PART A: INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale
Foreign language teaching (FLT) at the secondary school level in Vietnam has
been granted increasing supports from educational authorities, regarding the demand of
Vietnamese young population for better means of communication with the world. The
most important issue in this field, which has presented various complicated problems for
generations of foreign language teachers in Vietnam as well as anywhere in the world, is the
adoption of an appropriate language teaching method.
Having been aware of this necessity, T high school as well as others in Ha !oi has
paid considerable attention to update teaching methodologies, which can be seen from the
year "##$ to date. T high school has been chosen to teach a pilot set of te%t&boo's then. (n
accordance with the new materials, teaching methods should also be changed. The most
effective approaches which have been applied at high schools are learner&centred instruction,
tas'ed&based language teaching and communicative language teaching. )f which, the last
approach is the main topic we would li'e to spend time researching on in this field, with its
application to teaching and studying spea'ing s'ill.
There are sound reasons for me to ta'e the application of *LT to spea'ing teaching into
consideration, rather than others. First of all, for some time, +nglish teaching in Vietnam
has been strongly influenced by the traditional methods. +mphasis has been placed on
the mastery of language structures rather than on how language is used. Teachers as
well as students are used to concentrating on grammatical items. ,tudents are as'ed to
translate or analy-e the te%t grammatically. Teachers usually spend most of the time in
class e%plaining the form of the language to students who were passive listeners. The
result of this 'ind of teaching and learning, of course, has been far from satisfactory.
That means that students might be structurally competent but communicatively
incompetent. They have encountered a lot of problems when dealing with +nglish in real
life. For e%ample, they find it difficult to understand and use +nglish intonation to
e%press surprise, admiration, or doubt. They are also not sure how to address people
properly in different situations. ,econd, recent political and economic developments in
Vietnam have stimulated the learners. interest in learning +nglish for communication. ,o
the need for communication in +nglish has changed from an emphasis on teaching
grammar to an emphasis on teaching communication. ,pea'ing s'ill nowadays plays a
much more important role in modem +nglish than ever before. Last but not least, the
/
new Ti0ng 1nh /# te%tboo' has 2ust been applied widely. (t has /3 units with interesting
topics. +very unit consists of 4 lessons5 6eading, Speaking, Listening, Writing, and a
Language Focus one. This boo' was designed with various learning tas's, the purpose of
which is to set up communicative situations for students to practise +nglish language.
Furthermore, the boo' focuses on learners. communicative competence without ignoring
learners. linguistic competence. (t is also accompanied with a great number of team wor' and
group wor' activities to develop students. communicative competence. 1nd students have
chances to listen to both native and non&native +nglish spea'ers from the tapes7 *8s
accompanied with the boo's.
For all the above mentioned reasons, ( would li'e to devote my time and effort to
investigating the current spea'ing teaching and learning situation at T high school
including teaching methods, difficulties faced by the teachers and students, facility9 then
finding out how *LT is applied to teaching spea'ing there. +specially, the study will
recommend suitable and specific communication activities for grade /# students. at T
high school : Hanoi to improve their spea'ing s'ill.
2. The Scope, Objectives, Sini!icance, "etho#s an# Desin o! the St$#%
2.1. The Scope of the Study
The study focuses on how to teach spea'ing communicatively to grade /# students at Tran
hu High school.
2.2 Objectives of the Study
The ob2ectives of the study are as follows5
To investigate the difficulties of teaching and learning spea'ing faced by the teachers
and students; the teachers. solutions to these difficulties; and the students. e%pectations.
To investigate how *LT is applied to teach spea'ing to grade /# students at T high
school in order to improve their spea'ing s'ill
To suggest some realistic and appropriate class teaching techni<ues and communicative
activities with a view to help teachers enhance their learners in spea'ing s'ill
2.3. Significance of the Study
This study plays a crucial role for enhancing teaching method of spea'ing to grade /#
students at T high school. (ts implemented recommendations will ma'e the application of
*LT at my school successful and effective.
2.4 Methods of the Study
The researcher collects information from all the teachers of +nglish who teach at T high
"
school. First, <uestionnaires are delivered to the teachers to investigate difficulties in
spea'ing that they face and solutions that should be implemented. =uestionnaires are
also delivered to the students to find out the students. attitudes to spea'ing learning,
difficulties confronted and solutions suggested by them. Then interviews are carried out to
implemented to increase the reliability of the obtained information and provide more
information relating to the teachers. method of teaching spea'ing. The combination of
information from interviews for teachers and <uestionnaires for both teachers and students
can help to draw a general picture about the application of *LT in teaching
spea'ing to non& grade /# students at T High school.
2.5. Design of the Study
The thesis consists of three parts.
Pa&t 1 is the introduction, which presents the rationales, the scope, the ob2ectives,
the method, significance and the design of the study.
Pa&t ' consists of three chapters5
Chapte ! deals with a historical overview of the literature. (t starts with the methods and
approaches used in teaching foreign languages including the grammar&translation, the
audio&lingual and the *LT. The ne%t is about using *LT in teaching spea'ing is dealt
with, including many issues such as problems with spea'ing and spea'ing activities,
principles for spea'ing techni<ues, spea'ing and communication activities, stages of a *LT
spea'ing lesson. The final is the review of some previous studies related to applying
*LT.
Chapte !! presents the methodology performed in the study. (t provides information
about the participants, the instrumentation and data analysis.
Chapte !!! discusses the data of the study and proposes some recommendations for applying
*LT in teaching spea'ing to grade /# students at T high school.
"at C is about the conclusion and suggestions for a further study

$
PART ': D()(*OP"(NT
C+APT(R 1: *IT(RATUR( R()I(,
I..1. App&oaches o! lan$ae teachin
I. 1. 1. The -&a..a&/T&anslation "etho#
The grammar& translation method is rooted in the formal teaching of Latin and >ree'. (t
was the dominant method until the end of the /?
th
century and has continued to be used in one
form or another until the present day. @ut it has long been Aout of fashionB. 1ccording to
6ichards and 6odgers (/?C35$), the principle characteristics of this method are as follows5
>rammar&Translation is a way of studying through detailed analysis of its grammar rules
and translations of sentences and te%ts into or out of the target language; reading and
writing are the ma2or focus; little or no systematic attention is paid to listening, and
spea'ing; vocabulary is taught through bilingual word lists, dictionary study, and
memori-ation; the sentence is the basic unit of teaching and practicing the language;
accuracy is emphasi-ed; grammar is taught deductively; the studentsD mother tongue is the
medium of instruction.
The >rammar&Translation method re<uires few resources and so it is easy to apply and
cheap to administer. 1nd the method is still used in many classroom situations where the class
is large, and where there are a lac' of teaching and learning facilities and e<uipment, and
where teachers can use Vietnamese to give instructions.
The >rammar&Translation method concerns itself primarily with the written language
of classical literature and ignores authentic spo'en communication and the social variation of
language. 6iver (/?C/5 $/) comments this method as follows5 EThere is much stress on
'nowing rules and e%ceptionsE and Elittle stress is laid on accurate pronunciation and
information; communication is neglectedE. That is to say, over&emphasis on rules and neglect
of communicative s'ills are seen as the main defects of the method. *onse<uently, students
learn rules of grammar and vocabulary without much feeling of progress in the mastery of the
target language, which cannot motivate them to learn of the target language because they have
little opportunity to e%press themselves through it. They 2ust learn what they have to learn
without any creativeness. The method creates frustration for students, for whom foreign
language learning is a tedious e%perience of memori-ation of new words and grammatical
rules, while it ma'es few demands on teachers. (6ichards and 6odgers, /?C35F).
I. 1. 2. The A$#i o/ l i n$al .etho#
The 1udio&lingual Gethod emanated in 1merica during Horld Har (( where there
was a need for people to learn foreign languages <uic'ly for military purposes. 6ivers
F
(/?3F5 /?) summari-es the principles of this method as follows5 Foreign language
learning is a process of mechanical habit formation. >ood habits are formed by giving
correct responses rather than ma'ing mista'es; language s'ills are learned more
effectively if the spo'en form is learned before the written form; analogy provides a
better foundation for language teaming than analysis. 8rills can enable learners to form
correct analogies.
The first and the most successful point of this method is to develop studentsD
listening comprehension and fluency in spea'ing in the target language. ,tudents are
encouraged by the sense of being able to use what they have learned very early.
The success or failure of this method depends largely on the <ualities of the teachers
and the availability of resources. The teacher must be a fluent spea'er as most of his7her
wor' is done orally in the target language. Furthermore, (s)he must be very resourceful
when presenting the lesson, that is to say, (s)he must vary his7her techni<ues to ma'e
learning more interesting and meaningful, otherwise, students might be bored with
mechanical repetition or be Ewell&trained parrotsE as commented on by 6ivers (/?C/5 FI)
and Ethe ob2ective is generally the mastery of sentence patterns rather than creative or
communicative use of languageE (@rumfit, /?C$5C). (n addition, native&spea'er&li'e
pronunciation is sought and the use of the students. native language is forbidden,
which seems to be impossible to most Vietnamese students especially to secondary
school ones.
I.1.0. Co..$nicative *an$ae Teachin .etho#
(n *LT, meaning is paramount. Hil'ins (/?I") classifies meaning into notional and
functional categories and views learning an ,L as ac<uiring the linguistic means to
perform different 'inds of functions. 1ccording to Larsen&Freeman(/?C35/$"), the
most obvious characteristic of *LT is that E 1lmost everything that is done is done with
communicative intentE. ,tudents use the language through communicative activities (e.g.
games, role&plays. and problem&solving tas's).
1ccording to Gorrow (in Johnson and Gorrow, /?C/), activities that are truly
communicative have three features5 information gap, choice, and feedbac'. 1n information
gap occurs when one person e%changes the information he has with the one who does not.
1nother characteristic of *LT is the introduction of authentic material. (n *LT, it is
considered desirable to give learners the opportunity to genuine communicative needs in
realistic L" situations so that they develop strategies for understanding language as
actually used by native spea'ers (*anale K ,wain, /?C#)
4
1lso, Eactivities in the *ommunicative 1pproach are often carried out by students
in small groupE (Larsen&Freeman, /?C3; /$"). ,tudents are e%pected to interact with
one another, either through pair and group wor' or in their writings (Finocchiaro K
@rumfit, /?C$). *LT favors interaction among small numbers of students in order to
ma%imi-e the time each student has to learn to negotiate meaning. Teachers therefore
select learning activities according to how well they engage the students in meaningful
and authentic language use rather than in the merely mechanical practice of language
patterns.
