Một số gợi ý có tính khả thi nhằm mục đích tăng cường thời gian nói của học sinh trong lớp học tại trường THPT Hoàng Văn Thụ, tỉnh Nam Định

1

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES
*****************




LÊ THỊ THÙY DƯƠNG


SOME POSSIBLE SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING STUDENTS’
TALKING TIME IN CLASS AT HOANG VAN THU HIGH SCHOOL,
NAM DINH
(Một số gợi ý có tính khả thi nhằm mục đích tăng cường thời gian nói của học
sinh trong lớp học tại trường THPT Hoàng Văn Thụ, tỉnh Nam Định)

M.A. Minor Programme Thesis

Field: English Methodology
Code: 60 14 10





Hanoi – 2010

2


VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES
*****************



LÊ THỊ THÙY DƯƠNG


SOME POSSIBLE SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING STUDENTS’
TALKING TIME IN CLASS AT HOANG VAN THU HIGH SCHOOL,
NAM DINH
(Một số gợi ý có tính khả thi nhằm mục đích tăng cườngthời gian nói của
học sinh trong lớp học tại trường THPT Hoàng Văn Thụ, tỉnh Nam Định)

M.A. Minor Programme Thesis

Field: English Methodology
Code: 60 14 10
Supervisor: VŨ THỊ BÍCH ĐÀO, M.A

Hanoi - 2010



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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Candidate’s statement i
Acknowledgements ii
Abstract iii
Table of contents iv
List of abbreviations viii
List of tables ix
List of figures x
PART I INTRODUCTION 1
1. Rationale 1
2. Aims of the study 1

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3. Research question 2
4. Scope of the study 2
5. Methodology of the study 2
6. Significance of the study 2
7. Design of the study 3
PART II DEVELOPMENT 4
Chapter I - LITERATURE REVIEW 4
I.1 Communicative Language Teaching 4
I.1.1 Definition of CLT 5
I.1.2 Characteristics of CLT 5
I.2 Student talking time and second language acquisition 6
I.2.1 The theory of student talking time and second language acquisition
of some linguistics 6
I.2.1.1 Krashen’s comprehensible input 6
I.2.1.2 Swain’s output hypothesis 7
I.2.1.3 Long’s interaction hypothesis 8
I.2.2 Perspectives on student talking time 9
I.2.3 Studies on student talking time 12
I.3 Factors affecting student talking time in speaking lessons 12
I.3.1 Motivation 12
I.3.2 Attitudes of the learners 13
I.3.3 Psychological factors 13
Chapter II – THE STUDY 15
II.1 An overview of English teaching and learning at Hoang Van Thu high
school,
Nam Dinh …………………………………………………………………… 15
II.1.1 Hoang Van Thu high school 15

II.1.2 English teachers at Hoang Van Thu high school 15


8

II.1.3 The 11
th
-form students and observation classes 11 15
II.1.4 Tieng Anh 11 textbook and its speaking lessons 15
II.2 Research method 16
II.2.1 The subjects of the study 16
II.2.2 The instruments. 16
II.2.3 Procedures 16
II.2.4 Method 17
Chapter III - STATISTICAL RESULTS AND DATA ANALYSIS 18
III.1. Data analysis from learners’ questionnaires 18
III.1.1 Students’ opinions about speaking topics in the new text book
“Tieng Anh 11” 18
III.1.2 Students’ attitudes towards learning oral skill 18
III.1.3 Students’ and teachers’ talking time in speaking lesson 19
III.1.4 Reasons making students reluctant to speak in English speaking lessons
…. 20
III.1.5 Teachers’ current methods applied at Hoang Van Thu high school 21
III.1.6 Students’ expectation towards their teachers 23
III.2 Data analysis from teachers’ questionnaires 23
III.2.1 Teachers’ assessment of the new text book “Tieng Anh 11” 23
III.2.2 Teachers’ perception of CLT 24
III.2.3 Teachers’ current teaching methods 24
III.2.4 Difficulties teachers have encountered in their teaching process 26
III.2.5 The ways teachers use to motivate students at Hoang Van Thu high

school 26
III.2.6 Teachers’ assessment on student talking time in a speaking lesson 28
III.3 Observations 29
Chapter IV - FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 31
IV.1 Findings 31


