VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES -O0O NGUYEN THI TRANG THE APPLICATION OF GROUP WORK ACTIVITES TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILLS FOR 10TH GRADE STUDENTS AT A BAC NINH HIGH SCHOOL Sử dụng hoạt động nhóm để cải thiện kĩ nói học sinh lớp 10 trường trung học phổ thông tỉnh Bắc Ninh M.A MINOR PROGRAM THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Supervisor: Dr Vu Thi Thanh Nha Hanoi, 2019 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES -O0O NGUYEN THI TRANG THE APPLICATION OF GROUP WORK ACTIVITES TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILLS FOR 10TH GRADE STUDENTS AT A BAC NINH HIGH SCHOOL Sử dụng hoạt động nhóm để cải thiện kĩ nói học sinh lớp 10 trường trung học phổ thông tỉnh Bắc Ninh M.A MINOR PROGRAM THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Supervisor: Dr Vu Thi Thanh Nha Hanoi, 2019 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis represents my own work for the Degree of Master in TESOL at the Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies - Vietnam National University, and that it has not been previously submitted to this University or any other institution in application for admission to a degree, diploma or other qualifications Bac Ninh, May 29th 2019 Nguyen Thi Trang ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to acknowledge the debt of gratitude to my supervisor, Dr.Vu Thi Thanh Nha for her helpful suggestions, invaluable critical feedback and encouragement in the writing of this study Without her guidance and help, this work would not have been completed My sincere thanks go to all the staff at the Department of Post-graduate Studies, Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies for giving me assistance and the lecturers who conducted the Master's course for providing me with valuable knowledge I would also like to express my deep sense of gratitude to my dear students, whose participation in and dedication to the research remain invaluable have been acknowledged Without their precious support, the thesis would not have taken shaped Finally, the support extended to me by the members of my family has been immeasurable I would also like to express my thanks to my parents and my husband for their wholehearted encouragement Bac Ninh, May 29th 2019 Nguyen Thi Trang ABSTRACT The study was carried out with an attempt to investigate the application of group work towards enhancing grade 10 students’ speaking skill The subjects participating in the research were 40 EFL students studying in the same class at a high school in Bac Ninh province To achieve the desired aims of the study, an action research was carried out Survey questionnaires for students and learning logs were used as the major instruments to collect data about students’ challenges in developing their speaking skill and the impacts of group work implementation on students’ speaking ability The results of the study showed that group work has positive influence on the development of students’ speaking skill and has the potential to help students deal with some challenges that they may encounter in speaking lessons TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES vii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study 1.2 Aims of the study .3 1.3 Scope of the study 1.4 Organization of the thesis .4 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Theoretical background of speaking 2.1.1 Definitions of speaking skill 2.1.2 Aspects of speaking skill 2.1.3 Characteristics of a successful speaking activity 2.1.4 Problems with speaking classes 2.1.5 Relating categories of oral production 2.1.6 The roles of the teacher in different stages of teaching speaking 10 2.2 Group work in speaking lessons 11 2.2.1 Definition of group work 11 2.2.2 Benefits of group work 12 2.2.3 Some problems in using group work 13 2.2.4 Group formation 14 2.2.5 Teacher’s role in carrying out group work 16 2.2.6 Steps of organizing group activities 17 2.3 Previous studies .18 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 22 3.1 Participants and context of the study 22 3.2 Reasons to choose