STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP 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 Author Nguyen Thanh Tra ii ACKNOWLEDEMENTS First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Assoc Prof Dr Luu Quy Khuong for all the friendly support and assistance at all stages of this thesis I would like to acknowledge humbly that his constant guidance inspired me all through the study Without his help and careful guidance, this thesis would not have been possible I would also like to express my sincerest gratitude to all teachers at some upper secondary schools in Nghe An where the investigation was carried out for their endless enthusiasm, valuable advice and great cooperation At the same time, I would like to send my special thanks to all the 10 th graders at some upper secondary schools for their willingness to participate in my study and their valuable input Also, I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to all of the friends in my group for their support and encouragement during the time this paper was written Last but not least, I owe a great debt of gratitude to my beloved family who support me in various ways from time to time of my work iii ABSTRACT This research investigates the students’ and teachers’ awareness of using communicative activities in teaching English speaking skills to the 10th graders at some upper secondary schools The research addresses some issues of students’ attitude towards learning speaking skills, the frequency of communicative activities teachers used in speaking classes, difficulties confronted students and teachers Also some useful implications are recommended to the teaching of speaking skills to the 10th graders at upper secondary schools in Nghe An and similar teaching contexts The methods for empirical investigation in the study includes students’ and teachers’ questionnaire survey, teachers’ interview, classroom observation and pilot teaching Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to create a realistic and detailed description of the real teaching context and the attitudes, assessments of teachers and students involved It also presents an evaluation of the pilot teaching as an evidence of effective use of communicative activities in teaching speaking skills to the 10th graders at upper secondary schools in Nghe An The results of the study show that most of the teachers and students had positive attitudes and motivation to the uses of communicative activities in learning and teaching speaking skills, yet the scope was still limited It also indicates that some of difficulties and objective causes hindered them from extreme benefits which directly impacted on the use of communicative approach in teaching English speaking skills After students attended pilot teaching class, there was an obvious interest in learning English The participants not only improved their English speaking skills but also overcame some problems resulted from their personal characteristics The author, therefore, hopes that the study is a small contribution to learning and teaching English speaking skills at upper secondary schools in Vietnam in general and in Nghe An in particular iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Content Page SUB COVER PAGE .i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ii ACKNOWLEDEMENTS .iii ABSTRACT .iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS LISTS OF TABLES CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 RATIONALE .6 1.2 AIMS OF THE STUDY 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .7 1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 1.5 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY .8 CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 10 2.1 OVERVIEW 10 2.2 PRIOR RESEARCHES RELATED TO THE STUDY 10 2.3 THE NATURE OF SPEAKING .11 2.3.1 Definitions of Speaking 11 2.3.2 Types and Elements of Speaking 12 2.3.3 Functions of Speaking 14 2.3.4 Principles for Teaching Speaking Skill 17 2.3.5 Steps of Teaching Speaking Skills .19 2.3.6 Stages for Teaching Speaking Skills 20 2.3.7 Problems with Speaking and Speaking Activities .21 2.4 COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT) 23 2.4.1 Definitions of CLT .23 2.4.2 Characteristics of CLT 24 2.4.3 Teacher’s and Learner’s Roles in CLT 24 2.5 COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES (CAs) .25 2.5.1 Definitions of CAs 26 2.5.2 Characteristics of CAs 27 2.5.3 Types of Classroom CAs 27 2.5.4 Purposes of CAs 31 2.6 INTERACTION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOM 32 CHAPTER REASEARCH METHODOLOGY 35 3.1 OVERVIEW 35 3.2 PARTICIPANTS .35 3.3 DATA COLLECTION 36 3.3.1 The Questionnaires .36 3.3.2 Pilot Teaching .37 3.3.3 Interviews 37 3.4 DATA ANALYSIS 37 3.5 RESEARCH PROCEDURES 