Using some activities to help students improve english communication skills in speaking lessons at nhu thanh secondary & high school

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
NHU THANH SECONDARY & HIGH SCHOOL
INNOVATION IN TEACHING
USING SOME ACTIVITIES TO HELP STUDENTS IMPROVE ENGLISH COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN SPEAKING LESSONS AT NHU THANH SECONDARY & HIGH SCHOOL
The writer: Phan Anh Dao
The post: Teacher of English
Innovation of subject: English
THANH HOA 2018
TABLE OF CONTENT PAGE
1: INTRODUCTION
2
1.1. Rationale of the study
2
1.2. Aims of the study
3
1.3. Object of the study
3
1.4. Methods of the study
3
2 : CONTENT
3
2.1. Theoretical and practical basis
3
2.1.1. Theoretical basis: 
3
2.1.2. Practical basis:
4
2.2. The status of the research subject:
4
2.2.1. The advantages of teaching speaking skill:
4
2.2.2. The disadvantages of teaching speaking skill:
4
2.3. Some solutions to the research subject:
5
2.3.1. General requirements:
5
2.3.2. The main solutions: 
6
2.3.3. Organization steps:
8
2.3.4. Demonstration: 
9
2.4. Result.
19
3: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
20
3.1. Conclusion:
20
3.2. Suggestion: 
20
4: REFERENCE BOOKS
21
1 : INTRODUCTION
1.1. RATIONALE OF THE STUDY:
Knowing English is knowing everything so English has now become one of the most popular languages in the world . In the tendency of integration of the global economy, English is one of the most effective communicative tools for everybody. The role of English is considered to be very important in the fields of economics, politics, science, culture and education. Being aware of the importance of English so the society is becoming more and more interested in teaching and learning English at schools, the curriculums and the methods of teaching English are innovated to better the needs of learners. 
	Therefore, today in Viet nam, everyone from the children to the adult tends to learn English and many English centers are opened to satisfy the leaners. They are fully aware that knowing English will allow people to access an incredible amount of information which may not be otherwise available. So communication skills are essential for a successful career, satisfying relationships and a personal sense of accomplishment. Communication is seen every day through TV commercials, interaction with the person opening a door for people and listening to the manangers of their company speaking. Effective communication empowers people, provides clear direction and increases productivity. Without it, people lose motivation and the inability to make a decision, and they become angry because their messages are not understood.
 In fact, many students in Viet nam who have good command of English, but can’t use English well don’t get good jobs. So, English is the first and the most important standard for workers who want to work not only at foreign companies but also at national ones.
To do this better, Teachers at schools especially at high schools and Universities have to use many skills and activities to promote positive, proactive students and create optimal conditions for students to train, develop and enhance skills to use language for purposes of communication. So we have to create the environment for students to communicate in the classroom, especially, in Speaking lessons and this raises for teachers is to organize various activities to improve the efficiency of the speaking lessons and make students feel easily with the subject. However, students have limited time to learn English in class, and they still do not have enough encouragement to practice English outside the class in order to get familiar with English. This case brings a problem that make high school students have difficulties to communicate in English and the majority of students are still feeling embarrassed and shy when speaking in front of the class.
Therefore, in this study I boldly give the subject “ Using some activities to help students improve English communication skills in speaking lessons at Nhu Thanh secondary and High School ”
1.2. AIMS OF THE STUDY
When writing this initiative, I just wish to offer some ideas to find the best teaching methods to generate excitement for students and bring optimal efficiency.
- Through this research, I myself will have more experiences in teaching speaking lessons.
- Promote active learning of students in English periods, especially in the of speaking lessons
- guiding students to practise themseves, practise to have skills and speaking skills in English.
