MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY ------------------ HUYNH THE NHAN AN INVESTIGATION INTO DIFFICULTIES IN PRACTISING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL BY TOURISM SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS AT FACULTY OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM, HUE UNIVERSITY 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, 2019 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY ---------------- HUYNH THE NHAN AN INVESTIGATION INTO DIFFICULTIES IN PRACTISING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL BY TOURISM SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS AT FACULTY OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM, HUE UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 8140111 SUPERVISOR: Assoc., PhD TRAN VAN PHUOC HUE, 2019 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ ------- HUỲNH THẾ NHÂN ĐIỀU TRA VỀ NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC LUYỆN TẬP KỸ NĂNG NÓI TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN KHOA DU LỊCH, ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 8140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: PHÓ GIÁO SƯ, TIẾN SĨ TRẦN VĂN PHƯỚC HUẾ, 2019 ii STATEMENT 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 another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself. / ……… iii ABSTRACT This current study aims to investigate difficulties in practising English Speaking Skill by tourism second-year students at Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Hue University. To carry out this research, both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used in this study which included the questionnaires for students and interviews for teachers to collect and analyse data.
The findings showed that students had good perceptions on practising English Speaking Skill. However, they encountered many difficulties in practising English Speaking Skill. Finally, this study aims at suggesting some solutions for students and teachers that may help students to practise English Speaking Skill effectively. Keywords: Practising English Speaking Skill, Difficulties, Solutions iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I am grateful to my supervisor, who gave me valuable guidances and supported me a lot to my whole research study throughout the process of course.
He encouraged and helped me to overcome difficulties and develop this research study. Secondly, I would like to extend my thanks to University of Foreign Languages, Hue University for giving me opportunities to finish this research study. Thanks also go to the judgements committee for agreeing to take part in examining this dissertation. Lastly, I am also cordially thanking to teachers and students at Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Hue University helped me try the best to conduct the project.
They gave me exact data and information and also had suggestions for making my project well. Finally, I would like to thank my friends who always helped, encouraged, and motivated me to continue this research. v TABLES OF CONTENTS Page STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP .4 Scope of Research .5 Significance of Research .6 Structure of Research .1 Definitions of tourism .2 English for Tourism .3 Speaking Skill in English for Tourism .4 Roles of practice in English Speaking Skill .5 Difficulties in practising English Speaking Skill .2 Data collection methods .3 Data collection procedure .3 Data analysis method. 17 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .1 Students’ and teachers’ perceptions on practising English Speaking Skill .2 Students’ difficulties in terms of some aspects (time allocation, practice organization, materials, knowledge and skills, feelings) in practising English Speaking Skill.
Solutions in practising English Speaking Skill. 38 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS .1 Summary of the Findings.1 Teachers’ and Students’ perceptions on practising English Speaking Skill .2 Students’ difficulties in terms of some aspects (time allocation, practice organization, materials, knowledge and skills, feelings) in practising English Speaking Skill .3 Solutions in English Speaking Skill practice .1 Implications for students .2 Implications for teachers .3 Limitations and further research. 48 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Definition of practice in a foreign language.
The necessity of English Speaking Skill. 18 Table 3 The necessity of practising Tourism English Speaking Skill. Type(s) of English that students need to practice English Speaking Skill. 19 Table 5 The knowledge that student need for practising English Speaking Skill.
The skills that students should combine with when practising English Speaking Skill. The material(s) that students need to use when practising English Speaking Skill. Partners that students should practise English Speaking Skill with. The places that the students should practise English Speaking Skill 22 Table 10.
English Speaking Skill practice compares with learning theory in class. The difficulties were appeared from time allocation in practising English Speaking Skill in class. The difficulties that students encountered in the stages allocation for practising English Speaking Skill. The difficulties in terms of places were found in practising English Speaking Skill.
The difficulties in terms of partners were raised in practising English Speaking Skill. The difficulties in terms of materials were found in practising English Speaking Skill. The topic(s) that the students found difficult to use in English Speaking Skill Practice. The types of English that students find difficult in practising English Speaking Skill.
The linguistic tourism and related knowledge limited students’ English Speaking Skill Practice. The sub-skills of Speaking obstacled students during English Speaking Skill Practice?. 27 Table 20 The difficulties in terms of feelings that students encountered during their English Speaking Skill Practice. The difficulties in temrs of feelings that students encountered after their English Speaking Skill Practice.
