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How to maximize part-time students ’ involvement in English speaking lessons at Hai Phong Foreign Languages Centre
Part one: Introduction Rationale of the study It can not be denied that English is very important nowadays It is considered to be a very significant and necessary tool used in many fields such as science, technology, diplomacy and so on It is seen as a means to bridge the gap and promote mutual understanding and cooperation among countries in the world In Vietnam, at present, the role of English has been more and more increasingly crucial because of the fact that Vietnam has succeeded in becoming an official member of WTO since 2006 Being aware of the great significance of English, more and more people desire to master it in hope of making English an useful means to serve their own purposes For the above mentioned reasons, English has been taught not only in Universities, Colleges but also at Foreign Languages Centres As a teacher of English at Hai Phong Foreign Languages Centre - Hai Phong University where a great number of learners come to learn and hope to have a good command of English As for them, the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing are very important but speaking skill is given the top priority among the four “Speaking in a second or foreign language has often been viewed as the most demanding of the four skills.” (Bailey, Kathleen M & Savage, Lance, 1994:vii) Bygate, Martin also shares the same opinion as of Bailey M & Savage Lance when he states “Speaking is, however, a skill with deservers attention every bit as much as literary skill, in both first and second languages.” (1987:vii) For the reason that speaking is the direct communication helping learners achieve their goals of learning and working With students, they can pass oral examinations at Universities or FLC easily, and those who work with foreign partners wish to use English effectively to negotiate and gain contracts as well as attract investment from foreign companies However, it is not as easy as that because to help students what they need requires teachers a great effort Unlike schools or universities, learners at HP FLC are all of ages and walks of life They themselves are aware of importance of the four skills, especially speaking skill, however, not every time they can as they expect In fact, there is a large number of students who may be good at reading, writing but find it difficult to speak in English I often encourage my students to talk in English in class but they keep silent during the lessons Some explain that they want to talk but they don’t know what to say Some are in poor participation in speaking activities in the classroom Perhaps, there is a variety of reasons for their poor participation, including large classes, lack of ideas and so on In the opinion of Bygate, Martin, one of the basic problems in foreign language teaching is to prepare learners to be able to use the language How this preparation is done, and how successful it is depends very much on how we as teachers understand our aims (1987:3) Being the importance of teaching speaking to students, the researcher wishes to a research on “How to maximize part-time students’ involvement in English speaking lessons?” to help teachers and students better in their teaching and study Aims of the study Also, in the opinion of Bygate, Martin (1987) development in language teaching must depend partly on our ability to understand the effects of our methodology However, it is not possible to understand all the consequences of everything that we as a teacher in the classroom Therefore, the study was an attempt to: - Investigate the current English speaking teaching and learning at HP FLC - Identify learners’ difficulties in English oral activities in speaking lessons - Find out appropriate solutions to making the speaking lesson more interesting to the learners so that they can get involved better in classroom speaking activities - Make some suggestions for the teachers at HP FLC in hope of assisting them with improvement of their teaching speaking skills Scope of the study With the purpose of helping learners at Intermediate level at HP FLC to critically and effectively take part in speaking lessons, the researcher intends to give a brief overview of current English speaking teaching and learning situations at HP FLC, identify learners’ problems in oral activities and find out appropriate solutions to the problems Methods of the study The quantitative method is used in the study The data collected for the study is from the Intermediate-level learners and the teachers at HP FLC– HPU The former is from 80 non - major Intermediate learners at HP FLC – HPU (See the Appendix 1) The latter is from 15 teachers teaching intermediate learners at the same centre (See Appendix 2) Survey questionnaires are used to collect data and evidence for the study In order to make the study more reliable, the researcher also carried out an observation by attending some English speaking lessons at HP FLC Research Question What should teachers to maximize learners’ involvement in English speaking lessons? Significance of the study The study hopes to contribute a small part to help teachers improve their teaching speaking skills so that they can give a great assistance to learners with better involvement in English speaking lessons Design of the study This minor thesis consists of three parts: Part one, Introduction, presents the rationale of the study, the aims of the study, scope of the study, methods of the study, research question, significance of the study and design of the study Part two, Development, includes five following chapters Chapter 1, Literature Review, introduces Nature of language skills, Nature of speaking skills and Teaching speaking skills Chapter 2, An overview of Teaching and Learning at HP FLC- HPU, provides information, including teachers’ background, students’ background and resources and materials Chapter 3, Methodology, presents subject of the study, Instrument, Procedure and Method Chapter 4, Data Analysis and Interpretation, focuses on analysis about, learners’ activities toward speaking skills, factors that make them reluctant to speak, current teaching methods applied to teaching speaking Also at the same time, the