1.3. OBJECT OF THE STUDY
 	This research is carried out in grade 10A1, 11C1, 12B1 and 12B4 at Nhu Thanh Secondary & High School
1.4. METHODS OF THE STUDY
	In this research, I use some research methods to collect and analyze the needed data. Recording is used to record the process of giving some activities and 
surveying through the answer sheets is used to know the practical situation of teaching and learning English communication skills.
a. Observation method: 
Reading reference books, summarizing material research and visiting classes of colleagues.
b. Exchange method, discussion: 
Discussing with other colleagues after visiting their classes to draw out experiences.
c. Experimental method: 
Teachers can carry out experimental teaching according to the aims of specific request in speaking lessons
d. Survey method: 
Teachers ask questions to test and evaluate the content of the students’ lessons.
2. CONTENT
2.1. Theoretical and practical basis
2.1.1. Theoretical basis: 
The aim of teaching a foreign language is not only to give students the knowledge of the language, but also the ultimate aim of teaching a foreign language is to teach students to have the ability to communicate in that language. The ability of students to communicate through skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Students' speaking skills are formed through a process of academic training in English language environment. In addition to learning in the classroom, students have to learn and practice speaking through different forms and methods 
2.1.2. Practical basis:
After many years teaching English in high school , I have noticed the fact that the majority of students in high school are afraid of learning English, and they often have a heavy feeling in the English lessons and especially in speaking lessons. So what must we do to make students have a real enthusiasm about learning a foreign language, namely English subject and make students look forward to and hope for this subject without feeling bored ? How can they hear and speak simple English sentences in a natural way ? Those are some of my concerns in the teaching process, so I'm always trying to find out the most effective solutions to make my lectures attractive to students, and is also aimed at improving the quality of this subject on the purpose of renovating teaching methods is that : “learner –centered”.So I decide to choose this research subject.
2.2. The status of the research subject:
2.2.1. The advantages of teaching speaking lessons:
- For students:
 Most students in Nhu Thanh secondary & high school have studied English since they were in secondary school and the knowledge which they are provided at this level of education is relatively high on grammar, vocabulary and communication skills .
 Most students are obedient and aware of studying.
      Students themselves and their parents have realized the importance of learning English so they have had the interest and considerable investment in many aspects to this subject , and it is no longer considered a subordinate subject.
   Schools have been equipped with full conditions about facilities for study like language laboratory, books, tapes, and radios
- For teachers:
Teachers have satisfied with the school’s demand as well as education and applied the new teaching methods.
The facilities of the school like language laboratory , books , tapes , and radios are full and Administrator is interested and facilitates the teaching of the teachers so that they can prove their abilities in the best way.
2.2.2.The disadvantages of teaching speaking lesson:
- For students:
 	There are so many different students in class and the quality of each student is uneven.
 	Many students haven’t determined the importance of English in the current period, so they aren’t aware of their own learning.
 	Some students have a limited vocabulary so they can’t know how to speak a correct sentence 
 	Classrooms are crowded, and the activities of speaking lesson often practise in pairs or in groups so the classrooms are easily noise.
- For teachers:
There are still some teachers who have difficulty in teaching speaking skills and choosing suitable skills for each lesson.
Teachers don’t assign the tasks to students clearly. 
Teachers don’t create the environment to encourage students to speak English effectively.
2.2.3. Specific survey in classes 10A1, 11C1, 12B1 and 12B4
Class
Students
Excellent-good
Average
Weak (bad)
10A1
100%
10%
55%
35%
11C1
100%
8%
57%
35%
12B1
100%
9%
55%
36%
12B4
100%
9%
55%
36%
2.3. Some solutions to the research subject:
2.3.1. General requirements:
We know that speaking skill plays a very important role in mastering a foreign language. According to David Nunan (1991) the author of language teaching methodology book: "Success is measured by the ability to conduct a dialogue in the language they are learning." To do this successfully, teachers must make students understand and gain the ability to use the language as much as possible because the needs of learners are very diverse. Besides, teachers shouldn’t create unfortunate misunderstanding in the communication process.
Speaking skills of students are practised with other skills through a learning process in English language environment. In addition to learning in classroom, students must learn themselves and practise speaking exercises through different forms and methods because the aim of speaking exercises is to help learners speak exactly and fluently.
