VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES -----***----- NGUYỄN THỊ HÀ PHƢƠNG A STUDY ON THE USE OF ORAL PRESENTATION ACTIVITIES TO MOTIVATE SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG THUYẾT TRÌNH ĐỂ TẠO HỨNG THÚ HỌC TẬP TRONG GIỜ HỌC KỸ NĂNG NÓI TIẾNG ANH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KINH DOANH VÀ CÔNG NGHỆ HÀ NỘI) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 6014.0111 HA NOI, 2015 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES -----***----- NGUYỄN THỊ HÀ PHƢƠNG A STUDY ON THE USE OF ORAL PRESENTATION ACTIVITIES TO MOTIVATE SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG THUYẾT TRÌNH ĐỂ TẠO HỨNG THÚ HỌC TẬP TRONG GIỜ HỌC KỸ NĂNG NÓI TIẾNG ANH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KINH DOANH VÀ CÔNG NGHỆ HÀ NỘI) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 6014. Nguyễn Phƣơng Nga HA NOI, 2015 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I hereby declare that the minor thesis entitled “A study on the use of oral presentation activities to motivate the second-year students at Hanoi University of Business and Technology in English speaking lessons” is my original work and based on my own research.
I have proved fully documented references to the others‟ work. I also accept all the requirements of Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies relating to the retention and use of M.A Graduation Thesis deposited in the library. Hanoi, 2015 Nguyễn Thị Hà Phương i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my beloved supervisor Assoc.Dr Nguyen Phuong Nga for her continuous support of my thesis, for her patience, motivation, enthusiasm and immense knowledge. Her guidance helped me during the time of research and writing of this thesis.
Besides my supervisor, I would like to take this chance to express my gratitude to all the lecturers in Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, Hanoi University of Language and International Studies, Vietnam National University for their interesting lectures which have inspired me to conduct this thesis. My sincere thanks also go to the second-year students and my colleagues at Hanoi University of Business and Technology for their willingness to take part in the research. Without their help, this study could not be completed successfully. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family especially my husband and my son for their love, special care and support during the process of writing this thesis.
ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT Teaching and learning English effectively depends on many factors among which motivation is considered as an important one. The question how to keep English learners motivated especially in English speaking lessons is not easy to answer. This study was conducted to investigate the situation of using oral presentation activities to motivate second-year students at Hanoi University of Business and Technology in English speaking lessons. Survey questionnaires for teachers and students were employed to find out the answers for the research questions.
Based on the findings of the research it was revealed that oral presentation acitivites were applied in English speaking lessons at different level of frequency and the use of oral presentation activities were beneficial to students when students to some extents were motivated and they became more interested in English speaking activities. However, during the application of oral presentation activities, there were still some obstacles for teachers and difficulties for students which should be taken in consideration to find out the solutions. From the findings of the study, some suggestions for improving oral presentation activities have given out to help make English lessons more interesting to students. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CONTENTS PART A: INTRODUCTION.
Aims and Objectives of the Study. Scope of the Study. Design of the Study. Significance of the Study .5 Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW.
Definitions of Oral Presentation .2 Types of Oral Presentation. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Oral Presentations. Oral Presentation Activities. Conceptions of Speaking.
Characteristics of a successful speaking activity. Definitions of Motivation. Motivation and English speaking learning. Review of Previous Relevant Studies .21 Chapter 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.
Context of the study .30 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Survey questionnaire for teachers .30 Survey questionnaire for students .3 Procedures of collecting data .4 Procedures of analyzing data .31 Chapter 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS. Research question 1: How are OPAs Used in English Speaking Lessons to Motivate Students?. Research question 2: To what extent are the students motivated when OPAs are applied in English speaking lessons?. Teachers‟ recommendations and students‟ expectations for improving OPAs in English speaking lessons.
Summary and Conclusion of the Study. Implications of the study. Limitations of the study. Suggestions for further study.
I Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire for students. I Appendix 2: Survey questionnaire for teachers. VI v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HUBT: Hanoi University of Business and Technology OPAs: Oral Presentation Activities CLT: Communicative Language Teaching EFL: English as Foreign Language ESL: English as Second Language EGAP: English for General Academic Purposes LIST OF TABLES Table 3. Teachers‟ frequency in using OPAs to motivate students in English speaking lessons Table 3.
Students‟ opinions on the use of OPAs in their English speaking lessons Table 3. Teachers‟ and students‟ opinions on the use of OPAs in English speaking lessons Table 3. Obstacles for teachers in using OPAs in English speaking lessons Table 3. Students‟ difficulties when participating in OPAs in their English speaking lessons Table 3.
