HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH GRADUATION THESIS B.A DEGREE IN ENGLISH STUDIES USING COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES TO DEVELOP ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS FOR ELEMENTARY LEVEL STUDENTS AT PASAL ENGLISH CENTER Name of student : Do Thi Ngan Class : 1271A03 Date of birth : 21/04/1994 Supervisor :Nguyen Thi Mai Huong, M.A HANOI, 2016 DECLARATION I here 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 Hanoi, 14th April, 2016 Student Supervisor Do Thi Ngan Nguyen Thi Mai Huong, M.A ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would foremost like to thank my supervisor, Nguyen Thi Mai Huong M.A for giving me support, guideline and feedback when I carried out my study I would like to thank all of teachers in Faculty of English at Hanoi Open University who provideme with necessary help as well as good suggestions whenever I get into trouble I would also like to send my special thanks to all the teachers and students at Pasal English center who help me carry out the research Last but not least, I would like to extend my gratefulness to my family, my friends and many others who continuously offer spiritual support and encouragement during the process of doing this study TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Aims of the study The research questions Scope of the study Methods of the stud Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Speaking skills 1.1.1 Definition of speaking skills 1.1.2 Types of speaking skills 1.1.3 The importance of speaking skills 1.1.4 Students’ motivation to participate in a speaking lesson 1.2 A speaking lesson 1.2.1 Stages of a speaking activity 1.2.2 Shape of a speaking lesson 1.3 Communicative activities 10 1.3.1 Definition of communicative activities 10 1.3.2 Characteristics of communicative activities 11 1.3.3 The advantages and challenges of communicative activities 13 1.3.4 Elements for successful communicative activities 14 Before Class 14 1.3.5 Some types communicative activities 18 1.4 Roles of teacher in communicative activities 20 1.5 Some techniques for effective communicative activities 20 CHAPTER II: THE STUDY ON USING COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES TO DEVELOP ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS OF ELEMENTARY LEVEL STUDENTS AT PASAL ENGLISH CENTER 23 2.1 Settings 23 2.2 Participants 23 2.2.1 The students 23 2.2.2 The teachers 23 2.3 Data collection methods 23 2.3.1 Class observation 23 2.3.2 Questionnaires 24 2.4 Research procedures 24 2.5 Findings 25 2.5.1 Results from class observation and student’s questionnaire 25 2.5.2 Results from class observation and teachers’ questionnaire 31 2.6 Discussion 36 2.6.1 Students’ awareness towards four skills and speaking skills in learning English 37 2.6.2 Teachers’ and students’ favourite communicative activities 38 2.6.3 Teachers’ and students’ perception towards the aims of communicative activities 39 2.6.4 Teachers’ sources of communicative activities used in speaking lessons 39 2.6.5 Difficulties the teachers encounter when conducting communicative activities in teaching speaking skills 40 CHAPTER III: SOME SUGGESTIONS IN RESOLVING DIFFICULTIES THE ENCOUTERED BY THE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS WHEN CONDUCTING COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES 43 3.1 Solutions for teachers 43 3.1 Students’ poor abilities of English 43 3.1.2 Students’ shyness and passiveness 44 3.1.3 Class size 45 3.1.4 Class time limitation 45 3.1.5 The lack of facilities 46 3.2 Solutions for students 46 3.2.1 Improving English ability 46 3.2.2 Improving confidence 49 PART C: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 51 APPENDIX 54 REFERNCES: 64 PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale It is admitted that speaking a foreign language in general and English in particular represents one of the essential requirements of today´s society Besides other skills and knowledge, speaking is considered as one of the most influencing factors while applying for a job or sustaining in a particular work position under the condition of advancing the language level Thus, the question of how to teach English effectively becomes more and more necessary and requires relevant answers English teaching and learning have the goal of focusing students so that they are able to use English for communication and as a tool for furthering their studies In the process of teaching and learning, the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) are simultaneously performed Many Vietnamese learners tend to concentrate so much on grammar or writing that they possess inability in communicating appropriately and naturally This leads to learners’ lack of self-confidence and avoidance when communicating with native English speakers According to many teaching theorists, speaking skills can be developed