USING ROLE PLAY TO IMPROVE THE FIRST YEAR NON-MAJOR STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS AT A UNIVERSITY IN HANOI.

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Phan Thị Thu Huyền

USING ROLE PLAY TO IMPROVE
THE FIRST YEAR NON-MAJOR STUDENTS’ SPEAKING
SKILLS AT A UNIVERSITY IN HANOI

MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

HANOI, 2021


VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Phan Thị Thu Huyền

USING ROLE PLAY TO IMPROVE
THE FIRST YEAR NON-MAJOR STUDENTS’ SPEAKING
SKILLS AT A UNIVERSITY IN HANOI

Field: English Language
Code: 8220201
Supervisor: Đỗ Thị Thúy Vân, Ph.D.


DECLARATION BY AUTHOR
I declare that the study entitled “Using role play to improve the 1st
year non-major students' speaking skills at a University in Hanoi” is created

by my own findings and I am the sole author. To the best of my knowledge,
with the exception of the indication of reference, this is carried out without
using any other author’s work and is submitted after a carefully checking
progress in order to fulfill the requirements of the M.A degree.
Except where reference has been made in the text, this thesis contains
no material previously published or written by another person.
The study reported in this thesis was approved by Graduate Academy
of Social Sciences.
Author’s Signature

Phan Thị Thu Huyền

3


ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS
Although only one name appears as the author of this work, writing a
thesis is indeed a collaborative effort. I would like to express my sincere
thanks to the many people who made it possible.
First and the foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to my
supervisor, Đỗ Thị Thúy Vân, Ph.D. for all of her kind support to complete
this research paper. If it had not been for her guidance, as long as the
consultation and comprehensive comments from her, I would have not
Next, I would like to send my special thanks to Mr. Đặng Nguyên Giang
- Dean of the Department of Foreign Languages and the other staff at
Graduate Academy of Social Sciences the Department of Foreign Languages,
Graduate Academy of Social Sciences for affording me the honor of writing
this thesis.
Additionally, I would like to convey my special thanks to the teachers
and students of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering – Hanoi University of

Industry

whose

kind

participation

and

patient

co-operation

and

encouragement have helped me much in this study. They provided me with
valuable data for the study so that I could have broader prospects of teaching
and learning English speaking activities at Hanoi University of Industry in
general and at Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in particular.
Last but not least, millions of my sincere thanks go to my beloved
family, who are always supportive and enthusiastic to me during the progress
of making this.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

DECLARATION BY AUTHOR........................................................................i

ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS..............................................................................ii
ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................vi
LIST OF TABLES..........................................................................................vii
LIST OF CHARTS.........................................................................................viii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS...........................................................................ix
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.....................................................................1
1.1. Rationale.................................................................................................1
1.2. Aims of the Study....................................................................................4
1.3. Research Questions.................................................................................4
1.4. Scope of the Study..................................................................................5
1.5. Significance of the Study........................................................................5
1.6. Research Methods...................................................................................6
1.7. Structure of the Study..............................................................................6
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................8
2.1. Speaking..................................................................................................8
2.1.1. Definitions of Speaking......................................................................9
2.1.2. Characteristics of speaking..............................................................10
2.1.3. Principles of Teaching Speaking.......................................................11
2.1.4. Teacher’s Roles in Teaching Speaking...............................................12
2.1.5. Methods of Teaching Speaking.........................................................14
2.1.6. Activities to Improve Speaking Skills................................................16
2.2. Role Play...............................................................................................17
2.2.1. Definition of Role Play....................................................................17
2.2.2. Types of Role Play..........................................................................19
2.2.3. The Steps for Role Play Activities....................................................22
2.2.4. Significance of role play in teaching speaking skill...........................25
2.3. Review of the previous research works.................................................26
2.4. Summary...............................................................................................27