1nother dimension of *LT is Eits learner&centered and e%perience&based view ofD
second language teachingE (6ichards K6odgers, /?C3; 3?). 1ccording to *LT
theory, individual learners possess uni<ue interests. styles, needs, and goals that
&
should
be reflected in the design of instructional methods (,avignon, /?C$). Teachers are to
develop materials based on the demonstrated needs of a particular class. ,tudents must be
made to feel secure, unthreatened, and non&defensive in a *LT classroom, so teachers
using *LT should avoid adopting a teacher&centred, authoritarian posture (Taylor, /?C$)
Thus, Li (/?C?5 ?3I) summaries the characteristics of *LT in 3 categories as
follows5
/. a focus on communicative functions.
". a focus on meaningful tas's rather than on language form
$. efforts to ma'e tas's and language relevant to a target group of learners through an
analysis of genuine, realistic situations.
F. the use of authentic, from life materials
4. the use of group activities
3. the attempt to create a secure, non&threatening atmosphere.
*LT focuses on meaningful tas's rather than on language form, which helps heighten
learners. motivation in learning a language because they do not often concentrate their
mind on the sterile forms or grammatical items of the target language. )ne more fact is
that in *LT, the use of a variety of different 'inds of tas's is said to ma'e teaching and
learning more communicative since it provides a purpose for its own sa'e.
+fforts to ma'e tas's and language relevant to a target group of learners through an
analysis of genuine, realistic situations are another advantage of *LT because learners
can find the tas's and language relevant to them, appropriate to their needs.
1part from an analysis of genuine, realistic situations, tas's and language can be
made relevant to learners through the use of authentic, from&life materials, 1uthentic
3
materials help create opportunities for learners to be e%posed to ErealE language, the
language that is natural and popularly used by the society. The degree of learnersD
e%posure to real language can be said to positively influence their understanding of the
language being communicated in real life, thus enhance their ac<uisition and appropriate
production of the language.
*LT favors interaction among small numbers of learners with a purpose to
ma%imi-e the time each learner learns and uses language, shares information and
negotiate meaning. Through interaction learnersD learning e%perience can be modified,
many 'inds of learning strategies made aware and applied, and especially classrooms
move away from teacher&centredness to learner&centredness, which is an essential
element to raise learners. motivation in language learning. >roup wor', either in its
simplest form (pair wor') or in group of three or more, can promote learnersD
responsibility and self&governing. )ne more important advantage of group wor' has the
relationship with learners psychological factors5 group wor' lessens learnersD an%iety.
The last but not least strong point of *LT is that teachers are often aware of attempting
to create a secure, non&threatening atmosphere. Gany researchers and pedagogist consider
this attempt to be the first and most important wor' for teachers to do in *LT classes.
Traditional learning styles of listening and writing down as well as unfamiliarity with
communicative activities can ma'e learners an%ious or even ashamed of spea'ing with other
classmates. Learners may also be afraid that Eother classmates will thin' or comment about
their abilityE (@oc', "###5"4).
@eside the good points of *LT, it can cause some difficulties to teachers. 1ccording
to @oc'.s study ("###, page "F&$#) provides $ groups of difficulties5 difficulties from
students, difficulties from educational system and difficulties from teachers.
Concening difficu#ties fo$ students, @oc' states F specific problems5
L ,tudents lac' motivation for communicative competence because they seem to be
over&concerned with passing e%ams which rarely test for communicative competence.
L ,tudents show resistance to class participation and the reasons may come from
their an%iety, la-iness and unfamiliarity with communicative lessons.
L ,tudents use Vietnamese during group wor' and the sources of the difficulty are
also an%iety and unfamiliarity with *LT.
L ,tudents are of low +nglish proficiency.
%ith egad to difficu#ties fo$ educationa# syste$, @oc' cites $ specific factors5
L *onducive facilities are inade<uate (des's, chal'boards, missing lightbulbs9)
I
L *lass si-es are large ( more than F# students).
L *lasses are of multi&levels
&s to the difficu#ties fo$ teaches, @oc' mentions " main problems5
L Teachers feel inade<uate because they lac' training in *LT and e%perience in
implementing *LT.
L Teachers find it unable to assess communicative competence because they are
not given methods to assess communicative competence.
I.1.1. Concl$sion
(t is undeniable that the current trend of learning +nglish for communication is
popular. )f the above mentioned teaching methods, *LT is the most appropriate way
to teach students to communicate. The grammar&translation method focuses on
grammar, reading and writing, little or no systematic attention is paid to listening and
spea'ing, and learners. aim is to master the language not to use the language. 1s a
result, students cannot be able to communicate. The audio&lingual method has some
characteristics which are difficult for students in Vietnam to follow for e%ample5
!ative&spea'er&li'e pronunciation is sought, translation is forbidden at early levels,
the use of the student.s native language is forbidden9 Hhile, *LT stresses on
communicative functions and increases students. ability of using language and its
characteristics are applicable.
Gy minor thesis is about how to teach spea'ing communicatively. (n terms of
spea'ing s'ill, *LT is the most suitable method which should be applied because of its
characteristics. Goreover, *LT is considered the current dominant methodology and
one of the most effective approaches to teach learners to spea' in second language.
1ll the mentioned reasons e%plain why ( have decided to choose *LT not any other
method to teach spea'ing.
I.2. Usin C*T an# teachin spea2in.
I.2.1. P&oble.s 3ith spea2in an# spea2in activities.
I.2.1.1. P&oble.s 3ith spea2in.
@rown (/??F5"43) points out the characteristics of spo'en language that can ma'e
oral performance difficult as follows5
M *lusterings5 (n order to spea' fluently, spea'ers have to select from their store of
language clusterings, that is groups of words, not word by word.
M 6educed forms5 *ontractions, elisions, reduced vowels, etc create difficulties in
teaching and learning spo'en +nglish. (f learners do not learn collo<uial contractions,
C
they can develop the 'ind of spea'ing that is stilted, boo'ish.
M *ollo<uial language5 *ollo<uialism appears both in monologues and dialogues. (f
learners are only e%posed to standard +nglish and7or Ete%tboo'E language, they sometimes
find it difficult to understand and produce words, idioms and phrases of collo<uial
language.
,tress, rhythm and intonation5 Learners of +nglish often find it difficult to pronounce
+nglish words, to stress the right syllables, to follow the stress&timed rhythm and
intonation patterns of spo'en +nglish.
1ffective factors5 Learners learning to spea' often encounter the ris' of saying out
things that may be wrong, stupid and incomprehensible. 1t those times, they tend to be
an%ious because they do not want to be 2udged by other learners.
(nteraction The greatest difficulty that learners face in learning to spea' originates
from the interactive nature of most communication. +ngaged in process of negotiation
of meaning with many discourse constraints, learners have to do the comple% tas' of
choosing what to say, how to say, when to spea', etc.
I.2.1.2. P&oble.s 3ith spea2in activities.
*lassroom activities that develop learnersD ability to e%press themselves through speech
is an important component of a language course where *LT is applied. However, it is
more difficult to design and administer such activities than to do so for listening, reading
or writing . Teachers often come across the problems that Nr (/??35/"/) lists out5
(nhibition
Nnli'e reading, writing and listening activities, spea'ing re<uires some degree of real
time e%posure to an audience. Learners are often inhibited about trying to say something
in a foreign language in the classroom because they are worried about ma'ing mista'es,
fearful of criticism or losing face, or simply shy of the attention that their speech attracts.
!othing to say
Teachers often hear learners complain that they cannot thin' of anything to say.
They may have no motive to e%press themselves beyond the guilty feeling that they
should be spea'ing.
M Nneven or low participation5
)nly one participant can tal' at a time if he or she is to be heard. (n a large group,
this means that each one has only very little time for tal'ing. This problem is
compounded by the tendency of some learners to dominate the group, while others spea'
very little or not at all.
?
M Gother&tongue use5
Hhen all, or a number of the learners share the same mother tongue, they may tend to
use it. This happens because it is easier, because it feels unnatural to spea' to one
another in a foreign language and because learners feel less Ee%posedE if they are
spea'ing their mother tongue. (f they are tal'ing in a small group, it can be <uite
difficult to get some classes, particularly the less disciplined or motivated ones, to 'eep
to the target language.
)vercoming the above&mentioned problems to create a successful spea'ing activity
where learners tal' a lot, participation is even, motivation is high certainly re<uires a lot
of teachersD efforts in designing and carrying out spea'ing activities.
I.2.1.0. P&inciples !o& spea2in techni4$es.
,pea'ing techni<ues, if designed appropriately, give more opportunities for
learners to spea' accurately and fluently. However, designing an effective spea'ing
techni<ue re<uires e%perience and laborious wor'. @rown (/??F) suggests principles for
designing spea'ing techni<ues that teachers can base themselves on to have a thorough
and profound understanding of teaching spea'ing. His principles are as follows5
L Techni<ues should cover learnersD needs, from focus on accuracy to focus on
interaction, meaning and fluency5
(n teachersD effort to teach communicatively, they sometimes stress content&based
interactive activities and ignore grammatical pointers or pronunciation. Teachers should ma'e
sure that classroom tas's include techni<ues to help learners to perceive and use the building
bloc's of language. However, teachers should ma'e drillings as meaningful as possible
and avoid boring learners with lifeless, repetitious drillings.
LTechni<ues should be intrinsically motivating5
Teachers should try to appeal to learnersD ultimate goals and interests, to their
need for 'nowledge , for status. Teachers should also help learners see how activities
benefit them by telling them why teachers organi-e those activities.
LTechni<ues should encourage the use of authentic language in meaningful conte%ts5
1s mentioned in *LT characteristics of meaningful tas's and authentic materials,
the use of authentic language in meaningful conte%ts can help learners ac<uire language
necessary for future use and also help motivate learners.
Lrovide appropriate feedbac' and correction5
(n most +FL situations, learners are totally dependent on teachers for useful
linguistic feedbac'. (t is important that teachers ta'e advantage of their 'nowledge of
/#
+nglish to produce the 'inds of corrective feedbac' that are appropriate at the moment.
L*apitali-e on the natural lin' between spea'ing and listening5
Teachers should integrate these two s'ills because many interactive techni<ues that
involve spea'ing also include listening and these two s'ills can reinforce each other.
,'ills in producing language is often initiated through comprehension.
L >ive learners opportunities to initiate oral communication5
Teachers should allow learners to initiate language because parts of oral
communication competence is the ability to initiate conversation, to nominate topics ,
to as' <uestions, to control conversations and to change the sub2ect.
L +ncourage the development of spea'ing strategies5
Teachers should ma'e the classroom the place for learners to be aware of and
have a chance to practise their personal strategies for accomplishing oral
communicative purposes.
