i VIETNAMNATIONALUNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* VÕ THỊ KIM CÚC THE EFFECT OF CLASSROOM INTERACTION ON DEVELOPING NON-ENGLISH MAJOR SOPHOMORES’ SPEAKING SKILL AT HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY (HUI) Ảnh hưởng của tương tác trong lớp học đối với việc phát triển kỹ năng nói của sinh viên năm hai không chuyên ngữ tại trường Đại Học Công Nghiệp TP.HCM M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 HoChiMinh, 2014 ii VIETNAMNATIONALUNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* VÕ THỊ KIM CÚC THE EFFECT OF CLASSROOM INTERACTION ON DEVELOPING NON-ENGLISH MAJOR SOPHOMORES’ SPEAKING SKILL AT HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY (HUI) Ảnh hưởng của tương tác trong lớp học đối với việc phát triển kỹ năng nói của sinh viên năm hai không chuyên ngữ tại trường Đại Học Công Nghiệp TP.HCM M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: NGUYỄN TRƯỜNG SA, PhD. HoChiMinh, 2014 iii DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP TITLE: “The effect of classroom interaction on developing non-English major sophomore’s speaking at Ho Chi Minh University of Industry (HUI)” Name:VÕ THỊ KIM CÚC Supervisor’s Name: Dr. NGUYỄN TRƯỜNG SA “I certify that this work is entirely my own and has not been accepted as part of a submission to another purpose elsewhere”. Signed: Word length: words iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study has been completed with the help and support of many persons. Therefore, I am grateful to all of them. First and foremost, I would like to express my special thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Nguyen Truong Sa, who shaped me on the path toward being an independent researcher. Dear Dr. Nguyen Truong Sa, thank you for your initial ideas of the research topic and your support during the time I was conducting the research. You have invested a lot of energy and valuable time counseling and correcting my thesis. Without your help and support, I would have been in much trouble completing my study. Working with you, I have learned a lot of valuable knowledge and experiences in doing research. Next, I would like to send my deep gratitude Mr. Bui Van Hat, the English teacher at Faculty of Foreign Languages, Ho Chi Minh University of Industry, who helped me so much in implementing the study. Besides, my deep gratitude is sent to Ms. Hien and Ms. Nhung, my colleagues at the College of Finance and Customs, who shared with me their experience in organizing activities. I would like to thank Mr. Tin, my close friend who supported me with technical aids. My thanks are due to my beloved students in the two non-English major classes, at Ho Chi Minh University of Industry, who involved in my experiment. Without their assistance, my study could not have been conducted. I am also grateful to my teachers and colleagues at the English Department, Ho Chi Minh University of Industry, who gave me good conditions during the time I followed the M.A. course. All of their help meaningfully contributed to the completion of my study in the master program. Finally I owe everything to my family, especially my parents, who were always with me when I was in difficulties and gave me mental support to complete my M.A. program. v ABSTRACT This study entitles “The effect of classroom interaction on developing non-English major sophomores’ speaking skill at Ho Chi Minh University of Industry (HUI)” aimed at analyzing the categories of teacher talk, students talk to find out classroom interaction types used, the teachers’ perceptions about the importance of classroom interaction and the main barriers in employing interaction during Basic English classes for 2 nd non- English major students. The research employed a qualitative method and applied a case study. Subjects of the research were three Basic English teachers,150 non-English major sophomores at Ho Chi Minh University of Industry (HUI). The data were gained through naturalistic observation, document analysis and interview. The data were analyzed by using FLINT (Foreign Language Interaction) system by Moskowitz (1971) and classroom interaction types of Malamah-Thomas’ (1987) frameworks. The findings revealed that teachers, students applied some categories of talk in FLINT system, some classroom interaction types. Teachers thought that interaction can increase students’ knowledge, confidence, establish relationship. They encountered some difficulties during interaction: students do not want to take risk, students’ vocabulary and grammar problems. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF TABLES ANF FIGURES v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi PART A INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale of the study 1 2. Aims of the study 2 3. Research questions 2 4. Scope of the study 2 5. Methods 3 6. Definitions of terms 3 7. Design of the study 3 PART B DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK and LITERATURE REVIEW 5 1.1. Theoretical background of the research 5 1.1.1. What is interaction in language classroom? 5 1.1.2. Aspect of interaction 6 1.1.2.1. Teacher Talk 6 1.1.2.2. Students Talk. 9 1.1.3. Types of classroom interaction 10 1.1.4. The importance of classroom interaction on speaking skill Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.2.Previous studies examining classroom interaction 12 CHAPTER 2METHODOLOGY 14 2.1. Participants 14 2.2.Method of the research 15 2.3. Data collection procedures 17 2.4.Data analysis procedures 19 vii 2.5.The validity and reliability data 19 CHAPTER 3 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 20 3.1. Findings and discussion 20 3.2.Summary 31 PART C CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 1. Conclusions 33 2.Implications of the study 34 3.Suggestions for further research 35 REFERENCES 37 APPENDIX 1 I APPENDIX 2 IV APPENDIX 3 V APPENDIX 4 VI APPENDIX 5 VII viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Participants detailed information…………………………………………15 Table 2: Observation and interview schedule…………………………………… 19 Table 3: The results of all observations…………………………………………….21 Table 4: The results of classroom interaction types……………………………… 25 ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HUI Ho Chi Minh University of Industry FLINT Foreign Language Interaction Analysis 1 PART A INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale of the study Classroom interaction is the key for the language learner to reach the goal of using the language accurately, fluently, and confidently whether in its written or spoken forms. Chaudron (1998) notes that only