Tài liệu áp dụng kĩ thuật vòng tròn văn học vào hoạt động nhóm nhằm thúc đẩy việc học tập hợp tác trong giờ học nói tiếng anh lớp 10 tại trường thpt lương thế vinh tỉnh quảng ninh

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES VU THI THU HIEN APPLYING LITERATURE CIRCLE TECHNIQUE TO GROUP-WORK ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS AT GRADE 10 IN LUONG THE VINH UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL QUANG NINH PROVINCE (Áp dụng kĩ thuật Vòng tròn văn học vào hoạt động nhóm nhằm thúc đẩy việc học tập hợp tác trong giờ học Nói tiếng Anh lớp 10 tại trường THPT Lương Thế Vinh, tỉnh Quảng Ninh) M.A. THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201 THAI NGUYEN – 2019 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES VU THI THU HIEN APPLYING LITERATURE CIRCLE TECHNIQUE TO GROUP-WORK ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS AT GRADE 10 IN LUONG THE VINH UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL QUANG NINH PROVINCE (Áp dụng kĩ thuật Vòng tròn văn học vào hoạt động nhóm nhằm thúc đẩy việc học tập hợp tác trong giờ học Nói tiếng Anh lớp 10 tại trường THPT Lương Thế Vinh, tỉnh Quảng Ninh) M.A. THESIS (APPLICATION ORIENTATION) Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Dr. Đặng Thị Thu Hương THAI NGUYEN – 2019 THE CANDIDATE'S STATEMENTS I hereby declare that the minor thesis entitled “Applying literature circle technique to group-work activities to enhance cooperative learning in English speaking lessons at grade 10 in Luong The Vinh Upper Secondary School, Quang Ninh province” is my own work. To the best of my knowledge, it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at SFL or any other educational institutions. The thesis has not been submitted to any other examining body and has not been published. Any contribution made to the research by others is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. The candidate Vu Thi Thu Hien Approved by SUPERVISOR Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To complete this study, I am indebted to many people for their thoughtful help. I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong, for supporting me from the proposal stage to the completion of my thesis. She helped me begin my project and provided guidance and suggestions throughout all of my drafts. She spent a great deal of time working with me to help me through the multistep research process by emails or in person. She tirelessly edited my thesis proposals, drafts and final thesis. I would also like to acknowledge a particular debt to Dr. Nguyen Trong Du for his valuable advice and patient guidance though he is not my supervisor. I would also like to thank the staff and students at my school, Luong The Vinh Upper Secondary School, Quang Ninh province, for their support. They assisted my goals by being flexible, lending resources and engaging in informal discussions about my challenges over the course of the project. Most importantly, I wish to acknowledge my family, who has patiently allowed me the time to work on my thesis. They were invaluable to the success of this paper and I thank them for believing in my accomplishments. Thai Nguyen, June 2019 Vu Thi Thu Hien ii ABSTRACT Cooperative learning is undeniably helpful to students, especially to those who are studying a foreign language. Practice of speaking is considered as one of the most important factors for the acquisition of languages. This study is conducted to examine the effectiveness of literature circle technique on cooperative activities inside the classroom in English speaking lessons for students grade 10, Luong The Vinh Upper Secondary School, Quang Ninh province. Particularly, the researcher aims at collecting factual evidences about difficulties that teachers face while applying the cooperative learning technique (what difficulties do teachers face in typical Vietnamese classrooms while applying the cooperative learning technique?). An action research has been carried out experimenting the application of modified literature circle technique in that context (does the adapted literature circle technique help enhance cooperative learning in Vietnamese classrooms?). The findings indicate a significantly positive effect of literature circle technique which helps enhance cooperative learning considerably in English lessons. Practical exercises and lessons learnt from the study suggest the use of literature circle technique in other places in Vietnam. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................. vii LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................. viii LIST OF CHARTS ................................................................................................ ix PART A: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 1. Rationale ..................................................................................................... 1 2. Aims of the study and research questions .................................................. 1 3. Scope of the study ...................................................................................... 2 4. Significance of the study ............................................................................ 2 5. Method of the study .................................................................................... 2 6. Organization of the study ........................................................................... 3 PART B: DEVELOPMENT................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................................................. 4 1.1. Cooperative Learning .............................................................................. 4 1.1.1. Definition .......................................................................................... 4 1.1.2. Characteristics of a cooperative learning group. ............................ 5 1.1.3. The roles of cooperative learning in language education ................ 