through communicative activities which include an information gap, a jigsaw puzzle, games, problem-solving, and Role-playing In addition, supporting this idea that there are some activities that can assist better speaking skills are free discussion and role-playing.Also, stated that the language activities are important factors in teaching language for communication Activities help create interaction in the language classroom Additionally, communicative activities can motivate the learners and establish good relationships between the teacher and the students as well as among the students thereby encouraging a supportive environment for language learning On basis of these theories, I would like to conduct a research to clarify the influences of using some communicative activities on teaching English speaking skills for elementary students at Pasal English center in order to apply in other teaching environments 2.Aims of the study The research aims to: - Realize the reality of applying communicative activities in speaking classes of elementary level students at Pasal English Center – benefits and challenges - Find out some solutions for difficulties in teaching and learning process - Suggest some implications for practicing communicative activities The research questions - What is the real practice of teaching and learning English in speaking classes of elementary level students at Pasal English Center? - What are the benefits and challenges of applying communicative activities in speaking lessons? - How to apply communicative activities to learning English? Scope of the study In the frame of the study, the application of communicative activities will be studied but the writer would not mention all fields related to communicative activities Particularly, the study focuses on the benefits and challenges of the application for elementary level students at Pasal English Center Methods of the study The study has employed some research methods as main means for the fulfillment The first one is the literature search to clarify some definition refer to speaking skills and communicative activities The second one is the collective method Some famous author’s opinion about communicative activities will be viewed The third are qualitative and quantitative methods used in this paper to analyze and summarize documents In addition, the statistic method has been applied with the purpose of giving a brief look at communicative activities to readers by collecting materials and systematizing information from these materials 6.Design of the study The study is divided into three parts with three chapters and references: PART A: INTRODUCTION includes rationale, aims and objectives, scopes of the study, methods of the study, design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT consists of three chapters entitled as follow: - Chapter I: Literature review: deals with the concepts relevant to the study: speaking skills, speaking lesson and communicative activities - Chapter II: The study on using communicative activities to develop English speaking skills of elementary level students at Pasal English Center, the current situation of teaching and learning speaking skills at Pasal English Center - Chapter III: Some suggestions in applying communicative activities to teach English speaking skills PART C: CONCLUSION:Summarizes all the key issues as well as the limitations of the study and suggestions for further study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1.Speaking skills 1.1.1.Definition of speaking skills Oxford dictionaries define “Speaking is the action of conveying information or expressing one’s feelings in speech” In addition, Speaking is "the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts" (Chaney, 1998) According to Ladouse (in Nunan, 1991: 23) speaking is described as the activity as the ability to express oneself in the situation, or the activity to report acts, or situation in precise words or the ability to converse or to express a sequence of ideas fluently Wallace (1978:98) stated that oral practice (speaking) becomes meaningful to students when they have to pay attention what they are saying Thus, the students can learn better on how to require the ability to converse or to express their ideas fluently with precise vocabularies and good or acceptable pronunciation Speaking is the productive skill It could not be separated from listening When we speak we produce the text and it should be meaningful In the nature of communication, we can find the speaker, the listener, the message and the feedback Speaking could not be separated from pronunciation as it encourages learners to learn the English sounds Speaking ability is the students’ ability in expressing their ideas orally which is represented by the scores of speaking Speaking is only an oral trail of abilities that it got from structure and vocabulary, Freeman (in