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Tài liệu Using pair work to improve the first year non english major students’ speaking skill at hanoi university of industry

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VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Trần Thị Thanh Huyền USING PAIR WORK TO IMPROVE THE FIRST YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY. MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE HANOI, 2018 VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Trần Thị Thanh Huyền USING PAIR WORK TO IMPROVE THE FIRST YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY. Field: English Language Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phan Văn Quế HANOI, 2018 DECLARATION BY AUTHOR I declare that this thesis, entitled “Using Pair Work to Improve the First Year Non English Major Students’ Speaking Skill at Hanoi University of Industry”. This study has been composed solely by myself and has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. Except where states otherwise by reference or acknowledgment, the work presented is entirely my own. Author’s Signature Trần Thị Thanh Huyền Approved by SUPERVISOR Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phan Văn Quế Date:…………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor Associate Professor Doctor Phan Văn Quế for his useful comments, remarks and recommendation through the process of completing this master thesis. Furthermore, I would like to thank Dr Đặng Nguyên Giang for introducing me to the topic as well for the support on the way. Also, I would like to thank all of the lecturers at Graduate Academy of Social Sciences for their useful and interesting lessons that have helped to increase my interest in English language and teaching. In addition, my sincere gratitude goes to the teachers and students of Hanoi University of Industry, who have willingly spent their precious time during the process of interviewing. Finally, I would like to thank my beloved family and friends, who have supported me throughout entire study, both by keeping me harmonious and helping me putting pieces together. I will be grateful forever for your love. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION BY AUTHOR .....................................................................................i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................. iii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES .........................................................................................................vi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE THESIS ............................................. viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................1 1.1. Rationale...............................................................................................................1 1.2. Aims of the Study.................................................................................................2 1.3. Research Questions .............................................................................................. 2 1.4. Scope of the Study ............................................................................................... 3 1.5. Significance of the Study .....................................................................................3 1.6. Research Methods ................................................................................................ 3 1.7. Structure of the Study...........................................................................................3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................4 2.1. Communicative Language Teaching Approach ...................................................4 2.1.1. Definitions of CLT ........................................................................................4 2.1.2. Characteristics of CLT ..................................................................................5 2.2. Speaking Skill ......................................................................................................7 2.2.1. Definitions of Speaking ................................................................................7 2.2.2. The Importance of Speaking Skill ................................................................ 9 2.2.3. Types of Speaking Performance .................................................................10 2.2.4. Principles for Teaching Speaking Skill ......................................................11 2.3 Pair Work ............................................................................................................13 2.3.1. Definition of Pair Work ..............................................................................13 2.3.2. Procedures of Pair Work .............................................................................14 2.3.3. Some Common Activities for Pair Work....................................................14 2.3.4. Advantages of Using Pair Work in Teaching Speaking Skill.....................16 2.3.5. Disadvantages of Using Pair Work in Teaching Speaking Skill ................18 2.4. Previous Research related to Pair Work............................................................. 19 2.5. Chapter Summary............................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .............................................................................24 3.1. Research Design .................................................................................................24 3.1.1. Definitions of Action Research...................................................................24 3.1.2. Procedures of Action research ....................................................................26 iii 3.2. The Context of the Study ...................................................................................30 3.3. Participants .........................................................................................................31 3.3.1. The Researcher............................................................................................ 