action research method 22 3.3 Phases of action research 24 3.4 Weekly schedules and research procedures 26 3.4.1 Weekly schedules 26 3.4.2 Research procedures .29 3.5 Data collection instruments 31 3.5.1 Questionnaires 31 3.5.2 Learning logs 31 CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 34 4.1 Information collected from the survey questionnaires .34 4.1.1 Students’ opinions on the importance of speaking skill 34 4.1.2 Students’ challenges in developing speaking skill 34 4.1.3 Students’ preference of group work in speaking lessons .35 4.1.4 Reasons for students’ preference of group work 36 4.1.5 Students’ opinions on the effectiveness of group work in speaking lessons .37 4.1.6 Students’ opinions on the advantages of group work in speaking lessons 38 4.1.7 Students’ opinions about the impact of group work on their speaking ability.39 4.1.8 Students’ self-evaluation regarding speaking aspects before and after the application of group work 40 4.2 Data collected from students’ learning logs 43 4.2.1 Things students can 43 4.2.2 Things students learnt 46 4.3 Summary 48 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION 49 5.1 Summary of major findings 49 5.2 Recommendations 50 5.3 Limitations .51 5.4 Recommendations for further research .52 REFERENCES 53 APPENDICES.…………………………………………………… ……………….I APPENDIX PRE-ACTION QUESTIONNAIRE .I APPENDIX POST-ACTION QUESTIONNAIRE II APPENDIX LEARNING LOG: SPEAKING SKILL IV REFERENCES Astin, A (1993) What matters in college? Four critical years revisited San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Bailey, K M (2005) Practical English Language Teaching: Speaking: McGraw – Hill Companies, Inc Brown, H D (2000) Principles of Language Learning and Teaching 4thEd New York: Pearson Education Brown, H D (2001) Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy 2ndEd New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc Brown, G & Yule, G (1989) Teaching the Spoken Language, Cambridge University Press Burn-Joyce (1997) Focus on speaking Sydney: NCELTR Bygate, M (1987) Speaking Longman: Oxford University Press Carr, W & Kemmis, S (1983) Becoming critical: Education, knowledge and 52 action research (1st ed.) 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Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall 53 Harmer, J (1991) The Practice of English Language Teaching The 3th Edition Longman: London and New York Harmer J (2007) The practice of English language teaching Essex, UK: Pearson Longman Honeyfield, J (1991) The information of small group in the Language Classroom Guidelines – A periodical for Classroom Language Teacher, 13(1) Hong Nguyen, Chi (2013) Vietnamese international student mobility: past and current trends Asian Education and Development Studies 127-148 Hutchinson, T & Waters, A (1987) English for specific purposes: A learningcentered approach Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Huy THINH, Do (2006) The Role of English in Vietnam’s Foreign Language Policy: A Brief History Paper presented at the 19th Annual English Australia Education Conference Retrieved from Jack C Richard Communicative Language Teaching Today, Cambridge University Press Kemmis, S & McTaggart, R (2000) Participatory Action Research: Communicative Action in the Public Sphere, in N Denzin and Y Lincoln (Eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research Sage Publication, Thousand Oaks, Calif, p 564 Le Thuy Duong (2014) Using group work to improve speaking skills of the secondyear students at National Economics University: An Action Research M.A Thesis ULIS - VNU Long, H M & Porte, A P (1985) Group Work, Interlanguage Talk, and Second Language Acquisition JSTOR Journal, vol 19 54 Mazouzi, S (2013) Analysis of Some Factors Affecting Learners’ Oral Performance A Case Study: 3rd Year Pupils of Menaa’s Middle Schools M A Dissertation, Department of Foreign Languages, English Division, Faculty of Letters and Languages, Mohamed Khider University of Biskra, People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria Mannix, E., & Neale, M.A (2005) What differences make a difference? The promise and reality of diverse teams in organizations Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 6(2), 31-55 Moon, J A.