Tài liệu A study on the difficulties in presentation in speaking 2 lessons encountered by students of k15 english pedagogy in foreign languages department at hung vuong university and some suggested solutions

HUNG VUONG UNIVERSITY FACULITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES CAO THI NHA PHUONG A STUDY ON THE DIFFICULTIES IN PRESENTATION IN SPEAKING 2 LESSONS ENCOUNTERED BY STUDENTS OF K15-ENGLISH PEDAGOGY IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT AT HUNG VUONG UNIVERSITY AND SOME SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS B.A GRADUATION PAPER Field: English Teaching Methodology Phu Tho, 2018 TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC HÙNG VƯƠNG KHOA NGOẠI NGỮ CAO THỊ NHÃ PHƢƠNG A STUDY ON THE DIFFICULTIES IN PRESENTATION IN SPEAKING 2 LESSONS ENCOUNTERED BY STUDENTS OF K15-ENGLISH PEDAGOGY IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT AT HUNG VUONG UNIVERSITY AND SOME SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS Nghiên cứu về những khó khăn khi thuyết trình trong giờ học bộ môn Nói 2 của sinh viên lớp K15 Đại học Sƣ Phạm Tiếng Anh, khoa Ngoại Ngữ Trƣờng Đại học Hùng Vƣơng và đề xuất một số giải pháp B.A GRADUATION PAPER Field: English Teaching Methodology Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thu Hang, M.A Phu Tho, 2018 i Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University ACKNOWLEDMENT With the responsibility and favour of the researcher and great help from other people, this researcher has been developed for almost seven months. Firstly, I wish to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Mrs.Dang Luu Ngoc Hoa, MA who has been my trusted guide and accompanied me through the completion of the thesis. I am truly grateful to teachers in Foreign Languages Department at Hung Vuong University as choosing my paper, creating favorable condition for me to accomplish this thesis. Great acknowledgement is also due to teachers and students in K15English Pedagogy for their help during my research process especially students who enthusiastically gave their time to answer the research questions . I would like to thank my friends, who always provide me with helpful advice, ideas, and special encouragement. Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents who always give me special advice and encouragement to help me complete this study. Finally, I hope that my research can be shared with all the people mentioned above. I’ll have to thank all of them for the success today. ii Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University ABSTRACT Nowadays, English is considered as international language, which is spoken by millions of people all over the world. The needs to use English to communicate verbally are essential and increase more and more. Presentation skill plays an important role in jobs, activities of public; especially in studying. However, presentation in Speaking 2 Lessons for students in general and for Students of K15- English Pedagogy in Foreign Languages Department at Hung Vuong University in particular seems to have some obstacles. This paper studies the real difficulties in presentation in Speaking 2 Lessons to find some suitable solutions for Students of K15- English Pedagogy in Foreign Languages Department at Hung Vuong University. It is conducted with the participation of 17 students at K15-English Pedagogical University, Hung Vuong University. All needed data is collected through survey questionnaire and class observation. It has been revealed that delivery is the most difficult part in presentation in Speaking 2 Lesson for students. Especially delivering the presentation clearly with good pronunciation was perceived by the learners the most difficult of all. Then some solutions are suggested to enhance presentation skills in Speaking 2 Lessons for Students of K15- English Pedagogy. It is hoped that this study will be useful for teachers and students at Hung Vuong University in learning and teaching Presentation skill in Speaking Lesson. iii Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HVU: Hung Vuong University FLD: Foreign Languages Department iv Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: The importance of presentation in learning language and future job Table 2: The students’ frequency in making an oral presentation in Speaking Lesson Table 3: The students’ difficulties in preparation of presentation Table 4: The students’ difficulties in organization of presentation Table 5: The students’ difficulties in delivery of presentation Table 5.1: The students’ difficulties in getting and maintaining audience’s attention Table 5.2: The students’ difficulties in using body language Table 5.3: The students’ difficulties in language use Table 5.4: The students’ difficulties in time management, anxiety control and answer the audience’s questions Table 6: The students’ difficulties in evaluation of presentation Table 7: Some suggested solutions for students to improve their presentation Table 8: The data from observation Figure 1: The students’ assessment of their presentation Figure 2: The stage of presentation which students find the most difficult in Speaking 2 Lesson v Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University CONTENT PART I: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 1.1. Rationale......................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Aims and questions of the study .................................................................... 2 1.2.1. Aims of the study ......................................................................................... 2 1.2.2. Questions of the study ................................................................................. 3 1.3. Previous studies .............................................................................................. 3 1.4. Scope of the study .......................................................................................... 5 1.5. Significance of the study ................................................................................ 5 1.6. Outline of the thesis........................................................................................ 5 Summary ............................................................................................................... 