I.2.1.5. Spea2in activities.
Gany researchers discuss classroom activities and a lot of activities are designed
based on the theory and characteristics of *LT.
6ichards
&
and 6odgers (/?C35/34) discuss that the range of e%ercise types and
activities with a communicative approach is unlimited, provided that such e%ercises and
activities enable learners to attain the communicative ob2ectives of the curriculum,
engage learners in communication and re<uire the use of such communicative processes
as information sharing, negotiation of meaning, and interaction.
I.2.1.5.1. Cont&olle# co..$nication activities !o& .eanin an# !l$enc%.
Olippel (/?CF), 8off (/?CC) and Harmer (/??C) plan out a lot of communicative
activities and games which can help learners achieve some degree of communicative
efficiency competence.
Gost popular controlled communicative ones are 5
L guessing games
L describing and drawing games,
L discussion games with materials, pieces or slips of paper with provided
information, stories, advertisements, and so on .
L ran'ing +%ercises
L ,tory telling (>ive students a cartoon or set of pictures which shows a story
or se<uence of events. Have the student tell the story.)
L information >aps.
//
L icture 8escription (rovide an interesting picture for the class or each group
of students and as' them <uestions about it.)
L *hain recording (@egin a story and as' the students, one at a time, to add
creatively to it. 6ecord what each says on cassette tape.)
L ,trip stories
L (nterviews
L Gime ,tories
I.2.1.5.2. 6&ee co..$nication activities !o& .eanin an# !l$enc%.
L6ole&play
attison (/?CI53$) considers that most communication practices in the average
foreign language classroom involve an element of role&play because the spea'ers
pretend that the foreign language is their only means of communication. (n his
definition, role&play may involve assuming a partly or wholly different persona, and7or
pretending to be in a different situation.
(t cannot be denied that role&play is useful for enhancing learnersD spea'ing s'ills.
The <uestion is how to manage this valuable activity appropriately and successfully.
L 8iscussion activities
8iscussion activities help learners practise what they have learnt, find ways to
achieve ob2ectives such as solving a problem, ran'ing ob2ects, procedures, and so on.
Through discussion, learners can also develop conversational s'ills such as how to ta'e
turns, to change the topic of conversion, to interrupt someone politely and so on.
8iscussion in small groups also have some of the advantages as it does in role&play
activities such as putting shy learners to ease to feel li'e spea'ing , giving more
opportunities for learners to spea', ma'ing learners more aware of their responsibility to
the group success.
(n general, teachers should emphasi-e the importance of organi-ing activities.
Factors such as learnersD interest, maturity and e%perience of learning and life should be
paid enough attention to.
(n summary, the activities presented in this section do not cover all the activities that
teachers apply in the classroom. However, communicative games, role&plays and discussions
can be e%ploited to cover other spea'ing activities such as interviewing, tal'ing about
yourself, problem&solving tas's so on.
I.0. Staes o! a C*T spea2in lesson
1ccording to Gethodology course /& Teaching The ,'ills (Hanoi "##") age F"&F$, a
/"
*LT spea'ing lesson should have three stages5 pre, while and post.
The "e'spea(ing stage
This stage prepares students by getting them to thin' about the topic or situation before
they spea' about it. re&spea'ing tas's can be brainstorming or discussion tas's, where students
collect all their ideas on the topic; vocabulary preparation tas's, where the teacher pre&teaches
'ey vocabulary to help students e%press their ideas more easily or train students with
pronunciation drill so that they can spea' +nglish in good stress and intonation and this will
help them spea' out their ideas in +nglish easily and fluently. (n this stage, the teacher will have
to set up a pre tas', organi-e pair7group wor' and give clear instructions about the tas'.
The )hi#e'spea(ing stage
1t this stage the teacher lets students wor' with each other without interfering with
correcting any mista'es in order not to stop students from being influent. ,he7 he 2ust gives
assistance when7if necessary. 1t the while&spea'ing stage, the teacher doesn.t have to do a lot
of teaching : because his7her students will be wor'ing on the while&tas' by themselves,
individually or in groups. (n stead, the teacher will have to do a lot of monitoring and assisting
wea'er students who are having difficulty completing the tas'.
The post'spea(ing stage
The post&spea'ing stage is li'e the follow&up stage. 1fter students have practised
spea'ing s'ill in the while&spea'ing stage, they do an e%tension spea'ing activity. This helps
students ta'e the information from other groups or whatever they have produced in the while&
spea'ing stage, and do something meaningful with it. 1t this stage, the teacher gets students
to report their wor' and let the whole class share what they have got from pair7group wor'.
The teacher might give feed bac', correct serious mista'es here and give students mar's.
I.5. P&evio$s st$#ies &elate# to appl%in C*T
Gany research wor's and studies on the application of *LT to teaching +nglish.
(n Vietnam, many research wor's )n *LT such as AGight *LT successfully applicable
in Vietnam, especially in the +nglish departmentB carried out by To Thu Huong, Hoang
Puan Hoa and Tran Hien Lan ("##4), ADy bn k nng theo ng hng giao
tipB implemented by Tran Hien Lan or @oc'.study ("###).
@asing on the previous research wor's, my research intends to investigate what
difficulties the teachers and students at T high school have in teaching spea'ing s'ill, how
*LT is applied to teaching spea'ing, and then suggest possible spea'ing techni<ues and
activities to help students improve their spea'ing s'ill.
C+APT(R II: T+( STUD7
/$
II.1. The (nlish teachin an# lea&nin sit$ations at TP hih school
II.1.1. Desc&iption o! the st$#ents at TP hih school
The ma2ority of high school students in Hanoi en2oy an education in which +nglish
has been a compulsory sub2ect since they were lower&secondary /
st
grade. This means by the
time they go to high school, they have at least 4 or more years of e%perience in +nglish.
The level of +nglish for grade /# students is targeted at pre&intermediate level though a
few actually reach the standard. 1s their lower&secondary years were spent with the old te%t
boo's and the grammar translation method, most students are, to some e%tent, good at
grammar, but bad at listening and spea'ing the target language. They can do written
e%ercises on +nglish grammar accurately but they can hardly communicate in +nglish.
Nsing +nglish to communicate is a big challenge for most of them who thin' that
learning a foreign language means learning grammatical rules or a list of irregular
verbs. 1s a result, they either 'eep silence all the time or do not participate in the
spea'ing activities.
However students at T high school have a better learning ability than those from
many other schools, which is 2ustified by passing the entrance test with the high mar's
re<uired for admission of the school.
II.1.2. Desc&iption o! the teache&s at TP hih school
The teachers are the most important factors in the process of teaching and learning a target
language. To carry out this process properly, the teachers need to have good e%perience of
teaching and understanding of the syllabus. 1t T high school, there are /" teachers of
+nglish but only one of them has ever been to an +nglish spea'ing country. Three of them
have been trained in the in&service training courses. They used to be the teachers of 6ussian
so they have certain limitations in terms of communicative competence in the target language.
Gethodologically, the teachers at T high school are familiar with traditional language
teaching. However, most of them have a great desire to ac<uire 'nowledge of the
communicative competence and claim to apply it to their teaching of +nglish.
II.1.0. Settins o! the st$#%
E,ettingE refers to the classroom arrangements specified or implied in the tas' of the
lesson, and it also re<uires consideration of whether the tas' is to be carried out wholly or
partly outside the classroom (see 8ung, /???). @ut at T high school, instructions, learning
and teaching activities are mostly carried out in the classroom. Gost of the lessons are
developed in such a fi%ed condition that the teachers find it difficult to ma'e a change in
/F
applying new ideas to language teaching.
& The class si-e5 There are F4 students in each class. (t is not easy to carry out a
communicative tas' in a mi%ed&ability and large class. The focus on creating a
communicative environment also means that there is a lot of unavoidable noise in the
classroom. Though this noise is claimed to be positive and necessary for a communicative
classroom, it affects the learning of ne%t&door classes.
& The school has one language lab with one overhead pro2ector, one L*8 pro2ector, one
lap top , F# computers, one television and one video and 3 cassette recorders for /" teachers,
but the teachers hardly use them as teaching aids e%cept cassette recorders because of two
reasons5 First, these teaching aids are not enough if many classes are in need. ,econd, most of
the teachers are not used to using and e%ploiting modern teaching visual aids such as L*8
pro2ectors, lap top or computers 9
& Gaterials5 Gaterials for reference and self&study are not available. There is a library at
the school but there are not many +nglish boo's for reference. Gost of the boo's here are for
students only. +nglish newspapers and maga-ines, which are good sources of current target
language, are not available.
& 1ll of the classrooms are designed for lecture lessons. (t means that the seats are
arranged orderly in front of the teacher in rows and a classroom e<uipment is 2ust a
chal'board and a cassette recorder.
II.2. Resea&ch .etho#olo%
II.2.1. S$bjects
Two <uestionnaires were designed for /" teachers and /## students of grade /# from 4
classes (/#1", /#1$, /#1F, /# @" and /# @$) at T high school to get information to fulfill
the aims of the study. )f /" teachers, " have a master degree, I graduated from *ollege for
teachers of foreign languages and the rest graduated from in&service courses. They are aged
from $$ to 4". Their e%perience of teaching +nglish is from C years to "C years. )f ""4 grade
/# students from 4 normal classes, /## were randomly selected to answer the <uestionnaire.
1part from the two <uestionnaires, interviews for 3 teachers were also carried out.
The <uestionnaire for /" teachers aimed at collecting information about their age, their
e%perience of teaching +nglish, and their awareness of *LT. @esides, the <uestionnaire is also
aimed at investigating the teachers. techni<ues of spea'ing, their difficulties in teaching
+nglish communicatively, and their solutions to the difficulties.
The <uestionnaire for /## grade /# students tends to survey on the students. e%perience
of learning +nglish before entering T high school, their attitude to learning +nglish in
/4
general and spea'ing in particular, the students. need for e%tra spea'ing activities in class and
the communicative activities they are often involved in. Gore importantly, the <uestionnaire
will discover the problems the students have coped with when they learn spea'ing s'ill and
their own suggestions for better spea'ing learning and teaching.
(nterviews for F teachers will be implemented to increase the reliability of the obtained
information and provide more information relating to the teachers. method of teaching
spea'ing.
II.2.2. S$&ve% Inst&$.ents
II.2.2.1. 8$estionnai&e !o& the st$#ents
The <uestionnaire for students includes ? <uestions written in Vietnamese. (t too' "
wee's to deliver and collect /## copies of the <uestionnaire (see appendi% 1).
