Suggesting techniques and activities applied in English speaking lessons to motivate students and help them develop speaking skill

TABLE OF CONTENTS	 Pages
1. INTRODUCTION
1. 1. Rationale of the study.............................................................................2
1. 2. Aims of the study...............................................................3
1. 3. Scope of the study .....................................................................3
1. 4. Research methods of the study.......................................................3
2. DEVELOPMENT
2. 1. Theoretical background......................................................................4
2. 2. Findings and discussion
	2. 2. 1. Methodology...........................................................................5
2. 2. 2. Data analysis and discussion....7
2.2.2.1. Problems that students often meet in English speaking lesson..............................................................................................7
2. 2.2.2. Teachers’ problems in speaking lessons.....8
2. 2. 3. Some suggestions for solutions.8
2. 2. 3. 1. Some advice for teachers in general8
2. 2. 3. 2. Some suggestions for a successful speaking skill lesson and to motivate students10
2. 2. 3. 3. Sample lesson plans..16
3. CONCLUSION.....19
LIMITATION AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY...20
References
Appendix
1. INTRODUCTION
1. 1. Rationale of the study
	In English teaching, the main objective is to prepare students for communication in the real world and it is very important for a learner to efficiently equip himself with four skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing, together with relatively sufficient background knowledge. Among those skills, speaking is a crucial part of language learning. The mastery of speaking skill in English is a priority for many second or foreign language learners. 
However, despite its importance, for a long time, teaching speaking has been under valuated. Traditional teaching methods have seemed to emphasize the learning of language system (rules of grammar and, lists of vocabulary items ..) as a goal in its own right and failed to give learners an ability to gain realistic experiences in actually using the language knowledge gained. Moreover, very often when people study a language, they accumulate a lot of academic knowledge, but then find that they can't actually use this language to express what they want to. 
Nowadays, things have been different. Today's world requires that the goal of learning speaking English should develop students' communication skill so that students can express themselves and use the target language to state opinions, express their feelings and exchange information. Many new teaching methods have been introduced and applied to serve the basic need of English learners. Among them, communicative approach and learner-centered approach seem to be the most effective ways to teach oral communication. And we should apply these methods in teaching the four skills and focus on designing speaking activities in appropriate stages of English lessons while teaching other skills so that students always have a lot of chances to practise speaking while learning English. 
 In Viet Nam, there has been also a reform in teaching English in secondary schools as well as High schools. The new series of textbooks presently used in secondary schools and high schools were designed in view of communicative language teaching method. The topics of the lessons given in the textbooks are really interesting and based on real- life situations that require communication. However, in spite of many efforts of teachers and others, the results we get from our students are unsatisfactory. Students still complain that they find speaking lessons really stressful and thus speaking is a difficult skill to master. As a matter of fact, most of our students, even though, start to learn English since the very early year of school (even from the first grade), cannot communicate with people from English speaking word with confidence. From my experience as a teacher of English at Tinh Gia 1 (TG1) high school for 12 years, I have realized the bitterly disappointing truth that after about seven years or more of studying English, what our students get is almost a “dead” language. In other words, many students who have studied English for many years (7 years) leave school have left school without being able to speak an intelligible sentence.
That is why I felt the urge to do research about it and took appropriate actions. It is time the great efforts were made by teachers to improve the quality of English speaking lessons as well as to meet the teaching goals and to help students overcome difficulties in expressing their thoughts, ideas, and feelings in English. This issue has brought me a great desire to conduct action research in order to examine factors that cause barriers in English speaking for students at TG1 high school as well as to motivate students in English speaking lessons. With this study, the researcher hopes to help students at TG1 high school to have a better English speaking skill and can communicate with foreigners in English with confidence. 
1. 2. Aims of the study
The study aims at:
- Investigating and discovering obstacles or difficulties that both students and teachers have encountered in English speaking lessons at TG1 high school.
- Suggesting techniques and activities applied in English speaking lessons to motivate students and help them develop speaking skill.
1. 3. Scope of the study
With this study, the researcher puts focus on investigating and discovering obstacles or difficulties encountered with students in English speaking lessons at TG1 high schools. From these findings, the internal and external causes are analyzed to give some suggestions for tackling them in order to motivate students and help improve students’ speaking skill.
The study was conducted on the students of grade 10, 11, 12 at TG1 high school with the textbook “Tiếng Anh 10”, “Tiếng Anh 11”, and “Tiếng Anh 12”.
1. 4. Research methods of the study.
In order to get the goals of the study, a wide range of data are gathered, questionnaires and follow-up interviews are analyzed. Therefore, all comments, remarks, suggestions, and conclusions provided in the study are based on the results of the data analysis.
2. DEVELOPMENT
2. 1. Theoretical background
2. 1. 1. What is language teaching and learning?
"Teaching is guiding and facilitating learning, enabling the learners to learn, setting the conditions for learning." [2]. Foreign language learning, like other subjects, is part of the overall development of all students. Through learning a foreign language, the students can enrich their experience of life, broaden their world vision, and enhance their thinking skills. Language learning is most effective when students' interest, motivation and attitudes are taken into consideration. Therefore, evaluation should be summative and formative and designed and administered to encourage the learners rather to frustrate them. It should be carried out in terms of what students can do rather than what they cannot do. 
