Nghiên cứu những khó khăn trong dạy và học kỹ năng nói trong sách thí điểm tiếng anh 11 ở một số trường thpt tại tỉnh quảng trị

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
------------

NGO THI LE HUONG

AN INVESTIGATION INTO DIFFICULTIES
IN TEACHING AND LEARNING SPEAKING SKILLS
IN TEXTBOOK ENGLISH 11 NEW VERSION
FOR SOME UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLS
IN QUANG TRI

MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY
OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
CODE: 60.14.01.11

SUPERVISOR: TON NU NHU HUONG, D.Ed.

HUE, 2016


BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO
ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

------------

NGƠ THỊ LỆ HƯƠNG

NGHIÊN CỨU NHỮNG KHĨ KHĂN TRONG DẠY VÀ HỌC
KỸ NĂNG NĨI TRONG SÁCH THÍ ĐIỂM TIẾNG ANH 11

Ở MỘT SỐ TRƯỜNG THPT TẠI TỈNH QUẢNG TRỊ

LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP
DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH
MÃ SỐ: 60.14.01.11

NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC:
TS. TÔN NỮ NHƯ HƯƠNG

HUẾ, 2016


STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP

The work contained in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a
degree or diploma in any university. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and
belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another
person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself.

NGO THI LE HUONG
Date: ..........................

i


ABSTRACT

This research paper investigated some difficulties in teaching and learning
speaking skills with textbook English 11 new version in some upper secondary
schools in Quang Tri. In addition, the students‟ perception of learning and teaching

speaking skills was cognized concretely after the pilot textbook English 11 had been
used. Then, the research paper concurrently figured out effective ways of dealing
with difficulties given before.
The subjects of this study were 103 grade 11 students at Vinh Linh and Huong
Hoa upper secondary schools in Quang Tri. The data were collected through
questionnaires for students and interviews for both teachers and grade 11 learners.
The findings of the study revealed that the students had a strong awareness and
positive attitudes towards learning Speaking skills. The data obtained showed that
these students recognized many prominent and effective aspects of the new textbook
such as interesting and stimulating topics, clear examples, active communicative
tasks and authentic situations. However, the students also showed some negative
points they met when using the new textbook to learn Speaking skill such as long
examples, difficult and complicated vocabulary, and the difficult level of the speaking
tasks. Basing on the difficulties students faced, a lot of suggestions and solutions
were proposed to overcome the limitations given before.

ii


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to take this opportunity to express my cordial thanks to those
persons who provided me with valuable advice and enthusiastic supports during the
time I worked on this thesis.
Firstly, I would like to express my genuine appreciation and grateful thanks to
my supervisor, Dr. Ton Nu Nhu Huong, for her enthusiasm, patience and profound
knowledge. Thanks to her advice and excellent guidance, I was able to complete the
dissertation during my research time. To be honest, I feel very fortunate to have such
a brilliant advisor and mentor for my study. Under her supervision, I became more
independent. Without her help, this research would not have been possible to fulfill.
Besides, I would like to express my sincere thanks towards Dr. Truong Vien,

who introduced me to this research area. He was always willing to help and offer
me valuable suggestions when the work was in the making.
I am much obliged to my close friends, for their experience and information
sharing. Their advice was very useful for me to administer my research instrument
effectively.
Last but not least, I would like to give my deepest gratitude to my family: my
parents and my sisters for supporting me spiritually as well as always standing by me
throughout carrying out this research. Without their precious encouragement, I do not
know whether I could have enough determination to make the best of things or not.
Thanks again for giving me the motivation to follow out this study.

iii


TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUB COVER PAGE
STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP…………………………………… ………i
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................ ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................... iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................. vi
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................... viii
LIST OF CHARTS ................................................................................................. ix
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 1
1.1.The rationale of the study .................................................................................. 1
1.2. Aims of the study.............................................................................................. 3
1.3. Research questions ........................................................................................... 3
1.4. Scope of the study............................................................................................. 4
1.5. Significance of the study ................................................................................... 4