The <uestionnaire are about
- The students. e%perience in learning +nglish (=uestions /,")
- The students. attitude to learning spea'ing +nglish (=uestions $, F, 4)
- The students. evaluation of an +nglish spea'ing lesson (=uestions 3)
- The students. difficulties in learning spea'ing (=uestions I)
- The students. need for e%tra spea'ing activities in class (=uestions C)
- ,pea'ing activities done by the students in class (=uestions ?)
- The students. suggestions for better spea'ing teaching and learning (=uestions /#)
II.2.2.2. 8$estionnai&e !o& the teache&s
The <uestionnaire for the teachers consists of /$ <uestions to collect information focusing
on the following categories5 (see appen#i9 ').
- Their teaching e%perience (=uestions /, ")
- Teachers. opinions on *LT (=uestions $,F)
- 8ifficulties confronted by the teachers in their teaching of +nglish at T high school.
(=uestion 4)
- *urrent spea'ing techni<ues applied to teaching spea'ing s'ill (=uestion 3, I,C,?, /#,//)
- *ommunicative activities applied by the teacher in a spea'ing lesson (=uestion /")
- Their suggestions for better spea'ing teaching. (=uestion /$)
The /" copies of the <uestionnaire delivered to the teachers within " wee's have been all
responded.
II.2.2.0. the inte&vie3
1long with the survey <uestionnaires, the interview is a supplementary instrument which
is used to increase the reliability of the obtained information and provide more information
/3
relating to the teachers. method of teaching spea'ing. )f /" teachers, F were selected5 " are the
best teachers and the rest are the least able teachers. The " best teachers and the " least able
ones will be interviewed to find the gap of 'nowledge and ability between them and then
understand the real situation of teaching spea'ing s'ill at T high school.
II. 0. P&esentation o! statistical &es$lts
II.0.1. 8$estionnai&e
II.0.1 1. 8$estionnai&e !o& the st$#ents
The /## copies of the <uestionnaire delivered to the students have been responded. The
data are analy-ed in this part of the study in the following tables which show se<uences of the
responses for the <uestions available in the <uestionnaire.
II.0.1. 1.1. The st$#ents: bac2&o$n# o! !o&ein lan$aes be!o&e ente&in TP hih
school.
Cateo&ies ;
,tudents learned +nglish ?"Q
,tudents learned French CQ
,tudents have learned +nglish for I years C4Q
,tudents have learned +nglish for F years /4Q
,tudents have never spo'en +nglish to foreigners I$Q
,tudents sometimes spea' +nglish to foreigners ""Q
,tudents usually spea' +nglish to foreigners CQ
Tab#e 1: St$#ents: bac2&o$n# o! !o&ein lan$aes be!o&e ente&in TP hih
school.
*uestion 1 relates to the students. bac'ground of +nglish before their study at T high
school. The results are presented as follows5
1s can be seen in the above table, most of the students had learned +nglish before they
entered T high school accounting for ?"Q while only CQ of the students had learned French.
!ormally, when students are in grade /#, they have already studied +nglish for I years.
Therefore C4Q of the students have been learning +nglish for I years, /4Q for F years Gost
Vietnamese students find it <uite difficult to communicate with foreigners in +nglish. That is
the reason why I$Q of the students have never spo'en +nglish to foreigners, ""Q sometimes
spea' +nglish to foreigners and only CQ usually do.
II.0.1.1.2. The st$#ents: attit$#e to (nlish lea&nin an# spea2in s2ill
*uestions 3+ 4+ 5 deal with the students. attitude to learning +nglish in general and
spea'ing s'ill in particular. The following table shows the results.
St$#ents: attit$#e to (nlish lea&nin an# spea2in s2ill ;
Learning +nglish does not benefit them, it is 2ust a compulsory sub2ect. "/Q
/I
Learning +nglish at least helps them to get good mar's in the e%ams. 3#Q
Learning +nglish enables them to read boo's, newspapers9 and listen to
music in +nglish.
4$Q
Learning +nglish enables them to communicate with foreigners $FQ
Learning +nglish enables them to broaden their 'nowledge about the
world around.
$#Q
Learning +nglish creates opportunities to go abroad for study. F4Q
)f the F +nglish s'ills, spea'ing is the most difficult F"Q
,pea'ing s'ill is <uite difficult. F?Q
,pea'ing s'ill is normal. 3Q
,pea'ing s'ill is not difficult. $Q
,pea'ing s'ill is very important to them CQ
,pea'ing s'ill is a bit important to them /$Q
,pea'ing s'ill is normal to them 3FQ
,pea'ing s'ill is not important to them at all. /4Q
Tab#e 2: St$#ents: attit$#e to lea&nin (nlish in ene&al an# spea2in s2ill in pa&tic$la&
1ccording to the statistics of table ", 3#Q of the students as'ed learn +nglish to get good
mar's in the e%ams. 4$Q of the students learn +nglish to listen to music. 1bout $"Q of the
students consider +nglish as a means of communication with foreigners and nearly the same
percentage of the students ($#Q) want to broaden their 'nowledge of the world around through
+nglish. F4Q of the students are trying to learn +nglish to have opportunities to go abroad for
study. "/Q find +nglish unprofitable and a compulsory sub2ect at school only.
)f F +nglish s'ills, spea'ing is the most difficult for F" Q of the students. F? Q thin' that
spea'ing s'ill is <uite difficult. 1 few students find it easy to learn spea'ing s'ill; 3 Q agree that
spea'ing s'ill is normal and only $Q believe that spea'ing s'ill is not difficult.
1lthough spea'ing s'ill is <uite difficult for these students, its importance is not ta'en into
consideration. Hhen 3FQ of the students as'ed said that spea'ing s'ill was normal to them
while only CQ found the importance of it and /$Q thought that spea'ing s'ill was a bit
important to them. )f the /## participants, /4 students don.t li'e spea'ing +nglish so it is not
important to them at all.
II.0.1.1.0. The st$#ents: eval$ation o! thei& (nlish spea2in lessons
*uestion 4 helps to find out the students. evaluation of their +nglish spea'ing lessons.
4I7/## students find that their +nglish spea'ing lessons are normal (nothing special). (t
means that their teachers have not prepared carefully enough or paid much attention to the
spea'ing lessons. +ven, "FQ of the students are not interested in +nglish spea'ing lessons
because they are boring and sleepy. However, /?7/## students en2oy +nglish spea'ing lessons
because they li'e all the spea'ing activities provided by their teachers. Gore importantly, they
can follow and understand the spea'ing activities.
II.0.1.1.5. The st$#ents: #i!!ic$lties in lea&nin spea2in
/C
*uestion , is about the difficulties faced by the students in learning spea'ing.
The #i!!ic$lties !ace# b% the st$#ents ;
( get embarrassed if people laugh at me when ( ma'e mista'es in spea'ing I4Q
( don.t have enough vocabulary, ideas, and 'nowledge relating to the
spea'ing topic.
C/Q
( lac' time for spea'ing preparation. I4Q
There are too many students in a class F$Q
( am not used to spea'ing out my ideas. 4/Q
( find it difficult to e%press my opinions in +nglish. C/Q
Gy teacher.s instructions and e%planation for spea'ing tas's are not clear
enough.
4IQ
The class is noisy so ( can.t hear everything clearly. "$Q
The teacher seldom uses visual teaching aids to teach spea'ing. I3Q
)ther difficulties
Tab#e 35 The st$#ents: #i!!ic$lties in lea&nin spea2in
The data in table $ show that the most serious problem to the students is lac' of
vocabulary, ideas, and 'nowledge relating to the spea'ing topic (C/Q of the students have this
problem). I4Q of the students as'ed said that they were afraid of ma'ing mista'es when
spea'ing +nglish. 4/Q are not used to spea'ing in front of many people. ,pea'ing s'ill is
<uite difficult to most of the students but I4Q do not have enough time to prepare for spea'ing
activities. The noisy class causes difficulty to "$Q of the students. ,ometimes the students.
difficulties come from the teachers. I3Q said that their teachers seldom used teaching aids in
teaching spea'ing. @esides, 4IQ complained that the teachers. instructions and e%planation for
spea'ing tas's were not clear enough to them.
II.0.1.1.1. The st$#ents: nee# !o& e9t&a spea2in activities in class
Hhen as'ed about the need for e%tra spea'ing activities in class, 3C Q of the students
want to ta'e part in various spea'ing activities fre<uently to improve their spea'ing s'ill. They
point out that apart from the tas's in the te%tboo', more other tas's should be designed for
students to practise and to ma'e spea'ing lessons more effective and interesting. The teacher
has to help his7her students finish all the things re<uired or things she7he found not suitable for
the students so "/Q of the students believe that sometimes e%tra spea'ing activities are
needed. +ven //Q of the students thin' that tas's in the te%tboo' are enough for them. (n their
opinion, these tas's are various and <uite difficult so they do not have enough time to do other
supplementary ones.
II.0.1.1.<. Spea2in activities #one b% the st$#ents in class
Spea2in activities #one b% the st$#ents in class ;
6ole play F#Q
6epetition /##Q
/?
,tructure&based activities /##Q
=uestion&and answer e%changes /##Q
8iscussing in pairs and groups 3#Q
icture description "#Q
,trip stories "#Q
roblem solving F#Q
Topic&based discussion "#Q
Free tal's "#Q
6ound&table discussion #Q
*ompleting dialogues C#Q
)rdering 7 6earrangement "#Q
(nterview "#Q
>ames7 songs "#Q
Gime stories #Q
(nformation gap "#Q
)ther spea'ing activities
Tab#e 45 Spea2in activities #one b% the st$#ents in class
The data in table F show us some information about spea'ing activities and techni<ues
used at T high school. The spea'ing activities which are done by /##Q of the students, are
repetition, structure&based activities, <uestion&and answer e%changes. C#Q practise completing
dialogues in spea'ing lessons. These activities are easy for teachers to prepare and easy
enough for students to do. 8iscussing in pairs and groups are approved by 3#Q, problem
solving and role&play by F#Q. ,ome communicative spea'ing activities such as picture
description, information gap, interview, topic&based discussion, strip stories, free tal's and
games7 songs used by teachers made up "#Q. Gime stories and round&table discussion are
never used.