chapter provides an analysis on difficulties faced by teachers of teaching speaking lessons and their activities toward reluctant students in speaking lessons Chapter 5, Finding and Recommendation discover factors affecting both learners and teachers during speaking lessons Basing on these factors, the researcher would like to make some suggestions to help teachers maximize their learners’ involvement in speaking lessons Part three, Conclusion, summarizes the key issues of the study, and short comings exposed during the process of completing the study Part two: Development Chapter 1: Literature Review Nature of Language Skills It is known that language skills involve four macro inter-related skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) As for Nunan, David (1999) being able to claim knowledge of a second language means being able to speak and write in that language Listening and reading are therefore secondary skills and sometimes viewed as passive skills If listening is the Cinderella skill in second language learning, then speaking is the bearing elder sister The ability to function in another language is generally characterized in terms of being able to speak that language Whereas, in terms of skills, producing a coherent, fluent, extended piece of writing is probably the most difficult thing there is to in language It is something most native speakers never master For second language learners the challenges are enormous As for Bygate M (1991), listening and reading are considered to be receptive skills, whereas speaking and writing are productive ones Of the four skills, speaking plays the most important role, since it can identify who is competent or incompetent in using a language Also confirmed by Bygate M “speaking in many ways an undervalued skill Perhaps this is because we can almost all speak, and so we take it too much for granted and consider it to be the most important skill of the four” (1987: vii) Fiske (1990) makes the important point that “Communication is one of those human activities that everyone recognizes but few can define satisfactorily” (quoted from Thompson, Meil, 2003:9) Communication, however, can be seen such a well-integrated part of our dayto-day existence that we tend to take it for granted, rarely pausing to consider what it involves or just how important it is to us He defines that communication is “social interaction through message” Communication takes place in a social context and that context will often have a very significant being on the success and the very nature of that communication And it is important to recognize that communication involves transmitting not only from one person to another, but also in communicating a relationship In the opinion of Widdowson H.G (quoted from Brumfit C.J & Johnson K:118), “Communication only take place when we make use of sentences to perform a variety of different acts of an essentially social nature Bygate, Martine (1991:9) supposes that “Oral communication is effective only when the learners are supplied with oral skills” The nature of oral communication is comprehended as a two way process between the speaker and the listener However, Bygate Martine (1987:22) states that in spoken interaction, speaker and listener not merely have to be good processors of the difficult circumstances of spoken communication It is also useful if they are good communicators, that is, good at saying what they want to say in a way which the listener find understandable Nature of Speaking Skills and Teaching Speaking Skills 2.1 Nature of Speaking Skills In recent trends in ESL/ EFL curriculum design and pedagogy have stressed the importance of teaching communicative strategies and the functional use of language of the four skills, speaking and writing are the productive skills in the oral mode As mentioned- above, speaking is regarded as the most important skill of the four However, it is necessary to get to know the nature of speaking skills 1.1 Definition of Speaking Skills Bygate, Martin (1987) believes that speaking is the skill by which they are most frequently judged and thought Learners often need to be able to speak with confidence Speaking skill is regarded as the vehicle of social solidarity, of social ranking, of professional advancement and business It is also a medium through which much language is learnt” However, as for W F Mackey, oral skill “involves not only the use of the right sounds in the right patterns of rhythm and intonation, but also the choice of words and inflections in the right order to convey the right meaning.” (quoted from Bygate, M., 1987: 5) In Brown and Yule’s point of view (1983) spoken language consists of short, fragmentary utterances, in a range of pronunciation There is often a great deal of repetition and overlap between one speaker and another and speaker usually use non-specific references They also point out that spoken language is made to feel less conceptual dense than other types such as prose by using the loosely organized syntax, and non-specific words and phrases and fillers such as “well, “oh” Speaking is, however, a skill, which deserves attention as much as literary skills Our listeners often need to speak with confidence so as to carry out many of their most basic transaction Moreover, speaking is known with two main types of conversation namely dialogue and monologue 2.1.2 Characteristics of Speaking Skills Bygate, M (1987) states that “in most speaking the person to whom we are speaking is in front of us and able to use right if we make mistakes” Unlike readers or writers, speaker may need patience and imagination, too While talking, speakers need to take notice of the other and allows listeners chance to speak it Brown (1983) and her colleagues point out that a listener helps speakers improve their performance as a speaker because being a listener gives learners models to utilize when acting as speaker Besides, being a hearer first helps appreciate the difficulties inherent in the task It is clear that giving speakers experience in hearer’s role is more helpful than simple practice in tasks in which a speaker is having real difficulties in appreciating what a particular task required Richards, Platt and Weber (1985) states that Communicative Competence includes: a) Knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary of the language b) Knowledge of rules of speaking (e.g knowing how to begin and end conversations, knowing what topics can be talked about in different types of speech event, knowing which address, forms should be used with different person one speaks to and in different situations c) Knowing how to use and respond to different types of speech acts such as requests, apologies, thanks and invitations d) Knowing how to use language appropriately (quoted from Nunan, David, 1999: 226) According to Nunan, David (1999) what are needs to know and be able to in order to speak in another language is to know how to articulate sounds in a comprehensible manner, one needs an adequate vocabulary, and to have mastery of syntax The socio linguist Dell Hymes (1974) prosed the notion of communicative competence as an alternative to Chomsky’s linguistic competence Communicative competence includes linguistic competence, but also a range of other socio linguistic and conversational skill that enable the speaker to know how to say what to whom, when Sandra Savignon, in the early 1970, defined Communicative Competence as “ability to function in a truly communicative setting” 2 Teaching Speaking Skills Much of the very considerable momentum of present day language teaching may be seen as a response to a problem which teachers have been aware of for a long time It is the problem of the student who may be structurally competent, but who can not communicate appropriately (Johnson K., 1979:192) Newmark (quoted from Brumfit C J and Johnson K., 1979: 161) gives an example of a person who wants to smoke but can not know how to speak to borrow a stranger’ lighter or match As for him, the person may know the structure taught by the teacher, yet can not know the way to get his cigarette lit by the stranger when he has no matches is to walk to him and say one of the utterances “Do you have a light?” or “Got a match?” or “Do you have a fire?” or “Do you have illumination?” or “Are you a match’s owner?” 2.2.1 Aims of Teaching Speaking Skills As for Widdowson H.G (quoted from Brumfit C.J & Johnson K:117), “ the problem is that students, and especially students in developing countries, who have received several years of formal English teaching, frequently remain deficient in the ability to actually use the language, and to understand its use in normal communication, whether in the spoken or the written mode” (1979:117) Therefore, objective of teaching speaking skill is communicative efficiency or in other words is to teach learners the way to communicate “appropriately” and efficiently It can be seen from the example give by Newmark of a man who is good at structures but fails in utterance competence So, to help learners develop communicative efficiency in speaking, teacher can use balanced activities approach that combines language input, structured output and communicative output Language input comes in the form of teacher talk, listening activities, reading passages, and the language heard and read outside of class It gives learners the material, they need to begin producing language themselves Language input may be content oriented or form oriented Structured output focuses on correct form In structured output, learners may have options for responses, but all of the options require them to use the specific form or structure that the teacher has just introduced Structured output is designed to make learners comfortable producing specific language items recently introduces, sometimes in combination with previously learned items In communicative output, the learners’ main purpose is to complete a task, such as obtaining information, developing a travel plan… To complete the task, they To complete the task, they may be use the language that the teacher has just presented, but they also may draw on any other vocabulary, grammar, and communication strategies that they know In communicative output activities, the criterion of success is whether the learner gets the message across Accuracy is not a consideration unless the lack of it interferes with the message In a balance activities approach, the teacher uses a variety of activities from these different categories of input and output Learners at all proficiency levels, including beginners, benefit from this variety, it is more motivating, and it is also more likely to result in effective language learning 2.2.2 Prior Studies Related to Difficulties of Teaching Speaking Skills 2.2.2.1 The Reluctant Speakers Nunan, David (1999) carried out a survey with colleagues, reluctance to speak on the part of students was seen as their biggest challenge In his opinion, the possible mismatches can occur between teachers and learners from different cultural background An example is given by him as follows: If learners come in to your classroom believing that learning a language involves listening to the teacher or the tape, and doing written exercises, then they will be reluctant to become actively involved in speaking Therefore, it will be necessary to engage in a certain amount of learner training to encourage them to participate in speaking Burns and Joyce (1997) also agree with the point and identify three sets of factors that may cause reluctance on the part of students to take part in classroom task involving speaking They suggest that this reluctance may be due to cultural factors, linguistic factor, and or psychological affective factors Cultural factors derive from learner’s prior learning experiences and the expectations created by these experiences 2.2.2.2 Reasons for Learners’ Reluctance in Speaking Also in the view of Nunan, David (1999), one of the main reasons explaining the reluctance of speakers is partly due to their learning experience Many of them were educated in large classes in school situated in noisy neighborhoods where opportunities to speak are severely limited Others were taught in school where speaking was simply not encouraged According to Buns and Joyce, the linguistic facts that inhibit the use of the spoken language include difficulties in transferring from the learners’ first language to the sounds, rhythms, and stress patterns of English, a lack of understanding of common grammatical patterns in English (e.g English tenses) and how these may be different from their own language, lack of familiarity with