(2006) Learning Journals: A handbook for reflective practice and professional development 2nd edition Routledge Nguyen, N (2012) How English Has Displaced Russian and Other Foreign Languages in Vietnam Since “Doi Moi” International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol No 23 Centre for Promoting Ideas, USA Norton, J (2005) The paired format in the Cambridge Speaking Tests ELT Journal, 59(4), 287–297 Nunan, D (1992) Research methods in language learning New York: Cambridge University Press Nunan,D (1992) Language Teaching Methodology, UK: Prentice-hall University Press Pham Thanh Mai (2007) A study on group discussion and its impacts on speaking ability of the non-major students at the post-elementary level in Military Science Academy M.A Thesis ULIS - VNU Public Schools of North Carolina, Department of Public Instruction (1999) Assessment, articulation, and accountability, 1999: A foreign language project Retrieved from ERIC Database (ED436978) Richards, J & Rodgers, T (2001) Cooperative language learning In approaches and Methods in Language Teaching nd Ed England: Cambridge University Press 55 SALMI Ibtissem, (2013), The Significance of Using Cooperative Group Work Technique to Improve Learners’ Speaking Skill in EFL Classes A Case Study of Third Year LMD Students of English at Mohamed Kheider University of Biskra, Mohamed Kheider University of Biskra Tuan, N H., & Mai, T N (2015) Factors Affecting Students’ Speaking Performance at LE Thanh Hien High School Asian Journal of Educational Research, 3(2), 8-23 Ur,P (1996) A course in language teaching Cambridge:Cambridge University Press Underhil Nic (1987) Testing Spoken Language London: Cambridge University Press 56 APPENDICES APPENDIX PRE-ACTION QUESTIONNAIRE This questionnaire is designed to investigate your attitude regarding your speaking ability, your habit and frequency of learning speaking It is used for the research purpose, therefore, your truthful answers are highly appreciated because this potentially helps improve the current state of teaching Please provide your answers for the following questions by circling the answers that are best suitable for you and write your answers for the open questions in the given spaces Thank you very much for your cooperation! How important is speaking skill in your opinion? a Very important b Important c Moderately important d Slightly important e Not important How you evaluate your performance of the following aspects of speaking ability? Tick the most suitable box for each aspect Aspects of Scale Very good Good Quite good Not very good Very bad speaking (5) (4) (3) (2) (1) vocabulary grammar fluency pronunciation What are the main troubles when you use English as a means of communication? (You can choose more than one answer) A The lack of vocabulary B The lack of grammatical knowledge C The lack of help from others D The fear of making mistakes E The lack of confidence F The lack of opportunities to speak G The lack of partners to interact H The unfamiliar topics H Others (please state clearly): ……… Thank you for your cooperation! Câu hỏi khảo sát 1 Bảng câu hỏi thiết kế để điều tra thái độ bạn khả nói, thói quen tần suất học nói bạn Nó sử dụng cho mục đích nghiên cứu, đó, câu trả lời trung thực bạn đánh giá cao điều có khả giúp cải thiện tình trạng giảng dạy Vui lòng cung cấp câu trả lời bạn cho câu hỏi sau cách khoanh tròn câu trả lời phù hợp với bạn viết câu trả lời cho câu hỏi mở không gian định Cảm ơn bạn nhiều hợp tác bạn! Kỹ nói quan trọng quan điểm bạn? a Rất quan trọng b Quan trọng c quan trọng vừa phải d Hơi quan trọng e Không quan trọng Làm để bạn đánh giá hiệu suất bạn khía cạnh sau khả nói? Đánh dấu vào thích hợp cho khía cạnh Các khía Scale Rất tốt Tốt Khá tốt Không tốt Rất tệ cạnh (5) (4) (3) (2) (1) việc nói Từ vựng Ngữ pháp Trôi chảy Phát âm Những rắc rối bạn sử dụng tiếng Anh phương tiện giao tiếp gì? (Bạn chọn nhiều câu trả lời) A Thiếu từ vựng B Thiếu kiến thức ngữ pháp C Sự thiếu giúp đỡ từ người khác D Sợ mắc sai lầm