37 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 39 4.1 OVERVIEW 39 4.2 FINDINGS .39 4.2.1 Students’ Awareness towards Four Skills and Speaking Skills in Learning English 39 4.2.2 Factors Related to Students’ Interest in Speaking Lessons 42 4.2.3 Students’ Difficulties in Speaking Lessons 44 4.2.4 Students’ Opinion about Teachers’ Design of CAs .45 4.2.5 Students’ Attitude towards CAs 46 4.2.6 Students’ Feedbacks to the Implementation of CAs 48 4.2.7 Teachers’ Opinion about Speaking Skills 52 4.2.8 Teachers’ Perception about the Use of CAs in Teaching Speaking Skills 54 4.2.9 Teachers’ Implementation of CAs .57 4.2.10 Teachers’ Assessments on the Contribution of CAs 58 4.2.11 Teachers’ Role in Designing and Managing CAs in Classrooms 60 4.2.12 Difficulties the Teachers Encounter When Conducting CAs in Teaching Speaking Skills 62 4.3 DISCUSSION 63 4.4 SUMMARY .73 4.5 PILOT TEACHING 73 4.5.1 Activities and Procedures .73 4.5.2 Students’ Feedback 83 4.5.3 Teachers’ Evaluation on the Lesson 84 4.5.4 The Researcher’s Comment 86 CHAPTER CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS .88 5.1 CONCLUSION 88 5.2 TEACHING IMPLICATIONS 89 5.2.1 Implication for CAs Application 90 5.2.2 Suggested Teaching Techniques 90 5.3 LIMITATION 91 5.4 SUGGESTED FURTHER RESEARCH 92 REFERENCES .93 APPENDICES Appendix : Questionnaire for Teachers Appendix 2a : Questionnaire for Students (English version) Appendix 2b : Questionnaire for Students (Vietnamese version) Appendix : Questions for Teachers Interview Appendix : Observation Sheet Appendix 5a : Students’ Feedback to Pilot Teaching (English version) Appendix 5b : Students’ Feedback to Pilot Teaching (Vietnamese version) Appendix6 : Teachers’ Feedback to Pilot Teaching LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CAs : Communicative Activities CLT : Communicative Language Teaching C1 : Class C2 : Class N : Number of Informants Q1 : Questionnaire Number One Q2 : Questionnaire Number Two S : Student SS : Students T : Teacher % : percent LISTS OF TABLES Page Table 3.1: Teachers’ Background Information 35 Table 3.2: Students’ Background Information .36 Figure 4.1: Students' Opinions on the Four Skills in Learning English 40 Figure 4.2: Students’ Attitude towards Speaking Skill 40 Figure 4.3: Students' Response towards Speaking Activities 41 Figure 4.4: Students’ Attitude towards Speaking Lessons at School 42 Figure 4.5: Factors Motivating Students in Speaking Classes .42 Figure 4.6: Factors De-motivating Students in Speaking Classes 43 Figure 4.7: Students’ Difficulties in Speaking Lessons 44 Figure 4.8: Students’ Opinion about the Ways Teachers Started a Lesson 45 Table 4.1: Frequency of Using CAs in Speaking Lessons .46 Figure 4.9: Students’ Favorite CAs 47 Table 4.2: Benefits that Communication Activities Bring to Students in Speaking Classes 48 Table 4.3: Students’ Opinion on Interaction Patterns Used by Teachers in Classrooms 50 Table 4.4: Classroom Interaction Patterns Students Favor 51 Figure 4.10: Teachers’ Opinion about the Speaking Skill .52 Figure 4.11: Teachers’ Opinion about Teaching Speaking Skills 54 Figure 4.12 Teachers’ Perception about the Use of CAs 54 Figure 4.13: The Frequency of CAs Teachers Used 55 Figure 4.14: Teacher’s Assessment towards Speaking Activities in Textbook 56 Table 4.5: Teachers’ Perception towards the Aims of CAs 57 Table 4.6: Teachers’ Feedbacks on the Lessons without CAs .58 Figure 4.17: Teachers’ Opinions about the Benefits of CAs 60 Table 4.7: Roles of the Teachers during the CAs 61 Table 4.8: Teacher Informants’ Opinion Ways to Promote CAs 61 Figure 4.18: Teachers’ Difficulties in Implementing CAs 62 Table 4.9: Teachers’ Comment on the Effectiveness of Activities .86 CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 RATIONALE In the process of industrialization and modernization, learning English is becoming the most concern of students in Viet Nam With more opportunities to use English in the future jobs, students, especially, at upper secondary schools find that the need to enhance their language skills is becoming a matter of great urgency In order to meet the need of the learners, teachers are constantly challenged by the matter how to make English teaching and learning more communicative and effective For students at upper secondary level in Viet Nam, a general English course has been implemented which offers them different language skills including reading, listening, speaking and writing skills Among these skills, both teachers and learners find it hard to use an effective way in teaching and learning speaking skill According to Nunan (1995) “the single important aspect to learn English successfully is by mastering the art of speaking” Gaining communicative competence is the last main goal of teaching