2.5. CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY........................................................28
3.1. Research Setting....................................................................................28
3.2. Participants............................................................................................29
3.3. Research Procedure...............................................................................30
3.3.1. Conducting preliminary investigation...............................................30
3.3.2. Planning the action.........................................................................31
3.3.3. Implementing the action..................................................................33
3.3.4. Observing the action.......................................................................33
3.3.5. Reflecting the action........................................................................34
3.4. Data Collection Instruments..................................................................34
3.4.1. Questionnaires................................................................................34
3.4.2. Observation....................................................................................36
3.4.3. Interviews.......................................................................................36
3.5. Summary...............................................................................................37
2.6. CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS................................38
4.1. Data Analysis from Questionnaires.......................................................38
4.1.1. Questionnaire for teacher................................................................38
4.1.2. Questionnaires for students..............................................................48
4.2. Data Analysis from Observations..........................................................60
4.2.1. The First Observation.....................................................................60
4.2.2. The Second Observation..................................................................62
4.2.3. Reflection of the Students’ Speaking Performance............................64
4.3. Data Analysis from Interviews..............................................................65
4.3.1. Teachers’ interviews........................................................................65
4.3.2. Students’ Interviews.........................................................................66
4.4. Discussion.............................................................................................67
4.5. Summary...............................................................................................70
2.7. CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS...........................................................71
5.1. Recapitulation........................................................................................71
5.2. Concluding Remarks.............................................................................72

5.3. Implications...........................................................................................73


5.4. Limitations and Suggestions for Further Studies..................................74
5.5. REFERENCES......................................................................................76
5.6. APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS..........................I
5.7. APPENDIX 2: PRE-TASK QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS...IV
5.8. APPENDIX 3: POST-TASK QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS. VI
5.9. APPENDIX 4: ROLE PLAY ACTIVITY EVALUATION FORM. . .VIII
5.10.............................................................APPENDIX 5: LESSON PLANS
..............................................................................................................XI
5.11........................................Lesson Plan for Role Play Activity – Cycle 1
......................................................................................................................XI
5.12.................................................Lesson Plan for Role Activity – Cycle 2
...................................................................................................................XIV
5.13......APPENDIX 6: INTERVIEW FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
............................................................................................................XIX


5.14.
5.15.

ABSTRACT

This study is designed and carried out in the hope of

exploring the method of using role play to develop English speaking skills for
first year non-major students at universities in general and at Hanoi University
of Industry (HaUI) in particular. Basing on the theoretical foundation about
role play implementation, this study aims at investigating the real situation of

teaching and learning speaking skill to the first year non-major students at
HaUI including the quality and methods of teaching and learning speaking
skills. It also studied how the speaking skills of the first year non-major
students at HaUI can be improved through using role play activities and
examined the students’ attitudes toward role play activities application in
teaching and learning English. The study analized the effects of using role
play and the difficulties of applying for teacher and students as well as
suggesting some solutions to these problems. In order to achieve the target
survey questionnaires, observation and interviews were employed to collect
the required information. Based on the findings, some implications would be
given for both the teachers and the students. With all these information, this
study is expected to be useful to both teachers and students in teaching and
learning English speaking skills.


5.16.
OF TABLES

LIST
Page

5.17..................................................................................................................Ta
ble 1. Teachers’ techniques to encourage students to speak and improve their
English speaking skills....................................................................................44
5.18...............................................................................................................Tabl
e 2. Students’ knowledge about what students do in role play.............54
5.19..................................................................................................................Ta
ble 3. Students' interest in learning if role play is applied in speaking lessons
.........................................................................................................................55
5.20...............................................................................................................Tabl

e 4. Results from Post -task questionnaire for students........................56
5.21...............................................................................................................Tabl
e 5. Results of students ’ speaking performance in cycle 1...................61
5.22...............................................................................................................Tabl
e 6. Results of students’ speaking performance in cycle 2....................63


5.23.
5.24.
OF CHARTS

LIST
Page

5.25.
5.26.
5.27...............................................................................................................Cha
rt 1. Teacher's opinions about the role of speaking skill....................... 39
5.28...............................................................................................................Cha
rt 2. Teachers' opinions about students' attitude towards......................40
5.29...............................................................................................................lear
ning speaking........................................................................................ 40
5.30...............................................................................................................Cha
rt 3. Assessment on students' speaking competence............................. 41
5.31...............................................................................................................Cha
rt 4. Teachers' difficulties in teaching speaking skill............................ 42
5.32...............................................................................................................Cha
rt 5. Teachers' opinions about the material............................................43
5.33...............................................................................................................Cha
rt 6. Teachers' opinions about benefits of role play...............................46

5.34...............................................................................................................Cha
rt 7. Teachers' opinions about difficulties of role play implementation 47
5.35...............................................................................................................Cha
rt 8. Teachers' assessment on students' improvement........................... 48
5.36...............................................................................................................Cha
rt 9. Students' opinions about the role of speaking skill.......................49
5.37...............................................................................................................Cha
rt 10. Students' opinions of being afraid in front of the class...............49
5.38...............................................................................................................Cha
rt 11. Students’ difficulties in learning speaking English......................50
5.39...............................................................................................................Cha
rt 12. Students’ opinions about the role of speaking skill.....................51
5.40...............................................................................................................Cha
rt 13. Students' self-assessment towards speaking competence............52
5.41...............................................................................................................Cha
rt 14. Students' opinions about the material..........................................53


5.42...............................................................................................................Cha
rt 15. Students' speaking Performance at Good Level (Cycles 1&2). . .65
5.43.