Teachers‟ perceptions of students‟ motivation of OPAs in English speaking lessons Table 3. The level of students‟ motivation by the use of OPAs in their English speaking lessons Table 3. Teachers‟ and students‟ opinions on the motivation level by OPAs Table 3. Teachers‟ perception of students‟ benefits from participating OPAs in English speaking lessons Table 3.
The level of benefit from the use of OPAs in students English speaking lessons Table 3. Teachers‟ recommendation to make OPAs more effective in English speaking lessons Table 3. Students‟ expectation from OPAs in English speaking lessons Table 3. Students‟ preference in giving oral presentations vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION This part introduces briefly about the study including rationale, aims and objectives, research methodology, scope, design and significance of the study.
Rationale of the Study There is now a growing demand for mastering English since it is not only a useful means people need for their future career but also gives them the access to the modern world in the era of informatics and technology. Therefore, teaching and learning English nowadays are paid much more attention than ever before and play a significant role in developing policies of many countries in the world. In Vietnam, thanks to the open-door and integration policy, English has been widely used and becomes the most popular foreign language in the country among many foreign languages. Moreover, English now is also a compulsory subjects at schools and universities.
As known that “The aims of foreign language instruction, especially English language instruction, is commonly defined in terms of four essential skills, reading, writing, listening, and speaking, of which speaking is becoming the most important aspect in developing one‟s communicative competence” (Moore, 1992: 9). In the recognition of the importance of speaking skill, there has been a dramatic change in the methodology of teaching English in recent years when the methods of English teaching have changed from traditional grammar translation approach to communicative approach which is now applied in many universities in Vietnam in general and in Hanoi University of Business and Technology in particular where the author has been teaching English for five years. As a teacher of English, the author would really like to help her students to master English so that they are able to communicate confidently in English not only inside the class but also in daily life. However, like many students at other universities, students at HUBT have low level of participation in English speaking activities.
Generally speaking, the students do not pay much attention to their speaking skills; 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com they usually keep quiet in speaking lessons because they feel shy or afraid of making mistakes and revealing their weaknesses. Among a variety of reasons for students‟ poor participations students‟ lack of motivation is one reason that teachers should pay special attention and seek for solutions to motivate students to speak English. Students once motivated will be likely to be involved more in English speaking activities in the classroom as well as practice it more outside in the daily life. Among all the methods used to motivate students‟ participation in speaking lessons, “presentation activity is a great way to have students practice all language system areas (vocabulary, grammar, discourse and phonology) and skills (speaking, reading, writing and listening)” (Hayton, 2005).
In brief, all of the reasons mentioned above have inspired the author to conduct “A study on the use of oral presentation activities to motivate the second-year students at Hanoi University of Business and Technology in English speaking lessons”. Aims and Objectives of the Study The study aims to explore the situation of using oral presentation activities (hereafter OPAs) to motivate second-year students at Hanoi Unversity of Business and Technology (HUBT) in English speaking lessons to find out whether students are motivated to join and to speak English. With the aim above, there are three specific objectives below: - to study how OPAs are used in English speaking lessons - to study whether the students are motivated to speak English - to give suggestions to motivate students in English speaking lessons Two research questions will be addressed as follows: 1. How are OPAs used in English speaking lessons to motivate students? 2.
To what extent are the students motivated by OPAs? 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Research Methodology In order to answer the two research questions, this study involves qualitative methodology. Specifically, it conducts survey questionnaires for students and teachers. The detail of the methodology applied in the study is discussed in Chapter 2 of Part II.
Scope of the Study There are a variety of activities to motivate students in English speaking lessons; however, the author‟s intention is investigating the current situation of using oral presentation activities as a motivator in English speaking lessons. Moreover, the study is only limited to the second-year students of Accounting Faculty at HUBT where the author has been working as a teacher of English for nearly five years. Therefore, the study limits itself to the teaching and learning speaking English for second-year students at Faculty of Accounting only, not for all second-year students of HUBT. Design of the Study The study consists of three parts: Introduction, Development, and Conclusion.
Part 1, Introduction, presents the rationale, the aims and objectives, the methodology, the scope, the design and the significance of the study. The second part is Development which includes three chapters: Chapter 1, Literature Review, deals with the theoretical background of the study and critical review of previous relevant studies. Chapter 2, Methodology, presents methodology of the study including data collection procedure and data analysis. Chapter 3, Results and Discussion, states the findings from the study and discusses some recommendations.