1.6. Structure of the study ........................................................................................ 4
CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................ 6
2.1. Definitions of key terms ................................................................................... 6
2.1.1. Definitions of Speaking ................................................................................. 6
2.1.2. The nature of Speaking .................................................................................. 7
2.1.3. Aspects of Speaking ...................................................................................... 8
2.1.3.1. Fluency ....................................................................................................... 9
2.1.3.2 .Accuracy..................................................................................................... 9
2.1.3.3. The relationship between accuracy and fluency in teaching Speaking ....... 10
2.2. The issues related to learning and teaching Speaking skills ............................. 10
2.2.1. Definitions of teaching and learning Speaking skills .................................... 11
2.2.2. Communicative Language Teaching Approach ........................................... 14
2.2.2.1. Characteristics of CLT: ............................................................................. 15

iv


2.2.2.2. Communicative Competence – The desired goal of CLT .......................... 17
2.3. An introduction to the textbook English 11 new version ................................. 19
2.3.1. The objectives and design viewpoint of Speaking lessons in the textbook
English 11 new version.......................................................................................... 20
2.3.2. The Speaking activities in the textbook English 11 new version .................. 21
2.4. Textbook evaluation ....................................................................................... 22
2.4.1. The role of textbook..................................................................................... 23
2.4.2. Criteria for textbook evaluation ................................................................... 24
2.5. Previous studies related to the research ........................................................... 26
2.6. Summary ........................................................................................................ 28
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY .................................................................... 29
3.1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 29
3.2. Research approaches....................................................................................... 29

3.3. Participants ..................................................................................................... 31
3.4. Data collection instruments ............................................................................. 32
3.4.1. The questionnaire ........................................................................................ 33
3.4.2. The Interview .............................................................................................. 34
3.5. Data analysis .................................................................................................. 35
3.6. Summary ........................................................................................................ 36
CHAPTER IV. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ............................................... 37
4.1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 37
4.2. Findings from questionnaires and interviews .................................................. 37
4.2.1. Students‟ awareness of the four skills and speaking skill in learning English .... 38
4.2.1.1. Students „opinions on the importance of learning speaking skills ............. 38
4.2.1.2. Students‟ reasons to take part in speaking classes ..................................... 39
4.2.1.3. Students‟ speaking ability ......................................................................... 40
4.2.1.4. Students‟ general evaluations for textbook English 11 new version ................. 41
4.2.2. The difficulties students face in using the new textbook with respect to
speaking skills ....................................................................................................... 42
4.2.2.1. Students‟ opinions on limitations of textbook English 11 new version ..... 43
v


4.2.2.2. Students‟ opinions on the number of speaking tasks in textbook English 11
new version ........................................................................................................... 45
4.2.2.3. Students‟ assessment on the situations in the speaking lessons of textbook
English 11 new version.......................................................................................... 45
4.2.2.4. Students‟ opinions on the frequency of using communicative activities in
the speaking lesson ................................................................................................ 46
4.2.2.5. Students‟ favorite activities in speaking lessons ........................................ 47
4.2.2.6. Students‟ opinions on the difficulties they often faced in learning from the
textbook ................................................................................................................. 48
4.3. Students‟ expectations of the new textbook and their teachers ........................ 51

4.3.1. Students‟ expectations of changes for textbook English 11 new version in
speaking skills ........................................................................................................ 51
4.3.2. Students‟ expectations of English teachers to improve their speaking skills in
the speaking classes ............................................................................................... 52
4.4. Discussion ...................................................................................................... 55
CHAPTER V.CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS..................................... 62
5.1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 62
5.2. Summary of major findings ............................................................................ 62
5.3. Implications of the study................................................................................. 63
5.3.1. For teachers ................................................................................................. 63
5.3.2. For students ................................................................................................. 64
5.4. Limitations of the study .................................................................................. 65
5.5. Suggestions for further research ...................................................................... 65
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 66
APPENDIX 1A ..................................................................................................... 72
APPENDIX 1B ..................................................................................................... 79
APPENDIX 2A ..................................................................................................... 85
APPENDIX 2B ..................................................................................................... 86
APPENDIX 3A ..................................................................................................... 87
APPENDIX 3B ..................................................................................................... 88
vi


