MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING QUY NHON UNIVERSITY DANG THI THANH THUY EFL TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF TEACHING SPEAKING AT QUANG TRUNG HIGH SCHOOL IN BINH DINH PROVINCE Field: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching Code: 8140111 Supervisor: Assoc. Nguyen Quang Ngoan BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN ĐẶNG THỊ THANH THÚY NHẬN THỨC VÀ THỰC TIỄN DẠY KỸ NĂNG NÓI CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VÀ HỌC SINH TRƯỜNG THPT QUANG TRUNG TỈNH BÌNH ĐỊNH Ngành: Lý luận và phương pháp dạy học bộ môn Tiếng Anh Mã số: 8140111 Người hướng dẫn: PGS. Nguyễn Quang Ngoạn i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP The thesis entitled “EFL Teachers’ and Students’ perceptions and practices of teaching speaking at Quang Trung High School in Binh Dinh Province” is conducted under the supervision of Assoc. Nguyen Quang Ngoan, a lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages at Quy Nhon University.
I declare that the information reported in this study is the result of my work and effort, except where due reference is made. The thesis has not been accepted for any degree and is not concurrently submitted to any candidature for any degree or diploma. Binh Dinh, 2023 Dang Thi Thanh Thuy ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This thesis work would not have been completed successfully without many people's support, encouragement, and contributions. I take this opportunity to thank them for their insightful thoughts, useful advice, and generosity of time.
They have enriched my knowledge and helped to make my graduate journey a special chapter in my life. First and foremost, I am grateful to my thesis supervisor, Assoc. Nguyen Quang Ngoan, for his amazing supervision. His outstanding knowledge and professional teaching-related expertise inspired me greatly during my academic life at Quy Nhon University, and he opened new horizons for me in the field.
I appreciate his accommodating guidelines and suggestions, great patience, and strong management skills in helping me overcome the challenges I faced as I worked on my thesis. I feel fortunate to have had him support my work. This study was made achievable by the presence of enthusiastic teachers and students at Quang Trung High School in Binh Dinh Province, who devoted their time to taking part in this research. I was thankful to all of them.
A special thanks goes to my dear friends Phung Thi Xuan Trang and Tran Thi Lap. They not only encouraged me when I ran into difficulties with my thesis but also gave me valuable insights into my thesis. I count myself fortunate to know them. Last but not least, I would like to express my deeply sincere gratitude to my family and friends for their love, and encouragement, and for being with me along my journey for the Master’s Degree.
iii ABSTRACT The main aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions and practices of both teachers and students regarding teaching speaking skills at Quang Trung High School in Binh Dinh Province. To achieve the purpose, a mixed methods approach was conducted with 8 EFL teachers and 84 EFL students through questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observation. Data from the study were collected through two stages, including qualitative data and quantitative data. The findings disclosed that although both teachers and students acknowledge the significance of speaking skills, the extent of their awareness and concern varies considerably.
While 100% of participating teachers acknowledge the importance of this skill, only about 26% of the surveyed students possess a clear understanding of the importance of speaking skills. In practice, the results demonstrate a profound interconnection between these two aspects. Teachers, always try to create opportunities and a favorable environment to develop students' speaking skills. For students, while most students finish the activities given by their teachers, their low frequency of regular practice reveals their uncertainty and lack of confidence in their ability to express themselves in English.
Among various solutions, intensifying conversational, speaking, and presentation activities in English classes is a notable approach to enhancing students' speaking skills. Keywords: EFL, perceptions, practices, solutions, teaching speaking iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. vii LIST OF TABLES.
viii LIST OF FIGURES. Research aim and objectives. Scope of the research. Structure of the thesis.
Definition of speaking. Importance of speaking. Elements of Speaking. Problems in speaking.
Principles in teaching speaking. Characteristics of successful speaking activity. The roles of a teacher in speaking class. The role of learners in speaking class.
Perception and practice of teaching speaking.3 Relationship between perception and practice of teaching speaking. Characteristics of high school learners. Related studies on teaching speaking. Data collection procedure.
Qualitative data analysis. Quantitative data analysis. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. Participants’ background information.
Teachers’ and Students’ perceptions of teaching speaking. Teachers’ perceptions of speaking. Students’ perceptions of teaching speaking. The relationship between teachers’ and students’ perceptions of teaching speaking skills.
Teaching practice for English speaking skills. Teachers' speaking instruction practice. Students’ practice in speaking classes. The relationship between the practical teaching of speaking by teachers and students' performance in speaking classes.
Solutions to teach speaking more effectively. Solutions for teachers to teach speaking more effectively. Enhancing Effective Speaking Skills for Students. Discussion of effective speaking teaching.
Limitations of the study. Recommendations for further studies .57 APPENDICES vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as a Foreign Language MOET: Ministry of Education and Training QTHS: Quang Trung High School SPSS: Statistical package for the social science viii LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Reliability statistics for the questionnaire. Teachers’ background demographics. Students’ background demographics.
The importance of speaking skill in teaching English. Perceptions of issues related to students. Problems related to teachers’ teaching methods. The importance of speaking skill.