31 3.3.2. The Teachers ............................................................................................... 31 3.3.3. The Students................................................................................................ 32 3.4. Procedures of the Study .....................................................................................32 3.4.1. Diagnosing ..................................................................................................33 3.4.2. Planning ......................................................................................................34 3.4.3. Acting and Observing .................................................................................34 3.4.4. Reflecting ....................................................................................................35 3.5. Data Collection Instruments ...............................................................................35 3.5.1. Survey Questionnaire for Teachers and Students ......................................35 3.5.2. English Speaking Test ................................................................................38 3.5.3. Class Observation Form. .............................................................................38 3.6. Data Collection ...................................................................................................38 3.7. Data Analysis .....................................................................................................39 3.8. Chapter Summary............................................................................................... 39 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS .....................................................40 4.1. Findings ..............................................................................................................40 4.1.1. Data Collection and Analysis from Survey Questionnaire .........................40 4.1.2. The Data from the Speaking Test .............................................................. 50 4.1.3. The data from the class observation ..................................................... 48 4.2. Discussion ..........................................................................................................52 4.3. Chapter Summary............................................................................................... 54 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ...................................................................................55 5.1. Recapitulation ...................................................................................................55 5.2. Concluding Remarks ........................................................................................55 5.3. Implications ........................................................................................................56 5.3.1. For teachers .................................................................................................56 5.3.2. For students .................................................................................................59 5.4. Limitations and Suggestions for Further Studies ...............................................60 5.4.1. Limitations ..................................................................................................60 5.4.2. Suggestions for Further Studies ..................................................................60 REFERENCES iv ABSTRACT This study was conducted to investigate the importance of using pair work in speaking lessons for the first year non- English major students at HaUI and to explore how pair work should be used in class to help them enhance their speaking skills effectively. In order to achieve the aim, the research seeks to answer the two following research questions of (1) what the students’ attitude toward pair work activities are and (2) To what extent the implementation of pair work help improve speaking skill for the first-year non-major students at HaUI. In order to seek answers to the research questions, action research method was used and the data was collected from classroom observation, speaking tests and questionnaires. The findings of the study show that both participating students and teachers have positive perceptions of using pair work in speaking lessons. Pair work motivates students to speak more in a less controlled and stressful lessons and increases students’ participation in speaking. After analyzing and synthesizing the statistics, the researcher discussed and recommended some implications along with suggestions for further research. Finally yet importantly, it is hoped that this study will be useful for teaching and learning speaking skill at HaUI in particular and for English teaching in general. v LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Procedures of Pair Work (source: Harmer, 2001, pp. 122-124). ....................14 Table 2. Procedures of the study ...................................................................................33 Table 3: Frame of Questionnaire for teachers ............................................................... 37 Table 4: Frame of Questionnaire for Students .............................................................. 37 Table 5: A comparison of scores on pre-test and post-test............................................50 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Integration of two organizational schemes for the step-by-step process of action research ...............................................................................................................27 Figure 2: The Process of Action Research ....................................................................28 Figure 3: Teachers’ attitudes towards the role of pair work activity in English teaching and learning ...................................................................................................................40 Figure 4: The implementing of pair work in speaking class .........................................41 Figure 5: The pair forming ............................................................................................ 