and learning English at upper secondary schools However, this aim is not always achieved There is a fact that when students at upper secondary schools are required to talk in English, they seem to get stuck or find it difficult to express themselves Normally, when the poor speaking competence is reported, students tend to be blamed for having poor ability or making insufficient effort Nevertheless, some other factors should be taken in consideration They could be objective problems such as unsuitable teaching material, insufficient class time allocated to speaking or some subjective reasons such as inappropriate attitude of the teachers the subject and students toward the subject, teachers’ inappropriate teaching method In addition, teachers also find it difficult to teach speaking skill They seem to find it hard to make their student communicate much in English They not know how to improve the motivation of students in speaking English A number of methods and techniques have been implemented in order to improve the quality of teaching speaking skill However, the Communicative Approach to language teaching as well as the use of Communicative Activities (CAs) has shown its enormous advantages in teaching and learning They, therefore, will be discussed in this research in order to improve the quality of teaching speaking skill for students at upper secondary schools Being a teacher of English at an upper secondary school, the researcher finds it necessary to make an investigation of the reality of teaching and learning speaking skill Besides, the reasons that lead teaching to difficulties in speaking teaching will be figured out and discussed as well as to seek an effective way to enhance the teaching and learning speaking process Personally, the researcher hopes the study could be useful source for teacher in their teaching process 1.2 AIMS OF THE STUDY How to teach students communicatively speaking skill seems to be a challenge to teachers of English not only in my school but also at the other upper secondary schools Therefore this paper is written to investigate the reality of teaching speaking skill at some upper secondary schools in Nghe An Also, this study intends to explore the application of CAs to develop the quality of teaching and learning English as well as to improve the language interaction of students in speaking lessons Finally, it seeks to find out, to what extent, these CAs have influence on students’ study achievements Hopefully, the author, through the study, can provide some suggestions to apply CAs effectively which would be beneficial for teachers in teaching speaking skills at upper secondary schools 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS In order to reach afore aims, the research attempts to answer the following questions: 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 10th graders at some Upper Secondary School in Nghe An 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 put a tick (√) on the answer you choose ……………………………………………………………………………………… I Students’ Profile - Age: …………… - Years of studying English: …………………… - Your class size: Less than 40 students 40-50 students More than 50 students II Students’ Experience in Learning English (More than one choice is acceptable in some sentences) 1.According to you, which skill is the most important in learning English? Please rank from ( most important) to ( less important) Listening Speaking Reading Writing Do you enjoy learning speaking skill? Yes No How you feel when you attend the activities in a speaking lesson? Confident Uncomfortable Interested and motivated Bored Embarrassed and nervous Are you interested in the speaking lessons you have at your school? Very much Yes Not much No If yes, which factor(s) activate(s) your interest in the lessons? Teacher’s methods of teaching attract you You find communicative activities interesting to practice English You have opportunity to speak English more You can develop your speaking skill You meet your demand of using English to communicate No new structures Other factors………………………………………………………… If no, the reason(s) you not like the lessons is/are: You are not interested in English The topic is boring Teacher’s method of teaching is dull and poor Your English is not sufficient There is much vocabulary and many new structures Your personal characteristics such as your shyness prevent you from speaking Teacher’s instructions are not clear and motivating Other reasons:……………………………………………………………… In English speaking lessons, the difficulties you often have are: Your knowledge of English ( such as vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, etc) is poor Your shyness Your fear of making mistakes Teacher not encourage you much Other difficulties…………………………………………………………… Teachers