Luận văn Khảo sát kỹ năng nói tiếng anh của học sinh trường THPT Đô Lương, Nghệ An

ined questions determined beforehand, and allow some elaboration in questions and answers. After the questionnaires and class observations, two interviews were conducted by the researcher to get information. One interview is for teachers who had finished their teaching of speaking lessons observed by the researcher; the other is for students from the observed classes. The interview for teachers consists of 8 questions and the interview for students includes 9 questions. Of course, the two interviews were performed in Vietnamese to make sure that all the interviewees had no difficulty in comprehending the meaning of the interview questions to answer them. After that, all the questions and answers of the interviews are interpreted into English. The interviewer took notes while the interview was going on, then key ideas were summarized by the researcher himself (Appendix 4 & 5). CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION In this chapter, the results of the study are presented. The data has been collected from the questionnaires, the class observations and the interviews. The result will be presented in forms of tables and figures. 3.1. The Questionnaires As mentioned above, 160 copies of a questionnaire were given to 160 students who agreed to answer the questionnaire. Besides the students’ questionnaire, 10 copies of another questionnaire were given to 10 teachers who are teaching English at DL1USS. The questionnaire for students is in Vietnamese so as to make sure that there is no misunderstanding. However, the questionnaires are then interpreted into English (Appendixes 1& 2). 3.1.1. The Questionnaire for Students 3.1.1.1. Methodology To make sure that the study has adequate reliability, a questionnaire is delivered to 160 students, 80 of whom are studying in grade 10, another 80 are studying in grade 11. These grades are following the two new syllabuses published by the Ministry of Education. This questionnaire (Appendix 2) consists of 8 questions with 8 categories: -Students’ experience in learning English -Students’ self-evaluation of their English proficiency -Students’ stated purpose of learning English -Students’ perception of the importance of speaking skill -Students’ interest in speaking skills -Students’ satisfaction with their speaking proficiency and the speaking activities inside and outside the school -Students’ opportunities for and difficulties in speaking skill -Factors needed by students to develop their speaking skill 3.1.1.2. Results Figure 1: Students’ experience in learning English According to Figure 1, we can see that 129 of 160 students (80.6%) have been learning English since grade 6 whereas 4 students (2.5%) say that they started at grade 10. In fact, these students come from rural areas where they didn’t have a chance to learn English. 27 other students (16.9%) say that they have been learning English since grades 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. Of course, these students come from the centre of the town or nearby. Table 1: Students’ self-evaluation of their English proficiency Questions No of responses Percentage What is your level of English? Excellent Good Neutral Bad very bad 3 25 76 46 13 1.8 15.6 47.5 28.7 8.1 In English, what skill are you good at? Speaking Listening Reading Writing 29 15 110 117 18.1 9.3 68.7 73.1 In English, what skill are you bad at? Speaking Listening Reading Writing 131 145 43 35 81.8 90.6 26.8 21.8 Table 1 shows us the results of students’ English proficiency. It can easily be seen that although most students started learning English at early ages, their levels are not very high. Only 25 students (15.6%) have a good level of English, 76 students (47.5%) have a neutral level, 46 students (28.7%) have a bad level and 13 students have a very bad level. It is surprising that the number of students who are excellent at English is too small, only 3 students (1.8%). To answer Question 2, 117 students (73.1%) say that they are good at writing skill, 110 (68.7%) other students think that they are good at reading skill. Only 15 students (9.3%) are good at listening and 29 students (18.1%) are good at speaking skill. Sadly, the number of students good at reading and writing is over five times bigger than that of students good at speaking and listening. Contrary to the results of Question 2, the results of Question 3 tell us that 145 students (90.6%) are the worst at listening, 131 students (81.8%) are the worst at speaking skill, whereas only 43 students (26.8) are the worst at reading and 35 students (21.8%) are the worst at writing. Table 2: Students’ stated purpose of learning English Questions No of responses Percentage What is your purpose of learning English? To pass the exams To apply for a job in the future It is a compulsory subject To talk to foreigners I don’t know what to do Others: …….. 