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CLT

: Communicative Language Teaching

EFL

: English as a foreign language

MOET

: Ministry of Education and Training

vii


LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1: Objectives of units in the textbook English 11 ...................................... 20
Table 2.2: Activities and Topics of units in English 11 new version ...................... 21
Table 2.3: Summary of Ellis‟s (1997, pp. 36-42) approach to evaluation ............... 24
Table 2.4: Summary of Tomlinson‟s (2003, p. 24) approach to textbook evaluation ..... 25
Table 3.1: Profile of teacher participants ............................................................... 31
Table 3.2: Questionnaire items in survey ............................................................... 35
Table 4.1: Clusters of questionnaire items ............................................................. 37
Table 4.2: Students‟ reasons to take part in speaking English class ........................ 39
Table 4.3 : Students‟ opinions on using the new textbook to learn speaking skills . 43
Table 4.4: Frequency of using communicative activities of the speaking lesson in
the textbook English 11 ......................................................................................... 47
Table 4.5: Students‟ favorite activities in speaking lessons ................................... 47
Table 4.6: Students‟ opinions on the general difficulties they often face in learning
speaking from the textbook.................................................................................... 48
Table 4.7: Students‟ expectations of changes of textbook English 11 in speaking
skills. ..................................................................................................................... 52
Table 4.8: Students‟ expectations of English teachers‟ help

to improve their

speaking skills in the speaking classes ................................................................... 53

viii


LIST OF CHARTS
Chart 4.1: Students‟ opinions on the importance of speaking and learning
speaking skills ....................................................................................................... 38
Chart 4.2 : Students‟ own assessment on their speaking ability .............................. 40
Chart 4.3 : Students‟ general evaluation for textbook English 11 new version ............. 41
Chart 4.4 : Students‟ opinions on the number of speaking tasks in each unit of the
textbook English 11 new version ........................................................................... 45
Chart 4.5 : Students‟ assessment on the situations in the speaking lesson ............. 46

ix


CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the rationale for the study. Then, the aims of the study
are also provided followed by the significance and the scope of the study. Finally,
the structure of the study concludes the chapter.
1.1. The rationale of the study
Along with the development of global education, learning English is
becoming more and more important to students in Vietnam. Moreover, in a new
market economy in Vietnam with the growth of international businesses and trades,
the number of foreign tourists has been continuously increasing. Thus, the ability to
communicate in English becomes more and more necessary. In conjunction with the

goals of national educational system and the international cooperation at the
moment, English is not only a compulsory subject but also the means to help
learners become more successful in communication (Hoang Van Van, 2006). In
other words, there is a strong requirement for students to develop communicative
skills in order to fluently communicate in English, which is the key to their success
in the future.
However, in reality, at upper secondaryschools, students‟ level of language
proficiency is just somewhere between elementary and lower - intermediate (Le
Hung Tien, 2013). Many students can neither read simple texts in English nor
communicate with English speaking people even in some common cases. According
to Minh Nhat (2012), Vietnamese students‟ speaking and listening skills are too
bad. In fact, only few students can talk about their life in English.
On account of that, English learners need to become proficient in all the four
language skills including listening, speaking, reading and writing. Honestly, those
four skills are all significant. However, the ability to speak skillfully provides the
speaker with the indispensable capacity of putting words together in a meaningful

1


way to reflect thoughts, opinions, and feelings of the speaker (Gerald Gillis, 2013).
Unfortunately, Speaking skills are not easy for English learners because:
Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face. In
spite of this, it has traditionally been forced into the background while we,
teachers of English, have spent all our classroom time trying to teach our students
how to write, to read and sometimes even to listen in a L2 because grammar has a
long written tradition (Bueno, Madrid and Mclaren, 2006, p. 321).