usually start an English speaking lesson by Writing the title of the lesson on the board and ask you to the tasks in textbook Introducing new words or structures Giving questions related to the topic to be spoken Introducing the topic of the lesson Using word games Conducting warm-up games, for example quizzes, puzzles, songs Other ways………………………………………………………………… Which of the following activities teacher use in teaching English speaking skills at your school? Activities Matching Role play Interview Discussion Information gap Jigsaw Guessing game Survey Memory game Communication games Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never 10 What type of communicative activities above you like most? Please write down the name(s)? ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 11 How often does your teacher make use of the following interactions in teaching speaking skill? Interaction Patterns Individually Pair work Group work Full-class interaction Closed-ended teacher questioning "IRF" Choral responses Collaboration Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never S T Teacher talk T SS Self- assess 12 Which of the above interaction patterns you like most? Individually Pair work Group work Full-class interaction Closed-ended teacher questioning "IRF" Choral responses S T Teacher talk T SS Collaboration 13 What you benefit in the speaking lessons which use communicative activities? Increase your confidence, help you communicate in English fluently Have opportunity to communicate, perform your ideas Make you be interested in learning English Develop your creative and imaginary ability Practice language in appropriate context Help you be familiar with social situations in English in real communication Other things………………………………………………………………… Appendix 2b: Questionnaire for students ( Vietnamese version) PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA Bảng câu hỏi nhằm mục đích tìm hiểu ý kiến học sinh việc sử dụng hoạt động giao tiếp dạy nói Tiếng Anh 10 Trường THPT Câu trả lời bạn học sinh quan trọng thành công đề tài nghiên cứu Vì mong hợp tác bạn! Hãy đánh dấu (√) vào phương án cho ý kiến mở cuối số câu hỏi ……………………………………………………………………………………… I Thông tin cá nhân học sinh - Tuổi: ………………………… - Số năm bạn học Tiếng Anh: ……………………… - Số học sinh lớp bạn: < 40 sinh viên II 40-50 học sinh > 50 học sinh Kinh nghiệm học sinh việc học nói Tiếng Anh (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) Nghe Nói Đọc Viết Bạn có thích học kĩ nói khơng? Có Không Bạn cảm thấy tham gia vào hoạt động học nói tiếng Anh? Tự tin Bối rối căng thẳng Thích thú, động viên Chán Khơng thoải mái Bạn có thích học nói tiếng Anh trường khơng? Rất thích Có thích Khơng thích Khơng thích Nếu có, yếu tố làm bạn cảm thấy hứng thú tiết học nói tiếng Anh? Phương pháp giảng dạy giáo viên hút Bạn thấy hoạt động giao tiếp thú vị dùng để luyện tập tiếng Anh Bạn có hội nói tiếng Anh nhiều Bạn phát triển kỹ nói Thỗ mãn nhu cầu sử dụng tiếng Anh để giao tiếp bạn Khơng có cấu trúc Yếu tố khác…………………………………………………………………… Nếu bạn khơng thích, ngun nhân là: Bạn khơng thích học tiếng Anh Chủ đề nói buồn tẻ Phương pháp giáo viên khơng hấp dẫn Vốn Tiếng Anh bạn chưa đủ Có nhiều từ vựng cấu trúc Bạn nhút nhát, ngại ngùng Yêu cầu hướng dẫn giáo viên khơng rõ ràng Những lí khác……………………………………………………………… Trong tiết học nói, bạn thường gặp khó khăn nào? Vốn Tiếng Anh bạn (như từ vựng, ngữ pháp, phát âm, vv…) Bạn nhút nhát Bạn sợ bị mắc lỗi nói Giáo viên khơng khuyến khích bạn Những khó khăn khác ……………………………………………………… Giáo viên bạn thường bắt đầu tiết học nói tiếng Anh cách nào? Giới thiệu từ cấu trúc Đặt câu hỏi liên quan đến chủ đề nói Giới thiệu chủ đề tiết nói Sử dụng trò chơi từ vựng Tổ chức trò chơi / hoạt động khởi động, câu đố, hát,… Cách khác …………………………………………………………………… Trong tiết học nói tiếng Anh, giáo viên bạn có tiến hành hoạt động sau khơng? Hoạt động Ln ln Thường Thỉnh thoảng Ít Khơng Nối Đóng vai Phỏng vấn Thảo luận nhóm Hoạt động khoảng trống thơng tin cho cặp nhóm Trị chơi lắp thơng tin Trị chơi đốn Khảo sát Trò chơi ghi nhớ Trò chơi giao tiếp 10 Bạn thích loại hoạt động giao tiếp nhất? Hãy viết tên ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………… 11 Những tiết học nói tiếng Anh có sử dụng hoạt động giao tiếp đưa lại lợi ích cho bạn? Tạo tự tin, giúp bạn giao tiếp Tiếng Anh trơi chảy Có hội đựợc giao tiếp, trình bày ý kiến Tạo hứng thú học Tiếng Anh Phát huy khả sáng tạo tưởng tượng bạn Thực hành ngôn ngữ ngữ cảnh Tạo khả thích ứng với tình sử dụng Tiếng Anh thực tế 12 Trong tiết học nói tiếng Anh giáo viên bạn có tổ chức hình thức tương tác sau cách thường xuyên khơng? Hình thức tương tác Cá nhân (tự luyện tập, làm bài) Theo cặp (2 hs giao tiếp) Theo nhóm Cả lớp tham gia Gv hỏi-Hs trả lời-Gv phản hồi Đồng trả lời Cộng tác (với hs khác) Ln ln Thường Thỉnh thoảng Ít Hs hỏi-Gv trả lời Chỉ giáo viên nói Giáo viên nhiều học sinh Tự đánh giá 13 Trong hình thức tương tác trên, bạn thích loại nhất? Cá nhân (tự luyện tập, làm bài) Theo cặp (2 hs giao tiếp) Theo nhóm Cả lớp tham gia Gv hỏi-Hs trả lời-Gv phản hồi Đồng trả lời Cộng tác (với hs khác) Hs hỏi-Gv trả lời Chỉ giáo viên nói Giáo viên nhiều học sinh Tự đánh giá Khơng Appendix 3: Questions for Teachers Interview The interview is composed of open-ended questions addressing the use of CLT at upper secondary school Other questions may be added based on subjects’ answers to the questionnaire 1st question: How you evaluate the current “Tieng Anh 10” in terms of CLT? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this teaching material? 2nd question: What you think about using CLT in English speaking classrooms? 3rd question: In your opinion, how students like CAs? And how your students in English speaking classes benefit from them? 4th question: What is your dominant role in CAs? 5th question: What are some of the difficulties you have faced personally when attempting CAs in your English speaking classroom? Were you able to overcome those difficulties? How? 6th question: What elements have a part in the success of teaching English speaking to the 10th graders in communicative way (such as students, activities, classroom managements, instructions, lesson plan, activities)? 7th question: In your opinion, what changes should made and what suggestions should be given in English speaking classes to the 10th graders so that the teaching and learning process can be more successful? Appendix 4: Observation Sheet Date:…………………………… Lesson:……………………………… Class:…………………………… Teacher:……………………………… Students’ total number: ……………………………………… Teaching Stages Work Teaching Activities Time Methods Arrangement Aids PreSpeaking WhileSpeaking PostSpeaking Note: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… …… Appendix 5a: Students’ Feedback to Pilot Teaching ( English version) LESSON FEEDBACK SHEET (For Students) Are you interested in the speaking lesson today? a Yes b No c No ideas Do you enjoy “warm-up” activity? a Yes b No c No ideas Is the lead-in activity helpful for you? a Yes b No c No ideas What communicative activities you think the most challenging in this speaking lesson? a Matching game b Jigsaw activity c Role-play d Interview What you think of speaking activities in this lesson? a Communicative b Interesting c Boring d No idea How are teacher’s instructions of tasks? a They are clear and specific b They are irrelevant and too long c No ideas What you think of teacher’s role to your activities in the lesson? a Supportive b Available c Discouraged d No idea Write down one thing you not like in the lesson:………………………… Appendix 5b: Students’ Feedback to Pilot Teaching (Vietnamese version) PHIẾU NHẬN XÉT BÀI GIẢNG ( Dành cho học sinh ) Bạn có thích giảng ngày hơm khơng? a Có b Khơng c Khơng có ý kiến Bạn có thích hoạt động “Nối” mở đầu học khơng? a Có b Khơng c Khơng có ý kiến Hoạt động dẫn dắt vào nghe (Nhìn tranh trả lời câu hỏi) có bổ ích cho bạn khơng? a Có b Khơng c Khơng có ý kiến Hoạt động khiến bạn thấy đầy thách thức giảng hơm nay? a Trị chơi b Hoạt động khoảng trống thơng tin c Đóng vai (hoạt động nói) d Phỏng vấn Chỉ dẫn giáo viên cho tập nghe nào? a Ngắn gọn rõ ràng b Mơ hồ dài dịng c Khơng có ý kiến Bạn thấy hoạt động nào? a Mang tính giao tiếp b Thú vị c Chán d Khơng có ý kiến Bạn nghĩ vai trị giáo viên trình hoạt động bạn? a Động viên b Sẵn sàng giúp đỡ c Không khuyến khích bạn d Khơng có ý kiến Hãy cho biết điều khiến bạn khơng thích giảng hôm nay: Appendix 6: Teachers’ Feedback to Pilot Teaching LESSON FEEDBACK SHEET (For Teachers) Teacher: …………………………………… Date: …………… Time allotted: ……………………………… What you think of the students’ motivation? a Highly motivated b More motivated than usual c As usual d Less motivated What you think of the effectiveness of speaking activities? Activities Effective Effectiveness Not so effective Not effective at all Warm-up Pre-teaching vocabulary Lead-in Role-play Jigsaw Interview Your suggestions of the lesson: …………………………………………………………………………………… ... as an evidence of effective use of communicative activities in teaching speaking skills to the 10th graders at upper secondary schools in Nghe An The results of the study show that most of the. .. teaching speaking in foreign language such as the definitions of speaking, principles of teaching speaking, and the significance of teaching speaking Also, concepts related to CLT, types of CAs used... This thesis, therefore, focuses on the studying the use of CAs in teaching speaking for students at upper secondary school 2.3 THE NATURE OF SPEAKING 2.3.1 Definitions of Speaking Speaking can