Chart 16. The improvement of students’ speaking skill under role
play implementation..........................................................................69


5.44.
5.45.
5.46.
5.47.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

5.48.
5.49. AR:
5.50.

HaUI:

Action Research
Hanoi University of Industry

5.51. T:

Teacher

5.52.Ss:

Students

5.53. ESL:

English as a Second Language

5.54.

English as a Foreign Language

5.55.

EFL:

TESL: Teaching English as A Second Language


5.56.
5.57.
5.58.

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

5.59.
1.1. Rationale
5.60.

In the process of globalization and economic integration, there is a great

demand for a linguistic means of international communication. As a result, English has
gained the most dominant status among many existing languages in our world. It is widely
used in all parts of the world, in every aspect of life, in every branch of the world economy
and in many other fields. Therefore, in order to approach the modern world in a way with
fewer obstacles, learning English is necessary. Our lives in Vietnam have become far more
connected through technology, a global economy, and social media thus English has
become more and more important.
5.61.

At present, high command of foreign languages helps students so much in

finding good jobs, students’ ability to use English fluently and effectively in their
communication has been of great importance.

5.62.

Since the emergence of a global movement that calls for a new model of

teaching and learning for the 21st century, it has been argued that formal education must be
transformed to enable new forms of teaching and learning that are needed to tackle complex
global challenges. Experts recognize that the “transmission” or lecture model is highly
ineffective for teaching 21st century competencies and skills. The concern about
transforming the goals and daily practice of teaching and learning is characterized as
knowledge and technologically driven. How teachers and educators can best support
learners develop essential skills is a big issue. People learn in a variety of ways, so the
challenge for teachers is to discover which methods help them most to acquire the language.
5.63.

In the general context of the world, Vietnamese education is not an

exception. Only good basic numeracy and literacy skills will be no longer suffice to provide
learners. Accordingly, the Ministry of Education and Training is working on an ambitious
reform to optimize learning and promote the competencies needed to master content and
apply knowledge. Training human resources to adapt to the development of society, to meet
the demands of the new era, in addition to intensive knowledge, the education needs to
13


equip the appropriate skills for students.
5.64.

There are four skills in teaching and learning a language: listening,

speaking, reading and writing, but out of the four skills, speaking is considered as the most

essential skill to be mastered. For O’Malley and Pierce (1996), speaking seems to be an
important skill focusing on learners’ ability

to communicate effectively through oral

language because the disability of the learners to speak may make them hard to express
their ideas even in a simple form of conversation. However, speaking in English is not
simple as learners have to master certain important elements of English such as
pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. In that case, teachers are
supposed to be creative in developing their teaching learning process to give attention to the
elements of speaking, improve students’ speaking skill, and make their teaching more
exciting.
5.65.

With various elements of the teaching speaking, many problems occur in

such process. In learning English speaking skills, students often cope with several
problems. Students are not enthusiastic and not confident enough to use English in speaking
class. The influence of their native language, their low motivation and their shortage of
vocabulary make it difficult to use the language. And the sad fact is that only a small
proportion of them can perform communication in the language well after finishing
college. The majority of
5.66.

them still remain embarrassed when they have a conversation in English.

5.67.

This problem may be resulted by the way students are trained in colleges

which is not conducive to learning English as a tool of communication. In classroom, many
students are reluctant to speak English even when they have opportunities.
5.68.

The author has noticed that those problems are also experienced by the

first year non-major students of HaUI. The problems with students’ speaking skills can be
caused by a lot of different factors including students’ interest and attitudes towards
learning English, the material, and even teachers’ monotonous and inappropriate use of
teaching techniques, which makes students bored and unmotivated in the speaking lesson,
and not confident about their speaking skills. Thus, it is crucial to propose appropriate
techniques to overcome the students’ low speaking ability. It is the responsibility of the
teacher to find out an effective technique in order
14 to stimulate the students’ positive attitude


towards the speaking class and their speaking skills (Burns & Joyce, 1997, p.10).
5.69.