125 97 130 56 21 17 78.1 60.6 81.2 35 13.1 10.6 Table 2 is about students’ stated purpose of learning English. 130 students (81.2%) answer that they are learning English as it is a compulsory subject, 125 other students (78.1%) learn it to pass the exams. 97 students (60%) consider it important for their future. 56 students (35%) learn English to talk to foreigners. Meanwhile, 21 students (13.1%) learn English without any reasons and 17 other students (10.6%) have other reasons, such as watching films, reading books, etc…. It is surprising that most of the students were aware of the importance of English to their future study or employment; but most of them are learning the language just to pass the exam. Obviously, it can be seen from the statistics that not many students really love English and learn it with great interest. Figure 2: Students’ perception of the importance of speaking skill Answering about perception of the importance of speaking skills as shown in Figure 2, 148 students (92.5%) agree that speaking skill is very important. 12 other students (7.5%) have a neutral attitude to English speaking skill. Nobody disagrees, strongly disagrees, or even strongly agrees to it. According to the results, students’ attitude to English speaking skill seems to be good. Table 3: Students’ interest in speaking skills Questions No of responses Percentage You like speaking English very much? Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree 0 7 38 112 3 0 4.3 23.7 70.2 1.8 You are satisfied with your English speaking skill? Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree 14 117 25 4 0 8.7 73.2 15.6 2.5 0 You actively participate in activities in speaking lessons? Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree 0 69 49 42 0 0 43.2 30.6 26.2 0 In Table 3, when asked if they like speaking English very much (Question 1), 112 students (70.2%) agree with this statement. Only 3 students (1.8%) strongly agree to the statement. 38 other students (23.7) have neutral liking to English speaking. And there are 7 students (4.3%) who disagree to the statement. Compared to the results of the perception of the importance of speaking skills, there seems to be contradiction between students’ liking and their way of English learning. According to the results of Question 2, 14 students (8.7%) strongly disagree and 117 students (73.2%) disagree that they are satisfied with their speaking skill. 25 students (15.6) have neutral satisfaction. Only 4 students (2.5%) agree that they are satisfied with their speaking skill. These results may disclose the fact that students’ attitudes to speaking skill are not very good. About the active participation in the activities (Question 3), 69 students (43.2%) disagree that they actively participate, 49 students (30.6%) have a neutral idea. Only 42 students (26.2%) agree that they positively participate in activities in speaking lessons. In conclusion, all the results shown in Table 3 can reveal that students at DL1USS have little interest in learning speaking skills. Table 4: Students’ satisfaction with their speaking proficiency and the speaking activities inside and outside the school Questions No of responses Percentage You always read English books and talk to your brothers, sisters and friends in English? Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree 0 109 26 25 0 0 68.2 16.2 15.6 0 Your school always organize extra activities for students leaning English? Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree 0 147 13 0 0 0 92 8 0 0 You always speak English outside the class& school? Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree 0 116 29 15 0 0 72.6 18.1 9.3 0 Activities of speaking skill in the course books are suitable for your level? Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree 0 152 5 3 0 0 95.1 3.1 1.8 0 Looking at the results of Question 1, we can see that 109 students (68.2%) disagree that they always read English books and talk in English to their friends, brothers and sisters, 26 students (16.2%) have a neutral opinion, while 25 students (15.6%) agree with the ideas. These results reflect the fact that students are maybe very lazy at home or they do not have good experience of English learning. Answering Question 2, 147 students (92%) disagree that their school always organize extra activities for students learning English. And 13 students (8%) have a neutral answer to this statement. From these results, it can be referred that the administrators do not take enough care of students’ English speaking skill. According to the answers to Question 3, 116 students (72.6%) disagree that they always speak English outside class or school, 29 students (18.1%) express their neutral answer and 15 students (9.3%) say that they usually speak English outside class and school. These data help us to know that most students