The selection of teaching speaking techniques must be determined on the basis of the lesson content to build the activities for study.
Through research process and practice in different classrooms I offer some solutions to guide students to develop communication skills.
2.3.2. The main solutions: 
Students often think that the ability to speak a language is the product of language learning, but speaking is also a crucial part of the language learning process. To guide students to develop communication skills in English, teachers can teach students speaking strategies such as providing a dialogue, spoken word actions, using minimal respones, practising grammar structures and applying groupwork or pairwork in speaking skills and games. 
2.3.2.1: Providing a dialogue:
Thanks to the guidance of teachers, students themselves can create the dialogues and then practice, practice instead. This activity is quite simple and will be familiar so students are interested in learning. 
The main purpose of this activity is to help students use Wh- questions or Yes-no questions fluently
2.3.2.2: Spoken word actions:
In these actions teachers should let students speak simple sentences or dialogues so that students have communicative opportunities .
In classroom, teachers can give some exercises to students to explain or talk on the themes and afterwards, teachers and the whole class will remark by asking questions or assessing and this will help students make faster progress because:
- Assessment helps learners become more confident about assessing language ability used by others
- Teachers must create a routine for your own classroom - where speaking English in the classroom can turn into daily conversation, even compulsory for students.
- Teachers can use this activity to help students retell the stories or conversations in front of the whole classroom . 
- Teachers should create situations, contexts, themes for students to practise speaking in pairs or groups. In this section teachers can use pictures, photos in and out of a textbook or topics close to them as their school, their home, and their friends, and so on .. 
2.3.2.3: Using minimal responses:
Language learners who lack confidence in their ability to participate successfully in oral interaction often listen in silence while others do the talking. One way to encourage such learners to begin to participate is to help them build up a stock of minimal responses that they can use in different types of exchanges. Such responses can be especially useful for beginners. 
Minimal responses are predictable, often idiomatic phrases that conversation participants use to indicate understanding, agreement, doubt, and other responses to what another speaker is saying. Having a stock of such responses enables a learner to focus on what the other participant is saying, without having to simultaneously plan a response. 
2.3.2.4: Practising grammar structures:
Unlike other languages ​​, English has a word order and grammar rules to be followed . The implementation of the structures and grammar principles in practising speaking English is not simple. Therefore, when communicating in English, try to use the grammar structures that you have been learned and mastered . If you just master the structures and simple sentences , you should only use them until you can be sure of the correct use of more complex structures.
2.3.2.5: Applying groupwork or pairwork in speaking skills:
This is the basic and efficiency activity to practise speaking. Teachers need to give careful instructions and know exactly how to divide the class. Pair work and group work can become a routine. Once students are used to it and have regular working partners, it can be organized quickly and easily. After that group chief may give topic to say and members discuss. Some activities such as paintings, plays, telling story should be applied.
2.3.2.6: Games:
Games is a very popular activity that teachers frequently used. any activity is also considered games when we want students to do and want to find out the winner. It is clear that Games are very positive and have a high motivation. Teachers can design the games such as “chain games”, “lucky number”, “find someone who” and so on.. to suit each specific class, each specific object to encourage more students to participate
2.3.3. Organization steps:
For a speaking period, there are often three stages which are: Preparing for speaking – Controlled practice – Free practice/Production. This learning process not only helps students understand the material but also understand their speaking skills used in practical communication. But the prerequisite problem is that teachers need to clearly define the purpose of each speaking lesson to orient for the students perform the tasks in the next steps.
2.3.3.1:Preparing for speaking:
- The instructions that are given at the beginning are crucial. If the students do not understand exactly what they have to do, there will be time-wasting, confusion, lack of effective practice, possible loss of control
 - Select tasks that are simple enough to describe easily; and in monolingual classes, you may find it cost-effective to explain some or all in the students’mother tongue.
- Teachers encourage students to contribute to the general ideas for speaking lessons ( Brainstorming activity)
- Teachers can ask students some questions to check their understanding
2.3.3.2. Controlled practice:
- Need to comply with the guideline from easy to difficult. Teachers should give different types of exercises such as Substitution drills, using Prompts or picture cues or language games for students to form structure they have just studied.