Given these facts above, Speaking should be given special attentions from
teachers and students in teaching and learning English.

Despite the importance of spoken English, from my own observations, when
students at upper secondary schools are required to talk in English, they seem to get
stuck or find it difficult to express themselves. To raise the efficacy of teaching
speaking as well as other skills, the pilot textbook has recently had important
contributions which Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training would like to
conduct completely. Since 2008, Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training
(MOET) has conducted some new projects to integrate the effect of teaching. From
these concerns, the MOET prescribed a new series of English textbooks for all
grades and school types under the National Foreign Language 2020 Project (Hoang
Van Van, 2015). Together with the Government‟ investments, the curriculum
innovations have been conducted for 7 years. One of the recent changes of the
textbook innovation is English 11 new version which has been applied to teach in a
lot of upper secondary schools in some provinces in Vietnam. Along with
curriculum innovation, at the end of the upper secondary level, the students will be
able to use English as a means of communication at upper intermediate level
(MOET, 2007).
As one of the main aids to learners, the textbook is a key component to help
them in most language programs. In the context of the educational system, the
textbook is a book used as a standard source of information for formal study of a
subject and an instrument for teaching and learning (Graves, 2000, p. 175).
According to Richard (2005), in EFL context, it may even create the main and
2


perhaps only source of language input that learners receive and the basis for
language practice that occurs both inside and outside the classroom. Consequently,
it is necessary to emphasize that the English textbook continues to play a significant
role in EFL teaching and learning.
While teachers and students have used new English textbooks to improve their
teaching and learning process, it is a fact that the textbook does not fit perfectly in

every language program and closely correspond to the aims of the teaching program
and the needs of the students. Both of them have not only got some advantages but
also faced a lot of challenges in the process of working with the new English
textbooks.
For those reasons, this research entitled: “an investigation into difficulties in
teaching and learning speaking skills in textbook English11 new version for some
upper secondary schools in Quang Tri province” was carried out.
1.2. Aims of the study
This research aims to provide a deep insight into students‟ perception of the
learning of speaking skills, and the difficulties they face when using the pilot
textbook. Additionally, the researcher would like to make an all-out effort to bring
out several solutions which both teachers and students should consider in the
process of Speaking skills teaching and learning.
1.3. Research questions
In order to obtain the aforementioned aims, the research was set out to find the
answers of three following questions:
1. What is the students‟ perception of learning English speaking skills from
textbook English 11 new version?
2. What are the difficulties teachers and students face in using the new
textbook with respect to speaking skills?
3. What are their suggestions to make the speaking section in this textbook
more effectively employed?

3


1.4. Scope of the study
This study was conducted at Vinh Linh and Huong Hoa upper secondary
schools in Quang Tri. The subjects of the study were grade 11 students, who were
using the textbook English 11 new version and language teachers teaching these

students. It focused on investigating the learning and teaching of Speaking skills
when both teachers and students used textbook English 11 new version.
1.5. Significance of the study
Firstly, an insight into the students‟ perception of how the textbook has been
used will be provided through this study. This might help people deeply see the
progress of applying the new textbook to make some adaptations if possible. In
addition, it was conducted with a desire to help students who are struggling with
difficulties in learning speaking English to get over the obstacles in using textbook
English 11 new version. In other words, students may learn about solutions for
dealing with these difficulties in learning speaking skills at their upper secondary
schools from this paper. Also, the findings and conclusions of the research can not
only give a help to increase quality of the new textbook but provide the pilot
textbook designers with available information of the real level of students at upper
secondary schools as well. As a result, changes and adaptations can be conducted to
make the textbook better and better.
1.6. Structure of the study
This research paper consists of five chapters, which are presented below.
Chapter 1: Introduction
In this chapter, the author presents the rationale of the study. In addition, the
aims, research questions and scope of study are shown.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
In this chapter, the author reviews some key concepts related to Speaking
skills. Moreover, the previous studies related to teaching and learning speaking
English are presented. The readers, in addition, can find out some knowledge of
communicative competence in terms of CLT and the criteria for evaluation of the
textbook.
4


Chapter 3: Methodology

This chapter introduces the methodology with which this research is
conducted. It comprises of research approaches, participants, data collection
instruments and data analysis.
Chapter 4: Findings and discussion
In this chapter, the results of the research are presented and discussed.
Chapter 5: Conclusion and implications
This chapter summarizes all the key issues of the study. Then, implications
and limitations of the study, and suggestions for further studies are presented.

