VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY- HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE USING GROUP WORK TO ENHANCE EFL STUDENTS’ SELF-CONFIDENCE IN SPEAKING ENGLISH A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By VO THI HOA CANH Supervised by DOAN HUE DUNG, Ph. HO CHI MINH, OCTOBER 2021 i ACKNOWLEGMENTS I am very grateful to many people who have helped and supported me a lot to complete this study. Most importantly, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation from the bottom of my heart to my supervisor-Dr Doan Hue Dung-for her mountain of valuable guidance, huge support and encouragement until this study has been completed. I could not have completed my writing without her guidance and supervision.She carefully checked and corrected every piece of my writing, and followed up on my progress to encourage me whenever I was depressed about my work.
I would like to say "thank you very much for everything you have done for me". Second, I really appreciate all the lecturers in the English Linguistics and Literature Faculty for their brilliant work on transferring and teaching very valuable background knowledge about research in the TESOL program. These lectures have played a very significant role as an orientation to push me forward during my own study. I'd also like to thank all of the participants who worked so hard with me to create so many successful lessons.They agreed to participate in each activity with an honest attitude and cooperation, which provided me with useful data to answer my research questions.
Last, my appreciation was also sent to my center manager, who approved of my study being conducted in her own center. She permitted me to deliver a questionnaire at the intermediate level and take action in my own class. I also have to thank my colleagues for their help in terms of allowing me to enter their class to collect data from a questionnaire. I could not have had this setting to conduct my study without their support.
ii STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This thesis, “Using group work to enhance EFL students’ self-confidence in speaking English” has not been published or accepted by any university or educational institution. It is entirely mine. I also confirm that I wrote the thesis all by myself. All of the materials utilized in the thesis, as well as any aid and support I received, were acknowledged.
Ho Chi Minh City, October, 2021 Vo Thi Hoa Canh iii RETENTION OF USE I hereby state that I, Vo Thi Hoa Canh, being a candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the university relating to the retention and use of Master’s theses deposited in the library. In accordance with these terms, I agree that the original of my thesis should be available for study and research purposes in accordance with the normal conditions established by the library for the care, loan, or reproduction of theses. Ho Chi Minh City, July, 2021 Vo Thi Hoa Canh iv TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEGMENTS. ii RETENTION OF USE.
iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. viii LIST OF TABLES. ix LIST OF FIGURES. Background to the study.
Aims of the research. Significance of the study. Scope of the study. The organization of the thesis.
Definition of self- confidence. Self- confidence and anxiety. Self-perceptions of L2 competence in speaking English. The importance of self- confidence in learning English.
Definition of group work. The significance of group work. Conditions to have a successful group work. Group Work Activity Selection.
Think-pair-share. Group work and self-confidence:. Participants for the preliminary questionnaire. Participants for cycles’ activities.
Classroom observation checklist. English courses in PMP language center. Types of English courses in the center. Test and assessment.
Data collection procedures. 37 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Factors that affect students’ self-confidence. Data analysis of cycles’ activities.
Cycle 1: Jigsaw and Think-pair- share. Cycle 2: Think-Pair-Share & Interview. Summary of main findings. Factors that affect students’ self-confidence in speaking English.
Self-confidence enhancement thanks to group work. 82 APPENDIX 1: STUDENTS’ CONSENT FORM. 82 APPENDIX 2: PRELIMINARY QUESTIONNAIRE. 83 APPENDIX 3 CLASSROOM OBSERVATION CHECKLIST.
86 APPENDIX 4: STUDENTS’ FEEDBACK. 110 ACTIVITY 2: THINK-PAIR-SHARE. 114 ACTIVITY 3: THINK-PAIR-SHARE. 120 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English Foreign Learners L2: Second Language L1: First language PMP: Practice Makes Perfect English center RQ: Research Question A: Activity HCMUSSH: The University of Social Sciences and Humanities- Vietnam National University- Ho chi minh City TDT: Ton Duc Thang University HUFLIT: Ho Chi Minh University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1 The summary of participants’ information Table 2 Participant’s score in the previous course Table 3 English courses in the center Table 4 Lesson’s components of the book Table 5 Test and assessment scores Table 6 A brief description of data collected from the preliminary questionnaire Table 7 Summary of strengths and weaknesses of the 1st cycle Table 8 Summary of strengths and weaknesses of the 2nd cycle ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Conceptual framework for the study Figure 2 Action Research Cycle Framework Figure 3 The framework of research design Figure 4 Participants for the cycles Figure 5 Apprehension of making mistakes Figure 6 Teacher’s negative feedback Figure 7 Lack of preparation Figure 8 Students’ deficiency in English competence Figure 9 The size of group work Figure 10 Partner’s preferences x ABSTRACT This action research employed group work to enhance EFL students’ self-confidence in English speaking at Practice Makes Perfect center (PMP) located in Ho Chi Minh City.
