the study applying role-play in increasing student interest in learning speaking to grade 11 students at lai vung 2 high school

i
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I declare that my thesis entitles: “Applying role-play in increasing student’
interest in learning speaking to grade 11 students at Lai Vung 2 high school” is the
result of my own work, submitted in the fulfillment for the requirements of the B.A
degree. Except where the reference is indicated, no others person's work has been used
without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis.

The author
Le Dinh Mai Thao

ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

During the process of carrying out the study, I have received a large amount of
contribution and support from many people.
First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, M.A. Ngo Ai
Tuong, for her enthusiastic and useful guidance, insightful comments, and
encouragement without which my thesis would not have been completed.
Second, my special thanks go to all of the teachers in Foreign Language Department
who provided me with necessary help as well as good suggestion whenever I got into
trouble.
Next, I am grateful to the teachers of English, who answered my questionnaire and
interviewing questions, especially, Ms. Trinh Thi Hong Cam and Mr. Vo Minh Trung,
who allowed me to carry out my observation and the students at Lai Vung 2 High
school for what they have done to help me finish the thesis.
Last but not least, I would like to express my special thanks to my family, my friend
and so many others who have given me constant support and love during the
completion of the study.

Le Dinh Mai Thao
















iii
ABSTRACT
Using role-play activity is an effective way that helps to increase students'
interest in learning speaking. When applying role-play, students are set into an
interesting talking environment, therefore, they can be activated to talk as more as
possible .The study about applying role-play in increasing students' interest in learning
speaking is carried out to identify how students interest in learning speaking as well as
role-play activity. Data used for analysis in this study is mainly collected through
survey questionnaires, through observation of two classes whose teachers have applied
this activity and through direct interviewing. One of the prominent results from data
analysis is that students at Lai Vung 2 High school really interest in learning speaking
whenever applying role-play. The usefulness and difficulties of applying this activity

are mentioned in this thesis. Some solutions for overcoming these difficulties are also
suggested.


















iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
ABSTRACT iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS iv
LIST OF TABLES vii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1. Motivation for the study 1
1.2. Aims of the study 2

1.3. Research methods 2
1.4. Scope of the study 2
1.5. Significance of the study 2
1.6. Previous related studies 2
1.7. Organization of the study 3
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 4
2.1 Teaching and learning English speaking skill 4
2.1.1 Communicative language teaching approach – an effective language teaching
method 4
2.1.1.1 Definition of communicative language teaching approach 4
2.1.1.2 The goal of communicative language teaching approach 4
2.1.2 The way of learning English speaking effectively 5
2.2 Role-play in teaching speaking 6
2.2.1 Definition of role-play 6
2.2.2 The steps for role-play activity 7
2.2.3 The significance of role-play in teaching speaking 10
2.2.4. The teacher‟role in this activity. 10
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 12
3.1 Research questions: 12
3.2. Research participants 12
3.2.1. The researcher 12

v
3.2.2. The subjects 12
3.3. Research procedure 12
3.4. Data collection instruments 12
3.4.1. Survey questionnaires 13
3.4.2. Observations 13
3.4.3. Interview 14
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 16

4.1. Results analysis 16
4.1.1. Questionnaires 16
4.1.1.1. Questionnaire for students 16
4.1.1.2. Teacher questionnaire 31
4.1.2. Interviewing 41
4.1.2.1. Teachers' interviewing 41
4.1.2.2. Students' interviewing 42
4.1.3. Observation 43
4.1.3.1. The first observed class 43
4.1.3.2. The second observed class 44
4.2. Discussion 46
4.2.1. Research question 1: What attitude do teachers and students have toward
learning speaking English and role-play activities? 46
4.2.1.1. Students' attitude toward learning speaking English. 46
4.2.1.2. Teachers and students' attitude toward role-play activities. 46
4.2.2. Research question 2: What are the effectiveness and difficulties of applying
role-play? 47
4.2.2.1. The effectiveness of applying role-play. 47
4.2.2.2. The difficulties of applying role-play. 47
4.2.3. Research question 3: What should be done to overcome the difficulties of
applying role-play? 48
4.2.3.1. The advices for teachers. 48
4.2.3.2. The advices for students 48

vi
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION 50
5.1. Overview of the thesis 50
5.2. Limitations of the thesis 50
5.3. Suggestions for further research 51
REFERENCES I