II.0.1.1.=. The st$#ents: s$estions !o& bette& spea2in teachin an# lea&nin
*uestion - is to as' the students for their suggestions for better spea'ing teaching and
learning. The results are presented as follows
The statistics point out that to improve and encourage the students to spea' +nglish, the
teachers should provide them with more spea'ing opportunities in class and enough visual aids
for spea'ing activities are necessary to ma'e spea'ing lessons more interesting and effective
(suggested by ?#7/## informants). Ta'ing part in communicative spea'ing activities regularly
and enthusiastically help them improve their spea'ing s'ill. That is why C4Q e%pect their
teachers to vary and provide them with suitable communicative spea'ing activities. (n addition
to suitable communicative spea'ing activities, teachers. methods are very important. C"Q of
the students want their teachers to apply suitable teaching methods to their language level.
1bout the teaching methods, 3#Q said teaching materials should be suitable for their language
level and 3"Q believed that teaching syllabus should be reasonable. 1lthough the students
"#
e%pect efforts from their teachers, they themselves reali-e that they have to try their best in
study. I#Q thin' that they should participate in communicative spea'ing activities in +nglish
whenever they have chance.
II.0.1.2. 8$estionnai&e !o& the teache&s
II.0.1.2.1. Thei& teachin e9pe&ience
8$estion 1 focuses on the teachers. ages. 8$estion 2 is about the teachers. e%perience of
teaching +nglish. The results are shown in the following tables.
1ge Q
$$&F# /IQ
F/& F4 $$Q
F3&4# $$Q
R 4# /IQ
Sears of teaching Q
C& /" $$Q
/$& /? 4#Q
"#& "C /IQ
Tab#e ,5 The teaches. e/peience of teaching
Tab#e 55 The teaches. ages
(t can be seen in table 3 that teachers of +nglish at T high school are of different ages.
The teachers aged from F/ to 4# ma'e up 33Q. only /IQ of the teachers as'ed are above 4#
and /IQ are between $# and F#. The data show that the teachers here are mainly in the middle
age with <uite a lot of living e%perience as well as teaching e%perience.
1ccording to the data collected in table I, 4#Q have from /$& /? years of teaching
e%perience (4#Q). $$Q have e%perience of teaching from C to /" years. The rest have from "#
to "C years. (t is concluded that the teaching staff are <uite e%perienced in their profession.
II.0.1.2.2. Teache&s: opinions on C*T
8$estion 5 discovers how the teachers are aware of the characteristics of *LT
Teache&s: opinions on C*T ;
*LT emphasi-es language functions more than form. "4Q
*LT creates a lot of opportunities for students to communicate. /##Q
*LT always emphasi-es on both fluency and accuracy. /IQ
*LT creates a secure, non&threatening atmosphere in the classroom. /IQ
*LT uses authentic materials. C#Q
(n *LT, language items are necessarily conte%tuali-ed. C#Q
Translation may be used where students need or benefit from it ?#Q
The final goal of *LT is students. communicative competence. C#Q
8rilling may occur, but peripherally. $#Q
Learners can wor' on four s'ills from the beginning. "$Q
*omprehensible pronunciation is sought $#Q
)thers5
Tab#e 05 Teache&s: opinions on C*T
1ccording to the data of table C, most of the teachers. 'nowledge of *LT is not
sufficient because the percentage of correct answers about *LT is not high. )nly "7/" teachers
as'ed (/IQ) agree that *LT creates a secure, non&threatening atmosphere in the classroom,
"/
that *LT always emphasi-es both fluency and accuracy. 1ccording to *LT four s'ills can
be taught from the very begin but only "$Q approve of that characteristic of *LT. 1nd
"4Q thin' *LT emphasi-es language functions more than form. $#Q believed that
comprehensible pronunciation is sought. The same percentage of the teachers ($#Q)
drilling may occur, but peripherally. However the teachers have right understanding of
some characteristics of *LT, for e%ample, C#Q of the teachers pointed out that *LT uses
authentic materials, that in *LT, language items are necessarily conte%tuali-ed, and that the
final goal of *LT is students. communicative competence. ?#Q are sure that translation
may be used where students need or benefit from it, so that their students can improve their
spea'ing +nglish. +ven /##Q agreed that *LT creates a lot of opportunities for students to
communicate. Gost of the teacher had these correct choices because they are clearly
referred to communicative concept.
II.0.1.2.0. Di!!ic$lties con!&onte# b% the teache&s in thei& teachin at TP hih school.
*uestion 5
Di!!ic$lties in teachin spea2in ;
LearnerDs low +nglish proficiency /##Q
Gi%ed&ability class 3IQ
Too large class 4CQ
Lac' of authentic teaching materials 4#Q
,tudentsD negative attitude to learning spea'ing C#Q
,tudentsD preference of spea'ing Vietnamese in class /##Q
,tudentsD uneven participation in class activities /##Q
Sour lac' of strategic and sociolinguistic competence in +nglish 4#Q
Nsing modern visual teaching aids in teaching spea'ing C#Q
)thers
Tab#e 15 Di!!ic$lties con!&onte# b% the teache&s in thei& teachin at TP hih school.
1s can be seen in table ?, all the mentioned difficulties have been e%perienced by the
teachers at T high school at different levels. The most difficulties faced by /##Q of the
teachers are learnerDs low +nglish proficiency, studentsD preference of using Vietnamese in
an +nglish class and studentsD uneven participation in class activities. The teachers
complained that their students are not used to e%pressing their ideas in +nglish because of
personalities and low +nglish proficiency so they often spea' Vietnamese whenever they
can. The ne%t difficulties which prevent C#Q of the teachers from teaching spea'ing lesson
successfully are studentsD negative attitude to learning spea'ing and using modern visual aids
in teaching spea'ing. Hhen the students do not li'e +nglish and reali-e its importance in their
studies, they learn it as a compulsory sub2ect. To change students. attitude to learning
spea'ing, they want to apply modern teaching aids to teaching spea'ing so that their spea'ing
lessons will become more interesting and effective. However they find it difficult to use
""
modern visual teaching aids such as computers, L*8 pro2ectors and laptops or they have no
time to prepare their teaching plans on power point slides. (n addition, mi%ed&ability class is
a problem to 3IQ of the teachers. The rest difficulties confronted by the teachers are too large
class (4CQ), lac' of authentic teaching materials (4#Q) and your lac' of strategic and
sociolinguistic competence in +nglish (4#Q).
II.0.1.2.5. Teache&s: sol$tions to thei& #i!!ic$lties in teachin spea2in s2ill
*uestion , aims at e%ploring the teacher.s solutions to mi%ed ability class
Sol$tions to .i9e#/abilit% class ;
)rgani-e activities for the general level of the class but with
preparation for good learners.
4#Q
>ive more help to the less able learners. ?"Q
+ncourage collaborative wor' from learners. /##Q
*ontrol learners who disrupt the lesson. /IQ
1s' learners to wor' at different aspects of the same tas'. $$Q
1s' learners to wor' on different tas's according to their language
levels, needs, and interests.
"4Q
1llocate easy <uestions to the less able or less confident students
and more difficult ones to the more able ones.
C#Q
raise wea'er learners more often. 4CQ
>ive open&ended <uestions that allow wea'er students to give their
answers too.
/##Q
Vary activities for students. choice. $$Q
)rgani-e pair wor' and group wor' including good and bad learners. 3IQ
)thers5
Tab#e -5 Teache&s: sol$tions to .i9e#/abilit% class
The data in table /# show that all the teachers (/##Q) favored giving open&ended
<uestions that allow wea'er students to give their answers too and encouraging collaborative
wor' from learners. @ut in fact, how to encourage collaborative wor' from learners is not
easy to all the teachers. (n a mi%ed&ability class, the less able learners have difficulty catching
up with the more able ones so ?"Q of the teachers chose to give more help to the less able
learners and C#Q allocated easy <uestions to the less able or less confident students and more
difficult ones to the more able ones. +ven 4CQ decided to praise wea'er learners more often to
encourage them to spea' +nglish. 3IQ believe that they need to organi-e pair wor' and group
wor' including good and bad learners. Half of the teachers agreed that they should organi-e
activities for the general level of the class but with preparation for good learners. The
solutions which were chosen by a small number of the teachers are varying activities
for students. choice ($$Q), as'ing learners to wor' at different aspects of the same tas'
($$Q),as'ing learners to wor' on different tas's according to their language levels, needs,
and interests ("4Q), and controlling learners who disrupt the lesson (/IQ).
*uestion 0 is about the teacher.s solutions to learners. poor spo'en +nglish.
"$
Sol$tions to lea&ne&s: poo& spo2en (nlish. ;
@rainstorm ideas before spea'ing activities. 4#Q
,elect and organi-e communicative activities relevant to your
students. language level.
F"Q
+licit necessary vocabulary for the coming spea'ing activity. 3IQ
re&teach 'ey language (words, structures) for spea'ing activities. /##Q
Treat learners with enthusiasm, understanding and patience. /##Q
>ive students clear instructions about what they are re<uired in
the spea'ing activity.
/##Q
)rgani-e controlled oral drill and practice for accuracy before
giving students creative spea'ing activities.
C#Q
>ive learners chances to prepare and allow time for preparation. /##Q
Teach students spea'ing strategies (e.g. as'ing for clarification,
for repetition, etc).
/IQ
,ometimes use Vietnamese for giving instructions and
organi-ing group7pair wor'.
4#Q
8emonstrate, not e%plain the spea'ing activities given to students. #Q
>o round the class and give help to students if necessary. /##Q
)thers5
Tab#e 125 Sol$tions to lea&ne&s: poo& spo2en (nlish.
The data in table /# reveal that the solutions to learners. poor spo'en +nglish which
are preferred most by /##Q of the teachers are pre&teaching 'ey language (words,
structures) for spea'ing activities, giving students clear instructions about what they
are re<uired in the spea'ing activity, giving learners chances to prepare and allow time
for preparation, treating learners with enthusiasm, understanding and patience, and
going round the class and giving help to students if necessary. These solutions are necessary
and easy enough for the teachers to implement so all of the teachers chose them. To help
students spea' better, C#Q decided to organi-e controlled oral drill and practice for
accuracy before giving students creative spea'ing activities because they thought
that their students couldn.t follow up creative spea'ing activities at the early stage.
(n addition, eliciting necessary vocabulary for the coming spea'ing activity is a very
important step in teaching spea'ing. However, not all the teachers (3IQ) chose this
solution. Half and little less than half of the teachers (4#Q and F"Q) suggested
brainstorming ideas before spea'ing activities, sometimes using Vietnamese for
giving instructions and organi-ing group7pair wor', and selecting and organi-ing
communicative activities relevant to your students. language level. /I Q agreed that
they should teach students spea'ing strategies (e.g. as'ing for clarification, for
repetition, etc). Gost of the teachers did not thin' this way was necessary. )nly
demonstrating, not e%plain the spea'ing activities given to students is a new teaching way in
T high school. This solution cannot be carried out here because the students. language level
"F
have not met this re<uirement. For these reasons, no teachers chose it.
