VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ---***--- NGUYỄN THỊ HÀ AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE TEACHING OF SPEAKING SKILLS TO SECOND-DEGREE FRESHMEN AT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HANOI NGHIÊN CỨU THỰC TRẠNG DẠY KĨ NĂNG NÓI CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT LOẠI HÌNH ĐÀO TẠO VĂN BẰNG 2 TẠI ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ - ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code:60140111 HANOI, 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 HÀ AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE TEACHING OF SPEAKING SKILLS TO SECOND-DEGREE FRESHMEN AT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HANOI NGHIÊN CỨU THỰC TRẠNG DẠY KĨ NĂNG NÓI CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT LOẠI HÌNH ĐÀO TẠO VĂN BẰNG 2 TẠI ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ - ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code:60140111 Supervisor: Assoc. Trần Xuân Điệp HANOI, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I hereby certify that this minor thesis entitled “An Investigation into the Teaching of Speaking Skills to Second-degree Freshmen at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi” is the result of my own work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English Teaching Methodology at Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University Hanoi.
The research has not been submitted to any other universities or institutions wholly and partially. Hanoi, 2014 Nguyen Thi Ha i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc. Trần Xuân Điệp, for his considerable encouragement, clear and constructive advice and especially for his valuable corrections throughout this study. There is no doubt that without his comprehensive instructions, this thesis would never have been accomplished.
I also wish to give my big thank you to the lecturers at Post Graduate Studies who have delivered lectures with knowledge being of great significance to the completion of this study. I am very thankful to the teachers and students at In-Service Department, University of Languages and International Studies for their active participation in the survey questionnaire and their acceptance of my classroom observations. My thanks also go to a large number of researchers whose important ideas and notions are exploited and developed in the study. Last but not least, I would like to send my heartfelt gratitude to my family and friends who are forever a great source of endless love, care and support.
ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT This study examines the current situation of teaching speaking skills to the second-degree freshmen at the In-Service Department, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University Hanoi. It also aims at exploring the mismatches between learners’ expectations and teachers’ assumptions in this context. In order to seek the answers to these questions, survey research was employed in this study. Data was collected through two instruments being questionnaires and classroom observations, and then analyzed by descriptive statistics.
After all, some recommendations for teachers were made so that they can deliver a more successful speaking lesson in which learners are motivated to occupy much of the talking time with an acceptable level of language. It is expected that the findings of the research is a reliable source of reference for the teachers in the department as well as teachers of similar teaching contexts. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. vii LIST OF APPENDICES. viii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES. ix PART A: INTRODUCTION.
Objectives of the study and research questions. Significance of the study. Scope of the study. Method of the study.
Design of the study. 4 Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW .1 Theoretical background of speaking skills in language learning .1 Definition of speaking .2 Factors affecting English speaking abilities .3 Some problems in learners’ speaking performance .2 Theoretical background of speaking skills in language teaching .1 Accuracy or fluency in the teaching of speaking.2 Phases in teaching speaking. 7 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.3 Characteristics of a successful speaking lesson .4 Review of previous studies related to the research area of the thesis .1 Time allocation and the textbooks .2 Learning and teaching environment .3 Data Collection Instruments .4 Data collection procedures.5 Data analysis method. 18 Chapter 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS .1 Findings and Discussions.
38 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.1 Managing speaking turns to ensure even participation .2 Creating a cooperative atmosphere .3 Establishing good rapport with students .4 Combining the textbook with other authentic relevant materials .5 Varying speaking activities. Recapitulation of main ideas. Limitations of the study. Suggestions for further studies .I vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT = Communicative Language Teaching ELT = English Language Teaching ULIS = University of Languages and International Studies VNU = Vietnam National University, Hanoi vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire for students Appendix 2: Survey questionnaire for teachers Appendix 3: Classroom observation checklist Appendix 4: Sample of the speaking activity: Song Appendix 5: Sample of the communicative game: Spot the difference Appendix 6: Sample of the communicative game: What is the word? Appendix 7: Sample of the speaking activity: Question and answer Appendix 8: Table of contents of Interactions Listening and Speaking textbook viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1: Students’ attitudes towards English speaking and their effort in 18 learning.