6 PART II: CONTENT ............................................................................................ 7 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................. 7 1.1. An overview of presentation skills................................................................. 7 1.1.1. Definition of presentation skill .................................................................... 7 1.1.2. Classification of presentation ..................................................................... 8 1.1.2.1. Based on the presentation’s purpose ....................................................... 8 1.1.2.2. Based on the presentation’s manner ........................................................ 9 1.1.3. The importance of presentation skill ......................................................... 10 1.1.4. Format of a presentation ........................................................................... 11 1.1.5. Presentation techniques ............................................................................ 12 1.1.6. The factors affecting students’ English presentation skill ........................ 14 1.1.6.1. Students’ language proficiency .............................................................. 14 1.1.6.2. Students’ personality .............................................................................. 15 vi Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University 1.1.6.3. Teacher’s role ........................................................................................ 15 1.1.6.4. Using visual aids .................................................................................... 15 1.2. Speaking skills.............................................................................................. 16 1.2.1.Definition of speaking skills ....................................................................... 16 1.2.2.The importance of speaking skills .............................................................. 17 1.2.3.Stages in teaching speaking skills .............................................................. 18 1.2.3.1. Pre-speaking stage ................................................................................. 18 1.2.3.2. While-speaking stage ............................................................................. 18 1.2.3.3. Post-speaking stage ................................................................................ 18 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................... 20 2.1. Participants of the study ............................................................................... 20 2.2. Data collection instruments .......................................................................... 21 2.2.1. The questionnaire ...................................................................................... 21 2.2.2. The classroom observation ....................................................................... 23 2.3. Data collection procedure ............................................................................ 24 2.4. Data analysis method ................................................................................... 25 2.5. Summary ...................................................................................................... 25 3.1. Difficulties in presentation in Speaking 2 Lessons encountered by students of K15-English Pedagogy in FLD at HVU. ........................................................ 26 3.1.1. The result of students’ survey .................................................................... 26 3.1.2. The result of observation ........................................................................... 38 3.2. Some suggested solutions to improve presentation skill in Speaking 2 Lessons for students of K15-English Pedagogy in FLD at HVU ....................... 40 3.2.1. For students ............................................................................................... 40 3.2.1.1. Setting up good speaking habits............................................................. 40 vii Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University 3.2.1.2. Learning from their presentations ......................................................... 43 3.2.1 For Teacher(s)............................................................................................ 44 3.2.1.1. Improving students’ nonlinguistic skills ................................................ 44 3.2.2.2. Building up students’ confidence ........................................................... 45 3.3. For the institution ......................................................................................... 47 PART III: CONCLUSION .................................................................................. 49 1. Summary of the findings ................................................................................. 49 2. Limitations of the study .................................................................................. 50 3. Suggestions for further studies ........................................................................ 50 REFFERENCE .................................................................................................... 51 1 Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University PART I: INTRODUCTION 1.1. Rationale Nowadays, communication plays an important role in our life. Of course, many people are interested in developing communication skills. In today’s business environment, the competition in the workplace is getting more competitive. It is no longer enough for people to have the necessary capability to do the job, we should also be able to talk well, write well, and present ourselves attractively to our superiors. What better way to let other people know what we’re capable of than by presenting a great idea or a plan during a meeting. However, we need to have necessary presentation skills to succeed in this endeavor. Nobody can deny that English is now an international language, especially in this globalization. Many people around the world know and speak English every day. English is spoken as first language in many countries and used in various aspects of life such as economy, culture, politics, finance, etc. In diplomatic relation among nations in the world, English is a primary language. Therefore, it is easy to understand why most economical, cultural, financial