VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** PHẠM THỊ THU HÀ DEVELOPING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL THROUGH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING PHÁT TRIỂN KỸ NĂNG NÓI CHO HỌC SINH QUA VIỆC HỌC THEO DỰ ÁN 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 ***************** PHẠM THỊ THU HÀ DEVELOPING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL THROUGH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING PHÁT TRIỂN KỸ NĂNG NÓI CHO HỌC SINH QUA VIỆC HỌC THEO DỰ ÁN M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Ph. TÔ THỊ THU HƯƠNG HANOI - 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I hereby, certify the thesis named “Developing students’ speaking through Project-Based Learning is the result of my own work for the Minor Degree of Master of Arts at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
The research has not been submitted for any degree at any other universities or institutions. I agree that the origin of my thesis deposited in the library can be accessible for the purposes of study and research. Hanoi-2014 Phạm Thị Thu Hà i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT In an attempt to develop English speaking skill for tenth-grade students at An Lao High School by using Project Based Learning, this research addressed two issues: (1) students’ attitudes toward the use of Project Based Learning in their English lessons; (2) the impacts of using PBL on students’ English speaking. The instruments employed for data collection and analysis of the study included two tests and two questionnaires for the students, an interview with two teachers and the teacher’s journals.
Research findings showed that the students had positive attitudes towards the use of PBL in their English lessons. It was also revealed that PBL was beneficial to help students improve their performance in speaking lessons. Based on the findings, some implications would be given for both the teacher and the students. With all these information, this study is expected to be useful to both teachers and students in teaching and learning English speaking skill.
ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks to Dr. Tô Thị Thu Hương, my supervisor, for her invaluable support, guidance, and constructive comments. Without her assistance and encouragement, this study would not have been accomplished. I am also indebted to all of my lecturers at Post-Graduate Department for their valuable lectures on the aspects of my concern.
Finally, I would like to show my sincere thanks to all the authors listed in the references for their ideas in this field. They have developed my thinking on doing this paper. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS % Percent CEFR Common European Framework of Reference for Languages CLT Communicative Language Teaching Approach PBL Project- Based Learning Ss Students T Teacher LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES Chart 1: Using PBL has helped develop your English speaking skill. 34 Table 1: Table 1: How is the grade calculated? …………………….
14 Table 2: The results of the pre-test…………………………………. 14 Table 3: The results of the questionnaire concerning causes of the students’ low English proficiency …………………………………. 15 Table 4: The results of the post-test ………………………………… 32 Table 5: Students’ opinion of the optional lessons using Project- Based Learning ………………………………………………………. 34 Table 6: The criteria of speaking skill have been improved by the students……………………………………………………………….
35 Table 7: Ss’ changes after taking part in the lessons using PBL……. 36 Table 8: The difficulties students encountered when carrying out their projects…………………………………………………………. 37 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration. iii List of abbreviations and symbols.
iv List of charts, figures and tables. iv Table of contents. Rationale of the research. Aims of the research.
Scope of the research. Reason for the use of action research. Action research design. 6 CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND.
Definition of speaking. Functions of speaking. The importance of teaching speaking skill. Communicative Language Teaching.
Project – Based Learning. Definitions of Project-Based Learning. Key features of Project- Based Learning. Teacher’s role in Project- Based Learning.
Stages in project work. Stage 2: Designing the project activities. 11 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Stage 3: Conducting the project activities.
12 CHAPTER II: THE STUDY. Research questions and design. Evaluation of the students' speaking skill through a pre-test. Conducting a questionnaire to get information from students.
Drawing a plan of action to solve the problems. Theme 4: Historical Places. Brief description of the first lesson with theme “Conservation”. Brief description of the first lesson with theme “Music”.
Brief description of the first lesson with theme “Cities”. Brief description of the first lesson with theme “Historical Places” .1 Evaluation of the students' speaking skill through a post-test. Evaluation of the students' speaking skill through the results of the interview with two teachers .3 Evaluation of the students' speaking skill through the results of the questionnaire with students. Limitations and suggestions for further research.
Implications for developing speaking skill through Project Based Learning. I vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Rational of the research Realizing that foreign language proficiency is really essential for students in an increasingly connected world, in Vietnam, Ministry of Education and Training has put more emphasis on teaching and learning foreign languages, especially English than ever before. It is the Vietnam’s National Foreign Language 2020 Project that is a milestone in improving teaching and learning foreign languages.