E Thiếu tự tin F Thiếu hội để nói G Thiếu đối tác để tương tác H Những chủ đề xa lạ H Khác (vui lòng nói rõ):………………………… Cám ơn hợp tác em! APPENDIX POST-ACTION QUESTIONNAIRE This questionnaire is designed to investigate your attitude regarding the impact of group work on your speaking ability, the advantages and disadvantages of the group work application for speaking lesson It is used for the research purpose, therefore, your truthful answers are highly appreciated because this potentially helps improve the current state of teaching Please provide your answers for the following questions by circling the answers that are best suitable for you and write your answers for the open questions in the given spaces Thank you very much for your cooperation! How you agree with the following statement? “I like working in groups during speaking lessons” A Strongly agree B Agree C Not sure D Disagree E Strongly disagree Why you think you like working in group in speaking lessons Tick all that are true to you A Because students can support each other B Because students can learn from each other C Because students can have more ideas to speak D Because students have more time to prepare and speak How you agree with the following statement? “My participation in group work activities helps improve my speaking skill.” A Strongly agree B Agree C Not sure D Disagree E Strongly disagree How much improvement you think you have made regarding your general speaking ability after the group work intervention? A A lot improvement B Some improvement C A little improvement D Hardly any improvement E No improvement How you evaluate your performance of the following aspects of speaking ability after the group work intervention? Tick the most suitable box for each aspect Aspects of Scale speaking Very good (5) Good (4) Quite good (3) Not very good (2) Very bad (1) vocabulary grammar fluency pronunciation In your opinion, what are the advantages of using group work in speaking lessons? Tick all that you think are true A I have more opportunities to speak than previously B I feel more motivated because there are always some people listening to my ideas C I learn a lot of new lexical items from listening to other students’ speaking D I learn a lot of new grammar structures from listening to other students’ speaking E I learn a lot of new grammar ideas from listening to other students’ speaking F My friends and teacher’s feedback help me understand my strength and weaknesses G I feel more confident after several times practicing H I am more willing to share my ideas with other students I My friends and teacher’s help me to correct my mistakes J The classroom atmosphere is more exciting K Others: ………………… How you agree with the following statement? “I want my teacher to organize group work for speaking lessons in the next semester” A Strongly agree B Agree C Not sure D Disagree E Strongly disagree Thank you for your cooperation! Câu hỏi khảo sát Bảng câu hỏi thiết kế để điều tra thái độ bạn tác động công việc nhóm khả nói bạn, lợi bất lợi ứng dụng làm việc nhóm cho học nói Nó sử dụng cho mục đích nghiên cứu, đó, câu trả lời trung thực bạn đánh giá cao điều có khả giúp cải thiện tình trạng giảng dạy Vui lòng cung cấp câu trả lời bạn cho câu hỏi sau cách khoanh tròn câu trả lời phù hợp với bạn viết câu trả lời cho câu hỏi mở không gian định Cảm ơn bạn nhiều hợp tác bạn! Bạn đồng ý nòa với quan điểm đây? Tơi thích làm việc theo nhóm nói học A Rất đồng ý B Đồng ý C Không chắn D Không đồng ý E Rất không đồng ý Tại bạn nghĩ bạn thích làm việc theo nhóm học nói Đánh dấu vào tất với bạn A Vì học sinnh hỗ trợ lẫn B Vì học sinh học hỏi lẫn C Vì học sinh có nhiều ý tưởng để nói D Vì học sinh có nhiều thời gian để chuẩn bị nói Bạn đồng ý với quan điểm đây? Tôi tham gia hoạt động làm việc nhóm giúp cải thiện kỹ nói tơi A Rất đồng ý B Đồng ý C Không chắn D Không đồng ý E Rất khơng đồng ý Bạn nghĩ cải thiện nhiều khả nói chung sau can thiệp làm việc nhóm? A Cải thiện nhiều B Một số cải tiến C Một chút cải thiện D Hầu không cải thiện E Không cải thiện Làm để bạn đánh giá hiệu suất bạn khía cạnh sau khả nói sau can thiệp làm