VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIE: FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES — J*Q— NGUYEN THANH BINH DESIGNING ORAL COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES FOR AN ENGLISH CLUB AT XUAN HUY HIGH SCHOOL TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING COMPETENCE Nghiên cứu thiết kế các hoạt động ngôn ngữ giao tiếp bằng lời trong câu lạc bộ tiếng Anh trường THPT Xuân Huy nhằm nâng cao năng lực nói của học sinh M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: Dr. DUONG THU MAT Hanoi, 2014 DECLARATION Thereby certify that this thesis is entirely my own work. I have provided fully documented references to the others’ work. The material in this thesis has not been submitted for sment in any other formal course.
Tz so accep! all the requirements of ULIS relating to the retention and use of M.A Graduation Thesis deposited in the library. Rescarch’s signature Nguyen Thanh Bình ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I wish to send my siroore thanks lo my supervisor, Duong Thu Mai, PhD. for her valuable guidance, helpful suggestions and critical feedhack throughout the research. Also, | would like to acknowledge my gratitude to all the lecturers in the Department.
of Posigraduate Studies, College of Foreign languages, VNU [or their useful lessons from which have inspired me to conduct this thesis. 1am greatly indebted to my students- the members in Xuan uy Jnglish Club and my colleagues al Xuan Huy high school lor their participation and assistance without which this study could not have been successful, Last but not least, I would like to express my special thanks to my loving parents, my husband, my children and mty close friends who offered me their love, care, support and encouragement so that I could accomplish my study. iti TABLE OF CONTE DECLARATIO! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. TABLE OF CONTENT: LIST OF ABBREVIATION: LIST OF TABLE AND FIGURES.
Objective of the study. wd 3 Research questions. Scope of the study. Design of the study.
a PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER L: LITERATURE REVLEW. Communicative Language Teaching 1. The concept of Communicative Language Teaching, 1.2 Characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching. Teaching speaking according to Communicative Language Teaching 1.
Definition of Speaking. 1,3,3, The nature of speaking in oral communication. Definition of Speaking Competence. Communicative activities in CLT 1.
Oral communication in CLY approach. Types and design of oral communicative activities. Evaluating oral communicatwe activities. English Speaking Clubs in CLT 1.
Definition of Clubs.2, The roles of English speaking club in CLT. Previous studies in the world and in Vietnam about designing communicative oral activities. The contexts of the study. An overview of the nglish Club bof Xuan n lly high school.
v TABLE OF CONTE DECLARATIO! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. TABLE OF CONTENT: LIST OF ABBREVIATION: LIST OF TABLE AND FIGURES. Objective of the study. wd 3 Research questions.
Scope of the study. Design of the study. a PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER L: LITERATURE REVLEW. Communicative Language Teaching 1.
The concept of Communicative Language Teaching, 1.2 Characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching. Teaching speaking according to Communicative Language Teaching 1. Definition of Speaking. 1,3,3, The nature of speaking in oral communication.
Definition of Speaking Competence. Communicative activities in CLT 1. Oral communication in CLY approach. Types and design of oral communicative activities.
Evaluating oral communicatwe activities. English Speaking Clubs in CLT 1. Definition of Clubs.2, The roles of English speaking club in CLT. Previous studies in the world and in Vietnam about designing communicative oral activities.
The contexts of the study. An overview of the nglish Club bof Xuan n lly high school. Objective of the study For the above-given reasons, the main purposes of the thesis are as the following: (1) Discussing the needs for improving speaking competence of students from Xuan Lluy Ligh school. (2) Investigating the effectiveness of designed oral communicative language activities for an English club at Xuan Huy high school to improve students’ speaking competence.
Research questions The study intends to find out the answers to the following questions What are the studenis’ needs about activities to improve their speaking competence? What are the teachers’ needs about activities to improve their students’ speaking competence? Which oral communicative language activities should be designed for an English club at Xuan Lluy high school to improve students’ speaking competence? What ix students’ perception of the designed activities? 4, Scope of the study At present, speaking a foreign language represents one of the essential requrements of today's society. Besides other skills and knowledge, it is considered one of the most influencing factors while applying for a job or sustaining in a particular work position under the condition of advancing the language level. Speaking is a broad and complex area that takes much time to study by linguists. Moreover, the establishment and mainfenanee of Xuan Huy English club has contributed to the improvement of students’ speaking ability, Therefore, this study mostly focused on designing some ovat communicative language activities for Linglish club at Xuan Iluy high school to improve students’ speaking competence.
Because of the limited time and within an MLA. minor thes , he researcher intends to make a bre! view of the current siluatton of teachmg and leaming English speaking skill in Xuan Iluy high school, identifies teachers and students’ preferences and demands about English speaking activities in Inglish Club, then applies some designed eral communicative activities and examines the effectiveness of these activities in improving students’ speaking competence. Methodology In order to accomplish this study, quantitative method was mainly used. ‘Ihe data collected for the study comes from two sources: All members in English club and all teachers of English at Xuan Iuy high school.