In searching the best method possible to teach speaking skills for

students, the author decided to choose role play activities as an effective one. The
effectiveness of role play activities in improving students’ speaking skills has been
demonstrated in a number of research studies. In specific, role play has an important role in
teaching speaking because it offers students a chance to practice communicating in different
social contexts and different social roles. In role play activities, students act to be another
one in the actual world situation that is brought into the classroom. “By bringing the outside
world into the classroom, we can provide a lot of useful practice that would otherwise be
impossible in cafes, shops, banks, etc.’’ (Scrivener, 1998, p.363). Besides, for the shy
learners, according to Ladousse (1989), role play

5.70.

supports the confidence of shy learners because here they are provided

with a mask where learners with difficulty in conversation are liberated. They learn how to
interact with other partners without being afraid that their mistakes might cause some
misunderstanding. In brief, role play is indeed a useful teaching technique which should be
applied by ESL/EFL teachers more often in the ESL /EFL classrooms.
5.71.

For the above-mentioned reasons, the researcher has decided to carry out

a study entitled “Using Role play to Improve the First Year Non-Major Students’
Speaking Skills at a University in Hanoi”.
1.2. Aims of the Study
5.72.

The general aim of the study is to improve speaking skills for the first

year non-major students of HaUI through using role play activities. In order to reach the
aim, the following objectives are expected to obtain:
1. Researching how the speaking skills of the first year non-major students at HaUI can
be improved through using role play activities;
2. Examining the students’ attitudes toward role play activities application in teaching
and learning English.
1.3. Research Questions
5.73.

To achieve the aforementioned aim, the following research questions are
15

addressed:
1.How can the speaking skills of the first year non-major students at HaUI be improved
through role play activities?
2. What are the first year non-major students’ attitudes toward using role play activities in
teaching and learning speaking?
1.4. Scope of the Study
5.74.

Due to time constraint, this study only focused on the applicability of role

play activities to enhance English speaking abilities for first year non- major students at
HaUI. Therefore, subjects of the study were teachers and students (main stream) at HaUI.
5.75.

Subjects for the study are: 60 students as respondents to student

questionnaires and 10 teachers as respondents to teacher questionnaires. The study was
implemented during the lessons of the academic school year 2020- 2021 at HaUI.
1.5. Significance of the Study
5.76.

The author is well aware that the survey statistics are not fully

representative of all the first year non-major students at many universities in Vietnam.
However, she has learnt some of the most popular facts that occurring in the study which
she hopes to propose as the present situation of teaching and learning English speaking
skills at HaUI. After carrying out this research, she will have more panoramic
understanding of the theory and technique of teaching speaking skills, especially role play

application. Then, the result of this study is expected to give practical contribution to the
teaching of English, particularly at HaUI where the study was conducted. For teachers, the
findings of this research will affirm the use of role play activities one of the effective
teaching techniques to enhance the students’ English speaking skills. For students, using
role play activities can help them to improve their English speaking skills as well as
overcome shyness in order to be able to communicate in English more confidently.
Moreover, for other researchers who conduct the same study, the result of this study can be
a reference and contribute more information to solve the same problems.
1.6. Research Methods
5.77.

In order to achieve the aims mentioned above, action research procedures
16


were used in this study. Firstly, a survey questionnaire was delivered to the teachers so that
more information on the current situation and problems they faced and solutions
implemented can be collected. Then, another questionnaire was also given to the first year
non-major students to investigate their problems in learning speaking skills. The
information from questionnaires can help to draw a general picture about the reality of
teaching and learning speaking skills at HaUI and to find out an effective solution that is
using role play activities to improve the students’ speaking skills. To investigate how
speaking skills of the first year non-major students at HaUI can be enhanced through using
role play activities, the author implemented an action plan in the form of cycles that follows
Kemmis and McTaggart’s model (2000, p.564) which includes planning, implementation,
observation, and reflection. Also, the author distributed open-ended and close-ended
questionnaires designed for both the teachers and the students to examine their attitudes
towards role play activities in improving speaking skills.
5.78.

To achieve the objectives, both qualitative and quantitative methods will

be exploited in this action research project. The data will be collected via survey
questionnaires, observations and interviews.
1.7. Structure of the Study
5.79.