5


CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter consists of five main sections. In the first section, the researcher
presents definitions of key terms, which are used in the thesis. In the second section,
the issues of learning and teaching Speaking skills are presented. In the third
section, an introduction of textbook English 11 new version is shown. After that,
textbook evaluation and criteria for evaluation are listed and discussed. Then, a
number of previous studies are reviewed in the final section.
2.1. Definitions of key terms
In fact, Speaking is one of the basic skills of everyday communication.
Speaking skills and teaching Speaking skills have received much attention from
educators and linguists recently. Because of that reason, there are many theories and
evidence to prove the importance of Speaking in teaching and learning English.
Moreover, within this important role, linguists have special concerns related to
Speaking skills in a foreign language.
2.1.1. Definitions of Speaking
In fact, there have been many linguists attempting to define Speaking.

Nunan (1995) notices that Speaking is the ability of using oral language to
express ideas, intentions, thoughts and feeling to other people as a way to make the
message clearly delivered and well understood by the hearers.
In the same way, in Chaney‟s view (1998, p. 13), Speaking is defined as “the
process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and nonverbal
symbols, in a variety context”. In other words, sending and conveying a message
belong to a process where speakers and listeners interact together to get their
communication purposes.
Also, Speaking is defined as an interactive process of constructing meaning
that involves producing, receiving and processing information. Its form and
meaning are dependent on the context in which it occurs, the participants, and the
purposes of Speaking (Burns & Joyce, 1997).
6


My conclusion, then, is that Speaking is a productive process that has an
interaction between speakers and listeners to express orally, coherently, fluently and
appropriately their ideas, thoughts and their feeling in a given meaningful context to
serve different purposes of Speaking according to Burns and Joyce‟ definitions.
2.1.2. The nature of Speaking
It is obvious that Speaking can be seen as an important component of language
learning and teaching. Moreover, in comparison with reading, listening and writing
skills, Speaking is a vital skill which makes learners succeed in oral communication.
Within this goal of teaching and learning English, most language learners want to
learn a second/foreign language to speak it fluently to communicate effectively with
native and non - native speakers for various purposes. They may also need it for
education, as English is a compulsory subject at school. For that reason, linguists pay
special attention to Speaking skills in the teaching and learning process.
Widdowson (1978, p. 2) puts forward the idea that the learning of a language
involves acquiring the ability to compose correct sentences. In addition, it involves

an understanding of which sentences or parts of sentences are appropriate for a
particular context. In the same taken, to Nunan ( 1999, p. 216), Speaking requires
learners not only to know how to produce specific points of language such as
grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary but also to understand when, why, and in
what ways to produce that language. In a simpler term, Speaking is an interactive
process of constructing meaning involved in producing, receiving and conveying the
message. However, in some circumstances, it is not easy to claim that conveying
messages is always correct. For example, an utterance in Speaking may have some
different functions in terms of language. Therefore, in order to achieve a
communicative goal through Speaking, there are two aspects to be considered knowledge of the language, and skills in using this knowledge. It is not enough to
possess a certain amount of knowledge, but a speaker of the language should be able
to use this knowledge in different situations (Bygate, 1987, p. 3).
In teaching and learning a language, Speaking is one of the most important
language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking). It is also one of the useful
7


means that learners can use to communicate with others. In this way, they can be
successful to express their opinions, intentions, hopes and viewpoints. In addition,
knowledge of the language can be demonstrated by people who know well that
language because they are referred to as „speakers‟. Furthermore, in almost any
setting, Speaking is the most frequently used language skill. That is the reason why
Rivers (1981) argues that Speaking is used twice as much as reading and writing in
communication.
In the like manner, Brown (2001, p. 267) states that when a person can speak a
language, it means that he can carry on a conversation competently. Furthermore, he
notices that an ability to get pragmatic goals by speakers is a signal of successful
acquisition of language through an interactive discourse. Discussing this aspect,
Richards and Renandya (2002, p. 204) notice that an effective oral communication
requires the ability to use the language appropriately in social interactions.