*estion 1 refers to the teachers. solution to motivating and encouraging students to
participate in spea'ing activities.
Sol$tion to .otivatin an# enco$&ain st$#ents to pa&ticipate in
spea2in activities
;
Vary communicative activities. $$Q
>ive interesting topics. /IQ
Nse interesting authentic materials (songs, films with subtitles, games,
etc).
/IQ
,how your confidence and e%perience in teaching in the
communicative way.
4#Q
+%ploit real events, opportunities for short, spontaneous conversations. $$Q
1nticipate problems that might arise and prepare solutions to ensure
great success.
4CQ
>ive encouraging and positive correction and feedbac' on your
learners. mista'es.
/##Q
>ive positive mar's for your students. participation. /##Q
8o not overwhelm learners with too much presentation of material
before spea'ing.
C#Q
*reate language atmosphere. F"Q
)thers5
Tab#e 115 Sol$tions to .otivatin an# enco$&ain st$#ents to pa&ticipate in spea2in
activities.
Hhen the solutions to learners. low motivation of participating in spea'ing activities are
mentioned, all the teachers (/##Q) agreed that the teachers should give encouraging and
positive correction and feedbac' on their learners. mista'es and give positive mar's for their
students. participation. 1t high schools, mar's are the most important thing to students
because good mar's mean their effort and show off their ability of study. Half (4#Q)
and a bit more than half of the teachers (4CQ) believed that they should s how their
confidence and e%perience in teaching in the communicative way and anticipate problems
that might arise and prepare solutions to ensure great success. (n addition, F"Q of the teachers
tried to create language atmosphere for their studetns to practice spea'ing and $$Q
varied communicative activities to motivate and encourage their students to participate in
spea'ing activities. The two solutions which were selected by " teachers are giving interesting
topics and using interesting authentic materials (songs, films with subtitles, games, etc). The
others e%plained the reason for not choosing these two solutions that they often base on
topics of each unit to teach spea'ing and using interesting authentic materials such as
songs, films with subtitles, games, etc costs a lot of time.
*estion - aims at finding out the teachers. solutions to the lac' of authentic teaching
materials.
"4
Teache&s: sol$tions to the lac2 o! a$thentic teachin .ate&ials ;
8esign your own materials. #Q
1dapt the course boo'. /##Q
Find authentic teaching materials on the internet, boo's, maga-ines. 4CQ
@orrow authentic teaching materials from your friends at home or
abroad.
C#Q
1s' groups of students to find out re<uired authentic teaching
materials then give them mar's.
/IQ
Nse real teaching situations. /##Q
)thers.
Tab#e 125 Teache&s: Sol$tions to the lac2 o! a$thentic teachin .ate&ials
Hhen as'ed about the solutions to the lac' of authentic teaching materials, /##Q of the
teachers agreed that in their case, they should adapt the course boo' and use real teaching
situations before thin'ing about better one. C#Q thought they had better borrow authentic
teaching materials from your friends at home or abroad. The internet, boo's, maga-ines are
good authentic sources for the teachers but not all of them have enough time and ability to use
them to teach spea'ing. Therefore 4CQ agreed that they should find authentic teaching
materials on the internet, boo's, maga-ines. ,ometimes, students can help teachers find
authentic teaching materials on the internet but teachers must give them mar's to encourage
them. /IQ decided to choose this way. However this percentage is <uite low because the
others did not believe their students. sourses and classification of necessary materials. !o
teachers thought that they should design their own materials because they were afraid theirs
were not authentic enough.
*estion 12 is about solutions to teachers. lac' strategic and sociolinguistic competence in
+nglish.
Sol$tions to teache&s: lac2 st&ateic an# sociolin$istic co.petence in
(nlish
;
Learn from colleagues. C#Q
(mprove yourself by reading relevant boo's. I4Q
articipate in an G1 degree course to gain more 'nowledge of +nglish in
use.
/IQ
Ta'e part in wor'shops on *LT. /##Q
*oncentrate on the wor' of annual researches on *LT theory and practice. $$Q
)thers5
Tab#e 135 Sol$tions to teache&s: lac2 st&ateic an# sociolin$istic co.petence in (nlish
1ccording to the data in table /", the best solution to teachers. lac' strategic and
sociolinguistic competence in +nglish is ta'ing part in wor'shops on *LT. /##Q chose this
way to overcome this problem. The two other solutions favoured by C#Q and I4Q of the
teachers are learning from colleagues and improving themselves by reading relevant boo's.
To supplement strategic and sociolinguistic 'nowledge, $$Q believed that they should
"3
concentrate on the wor' of annual researches on *LT theory and practice. /IQ suggested
participating in an G1 degree course to gain more 'nowledge of +nglish in use.
*estion 11 refers to the teachers. solutions to the problem with a large class.
Sol$tions to the p&oble. 3ith a la&e class ;
8ivide the class into pairs and groups. 3IQ
oint out the monitor to control the group. 3IQ
>ive students clear instructions for each tas'.
8esign tas's relevant to students. language level. 4#Q
The language used in the classroom must be of the students.
language level.
I4Q
Fi% more boards in the classroom. #Q
Oeep students spea'ing the target language throughout. $$Q
)thers5
Tab#e 145 Sol$tions to the p&oble. 3ith a la&e class
The data in table /$ show that to cope with the problem of a large class, the solution
chosen by most of the teachers (I4Q) is Tthe language used in the classroom must be of the
students. language level. so that they can follow up the lesson. 3IQ of the teachers suggested
dividing the class into pairs and groups and then pointing out the monitor to control the
group to overcome this problem. (n addition, designing tas's relevant to students. language
level was chosen by 3 teachers (4#Q). (n a large class, how to 'eep students spea'ing the
target language throughout is a <uestion to the teachers. Therefore only F7/" teachers are
confident enough to ta'e this solution into consideration. !o teachers agreed that fi%ing
more boards in the classroom was necessary.
*estion 12 mentions spea'ing activities applied in a spea'ing lesson by the teachers at
T high school and their e%planation for their choices of spea'ing activities..
II.0.1.2.1. Spea2in activities applie# b% the teache& in a spea2in lesson
Spea2in activities Reasons ;
6an'ing +%ercises (t is usually used because it is easy to prepare and
reasonable for students. language level
C#Q
,tories Telling ,ometimes used because it is time&consuming to
prepare and practise at class.
/IQ
(nformation gaps !ever used because it is difficult for students to do. #.?Q
=uestion&and&
answer e%changes
1lways used because students are used to it and
easy to prepare.
/##Q
Ga'ing up sentences
orally
1lways used because students li'e this way and
many students can participate in spea'ing
activities in a spea'ing period.
/##Q
,tructure&based
activities
1lways used because it is good way for students to
spea' correctly based on the structure.
/##Q
icture 8escription ,ometimes used. (t ma'es the lesson more
interesting, easy to prepare and carry out.
/IQ
6ole lay 6arely used because it is a demanding and time& "4Q
"I
consuming tas'.
*hain 6ecording !ever used because it is a new way to teachers and
students. (t is difficult to carry out.
#Q
,trip stories !ever used because it is difficult for students to do. /IQ
(nterview ,ometimes used because it ma'es students more
confident.
/IQ
>ames ,ometimes used. (t is interesting but time&
consuming and not very profitable.
$$Q
Free tal's 6arely used. (t is difficult. Teachers don.t have
enough time to give students to do this type of tas'
"4Q
Gime stories !ever used. (t is new and difficult. #Q
8iscussion
)rdering
,ometimes used. (t is not interesting enough for
spea'ing activities.
4#Q
6earrangement ,ometimes used. (t is not interesting enough for
spea'ing activities.
4#Q
roblem solving ,ometimes used. (t is <uite interesting and
provides students with good opportunities to
e%press their own opinions but they lac'
vocabulary of +nglish and social 'nowledge.
C#Q
Topic&based discussion #.?Q
6ound&table
discussion
There are a lot of students in a class and the class
and des's at T high school are not designed for
this activity.
#Q
*ompleting dialogues Nsually used because most spea'ing tas's of
Tieng 1nh /# te%tboo' are designed for this
activity.
/##Q
)thers5
Tab#e 153 Spea2in activities applie# b% the teache& in a spea2in lesson
1s can be seen in table /F, the activities freferred by all the teachers at T high school (/##Q)
are <uestion&and&answer e%changes, ma'ing up sentences orally, structure&based activities
and completing dialogues. They e%plained that these activities were often used in every
spea'ing lesson because they were easy to prepare, participated by many students in a
spea'ing period and good ways for the students to spea' correctly based on the structure.
6an'ing e%ercises and problem solving are the two activities applied by most of the teachers
(C#Q) because they are easy to prepare and reasonable for students. language level <uite and
interesting and provides students with good opportunities to e%press their own opinions but
they lac' vocabulary of +nglish and social 'nowledge. Half of the teachers often carry out the
following spea'ing activities5 8iscussion )rdering and 6earrangement. The rest seem not to
interest the teachers so the percentage of the teachers for them is <uite low5 (nformation gaps
(#.?Q), Topic&based discussion (#.?Q), ,tories telling (/IQ), ,trip stories (/IQ), icture
8escription (/IQ), (nterview (/IQ), Free tal's ("4Q), 6ole lay ("4Q), >ames ( $$Q).
+ven some acitivities such as 6ound&table discussion, Gime stories and *hain 6ecording are
never used in spea'ing lessons. The reasons for the teachers. little choice or no choice of these
"C
spea'ing activities are that they are too difficult for students to do, time&consuming, new to
both the teachers and the students at T high school9
II.0.1.2.<. The teache&s: s$estions !o& bette& spea2in teachin.
*uestion 13 is aimed at as'ing the teachers for their suggestions for improvement in
teaching +nglish in general and teaching spea'ing s'ill to grade /# students at T high school
in particular. The highest percentage of the teachers (/##Q) e%pected that teachers should be
provided with sufficient teaching facilities and agreed that teachers should have self
improvement in their +nglish level and teaching methods. To be successful in teaching
+nglish as well as spea'ing s'ill, the teachers need to meet a lot of re<uirements, for e%ample,
C#Q thin' that they should follow the guide for the teachers or I4Q believe that attending
wor'shops or seminars so that they can share their teaching e%perience is necessary. 4CQ
suggest having further training on teaching methods and on sociolinguistic competence
because they see the importance of them. $$Q of them thin' that teachers should use more
authentic materials. For most of the teachers, they do not have much time to prepare authentic
materials because they are busy teaching both compulsory classes and e%tra ones.