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IV.1.1 Current teaching methods 31
IV.1.2 Learners’ difficulties in getting involved in speaking lessons 32
IV.1.2.1 Students’ prior learning experiences 32
IV.1.2.2 Low level of English language proficiency 32
IV.1.2.3 Anxiety or shyness in class 33
IV.1.2.4 Low motivation 33
IV.1.3 Teachers’ difficulties in teaching speaking in speaking lessons 33
IV.1.4 Student talking time and teacher talking time in speaking lessons 34
IV.1.5 Learners’ expectations towards teachers 34
IV.2. Recommendations for teachers to improve students’ talking time 34
IV.2.1 Suggestions for the teachers 34
IV.2.2 Activities for improving students’ talking time in class 35
IV.2.2.1 Pair work and group work 36
IV.2.2.2 Role-play 37
IV.2.2.3 Topic discussion 38
IV.2.2.4 Oral presentation 38
PART III CONCLUSION 39
III.1 Summary of the study 40
III.2 Limitations and suggestions for further study 41

REFERENCES 42

APPENDIX 1 I
APPENDIX 2 IV
APPENDIX 3 VII
APPENDIX 4 VIII




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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
*****


CLT: Communicative Language Teaching
STT: Student talking time
TTT: Teacher talking time
ELT: English language teaching
L1: first language
L2: second language

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LIST OF TABLES
*****


Table 1: Students’ and teachers’ talking time in speaking lesson
Table 2: Teachers’ current methods applied at Hoang Van Thu high school
Table 3: Teachers’ current teaching methods
Table 4: The ways teachers use to motivate their students
Table 5: STT and TTT in observations

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LIST OF FIGURES
*****

Figure 1: Students’ opinions about speaking topics in the new text book “Tieng Anh
11”
Figure 2: Students’ attitudes towards learning oral skill.
Figure 3: Reasons for the students’ reluctance to speak in English speaking lessons
Figure 4: Students’ expectation towards their teachers
Figure 5: Teachers’ assessment of the new text book “Tieng Anh 11”
Figure 6: Teachers’ perception of CLT
Figure 7: Difficulties teachers have encountered in their teaching process
Figure 8: Teachers’ assessment on students’ talking time in a speaking lesson
Figure 9: STT and TTT in class 11A1
Figure 10: STT and TTT in class 11A2
Figure 11: STT and TTT in class 11A3
Figure 12: STT and TTT in class 11A4





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Part I: INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale of the study
It is undeniable that English, the main language of many countries in the world, has
become a language for global communication. It is considered as the medium of communication
in many different fields such as: science, technology, politics, economics, aviation and so on. In
fact, with the spread of globalization and the rapid expansion of information and technology,
English has become more and more important for any countries in the world. At upper
secondary schools Vietnam, English is now a compulsory subject for all students. Due to its
importance, English has received a lot of attention from students. As for them, the four skills:
listening, speaking, reading and writing are very important but speaking skill is the top priority
among the four. “Speaking in a second or foreign language has often been viewed as the most
demanding of the four skills.” (Bailey, Kathleen M & Savage, Lance, 1994:vii). For that reason,
speaking is the direct communication helping learners achieve their learning and working.
However, one of the problems people care most in a speaking lesson is talking time. Studies of
classroom discourse in ELT consistently show that teachers talk more than learners. In
particular, most questions in the classroom are asked by teachers, these tend to be of the display
type, and learners‟ responses to them tend to be short. Most teachers readily agree that students
should receive as much opportunity to speak as possible when learning English as a foreign


14

language. This idea is especially true in the EFL classroom, where students do not live in an
English-speaking country. In such cases, students may only have the chances to practice English
as a conversational tool during forty five minutes of the lesson. But whatever the situation, the
more students speak in English, the better English speakers they become.
Being a teacher of a high school, within a minor thesis, the researcher would like to
investigate the reasons why students are reluctant to speak in speaking lessons, and she hopes to
be able to make some recommendations that can help students improve their talking time in
speaking lessons. This actually drives the researcher to carry out the study “Some possible
suggestions for improving students’ talking time in class at Hoang Van Thu high school,
Nam Dinh.”
2. Aim of the study
The study is aimed at:
1. Investigating the current speaking teaching and learning situation at Hoang Van Thu
high school.
2. Finding the reasons why students are reluctant to speak in speaking lessons.
3. Making some suggestions for the teachers with the hope of helping students improve
their talking time in speaking lessons.
3. Research questions:
To reach the aim of the study, the two research questions are addressed:
1. How is the reality of students‟ talking time at Hoang Van Thu high school in Nam
Dinh?
2. What should teachers do to improve students‟ talking time in class at Hoang Van Thu
high school?
4. Scope of the study
With the purpose of helping students at Hoang Van Thu high school to improve their
talking time in speaking lessons, the teacher intends to give a brief overview of current English
speaking teaching and learning situations at Hoang Van Thu high school, find out factors
making the students reluctant to speak and suggest some techniques and activities which help
them improve their talking time in speaking lessons