Meanwhile, these interactions are not only verbal communication but also elements
of speech such as stress, pitch and intonation.
From some ideas above, it cannot be denied that Speaking skills are always
associated with oral communication. Moreover, Speaking skills can be stated as the
skill to use the language to express meanings in order to transfer or to get
knowledge and information from other people in the whole life situation through a
lot of factors following Brown‟s (2001) view. In addition, the last object of teaching
Speaking skills is referred to the ability of a speaker to communicate orally in the
language. Indeed, this ability is the correlation between fluency and accuracy
defined as communicative competency in Speaking. That is really necessary for us
to remember what makes the communication successful.
2.1.3. Aspects of Speaking
Actually, Speaking English is one of the most popular languages that are
frequently used by people all over the world. Hence, there have been a lot of aspects
of Speaking skills which need to be closely considered. Accordingly, there are some
components of Speaking concerned with different views below:

8


According to Thornbury (2005, p. 115), the planning of assessment of
Speaking involves how to find the right balance between accuracy (vocabulary,
grammar, pronunciation) and fluency. Syakur (1987, p. 3) explains that there are
generally, at least five components of Speaking skill: comprehension, grammar,
vocabulary, pronunciation, and fluency. Furthermore, Brumfit (1984, p.50) says
Speaking can more or less be divided into fluency and accuracy. Ur (1996, p. 135)
classifies Speaking including two aspects namely fluency and accuracy (vocabulary,
grammar, pronunciation). Richard and Renandya (2002, p. 223) present a table for
Speaking

aspects

namely

accent,

grammar,

vocabulary,

fluency,

and

comprehension. In addition, Brown (2001, pp. 267-269) emphasizes that teaching
oral communications should involve some perspective aspects such as
conversational discourse, pronunciation, accuracy and fluency, affective factors and
interaction effect.
To sum up, it can be said that the methodologists, although they do not always
use the same terms, agree that teaching Speaking involves in many aspects. They
bring along aiming Speaking development at accuracy as well as at fluency.
2.1.3. 1. Fluency
As far as accuracy and fluency are concerned, different researchers have given
different definitions. For example, Skehan and Foster (1999, pp. 96-97) define
fluency as the capacity to use a language in real time.
Concerning this, Nation (1991) asserts that fluency is the ability to get a
message across without too much hesitation and too many pauses to cause barriers
or a breakdown in communication (pp. 84-94). In agreement with this definition,
(Baker & Westrup, 2003, p. 90) define fluency as Speaking with ease and without
thinking about possible errors.

2.1.3.2 .Accuracy
In other terms, Bryne (1988, p. 7) considers accuracy as the use of correct
forms where utterances do not contain errors affecting the phonological, syntactic,
and semantic or discourse features of a language.
Indeed, accurate stands for correct or precise, which means that teaching
Speaking accuracy is connected with teaching correctness and precision. The aim here
9