Risnadedi, 2001: 56-57) stated that speaking ability more complex and difficult than students’ need to use English to communicate and teachers’ perception as well as their change in order to improve the situation Teaching implications Teaching English language speaking skill has been considered a difficult task to accomplish because it is affected by many factors such as students’ motivation, material,learners and teachers Communicative activities have been introduced as a solution and to some extent, it has obtained satisfactory results In fact, communicative activities are still limited or some are ineffectively used at Pasal English center Therefore, some implications are supplied which aims to promote the application of communicative activities to the elementary students at Pasal Limitation Although the research has offered some helpful finding, it has also shown some unavoidable mistakes due to the researcher’s limitation of experience and knowledge Firstly, the study aims to investigate the current situation of using communicative activities in teaching speaking skill for elementary students at Pasal English center but the participants of the survey were limited So the results may not reflect fully the whole situation of learning and teaching speaking skill Secondly, the questionnaires may not cover all communicative activities used by teachers, which leads to less reliable results Finally, due to time limitation and some other objective factor made it impossible for the researcher to carry out the investigation into the relationship with other skills, which restrict more precise of the research 52 Suggested further research Due to the limitation of the research, it can be extended to a large scale with other students and teachers at other English centers or schools In addition, on the basis of the research, the next further study may be suggested: Strategies to enhance communicative activities in speaking classes 53 APPENDIX Appendix 1: Questionnaire for Teachers QUESTIONNNAIRE This questionnaire is designed to seek for the information of teachers’ experience in using communicative activities in teaching speaking skill to elementary students at Pasal English center The answer will be used as important data for the research not for any other purposes The answer, therefore, should be frank and accurate to your own ideas and teaching context Thank you very much for your cooperation! Please circle the letter of the answer you choose (More than one choice is acceptable in some sentences) In your opinion, speaking skill is… a very necessary b necessary c not quite necessary d not necessary Do you find teaching speaking skill is difficult? a, Yes b, No According to you, how important is the use of communicative activities to teaching speaking skills at your English center? a, Very important c, Not very important b, Important d, Not important e, No idea Do you use communicative activities in teaching to the elementary students at your English center? a, Yes b, No 54 How often you use communicative activities in teaching speaking skills to the elementary students at Pasal English center? a, Often b, Sometimes c, Rarely d, Never Which sources of materials you usually use to design communicative activities for speaking lessons for elementary students? A, The activities in Effortless English text system B, The activities you design yourself C, The activities on the Internet D, The activities in the reference books E, The activities you collect from colleagues F, Combining the above sources Are the activities you often use related to the content of the lesson? a, Yes b, No c, Not necessary Why you think communicative activities should be used in speaking lesson? A, To encourage students to speak the target language B, To stimulate the students’ motivation C, To have the students get out of shyness D, To meet the demand of students’ communicative purposes E, All the above mentioned reasons F, Others reasons…………………………………………………… How successful will your speaking lesson for elementary students be if no communicative activities are made use of? A, Less successful B, As successful as periods used communicative activities C, More successful D, No idea 55 10 What are your favorite communicative activities in teaching speaking skills? A, Simulation and role-play E, Brainstorming B, Discussion F, Communicative games C, Information gap G, Group work D, Interview H, Matching I, Other activities………………………………………………… 11 What communicative activities appropriate for elementary students? A, Simulation and role-play E, Brainstorming B, Discussion F, Communicative games C, Information gap G, Group work D, Interview H, Matching I, Other activities…………………………………………………………… 12 Which of the following things you think teachers should make to get effectiveness of communicative activities? A, Make good preparation B, Encourage students C, Discuss and share the experience with