Figure 2: Students’ participation in their English speaking lessons 19 Figure 3: Psychological reasons for students’ reluctance to speak English 20 Figure 4: Students’ linguistic difficulties in learning to speak English 20 Figure 5: Students’ assessment of the core English speaking textbook 21 Figure 6: Students’ talking time in the English speaking lessons and their 22 expectations of their teachers’ talking time Figure 7: Students’ feedbacks on their teachers’ corrections 24 Figure 8: Students’ evaluation of their English speaking class 25 Figure 9: Students’ suggestions for ways to encourage them in the English 26 speaking class. Figure 10: Teachers’ attitudes towards the importance of English speaking skills 28 Figure 11: Teachers’ evaluation of their students’ English speaking ability 28 Figure 12: Students’ difficulties in learning to speak English from the viewpoint 29 of teachers Figure 13: Teachers’ opinion in Communicative Language Teaching 30 Table 1: Students’ feedbacks on their teachers’ activities in the presentation, 23 practice and production phases Table 2: Students’ learning preferences 27 Table 3: Teachers’ difficulties in their English speaking lessons 31 Table 4: Results of classroom observations 32 ix LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale English, as an international language, has become increasingly important in the age of globalization and economic integration. A good command of English helps learners substantially in finding good jobs in Vietnam; however, Vietnamese learners of English are often described as having no ability to communicate in the target language.
This is possibly the most important reason why a huge number of non-English-majored graduates decide to come back to school to obtain another degree majored in English. For these part-time students, the ability to communicate fluently and effectively in the target language has been of great significance. A large number of studies have been conducted to help full-time undergraduates improve their English ability yet only a small amount of research caters for the needs of part-time adult English learners. Simultaneously, in the author’s opinion, this type of learners has some different characteristics from other subjects.
One of those is that these students are highly motivated and willing to devote time, energy and financial resources to their study of English, yet a considerable number do not know how to transform motivation into action; therefore, feel stuck in their study. This research is done with the great expectation to provide a closer look at English speaking teaching and learning in everyday classroom and assist teachers and learners with better teaching and learning decisions. Generally, all these gaps have encouraged the researcher to conduct the research “An Investigation into the Teaching of Speaking Skills to Second-Degree Freshmen at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University Hanoi” 2. Objectives of the study and research questions This study targets at addressing the following issues To investigate the current situation of teaching speaking skills to the second-degree freshmen in the In-Service Department, ULIS, VNU To explore the mismatches between learners’ expectations and teachers’ assumptions 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com To suggest measures to help teachers improve their teaching of English speaking skills The above objectives can be realized through these research questions: 1.
What is the situation of teaching speaking skills to second-degree freshmen at the In-Service Department, ULIS VNU? 2. What are the mismatches between second-degree learners’ expectations and their teachers’ assumptions? 3. What should teachers do to improve their students’ learning of English speaking skills? 3. Significance of the study English is now an indispensable instrument of communication and it is being learnt by diverse types of learners.
Thus, the English teaching methods should vary in order to satisfy and suit each type’s needs. It requires the ability to be sensitive to the educational, institutional and social contexts in which foreign language learning and teaching take place. In such a circumstance, it is desirable that English language teachers at In-Service Department, ULIS VNU should put a strong emphasis on working out the way to improve their students’ English speaking ability. As such, this study will serve as a reference material not only for teachers of In-Service Department, ULIS VNU but also for teachers of similar situations elsewhere who wish to improve their English speaking lessons.
Scope of the study Concerning the scope of the study, some of the following things should be taken into consideration. Firstly, this study focuses on developing learners’ fluency rather than accuracy in their English speaking. Secondly, the study involves the second-degree freshmen at the In-Service Department, ULIS VNU who are highly motivated in learning English yet desperately need some instructions to go the right way. Method of the study This is a survey research with the use of two instruments: questionnaires and observations.
All comments, remarks, recommendations and conclusions were based on the data analysis. Survey research has proved to be the best choice for this study as the 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com study was aimed at investigating the current situation of teaching speaking skills to freshmen within a certain context. The combination of different instruments used in this research would help to gain reliable data and help the researcher have a deep insight into the circumstance. This study employed qualitative data collection instruments including questionnaires with open-ended questions and classroom observations.
There were survey questionnaires for both teachers and students, each one contained carefully designed questions and could provide comprehensive understanding of the situation. Class observations were used to provide triangulated data (teachers, students and the researcher). The class observations may identify gaps between what the teachers said in the questionnaires and what they actually did in their classroom. Design of the study The study consists of 3 parts.
Part A: Introduction is a brief description of the research including the rationale, scope, subjective, research questions, method, and design of the study. Part B: Development is the main part of the study, which is divided into 3 chapters: Chapter 1: Literature Review presents theoretical background of the study and review of the previous related studies.