42 Figure 6: The benefits of using pair work .....................................................................42 Figure 7: The difficulties of implementing pair work ..................................................43 Figure 8: The teachers’ opinions of the students’ improvement ...................................44 Figure 9: Students’ attitudes towards the role of pair work in learning English ...........44 Figure 10: Students’ of viewpoint of using pair work .................................................45 Figure 11: the activities used in speaking class ............................................................. 46 Figure 12: the frequency of using pair work and activities used in speaking lesson ............47 Figure 13: The formation of pairs ...............................................................................47 Figure 14: The involvement of students in doing pair work .........................................48 Figure 15: Students' reflections on the difficulties they have in pair work ...................49 Figure 16: Viewpoint about students’ improvement .....................................................49 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE THESIS CLT: Communicative Language Teaching FLF: Foreign Language Faculty HaUI: Hanoi University of Industry CC: communicative competence L2: The second language viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1. Rationale Nowadays, English is the most commonly spoken language in the world. One out of five people can speak or at least understand English. Knowing English increases your chances of getting a good job in a multinational company within your home country or for finding job abroad. It’s also the language of international communication, the media and the internet, so learning English is important for socializing and entertainment as well as work. Therefore, English has been a compulsory subject at thousands of schools around the world and Vietnam is not an exception. At Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI), English is also an obligatory subject for all students. More and more students realize the importance of learning English. Being good at English gives them chances for employment or going abroad for further study. Most students at HaUI think that speaking is the most important among four language skills. During the time of studying at HaUI, they have to learn English for 6 semesters (each semester lasts for about 15 weeks). Besides, they have to get B1 level to be able to graduate from the university. After graduation, they will have to do business and communicate with their partner in English. To make these successfully, they must be good at four language skills, especially speaking skill. In recent years, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) method has been widely applied. One of the techniques commonly used in CLT is pair and group work, the importance of which has been long emphasized as it can create a comfortable and low-pressure learning environment in the second language classroom. It is commonly believed that the less anxious and more relaxed the learner is, the better his language acquisition proceeds. Moreover, this technique enables students to maximize their own learning and offers 1 promising possibilities for promoting active learning and student-reliance in community college classrooms (Foote, 2009). In addition, many studies have reported that, regardless of the subject matter, students working in small groups tend to learn more of what is taught and retain it longer than when the same content is presented in other instructional formats. Working as a teacher at HaUI for more than three years, the researcher see that it is necessary to apply pair work to improve the speaking skill for the first year non-major students. However, most teacher and students still have some difficulties in implementing pair work activity in speaking lessons. It is the reason why the author conducts a study named “Using pair work to improve the first year non-English major students’ speaking skill at Hanoi University of Industry” 1.2. Aims of the Study This study aims to enhance the quality of teaching and learning speaking skill at HaUI. In order to reach the aim, the study is expected to meet the following objectives: - Investigating the current situation of applying pair work in teaching speaking skill for the first-year non-major students at HaUI. - Indicating benefits as well as problems of applying pair work in English speaking class - Giving some recommendations to improve the speaking skill for the first-year non-major students at HaUI through pair work. 1.3. Research Questions In order to achieve the set goals, the study has to find out the answers for the following research questions: - What are the students’ attitude toward pair work activities? - To what extent does the implementation of pair work help improve speaking skill for the first-year non-major students at HaUI? 2 1.4. Scope of the Study In spite of the fact that there are many different techniques to improve the students’ speaking skill but it is impossible to cover all of them in this paper. Therefore, this study only focuses on applying pair work activity to improve speaking skill for the first-year non-major students at HaUI. The data of the research was collected via questionnaires, tests and class observations. 1.5. Significance of the Study This study is expected to be helpful for teachers and students at Hanoi University of Industry. the findings of the study would provide an insightful understanding of the current situation of using pair work technique to teach speaking skill at HaUI. Additionally, the teachers of English may find the recommended suggestions as a useful reference to make their speaking lessons more communicative and effective. 1.6. Research Methods To achieve the objectives, an action research will be qualitatively and quantitatively conducted. The data will be collected via class observation, tests (pre-test and post-test) and survey questionnaires. 