5 1.1.4. Challenges in applying cooperative learning group work ............... 6 1.2. Literature circle technique ....................................................................... 6 1.2.1. Definition .......................................................................................... 6 1.2.2. The use of literature circle techniques for cooperative learning group work in improving speaking skills ................................................... 7 1.2.3. Limitation of using literature circle in real classrooms and the adapted model ............................................................................................ 8 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .............................................. 10 2.1. Research context .................................................................................... 10 iv 2.2. Research questions ................................................................................ 11 2.3. Research approach ................................................................................. 11 2.3.1. An overview of action research ...................................................... 11 2.3.2. Rationale for the use of an action research ................................... 12 2.4. Description of the research .................................................................... 12 2.4.1. Population ...................................................................................... 12 2.4.2. Data collection instrument ............................................................. 13 2.4.3. The action procedures .................................................................... 13 2.4.4. Data collection procedures ............................................................ 15 2.4.5. Data analysis procedure................................................................. 16 2.5. Summary................................................................................................ 17 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .............................................. 19 3.1. Research question 1 ............................................................................... 19 3.1.1. Pre-questionnaire for teachers ....................................................... 19 3.1.2. Pre-questionnaire for students ....................................................... 24 3.2. Research question 2 ............................................................................... 30 3.2.1. Observation .................................................................................... 30 3.2.2. Post-questionnaire for students ...................................................... 33 3.2.3. KII with teachers ............................................................................ 36 PART C: CONCLUSION .................................................................................... 39 1. Conclusion ................................................................................................ 39 2. Implications .............................................................................................. 40 3. Limitations of the study ............................................................................ 40 4. Suggestions for further research ............................................................... 41 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................... 42 APPENDIX I: Pre-questionnaire for teachers ......................................................... I APPENDIX II: Pre-questionnaire for students ..................................................... V APPENDIX III: Post-questionnaire for students.................................................VII APPENDIX IV: Questions for KII with teachers ................................................ IX v APPENDIX V: Instructions for teachers’ using literature circle technique.......... X APPENDIX VI: Sample lesson plan ................................................................. XIII APPENDIX VII: Observations form ................................................................ XIIII vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT : Communicative Language Teaching EFL : English as a Foreign Language KII : Key Informant Interview : first language/mother tongue L1 L2 SFL : second language : School of Foreign Languages : Students’ Talking Time STT TTT : Teachers’ Talking Time vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The characteristics of a traditional group .................................................. 20 Table 2: The benefits of cooperative learning group activities to the students ....... 22 Table 3: Observation table of checklist ................................................................... 31 viii LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: Responses from selected teachers selecting characteristics of a traditional group versus a cooperative learning group ............................................................... 21 Chart 2: The number of responses by teachers about the benefits of cooperative learning group activities to the students ................................................................... 23 Chart 3: How often teachers organise group activities during speaking lessons .... 24 Chart 4: How much students like working in groups ............................................. 25 Chart 5: How much the majority of students spoke during group work ................ 26 Chart 6: Students prefer stay in the same group or move around and join more than one group during speaking lesson ............................................................................ 26 Chart 7: Students’ perception about the importance they have in the group work. 27 Chart 8: Students’ feeling of engagement and interaction with other group members .................................................................................................................................. 