MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ NGUYEN THI MY MY AN INVESTIGATION INTO USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS TO DEVELOP SPEAKING SKILLS FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS AT HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING HUE, 2014 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ NGUYEN THI MY MY AN INVESTIGATION INTO USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS TO DEVELOP SPEAKING SKILLS FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS AT HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.TRUONG VIEN HUE, 2014 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ -------- NGUYỄN THỊ MY MY NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC SỬ DỤNG TÀI LIỆU THỰC DỤNG ĐỂ PHÁT TRIỂN KỶ NĂNG NÓI CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM NHẤT TẠI ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.11 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: PGS.TRƯƠNG VIÊN HUẾ, 2014 ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine. The data and findings discussed in thesis are true, used with permission from associates and have not been published elsewhere. Author 3 ABSTRACT This study investigated using authentic materials to develop speaking skill for 1st year student at Hue University of foreign Languages. The research provides us with the understanding of teachers‟ perception and practice of using authentic materials in teaching speaking skills and students‟responses to authentic materials in speaking classes.
In order to obtain reliable result , both qualitative and quantitative methods were used major collection tools included questionnaires, interview checklist. The subjects of study consisted of 10 teacher who were teaching general English classes at Hue University of foreign Languages , and 50 students chosen randomly at 2 first year English Department The results of the study revealed the most of the teachers were well aware of the necessity of authentic materials in teaching and practicing speaking skill students‟responses to authentic materials in speaking classes. The study also helped to evaluate the degree of authenticity of text and teaching materials used in first year student. It is also provide some suggestions for English teachers to overcome difficulties in using authentic materials to develop speaking skill.
4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Above all, I would like to thank to my supervisor, Assoc.Truong Vien, for his precious knowledge and experience, the enthusiastic and helpful instructions the responsible care as well the sympathetic encouragement he has given to me at every stage of the development of this research paper. Additionally, I am absolutely grateful to him for his careful and detailed correction for my writing .His treasured support from the start to the end does empower me to overcome all of the challenges that I have to encounter during the research process. I am also grately thank to all teachers as well as students at HUFL, those who enthusiastically spent their time for my interviews and questionnaires to be conducted. Lastly, I wish to thank to my family for the love , devotion and encouragement they gave me while I was doing the course and thesis.
Hue,10 , 2014 Nguyen Thi My My 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS SUBCOVER PAGE. i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP .5 TABLE OF CONTENTS .6 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .10 LIST OF TABLES .11 LIST OF FIGURE .12 LIST OF CHARTS .1 Background of the study .2 Rationale of the study .Aims of the study.4 Scope of study .6 Structure of the study .4 CHAPTER 2:LITERATURE REVIEW .2 The definition of key terms .1 The definition of authenticity .2 Types of authenticity .3 What are authentic materials ? .3 Using Realia in the communicative classroom .4 The advantages of using authentic materials in the classroom .5 Limitations of authentic materials .6 What is an authentic task? .7 What is text authenticity ? .3 The use of Authentic materials in Communicative Language Teaching.1 Teacher‟s and leaner‟s role .2 Communicative activities in classroom. Task- Based Language Teaching .1 The role of text authenticity.5 Authentic materials in teaching speaking .1 The definition of speaking .2 Principles of teaching speaking .4 Using authentic materials in teaching speaking .6 The effect of authentic materials on students‟motivation .7 Review of previous studies.8 Summary of chapter.4 Instruments procedures and data collection .1 The questionnaire for the teachers .2 The questionnaire for students .5 Data collection Procedure. Proposing relevant suggestions.34 CHAPTER 4:FINDINGS AND DICUSSION .2 Quantitative data analysis from teachers questionnaires .1 Teacher‟s perception using authentic materials in speaking skills .1 The necessity of using authentic materials .2 Teachers‟view toward authentic materials.3 The effectiveness of authentic materials toward teaching speaking .2 Students‟ knowledge and skill .3 Students‟ level of English proficiency .3 Students‟ learning methods and habits .1 Students‟ learning methods .4 Approach and methods of practice using authentic materials in speaking skills .3 Quantitative data analysis from students questionnaires .1 Students‟ responses to authentic materials in speaking skills .1 The necessity of using authentic materials .2 Students‟view toward authentic materials .3 The effectiveness of using authentic materials .4 Students‟attitudes toward authentic materials .2 Students‟ view on the teachers‟ tool /activities to develop speaking skills in classroom .1 Students‟view to the teachers‟tool .2 Students‟ view on teachers‟ teaching .3 Students‟ view on the teachers‟ activities .4 The students‟ difficulties in practicing speaking using authentic materials .61 8 CHAPTER 5:CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS .1 Summary of the findings .1 What are teachers‟ perception of using authentic materials in speaking skill .2 What are students‟ attitudes toward using authentic materials in speaking skills? .4 Limitation of the study .5 Suggestion of futher study .66 APPENDICES 9 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT Communicative Language Teaching EFL English as foreign language HUFL Hue University of foreign languages MOET Ministry of Education and Training SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 10 LIST OF TABLES Table 2.