5. Methods of the study
To realize the aim of the study, quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Two
survey questionnaires were used to collect information and evidence for the study.
 The first questionnaire was for 150 students of grade 11
th
at Hoang Van Thu high school
 The second questionnaire was for 10 English language teachers at Hoang Van Thu high
school


15

Besides, survey questions are used to collect information and evidence for the study.
All comments, remarks, recommendations assumption and conclusion provided in the
study based on the data analysis.
6. Significance of the study
The study hopes to contribute a small part to help teachers improve their teaching skills so
that they can give a great assistance to learners with better involvement in English speaking
lessons.
7. Design of the study
This minor thesis is composed of three parts:
Part one: Introduction, presents the rationale of the study, the aims of the study, research
questions, scope of the study, methods of the study, significance of the study and design of the
study.
Part two: Development, including the following chapters
Chapter one, Literature review, presents the concepts relevant to the study, the definition
of CLT, characteristics of CLT, Student Talking Time and Second Language Acquisition, the
last is factors affecting learners‟ participation in speaking lessons
Chapter two is The study in which the writer talks about the students and teachers at
school, the real situations of teaching and learning English at Hoang Van Thu high school and

the research method including the following parts: the subjects of the study, the instruments,
procedures and method.
Chapter three, namely Statistical results and data analysis, presents data analysis and
discussion, focus on analysis about students‟ activities towards speaking skills, factors that
make them reluctant to speak, current teaching methods of teachers at Hoang Van Thu school
and the amount of time students and teachers talk in speaking lessons.
Chapter four, Findings and Recommendations discover factors affecting both students and
teachers during speaking lessons. Basing on these factors, the researcher would like to make
some suggestions to help students improve their talking time in speaking lessons.
Part three, Conclusion summarize all the key issues as well as the limitations of the study
and suggestions for further study.







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PART II - DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER I - LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter consists of three sections. Section one deals with the issue of Communicative
Language Teaching (CLT) which is intended to be discussed in terms of the definition of CLT
and characteristics of CLT. Section two focuses on the Student Talking Time (STT) and Second
Language Acquisition. The last section is about factors affecting STT.
I.1. Communicative Language Teaching
It is undeniable that most learners of English nowadays desire to be able to communicate
with others in the language they learn. Parallel with this change in the aims of learning English,
methods of teaching had to be changed. For a long time, a number of language teaching
methodologists have constantly looked for the most appropriate way to teach English more
successfully and effectively. As a result, some teaching methods have come into being such as:
 Grammar-translation method
 The direct method
 The Audio-lingual method
 The Audio-visual method
 Communicative Language Teaching
Generally, it is hard to say which method is the most effective and appropriate without
considering the circumstances in which it is applied. The question of which method should be
used in Vietnam depends most on the background of English language teaching and learning in


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the country, sources of materials, teachers‟ proficiency, learners‟ needs and facilities for
teaching and learning.
In this minor thesis, the author just focused on Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
as it is considered the current dominant methodology and one of the most effective approaches
to teach learners to speak in a language they learnt. Accordingly, CLT has become an
“umbrella” term, which covers a wide range of classroom practices.
I.1.1 Definition of CLT

So far, CLT has been viewed differently by different authors such as Wilkins (1972),
Nunan (1989), etc. According to Nunan (1989:194), “CLT views language as a system for the
expression of meaning. Activities involve oral communication; carrying out meaning tasks; and
using language which is meaningful to the learner. Objectives reflect the needs of the learner
including functional skills as well as linguistic objectives. The learner‟s role is as a negotiator
and integrator. The teacher‟s role is as a facilitator of the communication process”. It is thought
that this definition contains aspects that are common to many other definitions.
Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics defines the
Communicative Language Teaching as “an approach to foreign or second language teaching
which emphasizes that the goal of language learning is communicative competence.”
(Richards,J.C, Platt, J and Platt, H: 1992:65)
I.1.2 Characteristics of CLT
The communicative approach can be said to be the product of language educators and
linguists who became dissatisfied with the Audio-Lingual and Grammar-Translation, which
could not enable learners to communicate in the culture of the target language.
David Nunan (1991) points out five features of CLT:
 An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language.
 The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.
 The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also on the
learning management process.
 An enhancement of the learner‟s own personal experiences as important contributing
elements to classroom learning.
 An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activities outside the
classroom.
These five features are claimed by practitioners of CLT to show that they are very
interested in the needs and desires of their learners as well as the connection between the
language as it is taught in their classroom and as it is used outside the classroom. Under this


