MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY HUE COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ HO THI QUYNH HUONG AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USE OF LET’S STUDY ENGLISH TEXTBOOK TO TEACH SPEAKING SKILL FOR STUDENTS AT HUE INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING HUE, 2013 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY HUE COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ----------- HO THI QUYNH HUONG AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USE OF LET’S STUDY ENGLISH TEXTBOOK TO TEACH SPEAKING SKILL FOR STUDENTS AT HUE INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: TRAN QUANG HAI, Ph.D HUE, 2013 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ HUẾ ----o0o---- HỒ THỊ QUỲNH HƯƠNG TÌM HIỂU VIỆC SỬ DỤNG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA LET’S STUDY ENGLISH ĐỂ DẠY KĨ NĂNG NÓI CHO SINH VIÊN Ở TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG CÔNG NGHIỆP HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. TRẦN QUANG HẢI HUẾ, 2013 ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine. The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission from associates and have not been published elsewhere. Author Ho Thi Quynh Huong ABSTRACT iii The project “An investigation into the use of Let’s Study English textbook to teach speaking skill for students at Hue Industrial College” was carried out with a view to provide the effectiveness of teaching and learning speaking skill for students.
It aims at finding out (a) difficulties that teachers and students meet in teaching and learning speaking skill with the textbook Let’s Study English, (b) the evaluation speaking parts and speaking activities designed in the textbook Let’s Study English, (c) the teachers‟ speaking activities in the textbook Let’s Study English to improve speaking skill for their students and (d) possible solutions and suggestions to overcome the difficulties and improve the results of speaking teaching. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect and analyze the data of the questionnaires, interviews and class observations from 225 students and 8 teachers at HUEIC. The findings contain: (1) the biggest difficulty that both teachers and students meet in learning speaking is due to students‟ lack of the background knowledge and large class; (2) most of speaking parts designed in the textbook Let’s Study English were evaluated acceptable except for the layout and design of the textbook; (3) speaking activities are used in speaking classes; (4) some adaptation of speaking activities has been made to make them suitable to the students‟ levels. Based on the findings, some suggestions are drawn out not only for students and teachers to have better results in speaking learning and teaching but also for educational authorities for more appropriate consideration into speaking issue.
Much effort is put forth by the research with the hope of contributing to the improvement of the process of learning and teaching speaking skill at HUEIC. iv This study could not have been completed without the help of many respected and beloved people. I would like to thank them all this time. Above all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr.
Tran Quang Hai, for the generous encouragement, sympathetic patience and helpful guidance he gave to me throughout the entire development of this research. Without his help, this thesis would not be finished. I am grateful to my all instructors in MA course in the academic year 2011 – 2013 for the valuable resources of knowledge for me to start my thesis. I would like to thank the Administration Board of Hue Industrial Colleges, who permitted me to carry out my data collection in classes.
I also thank the teachers and the students at the College, who carefully completed the questionnaires and sincerely provided me with valuable sinformation for this research in the interviews to help me deal with the procedure of the thesis. I also want to show the warm gratitude to the lovely friends, the friendly colleagues at the college that faithfully gave me the valuable comments, the contributive adjustments and the useful suggestions in my thesis. The affectionate thanks I give to my family- especially, my beloved parents and my caring husband, for their vital love, support and encouragement to help me overcome all difficulties during the time I conducted this study. The researcher v vi TABLE OF CONTENTS SUB COVER PAGE .i SATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP.
v TABLE OF CONTENTS .vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. x LIST OF TABLES .xi LIST OF FIGURES. xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .Background of the research .Significance of the research. Scope of the study.
Purposes of the research and research questions. Purposes of the research. Organization of the thesis .4 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW. Previous studies on teaching speaking skill.
In other countries. Communicative language teaching and teaching speaking skill. Communicative language teaching. What is communicative language teaching (CLT)?.
Characteristics of CLT. Teaching English speaking skill.What is speaking?. Types of speaking. What is teaching speaking?.
Goals of teaching speaking in the classroom .Principles for teaching speaking skill .Classroom techniques and tasks for speaking .Factors affecting English speaking abilities. Language learning motivation. Language learning attitude. Language learning strategies .Textbooks and their roles in language teaching programme.
What is a textbook ?. The role of the textbooks in EFL, ESL classroom. Textbook adaptation and techniques of adaptation. Techniques of adaptation……………………………………………….
An overview on the textbook. Aim of the textbook. Structure of Let’s study English. Kinds of research and research approaches.
Procedures of collecting data. Data analysis methods .31 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Teachers‟ and students‟ responses on the difficulties in teaching and learning speaking skill. Teachers‟ and students‟ responses on the importance of speaking skill in comparison with other skills.
Learning speaking skill from teachers‟ perspective. Teachers‟ thinking about learning speaking skill. Teachers‟ attitude towards learning speaking skill. Learning speaking skill from students‟ perspective.