Facets of authenticity according to Taylor (1994) and Breen (1985) .2: Authentic task types (adapted from Mishan 2005:91).1 Summary of instruments .2 Summary of the questionnaire .3 The result of the questionnaire .1: The reliability of Questionnaire .2: teacher‟s perceptions using authentic materials in speaking skill .4 : Students‟knowledge and skill .6: Students‟ learning methods and habits .7: Approach and methods of practice using authentic materials in speaking skill .8: Students‟ responses to authentic materials in speaking skills .9: Students‟ view on the teachers‟ tool /activities to develop speaking skills in classroom .10: The students‟ difficulties in practicing speaking using authentic materials. 59 11 LIST OF FIGURE Figure 2.1:The methodological framework of communicative activities (Littlewood, 1992, p.2: A framework for analyzing communicative tasks .19 12 LIST OF CHARTS Chart 4.1: The necessity of using authentic materials .2: Teachers‟view toward authentic materials .3: The effectiveness of authentic materials toward teaching speaking .7: Students‟learning methods .11: The necessity of using authentic materials .12: Students‟ view toward authentic materials .13: The effectiveness of using authentic materials .14: Students‟attitudes to authentic materials.15: Students‟view to the teachers‟tool .16: Students‟view on teachers‟methods .17: Students‟ view on the teachers‟ activities .17: The students‟ difficulties in practicing speaking using authentic materials .1 Background of the study In the past ten years the use of authentic materials has become common in classroom teaching. However, the question of whether such materials appear authentic to the language learner seems to go unasked. On the other hand, in the context of political renovation and open -door policy in the past decades in Vietnam, the demand for foreign languages, especially English has soared than ever and the number of leaners of English has therefore increased remarkably.
Different methodologies with different strategies of teaching foreign languages have also been introduced into Vietnamese schools. Commnicative Language Teaching (CLT) as an approach has been highly appreciated and has prevailed throughout the world over the decades. This communicative approach has really made great contributions to changing the environment of teaching foreign languages in Vietnam, especially in the higher education system. This communicative language teaching has helped to build communicative competence for language leaners, which is very neccessary for their job.
Consequently, to sucessfully build communicative competence for language learners and to successfully produce employees who are really able to meet the urgent demands of society in the development trend of the country, English language teachers should take into consideration the ideal of text authenticity and using authentic materials in teaching. It is obvious that the communicative style teaching really requires authentic language use and classroom exchanges where students actually engage in real communication with one another. Breen and Candlin (1980), and Breen (1985) reminded educators that the classroom has its own authenticity which is as important as the authenticity of target culture. Apart from Breen and Candlin 1 (1980), many other experts on methodology have also had many profound research on this matter -authenticity and English language classrooms.
With an attempt to follow that trend, Vietnamese teachers of English have tried their best to create more authentic enviroment in the classroom through the use of authentic materials and textbooks for years. Many language teaching materials used in most Vietnamese schools in general, and at HUFL in particular nowadays are “authentic “ in the sense that they contain“authentic languag, authentic tasks,and authentic focus of communication”(Candlin and Edelhoff, 1982:7). However, the way many members of English faculty at HUFL (Hue University of Foreign Language) use materials may not be authentic, and therefore the teaching of English at this University tends to be inauthentic or artificial. This reality may be contradictory to main goals of teaching and learning programs for higher made by Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) that practicality and effectiveness should be assured.
And how do the teachers use authetic materials in their teaching for speaking skill at classroom and what is the students‟ responses with these methods? As a reuslt, this study aims at investigating what is the teachers‟ perception toward using authentic materials and students‟perception of using authentic materials in speaking class.2 Rationale of the study This research was conducted for the following reasons : Firstly, the notion of text authenticity, despite being differently intepreted, has played a very important role in the communicative language teaching in recent years. It really helps motivate students to study the language well and is therefore with the very teacher‟s concern. In the era of teaching foreign languages with the communicative approach, language teachers are being encouraged to make their teaching “authentic” by planing genuine situtations for their students by bringing real-life materials into the classroom. However, the question of text authenticity and 2 its vital roles seem to cause some confusion to many EFL (English as foreign language) teachers and EFL students as well.
Secondly, what are the reasons for this authenticity and artificiality of EFL classrooms? How can both EFL teachers and EFL learners give contribution to increasing the authenticity of their language classrooms? Does the use of authentic materials help to creat“real communication” in these general English classes at this University? Thirdly, as a teacher of English at HUFL for over ten years, I find it quite essential to have more insights into the teaching strategies that may help the English faculty members of our university to make the teaching and learning process more effective and practical in this particular context through the use of authentic materials. The experience from this study is also necessary for me, as a researcher and instructor of English in evaluating, selecting and adapting materials in my language classrooms. For all these reasons, I would like to conduct this research with the hope to seek better ways to use authentic materials in speaking classes of EFL context like Vietnam 1.Aims of the study The study aims to explore teachers‟perception and students‟responses using authentic materials The study also attempts to provide some practical teaching as well as professional advice on how to bring authenticity for 1st year students effectively in EFL teaching context by using authentic materials.