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broad umbrella definition, any teaching practice that helps students develop their
communicative competence in an authentic context is deemed an acceptable and beneficial form
of instruction. Thus, in the classroom CLT often takes the form of pair and group work
requiring negotiation and cooperation among learners to develop their confidence, role-plays in
which students practice and develop language functions as well as judicious use of grammar and
pronunciation focused activities.
I.2. Student Talking Time and Second Language Acquisition
I.2.1. The theory of Student Talking Time and Second Language Acquisitions of some
linguistics
I.2.1.1 Krashen's comprehensible input: In the comprehension hypothesis (originally
called „input hypothesis), Stephen Krashen (1983) expressed the idea that we learn languages
from listening and reading. His hypothesis is that we learn new and more language items by
understanding them in the context of other languages we already understand. So if someone tells
us something that we understand, and they use one word that we don‟t know, we are likely to
understand that word and learn it because we understand the rest of the context it occurs in.
Krashen sometimes expresses this as i + 1 – we learn new language from input we understand
(i) plus new items at one (1) level beyond the comprehensible materials.
Krashen shows that for the Input Hypothesis listening comprehension and reading plays an
important role in the language program. He does not emphasize the role of student talk. He
supposes that the ability of speaking fluently is not taught directly rather speaking ability
“emerge after the acquirer has built up competence through comprehending input. The Input
Hypothesis also states that in orders for acquirers to progress to the next stages in the
acquisition of the target language, learners need to understand input language.
Consequently, the Input Hypothesis is summarized as following: first, the Input Hypothesis
relates to acquisition, not to learning. Second, learners acquire by understanding language a bit
beyond their current level of competence. This is done with the help of context. Third, spoken
fluency emerges gradually and is not taught directly. The last point is that when caretakers talk
to acquirers understand the message, input automatically contains “i + 1”, the grammatical
structures the acquirer is „ready” to acquire. (Krashen.S.D:1983:37)

It is clear that according to Input Hypothesis, speaking is not absolutely essential for
language acquisition. People understand language from two skills: reading and listening, not
from speaking. Moreover, the Input Hypothesis claimed that focus on listening and reading is


19

the best way to teach speaking and spoken fluency will emerge on its own. Also, Krashen
emphasizes that speaking is a primary goal of most language students. It is important that it
stimulates conversation, which in turn will encourage more comprehensible input.
(Kashen:1983: 56-57)
In addition to receiving the right kind of input, Krashen (1981) supposed that students
should have their affective filter kept low, meaning that classroom stress should be minimized
and students "should not be put on the defensive." One result of this is that students‟ errors
should not be corrected. Students should be taught how to gain more input from the outside
world, including helping them acquire conversational competence, the means of managing
conversation.
I.2.1.2 Swain’s Output Hypothesis
Although input and output are two essential factors of language learning process, output
had been neglected for a long time because of immerge influence of Kashen‟s comprehensible
Input Hypothesis, which suggests that comprehensible input is the driving force for inter-
language development. The imbalance of the attention has not changed until mid-1980, when
Canadian researcher, Merrill Swain initiated studies focusing output process. Swain's (1985)
comprehensible Output Hypothesis in which she argues that comprehensible input is necessary
but not sufficient for learners to fully develop proficiency in their second language. Learners
must also be forced to produce “comprehensible output” for both fluency and accuracy in the
target language to occur. Where comprehension can occur without much syntactic analysis on
the part of the learner, output forces the learner to produce syntactic forms, which allow
communication to take place. Furthermore, via output, learners have to recognize syntactic
problems and remedy them.

