SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO NGHỆ AN TRƯỜNG THPT PHAN ĐĂNG LƯU -------- SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM ENHANCING THE ENGLISH SPEAKING REFLEX OF PHAN DANG LUU HIGH SCHOOL’S 11TH GRADERS THROUGH THE COMBINATION OF HOT SEATING STRATEGY AND IELTS SPEAKING PART 1 AND 3 QUESTIONS MÔN: Tiếng Anh Tác giả: Triệu Thị Nghĩa Tổ chuyên môn: Văn – Ngoại ngữ Số điện thoại: 0986278778 NĂM HỌC: 2020-2021 skkn TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PART 1: INTRODUCTION …………………………………………. Speaking Skill and Importance of the English speaking reflex 3 1. Importance of the English Speaking Reflex…. Hot Seating Strategy…….
IELTS Speaking Part 1 and 3 ………. THE OBJECTIVES AND THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY………. The Objectives of the Study…………………………………… 6 2. The Scope of the Study…….
Process of Applying the Initiative …. FINDINGS AND LIMITATIONS……………………. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY………………………. Class Observation Checklist…………….
Pre-treatment Questionnaire …………… 45 Appendix 3. Post-treatment Questionnaire …………. 49 skkn PART 1: INTRODUCTION In the era of the globalization and international integration, English has become a ‘lingua franca’, which, according to Jeremy Harmer (2001:1), can be defined as a language widely adopted for communication between two speakers whose native languages are different from each other’s, and one or both speakers are using it as a second language. It has been used almost all over the world in many different fields such as diplomacy, science, technology, business, culture, tourism, etc.
There is no doubt that English is one of the most important means of communication and access to information. In this context, the ability to use English properly is more and more highly appreciated. In Vietnam, in recent years, English as a foreign language has gained considerable attention. It has become a compulsory subject in the syllabus of most schools, colleges and universities.
It has been taught throughout the country, both urban and rural areas. Even in the countryside, children now start learning English when they are 3 or 4 years old. However, the teaching and learning of English, especially in the countryside, has not been really effective yet. There are still many people who cannot use English well after English courses.
It is clear that keeping speaking and giving answers to others’ questions as fast as possible is the key to a successful conversation. However, as a rural high school teacher of English, the writer finds that most of her students, including the ones with a good knowledge of English grammar and vocabulary, have great difficulty in speaking English. They even cannot open their mouths to answer very simple questions in this language. Therefore, it is important that there be a stimulus to enable students to express their ideas orally.
After investigating the real situation and reviewing the related literature, the teacher discovers that the students’ low level of motivation for speaking skill partly results from their bad speaking reflex, which makes them unconfident about their spoken English. Meanwhile, they do not have a favorable environment for practicing and fostering this. On the other hand, some students whose English is good are studying or have intention to study it for IELTS tests. If the teacher continues to deliver her lessons in the conventional way and mainly focus on the goal of her students’ passing the national exam, these students will feel bored and ignore the lessons in class.
Consequently, the learning atmosphere will become dull and students will not know the real value of mastering an international language like English. In the light of research, the teacher has realized that Question and Answer activity with IELTS Speaking Part 1 and 3 questions is the approach that could work in tackling her students’ problems. The International English Language Test System 1 skkn (IELTS) is undeniably one of the most reputable and popular English tests in the world, which could be a kind of motivation to stimulate students to speak English. In fact, some Vietnamese students today tend to use IELTS scores to be admitted to universities.
Especially, many IELTS speaking questions are of the same topics as the textbook’s units. In addition, a strategy like Hot Seating could help to put students in the lifelike situations, where students play roles relating to the lesson topics so that they could use their English naturally. All of these things are the reasons why the teacher has studied and worked on the initiative: ‘Enhancing the English speaking reflex of Phan Dang Luu high school’s 11th graders through the combination of Hot Seating Strategy and IELTS Speaking Part 1 and 3 questions’. 2 skkn PART 2: CONTENT I.
Speaking skill and Importance of the English speaking reflex 1. Speaking skill Of all the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), speaking seems to be considered the most important. Penny Ur (1996:120) says that people who know a language are referred to as ‘speakers’ of that language, as if speaking includes all other kinds of knowing and many if not most foreign language learners are primarily interested in learning to speak. In terms of the importance of speaking skill, Victoria Fromkin, Robert Rodman, Peter Collins, and David Blair (1984: 103) also argue: ‘We live in a world of language.
We talk to our friends, our associates, our wives and husbands, our lovers, our teachers, our parents and in-law. We talk to bus drivers and total strangers. We talk face to face and over the telephone, and everyone respond with more talk. Television and radio further swell this torrent of words.
Hardly a moment of our waking lives is free from words, and even in our dreams we talk and are talked to. We talk to pets and sometimes to ourselves.’ In brief, the speaking skill is very important. It is a way of expressing ourselves and exchanging information in whatever language we use. Besides, the fact is that a man can learn to speak his first language naturally in his language environment in everyday life before learning to read and write, which can need a lot of guidance.