do not practice their oral skill much. When asked if activities of speaking skill lessons in the course books are suitable for students’ level (Question 4), 152 students (95.1%) show their disagreement, 5 students (3.1%) have a neutral idea, and only 3 students (1.8%) think the activities suitable. It can be inferred from the results of Table 4 that most students do not satisfy with their speaking skill and activities inside and outside the school. Table 5: Students’ opportunities for and difficulties in speaking skill Questions No of responses Percentage What opportunities do you have in learning English speaking skill? Your teachers always help you. You can practice speaking with friends. You have opportunities to speak English. You can help friends to speak English. 121 132 125 27 75.6 82.5 78.1 16.8 What difficulties do you have while learning English speaking skill? Unable to find words and ideas. Not enough time to prepare. Many friends resist speaking. Teachers speak non-standard English. I’m afraid of losing face. I’m not taken care of by teachers. 113 141 65 36 52 59 70.6 88.1 40.6 22.5 32.5 36.8 As for the opportunities when learning speaking skill in Question 1, 121 students (75.6%) say that they are helped by their teachers, 132 students (82.5%) answer that they can practice speaking English with their friends, 125 students (78.1%) say that they have opportunities to speak English. Only 27 students (16.8%) think that they can help their friends speak English. About the difficulties in learning English speaking skills in Question 2, 113 students (70.6%) are unable to find words and ideas, 141 students (88.1%) say that they do not have enough time to prepare, 65 students (40.6%) blame that many of their friends are lazy and resist speaking. 36 students (22.5%) are to blame for their teacher’s non-standard English speaking. 52 students (32.5%) are afraid of losing face and 59 students (36.8%) say that they are not taken care of by their teacher. It can be seen from data of Table 5 that students have many difficulties in learning English speaking skill. Table 6: Factors needed by students to develop their speaking skill Questions No of responses Percentage What factors are needed for students to develop their speaking skill? Students need encouragement and better care from teachers and family. The syllabus should be adjusted by teachers to suit their students’ level. Teachers should prevent their students from speaking Vietnamese. Teachers should have more suitable methods. 160 137 124 142 100 85.4 77.5 88.7 What should students do to improve their speaking skill? Have a right attitude to speaking skill. Always practice speaking English at school and at home. Cut down on speaking Vietnamese in class. Participate in different activities and share ideas with others. 160 160 152 155 100 100 95 96.8 Discussing factors needed by students to develop their speaking skill, 160 students (100%) support the idea that they need encouragement and better care from teachers and family, 137 students (85.4%) agree that the syllabus should be adjusted by teachers to suit their students’ level. 124 students (77.5%) cite that teachers should prevent their students from speaking Vietnamese. 142 students (88.7%) choose the idea that teachers should have more suitable methods. To find out solutions to the difficulties, 160 students (100%) recommend that they should have a right attitude to speaking skill and always practice speaking English at school and at home, while 152 students (95%) share the same idea that they should reduce speaking Vietnamese in class and 155 students (96.8%) suggest that they should participate in different activities and share ideas with others. 3.1.2. The questionnaire for teachers 3.1.2.1. Methodology In order to find out the teacher’s perception of the opportunities they have and difficulties they encounter in their teaching of oral skill and their techniques in dealing with these difficulties, the second questionnaire is distributed to 10 English teachers at DL1USS. The questionnaire consists of 10 questions (Appendix 1) with 6 different categories: -Teachers’ experience in teaching English -Teachers’ interest in teaching English and English Speaking skill -Teachers’ perception of the importance of speaking skill -Teachers’ opinions of speaking activities and of students’ attitude to speaking lessons -Teachers’ opportunities for and difficulties in teaching English speaking skill -The factors needed and teacher’s techniques 3.1.2.2. Results: Figure 3: Teachers’ experience in teaching English According to Figure 3, we can see that three of the ten teachers have the teaching experience from 1 to 5 years, taking 30 percent; four of them have been teaching from 6 to 10 years, taking 40 percent, two of the teachers have the teaching experience from 11 to 15 years. Only one of them has been teaching for over 16 years, accounting for 10 percent. In fact, this teacher had been teaching Russian for nearly 20 years before he started his English teaching career. In conclusion, from the data, we can affirm that most of the teachers at DL1USS are very young, energetic, creative and enthusiastic. Table 7: Teachers’ interest in teaching English and English Speaking skill Questions No of responses Percentage Do you like teaching English speaking skill very much? Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree 0 0 2 7 1 0 0 20 70 10 Of the four skills, which skills do you like teaching most? Speaking Listening Reading Writing 4 1 3 2 40 10 30 20 Table 7 shows us the results of 2 questions. As for Question 1, 7 of the 10 English teachers (70%) agree that they like teaching English speaking very much, 1 of them strongly agrees to the idea. In fact, this teacher always gives good lessons on speaking skills. Meanwhile, 2 of the teachers say that they like teaching speaking skills as much as other skills. Interestingly enough, all the teachers like teaching English speaking skills. It is likely that this is a good opportunity from teachers for developing students’ oral skill at DL1USS. Looking at Question 2, we can easily see that 4 of the 10 teachers (40%) like teaching English speaking skill most, 3 (30%) like teaching reading skill, 2 (20%) like teaching writing, and only one (10%) likes teaching listening skill. It is obvious that the number of the teachers who like teaching speaking is bigger than teaching other skills. Figure 4: Teachers’ perception of the importance of speaking skill The result of Figure 4 shows us that 5 of the ten teachers (50%) agree that speaking skill is an important skill to students. Meanwhile, two of them (20%) strongly agree that it is the most important skill. Only three of them (30%) consider speaking skill as important as the other three skills. During the interview, these three teachers explain that speaking skill is the most important in theory, but in fact it is not very important because most exams, according to them, are carried out in written English. Especially, no teacher considers English speaking skill unimportant or very unimportant. Table 8: Teachers’ opinions of speaking activities and of students’ attitude to speaking lessons Questions No of responses Percentage How do you think about the speaking activities in the course books? Very difficult Difficult Neutral Easy Very easy 2 4 4 0 0 20 40 40 0 0 What are your students’ attitudes to the speaking lessons? Very bored Bored Neutral Interested Very interested 0 3 5 2 0 0 30 50 20 0 Being asked about their opinions of speaking activities in the course books (Question 1), 2 teachers (20%) say that speaking lessons are very difficult for teachers and students to teach and learn. 4 teachers (40%) state that they are difficult while 4 (40%) cite that the contents are neutral. There is nobody to share the ideas that speaking lessons in the course books are easy or very easy for students to learn. According to the results of question 2, 3 teachers (30%) say that their students feel bored with the speaking lessons and 2 teachers (20%) have an idea that their students are interested in speaking lessons, whereas there are 5 teachers (50%) pointing out that their students have the same attitudes to speaking lessons as to the lessons of other skills. Nobody thinks that their students feel very bored with or very interested in the speaking lessons. Table 9: Teachers’ opportunities for and difficulties in teaching English speaking skill Questions No of responses Percentage What opportunities do you have during speaking lessons? Have a good contact with students. Develop your speaking skill. Be aware of your students’ ability. Be more confident (step by step) in speaking skill. 10 7 10 8 100 70 100 80 What difficulties do you face with during speaking lessons? Large& multi-level classes. Students’ low level of spoken language. Students’ low motivation. The syllabus is not suitable. Lack of teaching experience. Students’ Vietnamese use & noise making. 10 10 10 7 5 8 100 100 100 70 50 80 As it is seen in Table 7, there are 2 questions for teachers. The results of Question 1 of teacher’s opportunities tell us that all the 10 teachers (100%) agree their opportunities are to have a good contact with their students and to be aware of their students’ abilities. Meanwhile, only 7 of the teachers (70%) answer that they can develop their speaking skill via speaking activities and 8 of them (80%) cite that they can be more confident with speaking skill. With the results of Question 2, it is clear that 10 teachers (100%) share the same options that their difficulties are caused by large and multi-level classes, students’ low level of spoken language and students’ low motivation. 8 teachers (80%) say that their difficulties come from students’ Vietnamese use and noise making. 