The Output Hypothesis (Swain, 1985) was not proposed as an alternative to the Input
Hypothesis but as an addition. She argues that comprehensible input may be well important for
L2 learning but it is insufficient to ensure that native speaker levels of grammatical accuracy are
attained. Swain observes that only when learners produce language; their interlocutor can
understand that they are most likely to see the limits of second language ability and the need to
find the better ways to express their meaning. The demands of producing comprehensible
output, she hypothesized, “push” learners ahead in their development. (Lightbown.P.M and
Spada.N:1999:44)


20

Consequently, Swain supposed that learner needs the opportunity for meaningful use of
his/her linguistic resources to achieve this. Swain (1985:248-249) attributes three roles to
output.
1. The need to produce output in the process of negotiating meaning that is precise,
coherent and appropriate encourages the learner to develop the necessary grammatical
resources. Swain refers to this as “pushed language use”.
2. Output provides the leaner with the opportunity to try out hypothesis to see if they work.
3. Production, as opposed to comprehension, may help to force the learner to move from
semantic to syntactic processing. It is possible to comprehend a message without any
syntactic analysis of the input it contains. Production is the trigger that forces learners to
pay attention to the means of expression.
I.2.1.3 Long's Interaction Hypothesis
In the Interaction Hypothesis, Michael Long (1983) proposes that both input and output are
necessary for second language acquisition but in order to gain a greater understanding of how
this works, one should focus more attention on the interactions language learners engage
in. Long posits that these interactions are not merely a source of second language input, but are
rather exchanges that allow the parties to negotiate the meaning of the input. This negotiation
results in changes to the complexity of the input. Long supposed that STT should be paid more

attention to.
Michael Long (1983) argues that conversational interaction is an essential condition for
second language acquisition. Through interaction, students learn L2 through the process of
negotiation of meaning in which the speaker (Native-speaker) simplifies his/her language
(input) so that the listener-learner (nonnative-speaker) can understand the input, thereby
acquiring the language. He has studied the way in which speakers modify their speech and their
interaction patterns in order to help learners participate in a conversation or understand some
information. He agreed with Krashen that comprehensible input is necessary for language
acquisition. However, he found the way to make input more comprehensible and he supposed
that modified interaction is the necessary mechanism for making language comprehensible. That
is learners need an opportunity to interact with other speakers and work together to reach mutual
comprehension. He believes that through interaction, interlocutors figure out what they need to
do to keep the conversation going and make the input comprehensible. According to him, there
are no cases of beginner-level learners acquiring a second language from native-speaker talk
that has not been modified in some way.
In the original (1983) formulation of the Interaction Hypothesis, Long inferred that
modified interaction is necessary for language acquisition so he summarized the relationship as


21

follows; interactional modification makes input comprehensible and comprehensible input
promotes acquisition. Therefore, interactional modification promotes acquisition.
(Lightbown.P.M and Spada.N:1999:43)
I.2.2 Perspectives on student talking time.
From the early 1970s, the communicative approach broadened the language base of L2
teaching from sentence grammar to a framework including semantic, discourse structure and
sociolinguistic components. General goals of communicative language teaching are grammatical
competence, sociolinguistic competence and strategic competence. (Canale & Swain, 1980).
While that sociolinguistic competence concerns turning the various factors in the context and

the purpose of the communicators into language that will accomplish the communicative
intentions of the speaker/ writer. Strategic competence involves verbal and non-verbal strategies
that imperfect L2 speaker can use to create real communication in the L2 and to repair
communication problems resulting from insufficient L2 skills. At this time, written and oral
language are considered important.
In the article “STT, how can teachers develop learners‟ communication”, Bently.K
emphasized the importance of talk. He discussed that a recent survey by the European
Commission for Education and Culture includes the statement that content and language
integrated learning should “enable pupils to develop language skills which emphasize effective
communication […] for real purposes” (Eurydice Survey 2006). Coyle (1999) combined with
theoretical support: “Interaction in the learning process is fundamental to learning” and
Vygotsky‟s findings that social interaction is the key to success in learning. It is clear that
teachers need to address the development of student talk in the target language.
The major expansion of perspective on language in the communicative approach has
generally meant reliance on a broader range of understandings of how learners learn language as
well. Krashen and Terrell (1983) proposed the „natural approach” to L2 learning in classrooms.
With a syllabus consisting of communicative language goals, to improve STT in speaking
lessons, the authors should promote a learning environment. This includes involvement in
immediate content to lower anxiety about the L2, no pressure on learners to produce language
until they are ready, no correction of errors which do not interfere with communication and a
rich L2 environment aimed just above the level that the learner can handle.
The communicative approach has developed a framework in the European Community.
The framework starts with parameters for an analysis of needs of the learners and goes on to
specify “threshold” objectives for L2 learning. The framework has featured detailed
specifications of language functions and notions.