1.7. Structure of the Study In addition to the references and appendices, the thesis consists of five chapters: CHAPTER 1: Introduction CHAPTER 2: Literature Review CHAPTER 3: Methodology CHAPTER 4: Findings and Discussions CHAPTER 5: Conclusion 3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Communicative language teaching approach Language teaching was originally considered a cognitive matter, mainly involving memorization. It was later thought, instead, to be socio-cognitive, meaning that language can be learned through the process of social interaction. Today, however, the dominant technique in teaching any language is communicative language teaching (CLT). 2.1.1. Definitions of CLT Noam Chomsky developed theories that characterized the linguistic competence of the ideal learner (Savignon, p.264). His theories led to the notion of the term communicative competence, which was simultaneously developed in the United States and England in the early 1970s. Second language acquisition (L2) educators in England began to experiment with the notion of individual empowerment, where teachers and students were given the latitude to determine their own learning paths. As a result, exercises that focused on the social meanings contained within the grammar concepts were utilized (Sagvinon, p.264). A group of European experts led by British linguist Dr. David Wilkins continued to develop the communicative definition of language while integrating the concept in various forms in their classroom syllabuses. Wilkins eventually defined the system of meaning that was present in all types of the communicative use of language. He wrote the book Notional Syllabuses that described two types of meaning for language learners: notional categories and categories of communicative function. These ideas had a significant impact on the development of CLT. Richard points out that CLT can be understood as a set of principles about the goal of language teaching, how learners learn a language, the kind 4 of classroom activities that best facilitate learning, and the role of teachers and learners in the classroom. According to Hymes (1972), he promotes the theory about language as communication with the target to develop “communicative competence for students, which is later considered to be the goal of language teaching, the strength of the communicative language teaching approach. Nunan (1991, p.194) claimed that: “CLT views language as a system for the expression of meaning. Activities involve oral communication, carrying out meaning tasks and using language, which is meaningful to the learners. Objectives reflect the needs of the learners; they include functional skills as well as linguistic objectives. The learner’s role is as a negotiator and integrator. The teacher’s role is as a facilitator of the communication process. Materials promote communicative language use; they are task-based and authentic”. According to Bock (2000), CLT is tailored to get at meaning and learners negotiate meaning in class. Meaning is considered as what is communicated. The negotiation of meaning can be implicated through pair work, group work in problem-solving tasks. He also states, “Authentic materials, functional tasks, and group and pair work are significant aspects of CLT”. In conclusion, above definitions of CLT claim that the goal of teaching language is to develop learners’ communicative competence that involves the ability to use the language appropriately to a social context. These components can be seen as linguistic competence, sociolinguistic competence, discourse competence, and strategic competence. 2.1.2. Characteristics of CLT 5 Brown (2007) gives his definition of CLT as “an approach to language teaching methodology that emphasizes authenticity, interaction, studentcentered learning, task based activities, and communication for the real world, meaningful purposes” (Brown, p.378). Brown (2007) also offers four interconnected characteristics of CLT: - Classroom goals are focused on all of the components of CC (communicative competence) and not restricted to grammatical or linguistic competence. - Language techniques are designed to engage learners in the pragmatic, authentic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes. Organizational language forms are not the central focus but rather aspects of language that enable the learner to accomplish those purposes. - Fluency and accuracy are seen as complimentary principles underlying communicative techniques. At times fluency may have to take on more importance than accuracy in order to keep learners meaningfully engaged in language use. - In the communicative classroom, students ultimately have to use the language, productively and receptively, in unrehearsed contexts. (p.241) Savignon (2002) writes that “CLT refers to both processes and goals in classroom learning” and that “The central theoretical concept in communicative language teaching is communicative competence” (p.1). One of the main goals of CLT is to develop a stronger communicative competence among L2 learners. Strategic competence (an important part of communicative competence) is defined by Canale and Swain (1980) as “The ability to use strategies to compensate for imperfect knowledge of rules or performance limitations”. by Bachman (1984) as “the ability to assess a communicative 6 context and plan and execute production responses to accomplish intended purposes” (Brown, p.390). Nunan (1991, p.279) also pointed out five common characteristics of CLT classrooms: - An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language. - The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation. - The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also on the learning process itself. - An enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning. - An attempt to link classroom language learning to language activation outside the classroom. In general, the above characteristics of communicative approach are very necessary and important in helping the students to communicate, interact much better. 