In addition, learning a foreign language is a process which requires learners to integrate many language skills including: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Learners of a second or foreign language can not only read different texts in different subjects with varying degrees of detail and difficulty but also communicate with native speakers orally. It is generally accepted nowadays that speaking is a key skill for most students learning a foreign language. In short, Speaking skill plays a vital role in teaching and learning a foreign language. This fact calls for suitable teaching methods to help the students become more active in English speaking lesson.
2. 1. 2. What is the goal of teaching speaking?
In the book Language Learning Strategies by Rebecca L. Oxford, she writes: "A more practiced eye, a more receptive ear, a more fluent tongue, a more involved heart, a more responsive mind are the characteristics we want to stimulate in students to enable them to become more proficient language learners." [3] In other words, the goal of teaching speaking skills is communicative efficiency. Learners should be able to make themselves understood, using their current proficiency to the fullest. They should try to avoid confusion in the message due to faulty pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, and to observe the social and cultural rules that apply in each communication situation.
However, most of my students are only reading and trying to memorize, using their words only with vague applicability. Their minds, most of the time, just seem to be waiting to be fed. It is hard to say that any other senses are involved, and certainly not that they are learning with interest. They are neither using what they have grasped nor using what they have currently learned from the given dialogue. In a word, they are not improving their speaking ability. Yet speaking ability is so crucial to language learners. Therefore, it’s time to have some changes in our way of teaching so that the students would be stimulated, interested, motivated to speak and finally become masters of speaking the language.
2. 2. FINDING AND DISCUSSIONS
2. 2. 1. Methodology
2. 2. 1. 1. Method orientation
	This study employed the quantitative method. This method helped to provide quantified background data, which aims to understand problems that students and teachers of Tinh Gia 1 High School meet in their English speaking lessons. The data and information collected lay the foundation for my study.
2. 2. 1. 2. The subjects
	The subjects for this study consist of 209 participants placed into two groups:
	The first group includes 9 teachers Tinh Gia 1 High School (where seven year program English textbooks are in use). 
	The other group is composed of 200 students: 90 students of class 10A 9, and class 10A 7 in Tinh Gia I High School and 110 students of class 11A1, 11A2 and 11A7. All the students follow the same course of English and their textbooks in use are Tieng Anh 10, and Tieng Anh 11. 
2. 2. 1. 3. Data collection
	With the view to discovering problems with speaking activities that students and teachers often face in English speaking lessons, I asked my colleagues, who teach the same subject, some questions about their teaching methods, visited their classes, and asked the students' opinion about it. In addition, a questionnaire was designed for the students. In order that the respondents could be free to express their specific thoughts about the items raised in the questionnaire, some questions are open-ended or have the free answer (often put at the last choice of the answer), and students can write their answer in Vietnamese.
2. 2. 1. 4. The Interview
The questions for the teachers focus on these points:
Problems and difficulties that teachers meet in English speaking lessons.
How to motivate students in speaking activities.
How to help our students deal with a lack of knowledge of language forms.
How to provide feedback to our students to encourage them in their learning.
- How to encourage our students to take responsible for their own learning.
2. 2. 1. 5 The questionnaire
	Comprising 8 questions, The questionnaire was delivered to 90 students of class 10A7, and class 10A9 and 110 others students of class 11A1, 11A2 and 11A7 in Tinh Gia I High School. All questions were written in simple English in order to make sure that students could fully understand all the questions before answering. Their answers were also given in Vietnamese allowing them full expression of their ideas (These questions are included in the appendix.)
Question 1: Do you like speaking English in your class? Why/Why not?
A. Yes	B. No 
(Please give some reasons for your answer, you can write in Vietnamese if you like) 
Question 2: In English speaking lessons, do you spend most of the time speaking English?
A. I speak English most of the time	
B. I speak Vietnamese most of the time
C. I speak both English and Vietnamese
Question 3: Are there a wide variety of speaking activities in your speaking lessons?
A. Yes, there are always a lot	
B. No, there are a few
C. Other answer (you can write in Vietnamese if you like)
Question 4: Does your teacher often speak English or Vietnamese in class?
A. Almost Vietnamese	
B. Almost English
C. Other answer (you can write in Vietnamese if you like) 
Question 5: Do you often work in pairs or in groups in speaking activities?
A. Sometimes	B. very often	C. rarely
Question 6: When working in pairs or groups, do you think every member of your group has equal chance to speak English? 
Yes, every member of my group can have chance to speak up
No, only some ‘top’ students in my group can speak
C. Other answer ( you can write in Vietnamese if you like. ) .
Question 7: Do you think Speaking skill is important? Why/Why not? (Please explain your answer, you can write in Vietnamese if you like )
.
Question 8: What difficulties do you have when speaking English in classes?
(you can write in Vietnamese if you like )
.
2. 2. 2. Data analysis and discussion
From the results of the questionnaire as well as from the observation and follow-up questions, I recognize that the problems with speaking activities in English classes at Tinh Gia 1 High School can be generalized as follow.