cultural or social knowledge required to process meaning Psychological and affective factors include culture shock, previous negative social or political experiences, lack of motivation, anxiety or shyness in class, especially if their previous learning experiences were negative 2.2.2.3 Motivation Gardner (1985) (quoted from Nunan David, 1999: 232-233) states that Motivation is a key consideration in determining the preparedness of learners to communicate Motivation refers to the combination of effort plus desire to achieve the good of learning the language plus favorable attitudes toward learning the language That is, motivation to learn a second language is seen as referring to the extent to which the individual work or strives to learn the language because of a desire to so and the satisfaction experienced in this activity Many attitudes of the individual such as compulsiveness, desire to please a teacher or parents, or a high need to achieve might produce effort, as would social pressure, such as a demanding teacher, impending examinations, or the promise of a new bicycle As Nina Spada (1999:56) motivated learners are those who participate actively in class express interest in the subject and study hard If teachers can make classroom the places where learners enjoy coming and where the atmosphere is supportive and non-threatening, they can make a positive contribution to learners’ motivation to learn Garder and Lambert (1985) introduces two major types of motivation: Instrumental motivation and Integrative motivation, Resultative motivation and Intrinsic motivation Instrumental motivation: When learners need English as an instrument to reach a particular goal such as passing oral test, getting a good job with high salary and so on In this case, motivation is the reflection of an external need Integrative motivation: When learners internally want to integrate themselves into the culture of the target language (English) Resultative motivation: is known as the cause of achievement It also can be the result of learning The fact show that learners who experience success in learning may become more motivated to learn Intrinsic motivation: plays a significant role in most learners’ success or failure… To complete the task, they For them, what happens in the classroom will be of great importance in determining their attitudes to language and in supplying motivation Intrinsically autonomy and self-actualization whereas extrinsically motivated learners anticipate a reward from outside and beyond the self such as money, prize… To complete the task, they Therefore, it seems to be the problems that learners with different reasons will be differently motivated to learn the language Chapter two: An overview of English Teaching and Learning at Hai phong Foreign Languages Centre Hai Phong University Teachers and Their Background It can be said that HP FLC – HP U has been the largest and most famous centre in Hai Phong city because of good training quality and experienced and enthusiastic teachers At present, about 36 teachers are teaching at the centre, including both full-time teachers and part -time teachers of which 18 are fulltime teachers and the others are part-time ones These teachers have graduated from different universities in Vietnam Some have been trained at Hanoi National University, College of Foreign Languages Some have been trained at Hai Phong People Founded University and Hai Phong University and some are former teachers of Russian who have been trained from in-service training courses Although they come from different backgrounds, they have many things in common: enthusiasm of teaching, eagerness of learning experiences from experienced teachers and taking part in intensive and higher training courses Up to now, teachers have successfully gained Master degree, and other are preparing for their Master Thesis and will get Master degree at the end of 2007 which ups the number of Master degrees to 12 With the regular over 90 classes, the centre employs over 50 visiting teachers from other universities, colleges and high school teachers Learners and Their Background Like other Foreign Languages Centres, learners at HP FLC- HPU are of all ages and walks of life, including university or college learners, working- learners, school- learners and school children, which can be said to be one of difficult tasks and various challenges for teachers at HP- FLC They have reasons and purposes of learning English and their language knowledge and language competence are different The learners at the centre are aged from ten to forty or over, excluding children The centre has also English classes for children A large number of learners have ever learnt English rather long before while some of them have had at least years of English at secondary school, another years of English at High Secondary school Some only have had years of English at High Secondary school, and others have learnt English for special purpose at their Universities without being taught speaking skill or in other words, communication skill Some of them have never learnt English before Resources and Materials English levels at the centre consists of levels: Elementary, Pre-intermediate and Intermediate Unlike other Foreign Languages Centres in Hai Phong City, each course normally takes months, each course at HP FLC usually takes 10 months The main course books are three books of Streamline English (by Bernard Hartley and Peter Viney, 1982) used since late 1970s In 1980s, “Headway”, “Fact and Figure” and “Cause and Effect” have been added to promote reading skills and oral skills, “Let’s listen” and “Listen carefully” for listening Since 2005, another course book “Life Line” of levels: elementary, pre- 10 ... Figure 4: Factors affecting learners in speaking lessons The result in Figure shows that teachers’ English speaking affects a great deal to learners’ involvement in speaking lessons The number of... carried out an observation by attending some English speaking lessons at HP FLC Research Question What should teachers to maximize learners’ involvement in English speaking lessons? Significance... wishes to a research on ? ?How to maximize part-time students? ?? involvement in English speaking lessons? ” to help teachers and students better in their teaching and study Aims of the study Also, in