APPENDIX 1 III
QUESTIONNAIRE III
APPENDIX 2 V
BẢNG CÂU HỎI V
APPENDIX 3 IX
OBSERVATION SHEET IX




















vii
LIST OF TABLES
Tables of students'questionnaire analysis
Table 1: Students' attitude about speaking English 16

Table 2: Students' thought about learning speaking 17
Table 3: Students' speaking ability 18
Table 4: The frequencies of teachers' applying role-play 19
Table 5: Students' thought about the way that teachers apply role-play 20
Table 6: Students' thought about role-play activities 21
Table 7: Students' opinion about the profit of participating in role-play 22
Table 8: Students' benefits when participating in role-play activities 23
Table 9: Students' interest in their role 24
Table 10: Students' advantages when participating in role-play activities 25
Table 11: Student's difficulties when participating in role-play activities 26
Table 12: The students' preferences about the topics of role-play activities 27
Table 13: Students' opinions about their teacher's instruction 28
Table 14: The increasing of students' interest in learning speaking 29
Table 15: The improvement of students' speaking ability 30
Tables of teachers'questionnaire analysis
Table 1:Teachers' opinion about their students' attitude about learning speaking 31
Table 2: Teachers‟ opinion about their students' speaking ability 32
Table 3: Teachers have applied role-play activities 33
Table 4: Teachers‟ opinion about applying role-play in increasing students' interest in
learning speaking 34
Table 5: The usefulness of role-play activities 35
Table 6: Teachers' frequency of applying role-play activities 36
Table 7: Teachers' opinion about whether applying role-play is difficult or not 37
Table 8: Teachers' difficulties when applying role-play activities 38
Table 9: Teachers' thought about the increasing of their students' interest in learning
speaking 39
Table 10: Teachers' opinion about their students' speaking ability improvement 40

viii
LIST OF FIGURES

Figures of students' questionnaire analysis
Figure 1:Students' attitude about speaking English 16
Figure 2:Students' thought about learning speaking 17
Figure 3: Students' speaking ability 18
Figure 4: The frequencies of teachers' applying role-play 19
Figure 5: Students' thought about the way that teachers apply role-play 20
Figure 6: Students' thought about role-play activities 21
Figure 7: Students' opinion about the profit of participating in role-play 22
Figure 8: Students' benefits when participating in role-play activities 23
Figure 9: Students' interest in their role 24
Figure 10: Students' advantages when participating in role-play activities 25
Figure 11: Student's difficulties when participating in role-play activities 26
Figure 12: The students' preferences about the topics of role-play activities 27
Figure 13: Students' opinions about their teacher's instruction 28
Figure 14: The increasing of students' interest in learning speaking 29
Figure 15: The improvement of students' speaking ability 30
Figures of teachers' questionnaire analysis
Figure 1: Teachers' opinion about their students' attitude about learning speaking 31
Figure 2: Teachers‟ opinion about their students' speaking ability 32
Figure 3: Teachers have applied role-play activities 33
Figure 4: Teachers‟ opinion about applying role-play in increasing students' interest in
learning speaking 34
Figure 5: The usefulness of role-play activities 35
Figure 6: Teachers' frequency of applying role-play activities 36
Figure 7: Teachers' opinion about whether applying role-play is difficult or not 37
Figure 8: Teachers' difficulties when applying role-play activities 38
Figure 9:Teachers' thought about the increasing of their students' interest in learning
speaking 39
Figure 10: Teachers' opinion about their students' speaking ability improvement 40