Students‟ thinking about learning speaking skill. Students‟ attitude towards learning speaking skill. Difficulties in teaching speaking skill from teachers‟ perspective. Difficulties faced by students when they use the textbook Let’s Study English.
Teachers‟ and students‟ evaluation on the speaking parts designed in the textbook Let’s Study English. Teachers‟ evaluation on the speaking parts designed in the textbook Let’s Study English. Students‟ evaluation on the speaking parts designed in the textbook Let’s Study English. Students and teachers‟ opinions on accuracy and fluency in the textbook Let’s Study English.
Using speaking activities in the textbook Let’s Study English. Teachers‟ use of speaking activities in the textbook Let’s Study English. Speaking activities of the textbook Let’s Study English. Adaptations made to the textbook Let’s Study English to be used more effectively at College.
Speaking activities used by teachers. Students‟ opinion on teachers‟ textbook adaptation. Reasons for teachers‟ textbook adaptation.50 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMLICATIONS. Suggestions for further research .60 ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT : Communicative language teaching EFL : English as a foreign language ESL : English as a second language ESP : English as specific (special) purposes HUEIC : Hue Industrial College x LIST OF TABLES Table 3.
Students‟ Background Information Table 3. Teachers‟ Background Information Table 4.1: Teacher‟s attitude towards learning speaking skill Table 4.2: Students‟ attitude towards learning speaking skill Table 4.3: Difficulties in teaching speaking skill Table 4. Speaking activities of the textbook Let’s Study English Table 4. Reasons for teachers‟ textbook adaptation xi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1: Teachers‟ thinking about learning speaking skill Figure 4.2: Students‟ thinking about learning speaking skill Figure 4.3: Difficulties faced by students when they use the textbook Let’s Study English Figure 4.4: Teachers‟ evaluation on the speaking parts designed in the textbook Let’s Study English Figure 4.5: Students‟ evaluation on the speaking parts designed in the textbook Let’s Study English Table 4.6: Students and teachers‟ opinions of accuracy and fluency in the textbook Let’s Study English Figure 4.7: Teachers‟ using of speaking activities in the textbook Let’s study English Figure 4.
Speaking activities used by teachers Figure 4. Students‟ opinion of teachers‟ textbook adaptation xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1. Background of the research The development of the economy requires students after graduating to know English in order to communicate with foreigners. It is considered as an international language in the world.
English helps people from all countries communicate with each other. It is true that English is widely used in all of society, many people equip themselves with stable knowledge of English aspects of life from politics, economy, culture and society. To meet the higher demands to and good preparation for learners. English, therefore it is the main and compulsory subject in many schools, colleges and universities.
To have a great command of a foreign language, learners have to master all four skills, including: listening, speaking, reading and writing. As a result of the fact that a wind of change is blowing through the use of English, speaking skill has growingly been considered as an aspect of great importance. However, it is also respect of learning English that creats difficulties to many second language learners. It takes them too much time and energy to make progress in speaking skill.
According to language teachers, it is not so hard to explain this fact. There are both extrinsic factors (such as teachers‟ instructions before practising speaking) and intrinsic ones (for example, lack of motivation or background knowledge of the target language, and so on). It is real challenge to these teachers to get students involved in their speaking lessons. Is speaking skill difficult to improve ? Do we have any solutions to help students overcome their problems with speaking lessons ? Teachers, therefore, have been seeking for ways to improve students‟ speaking ability, as well as to plant and nourish students‟ motivation in learning English.
At Hue Industrial College, before students learned ESP, they have been learned three general textbooks which are Headway, New Cutting Edge, and Let’s Study English textbooks used to teach students. Therefore, the use of textbook in English teaching is really needed. However, during the past several years, the reality 1 shows that after two years studying English at school, the number of students who can use English well is a few, the rest of the students are at low level of English and can not meet company‟s needs after graduating. Moreover, textbook Let’s Study English has been offically used at Hue Industrial College since the school year 2002-2003.
It was set up by the Ministry of Education and Training. This textbook was designed with them-based approach including 20 units and 4 tests. However, the textbook is used for students at HUEIC, and if the content in textbook may be suitable for the needs and level of students at HUEIC or not. Therefore, an investigation into the Use of textbook is really necessary.
With the purpose to contribute a little to the process of developing the college, a young teacher, I myself decide to conduct the study entitled “An investigation into the use of Let’s Study English textbook to teach speaking skill for students at Hue Industrial College”. On doing the research, I hope to meet students‟ need after graduation, to enable them to be more successful in learning English speaking at the College. Significance of the research There will be at least three kinds of benefits; they are for the college, English teachers and the researcher. For the college, the result of the research will inform English teachers of difficulties that students meet when learning speaking and what the teachers have done to minimize those obstacles.
This can be used to anticipate whether it is necessary to have speaking activities adapted from the textbook to use for the college.