việc nhóm? Đánh dấu vào thích hợp cho khía cạnh Các khía Scale Rất tốt Tốt Khá tốt Không tốt Rất tệ cạnh (5) (4) (3) (2) (1) việc nói Từ vựng Ngữ pháp Trơi chảy Phát âm Theo bạn, lợi việc sử dụng làm việc nhóm học nói gì? Đánh dấu vào tất bạn nghĩ A Tơi có nhiều hội để nói trước B Tơi cảm thấy có động lực ln có số người lắng nghe ý kiến C Tôi học nhiều mục từ vựng từ việc nghe sinh viên khác nói D Tơi học nhiều cấu trúc ngữ pháp từ việc nghe sinh viên khác nói E Tơi học nhiều ý tưởng ngữ pháp từ việc nghe sinh viên khác nói F Bạn bè giáo viên phản hồi giúp hiểu điểm mạnh điểm yếu G Tơi cảm thấy tự tin sau vài lần luyện tập H Tôi sẵn sàng chia sẻ ý tưởng với sinh viên khác I Bạn bè giáo viên giúp sửa chữa sai lầm J Khơng khí lớp học sơi động K Khác:…………… Bạn đồng ý với quan điểm đây? Tôi muốn giáo viên tổ chức làm việc nhóm để học nói học kỳ A Rất đồng ý B Đồng ý C Không chắn D Không đồng ý E Rất không đồng ý APPENDIX LEARNING LOG: SPEAKING SKILL Student name: …………………………………………………………………… Date: ………………………………………Unit:…………………………………… Topic:…………………………………… Requirement: ………………………… How many students did you interact with in today’s lesson? ……………… How you evaluate your level of participation in today’s lesson? A Very active B Active C Quite active D Inactive How you evaluate the interesting level of today’s topic? A Very interesting B Interesting C Moderately interesting D Not interesting Write/ Tick what you were able to in today’s lesson Things I was able to in today’s lessons New lexical items I was able to use New grammar structures I was able to use Styles of my answers to my friends and/or teacher’s questions My fluency (level of hesitation) A I mostly used individual words B I mostly used simple sentences C I used a mix of simple and compound/complex sentences D I mostly used compound/complex sentences A I made a lot of hesitation B I made some hesitation C I made only a little hesitation D I hardly made any hesitation Others (feel free to add more things you were able to in today’s lesson) Write what you learnt from today’s lessons and what you want to learn more Things I learnt from today’s lessons New lexical items New grammar structures My mistakes - Use of grammar - Use of lexical items - Pronunciation of individual words How I can correct my mistakes Others (feel free to add more things you learnt/want to learn more from today’s lesson) PHỤ LỤC Nhật ký học tập: KỸ NĂNG NÓI Tên học sinh: …………………………………………………………………… Ngày: …………………………………… Bài:…………………………… Đề tài:…………………………………… Yêu cầu: …………………… Bạn tương tác với học sinh học hôm nay? ……… Bạn đánh giá mức độ tham gia bạn chủ đề học ngày hôm nào? A Rất tích cực B Tích cực C Khá tích cực D Khơng tich cực Bạn đánh giá mức độ thú vị chủ đề ngày hôm nào? A Rất thú vị B Thú vị C Thú vị vừa phải D Không thú vị Viết / Đánh dấu bạn làm học hôm Điều mà làm từ học ngày hơm Từ vựng sử dụng Ngữ pháp sử dụng Kiểu câu trả lời cho bạn bè và/ câu hỏi giáo viên Sự lưu lốt tơi (Mức độ dự) A Tơi chủ yếu sử dụng từ riêng lẻ B Tôi chủ yếu sử dụng câu đơn giản C Tôi sử dụng kết hợp câu đơn giản ghép / phức D Tôi chủ yếu sử dụng câu ghép / phức A Tôi dự nhiều B Tôi làm số dự C Tôi dự chút D Tôi không dự Khác (vui lòng thêm nhiều thứ bạn làm học hôm nay) Viết bạn học từ học ngày hơm bạn muốn tìm hiểu thêm Những điều học từ học hôm Từ vựng Cấu trúc ngữ pháp Sai lầm - Sử dụng ngữ pháp - Sử dụng mục từ vựng - Phát âm từ riêng lẻ Làm tơi sửa chữa sai lầm Khác (vui lòng thêm nhiều thứ bạn học / muốn tìm hiểu thêm từ học hôm nay) 10 ... IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILLS FOR 10TH GRADE STUDENTS AT A BAC NINH HIGH SCHOOL Sử dụng hoạt động nhóm để cải thiện kĩ nói học sinh lớp 10 trường trung học phổ thông tỉnh Bắc Ninh M.A MINOR PROGRAM THESIS... encouragement Bac Ninh, May 29th 2019 Nguyen Thi Trang ABSTRACT The study was carried out with an attempt to investigate the application of group work towards enhancing grade 10 students’ speaking... entitled “The application of group work activities to improve speaking skills for 10 th grade students at a Bac Ninh High School” 1.2 Aims of the study The study is conducted to investigate how