MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY -------- ∞0∞-------- NGUYEN THI MAI PHUONG PROJECT-BASED LEARNING AND ITS IMPACTS ON STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MASTER THESIS MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL HO CHI MINH CITY, 2021 Tai Lieu Chat Luong MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY -------- ∞0∞-------- NGUYEN THI MAI PHUONG PROJECT-BASED LEARNING AND ITS IMPACTS ON STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Major code: 8 14 01 11 MASTER THESIS MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL Supervisor: Dr. NGUYEN VU PHUONG HO CHI MINH CITY, 2021 TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC MỞ CỘNG HÒA XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH Độc lập – Tự do – Hạnh phúc KHOA ĐÀO TẠO SAU ĐẠI HỌC GIẤY XÁC NHẬN Tôi tên là: NGUYỄN THỊ MAI PHƯƠNG Ngày sinh: 9/10/1987 Nơi sinh: TP. Hồ Chí Minh Chuyên ngành: Lý luận và phương pháp dạy học bộ môn Tiếng Anh. Mã học viên: 1781401110030 Tôi đồng ý cung cấp toàn văn thông tin luận án/ luận văn tốt nghiệp hợp lệ về bản quyền cho Thư viện trường đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh.
Thư viện trường đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh sẽ kết nối toàn văn thông tin luận án/ luận văn tốt nghiệp vào hệ thống thông tin khoa học của Sở Khoa học và Công nghệ Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh. Ký tên (Ghi rõ họ và tên) Nguyễn Thị Mai Phương CỘNG HÒA XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM Độc lập – Tự do – Hạnh phúc Ý KIẾN CHO PHÉP BẢO VỆ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ CỦA GIẢNG VIÊN HƯỚNG DẪN Giảng viên hướng dẫn: TS. NGUYỄN VŨ PHƯƠNG Học viên thực hiện: NGUYỄN THỊ MAI PHƯƠNG Lớp: MTESOL017A Ngày sinh: 9/10/1987 Nơi sinh: TP. Hồ Chí Minh Tên đề tài: Project-based Learning and Its Impacts on Students’ Speaking Skill in Elementary School Ý kiến của giáo viên hướng dẫn về việc cho phép học viên Nguyễn Thị Mai Phương được bảo vệ luận văn trước Hội đồng: Nghiên cứu về sử dụng Project-based Learning như một quy trình giúp học sinh phản ánh và cải tiến kỹ năng nói.
Kết quả nghiên cứu sẽ mang lại nhiều hàm ý giúp cho giáo viên khi vận dụng tương tác nhóm thông qua projects trong giảng dạy tiếng Anh. Phương pháp nghiên cứu phù hợp với mục tiêu nghiên cứu. Hình thức luận văn trình bày phù hợp theo quy định của trường. Có đầy đủ các nội dung cần thiết của một nghiên cứu.
Luận văn có thảo luận tương đối đầy đủ các nghiên cứu trước cho mô hình nghiên cứu. Việc lỷ giải sử dụng Project- based Learning trong mô hình giúp thể hiện nội dung trọng tâm nghiên cứu. Điều này giúp việc lựa chọn phương pháp phù hợp. Việc thu thập dữ liệu được thực hiện bằng nhiều công cụ, giúp cung cấp những mô tả phong phú về nội dung nghiên cứu và các phát hiện.
Nghiên cứu giúp đưa ra những hàm ý hữu ích cho giáo viên trong hoạt động tổ chức giảng dạy thông qua Project-based Learning. Giảng viên hướng dẫn đồng ý học viên nộp luận văn để bảo vệ trước hội đồng. Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, ngày 9 tháng 9 năm 2021 Người nhận xét Nguyễn Vũ Phương i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled “Project-based Learning and Its Impacts on Students’ Speaking Skill in Elementary School” is my own work. Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains any material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.
No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis. This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution. Ho Chi Minh City, September 2021 NGUYEN THI MAI PHUONG ii ABSTRACT This action research study examined the impact of project-based learning on the elementary students’ speaking skill and the challenges the students faced when implementing this intervention. The convenience sampling was used with thirty students in an elementary school participated in this study in two semesters.
Multiple research instruments as pre-test, post-test, observation and think-aloud were employed to collect the data. The data were analysed by the paired sample T-test, content analysis and thematic analysis to reveal the findings. The findings indicated the project-based learning can improve the speaking skill from the students’ score of speaking tests before and after the intervention. Furthermore, data analysis from observation and Think-Aloud indicated the benefits of the intervention, promoting learners’ reflection, developing speaking skill and collaboration skill, encouraging social interaction and enhancing level of engagement.
Some challenges in implementing the project-based learning were also reported, including the misunderstanding the instructions, using mother tongue, conflicts and time limitation. This study gives insights to researchers who contemplate to apply the project-based learning to their speaking classes. Regarding to the limitation and the recommendation, further research should be conducted with larger size and focus on other skills with other instruments instead of only speaking skill to have a holistic view of students’ development of language acquisition. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr.
Nguyen Vu Phuong, since he has been a guiding light during the process. Without his professionalism, patience and guidance to his students, I would not be finishing this thesis. Besides, I would like to thank all my professors, for their knowledge and support during my time at Ho Chi Minh City Open University. Also, I would like to thank all the staffs in Ho Chi Minh City Open University for their help throughout the course.