is to get the language right, to form correct sounds, words and sentences, in other words
not to make mistakes. Considering Speaking accuracy, the teaching and practice consist
of language-oriented communication consisting of structural exercises where the
answers are actually predetermined (Klippel, 1984, p. 6).
2.1.3.3. The relationship between accuracy and fluency in teaching Speaking
Concluding these definitions above, accuracy emphasizes the precision of
grammar, intonation and vocabulary, while fluency describes level of proficiency in
communication such as procedural skill, expression proficiency, lexical phrases,
social interaction, necessary topics and discourse. In the simpler terms, accuracy
refers to how exact and mistakeless the speech is. Fluency, on the other hand,
performs how quick and pauseless the speech is. Although these aspects are two
contrasting things, accuracy and fluency are so closely related that they are
inseparable. The fluency is how smoothly and effortlessly one speaks while the
latter is Speaking without grammatical and structural flaws. They each influence
students‟ performance in different ways.
According to Hemmens (2011), “ultimately, we must want our students to be
successful language users, able to communicate in any situation with full
comprehension, confident and effective in their adopted language. This requires that
they are both fluent in their communication and accurate in their language choice.
It‟s not an either or situation; it‟s both.”
2.2. The issues related to learning and teaching Speaking skills

As the matter of fact, acquiring Speaking skills is not easy for the students.
They consider Speaking as the most difficult skill in language learning. Particularly,
with foreign language learners, communicating with foreigners is not easy in any
cases. That is the reason why English, especially Speaking, is compulsory to learn
at all levels in Vietnam. As Bygate (1998) argues, what teachers do to encourage
learners to prepare what sort of language they will use in communication, is very
similar to what second-language users do in real life. Because of that, many learners
are already consciously using preparation to help themselves to communicate well.

10


To achieve that goal, learning and teaching Speaking have been considered
carefully for a long time.
2.2.1. Definitions of teaching and learning Speaking skills
As mentioned above, Speaking is not only a crucial part of teaching and
learning a second language but also a productive process of interaction between
speakers and listeners. Furthermore, for most people, the ability to speak a language
is synonymous with knowing that language. Nevertheless, “speaking in a second or
foreign language has often been viewed as the most demanding of the four skills”
(Bailey & Savage, 1994, p. 7). Therefore, teaching Speaking is considered as one of
the most important features of teaching and learning language. It may be defined as
“showing or helping someone to learn how to do something, giving instructions,
guiding in the study of something, providing with knowledge, causing to know or
understand.”(Brown, 2007, pp. 7-8)
By the same token, Brown (2000, p. 7) defines the definition of teaching in
other words. He explains that teaching is guiding and facilitating learning
encouraging the learners to learn, and setting the condition for learning. More
specifically, Blum in Richard and Renandya (2002, p. 21) emphasizes factors
leading an effective teaching such as well-planned curriculum, efficient classroom

activities, focused instruction, and the like. From these aspects, it cannot be denied
that teaching is not easy for educators because it involves in a lot of features in order
to be successful in teaching process.
As stated above, teaching is defined as one of the means that is carried out to
get common purposes of education. Particularly, teaching Speaking is not the same
as other teachings because as stated by Nunan (2003) "teaching Speaking" is to
teach EFL learners to:
 Produce the English speech sounds and sound patterns
 Use word and sentence stress, intonation patterns and the rhythm of the
second language.
 Select appropriate words and sentences according to the proper social
setting, audience, situation and subject matter.
11


 Organize their thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence.
 Use language as a means of expressing values and judgments.
 Use the language quickly and confidently with few unnatural pauses, which
is called as fluency. (Nunan, 2003, p. 55)
Absolutely, the definition of teaching cannot be separated from the definition
of learning. For that, the understanding towards the concepts of teaching and
learning is really necessary to concern in second language acquisition. Basically,
Brown (2007, p. 1) points out that learning process is long and complex because:
Your whole person is affected as you struggle to reach beyond the confines of your first
language and into a new language, a new culture, a new way of thinking, feeling and
acting. Total commitment, total involvement, a total physical, intellectual and
emotional responses are necessary to successfully send and receive messages in a
second language. Many variables are involved in the acquisition process. (Brown,
2007, p. 1)

Furthermore, Tomlinson (1998, p. 4) suggests that learning, in general, is
normally considered to be a conscious process. It composes of the committing to
memory of information relevant to what is being learned through practicing, being
taught, or experiencing something.
In addition, learning process is clearly defined as bringing together cognitive,
emotional, and environmental influences for making changes in one‟s knowledge,
skills, values, and worldviews. Brown (2000, p. 7) claims that learning is an
acquisition or getting information and skill implying storage systems, memory, and
cognitive system. Based on this definition, he points out some important
components to define learning as follows:
1) Learning is acquisition or getting information.
2) Learning is retention of information or skill.
3) Retention implies storage system, memory, and cognitive organization.
4) Learning involves active, conscious focus or and acting upon events
outside or inside the organism.
5) Learning is relatively permanent but subject to forgetting.