Problems related to students. Problems related to teachers’ teaching methods. The frequency of speaking activities. The frequency of speaking activities.
The frequency of activities teachers commonly employed during English lessons. The effectiveness of speaking activities. The effectiveness of speaking activities .48 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: The interaction of perception, cognition, and action. Data collection and analysis procedure.
INTRODUCTION Chapter 1 presents the research rationale, research aim, and objectives, research questions, research scope, research significance as well as the organization of the thesis. Research rationale In many Asian contexts, English has become the preferred foreign language due to globalization in different social, economic, cultural, and educational elements (Nunan, 2003). English is now the most widely taught foreign language in Vietnam at all educational levels as a result of English's growth as a global language (Hoang, 2011; Nguyen, 2011; Pham, 2013). English is studied and taught across the nation, and there is a need to encourage its study and improve the standard of English instruction.
English is currently a required subject at the secondary and tertiary education levels after being introduced to young students in primary school. Despite having studied English for a long time, students still struggle to grasp oral communication and reach acceptable English proficiency levels. "Many school leavers cannot read simple texts in English nor communicate with English-speaking people in some most common cases," is a common criticism, according to Le (2013, p. Since the National Foreign Language 2020 Project (NFLP/2020 Project) was put into place by the Ministry of Education and Training in 2008 (MoET, 2008), English instruction and learning in Vietnam have received increased attention.
By the year 2020, the majority of Vietnamese students should be able to communicate effectively in a foreign language, particularly English, in their studies and at work. The decision was then updated by Decision No. 2080/Q-TTg dated December 22, 2017, which accepts the revised national strategy for studying and teaching foreign languages in the years 2017 through 2025. The amended goal is to significantly improve the standard of foreign language instruction and study at all academic levels while promoting the use of foreign languages in social activities and educational settings beginning in kindergarten (Prime Minister, 2017).
For students and teachers alike, these goals have made studying the English language at 2 all levels both hopeful and difficult. There is no exception when it comes to teaching English to high school students. It is therefore unavoidable that new textbooks, curricula, and methods for testing and assessment will be introduced. The introduction of the new high school curriculum, which is being implemented by Circular 32/2018/TT-BGDT dated December 16, 2019 (MOET, 2018), has resulted in promising English learning programs, which places greater emphasis on the roles of teachers and students in the active learning process than the previous pilot curriculum dated November 23, 2012 (MOET, 2012b).
The Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training sent hundreds of EFL teachers abroad for professional training to fulfill the objectives of the National Project (Tran, 2013). To increase the caliber of EFL teaching and learning and improve students' English communication abilities, they worked to implement novel teaching techniques (Tran, 2013) and earlier English introduction in primary schools. To give students the chance to converse with native English speakers and establish real-world English-speaking situations in the classroom, schools and colleges have hired native English TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) instructors. However, the bulk of English teachers are Vietnamese EFL instructors, who serve as important stakeholders and agents.
The impact of EFL teachers' ideas on imparting English-speaking skills in their actual teaching practices has not yet been investigated, despite even though taken training sessions and embraced new teaching techniques. Additionally, research on teachers' perceptions and practices has been made clearer by the emerging tendency to connect theories and practices of language learning. This is because it is thought that without some information with which to operate, teachers are unable to practice effectively. To shed light on this strong and complex interaction, there have been various research on teachers' perspectives and practices.
These studies have demonstrated that teachers' perceptions have a significant influence on their instructional strategies (Chan, 2008; Farrell & Benisi, 2013; Gatbonton, 2008; Jerome & Stephen 2014; Shasavar & Jamalsadeh, 2015). Furthermore, even though there has been a significant amount of research on 3 teaching speaking skill, and on EFL teachers' and students’ perceptions and practices toward teaching speaking globally, in Asian contexts generally, and in Vietnam specifically, their findings have not yet been fully generalized and no firm conclusions have been drawn. Due to the reasons outlined above as well as the fact that English is actually taught and learned in Vietnam, this study was conducted with the following goals: (1) to ascertain how high school EFL teachers perceive teaching speaking to high school students, (2) to examine how they teach speaking at Quang Trung High School (QTHS) in the framework of the new English teaching and learning, and (3) to ascertain how students at QTHS perceive teaching speaking. Research aim and objectives 1.
Aim This study aims to investigate teachers’ and students’ perceptions and practices of teaching speaking at a high school in Binh Dinh Province. Objectives In order to achieve this aim, the following objectives are targeted: - To understand how EFL teachers at QTHS perceive teaching speaking and how they practice teaching the skill. - To explore QTHS students’ perceptions of teaching speaking. Research questions With the aim and objectives stated above, the following research questions are addressed: 1.
What are EFL teachers’ perceptions and practices of teaching speaking? 2. What are EFL students’ perceptions of teaching speaking? 1. Scope of the research Due to the limited time, the study mainly focuses on examining EFL teachers’ and students’ perceptions and practices of teaching speaking. The study was carried out at QTHS with the participation of 8 EFL teachers and 84 EFL eleventh-grade students.
Research significance This research is considered to be important for some reasons.