through interaction can learners acquire the target language structures and its their meaning, and learners have more opportunities to incorporate such structures into their oral performance. In addition, with classroom interaction, English learners can find it a bit easier to gain fluency and accuracy in their speaking. According to Swain (1997), language production in classrooms provides the opportunity for meaningful practice of learners’ linguistic resources that lead to accuracy. In addition, in the study of Hailey (2006), interaction not only helps learners to notice what they cannot express precisely the meaning they wish but also pushes learners to produce more accurate and appropriate language. In the same vein, Savignon (1983) affirms that the development of communicative competence is promoted in “expression, interpretation, and negotiation of meaning involving interaction between two or more persons or between one and a written or oral text”. One again, the effect of interaction on learners’ communicative competence and then speaking ability is asserted by Welker’s (1997 82) that “a thousand meetings, the best textbooks, creative teaching materials, even native speakers visiting classroom aren’t going to give students English communicatively. Only by using English with their teacher and classmates will develop the ability to speak English”. However, in the light of speaking skill, it seems that the author fails to address classroom interaction in the relation to develop speaking skill. In Vietnam, most of students cannot use English for communicating in real situation although they have learned English for many years. According to Van (2007 22) “Vietnamese learners’ English proficiency levels were very low, they seemly failed to take part in oral communication”. In addition, Thinh (2006) [...]... improving their student’s speaking skill 2 Aims of the study This study is aimed atinvestigating the reality of interaction in speaking classrooms for non-English major sophomores at Ho Chi Minh University of Industry (HUI) To be specific, the aims of the study are: - To find out types of classroom interaction, - To examine teachers’ perception about the importance of classroom interaction and main... Design of the study The paper of the research will be organized as follows: CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION consists of rationale of the study, aims of the study, research questions, scope of the study, methods and design of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW explains the theoretical framework related to the study In this chapter, the researcher serves the theory of speaking, interaction, interaction in speaking. .. out the classroom interaction types, collect the information from teachers’ perceptions of the importance of classroom interaction and barriers in applying the classroom interaction 6 Definitions of terms Interaction is the collaborative exchange of thoughts feelings, or ideas between two or more people, resulting in a reciprocal effect of each other (Brown, 2001 48) Classroom interaction is the patterns... importance of classroom interaction? 2 What kinds of classroom interaction are applied in practice? 2 3 What are the main barriers in implementing classroom interaction? 4 Scope of the study Initially, the purpose of the researcher is examining how classroom interaction helps to improve speaking skill However, due to the constraint of time, the researcher can’t examine these effects Unfortunately, the proposed... us that, whether classroom interaction is communicative or not should not be judged by whether the referential or display questions are used, but by whether these questions are meaningful in the context whether the interaction initiated by the questions promote the comprehension of the language input and whether the teachers questions elicit the students responses out of independent thinking The third... answer of the research questions In this chapter, the researchers reveals the types of classroom interaction that frequently occur, displays the teachers’ perceptions about the importance of classroom interaction and their difficulties in employing the classroom interaction CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION describes the summary of the research as briefly as possible whole part It contains such highlights of the. .. of the study had been approved and it could not be changed Therefore, the thesis will be only limited to focus on the types of classroom interaction employing in practice, find out whether classroom interaction is implemented adequately and the barriers that teachers encounter when applying the classroom interaction to build up speaking skill to non- English major sophomores at HUI only, leaving other... information from the teacher honestly, especially that is related to the teacher’s perception about importance of classroom interaction and the problems in employing the classroom interaction The observed teacherswere selected to interview, because the interview would give the researcher the chance to raise questions from the classroom observation In addition to this, the questions in interview were constructed... difficulties that they face when employing the classroom interaction in order to improve the students’ communicative or speaking competence 3 Research questions The general question addressed in this study is: How is interaction employed in the classroom for non-English major sophomores at HUI? This question can be answered by addressing these specific questions: 1 What are the teachers’ perceptions of the importance... importance of classroom interaction and their barriers in implementing the interaction 2.5 The validity and reliability of data The validity of the data is important in doing inquiry, to check the credibility of the data Therefore, researchers have to be able to choose the exact ways to develop validity of their data The concept of validity refers to appropriateness and usefulness of the inferences . DEVELOPING NON-ENGLISH MAJOR SOPHOMORES’ SPEAKING SKILL AT HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY (HUI) Ảnh hưởng của tương tác trong lớp học đối với việc phát triển kỹ năng nói của sinh viên năm hai. ON DEVELOPING NON-ENGLISH MAJOR SOPHOMORES’ SPEAKING SKILL AT HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY (HUI) Ảnh hưởng của tương tác trong lớp học đối với việc phát triển kỹ năng nói của sinh. entitles The effect of classroom interaction on developing non-English major sophomores’ speaking skill at Ho Chi Minh University of Industry (HUI)” aimed at analyzing the categories of teacher