VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ĐÀO THỊ MẾN AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT ON USING PICTURES TO ENCOURAGE 4TH GRADERS TO PARTICIPATE IN SPEAKING ACTIVITIES AT A PRIMARY SCHOOL IN BAC NINH PROVINCE (Nghiên cứu hành động về việc sử dụng tranh ảnh nhằm khuyến khích cho học sinh lớp 4 tại một trường tiểu học ở Bắc Ninh tham gia vào các hoạt động nói) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Hanoi - 2020 z VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ĐÀO THỊ MẾN AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT ON USING PICTURES TO ENCOURAGE 4TH GRADERS TO PARTICIPATE IN SPEAKING ACTIVITIES AT A PRIMARY SCHOOL IN BAC NINH PROVINCE (Nghiên cứu hành động về việc sử dụng tranh ảnh nhằm khuyến khích cho học sinh lớp 4 tại một trường tiểu học ở Bắc Ninh tham gia vào các hoạt động nói) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Supervisor: Nguyễn Thu Hạnh, PhD. Hanoi - 2020 z CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY OF PROJECT REPORT I certify my authority of the Study Project Report submitted entitled “An Action Research Project on Using Pictures to Encourage 4th Graders to participate in speaking activities at a Primary School in Bac Ninh Province” in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts. Hanoi, July 2019 Đào Thị Mến i z ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to register my profound gratitude to Mrs. Nguyen Thu Hanh, my respected supervisor, for her invaluable instruction, contribution and great care to my research.
I wish to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to the teachers of Department of Post-Graduate Studies who have supplied me with the good conditions to conduct this thesis and finish this M. My thanks go to my managers at my school, my colleagues for their assistance, encouragement during the time I participated in M. Also, I owe my debt to my colleagues and students who are the subjects of my thesis for their willingness to answer my talks, questionnaires, and interviews. Lastly, I am also grateful to my families for their kindly encouragement during the research‟s finalization.
ii z ABSTRACT Teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) encourage students to take a more active role in the oral activities in the classroom through different strategies. This study was conducted with the purpose to identify the effectiveness of using pictures to encourage the student‟s participation in speaking activities. The study showed that most students at this primary school experienced many difficulties in speaking English and they were not confident when they spoke or talked to their friends. To make situation better, an action plan was made, focusing on using pictures to motivate them actively to participate in speaking English.
The subjects of the study were 32 fourth graders of a primary school in Bac Ninh province. To that end, action research (AR) was attempted with the use of quantitative and qualitative methods to determine whether the use of pictures can improve the students‟ participation in speaking activities in class as well as their attitudes towards the use of pictures during speaking lessons. The data were collected through the talks with colleagues, students‟ pre and post-questionnaires, and interviews. The research was conducted during the first semester of the school year 2016 – 2017.
The findings of the study suggested that through using pictures the fourth graders‟ participation in speaking activities increased because this technique made the lessons more interesting and attractive. iii z TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY OF PROJECT REPORT. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv LISTS OF TABLES.
vii LISTS OF FIGURES. viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. Rationale for the study. Aims and objectives of the study.
Scope of the study. Significance of the study. Organization of the thesis.3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW. Overview of speaking skills.
Definitions of speaking skills. Types of speaking skills. Difficulties in teaching and learning English speaking skills. The practice of teaching and learning speaking skills to primary students .