2. 2. 2. 1. Problems that students often meet in English Speaking lessons
Students are inhibited, afraid of speaking or unwilling to speak English in class.
	Most students (about 75%) are inhibited, afraid of speaking or unwilling to speak English in class. Unlike reading, writing and listening activities, speaking requires some degree of real-time exposure to an audience. There are different situations that can cause students inhibited or even dread speaking a foreign language in the classroom, such as:
Lacking vocabulary
 Worrying about their accent
Being frustrated about constructing the sentences with correct grammar. 
Being afraid of making mistakes
Being fearful of criticism or losing face
Being shy of the attention that their speech attracts.
Students have nothing to say in some speaking activities.
	About 70 % of students say that they have nothing to say in some speaking activities. Even if some students are not inhibited, they often complain that they cannot think of anything to say. They have no motive to express themselves beyond the guilty feeling that they should be speaking.
Most of my colleagues realized that our students are not in the habit of speaking English
Although many students have a good vocabulary and grammar grasp, they are still reluctant to speak. This may demonstrate that a good command of vocabulary and grammar is not enough. In the other hand, they must be prepared to be in the habit of speaking English.
During speaking lessons, students have low or uneven participation
Only one participant can talk at a time if he or she is to be heard; and in a large group this means that each one will have only very little talking time. This problem is compounded by the tendency of some learners to dominate, while others speak very little or not at all.
Students use their mother – tongue (Vietnamese) almost all the time
About 85% of students admitted that they use their mother – tongue (Vietnamese) almost all the time. They explain that because it is easier, because it seems unnatural to speak to one another in a foreign language, and because they feel less ‘exposed’ if they are speaking Vietnamese. 
2. 2. 2. 2. Teachers’ problems in Speaking lessons
Teachers speak their native language (Vietnamese) in English teaching classes almost all the time.
	The fact that English teachers in Tinh Gia 1 High School speak Vietnamese in their classes seems to be so popular that they consider it unavoidable. Unfortunately, this has unexpectedly killed the students willingness to speak English.
Teachers talks too much in class, letting their students few chances to participating in speaking activities.
	These teachers are using the out-dated traditional teaching method in which students are not stimulated to learn actively. In other words, by this way of teaching, students are not provided a positive learning environment to encourage them to speak more, but instead they become passive learners and what they grasp is a “dead” language.
2. 2. 3. Some suggestions for solutions
2. 2. 3. 1. Some advice for teachers in general
Firstly, the teachers themselves must make great effort to change their method of teaching. I myself have been applying some tips as follow and I have gained some positive results.
	- Reduce your TTT (Teacher Talking Time) in the classroom, by giving simple and clear instructions, by asking one or two students to show (by means of speaking) that they understood the task instructions, and also by asking other students to answer a student's question. Being a teacher of English is different from being a lecturer. 
	- Increase STT (Student Talking Time), again, by asking other students to answer a student's question, by showing pictures related to the topic of the class and, without saying a single word, eliciting students' participation. 
	- Avoid yes/no questions; prefer those questions that make students speak in order to make themselves clear. 
	- Pay attention to the way of correcting students. Sometimes, even when the teacher’s intention is simply to help a certain student, he/she may make things even worse to them. 
	For instance, if teacher wants to show a certain mistake to a student, instead of saying "Oh! this is not correct, ..." or "You made a mistake, ..." or "Oops! don't say this or that,..." etc you'd better say "Maybe you should change this or that ..." or "Why don't you use ...", or "Well, it may be even better if you do/say ..." or "Very good try, but you'd better say/do ..." or "Nice try/beginning. Now why don't you ...?" or "Good participation/answer, now I will make it better..." etc.
	- When watching student A for mistakes, don't be so close to them because this will make them even shier. Instead, get close to another student or simply stand back or pretend being interested in something different, picking up a book or going back to your table etc. This will make students feel more comfortable and increase STT.
	- When your students are having fluency practice (for instance, free conversation), which is totally different from pronunciation or grammar practice, never correct them, unless something really serious happen. Let them talk! Let them feel that they can communicate in despite of their mistakes in pronunciation, grammar etc. Praise them for speaking!!! Show satisfaction!!! 
	- Not only encourage them to watch movies. Give them tips on what and how to select what really matters, based on what they are interested in. For instance, taking notes on useful sentences/phrases and thinking about which environment or opportunity they could put those selected sentences in action (among friends, with a teacher, at work, at the club etc), just for practice.
	- Never forget! Participating/speaking is what really matters in this case, and when a student participates (answering questions, clarifying, helping other in English, arguing etc) ACCEPT that as something GOOD, despite of being right or wrong, otherwise you take the risk of making your student shier and shier (lack of participation).
- All classes should start with pair work on a topic on which most have experience or opinion. During these , pens are down and teacher goes round the U-shaped classroom, answering mostly vocabulary questions when students call -Sir or Peter. Students know they can talk about other things if they have finished discussing the topic, and those who become silent early are asked a further question to discuss. A general discussion of the topic follows, with extensive use of the board for notes.
 - For the first class, students