VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ TUYẾT ANH AN ACTION RESEARCH ON METHODS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ CONFIDENCE IN SPEAKING ENGLISH AT NGUYEN BA NGOC LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL Nghiên cứu hành đô ̣ng nhằ m nâng cao khả năng tư ̣ tin trong tiế ng anh của ho ̣c sinh lớp 9 tại trường Trung ho ̣c cơ sở Nguyễn Bá Ngo ̣c M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 HA NOI 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ TUYẾT ANH AN ACTION RESEARCH ON METHODS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ CONFIDENCE IN SPEAKING ENGLISH AT NGUYEN BA NGOC LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL Nghiên cứu hành đô ̣ng nhằ m nâng cao khả năng tư ̣ tin trong tiế ng anh của ho ̣c sinh lớp 9 tại trường Trung ho ̣c cơ sở Nguyễn Bá Ngo ̣c M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: PROF. HOÀNG VĂN VÂN HA NOI 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis is the results of my own research and that the substance of the thesis has not, wholly or part, been submitted for a degree to any other university or institution.
Hanoi, June, 2014 Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Anh i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In completing my thesis, I have received warmly help from my supervisor, teachers and students of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School, family and friends. First and for most, I would like to show my deep gratitude to Prof. Hoàng Văn Vân who directly guides me. Thanks to his useful advice and detailed comments in the preparation as well as the correction.
Besides he always supported and created favorable conditions for me to complete this thesis. Secondly, I would also like to express my deep thanks to the staff of the Faculty of Post- graduate Studies ULIS for their help and for their interesting lectures and support, which are really useful for this research. Thirdly, I would like to send my sincere thanks to the headmaster of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School for giving a chance to talk and exchange ideas with the teachers and students. Fourthly, I also would like to send my special thanks to all English teachers at my school who take part in my talks and share their experience.
Finally, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my family and my friends for their supports and encouragement. Without them I might not have been able to complete the research. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT This research is conducted with the purpose to improving students‟ confidence in speaking skill at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School. The subjects of the study are 65 ninth graders of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School.
The data are collected through talks with colleagues, students‟ pre- questionnaire and post- questionnaires and analysis of the textbook. The research was conducted during the first semester of the school year. The study shows that most students at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School experience many difficulties in speaking English. They are not confident when they speak or talk with their teachers and their friends.
To make situation better, an action plan was made which focus on using warm up activities, group work and project - based activities to help students to improve speaking skill. I hope that the study will be helpful to English teachers who share the same aspiration to help students to solve their problems in improving their students‟ confidence in speaking English. Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Anh iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LISTS OF CHARTS CHARTS Chart 1: Students‟ evaluation on their confidence Chart 2: Factors making students lack of self confidence Chart 3: Teaching method‟s affection Chart 4: Students‟ impression on the textbook and English speaking lessons Chart 5: Students‟ frequency of speaking English in class Chart 6: Students‟ frequency self- study at home after school Chart 7: What makes students interested in learning English speaking skill best. iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Declaration.
iii List of charts and tables. iv Table of Contents. Rationale of the research. Aims of the research.
Scope of the research. Design of the study. 3 PART II: DEVELOPMENT. 4 Chapter I: literature review.
Definitions of speaking and speaking skill. What is speaking?. What is speaking skill?. The difficulties in teaching and learning English speaking.
Types of speaking. From-focused speaking. Meaning-focused speaking. Fluency-focused speaking.
Definition of confidence. The importance of students‟ confidence in language learning. Main factors affecting students‟ English speaking .1 Fear of mistake .10 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.4 Lack of confidence .5 Lack of motivation .12 CHAPTER II : THE METHODOLOGY .Context of the study. An overwiew of teaching and learning English at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School.
English teaching staff. English learning and teaching condition. Data collecting instruments. Talks with colleagues and personal class observation.
Talks with colleagues. Personal class observation. Pre-Questionnaire table for students. Post-trying out questionnaire.
Phrase 2: Action planning. Phrase 3: Taking action .18 CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS. Analysis of the textbook. Analysis of talks with colleagues.19 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
Analysis of class observation. Analysis of students‟ pre-questionnaires. Drawing a plan of action to solve the problem. Some suggested solutions.