associations have English name; also why all enterprises, companies require their employees’ foreign languages especially English. Hence, teaching and studying English are very necessary. English becomes one of compulsory subjects in almost schools in the world. Among English skills, speaking is not the most important but very important. Skills show the users’ ability in English speaking is the most popular way of communication because we use it every day. How can we communicate effectively in English if we cannot speak well, even we are very good at listening, writing and reading? In speaking skills, making a presentation is considered as the most important one because it points out speaker’s ability and 2 Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University knowledge. English majors, particularly when they use English as a second language to express their ideas. As for the intermediate and advanced Vietnamese students of English, spoken English in general and presenting in English in particular is extremely important because they expect to use it frequently for their future work. Unfortunately, for many years, they have been good at recognizing the correct use of grammar and they can speak English but can hardly present in English. When many make oral presentations, they seem to pay more attention to lexis and grammatical structures than presentation style and presentation skills. This leads to the fact that not few learners of English after a long time learning English find themselves unable to deliver a presentation successfully. Being a student who has learnt English for more than ten years, I realize that my friends and I have the same trouble in making oral presentations. Many students seem to lack the skills and confidence to make effective presentations. They know the topics and the ideas are written down, but their presentations do not go well. This time their fellow students appear uninterested. Another time they might lose interest before the speakers have made half of the presentations or sometimes the speakers seem to be confused and embarrassed with the listeners’ questions. For such reason, I am aware that giving techniques in making presentations to students is very necessary. I choose the topic “ A study on the difficulties in presentation in speaking 2 lessons encountered by students of K15-English Pedagogy in Foreign Languages Department at Hung Vuong University and some suggested solutions” for my graduation paper. 1.2. Aims and questions of the study 1.2.1. Aims of the study The study is aimed at finding difficulties when students of K15-English Pedagogy in FLD at HVU do presentation in Speaking 2 Lessons. Then some 3 Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University suggested solutions are given to help them overcome those difficulties so as to make improvement in their learning presentation in general and in Speaking 2 Lessons in particular. 1.2.2. Questions of the study In order to uncover the difficulties in presentation in speaking 2 lessons encountered by students of K15-English Pedagogy in FLD at HVU, it is necessary to answer the following questions: - What are the common difficulties in presentation in speaking 2 lessons faced by students of K15-English Pedagogy in FLD at HVU? - What are the suggested solutions to improve their English presentation? 1.3. Previous studies Up to now, many researchers studied about aspects of presentation both in the world, in Vietnam and at Hung Vuong University. Presentation attracts linguists’ attention because it is very important for study and jobs. Heyden (2001) studied on strategies to improve students’ presentation skills at Murray State University. He used observation method to evaluate the effect of students’ presentation. Based on the results, he proposed some strategies to improve the presentation for students at Murray State University. These strategies were using visual aids and using techniques to attract audience. Muhammad Alam (2014), carried out the research studied improving students’ speaking skill through content-based. For this study, the researcher researches technique to conduct the research to improve students speaking ability through content-based. This study explores the extent of improvement in English speaking skills among prospective teachers of one year teacher education program at three public sectors universities in Pubjab, Pakistan, where English is medium of instruction, like all other public sector universities in Pakistan. The sample for this study consisted of 206 prospective teachers (131 entry and 75 graduation level). The unequal number of prospective teachers at 4 Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University entry and graduation paper was due to difference in intake. The prospective teachers were called one by one and were assessed using the Fairfax Country Rating Scale. The data were analyzed quantitatively. He concluded that no significant improvement occurred in the English speaking skills of the prospective teachers during the teacher education program offered in departments of Education working in the public sector universities. The results of the study confirm these of other studies in Pakistan but contrast to study conducted in United Arab Emirate. It seems that if teacher educator and prospective teachers share the same local language, the improvement of spoken second language hinders. Nguyen Phuong Huyen and Tran Quang Hai (2008) studied on current situation of English presentation skill of the third year major English students and proposed some solutions to deal with current situation. In this study, the researchers pointed out the mistakes of students when presenting such as: mistake relating to organization of the presentation, designing and using visual aids , using body language and proposed some solutions to improve and enhance the quality of the presentation. Pham Thi Kim Cuc (2012) studied on difficulties when delivering English presentation of K8 major English students, Foreign Language Department, Hung Vuong University. In this study, she used questionnaire and interview to investigate the difficulties encountered by the participants. The study pointed out students’ difficulties when delivering a presentation: (1) the difficulties relate to presentation, (2) voice and language, (3) communication with audience. Besides, the researcher also suggested some solutions in order to enhance students’ presentation. In conclusion, many authors have investigated on different aspects of presentation. However, most of the studies only explore current situations and difficulties in delivering a presentation without focusing on influential factors. 