VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES CAO THI ̣ HỒNG PHƢƠNG TEACHERS’ USE OF ELICITING TECHNIQUES IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS AT SON TAY UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL, HANOI (Sử dụng thủ thuâ ̣t gơ ̣i mở trong giờ da ̣y nói Tiế ng Anh của giáo viên THPT Sơn Tây, Hà Nội) M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY Code: 60 14 10 Cohort: MA 18 HANOI , 2011 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES CAO THI ̣ HỒNG PHƢƠNG TEACHERS’ USE OF ELICITING TECHNIQUES IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS AT SON TAY UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL, HANOI (Sử dụng thủ thuâ ̣t gơ ̣i mở trong giờ da ̣y nói Tiế ng Anh của giáo viên ta ̣i THPT Sơn Tây, Hà Nội) M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor : Lương Quỳnh Trang( M. A) HANOI, 2011 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS… ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS LITS OF TABLES AND FIGURES LISTS OF ABBRIVIATIONS PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Statement of the Problem and the Rationale of the Study 2. Research Aims and Research Questions 3.
Scope of the Study 4. Significance of the Study 5. Methodology of the Study 6. Organization of the Study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.
Definitions of Eliciting 1. Types of Eliciting Techniques 1. Asking Questions Combined with Using Pictures 1. Asking Questions Combined with Using Games or Activities 1.
Asking Questions Combined with Using Texts and Dialogues 1. Asking Questions Combined with Using Non-verbal Language 1. Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Eliciting Techniques 2. Definition of Speaking 2.
Characteristics of a Successful Speaking Activity 2. Approaches to Speaking 3. Eliciting Techniques and Speaking in Second Language Teaching LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Phases to Teach Speaking 5.
Summary CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2. An Overview of Son Tay Upper Secondary School, Hanoi. Semi – structured Interviews 2. Procedure of Data Collection 2.
Data Analysis Procedure 2. Conclusive Remark CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 3. The Teachers’ Frequency of Using Elicitation 3. Stages in which Eliciting Techniques are Employed in Speaking Lessons 3.
The Constraints of Using Eliciting Techniques as Reported by the Teachers LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Summary CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION 4. Major Findings of the Research 4. Pedagogical Implications of the Research 4.
Contribution of the Research 4. Limitations of the Research 4. Suggestions for Further Studies 4. Summary REFERENCES APPENDICES APPENDIX 1 OBSERVATION CHECKLIST APPENDIX 2 INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS APPENDIX 3 APPENDIX 4 - FIGURE 1 APPENDIX 4 - FIGURE 2 APPENDIX 4 - FIGURE 3 APPENDIX 4 -FIGURE 4 APPENDIX 4 - FIGURE 5 APPENDIX 4 - FIGURE 6 APPENDIX 4 - TABLE 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com vii LITS OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figure 1: The use of eliciting techniques in English speaking lessons of grade 10- from the student questionnaire Figure 2: The use of eliciting techniques in English speaking lessons of grade 11- from the student questionnaire Figure 3: The use of eliciting techniques in English speaking lessons of grade 12- from the student questionnaire Figure 4: The frequency of using eliciting techniques in speaking lessons of grade 10 Figure 5: The frequency of using eliciting techniques in speaking lessons of grade 11 Figure 6: The frequency of using eliciting techniques in speaking lessons of grade 12 Table 1: Stages in which eliciting techniques are employed in speaking lessons of grade 10, 11, and 12.
LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com viii LISTS OF ABBRIVIATIONS ELT: English Language Teaching EFL: English Foreign Language. ULIS: University of Languages and International Studies. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Statement of the Problem and the Rationale of the Study Second Language Acquisition theories acknowledge that the importance of the ability to speak is a key to success in the process of second language learning.
Pattison (1992) confirms that when people know a language, they mean being able to speak a language. The essential role of speaking skill in language learning is undeniable. Similarly, most learners of English, especially those who are upper secondary school students, agree that the ability to express themselves freely in English in communication is of great value for their future careers. For upper secondary students, the ability to communicate fluently and effectively in English has been of primary significance.
However, the fact shows that only a small proportion of students can perform communication well in foreign language. The majority of them still remain embarrassed when they have a conversation in a foreign language. In some particular cases, students fail to speak a single word in English. Nevertheless, foreign language teaching, especially ELT in Vietnamese upper secondary schools, has been strongly influenced by the traditional grammar-translation method with its major focus on grammar, reading, and writing.
A number of English teachers in Son Tay upper secondary school are also profoundly influenced on this method. A little or no attention is given to developing students‟ speaking skill. As a result, students have little opportunity to develop their communicative competence in English in their classrooms (Nunan, 1991, p. Actually, eliciting is of great significance in speaking lessons as a tool of creating and stimulating a communicative language learning environment.
