students’ reasons for not involving in speaking tasks 26 Table 3: Students’ difficulty in working in multi-level groups during speaking tasks 26 Table 4: Students’ difficulty in understanding teacher ’s instruction in English 27 Table 5: Students’ difficulty in using the target language to complete speaking tasks 28 Table 6: Students’ reasons for using mother tongue during speaking tasks 28 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 1 PART A: INTRODUCTION This part will present the rationale of the study, the aims and the research questions of the study, the method of the study, the scope of the study, the significance of the study and the design of the study.
Rationale of the study Task-based language teaching (TBLT), which was first developed in India by N.S Prabhu in the 1980s, has been a keen contemporary interest in English language teaching field. The emphasis of TBLT is on communicative learning and teaching of language. According to Swain (1995), tasks provide input to learners and opportunities for meaningful language use, both of which are generally considered valuable in promoting language acquisition. Students can become fully in fufiling tasks, which can reduce tedium and make class work more challenging and relevant to their interests.
Richards and Rodgers (2001:228) suggest that “Tasks are believed to foster processes of negotiation, modification, rephrasing, and experiment that are heart of second language learning”. According to them, practical and relevant tasks can draw the interest of learners and challenge them sufficiently to get them to use the English they already knew and incorporate new language items provided by input and the teacher. In theory, TBLT may bring in certain advantages to English classrooms, and this has been proved by studies on the application of TBLT in classrooms in Western countries, where students have greater exposure to real English outside the classrooms. In non- English speaking countries such as in Vietnam, English language teachers have been introduced this approach to teaching in teacher in-service workshops or other professional events.
However, it is not sure how many teachers have ever tried out this approach and how effective it is, because very few impirical researches on TBLT with Vietnamese students have been done. Up to now, there have not any researches on the application of TBLT with the students in my teaching context - National University of Art Education (NUAE). The above gaps concerned me much and inspired me to conduct this study aiming at investigating the difficulties of the application of TBLT to teaching oral skill in my university, which helps create bases for providing appropriate recommendations for making TBLT applicable to students at NUAE. TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.
Aims and research questions of the study The aim of the study is to identify the challenges in the implementation of TBLT to teaching speaking to students at NUAE and provide recommendations for applying TBLT to teaching oral skill. The study seeks to answer these questions: What are the challenges in the implementation of TBLT to teaching speaking skill to students at NUAE? What are the recommendations for applying TBLT to teaching speaking skill? 3. Methods of the study To attain the aim of the study, the researcher employed both quantitative and qualitative methods combining with the aid of the following research instruments: - Questionnaire - Interview - Classroom observation Quantitative method was employed to analyze the information collected from the questionnaire. Qualitative method was used to analyze the interview and the observation.
Scope of the study The study involves 103 first-year students from two classes including one class of Music Department and one class of Fine-Art Department and two teachers of English at NUAE. In the scope of a minor thesis, the researcher only focuses on investigating the challenges in the implementation of TBLT to teaching speaking skill to the first-year students at NUAE. Significance of the study The result of the study will provide useful theory of TBLT as one of the innovative methods for the choices of English teachers at NUAE. The investigation of the difficulties of the application of TBLT to teaching speaking skill to students at NUAE helps to give recommendations for the adoption of TBLT to oral lessons.
In addition, the identified challenges in the implementation of TBLT in this study will be a reference for teachers in similar teaching contexts to consider the applicability of this approach. TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail. Design of the study Apart from the introduction and the conclusion, the study consists of three chapters. The introduction presents an overview of the study including the rationale of the study, the aim of the study, the scope of the study, the research method, the significance of the study and the design of the study.
Chapter 1 provides the theoretical background for the study and identifies the “gaps” in the research to date, which the researcher hopes to at least partially fill. Chapter 2 describes the current situation of English teaching and learning at NUAE. Chapter 3 identifies the perceived challenges in the implementation of TBLT to English speaking lessons at NUAE. This was done by contrasting the literature of TBLT and the current English teaching situation at NUAE and by conducting questionnaires with students and interviews with teachers after trial period combining with classroom observation.
Then some recommendations for applying TBLT to teaching speaking skill are also given in this chapter. The conclusion summarizes the main points of the study, presents the limitations of the study, and gives suggestions for further research. TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 4 PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter will deal with the relevant theoretical background for the study including the definition of TBLT, the definitions of task in TBLT, the features of a task, the types of tasks, the principles of TBLT, the framework for Task-based instruction, the roles of the teacher and the learner in TBLT, the strengths of TBLT and the previous studies on TBLT. Definition of Task-based language teaching TBLT has been advocated by many researchers and teachers around the world, but “What is TBLT?” still needs clarification.
Richards and Rogers (2001), for example, give a clear and simple definition of TBLT. According to them, TBLT is “an approach based on the use of tasks as the core unit of planning and instruction in language teaching”. Larsen- Freeman (2000), on the other hand, sees TBLT as an approach seeking to provide learners with a natural context to language use. As learners work to complete a task, they have abundant opportunity to interact.
Such interaction is thought to facilitate language acquisition as learners have to work to understand each other and to express their own meaning. In their definitions Richards and Rogers and Larsen-Freeman mention the term “task”. This term is not new to teachers as well as practioners around the world, since tasks have been used in classes for hundreds of years. For instance, asking students to do a grammar exercise is also called a task.
So what is the difference here? The difference between TBLT and other traditional approaches lies in the way in which the goal is achieved. In TBLT, tasks are always activities where the target language is used for a communicative purpose in order to achieve an outcome in which the emphasis is on exchanging meaning not producing language forms. Therefore, the characteristic of all the tasks in the new approach is that rather than concentrating on one particular structure, function, or vocabulary group, these tasks cover a wide range of language. In TBLT, the tasks are central to the learning and teaching activity.
It is based on the belief that students can learn more effectively when their minds are focused on the task, rather than on the language they are using. Learning to speak and to understand a language automatically in a TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 5 vast variety of situations requires intensive exposure to language and unlimited interaction with language users. Because tasks are basic units of a TBLT framework, it is crucial to clarify explicitly the concepts of task. Definition of task within Task-based language teaching Tasks are defined differently by different second language researchers and linguits depending on the scope and perspectives.
Long (1985) defined a task as “a piece of work undertaken for oneself or for others, freely or for some award.