28 Chart 9: Current speaking lessons’ attractiveness to students ................................ 29 Chart 10: Observation results after 4 experimental lessons .................................... 32 Chart 11: How much the same students like working in group before and after 4 experimental lessons ................................................................................................. 33 Chart 12: How much the same students increase their amount of speaking time in group activities ......................................................................................................... 34 Chart 13: Students’ feeling as important in the groups before and after experimental lessons ....................................................................................................................... 34 Chart 14: How much students interact with other members ................................... 35 ix PART A: INTRODUCTION This is a study on the influence of modified literature circle techniques on cooperative activities inside the classroom in English speaking lessons. This chapter starts with the rationale of the study. Then, the aims, scope, significance and method of the study will be presented. 1. Rationale Under the draft new curriculum (version May 2018) for comprehensive education reform, secondary students are expected to develop communication and collaboration abilities as one out of ten core competencies (Thao, 2018). For English as a school subject, communicative language teaching has been taken as the approach. Standard national high school curriculum is designed according to CLT approach which takes speaking, listening, reading and writing competencies as the end products of the teaching and learning process (Van, 2011, p.98). Therefore, it can be said that a language classroom teaches more than the language itself – students are to be given chance for both communication and collaboration skills improvement. The need is becoming increasingly vital for teachers in Vietnam to apply methods and techniques which enable students to interact, exchange ideas using the language, and develop their collaboration skills. Of numerous techniques, cooperative learning and literature circle technique are assumedly significant as they are suggested by some progressive educators recently. In the meantime, they are predicted to cause failures if neglectfully applied in Vietnamese school contexts. From this suggestion and above initial problems, the author decided to do an action research project to examine the effectiveness of literature circle technique on cooperative activities inside the classroom in English speaking lessons for students grade 10, Luong The Vinh Upper Secondary School, Quang Ninh province. 2. Aims of the study and research questions First of all, the research sought for understanding of cooperative learning and literature circle techniques as the theoretical bases. The framework shaped after the review of journal articles and books has informed a design of a minor survey into the practice of cooperative learning activities in language classrooms in Quang Ninh, a 1 typical Vietnamese province. The survey first aimed at collecting factual evidences about difficulties facing teachers while applying the cooperative learning technique. Research question 1: What difficulties do teachers face in typical Vietnamese classrooms while applying the cooperative learning technique? Next, a type of action research has been carried out by experimenting the application of modified literature circle technique in that context. Data gathered was analyzed to decide the level of appropriateness of the technique in enhancing cooperative learning activities. Research question 2: Does the adapted literature circle technique help enhance cooperative learning in Vietnamese classrooms? All those practical exercises and lessons learnt from the study helped extent the use of literature circle technique to a larger geographical region for future research. 3. Scope of the study The study was conducted on 84 students from classes 10A9 and 10A10 at Luong The Vinh Upper Secondary School during the second semester and restricted to the second semester of 2018-2019. The study focused on exploring the current state of cooperative learning activities and then experimented the adapted literature circle technique on grade 10 in an average upper secondary school in North Vietnam, especially for the effectiveness on improving students’ speaking skills. 4. Significance of the study On completion, the study provided an insight into the effects of using literature circle techniques on EFL high school students’ interest and acquirements during cooperative learning activities. What has been achieved in this research would help teachers consider utilizing literature circle techniques to improve students' oral competences in English speaking lessons. Moreover, this study is much beneficial to students who wonder how to develop their speaking skills as well as their collaboration teamwork. 5. Method of the study This study is conducted as an action research because action research is the best choice for the purpose of improving the current state of affairs within educational context in which the research is carried out. In order to get data, a combination of different instruments, namely questionnaires, pre-questionnaire and post questionnaire, 2 observation, and key informant interview (KII), was used. The data collected through the questionnaire has been analyzed by quantitative method, using an MS Excel spreadsheet and calculation. The KII and observation inputs have been discussed qualitatively. 