- Teacher goes from group to group, pair to pair, monitor, and either contribute or keep out of the way whichever is likely to be more helpful. 	 
- Providing general approval and support;
- Helping students who are having difficultly;
- Keeping the students using the target language(in many cases your mere presence will ensure this!)
- Tactfully regulating participation in a discussion where you find some students are over dominant and others silent.
- Correcting mistakes and language problems that students have such as pronunciation or grammar. Teachers should provide some new words that relate to the subject. However, teachers shouldn’t correct unimportant mistakes and should encourage other students to find out the mistakes and correct them.
2.3.3.3:Free practice/production:
 	This is the last activity of the lesson so teachers should give the general requirement and shouldn’t limit students’ideas as well as language so that students can speak freely.
Teachers can create the situation, the context and the topic for students to practise speaking in pairs or group.
Teachers can use pictures and photos in textbook and outside it or the topics that is close to students such as describe their school, house or their friends how to ensure the requirements of the lesson effectively, and how to stimulate student’s enthusiasm.
2.3.4. Demonstration: 
Example of providing a dialogue. 
Task 2 ( Unit 9 Part B: Speaking English 11)
 	From the information provided in the textbook, students will combine into a dialogue and then make many other dialogues by substituting and then pracrise.
A: Good morning. What can I do for you? 
B: Yes. I would like to send a greetings card and some flowers to my friend on her birthday. 
A: Right. When is your friend’s birthday? 
B: It’s May 16th. 
A: What kind of flowers would you like to send? 
B: Roses. A bunch of red roses please. 
A: Would you like to have the card and the flowers delivered on May 16th or a day before? 
B: On May 16th. It’s best to deliver in the early morning. 
A: OK. I make a note for that. Could you please fill in this form? And don’t forget to write the recipient’s address clearly. 
Example of group work.
Task 3 (Unit 3 – Part B: Speaking - English 11)
This is a free activity and aims to develop fluency in speaking. The procedure may be:
Divide students into groups of four or five.
Read through the instrutions and make sure that each group understands what to do. Choose one “secretary” in each group to write the list but emphasis that everyone in the groups should agree on what to write.
While the activity is going on, move from groups, but do not interrupt more than is necessary.
When some groups have finished their discussion, stop the activity, ask one person from each group to report on what they decided
Give feedback: - Content
Popular mistakes
Example of using games. ( chain games)
Task 1 (Unit 1 – Part B: Speaking - English 11)
Teacher: The man is tall
Student 1: The man is tall. He has got a square face
Student 2: The man is tall. He has got a square face, a crooked nose,..
Example of free practice.
The aims of this task are to:
Improve students’ speaking and listening skills
Expand students’ vocabulary about many diffirent topics
Use expressions and idiomatic phrases.
Use gestures
Make eye contact
Encourage students’ in-depth preparation.
APPLYING THE RESEARCH IN TEACHING
UNIT 8: THE STORY OF MY VILLAGE
Lesson 2: Speaking
Teacher: phan anh dao - Class: 10A1
I. Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to talk about plans and their possible results.
IV. Anticipated problems:
- There are some new words.
- Students usually know one way to raise plansà Teacher can ask them to use different ways to talk. 
III. Teaching aids: Pictures, textbook, tapes, projector.
IV. Procedure:
Teacher’s activities
Students’ activities
* Warm-up: (3 minutes)
Fill in each gap with one missing letter to make meaningful words
1. RO-D
2. BRI-G-
3. SCH- -L
4. FO-TB-LL GR-UND
5. M-DIC-L C-NT-E
- Asks the fastest one to write the answers on board.
- Give the keys.
1. ROAD
2. BRIDGE
3. SCHOOL
4. FOOTBALL GROUND
5. MEDICAL CENTRE
I. Pre-speaking: ( 3 minutes)
- Shows a pictu