colleagues D, Organize the class works appropriately E, Other things………………………………………………………… 13 Which problems you suppose to have/ have when designing and using communicative activities in teaching speaking skill for elementary students? A, Limitation of time to prepare B, Limitation of time to apply in classroom C, Class size is not suitable to use the communicative activities D, Students lack of knowledge of English to express themselves E, Students are passive and shy F, Lack of teaching facilities and teaching aids 56 Appendix 2a: Questionnaire for students (English version) QUESTIONNAIRES This questionnaires aims to discover students’ opinions towards communicative approach and how communicative activities have an impact on students in learning speaking skill for elementary students at Pasal English center All of these answers will be used as important data of the research They should, therefore, be frank and accurate to your own learning context Thank you very much for your cooperation! Please circle the letter of the answer you choose (More than one choice is acceptable in some sentences) According to you, which skill is the most important in learning English? Please rank from (most important) to (less important) a, Listening b, Speaking c, Reading d, Writing Do you enjoy learning speaking skill? a, Yes b, No How you feel when you attend the activities in a speaking lesson? a, Confident d, Uncomfortable b, Interested and motivated e, Bored c, Embarrassed and nervous Are you interested in the speaking lessons you have at your English center? a, Very much b, Yes c, Not much d, No If yes, which factor(s) activate(s) your interest in the lessons? A, Teacher’s methods of teaching attract you B, You find communicative activities interesting to practice English C, You have opportunity to speak English more D You can develop your speaking skill E, You meet your demand of using English to communicate 57 F, You like English G, Other factors………………………………………………………… If no, the reason(s) you not like the lessons is/are: A, You are not interested in English B, The topic is boring C, Teacher’s method of teaching is dull and poor D, Your English is not sufficient E, There is much vocabulary and many new structures F, Your personal characteristics such as your shyness prevent you from speaking G, Teacher’s instructions are not clear and motivating H, Other reasons:……………………………………………………… In English speaking lessons, the difficulties you often have are: A, Your knowledge of English (such as vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, etc) is poor B, Your shyness C, Your fear of making mistakes D, Teacher not encourage you much E, Other difficulties…………………………………………………… Which of the following activities teacher use in teaching English speaking skills at your center? Activities Always Often Role play Interview Discussion Information gap Guessing game Survey Communicative games 58 Sometime Seldom s Never What type of communicative activities above you like most? Please write down the name(s)? ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 10 What you benefit in the speaking lessons which use communicative activities? A, Increase your confidence, help you communicate in English fluently B, Have opportunity to communicate, perform your ideas C, Make you be interested in learning English D, Develop your creative and imaginary ability E, Practice language in appropriate context F, Help you be familiar with social situations in English in real communication G, Other things………………………………………………………… 59 Appendix 2b: Questionnaire for students ( Vietnamese version) PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA Bảng câu hỏi nhằm mục đích tìm hiểu ý kiến học viên việc sử dụng hoạt động giao tiếp dạy nói Tiếng Anh cho học viên trình độ sơ cấp trung tâm Anh ngữ Pasal Câu trả lời bạn học viên quan trọng thành công đề tài nghiên cứu Vì mong hợp tác bạn! Hãy đánh dấu khoanh tròn vào phương án cho ý kiến mở cuối số câu hỏi (Đối với số câu hỏi, bạn chọn nhiều đáp án) ………………………………………………………………………………… (Ở số câu hỏi bạn chọn nhiều phương án phù hợp) 1.Theo bạn, kỹ kỹ quan trọng học Tiếng Anh? Hãy đánh số thứ tự từ (quan trọng nhất) đến (ít quan trọng nhất) a, Nghe b, Nói c, Đọc d, Viết Bạn có thích học kĩ nói khơng? a, Có b, Khơng Bạn cảm thấy tham gia vào hoạt động học nói tiếng Anh? a, Tự tin d, Bối rối căng thẳng b, Thích thú, động viên e, Chán c, Không thoải mái Bạn có thích học nói tiếng Anh trường trung tâm tiếng Anh bạn khơng? a, Rất thích b, Có thích c, Khơng thích d, Khơng thích 60 Nếu có, yếu tố làm bạn cảm thấy hứng thú tiết học nói tiếng Anh? A, Phương pháp giảng dạy giáo viên hút B, Bạn thấy hoạt động giao tiếp thú vị dùng để luyện tập tiếng Anh C, Bạn có hội nói tiếng Anh nhiều D, Bạn phát triển kỹ nói E, Thoã mãn nhu cầu sử dụng tiếng Anh để giao tiếp bạn F, Khơng có cấu trúc G, Yếu tố khác………………………………………………………… Nếu bạn khơng thích, ngun