An organization of this thesis is clarified to make it easy to understand.

5.80.
5.81.
5.82.

The following is a short description about what each chapter contains.
Chapter 1: Introduction is a brief description of the research including

the reasons for choosing topic, aims, research questions scope, methods, significance of the
study and structure of the study.
5.83.

Chapter 2: Literature Review presents theoretical background of the

study including an overview of speaking skills and role play in teaching the speaking skills
of a language.
5.84.

Chapter 3: Methodology provides background information on the

teaching and learning situation at HaUI and the methods as well as process of the study.
5.85.

Chapter 4: Findings and Discussions First, data analysis of teachers’ and

students’ questionnaires and the results of preliminary investigation are displayed in order
to come to the conclusion that it is crucial for the implementation of an action plan in which
17


role play activities are used. Then, the findings from the implemented action plan are
discussed. Finally, a discussion emerging from the findings is presented to answer the
research questions.
5.86.

Chapter 5: Conclusion summarizes the main points of the study, proposes

pedagogical implications. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study are also
included in this chapter.

18


5.87.
5.88.
5.89.
5.90.
5.91.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter will provide an extensive review of literature on speaking

skills and role play activities. First, an overview of speaking skills including definition of
speaking skill, types of speaking skills, teaching speaking skills, assessment of speaking
skills and activities to promote speaking skills is presented. Also, this chapter is also
designed to present definition of role play, types and procedures in using role play, and
significance of role play in teaching speaking skills.
2.1. Speaking
5.92.

Numerous language students consider talking capacity the evaluation of

knowing a language. For them, the ability to communicate with others is more essential
than the capacity to read, write or understand oral language. They view speaking as the
crucial ability they can obtain and they measure their advancement with regard to their
achievements on spoken communication. Accordingly, if students don't figure out how to
communicate or don't get any chances to speak during the language lesson, they may get
de-inspired and lose their motivation in learning. Instead, if the students are provided proper
techniques, speaking lessons can be much more attractive, more comfort to the students.
5.93.

Freeman (in Risnadedi, 2001, pp. 56-67) affirmed that speaking skill is

one of the students’ most significant capacities which help express their ideas orally. It can
be assessed through speaking tests or examinations. He additionally claimed that speaking
is much more complicated and troublesome than being assumed because it is not only an
oral trail of abilities that it got from vocabulary and structure.
5.94.

According to Johnson (1997), speaking skill as a language competence

plays an important role in life. Firstly, learners have a great desire to use language to inform
and communicate with others. Next, their speeches must be professional if they want to be a
well-rounded speaker or an outstanding person. Finally, being confident to speak in front of
the public offers more career opportunities for the college or university graduates.
2.1.1. Definitions of Speaking


5.95.

So far there have been many definitions of speaking given, each deals

with one aspect of speaking, however, they all state speaking involves in speech and
through speech speakers expresses their attitudes, feelings, etc.
5.96.

In Oxford Dictionary of Current English (2009, p. 414), speaking is “the

action of conveying information or expressing ones’ thoughts and feelings in spoken
languages”.
5.97.

In Brown and Yule’s opinions (1983), spoken language consists of short,

fragmentary utterances in a range of pronunciation. Usually, there is a great deal of
repetition and overlap between one speaker and another. Speaker usually uses non- specific
references. They also add that spoken language is made to feel less conceptually dense than
other types of language such as prose by using the loosely organized syntax, and nonspecific words, phrases and filters such as oh, well, uhuh.
5.98.

According to Chaney and Burke (1998, p.13), speaking is “the process of

building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a
variety of context.”
5.99.

In terms of language teaching and learning, speaking is considered as one

of the four important language skills (listening, reading, speaking and writing) to practice
and master. In this light, Nunan (2003, p.48) puts it that
5.100.

“speaking is the productive oral skill. It consists of producing systematic

verbal utterance to convey meaning.” Also regarding speaking as a skill, Bygatc (1987, p.3)
investigates the distinction between knowledge and skill in a speaking lesson, which he
considers as crucial in the teaching of speaking. He argues that speaking is considered as a
skill which deserves attention every bit as much as literary skills in both first and second
language (Bygate, 1987, p.2). Indeed, to be a good learner of speaking, studying knowledge
of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc., is not enough but the skill to use this
knowledge to communicate successfully is indispensable.
5.101.