5 Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University Thus, in this study, the researcher has determined to investigate the difficulties in presentation at Speaking 2 lessons for students of K15- English Pedagogy in FLD at HVU. 1.4. Scope of the study This study mainly focuses on finding out the difficulties in presentation skills in English in the classroom setting. It involves 17 students of K15-English Pedagogy in FLD at HVU. The findings and suggested solutions most appropriately applied to the students. That is, students will able to find ways to improve their process of learning presentation skills. 1.5. Significance of the study This study firstly helps to find out the difficulties in presentation of Speaking 2 Lessons for students of K15-English Pedagogy in FLD at HVU, and then contribute to their successful performance in giving presentation in their study now as well as future job. The findings and suggested solutions of this study will help students find ways to improve their process learning oral presentation skills. Specifically, the students will be able to attain better oral presentation skills and have quite a good preparation for the course of “Presentation skill” in their next term. 1.6. Outline of the thesis The study consists of three main parts: Part I is the introduction including the rationale, aims, research questions, scopes and significance of the study Part II is the development, the most important part of my study, divided into three chapters: Chapter 1, Literature review, introduces the general theory of presentation and speaking skills. 6 Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University Chapter 2, Methodology, refers to the participants, data collection instruments, research methods in order to find out difficulties that students of K15-English Pedagogy in FLD at HVU cope with. Chapter 3, Finding and suggested solutions, analyzes and discusses the results achieved from each data collection instrument. After that, the answers to the two research questions are given in turn. Part III is the conclusion of the study Summary In conclusion, the introduction part is like a general and first look of my graduation paper. Through this opening, the readers know that my research is why I choose this subject, what the paper for and the methods I use to make it. Besides, looking at this part, we can get the design of all the main contents I present is the paper namely “A study on the difficulties in presentation in speaking 2 lessons encountered by students of K15-English Pedagogy in Foreign Languages Department at Hung Vuong University and some suggested solutions” 7 Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University PART II: CONTENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW In the investigation into ways to develop students’ speaking ability in general and oral presentation skills in particular, it is believed that the study needs to present the previous and current literature on oral presentations. Besides, it should show the relation between knowledge and skills and then define and explore the nature of speaking, types of classroom speaking. These issues are the focus of the chapter. 1.1. An overview of presentation skills 1.1.1. Definition of presentation skill Presentation is generally defined in different ways in various dictionaries. According to Wikipedia- The free Encyclopedia, presentation is the process of showing and explaining the content of a topic to an audience. The same definition is also recognized by Oxford Learner Dictionary (1998:1017) “Presentation is the act of showing something or of giving something to somebody” Ohio Wesleyan University, in their “Guidelines for Oral Presentations” defines oral presentations as “brief discussions of a focused topic delivered to a group of listeners in order to impart knowledge or to stimulate discussion. They are similar to short papers with an introduction, main body and conclusion. The ability to give brief presentations is a learned skill and the one that is called on frequently in the workplace Gufta (2008) defined an oral presentation as a formal way to convey your message to audience. In the light of this research, a presentation is a means of communication which carries the speaker’s personality and allows immediate interaction between all the participants in various speaking situations, such as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or briefing a team. 8 Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University According to Clank (1996), a good presentation, firstly, has content that is it contains information that people need. But unlike reports, which are read at the reader’s own pace, presentations must account for how much information the audience can absorb. Secondly, it has structure with a logical beginning, middle, and end. It must be sequenced and paced so that the audience can understand it. While reports have appendices and footnotes to guide the reader, the speaker must be careful not to lose the audience when wandering from the main point of the presentation. Thirdly, a presentation is characterized by packaging: It must be well-prepared. A report can be reread and portions skipped over, but with a presentation, the audience has to depend on the presenter. Finally, a good presentation has human element in it. It will be remembered much more than a good report because it has a person attached to it. Presentation skills can be defined by many authors as a set of abilities that enable an individual to: interact with the audience; transmit the messages with clarity; engage the audience in the presentation; and interpret and understand the mindsets of the listeners. These skills refine the way presenter put forward their messages and enhance your persuasive powers. The present era places great emphasis on good presentation skills. This is because they play an important role in convincing the clients and customers. Internally, management with good presentation skills is better able to communicate the mission and vision of the organization to the employees. 