nhân là: A, Bạn khơng thích học tiếng Anh B, Chủ đề nói buồn tẻ C, Phương pháp giáo viên không hấp dẫn D, Vốn Tiếng Anh bạn chưa đủ E,Có nhiều từ vựng cấu trúc F, Bạn nhút nhát, ngại ngùng G,Yêu cầu hướng dẫn giáo viên không rõ ràng H, Những lí khác Trong tiết học nói, bạn thường gặp khó khăn nào? A, Vốn Tiếng Anh bạn (như từ vựng, ngữ pháp, phát âm, vv…) B, Bạn nhút nhát C, Bạn sợ bị mắc lỗi nói D, Giáo viên khơng khuyến khích bạn E, Những khó khăn khác 61 Trong tiết học nói tiếng Anh, giáo viên bạn có tiến hành hoạt động sau khơng? Hoạt động Ln Thường Thỉnh Ít thoảng ln Khơng Đóng vai Phỏng vấn Thảo luận nhóm Hoạt động khoảng trống thơng tin cho cặp nhóm Trị chơi đốn Khảo sát Trị chơi giao tiếp Bạn thích loại hoạt động giao tiếp nhất? Hãy viết tên ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 10 Những tiết học nói tiếng Anh có sử dụng hoạt động giao tiếp đưa lại lợi ích cho bạn? A, Tạo tự tin, giúp bạn giao tiếp Tiếng Anh trôi chảy B, Có hội đựợc giao tiếp, trình bày ý kiến C, Tạo hứng thú học Tiếng Anh D, Phát huy khả sáng tạo tưởng tượng bạn E, Thực hành ngôn ngữ ngữ cảnh F, Tạo khả thích ứng với tình sử dụng Tiếng Anh thực tế G, Ý kiến khác……………………………………………… 62 Appendix 3: Class observation sheet Teacher’s name: Number of students: Observer’s name: Level: Teaching assistant’s name: Date and time: Setting: Setting arrangement, obvious equipment…) 2.Teacher’ teaching: - Lesson plan - Method - Procedure - Language used 3.Teaching assistant’s support: - Organizing class - Equipment support - Class management The use of communicative activities - Having or not - What activities - Types of class arrangement - Being real communicative activities or not - Being successful or not The students’ participation - Students are responsive or not - Language used - How well they participate - The classroom’s atmosphere Notes: 63 REFERNCES: Brown (1994) Characteristic of successful speaking activities New York: Cambridge University press Byrne, D (1986) Teaching Oral English Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Celce-Murcia, M (2001) Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language Boston: Heninte&Heine Publishers Chaney, A.L., and T.L Burk (1998) Teaching Oral Communication in Grades K-8 Boston: Allyn&Bacon Harmer, J (1982) What is communicative? The Guadalajara branch of the Instituto Anglo-Mexicano de Cultura Harmer, J (2001) The Practice of English Language Teaching Longman Hornby (1995) Definition of Speaking skill New York: publisher Kayi, H (unknown year) Teaching Speaking: Activities to Promote Speaking in a Second Language The Internet TESL Journal (2006) Retrieved from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kayi-TeachingSpeaking.html on January 3, 2013 10 Ladousse, G.P (1987) Role Play Oxford: Oxford University Press 11 Larsen-Freeman, D (1986) Techniques and principles in language teaching Oxford: Oxford University Press 12 Lawtie, F (2004), Teaching speaking skills - overcoming classroom problems BBC journal Retrieved from http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/teachingspeaking-skills-2overcoming-classroom-problems on January 11, 2013 13 Forseth, R et al (1995) Methodology hand book of English Teachers in Vietnam English Language Institute, American 64 14 Freeman, L D (1986), Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, Oxford University Press 15 Morrow, K (1981) Communication in the Classroom Harlow: Longman 16 McCarthy, M and R Cater (1997), Language as Discourse: Perspective for Language Teaching London: Longman 17 Nicolas, R & Arthur, L (1988), Large Class, Macmillan Publishers, Ltd 18 Nunan, D (1991), Language Teaching Methodology, Prentice Hall International, Ltd 19 Richard, J C (2006), “Developing Classroom Activities: From Theory to Practice” 20 Savingnon, S J (2001) Communicative Language Teaching Theory into Practice 21 Sun, G & Cheng, L (2000) From context to curriculum: A case study of Communicative Language Teaching in China TESL Canada Journal Retrieved from http://www.teslcanadajournal.ca/index.php/tesl/article/view/930/749 on January 11, 2013 22 Tait, S (2001), Ingredients for Successful Communicative Tasks TEFL.net Retrieved from http://www.tefl.net/esl-articles/esl- communicative-tasks.htm on January 31, 2013 23 Thompson, G (1996), Some Misconceptions about Communicative Language Teaching 24 Wilson, C (2009) Communicative Activities for Large Classes Retrieved from thtjapan org proceedings 200 -1 c wilson pdf on January 29, 2013 25 Nguyen Thi Huong Giang (2008), A Study on the Problems in Teaching English Speaking Skills to the Minority Students at Son La Ethnic 65 Boarding High School and Some Suggested Solutions, Vietnam National University, Unpublished M.A Thesis 26 Tran Trung Dung (2009), The Effects of Role-Play on Students’ English Speaking Ability and Attitudes / Motivation – A Case of Thuan Chau Junior High School, Unpublished M.A Thesis 66