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES 1. Figures: Figure 1: How oral communicative activities can help students. 2 Tables: Table 1: How oral communicative activities con help studenis. ‘Table 2: Patterns of speaking activities teachers often use to teach speaking skills in classroom.
Table 3: Students’ preference for the types of oral commnunicative activities. ‘Table 4: factors may encourage students to communicate in oral communicative activilies. Table 6: Frequency in organizing oral communicative activities. table ‘he content of oral comnenicative activities.
Table 8: the most suitable way that teachers or facihtators give feedback with siudents' wrong answers. table 9: Students’ assessment about oral communicative activities. Table 10: Students’ assessment ahout their friends’ enjoyment with all oral communicative activities Yable 11: The most effective pattern to improve students’ speaking competence. Table 12: Assessment about oral communicative activities students participated in.
30 Table 13: What teachers did fa create gond relationship and te help students in oral communication. Table 14: Assessment about the time spent on applied oral communicative language activities. table 15: Assessment about the content of oral communicative activities Table 16: The effectiveness of oral communicative actwities. Objective of the study For the above-given reasons, the main purposes of the thesis are as the following: (1) Discussing the needs for improving speaking competence of students from Xuan Lluy Ligh school.
(2) Investigating the effectiveness of designed oral communicative language activities for an English club at Xuan Huy high school to improve students’ speaking competence. Research questions The study intends to find out the answers to the following questions What are the studenis’ needs about activities to improve their speaking competence? What are the teachers’ needs about activities to improve their students’ speaking competence? Which oral communicative language activities should be designed for an English club at Xuan Lluy high school to improve students’ speaking competence? What ix students’ perception of the designed activities? 4, Scope of the study At present, speaking a foreign language represents one of the essential requrements of today's society. Besides other skills and knowledge, it is considered one of the most influencing factors while applying for a job or sustaining in a particular work position under the condition of advancing the language level. Speaking is a broad and complex area that takes much time to study by linguists.
Moreover, the establishment and mainfenanee of Xuan Huy English club has contributed to the improvement of students’ speaking ability, Therefore, this study mostly focused on designing some ovat communicative language activities for Linglish club at Xuan Iluy high school to improve students’ speaking competence. Because of the limited time and within an MLA. minor thes , he researcher intends to make a bre! view of the current siluatton of teachmg and leaming English speaking skill in Xuan Iluy high school, identifies teachers and students’ preferences and demands about English speaking activities in Inglish Club, then applies some designed eral communicative activities and examines the effectiveness of these activities in improving students’ speaking competence. Methodology In order to accomplish this study, quantitative method was mainly used.
‘Ihe data collected for the study comes from two sources: All members in English club and all teachers of English at Xuan Iuy high school. PART A: INTRODUCTION 1, Rationale Speaking is a very important part in studying [nglish and in order to communicate one to each other, make good communication, peaple need to speak. Having good English spoaking conmpelence is very essential especially for the students because it becomes the bridge for them to know the world. However, the problems that teachers and studems of English in Vietnam, especially in mountainous areas cope with arc having few opportunities to use English m authentic contexts outside the classroom for learners, the students’ characteristics are being quiet and shy, the teachers' difficulties in controlling oral communication activities in large classes, or the lack of oral communicative activities in the textbooks.
As a consequence, leamers have many probloms, especially in oral communication. When they Iry to express themselves orally, they only pronounce isolated wards and discormected sentences making their production poor and meaningless. Moreover, since speaking is required in academic and professional performances, the lack of oral production skills becomes a serious disadvantage. There may be two main reasons [or this.
The first reason, which is a basic one for every high school students, is low motivation in studying. It is undeniable that passing examinations is one of the most important motivations in studying. However, according to the policy from MOET, the semester and final examinations only focus on reading skills through the multiple-choice format. The lack of background knowledge is the second basic reason for students having poor speaking competence.
Against the problems above, in recent years, one of the key lasks of the school year in which the Department of Education and Training has given to all local high schools, including Xuan luy high school, is organizing Unglish speaking activities in English club so (at students have opportunities 10 enhance their language skills and create “language environment” This actual requirement sets a challenging task for teachers of English in Xuan Huy high school, which is to design communicative activities which can provide sludenls with “real” contexts for negotiating meaning so thal they can develop communicative competence. This is also the reason why this study in designing oral communicative language activities for an English club at Xuan Lluy high school to improve students’ compelonce was conducted with the hape of enliancing the ability to speak for students. Helping students 10 have better English speaking compelence also means helping them in choosing their field of study and looking for opporumities in the future. ABSTRACT This study is an allempl to investigate the designing of oral communicative activities for an English club at Xuan Huy high school to improve students’ competence.
‘I'he main purposes of the study are to find out the needs for improving speaking competence of students from Xuan Huy High school and the effectiveness of the speaking acliviies designed according Lo students’ needs and apphed in Xuan Huy School's English Club ‘Lhe study reviews theoretical background relating to Communicative Language Teaching (CIT) in teaching spooking, characteristic of Commumicalive Language Teaching, teaching speaking according to CLT, English speaking club in CLT before presenting the instrumentation, data collection and data analysis of the study.