6. Organization of the study The study consists of three parts: Part A. Introduction: presents the rationale, aim, scope, significance and method of the study Part B. Development: comprises three chapters: - Chapter 1: Theoretical Background and Literature Review covers the overview of the literature which includes relevant theoretical background and reviews of related studies concerning literature circle techniques and cooperative learning in language teaching. - Chapter 2: Research Method continues with the research method including participants of the study, the instrumentation, the methods and procedures of data collection and data analysis. - Chapter 3: Findings and Discussion demonstrates the findings accompanied by data analysis and discussion. Part C. Conclusions: recapitulates the major findings of the study and represents further recommendations for the implementation of literature circle techniques. 3 PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, a review of literature in theory and practice on literature circle techniques and cooperative learning is provided. First, the definition, principles, effectiveness as well as challenges of cooperative learning approach in language teaching are introduced. Second, literature circle techniques and their use in EFL classrooms are presented. Next, the adapted model of literature circle including members’ roles and steps in organising are discussed. Following this, the implementation of literature circle techniques in cooperative learning is reviewed. Upon initial research into the literature, the researcher has gained some knowledge about literature circle techniques and cooperative learning. Literature about both cooperative learning and literature circle is briefly stated as below: 1.1. Cooperative Learning 1.1.1. Definition The research adopts Kagan & Olsen's (1992, quoted in Lin, 2009) definition of co operative teaching as follows: “Cooperative learning is group learning activity organized so that learning is dependent on the socially structured exchange of information between learners in groups and in which each learner is held accountable for his or her own learning and is motivated to increase the learning of others.” (p. 56) Co-operative learning, in other words, can be understood as closely planned and organized teaching strategies that retain learners in tiny organizations and work together. It is worth noting that participants in the same group are not competing with each other to win the reward for themselves, but all as a group are doing their utmost to contribute to the group's ultimate accomplishment. Members have to assist each other and promote each other to learn to create the group rewarded. This technique therefore enables to boost student motivation to study. Likewise, Williams (2002) defines cooperative learning as a teaching technique that is supposed to assist learners enhance their learning by interacting in tiny organizations with their colleagues. Jacobs, et al. (2002, reviewed in Lin, 2009) proposed that 4 cooperative learning offers students the opportunity not only to work together, but also to make the most of their peer communication and learning as well as their own teaching. Johnson & Johnson (1994), Kagan (1994) and Jacobs (2002) shared the same six fundamental co-operative teaching features: 1. Positive Interdependence 2. 3. 4. Individual Accountability Cooperative Skills Equal Participation 5. 6. Simultaneous Interaction Group Processing 1.1.2. Characteristics of a cooperative learning group. Jacobs (1998, as cited in Lin, 2009) points out seven characteristics of a cooperative learning group as follows:  Group formation: teachers (and students) plan group size and composition so as to maximize the potential of the groups.  Seating arrangements: group members sit in such a way as to see and hear one another easily, and at the same time, bother other groups as little as possible.  Collaborative skills: collaborative skills are explicitly taught.  Duration of Groups: groups often stay together for more than one activity perhaps for weeks or months and spend time discussing how they can work together better.  Group solidarity: teachers attempt to build group solidarity.  Individual participation and learning: teachers encourage each group member to feel responsible for participating and learning.  Teachers’ roles: teachers actively monitor groups to see if they are learning and functioning smoothly. 1.1.3. The roles of cooperative learning in language education In Lin (2009), the technique of cooperative learning was assessed as an efficient teaching method because it offers more possibilities for learners to enhance their communication skills. Several advantages can be mentioned below:  Develop group work skills;  Increase students’ talking time;  Forster and develop interpersonal relationships and build positive friendships;  Help students use language creatively and confidently; 5  Enhance students’ satisfaction with the learning experience;  Create an environment of active, involved, exploratory learning. (p. 79) Matikainen (2009) claims in the same vein that cooperative learning maximizes interactive communication between learners, leading to their language enhancement. 1.1.4. Challenges in applying cooperative learning group work However, there are some challenges to teachers when applying traditional cooperative learning method and these may cause failures in language classrooms, especially for oral activities and in Asian contexts. According to Wang (2017), the most emerging limitation of traditional cooperative learning method is that of students’ unequal speaking opportunities within groups. The more capable students will get more chances to speak in groups than the lower achievers. Zhang (2010, as cited in Wang, 2017) explains that while the less able students need more time to think about teacher’s questions and to arrange their ideas, the others get the answers before them, and they often lose the opportunities to speak in class. In addition, it is often suggested that group leaders respond to the teacher's issues and be the representatives to make speeches in front of the school. If there is no group leader, the elevated attainders will have the