1

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
This chapter introduces some very first parts of the thesis; there are seven parts in
this chapter: (1) motivation for the study; (2) aims of the study; (3) research methods;
(4) scope of the study; (5) significance of the study; (6) previous related studies and (7)
organization of the study.
1.1. Motivation for the study
Speaking skill is one of important parts of learning English. Everyone who learns
English always want to use this skill as well as they can. Speaking English fluently is
the key that lets people can be easier to communicate with foreigners, accept the
advance of technology and get success. However, sometimes, speaking is also the
obstacle that obstructs them to reach to their aims. In fact, a lot of learners study
English grammar very well, but they cannot master it just because they get difficulties
in their speaking. This problem leads to disheartenment for learners so they lose their
interest in learning speaking.
In Vietnam, especially in many countryside schools, speaking skill usually is
neglected. Teachers spend almost all class time for teaching grammar; therefore,
students lack the chances to practice speaking (Nguyen Quoc Hung, M.A). In others
case, speaking classes are the time for learning by heart dialogs or practicing repetition
of drills. Students cannot cavalier this drills in their real conversations. The result is
more and more students lose their belief in their ability of speaking English.
To improve student‟s communicative skills, increasing student‟s interest in
speaking is very useful. The more interesting atmosphere the teachers create the more
effectiveness in oral skills the students get. Role- play activity is one of the best ways
that can help teachers carry out this. Since teachers apply role- play activities in class,
students are activated because they are set into an interesting speaking environment.
For these reasons above, the researcher decide to carry out the thesis “Applying
role-play in increasing student‟ interest in learning speaking to grade 11 students at Lai
Vung 2 high school”. Through this thesis, researcher hope that it helps high school

2
teachers realize the usefulness of role-play activity as well as suggest some solutions to
increase the effectiveness of this activity in speaking class.
1.2. Aims of the study
The thesis aims to identify how students interest in learning speaking. The thesis, in
addition, aims to find out the effect of using role-play in speaking classes. Also, it is
intended to find out difficulties from using role-play activities so that the researcher
can suggest some solutions to these difficulties.
1.3. Research methods
During studying process, there are three research methods which are going to
collect valuable data and information: questionnaires, observation and interview.
Firstly, the questionnaires are employed. In order to collect the data, two types of
questionnaires are designed: one in English and the other in Vietnamese. The English
questionnaire is delivered to four teachers, who teach in grade 11 and the Vietnamese
one is used for students. Collected data will be analyzed to realize how role-play is
applied and the effect of using role-play in class. Next, personal observations are also
carried out in some classes, which role-play is applied to observe teachers and students'
role-play activities. Furthermore, interview is use to find out teachers and students
difficulties from using role-play.
1.4. Scope of the study
The scope of study is about applying role-play in increasing students' interest in
learning speaking to grade 11 students at Lai Vung 2 high school.
1.5. Significance of the study
Hopefully, the findings of the study may make a contribution to increase interest in
learning speaking English for student toward applying role-play activities. The thesis
also may help to find out what are the difficulties when teacher applying role-play.
Furthermore, it may not only help to find out the difficulties when teacher applying
role-play but also will give some suggestions to help teachers over come these
difficulties.

1.6. Previous related studies

3
In 2004, in the thesis " Rèn luyện kỹ năng nói tiếng Anh của học sinh khối lớp 10
trường THPT chuyên Thoại Ngọc Hầu thông qua hoạt động đối thoại và đóng kịch"
(Improving speaking English skill of the grade 10 students at Thoai Ngoc Hau high
school by using dialogs and role-play), Mach Buu Hien, students at An Giang
University has stated some definitions about dialog and role-play. The thesis has shown
the steps to carry out role-play activies. He also stated some advantages when teachers
apply this activity in teaching speaking. This study is very helpful because it provides
the theoretical background for the thesis.
1.7. Organization of the study
The thesis consists of five chapters
Chapter 1: Introduction, which presents an overview of the thesis in which
motivation for the research, aims, research methods, scope, significance , previous
related studies as well as the organize of the study are briefly presented.
Chapter 2: Literatures review, this chapter provides the theoretical background
relevant to the study including theory of teaching and learning English speaking and
role-play in teaching speaking.
Chapter 3: Methodology, this chapter focuses on presenting research questions,
research participants, research procedure, data collection as well as methods of
analysis.
Chapter 4: Results and discussions, this part presents the results of survey
questionnaires, observation and interview about teachers and students' attitudes
towards teaching and learning English speaking and applying role-play activities in
speaking classes.
Chapter 5: Conclusions, this is a chapter consisting of overview of the study, presents
the limitations of the study and provides some suggestions and implications for further
research.