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6) Learning involves some form of practice, perhaps reinforced practice.
7) Learning is a change in behavior.
In terms of language learning, Harmer (1998, p. 24) suggests that the natural
language acquisition cannot be difficult if elements which can help the students learn
effectively are considered carefully. The elements are engaged, study, and activate.
The first one,“engage”, is related to a teaching sequence where teachers try to
motivate students through involving their emotion. Meanwhile, the second element,
“study”, focuses on the language and the construction of the language. The last
element is “activate” referring to the exercise and activities which are designed to get
the students using language as freely and communicatively as they can. On these

grounds, what I can argue is to teach the learners a lot of indispensable factors which
are stated by Nunan (2003) in Speaking English. They are producing the speech
sounds and sound patterns in English; using word and sentence stress, intonation
patterns and the rhythm; selecting appropriate words and sentences; organizing
learner‟s thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence; using language as a means
of expressing values and judgments; and using the language fluently. Along with
teaching Speaking English, learning Speaking English

is considered clearly as

Brown‟(2000, p. 7) view that learning is an acquisition or getting information and
skill which implies storage systems, memory, and cognitive system. Similar to
teaching Speaking English, Brown shows seven important components in learning
such as an acquisition or getting information; retention of information or skill;
retention implies storage system, memory, and cognitive organization; being active,
conscious focus or and acting upon events outside or inside the organism; being
relatively permanent but subject to forgetting; involving some form of practice,
perhaps reinforced practice; and changing in behavior.
It has been found that teaching and learning Speaking skills have a close
relationship that we cannot separate one from another because of their effects in
Speaking English. In their roles, teaching is not only a key to guide and facilitate
learning but also enable to encourage the learners to learn and to set the conditions
for learning. Therefore, as a teacher, how well you understand of learning will
decide to what you need to do in the classroom with your learners.
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2.2.2. Communicative Language Teaching Approach
As mentioned above, Speaking is "the process of building and sharing meaning
through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts" (Chaney,

1998, p. 13). Speaking is a crucial part of second language learning and teaching.
Despite its importance, teaching Speaking, for many years, has been undervalued
and English language teachers have continued to use the old method to teach
Speaking just as a repetition of drills or memorization of dialogues. In recent years,
language learning has been viewed from a very different perspective. In fact, the
goal of teaching Speaking makes English teachers and educators change their minds
positively. That is an effective improvement of students' communicative skills
because of today's world requirements. In that way, students start to learn ways to
express themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules appropriate
in each communicative circumstance. Recognizing changes of these requirements of
the modern world, linguists and educators have used widely the newest method to
teach Speaking English. This is CLT focusing on real communications with the
variety of language without too focus on the form of grammatical patterns. CLT is
distinguished from non-communicative activities, which only focus on how to
construct the sentences that based on terms of grammar during learning process of
English (Harmer, 1998, p. 85).
In the field of language learning and teaching, there have been some
approaches that have been being applied. Some of these approaches are Grammar Translation Method, Reading Method, Audiolingualism, and Affective - Humanistic
Approach, etc. Until then, through experiencing many changes, CLT is the language
teaching approach on the teaching methodology, which has been put into practice
around the world as the newest, and the most effective approach to teach English as
a second or foreign language because:
Communicative approach is better than all the other methods of language teaching in
general and Grammar Translation Method (GTM) in particular because the GTM is
more concerned with teaching about language rather than language itself whereas
communicative approach establishes a direct bond between the experience and the
expression. (Akram &Mehmood , 2011, p. 175)

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