7 teachers (70%) blame for the syllabus unsuitability. Surprisingly enough, only a half of the teachers accept that their lack of teaching experience cause difficulties for themselves. Table 10: The factors needed and teacher’s techniques In Table 10, as for factors needed for a good speaking lesson (Question 1), all the 10 teachers (100%) agree that teachers should have a suitable method and students should have a right attitude to speaking lessons. 6 teachers (60%) say that the contents of the course books should be equal to students’ proficiency level while 7 teachers (70%) think that the administrators should supply good class environment and facilities. Questions No of responses Percentage What factors are needed for a good speaking lesson? Teachers should have suitable methods for speaking skill. Students should have right attitudes to speaking skill. The contents of the course books should be equal to students’ proficiency level. The administrators should supply good class environment and facilities. 10 10 6 7 100 100 60 70 What should you do to help your students speak English better? Organize pair and group work activities. Use authentic materials (songs, films...) Organize communicative activities. Encourage collaborative work from students. Move around to help the less able students. Encourage students to speak English and prevent speaking Vietnamese. 9 8 8 9 10 10 90 80 80 90 100 100 When discussing the teacher’s techniques to help students to develop speaking skill (Question 2), most of the teachers (over 80%) agree with the techniques proposed. 3.2. The class observations 3.2.1. Methodology Observations are carried out by the researcher in 5 classes 10A1 10A7, 10C2, 11A3 and 11C5 with 5 different teachers from April 1st to April 29th, 2008. They are focused on Class environment, Teacher’s preparation, Teacher’s Characteristics, Teacher’s presentation, Teacher’s methods and Students’ motivations. The results of the observations were presented in the observation sheet in Appendix 3. 3.2.2. Result * The class environment: In all classes I observed the class size is a visible reality. The number of students in the five classes I observed: 10A1, 10A7, 10C2, 11A3 and 11C5 were 55, 51, 50, 52 and 50 respectively. From the fact, we can see that the class environment in observed classes is not suitable for a speaking lesson. This is a problem which has great influence on English teaching and learning, especially on teacher’s management. *Teacher’s preparation Most of the teachers I observed had prepared their speaking lessons comparatively well. They prepared different teaching aids for their lessons. For example, in order to prepare the speaking lesson of unit 14 “The World cup” in English 10, one teacher used copies of the pictures of football teams in the course book. Another observed teacher used some pictures of some Vietnamese and foreign famous singers for the speaking lesson of unit 12 “Music” of English 10 and some pictures in the course book for unit 13 of English 11 “Music”. From teachers’ preparations for speaking lessons, the researcher has come to conclusion that all the teachers have always carefully prepared their lessons before giving them to students. It is true that these teachers are very young, active and enthusiastic. This is one of the opportunities from teachers. *Teacher’s characteristics Although the five teachers I observed sometimes made mistakes in pronunciation and their accents are not as good as that of English teachers in cities and of native people, their voice is rather clear and audible. Moreover, in class, they always have acceptable use of language, which help their students understand what their teachers told them to do. *Teacher’s presentation During the class observations, the observer sees that all the observed teachers have showed their interest in teaching English speaking lessons, which is very important and necessary. Their good point is that most of the observed teachers know how to use authentic materials rather suitably, which interests students to learn the language. However, the most popular teaching aids for their lessons are only pictures. When teaching, they always have a thought in their mind that their students’ knowledge of English is low, so after giving instruction in English, they tend to interpret the instruction into Vietnamese. For example, in Task 1 of the speaking lesson of unit 13 “Hobby”, of English 11, at first, teacher said: “Now, class. I want you to work in pairs and discuss which of the following activities you like or not like to do and why” and then she said “Các em hãy làm việc theo cặp và nói về những hoạt động mà em thích hoặc không thích và nêu lý do”. This is maybe their bad point and is one of the causes which make their students lose interest in learning. *Teacher’s method Dealing with the teacher’s method in the observed classes, the re