II.0.2. Inte&vie3.
1s mentioned above, the interview is a supplementary instrument to provide more
information relating to the teachers. method of teaching spea'ing. There are obvious
differences between the " best teachers and the " least able ones in 'nowledge, ability and
teaching method. 1ccording to the answers of the best who have an G1 degree, they show
their understanding about the application of *LT to teaching spea'ing because they studied it
during the G1 course. Hhen as'ed about spea'ing s'ill, they answered that it consisted of
short, fragmentary utterances. (n addition, in most spea'ing the person to whom we are
spea'ing is in front of us and able to put us right if we ma'e mista'e and he7she can also show
agreement or disagreement. Geanwhile, the rest answered this <uestion generally and
incorrectly. They thought that spea'ing meant their students simply repeated after the teachers.
sentences or they spo'e out sentences turn by turn without the interaction between the spea'er
and the hearer. For the <uestion A How do you get your students to spea' outB, all of them
as'ed their students guided <uestions and provided them with necessary words so that they
could spea' more easily. However, their solutions to get students to practise spea'ing were
differently done. The best ones often vary spea'ing activities including communicative
spea'ing ones such as role play, interview, problem solving, games, discussion ordering 9
and organi-e group7pair wor' to help the students to practise spea'ing effectively. For the
least able teachers graduating from the in&service course of +nglish, they only helped their
"?
students finish spea'ing tas's in the te%tboo' and follow all the re<uirements of the tas's.
They rarely design communicative spea'ing activities for students to practise because of their
ability and lac' of class time. Their popular spea'ing activities are <uestion&and&answer
e%changes, structure&based activities and ma'ing up sentences orally. Hith different methods
of teaching, the effectiveness of helping the students spea' out is obviously different. The
best ones have good preparations for pre&spea'ing activities, for instance, designing a small
game, providing 'ey words relating to the topic of the spea'ing lesson, giving clear
instructions9 1s a result, their students can spea' out more easily. *onversely, the least able
teachers. students find difficult to spea' out and they spea' li'e parrots.
C+APT(R III: 6INDIN-S AND R(CO""(NDATIONS
III.1. 6in#ins.
8ata analysis of <uestionnaire on how to teach spea'ing s'ill communicatively show
difficulties faced by the students in learning spea'ing and their e%pectations and
$#
difficulties faced by the teachers in teaching spea'ing and their own solutions. @elow are
the results.
III.1.1. Di!!ic$lties !ace# b% the st$#ents in lea&nin spea2in an# thei&
e9pectations
>enerally spea'ing, grade /# students at T high school have not paid much attention to
spea'ing s'ill because of two main reasons. First they do not have positive attitude to spea'ing
s'ill and spea'ing lesson. They e%plain that they do not have oral tests so they are not very
interested much in it. ,econd, the students face difficulties in spea'ing +nglish such as lac' of
vocabulary, ideas, and 'nowledge relating to the spea'ing topic; being afraid of ma'ing
mista'es; lac' of time for preparations for spea'ing activities in class; large class; the teachers.
unclear instructions and e%planation for spea'ing tas's and the teachers. teaching method. The
teachers. method of teaching plays an important role in motivating to learn spea'ing s'ill. (n
fact, spea'ing activities currently applied at T high school are not various and attractive
enough to the students. (n every spea'ing lesson, most of the teachers often use traditional and
simple spea'ing activities such as repetition, ma'ing up sentences orally structure&based
activities, <uestion&and answer e%changes. They sometimes or rarely apply communicative
spea'ing ones such as picture description, information gap, interview, topic&based discussion,
strip stories, free tal's and games7 songs). 1s a result, their students. spea'ing ability has not
been improved. That is the reason why they are not interested in spea'ing and find it difficult
to learn spea'ing s'ill.
To improve this situation, the students e%pect their teachers to provide them with more
spea'ing opportunities in class and enough visual teaching aids for spea'ing activities to ma'e
spea'ing lessons more interesting and effective. +specially they want their teachers to vary
spea'ing activities and provide them with suitable communicative spea'ing activities. (n
addition, suitable teaching materials and teaching syllabus are their e%pectations. For
themselves, they reali-e that they have to try their best in study to improve their spea'ing s'ill.
III.1.2. Di!!ic$lties !ace# b% the teache&s in teachin spea2in an# thei& o3n
sol$tions.
1ll the teachers said that they had e%perienced certain difficulties in the process of
teaching. They have tried to find out their own solutions to overcome the difficulties. Here
are the following main problems confronted by the teachers at T high school and their
own solutions.
$/
Teachers. lac' of training and retraining in *LT
LearnerDs low +nglish proficiency
,tudentsD preference of spea'ing Vietnamese in class
,tudentsD uneven participation in class activities.
,tudentsD negative attitude to learning spea'ing
8ifficulty in using modern visual teaching aids in teaching spea'ing.
Gi%ed&ability class
1 large class
Lac' of authentic teaching materials
Sour lac' of strategic and sociolinguistic competence in +nglish
Hhen the teachers were as'ed about their solutions to their difficulties in teaching
spea'ing, they gave different solutions to their problems. First they e%pect that they should be
trained on teaching methods and retrained on sociolinguistic competence by attending
wor'shops or seminars. ,econd they should have self improvement in their +nglish level and
teaching methods so that they can feel more confident. To ma'e a spea'ing lesson more
interesting and effective, spea'ing activities must be ta'en into consideration. @eside
traditional spea'ing activities, suitable communicative spea'ing ones to the students.
language level are sometimes applied. )nce, spea'ing lessons attract the students. attention,
they will change their attitude to spea'ing s'ill. (n addition, the teachers hope to be provided
with sufficient teaching facilities and authentic materials.
III.2. Reco..en#ations
(n order to reduce the difficulties faced by the teachers at T high school in
teaching spea'ing s'ill communicatively and help them have more successful
spea'ing lessons, the following recommendations should be considered.
III.2.1. 6o& the st$#ents: chanin the st$#ents: attit$#e to lea&nin spea2in
To introduce *LT successfully in traditional language classroom, studentsD attitude
toward +nglish needs to change. They should consider +nglish as important as other sub2ects
in the school curriculum and spea'ing is as important as grammar in learning +nglish. Nntil
*LT becomes a norm in FLT in Vietnam, students should not resist this way of learning. ,o,
teachers need consciously reorient students to this methodology. (n my opinion, to change
studentsD attitude toward +nglish learning, teachers should enhance studentsD motivation by
considering the following issues5
*reating interesting topics because interesting topics motivate the students and
$"
create en2oyable atmosphere in the class. Hhen they are interested in something, they are
eager to ta'e part in it.
8esigning e%ercises, which are suitable for studentsD level and ability, because
students can finish the tas's suitable for their level and ability. ractically, multi&ability
classes are popular. The tas's for the students with limited competence can de&motivate good
students. ,o, tas's in the class should be arranged from easy to difficult scale so that the less
able can 'eep up with the more able.
8owns ("###) suggests some effective ways which the teachers can apply in the
classroom to enhance studentsD motivation. They are5 the teachers call students by names: the
teachers appreciate the students' opinion; tangible instructions and objectives are used in the
class; praise and encouragement are produced appropriate to the learners"
(n addition, students need to learn their role as learners, teacherDs role in the classroom,
and basic nature of language. ,tudentsD role is no longer passive listeners. They are
communicators in the class. They can ta'e part in class activities, be free to e%press their own
ideas, put <uestions to the teachers, and show their disagreements with the teachers. Teachers,
on the other hand, are no longer E'nowledge&transmitterE. They play the role of facilitator of
the studentsD learning, a manager of classroom activities, an advisor to answer studentsD
<uestions and to control their performance, and a Eco&communicatorE to engage in the
communicative activities along with the students (Littlewood, /?C/). The studentsD new role
and teachersD role is a new concept for students. Therefore, teachers should be fle%ible to
manage the class because it ta'es time for the students to get used to this role, this concept.
,tudentsD resistance in participating in class activities needs teachersD consideration.
Teachers need to be aware of this issue and ta'e steps to lower them so that students are
gradually confident in 2oining class activities. )bviously, the teacher is a vital factor in class.
teachers should stimulate the students to volunteer to spea', and the passive students need
teachersD attention. They have to be appointed to spea'. The easy <uestions should be given to
the wea' students to assure their successful completion of the form. raise from teachers
should be given at the right time. !egative comments from teachers, which de&motivate
students and influence studentsD participation in the classroom, should be avoided. For
e%ample, in stead of saying; EHrongE, E!onsenseE, teachers should say li'e this5 ETry another
timeE, EThan' you what about othersUE
,tudentsD an%iety in public spea'ing is also a problem. To lower it gradually, ( thin'
teachers should consider these remedies to manage group wor' well. Teachers as' students to
form groups for discussions. To avoid the good studentsD dominance in group wor', teachers
$$
should as' students to appoint their group leader to help with their problem. 1lso, the
information gap in group wor' should be paid attention to so that each member has
opportunities to e%change information. 1part from those, to reduce the studentsD use of
Vietnamese during group wor', teachers should move around the class, observe, and give
them help if necessary. Teachers should pay much attention to correct studentsD errors because
this stage either helps students learn effectively or de&motivates them and ma'e them lose
face in front of the class. (n studentsD error correction, the tas' of the teachers is Eto value
students, pri-e their attempts to communicate, and then provide optimal feedbac' for the
system to evolve in successive stages until students are communicating more clearlyE (@rown,
/??F). These are some suggestions for teachers on error correction in class5
*ollect errors made by the students and involve the whole class as much as possible in
the correction process.
,pend less time correcting what is only problem for one student and more time on
problems common to the whole group.
Help students understand why they are wrong by indicating that an error has been
made (by gestures), showing the students where the error is and what 'ind of error it is
(wrong tense, wrong&stressed word...), get him7her try again if he7she can get it right.
8o not interrupt students before he finishes his utterance because he will find it
disconcerting or frustrating.
Try not to repeat the errors, even in moc'ing, astonished way.
III.2.2. 6o& the teache&s
III.2.2.1. Ret&ainin teache&s in C*T
)ne of the reasons why the teachers are not very successful in application of *LT in
their teaching spea'ing s'ill is they are not sufficiently trained in *LT. The teachers
themselves thin' they need more training in teaching method and more 'nowledge about
strategic and socio&linguistic 'nowledge. To solve this problem, the researcher might suggest
that the administrators should give them assistance, support and encouragement in their 2ob.
Gore opportunities to be trained in *LT and socio&linguistic should be given to the teachers
and more seminars should be held. *ertainly, the administrators play an important role in
tac'ing this problem. (f the teachers participate in training courses or seminars about *LT
and& socio&linguistic, they can improve their 'nowledge and e%change their teaching
e%perience so that they can apply *LT more effectively.