To sum up, there are different ways to define speaking, i.e., speaking as

an action, a process and a skill. In this study, the term “speaking” will be used as a skill
related to language teaching and learning.
2.1.2. Characteristics of speaking


5.102.

Speaking has the following characteristics:

5.103.

The form and meaning of speaking depend on the setting in which it

appears, including the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical
environment, and the aims of communication. It is normally unconstrained, open-ended,
and evolving. Nevertheless, speech is not always changeable. Language functions (or
patterns) that tend to recur in certain discourse situations can be distinguished and charted.
5.104.

Proper speaking requires that learners not only understand the way to use

specific points of language such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary, but also that they
master when, why, and how to produce language.
5.105.

Speech has its own skills, structures, and conventions which differ from

written languages. A good speaker collects this arrangement of skills and knowledge to be
successful in a given speech act.
5.106.

It is undebatable to conclude that speaking is essential to communication.

By evaluating how good speakers express, what speaking tasks can be applied in class, and
what specific needs learners mention, teachers can help learners improve their speaking and
overall oral proficiency.

2.1.3. Principles of Teaching Speaking
5.107.

For Thombury (2005), teaching speaking is a long-term progress starting

at giving the learners guidelines to create and express their thoughts in English or any types
of foreign languages and more critically, show them the way to articulate this original
dialect accurately. Then, the teacher keeps on giving learners instructions on where they can
begin to evaluate their sound productions, basing on specific criteria. At the point when
learners can do this cycle of evaluation on their own, the initial role of the teacher to correct
their possible mistakes no longer exist; however, the teacher remains a significant role in
class. They could give appropriate encouragement to invigorate the learners' interest in
speaking and in request that they talk, repeat and imitate themselves more regularly.
5.108.

According to Nunan (1991, pp.54 - 56), there are five main principles of

teaching speaking. These principles will be listed and explained in detail below:
5.109.

Awareness of Difference:


5.110.

It is unavoidable that there are obvious differences between the context of

teaching and learning a second language and a foreign language. Specifically, a foreign
language context is the one which has the target of learning speaking in a special
environment, not a communicative language popular in the community; However, a second

language context’s target language is, definitely, the language of communication purpose in
the society. Accordingly, when teaching speaking, teachers should focus on this feature to
conduct suitable speaking activities.
5.111.

The Importance of Fluency and Accuracy:

5.112.

In general, accuracy in speaking can be understood to be the extent of

speech in which what students spoke matches what people, especially native people, use in
communicative activities; and fluency - in another extent - is the capacity of using language
quickly and confidently with little hesitations of pauses in an unnatural manner or timeconsuming word searched from speakers.
5.113.

Since fluency and accuracy are crucial to the effectiveness of

communication, teachers should pay serious attention to teaching and guiding students to be
better at these features.
5.114.

Providing Opportunities:

5.115.

Providing students with opportunities to talk is also a good method to

increase the speaking ability of students. Teachers should do it more regularly during the
lessons and encourage all students in class to take chances to speak.

5.116.

Tasks Planning:

5.117.

It is recognizable that having a well-prepared teaching plan will help

teachers to be more organized and the lesson will be increasingly effective.
5.118.

Designing classroom activities

5.119.

In a speaking lesson, classroom activities are critical because students are

made to involve in the target speaking language with better effectiveness. In order to design
appropriate activities for students, teachers should spend a certain amount of time to
research the class situation.
2.1.4. Teacher’s Roles in Teaching Speaking


5.120.

Regarding teachers’ roles in teaching speaking, Harmer (2007) states that

teachers play a crucial role in teaching speaking and it is necessary for teachers to follow
the activities below:
5.121.

5.122.

Firstly, teachers should apply the language students are learning to deal
with the subject matters and besides, stimulate the involvement of

students in the class. Next, teachers can encourage students to present their background and
subject knowledge by asking questions instead of giving information directly. They can set
up the speaking topic with the students and consult and comment to each of their
contributions.
5.123.

In addition, students can be encouraged by their teachers to speak as

much as possible when teachers give further suggestions basing on students’ presentation
and trying not to use a student’s short utterance to start another lengthy turn. Teachers
should clearly pay attention to what students intend to say by giving opportunities to other
students and trying not to cut off an exchange too early.
5.124.

Another thing that teachers are expected to do is taking serious notice of

the usage of natural feedback rather than assessing or evaluating the students’ speaking and
requiring them to follow the judgment carefully.
5.125.