Importance of the English speaking reflex Biologically, a reflex is an automatic reaction involving nerve cells that is not controlled by the brain, and, therefore, does not involve choice, for example, sneezing or vomiting. According to Cambridge Dictionary, a reflex is a physical reaction to something that you cannot control or it is the ability to react quickly. In other words, as cited in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, it is an action or a movement of your body that happens naturally in response to something or is something you do without thinking. With reference to languages, the reflex could be understood to be the way of your thinking and expressing your ideas in those languages as soon as possible.
This makes your communication with your counterparts better and more effectively. In regard to the importance of language reflexes, Zhanli Yang Department of Pre-school Education Hebei Vocational College of Foreign Languages Qinhuangdao, China email: yzl200519751001@126.com argues in ‘Strategies of Improving Spoken English for Learners’ that building up reflexes right from the beginning will help people later when their skills are good enough to participate in a conversation. 3 skkn However, unlike some natural reflexes, which people are born with, it takes time and practice to form and foster foreign language reflexes. Therefore, to have good reflexes in spoken English, practice is considered to be one of the most effective methods.
Hot Seating Strategy Hot Seating is a strategy in which a character or characters, played by the teacher or a student, are interviewed by the rest of the group about their background, behaviour, motivation and multiple perspectives/ experiences related to a theme, event, or idea. Characters may be hot-seated individually, in pairs or small groups. The technique is additionally useful for developing questioning skills with the rest of the group. The traditional approach is for the pupil playing the character to sit on a chair in front of the group (arranged in a semi-circle), although characters may be hot-seated in pairs or groups.
It is helpful if the teacher takes on the role of facilitator to guide the questioning in constructive directions. To help students begin, the teacher can try hot- seating children in pairs (e. a pair of street urchins) or in groups (e. environmental protesters, refugees).
Also, according to David Farmer (https://dramaresource.com/ hot-seating/), it is important that the rest of the group be primed to ask pertinent questions and not get bogged down in facts during hot seating, but concentrate on personal feelings and observations instead. He also adds that characters to hot seat include famous people such as Florence Nightingale, President Kennedy or Tutankhamen as well as ordinary people like a chimney sweeper, a Roman soldier or a Saxon farmer. Students can be asked to research historical characters with opposing points of view then be hot-seated by the class as part of a debate. IELTS Speaking Part 1 and 3 The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is the world’s most popular English language proficiency test for higher education and global immigration.
More than 10,000 organizations globally trust IELTS, so when one takes the test, he/she can be confident that it is recognized by educational institutions, employers, governments and professional bodies around the world. As one of the pioneers of four- skill (listening, speaking, reading and writing) English language testing 30 years ago, IELTS continues to set the standard for English language testing today. Governments in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom use IELTS to process immigration applications. IELTS Speaking is a face-to-face, informal discussion with an IELTS examiner, and is the same for both Academic and General Training.
The test is divided into 3 parts and is designed to test your pronunciation, fluency, grammar and vocabulary. 4 skkn IELTS Speaking Part 1 lasts between 4-5 minutes, includes around 8-10 IELTS Speaking questions, and about 2-3 familiar IELTS Speaking topics such as your job, your studies, your family, your hometown, your accommodation, etc. Part 1 questions might best be described as questions that imitate small talk between two strangers or acquaintances. They are not very in-depth.
It is considered to be a warm-up activity to provide examinees with relaxation and comfort to enter the rest parts. IELTS Speaking Part 3 is designed to give you the opportunity to talk about more abstract issues and ideas. It is a two-way discussion with the examiner, and last 4-5 minutes. In this part, the examiner will ask a broader range of questions based on the IELTS Speaking Part 2.
He/ She will also expect answers with an explanation and examples in general. The time will be strictly controlled in this part. THE REALITY At the beginning of the academic year 2020-2021, I conducted a survey among my students and colleagues, using the questionnaires, interviews and observations, and got some significant findings. First, the goal of all of the students (96.6%) is to pass the national examination, which is designed in the format of multiple-choice questions and focuses mainly on vocabulary, pronunciation, reading comprehension and controlled writing, but not listening and speaking skills.
Many of them (70.5%) consider English to be a compulsory subject and the smaller number of students (43.2%) valued it as a means of communication. Consequently, they did not have much motivation to practise speaking English. Second, the differences between the objectives of the syllabus and those of the final examination make the teachers waver, not knowing what and how to teach their students in order to gain the best results. Therefore, the time and attention to the two important interactive skills (listening, speaking), which help students more self- confident in communicating in person with others, is little.
Third, to learn English well, the environment for it, especially spoken English, is very important. However, our students hardly have opportunities to use English outside English classes. As a result, even the students who are good at English are also afraid of speaking English and have difficulty in using it orally. The majority of the students (84.