It is implied that teacher can elicit ideas, feelings, meanings, situations, associations, memories or anything that help provide the key information about a topic, encouraging students to get involved in the communicative process. That confirms the reasons why eliciting techniques play a vital role in helping students develop speaking ability Whether or not teachers apply any kinds of eliciting techniques to encourage students to take part in speaking activities is of great concern for all teachers of English in Son Tay upper secondary school. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the fact may lay the LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com foundation for the improvement of teaching and learning speaking situation. This assumption has led me to undertake the study entitled “teachers‟ use of eliciting techniques in English speaking lessons at Son Tay Upper Secondary School, Hanoi” with the hope of better understanding about the reality, thus some recommendations may be proposed in order to improve the quality of teaching speaking in my school.
Research Aims and Research Questions The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of eliciting techniques by teachers of English in Son Tay upper secondary school in speaking lessons. Specifically, it addressed the following research questions Question 1. What eliciting techniques are used in English speaking lessons for Grade 10, 11 and 12 students at Son Tay Upper Secondary School, Hanoi? Question 2. How are these techniques used to elicit student talk? 3.
Scope of the Study The study is limited to the search for teachers‟ use of eliciting techniques in speaking lessons at Son Tay upper secondary school. The work involves firstly in the investigation into the reality of which eliciting techniques are used in English speaking lessons of Son Tay upper secondary school. Then it identifies the frequency of employing these techniques. It finally offers some implications to improve the quality of teaching and learning speaking skill in Son Tay upper secondary school.
Significance of the Study Conducting this research, the researcher expected to identify the teachers‟ use of elicitation in teaching speaking skill and the most common eliciting techniques teachers tended to employ during their speaking lessons of all three grades of Son Tay upper secondary school, evaluation of how these techniques applied by both the teachers and students as well as mentioning the difficulties the teachers encountered when using these techniques. Once completed, the research would serve as a reference for those who want to have a clearer view of the use of eliciting techniques. Moreover, the findings could help teachers improve their eliciting techniques as well as classroom management during teaching speaking in order to improve students‟ communicative skill. In addition, the findings of the paper could be considered a source of reference for administrators in order to make LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com adjustment to the testing and assessment process.
Thus it can be of great benefits for both teachers and students in their teaching and learning speaking skills at high school level. Methodology of the Study The research instruments, namely questionnaires, observations and interviews were employed to collect data for the research. To be specific, a set of questionnaires was distributed to 120 students of 3 classes of all three grades 10, 11, 12 of Son Tay upper secondary school. In addition, three teachers were asked for the permission to be observed, and 6 teachers for interviews to get more in-depth information for the study.
The information collected from questionnaires, observation checklists and interviews was transcribed as the primary source of data for the research. The general approach for data analysis was content analysis (Grbich, 2007. The contents were to be sorted into categories based on the two research questions. The results from questionnaire, observations were summarized, evaluated and categorized by Microsoft Excel with the detailed checklists from the observation schemes.
After that teachers‟ interviews were transcribed and categorized into groups. The flow of information among the teachers‟ interviews was the basis to compare and draw the conclusions about the similarities and differences in applications of elicitations in speaking lessons among the three grades 10, 11, 12. Additionally, the analyses of observations and interviews also support for the results and discussions of the two research questions. Organization of the Study Part A (Introduction) provides a flow of information the rationales, the aims, the significance as well as the methods of the study.
Part B (Development) Chapter 1 (Literature review) offers the theoretical background of the study, including discussions of key concepts and the related studies. Chapter 2 (Methodology) describes the research setting, participants, instruments of data collection as well as the procedure employed to carry out data analysis. Chapter 3 (Data analysis and discussion) presents, analyses and discusses the findings that the researcher found out from the data collected according to the two research questions. Chapter 4 (Conclusion) summarizes the answers to the two research questions, several pedagogical recommendations concerning the research topic, the limitations of the research LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com as well as some suggestions for further studies.
Following this chapter are the references and appendices LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter presents some theoretical background based on which the study is carried out. Firstly, a detailed presentation of research background will be described with the key concepts, including “eliciting techniques”, “speaking”, and “approaches to speaking”. Some descriptions about the advantages of elicitation are also presented. Finally, a brief review of the related studies will reveal the research gaps and hence, lays the concrete foundation for the aims and objectives of this research paper.
Definitions of Eliciting Different methodologists define the term “elicitation” in a number of academic ways, therefore the nature of this term can be seen in the light of the verb “to elicit”. In language teaching and learning, the term “eliciting” can be stated as a means of getting information from learners. “To elicit” is “to get information or reaction from somebody, often with difficulty” is defined in Oxford Advanced Dictionary, (7th edition, p. Afterwards, “eliciting techniques” are various ways people choose to employ in order to provoke ideas from others.
According to Darn (2008), “eliciting” is the term referring to a range of techniques teachers use to draw out answers and responses from their students and to “get students provide information rather than giving it to them”.