I highly appreciate my lovely students for their enthusiasm, effort and support to me. Their smile and their happiness help me overcome the challenges to complete this thesis. Last but not least, I would like to send my love and my gratitude to my family, my sisters and my brother, and my friends, for always supporting me in finishing the thesis and not letting me quit. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP .iii LIST OF FIGURES.
x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. Background of the study. Statement of the problem. Aim of the study.
Significance of the study. Delimitations and Limitations of the Study. Definition of speaking. Characteristics of speaking skill.
Strategies for Developing Speaking Skills. Project-based learning .1 Definition of project-based learning. The theoretical framework of project-based learning. The benefit of project-based learning.
Procedure of project-based learning. Project-based learning and doing a project. The application of project-based learning on speaking skill. Challenges in project-based learning.
Summary and the research gap:. The research gap. Research objectives and research questions:. Theoretical framework of the study:.
Instruments for data collection:. Rubrics for the pre-test and post-test. The trustworthiness of the study. Benefits of the intervention.
Improving speaking skill. Enhancing level of engagement. Promoting quality of individual contribution in groupwork. Supporting positive behavior in group.
Challenges of implementing the intervention. Misunderstanding the instructions. Using the mother tongue. Learners’ perceptions of the intervention.
Speaking skill development. Fostering emotional development. Benefits of the intervention. Improving speaking skill.
Enhancing level of engagement. Promoting quality of individual contribution in groupwork. Supporting positive behavior in group. Challenges of implementing the intervention.
Misunderstanding the instructions. Using the mother tongue. Learners’ perceptions of the intervention. Speaking skill development.
Fostering emotional development. Summary of the findings. 112 ix LIST OF TABLES Table 2. Project-Based Learning: Procedure and Strategies (Han and Bhattacharya, 2001) Table 3.1: Lesson contents & schedule Table 3.2: Rubric for the oral test Table 3.3: The information of classroom observations Table 3.4: The information of the Think-Aloud Table 3.5: Timeline of Data Collection and Data Analysis Table 4.1: Correlations between Pre-Test and Post-Test Table 4.2: Descriptive Statistics of Pre-Test and Post-Test Table 4.3: Paired Samples t-Test Table 4.4: Level of Engagement Table 4.5: Quality of individual contribution in groupwork Table 4.7: Challenges of the implementation of project-based learning x LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Relation between IBL approach and active learning (Jamari et al.2 General framework of Project-Based Learning by Han and Bhattacharya, 2001 Figure 3.1 Kemmis and McTaggart’s Action Research Model (1986) Figure 3.2 The theoretical framework of the study (adapted from Kolb (1984)’s Experiential Learning Theory) Figure 3.3 The picture from Family and Friends Special Edition, Grade 3 Figure 3.4 The picture from Family and Friends Special Edition, Grade 3 Figure 3.5: Product of the project 1 Figure 3.6: Students presented the project 1 Figure 3.7: Product of the project 2 Figure 3.8: Students presented the project 2 Figure 4.1: The menu with some new words Figure 4.2: Students’ presentation xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL English as a Foreign Language ELT English Language Teaching ESL English as a Second Language PBL Project-based learning TESOL Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages TA Think-Aloud 1 CHAPTER 1.
INTRODUCTION Chapter 1 provides an overview of the research in six sections. A background of the study that shows the current teaching and learning of English is provided in the first section.2 to specifies the problems in teaching speaking. The next section reveals the aim of the study. Research questions are presented in the fourth section as the guideline for the research.
The last section clarifies the delimitation and limitation of the study. Background of the study Responding to English as an international language of communication, people considerably think of learning English, so that they can use and speak English for communication, education, business, tourism and other purposes. Due to the importance of learning English as a foreign language, teaching EFL speaking has been considered important in Vietnam. Specifically, one of the goals of the elementary English program is that after completing the elementary English course, students can communicate in simple English through four skills including listening, speaking, reading and writing, emphasizing on speaking and listening skills.
Kayi (2006) stated that speaking is an oral mode of production skill. Furthermore, students will benefit from learning speaking because verbal communication is a common way to communicate with others. According to Ur (1996), the most important aspect of learning a second or foreign language is acquiring speaking skill. Besides, Nunan (1991) stated that the proficiency in another language is generally measured by the ability to communicate in that language.
Thus, a speaker should communicate in a way that the listener could understand them. Therefore, students should be proficient in speaking skill to obtain and share information with others. In order to be able to conduct effective 2 communication, students need to have good speaking elements as stated by Harmer (2002). First, the linguistic features include pronunciation, intonation, stress, pitch, grammar and fluency.
Second, information processing capabilities include language understanding, interaction with others to communicate naturally, and process information smoothly. Consequently, the teaching and learning speaking process must support the students to communicate effectively, as Kayi (2006) stated, teacher should provide speaking tasks for meaningful communication rather than force the students only memorization. Wallace et al. (2004) indicated that teachers should provide students the opportunities to practise speaking English.
Statement of the problem According to Ur (1996) students can face some problems in learning speaking. First, students can be inhibited about speaking English in the classroom because they are afraid of making mistakes, scared of criticism or losing face or simply shy. Second, students can find it hard to think of anything to say. An interesting topic is not enough.