The knowledge that students felt the most after English Speaking Skill practice. The general problems that students found out in their English Speaking Skill Practice. 31 Table 24 The solutions that the Faculty and teachers should have to improve English Speaking Skill practice for students. What students need to do to improve knowledge for English Speaking Skill practice.
32 Table 26 What students need to do for English Speaking Skill practice. According to teacchers, is Speaking Skill important for students?. According to teachers, is practising Tourism English speaking Skill necessary for students?. According to teachers, which knowledge do the students need for practising English Speaking Skill?.
According to teachers, which material(s) should the students need to use when practising English Speaking Skill?. According to teachers, how did students feel during their English Speaking Skill practice?. According to teachers, what should the Faculty and teachers do to improve English Speaking Skill for students……………………………….36 ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter, first the rationale is presented. The research aims, research questions, scope of research, significance of research, and structure of research are also provided.1 Rationale Language is the most basic source of communication in daily life.
Language is a system of spoken or written symbols that can communicate ideas, emotions, and expericences (Draft & Wiginto, 1979). It sharpens people's thoughts, guides and controls their entire activity. It is a carrier of civilization and culture (Bolinger, 1968). Thousands of languages are used in different areas and countries around the world.
In the modern society, with the globalization, it is truly clear that everyone need to learn an another language beside their mother tounge. However, this is not an easy process. Learning a second language requires conscious efforts to learn it and the exposure to the second language in most cases is limited (Bose, 2007). Nowadays English has become a vital international language in the world.
No one can deny the important role of English in the present time as global language. It is clear that English has becoming more and more dominant in different countries around the world. English is the key passport to success and a deeper understanding of our quickly changing world. It is estimated that the number of people in the world that use English to communicate on a regular basis is two billion.
English is the vital means of communication. Therefore, knowing English is extremely necessary in modern society. Teaching and learning English is very crucial because having English is the good way for everyone to have a great deal of opportunities in the future. In Vietnam, English has been widely teaching from primary schools to universities.
As a result, English is a popular as well as obligatory subject. At colleges and universities throughout Vietnam, students are required to learn English to facilitate their studies and future careers. Students specializing in Tourism are not exceptions. The role of English is increasingly crucial for the tourism industry.
English has also been very necessary for people studying and working in tourism aspects. Tourism has become one of the world’s fastest growing industries in every country all over the world. It is also the leading factor of the economic foundation in many countries. It brings about lots of great benefits to economy, job opportunities and other ones.
It has been considered as important means to convey daily thoughts and purposes successfully in tourism aspect. 1 Proficiency in English is considered as a main goal for young people. Due to the growing development, there is a need for students to practise English Speaking Skill, especially tourism students. Tourism students at Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Hue University need it for different purposes.
They will work in jobs or aspects that need English Speaking Skill in the future. Mastering English Speaking Skill is the great means to facilitate their studies now and future jobs. The number of tourists coming to Vietnam has been increasing rapidly every year, which creates lots of employment opportunities for people, especially students at Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Hue University to work in tourism areas. The companies and travel agencies often recruit people who are able to communicate well in English.
Therefore, having a good English Speaking Skill is an enormous advantage for students who want to have good jobs with stable salaries fter graduating from university. However, many students at Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Hue University often have problems in practising English Speaking Skill during their learning progress. Therefore, when meeting or working with foreigners, they are not confident enough and have trouble in speaking and making conversations effectively. English Speaking Skill requires students to have good pronunciation, proper grammar and vocabulary use, and other important factors.
Therefore, students should make a great effort to be able to communicate English well. Despite being aware of the importance of English Speaking skill, students have been facing a lot of difficulties in the practice of it. Those reasons and difficulties mentioned above inspired me to conduct this research with the topic “An investigation into difficulties in practising English Speaking Skill by tourism second-year students at Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Hue University” with the hope that the information presented from this research will be beneficial to the progress of practising English Speaking Skill to tourism second-year students at Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Hue University.2 Research Aims This research was carried out with the goal of understanding the tourism second-year students’ current difficulties towards practising English Speaking Skill at Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Hue University. In addition, it also aims to find out appropriate solutions to help students overcome those difficulties in practising English Speaking Skill.3 Research Questions This research aims at answering the following questions: 1.
What are teachers’ and tourism second-year students’ perceptions of the importance of practising English Speaking Skill at Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Hue University? 2. Which difficulties in terms of some aspects (time allocation, practice organization, materials, knowledge and skills, feelings) did tourism second- year students encounter in practising English Speaking Skill at Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Hue University? 3. What solutions should be recommmended to overcome difficulties in practising English Speaking Skill for tourism second-year students at Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Hue University? 1.