Finally, teachers need express certain compliment on the students’

demonstration but on their contribution to content of the conversation that the teacher had
prepared previously.
5.126.

With the above-mentioned expected activities done by teachers in a

speaking class, teacher’s roles are recognized to be of great importance. The viewpoint of
Brown (2009) clarifies that there are three important roles of teacher to make the students
speak fluently. First of all, teachers play the role as a prompter. This means the teacher
cannot help the students when they lost their idea. Sometimes students are silent during
their conversation. Without disrupting them, it will stop the sense of frustration for some
students when they lose their language or ideas. The second role is to be a participant.
Precisely, the teacher can join one or two groups as an ordinary participant during the
lesson. Even if, the teacher can join the activity but not interrupt
5.127.

the activity too much. The last is feedback provider. The teacher is a


person who gives proper feedback to the students once they have completed their
presentation. Students should be given credit right after their accomplishment as well as
instructed on the matters that need improving by their teacher.
5.128.

In sum, teachers’ roles should motivate the students to speak

independently without disrupting from the teacher and when giving them feedback the
teacher should not over-correct the students’ mistakes unless it de-motivate them to speak
during the activity. It is believed that the students’ speaking skill will improve after the
teacher and the students obey the suggestions.
2.1.5. Methods of Teaching Speaking
5.129.

Presently many linguistics and teachers of English share the opinion that

establishing a classroom environment where students have real-life communication,
authentic activities and meaningful tasks would help students improve their speaking
competence. The lesson is considered successful when students collaborate in groups or
pairs to accomplish an objective or to complete a task. Byrne (1991, pp.22-31) points out
that there are three stages in the teaching of a speaking lesson to foster learners’ oral
capacity, which are described as follows:
5.130.

The presentation phase

5.131.

In this phase, teachers play the central role, which means they work as

information provider. Up to know, speaking materials are mainly written in two forms of
dialogues and prose in every coursebook. And these two forms must be introduced in
different ways.
5.132.

According to Byrne (1991, p. 22) to present a dialogue, the teacher should

follow the ten steps such as: Using pictures to establish the setting and
5.133.

English should be used as much as possible during this step; Drawing out

learners’ experience in relation to the situation; Explaining main vocabulary; Asking key
information of the dialogue to set listening task; Asking learners to do the listening without

looking at the books; Allowing learners to look at the book when necessary; Taking
listening and practicing step; Having learners address their difficulties and give the reason;
Applying role play activities; Having learners act out the dialogue.
5.134.

The suggested procedure is perfectly and logically arranged. However,


because of the learner’s competence, some steps can be omitted. It is time- consuming to
carry out ten steps all together as the limitation of class time and learners’ self-confidence.
5.135.

The practice phase

5.136.

During practice phase learners participate in most of talking. Teachers

provide maximum amount of practice which is usually in the forms of activities to improve
fluency of speaking. Pair work or group work is commonly applied at this phase.
5.137.

The production phase

5.138.

Learners should be given opportunities to speak English freely at this

phase. This is when learners have ả real chance to speak English and they are able to use
English naturally for themselves, not for their teachers.

5.139.

Byrne (1991, p. 22) concludes that in order to improve speaking ability of

learners, these three phases above should be followed in the right order. However, they might
not be applied as expected in reality due to time limitation, different types of learners and
materials in use. The teachers should pay attention the students’ presentation during the Practice
and Production phases so that they can see how far students have improved their speaking skills
and what mistakes they might produce. A speaking lesson is affected by many factors such as
learners’ participation, the use of language, etc.
2.1.6. Activities to Improve Speaking Skills
5.140.

There are many activities to promote speaking. As Kayi (2006, pp. 1-2)

inferred from many linguistics on her article on Teaching English as A Second Language
(TESL) Journal, activities such as discussion, picture describing, and role play can be
employed to improve speaking skills.
5.141.

Picture describing

5.142.

For this activity students can gather in groups and each group is given a

different picture. Students discuss the picture with their group members, and then a
representative of each group describes the picture to the whole class. This activity fosters
the creativity and imagination of the learners as well as their ability to speak in public.
5.143.

Discussion

5.144.

After a content-based lesson, a discussion can be carried out for various

reasons. The students may aim to share their thoughts about an event, or find solutions in
their discussion groups. Before the discussion, it is essential that the purpose of the