Lesson using the warm up, work group and project – based activities. Action research evaluation. Post-questionnaire evaluation. Major findings and discussions.40 PART III: CONCLUSION.
Limitations and suggestions for further study. I vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART I: INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale of the research Nowadays, with the increasing development of international relations among countries, learning English, especially learning English speaking is playing a more and more important role. People use English for communication and discussion at the world forums and in different aspects of life.
Learning a foreign language represents one of the essential requirements of today‟s society. Besides other skills and knowledge, it is considered as 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. In Vietnam, English speaking is also very essential for people who want to find a good job. Thus, learning English speaking has become more important than ever.
English teaching and learning in Vietnam has been developing at an unprecedented speed. It has become the number one foreign language to be taught both inside and outside the formal educational system of many countries. As a lower secondary English teacher, I know that how English has become one of the compulsory subjects in the curriculum and how Vietnamese education system appreciates the importance of English learning nowadays. Most language teachers, following a traditional, test-oriented teaching approach, often concentrate on teaching English vocabulary, grammar, and sometimes on pronunciation, all the language elements covered in the textbooks.
Therefore students do not spend much time on speaking and as a result they lack their confidence when speaking the language. In order to study English as a foreign language and to be successful with it, students must be helped by the teacher to acquire skills in the four language skills, namely: speaking, listening, writing, and reading. Of these four skills, speaking is the skill secondary school students need great support. In my teaching experience, I have found that one of the aspects that they really need is to build their confidence in speaking English.
That is why in this thesis I want to find out the factors that 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com affect their confidence in speaking, and help them over come it and speak English better. That is the reason why I choose this research. Aims and objectives of the research 2. Aim The overarching aim of this research is to find out ways to help students at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School gain confidence in speaking English.
Objectives The above over archiving aim can be broken down into the following objectives: finding out in the literature the factors that affect students‟ confidence in speaking a foreign language; finding out the factors that affect Nguyen Ba Ngoc School students‟ confidence in speaking English; and offering some techniques (activities) for students to gain confidence in speaking English so that they can improve their speaking skill. Scope of the research The present study focuses on improving the ninth graders English majors speaking skill at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School. In fact, there are lots of techniques the teacher can use to teach students to speak English well. However, due to the limitation of time, resources and knowledge of mine as well as some other conditions, this thesis only focused on using “Warm up activities, work group and project-based activities” in teaching English to ninth graders at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School in the first term of the school-year of 2013-2014".
Research questions In order to achieve the aims and the objectives of the study, the following research questions are formulated: 1. What are the factors that affect students’ confidence when speaking a foreign language? 2. What are the factors that affect Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School students’ confidence in speaking English? 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. What should be done to help students at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School gain confidence in speaking English? 5.
Methodology Action research - Personal class observation and talks with colleagues: conducted at the beginning of the study to find out students‟ problems in speaking skill. - Textbook analysis: the analysis focuses on the speaking tasks in the textbook to see whether they are suitable and interests the students. Then some adjustments could be made. - Pre-questionnaires for students (10 questions): conducted with 65 students to find out problems and their expectations.
- Trying out “warm up activities, work group and project - based activities” - Post- questionnaire for evaluation (4 questions) 6. Design of the study The thesis consists of three parts as follows: Part I: Introduction – provides the basis information such as rationale for the study, aims and objects of the study, research questions, scope of the study, methods of the study and design of the study. Part II: Development – consists of three chapters. Chapter 1 is literature review in which the theoretical background relevant to the purpose of the study is discussed.
Chapter 2 is concerned with the methodology of the study in which a detailed description of how the study is conducted is provided. Chapter 3 provides a report on the data of the research. Part III: Conclusion – summarizes what has been studied. Then recommendations are proposed, some limitations of the study are pointed out, and some suggestions for further study are offered.
3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REWIEW The aim of this chapter is to review the literature relevant to the issues under study. Definition of speaking and speaking skill 1. What is speaking? Definition of what speaking is attracted a lot of attention and concern from researchers. There are several definitions on speaking presented in language learning methodology.
Bums & Joyce (1997), for example, define speaking as an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information.