With the recognition of the importance of developing language skills for students, AnLao High School has implemented the seven year system course books - English 10, 11, 12 to help students to master four English language skills. Experiencing seven years teaching these course books, the researcher encountered quite a few problems in terms of the low English proficiency of the students in speaking skill. Students got into a lot of difficulties in speaking English, and the most serious problem was the lack of confidence. Consequently, students had limited success in developing English speaking skill.
Problems relating to the contents of a speech like ideas and grammar were the second and third most common. Students usually had little idea about what to say and they might be even unsure how to use the correct grammar. Besides, pronunciation was another major obstacle. This fact confirms the following opinion, “The acquisition of good pronunciation…is commonly held to be the most difficult of all tasks in second language learning” (Carrasquillo, 1994, p.
The researcher considered the use of Project-Based Learning as an appropriate strategy to help the students overcome all the difficulties in developing speaking English because PBL goes on over a period of time, resulting in products and presentations in which some aspects of speaking as confidence, ideas, grammar, and pronunciation can be enhanced by students. Moreover, students can foster the development of other skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving through each project. Considering the positive contributions of PBL, the researcher conducted a 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com study on the implementation of Project-Based Learning (PBL) to develop the English speaking skill for the tenth- grade students at An Lao High School. Aims of the research The research aims to: - find out the tenth- grade students’ attitudes towards the use of Project-Based Learning in their optional English lessons.
- discover how the use of Project-Based Learning in teaching English helps develop students’ English speaking skill. Scope of the research The research focused on using Project-Based Learning in teaching English in optional English lessons to the tenth-grade students at AnLao High School in the second term of the school-year of 2013-2014. How can the use of Project-Based Learning in teaching English help develop AnLao tenth-grade students’ English speaking skill? 2. What are the attitudes of AnLao tenth-grade students towards the use of Project- Based Learning in their optional English lessons? 5.
Methods of the research It was action research with mixed methods for data collection that became the methodology of the research. The tools for data capture involved two questionnaires for students, an interview with teachers, a pre-test, a post-test, class observation and teachers’ journals.1 Definition Action research, according to Parsons and Brown (2002) is a form of investigation designed for use by teachers to attempt to solve problems and improve professional practices in their own classrooms. It involves systematic observations and data collection which can be then used by the practitioner-researcher in reflection, decision-making and the development of more effective classroom strategies. 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.2 Reason for the use of action research.
It is necessary to do research into what is actually happening in classrooms to improve teaching and learning practices. Knowing what exactly is happening in classes can help teachers focus on aspects of teaching which are beneficial to their students. This research addressed my own problems in my teaching English speaking skill, and therefore it provided my students with better opportunities to develop their English speaking skill.3 Action research design There are four key stages in the action research including Planning, Acting, Observing and Evaluation. Stage 1: Planning: - Problems and causes of the students’ low English proficiency in speaking skill were explored through a pre-test and a questionnaire.
The students at AnLao High School were faced with some problems when speaking English including bad pronunciation, lack of vocabulary, fear of mistakes and fear of speaking in public. These problems were mostly due to ineffective methods and techniques employed by the teachers of English of AnLao High School. - Strategies for improvement were mapped out through lesson plans applied PBL in English teaching to develop the students' English speaking skill. Stage 2: Acting - PBL was adopted to improve their English speaking skill in 16 optional lessons of an English intensive class 10C9 in the second term of the school-year of 2013-2014 with 4 themes based on English 10.
Stage 3: Observing - Two volunteer teachers were asked to observe those lessons and evaluate the changes in AnLao tenth-grade students’ English speaking skill. 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com - Class observations were made carefully by the teacher and the success of the action research on using PBL to develop student's English speaking skill lay in the outcomes of the class observations. Stage 4: Evaluation - A post-test was given to the students to evaluate their improvement in speaking skill. - An interview and a questionnaire were carried out to get information from teachers and students on the efficiency of the use of PBL in developing English speaking skill.
- From the results of the post-test, the interview and the questionnaire, some conclusions were made.4 Participants The research was conducted with the participation of 40 tenth - grade students of the English intensive class and 2 teachers of AnLao High School during the second term of the academic year 2013-2014 at AnLao High School.5 Procedures - At the end of the first term of the academic year 2013-2014, an evaluation of the students’ English speaking ability, a pre-test was administered. The criteria for evaluating each student’s speaking ability in the pre-test include fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, pronunciation, and interactive communication. - The researcher planned 4 lessons with 4 themes applied the use of PBL in English teaching to motivate the students to learn English and to develop their speaking skill.