4
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Teaching and learning English speaking skill
2.1.1 Communicative language teaching approach – an effective language
teaching method.
2.1.1.1 Definition of communicative language teaching approach
"Communicative language teaching (CLT), or the communicative approach, is
an approach to language teaching that emphasizes interaction as both the means and the
ultimate goal of study." (www.wikipedia.org)
Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate
communication. The teacher sets up a situation that students are likely to encounter in
real life. Unlike the audio-lingual method of language teaching, which relies on
repetition and drills, the communicative approach can leave students in suspense as to
the outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their reactions and
responses. The real-life simulations change from day to day. Students' motivation to
learn comes from their desire to communicate in meaningful ways about meaningful
topics.
Margie S. Berns, an expert in the field of communicative language teaching,
writes in explaining Firth's view that "language is interaction; it is interpersonal activity
and has a clear relationship with society. In this light, language study has to look at the
use (function) of language in context, both its linguistic context (what is uttered before
and after a given piece of discourse) and its social, or situational, context (who is
speaking, what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak)" (Berns,

1984, p. 5).
2.1.1.2 The goal of communicative language teaching approach
The main goal of communicative language teaching is to build, to make, and to
develop learners' communicative ability in the classroom and outside the classroom in
order to the learners to be active speakers without many thinking about grammatical
mistake. In other words, the main goal of this approach is to make an improvement of
the communicative competence, especially ability for speaking in the classroom or out
of class with other person by using oral language.

5
2.1.2 The way of learning English speaking effectively
Speaking is" the process of sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-
verbal symbol, in a variety of context (Chaney, 1998, p.13). Learning English speaking
as second language is actually not easy for Vietnamese students. According to Margre
S.Berns again, "language is interaction, it is interpersonal activity and has a clear
relationship with society" (Berns, 1984.p.5). Therefore, learning speaking is not just a
process of imitation or repetition of drills. It requires a lot interaction between students.
In speaking classes, the more communicative activities students attend, the more
improvable speaking skills students get.
The main criterion for success in learning speaking is whether or not the learners
can communicate fluently in English. The below steps are some guidance that can
helps learners reach to this aim.
The first step is realizing the fact that learning the English language should not be a
duty or chore for the learners; it should be taken as a fascinating hobby that will help
learners to expand their horizons in many aspects of their life. One of the most
important aspects of improving spoken English is to have an extensive vocabulary so
that they could express their thoughts clearly and easily. Having a good stock of words
would help them to be more precise with their construction and more articulate with
their speech.
. Next, having knowledge of basic grammar is another very necessary component of

improving spoken English. It is not necessary to have an extensively detailed
knowledge of grammar for speaking fluent English. In fact, speaking in absolutely
correct grammar may sometimes lead to awkwardness in casual and informal
meetings or talks. So, learners just have a basic knowledge of grammar would be
enough to get learners started.
The other step is to be able to convey what they want to express in a confident and
easy manner. For this, learners need to believe in themselves. Also, do not hesitate to
ask the other persons for clarification if learners do not understand them or they
themselves are stuck on a word or two in the middle, and need some help.