@eside the administratorsD support, the teachers should ma'e effort to self&study to gain
'nowledge. ,elf&study is an effective solution since the teachers can achieve 'nowledge form
$F
different sources such as boo's, maga-ines, radio, television, internet...
(n short, successful application of *LT re<uires the cooperation between the teachers
and administrators in which the teachers are more important elements. The administrators
provide the teachers opportunities to get access to *LT and the teachers themselves should
ta'e the opportunities actively and effectively.
III.2.2.2. S$estin co..$nicative spea2in activities !o& &a#e 1> st$#ents at TP
hih school.
The data collected from /## students. <uestionnaires and /" teachers. ones show that the
popular spea'ing activities applied in spea'ing lessons are repetition, ma'ing up sentences
orally structure&based activities, and <uestion&and&answer e%changes. ,ome simple
communicative spea'ing activities are sometimes used. To help the teachers be aware of the
importance and usefulness of communicative spea'ing activities in encouraging their students
to participate in them, ( will introduce some communicative spea'ing activities abstracted from
the boo' Gethodology Handboo' written by 6on, F. and *arol, F. pages $F&F4 and how to
apply them to spea'ing lessons.
Ran2in (9e&cises:
The teacher put students in small groups and give them several slips of paper which they must
put in order. They must discuss, in +nglish, the reasons why they choose this order.
Let!s study the "ollo#ing e$ample:
Hhich is your favourite country other than VietnamU
Hho is the greatest man to ever liveU
Sto&% Tellin
@oth teachers and students can tell stories. 1ccording to *elce& Gurcia (/?CC544), A )ur
students are marvelous storytellers as well as listeners, and this ability can be used to good
advantage.B (n this activity, the teacher gives students a cartoon or set of pictures which shows a
story or se<uence of event. Have the student tell the story.
%ere is an e$ample o" story telling e$ercise
>ive the students a set of cards with pictures depicting events such as the following5
V The man and the woman are meeting each other
V The man and the woman are tal'ing.
V The man is 'issing the woman
V The woman is getting angry
V The woman is hitting the man.
V The man is running away.
$4
The pictures can be arranged in any order that the students choose. The teacher can place
certain restriction on the story telling.
Pict$&e #esc&iption
Nsing pictures to teach spea'ing is a good way. For instance, the teacher provides an
interesting picture for the class or each group of students and let them as' <uestions about it li'e
this.
Hhat is in the pictureU
Hho is in the pictureU
Hhat are they doingU
Hhat are they wearingU
Hhat do they loo' li'eU
How do they feelU
Hhere do you thin' they are goingU
Hhat do you thin' will happen ne%tU
Later, have the students tell about the picture again using the answers to the <uestions
mentioned above.
Chainin &eco&#in
This activity should be used in the post&spea'ing stage. The teacher begins a story and
as's the students, one at a time, to add creatively to it. The teachers records what each says on
cassette tape. To understand more how to carry out this activity, an e%ample will be suggested as
follow5
The teacher gives a situation of a story5 Sesterday morning, ( got up. ,tudents add more
detail to it. ,tudent / may say AFirst ( brushed my teeth.B, student " adds A Then ( ate rice for
brea'fastB, student $ says A1fter that ( too' the bus to school9B
1t the end of the activity, play the tape again for the student to chec' their
wor'. The teacher may have them write down what has been said
St&ip sto&ies.
The teacher cuts up a short written story appropriate for the level of your students.
>ive each student a sentence. They are not allowed to show it to an other students but
they can memori-e it and say it to the other students. The teacher lets the students line
up in the correct order for their sentence in the story then tell the story one sentence at
a time..
In!o&.ation ap
(nformation gap activities are central in the communicative approach to language
$3
teaching. This is because the goal of communicative teaching is to help students use
language appropriately in real communication. However the classroom is not always
natural for using real language, so it is necessary for the teacher to create opportunities
for the students to communicate. (nformation gap e%ercises help fulfill this need. For
e%ample; Two people are tal'ing on the phone. )ne has an address boo' and the other
needs several addresses. (( 'now something you don.t and ( want to communicate it to
you).
Inte&vie3s.
The teacher creates a li'e&real situation and give the students <uestions which
they must as' their partner in pair wor' as follows5
Hhere were you bornU 7 How old are youU 7 8o you have any brothers or sistersU
Hhere do you liveU 7 Hhat do you li'e best about +nglishU
Hhat do you thin' is the biggest problem in the worldU
6&ee tal2
The teacher gives the students open& ended <uestions or a topic and as' them to
discuss them or it in pairs, or small groups. Here are some e%amples of <uestions5
Hhat was the best day of your lifeU HhyU
Hhat country do you li'e and whyU
Hhat do you want to be doing in /# years and whyU
Hhat is your family li'eU
Hhy do you thin' people fight with each otherU
-a.es:
There are many language games that can be used for spea'ing e%ercises. Hell&
planned games can motivate students to study. Here is a game that can be applied to
teaching spea'ing: >uessing games. (n this game, the teacher chooses an ob2ect in the
room and as's the students to guess what it is by as'ing <uestions in +nglish. This
can be done by the teacher and the whole class or students and the whole class,
for e%ample,
(s it a personU !o.
(s it an ob2ectU Ses.
1re there many of themU Ses.
(s there one on your des'U Ses.
$I
(s it a penU !o.
"i.e Sto&ies.
The teacher can act out a story and have the students describe what they see.
)r, divide the class into groups and have them prepare a brief pantomime s'it
(where there is acting but no spea'ing). Later, they must do their s'it for the class
and the class must describe in +nglish what they are doing or what is happening.
The pantomimes might need to be repeated more than once.
Role pla%
A6ole play is a spontaneous conversation between two people who are imagining
they are other people or imagining they are in a different situation. 6ole plays are
generally used for free spea'ing practice.B, cited from Gethodology Handboo' for
+nglish teachers in Vietnam ("##", page /#C). The following e%ample is about role&
play activity5 The teachers gives the situation, instructions, appoints students to play
roles and provide students with information and <uestions.
/ Roles5 Theatre cler' & Govie&goer
& ,ituation5 @uying tic'ets
& (nformation given to the cler'5 Govie days, names, times, and prices
& ,ample <uestions given to the movie&goer5
Hhat is shown tonightU
How much does a tic'et costU
Hhat time is it shownU
PART C: CONC*USION
1 . Co n c l $ s i o n
This study aims at investigating the difficulties faced by the teachers and students at T
high school in teaching and learning spea'ing s'ill and then finding how to apply *LT to
$C
teaching spea'ing more effectively and suggesting some realistic and appropriate class
teaching techni<ues and communicative activities with a view to help teachers enhance their
learners in spea'ing s'ill. @ased on the instrumentations such as the <uestionnaires, the
interview, this research has discovered the significant findings with a help to improving
teaching spea'ing s'ill at T high school. The findings are divided into two groups5
difficulties and solutions.
The difficulties confronted by the students are lac' of vocabulary, ideas, and 'nowledge
relating to the spea'ing topic; being afraid of ma'ing mista'es; lac' of time for preparations
for spea'ing activities in class; large class; the teachers. unclear instructions and e%planation
for spea'ing tas's and the teachers. teaching method. The recommendation for the difficulties
are the studentsD attitude toward learning +nglish needs to change. The teachers can ma'e a
change in studentsD attitude by enhancing studentsD motivation. To overcome the studentsD
lac' of motivation in learning +nglish especially in learning spea'ing, the teachers should
create interesting topics, design activities suitable for studentsD level, create the
communicative opportunities so that students are motivated to learn. @esides, the teachers
should pay special attention to less able students and give a chance to spea', give
complements and correct studentsD errors in time. The teachers should reduce the studentsD
an%iety in public spea'ing by forming group wor' with both good and bad students,
changing group leader alternatively so that every student can have a chance to spea' to their
peers. Forming group and changing group leaders can also solve the problem of studentsD
low +nglish proficiency. To monitor the class and avoid studentsD using Vietnamese during
pair wor' or group wor', teachers should move round the class, observe, and give them help
if necessary.
The difficulties faced by the teachers are teachers. lac' of training and retraining in
*LT, learnerDs low +nglish proficiency, studentsD preference of spea'ing Vietnamese in
class, studentsD uneven participation in class activities, studentsD negative attitude to learning
spea'ing, difficulty in using modern teaching aids in teaching spea'ing, mi%ed&ability class, a
large class, lac' of authentic teaching materials, your lac' of strategic and sociolinguistic
competence in +nglish. To overcome the teachersD difficulties in the application of *LT, there
should have a cooperation between teachers and administrators in which teachers are the most
important elements. 1dministrators should give teachers more opportunities to e%pose to *LT
by attending short&term courses or seminars about *LT. @esides, the teachers themselves
should self&study to gain more 'nowledge so that they are confident enough to conduct
communicative classes. They should also learn to overcome the lac' of teaching aids by
$?
ta'ing advantage of real classroom situations, designing games, using songs, being fle%ible in
organi-ing group wor's in class, use all the three stages of a spea'ing lesson basing on *LT
approach.
(n summary, according to the difficulties and solutions, it can be concluded that there
should be contribution of many factors including the administrators, teachers and students.
1mong which teachers play a 'ey role which can affect the success or failure of that
renovation. The administrators should give the teachers chances to promote 'nowledge as
well as facilities to ma'e use of them. (n addition to the administratorsD support, the teachers
should accept *LT and use it in their class.. How to teach spea'ing communicatively
re<uires good communicative competence, creativity and enthusiasm on their part of
themselves.
2. S$estions !o& !$&the& &esea&ch
This research focuses on the difficulties faced by the teachers and students at T high
school in teaching and learning spea'ing s'ill and then finding how to apply *LT to
teaching spea'ing more effectively. There are some suggestions for further research to be
conducted with a view to gaining more benefits for teaching +nglish at T high school in
terms of application of *LT
There should be research on material design to match the local conte%t
6esearch should be conducted to affirm what difficulties teachers meet in applying
*LT in teaching other language s'ills5 writing, listening reading, and grammar.
6esearch should be produced on the usefulness of *LT
in attaining its educational goals.
These suggestions should be accomplished in the fight of enhancing +nglish teaching
at T high school.
1lthough the researcher has ma'e effort toward conducting this minor thesis, it e%ists
some limitations such as the small number of sub2ects, small scope of the sub2ects (grade /#
students)9 6eaders. comments and contributions will be highly appreciated.
R(6(R(NC(S
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