2.2. Speaking skill 2.2.1. Definitions of speaking Speaking is an activity of delivering message, it occurs between speaker and listener orally. In other words, the main point of speaking activity is that speakers communicate their message to the listeners. In this case, the speaker and listener should be able to understand each other. The speaker can produce the sounds that involved the messages and the listener can receive, process, and response the messages. According to Byrne (1984), speaking is oral communication. It is a two ways process between speaker and listener and involve productive and receptive skill of understanding, while Huebner (1969) states that speaking is 7 the main skill in communication. Based on this idea, it is understood that someone can communicate or express what she or he wants through speaking in order to understand one another. Rivers (1978, p.162) says through speaking someone can express her or his ideas, emotions and reactions to other person or situation and influence other person. Furthermore, someone can communicate or express what he or she wants from other and response to other speaker. It means that in order to express someone’s ideas, speaker must also attend the aspect of speaking, in order that the massage is understandable to the listener. Bygate (1987). He quoted that "Speaking is the vehicle par excellence of social solidarity, of social ranking, of professional advancement and of business .It is also the medium through which much language is learnt, and which for many is particularly conductive for learning. Perhaps, then, the teaching of speaking merits more thought". Therefore, besides this big importance, it is necessary to deal first with what good speakers of a foreign language can do. Hence, it was assumed that the ability to speak fluently is all the time associated with certain characteristics to be owned by the speaker. This latter is presented in the teaching of grammar, an amount of vocabulary with some care about pronunciation so that the piece of the produced speech sounds as the native speakers' ones. Nevertheless, now we all know that this skill is more complex than that; it involves the cooperation of different types of knowledge with the good command of certain skills. (Bygate, 1987). Tarigan (1990, pp.3-4) defines that speaking is a language skill that is developed in child life, which is produced by listening skill, and at that period speaking skill is learned. 8 Furthermore, in speaking, some aspects should be concerned. They are fluency, accuracy (grammar and pronunciation) and comprehensibility. Fluency is the smoothness or flow with which sounds, syllable, words and phrases are joined together when speaking. Speaking is the productive skill. It could not be separated from listening. When we speak, we produce the text and it should be meaningful. In the nature of communication, we can find the speaker, the listener, the message and the feedback. Speaking could not be separated from pronunciation as it encourages learners to learn the English sounds. In short, the researcher realizes that speaking is what we say to what we see, feel and think. When we feel something, we want someone can hear us. Therefore, in this process we can call it is an interaction between two sides. 2.2.2. The importance of speaking skill Language is a tool for communication. We communicate with others, to express our ideas, and to know others’ ideas as well. Communication takes place, where there is speech. Without speech, we cannot communicate with one another. The importance of 3/10 speaking skills, hence is enormous for the learners of any language. Without speech, a language is reduced to a mere script. The use of language is an activity, which takes place within the confines of our community. We use language in a variety of situations. People at their work places, i.e. researchers working either in a medical laboratory or in a language laboratory, are supposed to speak correctly and effectively inorder to communicate well with one another. Any gap in commutation results in misunderstandings and problems. For a smooth running of any system, the speakers of a language need to be especially and purposefully trained in the skill of speaking. 9 In order to become a well-rounded communicator one needs to be proficient in each of the four language skills: listening , speaking, reading and writing, but the ability to speak skillfully, provides the speaker with several distinct advantages. The capacity to express one’s thoughts, opinions and feelings, in the form of words put together in a meaningful way, provides the speaker with these advantages. The joy of sharing one’s ideas with others is immense. When we speak to others we come to have a better understanding of our own selves, as Robert Frost once said: “I am a writer of books in retrospect, I talk in order to understand, I teach in order to learn.” Undoubtedly, the clarity in speech reflects clear thinking. An effective speaker can gain the attention of the audience and hold it until the completion of his message. Speaking skills are important for career success, but certainly not limited to one’s professional aspirations. Speaking skills can also enhance one’s personal life. 2.2.3. Types of speaking performance Brown also points out some types of classroom speaking performance, they are: Imitative A very limited portion of classroom speaking time may reasonably be spent generating” Human tape-recorder” speech, where for example, learner practice an intonation contour or try to pinpoint a certain vowel sound. Imitation of this kind is carried out not for the purpose of meaning full interaction, but for focusing on some particular element of language form. Intensive Intensive speaking goes one-step beyond imitative to include any speaking performance that is designed to practice some phonological or grammatical aspect of the language. Intensive speaking can be self-imitated or it can even 10
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