6
Last but not the least, keep practicing.– Speaking English themselves as much as
they can and trying to understand the different accents of native English speakers are
two things that would take learners a long way in retaining what they learnt as well as
improving their spoken English skills. Watch English movies, news channels, etc. to
hear crisp English diction and absorb the different styles of pronunciations.
2.2 Role-play in teaching speaking
2.2.1 Definition of role-play
According to Paul Procter in Cambridge International Dictionary of English, role
defined as the person whom an actor represents in film or play, while role play is a
method of acting out particular way of behaving or pretending to be other people who
deal with new situations. It is used in training courses language learning and
psychotherapy.
In Role Play: Resources Book for Teacher Series, Gillian Porter Ladusse illustrated
that when students assume a "Role", they play a part (either their own or somebody
else's) in specific situation. "Play" means that is taken on in a safe environment in
which students are as an inventive and playful as possible.
Another definition is stated by Joanna Budden in British Council Teaching English
on her article with the title "Role Play" . She said that role-play is any speaking activity
when you either put yourself into somebody else's shoes, or when you stay in your own

shoes but put yourself into imaginary situation. What is meant by imaginary people is
that students can become anyone they like for a short time. The President, The Queen,
a millionaire, a pop star , the choice is endless. Students can also take on the opinions
of someone else. 'For and against' debates can be used and the class can be split into
those who are expressing views in favor and those who are against the theme.
From those definitions above, the role play is described as a technique which
involves imagination to be someone else or to be ourselves in a specific situation for a
while, improvising dialog and creating a real world in scenario. Role –play activities
can encourage students' thinking and creativity, helps students develop and practice
new language and behavioral skills in a relatively non- threatening setting, and can
create the motivation and involvement necessary for learning to occur. Role-play is a

7
powerful and effective teaching method for children and adult and can be adapted to
deliver any learning objectives from simple to complex concepts. It really lends well to
practice communication skills, debate complex ethical issues or explore attitudes and
beliefs. The success lies in the construction and delivery with careful facilitation.
According to Don Byrn, role-play can be grouped into two forms. Scripted role-
play, which involves interpreting either the textbook dialog or reading text in the form
of speech is the first one. The main function of the text is after all is to convey the
meaning of language items in a memorably way. The second one is unscripted role-
play. In contrast of scripted role –play, the situation of unscripted role-play do not
depend on textbook. It is known as a free role-play. When participating in this form,
students themselves have to decide what language to use and how the conversation
should develop. In order to do this activity, good preparation from teacher and students
is really necessary.
2.2.2 The steps for role-play activity
In the book: Role-Play in Teaching Culture: Six Quick Steps for Classroom
Implementation, Maria A Kodotchigova suggest that there are six steps to making a
successful role-play.

Step 1- A situation for a role- play
To begin with, choose a situation for a role play, keeping in mind students' needs
and interests (Livingstone, 1983). Teachers should select role plays that will give the
students an opportunity to practice what they have learned. At the same time, role play
need to interest students. One way to make sure role play is interesting is to let the
students choose the situation themselves. They might either suggest themes that
intrigue them or select a topic from a list of given situations. Teachers might make up
an effective role play based on cultural differences.
Step 2 - Role Play Design
After choosing a context for a role play, the next step is to come up with ideas on
how this situation may develop. Students' level of language proficiency should be
taken into consideration (Livingstone, 1983). If teachers feel that the role play requires
more profound linguistic competence than the students possess, it would probably be

8
better to simplify it or to leave it until appropriate. On low intermediate and more
advanced levels, role plays with problems or conflicts in them work very well because
they motivate the characters to talk (Shaw, Corsini, Blake & Mouton, 1980; Horner &
McGinley, 1990). To build in these problems let the standard script go wrong. This will
generate tension and make the role play more interesting. For example, in a role play
situation at the market the participants have conflicting role information. One or two
students have their lists of things to buy while another two or three students are
salespeople who don't have anything the first group needs, but can offer slightly or
absolutely different things.
Step 3 - Linguistic Preparation
At the beginning level, the language needed is almost completely predictable. The
higher the level of students the more difficult it is to prefigure accurately what
language students will need, but some prediction is possible anyway (Livingstone,
1983). It is recommended to introduce any new vocabulary before the role play
(Sciartilli, 1983).At the beginning level, teachers might want to elicit the development