There were three activities applied with the participation of twelve intermediate students in one class during four different sections. This study employed three different tools namely a closed-ended questionnaire, structured students’ feedback and an observation checklist. The closed-ended questionnaire was hand-carried to students to find out the factors. Then, the researcher based on the questionnaire’s findings to design lesson plan in conjunction with a students’ feedback and observation checklist running through each lesson to answer the second research question The results of the study indicated that some factors, which could be listed fear of making mistakes, teacher’s negative feedback, the lack of preparation, student’s deficiency in English competence and size of group and partner’s preferences, affect EFL students’ self-confidence in speaking English.
Moreover, group work came across as being efficient to able to enhance students’ self- confidence in speaking English in the way of reducing students’ anxiety as well as promoting communicative competence and building students’ knowledge. xi xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. Background to the study Contextual background English has become an extraordinarily outstanding means of communication due to its continuous expansion and integration into all the disciplines of the new world. Vietnamese individuals are required to utilize English fluently to work and study in various industries in Vietnam today, including tourism, education, and technology, business and sciences (Thai, C.
The growth and expansion in the era of globalization and industrialization of English has been an extensive challenge for a wide range of students (Le, D. Therefore, the ability to communicate in oral form must be considered at the heart of employment opportunities and career development for graduates. The research findings concerning the current situation of English learning and teaching in Vietnam have revealed that, despite recent efforts to shift away from teacher-centered approaches toward student-centered approaches in order to equip students with more skills and interaction, lecture-based teaching remains the most common teaching method in Vietnamese education institutions (MOET, 2009; Pham, T, 2010a & b, as cited in Tran, V.T, (2011) stated that student-centered learning has not yet become the focal point in the learning process, when students are learning in a passive manner, as a result of the focus on grammar- translation in a Vietnamese teaching-learning context. Fortunately, educators are aware 1 of the importance of improving student-centered English communication, which has led to their attendance at numerous conferences in recent years for the purpose of problem-solving.
These conclusive discussions gathered from these educational settings provide ample opportunities to improve English skills, (Nguyen, N. As stated by MOET in 2009, teachers are urged to search out efficient teaching approaches and procedures that are meaningful and practical in the context of EFL teaching in Vietnam in an attempt to optimize learning and teaching efficiency as well as implement more student-centered approaches. In the flow of innovation and progress in teaching, teachers have realized that group work is also a tactic for helping students become learner-centered in the classroom (Do, M. Students can improve their communication skills by working in groups and collaborating to achieve greater achievements in English speaking.
Furthermore, students are given the opportunity to deliberate and develop more highly-organized ideas before presenting them to the entire class (Le, T. In alignment with the emphasis on student-centered, cooperative learning has been affirmed one of these kind to help students gain the practical learning, efficient communication in understanding knowledge as well as promote students’ positive attitude to their learning (Johnson & Johnson 2018; Slavin, 2011, as cited in Tran. Foreign language learners, according to Brown (1994), cannot speak the language or express themselves freely and eloquently unless they have some level of self-confidence. Speaking English by using the group work technique has a positive effect on the academic achievement of students in terms of developing self-confidence and cooperation among learners (Madjid, 2019).
Group work also fosters a classroom environment that encourages student participation and activities while reducing anxiety and boosting self-confidence (Brown, 2006; Dornyei, 2001). 2 Personal background To explore confidence in English speaking, the researcher would like to convey her personal experiences with the challenges she underwent at university due to the absence of confidence. She struggled to express herself and communicate with her peers during speaking assignments when she was an undergraduate at Ho Chi Minh University of Industry for underlying reasons associated with the lack of self-confidence. It was a huge hardship for her to articulate or produce a decent presentation in front of her teacher and peers once she was instructed to perform speaking tasks.
It was recognized the significance of oral abilities in achieving good grades in school and landing a good career after graduation therefore, the researcher attempted, but failed, to overcome her anxiety about speaking English. After university, she worked as an English teacher at a school, where she noticed that many of her students were in the same position as she was. Her students frequently exhibited this problem by avoiding answering teachers' inquiries, despite the fact that some of them were capable of doing so. Students who were hesitant to present themselves in front of others typically declined the teacher's offer of a performance.
This drove her to investigate if she could encourage students to get far more involved in their communication without shame. It was typical to organize formal conversations during regular department meetings in which a lack of self-confidence to communicate in English was discovered in a wide range of students. Therefore, the center’s manager advocated changing and innovating teaching techniques to motivate the students’ communication skills throughout the center. It was a time when a researcher was looking for a title for her graduation thesis.
Her desire to gain a deeper synthesis and analysis of how to improve students' self- confidence prompted her to implement group work to answer her concern in this current study. 3 In light of the foregoing explanations, the researcher decided to conduct a study titled "Using Group work to Enhance EFL Students' self-confidence in Speaking English" to investigate some factors influencing students' self-confidence and how group work supports self-confidence enhancement.