opportunity to talk in school, and students with low oral English skills will not have the opportunity to talk. 1.2. Literature circle technique 1.2.1. Definition Daniels (2006) identified: circles of literature are tiny debates among learners in a group about commonly selected tales. Students themselves lead these conversations, and the interactions between the members are essential. Each student must play his/her part in this reading circle in each group, and then the others will offer them some feedback and questions. The groups have regular meetings with discussing roles rotating each session. When finishing reading the stories, the groups can share their discussions to the whole class. Finally, the circles are completed. The new circles continue to be formed basing on the books or stories that students choose. Daniels (2002, quoted in Bedee, 2010) proposed 11 key literature circle characteristics:  Students decide which stories to read;  Students who choose the same stories form temporary groups; 6  Each group has a different story;  Participants in each group build up regular schedules to meet each other and discuss about what they have read;  The group discussions are peer-led;  The groups choose their own topics for the discussions;  The groups’ meetings should be open, friendly, and favorable;  During the groups’ discussions, the teacher should act as the observer, and facilitator, not a group member or instructor;  Evaluation is based on the teacher’s observation and students’ peer-evaluation;  The learning environment in the classroom should be exciting and fun;  When one story is finished reading, the groups have to report to the whole class about the stories they have read, then the groups are broken, and the new ones are formed basing on the new common stories of the group members. 1.2.2. The use of literature circle techniques for cooperative learning group work in improving speaking skills Cooperative learning difficulties can be overcome by applying literature circle method to educators. Each student becomes active learners by working within literature circles (Daniels, 2002, quoted in Bedee, 2010). Different roles are allocated that require individual job, followed by unique sharing, exchange and cooperation. By exchanging views, personal experiences and reactions to the same materials, literature circles enable learners to collaborate and learn with each other in a secure learning setting because of their particular characteristics. The learners often give their views orally in most of the debates; therefore, their speaking abilities can be significantly created. In this manner, the communication skills of learners are significantly enhanced when participating in a literature circle exercise, and most importantly quite similarly among participants. In brief, the method of the literature circle can assist address the unequal speaking issue of learners in cooperative learning operations. In addition, according to Long and Gove (2003, quoted in Bedee, 2010), literature circle practices provide learners with possibilities to improve their critical thinking, "become more reflective, and push themselves outside the box to read, speak, question, feel, and believe." During their debates, students use various abilities: "oral language, making personal connections, and critical thinking” (Carrison, 2005). Both Jacobs (2015) and Carrison (2005) agreed that with the participation in literature circles, students gain the greater sense of responsibilities to their roles in group and to the development of the 7 group discussions. Daniels (2006) pointed out that, with literature circles, students are asked to do the same tasks that adults do in a book club. Therefore, literature circles are more interesting for students than the teacher-centered activities in traditional classroom. 1.2.3. Limitation of using literature circle in real classrooms and the adapted model However, Furr (2004) asserted that when educators adapt the literature circle method in EFL schools, all of the 11 above characteristics as listed in Section 1.2.1. of this thesis are not really appropriate. He talks about the difference between L1 classrooms and EFL classrooms, so we can't adapt this technique without altering. In this study, the researcher decided to adapt the 11 essential features of a literature circle to form the modified literature circle technique as below: Those elements are similar as in Daniels’s (2006) model:  The group discussions are still peer-led;  The group working environment is also open, friendly, and favorable;  The teacher’s role during the group discussions is an observer and facilitator;  Marks are given based on both the teacher’s observation and students’ selfevaluation;  The learning inside the classroom should be interesting and fun;  Once the topic is finished, the groups have to report to the class what they have discussed, then the new circles continue to be run, and the roles in the groups are rotated among the group members; Implemented features:  Instead of students’ choice of book as Daniels’s model, the teacher is the one to choose the topic for the students to discuss about;  The groups are formed by the students sitting near one another in the class (4 students will form a group). Teacher can make changes in the participants of the groups appropriately;  All the groups have the same topic;  Students will work in literature circles inside the classroom (it means that there will be no regular schedules for students to meet apart from the lessons); Surprisingly, despite all these above stated strengths and the possibility to be adapted, the literature circle was not widely used in Vietnam for unstated purposes. Few educators are thought to have applied the methods in reading courses to some extent. The 8 current research is therefore significant in fulfill the gaps with understanding about the application of literature circle techniques in speaking classes. 9