of the role play scenario from students and then enrich it. For example, the situation of
the role play is returning an item of clothing back to the store. The teacher asks
questions, such as, 'In this situation what will you say to the salesperson?', 'What will
the salesperson say?' and writes what the students dictate on the right side of the board.
When this is done, on the left side of the board the instructor writes down useful
expressions, asking the students, 'Can the customer say it in another way?', 'What else
can the salesperson say?' This way of introducing new vocabulary makes the students
more confident acting out a role play.
Step 4 - Factual Preparation
This step implies providing the students with concrete information and clear role
descriptions so that they could play their roles with confidence. For example, in the
situation at a railway station, the person giving the information should have relevant
information: the times and destination of the trains, prices of tickets, etc. In a more
advanced class and in a more elaborate situation include on a cue card a fictitious
name, status, age, personality, and fictitious interests and desires. Describe each role in

9
a manner that will let the students identify with the characters. Use the second person
'you' rather than the third person 'he' or 'she.' If the role presents a problem, just state
the problem without giving any solutions.
Step 5- Assigning the Roles
Some instructors ask for volunteers to act out a role play in front of the class
(Matwiejczuk, 1997), though it might be a good idea to plan in advance what roles to
assign to which students. At the beginning level the teacher can take one of the roles
and act it out as a model. Sometimes, the students have role play exercises for the
home task. They learn useful words and expressions, think about what they can say and
then act out the role play in the next class.There can be one or several role play groups.
If the whole class represents one role play group, it is necessary to keep some minor
roles which can be taken away if there are less people in class than expected (Horner &
McGinley, 1990). If the teacher runs out of roles, he/she can assign one role to two

students, in which one speaks secret thoughts of the other (Shaw, Corsini, Blake &
Mouton, 1980). With several role play groups, when deciding on their composition,
both the abilities and the personalities of the students should be taken into
consideration. For example, a group consisting only of the shyest students will not be a
success. Very often, optimum interaction can be reached by letting the students work in
one group with their friends (Horner & McGinley, 1990).
Whether taking any part in the role play or not, the role of the teacher is to be as
unobtrusive as possible (Livingstone, 1983). He or she is listening for students' errors
making notes. Mistakes noted during the role play will provide the teacher with
feedback for further practice and revision. It is recommended that the instructor avoids
intervening in a role play with error corrections not to discourage the students.
Step 6 - Follow-up
Once the role play is finished, spend some time on debriefing. This does not mean
pointing out and correcting mistakes. After the role play, the students are satisfied with
themselves, they feel that they have used their knowledge of the language for
something concrete and useful. This feeling of satisfaction will disappear if every
mistake is analyzed. It might also make the students less confident and less willing to

10
do the other role plays (Livingstone, 1983).Follow-up means asking every student's
opinion about the role play and welcoming their comments (Milroy, 1982; Horner &
McGinley, 1990). The aim is to discuss what has happened in the role play and what
they have learned. In addition to group discussion, an evaluation questionnaire can be
used.
2.2.3 The significance of role-play in teaching speaking
It is easy to realize that role play is very significant in language teaching .It is really a
worthwhile learning experience for both the students and the teacher. Not only can
students have more opportunities to "act" and "interact" with their peers trying to use
the English language, but also students' English speaking, listening, and understanding
will improve. Role play lightens up the atmospheres and brings liveliness in the