1.1.2. Classification of presentation Oral presentations are classified based on their purposes and forms or manners of delivery. The following is an overview of several common types of presentations and their purposes given by Randall (2001). 1.1.2.1. Based on the presentation’s purpose Informative presentation: An informative presentation is a presentation on a realistic factual matter destined to raise the informative and cultural level of 9 Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University listeners. An informative presentation should be based upon a wide range of adequate and credible sources. Persuasive presentation: A persuasive presentation is a speech aimed at influencing values, ideas, beliefs and attitudes of the audience. Pragmatically, a persuasive presentation is used to convince people to get a different idea, attitude and belief, react to something, consider doing things they were previously unwilling to do. Entertaining presentation: Entertaining presentation focuses on the overall theme of the entertainment speechwriting occasion, The presentation is oriented to entertainment, so that the audience could get relaxed, react to the presentation in a hearty way and enjoy every minutes of the entertaining speech. Inspirational presentation: Inspirational speech is a speech presented by a professional speaker or a renowned authority in front of large homogeneous audience such as corporate staff, etc. in order to encourage them, reveal the true sense of leadership and enrich them with some approval formulae of commercial and professional success. 1.1.2.2. Based on the presentation’s manner Written presentation: Written presentations may include story, manual, report, book, newspaper article, letter, diary (for one person), scroll, booklet, pamphlet ( for small group), questionnaire, survey (for small or large group), advertisement and chart ( for large group) Oral presentation: Oral presentations may include interview, report, conversation (for one person), discussion group, seminar, debate (for small group), advertisement, lecture, talk show, song, choral speech, lesson (for a large group). Visual presentation: Visual presentations, may include project cube, page sized chart or diagram(for one person), cartoon, photographs, display(for small 10 Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University group), poster, timeline, web page, map, large diagram, puppet show, overheads(for large group). Multimedia presentation: Multimedia presentation is a combination of written, oral or visual presentations; for example, a computer presentation such as PowerPoint presentation. 1.1.3. The importance of presentation skill A great number of researchers state reasons why oral presentation skills should be developed. Emden & Becker (2004:1) hold the idea that “the ability to speak well enough to interest, influence or persuade other people is a major asset for whatever they want to do in the future and it may change them in ways that they did not expect”. That idea is true as oral presentation skills can bring many benefits for the learners. According to Hill (1997), the very first reason is that oral presentations often provide practice in speaking for the presenter and they develop the ability to speak to audiences. While making a presentation may seem to be a more limited activity than other tasks, such as role play, information-gap activity, it can in fact involve all the language skills. People will need to develop and use this skill throughout their life; for example, when they attend the job interviews, or present a paper to a group of colleagues in a meeting. What is more, through the mastery of speech, individuals come to be fully effective in organization, in the management and expression of ideas and arguments, especially when they write a report or even write an essay (Powell, 2003) Finally, when people can speak clearly, concisely, and convincingly, they will gain enormous confidence, “will result in an even better presentation next time” and “the new found confidence may effect other areas of your work” (Emden & Becker, 2004:2). People are more ready to ask questions, respond to a challenge and organize themselves and their work effectively. 11 Cao Thị Nhã Phương K12 – English Pedagogical University For all reasons, giving oral presentations is one of the necessary skills that students have to acquire in learning a foreign language. In the context of Hung Vuong University, it seem to be the most important skill to students as it helps the students improve their own academic performance, communicate, exchange information with their peers and thereby develop personal confidence. 1.1.4. Format of a presentation According to Dwyer (2000); Emden & Becker(2004), an oral presentation consists of three main parts: introduction, body and conclusion. The introduction includes following information: greeting the audience, telling the topic of the presentation, telling the purposes of the presentation and showing how the presentation will be developed. It aims to state the topic and get the audience’s attention. It gives the audience a preview of the presentation, so it is important to stimulate their interest in this stage. The body is the central part of the presentation in which the presenter gives key points and uses the supporting ideas for these points (e.g.I’ll be developing three main points; Firstly, I’ll give you…..Secondly,….Lastly,….; My presentation will be in two parts. In the first part I’ll….And then I’ll). The aim of this part is to inform, persuade or entertain the audience. To let the audience know that the talk is about to end, the presenter should use signal phrases such as “in conclusion”, “to summarize”, “in closing”. It includes such information as stating the main points again, evaluating the importance of the information, and formulating some conclusions or recommendations. The conclusion reinforces and summarizes the information presented in the body. Therefore, a clear summary of the purpose and main points will help the audience get the big picture and increase their understanding about the topic. In short, an oral presentation has three main parts. The introduction sets the scene and engages the audience to the topic by relating the topic to their