classes. Students learn to use the language in a more realistic, more practical way.
Also, through role –play activities, the students learn how to express ideas, opinions, or
felling to others by using words or sound of articulation.
Larsen Freeman explained that role-plays are important in the communicative
approach because they give learners an opportunity to practice communicating in
different social contexts and different social roles. In addition, it is also allows students
to be creative and to put themselves in another person's place for a while. The role-
play would seem to be the ideal activity in which students could use their English
creatively and it aims to stimulate a conversation in which students might find
themselves so that they can practice and develop their communication skills.
2.2.4. The teacher’role in this activity.
In this activity, the teacher defines the general structure of the role play, but
generally does not actively participate once the structure is set. According to Jones
(1982), " the teacher becomes the controller, and controls the event in the same way
as a traffic controller, helping the flow of traffic and avoiding bottlenecks, but not
telling individuals which way to go." Again, this is consistent with Scarcella and
Oxford's (1992) principles. Rather than a traditional, teacher- centered classroom
structure, the teacher keeps a relatively low profile and students are free to interact with

11
each other spontaneously. This reduces student anxiety and facilitates learning. The
teacher must keep learners motivated by stimulating their curiosity and keeping the
material relevant, creating a "tension to learn" (Burns and Gentry, 1998). In particular,
teacher must be a facilitator because students may need new language that be “fed” in
by the teacher. The teacher watches the role-play and the role-play offers comments
and advice at the end so the teacher is also a spectator in this activity.

12
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
The previous chapter has presented some theoretical background about communicative
language teaching and the way of learning speaking effectively, the applying of role-
play activities in teaching speaking is also have been stated. This chapter focuses on
introducing the methodology of the thesis; it means that the methods of collecting data
for analysis are introduced. This chapter consists of four smaller parts: (1) research
questions, (2) research participants, (3) research procedure, (4) and data collection
instruments.

3.1 Research questions:
The thesis will support the answers of these three questions:
3.1.1. What attitude do teachers and students have toward learning English speaking
and role-play activities?
3.1.2. What are the effectiveness and difficulties of applying role-play?
3.1.3. What should be done to overcome the difficulties of applying role-play?
3.2. Research participants
3.2.1. The researcher
The researcher of the study is Lê Đình Mai Thảo, English 2009B class, Foreign
Language Department, Dong Thap University.
3.2.2. The subjects
The subjects of the study are four teachers of English 11, and 100 students of grade 11
including 11A2, 11CB1 and 11CB2 at Lai Vung 2 High School. All of four the
teachers have more than ten years in teaching. In general, they are experience teachers.
3.3. Research procedure
The process of making the thesis comes through three major stages in order to achieve
its aims. The very first stage is writing the proposal. This stage lasted more than two
months from late August to early November 2012. Then from late February, the survey
questionnaires, observation and interview were carried out. The last stage started from
late March to late April, the results from data analysis were analyzed and discussed.
Beside that, this was the stage when the thesis was finish.
3.4. Data collection instruments

13
Survey questionnaires, observations and interview were conducted to reach the goal of
the thesis.
3.4.1. Survey questionnaires
The researcher applies the questionnaires in the study because they are convenient and
useful. In addition, they can help researcher collect various data from a large number of
respondents at the same time. There are two types of questionnaires: the English

questionnaire and the Vietnamese one. The first type was used for teachers to find out
the information about teachers' attitude towards teaching English speaking and
applying of role-play activities. The researcher designed the questionnaire consisting of
10 items for them.
- Items 1, 2 are to know teachers' attitude about their students' speaking learning.
- Item 3 is to know whether teachers apply role-play activities in teaching
speaking or not.
- Items 4, 5, 7, 8 are about teachers attitude towards applying role-play activities
in teaching speaking.
- Item 6 is about the frequency of teachers' using role-play.
- Items 9, 10 are about the benefits of role-play activities.
The second questionnaire with 15 items, which was used for students, was designed
in Vietnamese in order to avoid misunderstanding to the respondents.
- Items 1, 2, 3 are to know about students' viewpoints on towards speaking skill.
- Items 4, 5, 13 are about students opinion of their teachers' applying role-play.
- Items 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 are about students' attitude towards role-play
activities.
- Items 14, 15 are to know the effect of using role-play in teaching speaking.
3.4.2. Observations
Classroom observations played an important role in terms of supplement data for the
analysis. Miller stated that observation is the most basic research technique we can
employ in our classroom (Miller, 2004). It was employed to serve the aims of
collecting the information about the really speaking periods which using role-play
activities. The results of the observations will be more objective and reliable.

14
Moreover, the researcher can crosscheck the statistics from the questionnaires. To be
easy and convenient for checking, the observations results were recorded on
observation sheets. There were three main parts in this sheet. The first part is about
teacher's management and controlling the class consisting of four smaller items.

- Item 1 is to appreciate teacher's instructions.
- Items 2 and 3 are about teacher monitor the class and control the activities.
- Item 4 focuses on teacher's time using.
- Item 5 focuses on the stage that teacher applies this activities.
The second part helps researcher can appreciate students learning and involvement
basing on four items.
- Item 1 is about teacher rapport establishment with the students in role-play
activities.
- Item 2 is about the teachers involve the students and keep them interest in role-
play activity.
- Item 3 is to check teachers encourages and praise students in role-play.
- Item 4 is to check whether teachers consider students feeling thin the activity or
not.
The final one is about the effect of applying role-play in speaking lesson.
- Item 1 is to realize students' enthusiasm and activeness.
- Item 2 is to know whether students interest in their character or not.
- Item 3 is about the ability to use English of students.
- Item 4 is to check students‟ interest in role-play.
3.4.3. Interview
Interview is another effective way to collect data for the thesis. In this thesis,
interviewing is implemented to obtain teachers and students' attitude toward role-play
activities. It also gives researcher the information about teachers and students'
difficulties when applying role-play as well as the usefulness of this activity. The
interview questions were designed in English for teachers and in Vietnamese for
students.

15
Teachers' interview questions conclude items used to check whether teachers
apply role-play in teaching or not and the stage that they apply it. Additionally, these
questions are aim at obtaining information not only about the usefulness of role-play

but also teachers' difficulties when applying it. English was used in the teachers'
interviews. It is easy to researchers to analyze data because researcher must not
translate information from Vietnamese into English.
- Item 1 is to check whether teachers apply role-play in their teaching or not.
- Item 2 is to know the stage that teachers apply this activity
- Item 3 is to get information about teachers' attitude toward usefulness of role-
play.
- Item 4 is to know about their difficulties when applying it.
 There are three items in students‟ interview questions. To easy for students'
understanding, the questions were designed in Vietnamese. These questions are
aimed to recognize students' attitude toward role-play activities.
- Item 1 is to know whether students like role-play or not.
- Item 2 is to recognize the usefulness of role-play activities.
- Item 3 is to know what students' difficulties are when they participating in this
activities.














16

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter contents results recorded during the process of data collections .It
also includes the discussion about results analysis.
4.1. Results analysis
4.1.1. Questionnaires
4.1.1.1. Questionnaire for students
a. Students' viewpoints on speaking skill
Table 1 show most of students (45%) like speaking English and like a little (20%)
while some students (15%) do not like and a small numbers of students (10%) like
speaking English very much.
Table 1: Students' attitude about speaking English

Statements
Like very
much
Like
Like a little
Do not like
Frequencies
(F)
10
45
30
15
Percentages
(%)
10
45
30
15

Figure 1:Students' attitude about speaking English
10%
45%
30%
15%
Like very much
Like
Like a little
Do not like


17
As figures 2 in the table 2, a large number of students state that learning speaking are
important (40%) and quite important (35%). Some of them (20%) think it is not
important and a small number of them (5%) think it is very important.
Table 2: Students' thought about learning speaking
Statements
Very
important
Important
Quite important
Not
important
Frequencies
(F)
5
40
35
20

Percentages
(%)
5
40
35
20


Figure 2:Students' thought about learning speaking

5%
40%
35%
20%
Very
important
Important
Quite
important
Not important



Most students (58%) think that their speaking ability is just pretty good, smaller
number of students (20%) think they are good at speaking, the equivalent number of
students (22) think they are not good, especially, no one (0%) thinks their speaking
ability is very good.