22

Besides, the communicative approach is associated with many sites of L2 teaching. For

example, attention to the needs of particular learners has led to the specification of language
forms and functions for L2 learners preparing to use the target language in academic programs.
In a world where formal L2 training is used to address needs in social and economic
contexts, the focus on learners of the communicative approach is useful in tailoring L2
programs for many situations. However, the broad nature of the concepts puts the onus on
delivery agencies and ultimately on teachers to set immediate goals, creates learning
opportunity and assesses outcomes. This is particularly challenging for non-native speaking
teachers. Any communicative approach teacher needs considerable knowledge about the L2
grammar, sociolinguistic roles and culture in order to facilitate activities and interpret learners‟
responses. Since the prescriptive authority of one expert cannot provide ready-made answers for
communicative classrooms, L2 teachers using this approach must become well informed about
arrange of aspects of language as well as their students‟ needs. (Tucker, G.R & Corson,
D:1997:97-99)
Communicative Language Teaching is one of the modern methods that can be applied to
improve students‟ communicative abilities and help students have more chances to
communicate so that they can increase their talking time in speaking lessons. In this method,
teachers can set different tasks and activities to encourage students to communicate in English.
The task of activities includes newspaper report, information exchange, role-playing, discussion
and problem-solving in pairs or group.
In an early study of college students learning English as a foreign language in Mexico,
Long et al. (1976) compared the amount and types of the target language the learners used when
they worked in pairs and when they interacted with the teachers and the rest of their classmates.
They concluded that there were some quantitative and qualitative differences in these two types:
the learners in pairs got more turns and performed a wider range of communicative function
with language. (Allwright.D, Bailey.K.M:1991:147). Hence, the finding suggests that teachers
should use more pair work or group work with fewer teacher-fronted lessons.
In addition, linguistics try to find many ways in order to improve STT in speaking lessons
thereby producing communication is viewed as the bridging of the information gap. These
attempts take many forms: Wright (1976) achieves it by showing out-of-focus slides in order
that learners attempt to identify; Byrne (1978) provides incomplete plans and diagrams so

learners have to complete by asking for information; Allwright places a screen between students
and gets one to place objects in a certain pattern. Then, this pattern is communicated to the
students behind the screen. Geddes & Sturtridge (1979) develop „jig-saw” listening in which


23

students listen to different materials and communicate their content with others in the class.
(Brumfit.C.J & Johnson.K: 1979: 201).
In summary, in the heydays of the Communicative Approach (in the early 1970s), teachers
were advised to reduce their talking time in order to increase STT. This can be achieved by
means of group work and pair work. The current perspective maintains that STT is important in
second language learning because advocates of the socio-cultural theories believe that language
learning is social. However, they think the quality of student talk is more important than the
quantity.
I.2.3. Studies on student talking time
There are many studies on STT. Studies of classroom discourse in ELT consistently show
that teachers talk more than learners. Dillon (1998) visited 27 classrooms in six schools. He
found that questions accounted for over 60% of the teachers‟ talk and for less than 1% of the
students‟ talk. Tsui (1995) also points out that studies conducted on classroom interaction have
shown that student talk accounts for an average of less than thirty percent of the total talk in
teacher-centered classrooms. She believes that learners not only learn to talk, but they also talk
to learn. Harmer (2007) believes that the more teachers talk there is, the less chance there is for
the learners to practice speaking. He thinks that it is the students who need the practice not the
teacher, and therefore a good teacher will maximize student talking time (STT) and minimize
teacher talking time (TTT). Together, the sources cited here indicate that creating opportunities
for learners to participate orally- and to ask questions English lessons is important. In order to
encourage learners to ask questions, teachers need to systematically create space for this during
lessons (Dillon, 1998). Wragg & Brown (2001) suggest that allowing learners to work in groups
encourages them to ask more and better questions than when they work individually.

I.3 Factors affecting student talking time in speaking lessons
In the second language learning, there are many factors affecting STT. Various studies
have found that motivation, attitudes of the learners; psychological factors, etc are strongly
related to the outcome of the learning process.
I.3.1 Motivation
In fact, motivation in second language learning is a complex phenomenon. Many
researchers and linguists from history to now have been non-stop studying on its definition;
however, they cannot come to a conclusive one. Among those, Brown (1994) offered what he
called “dictionary definition” as following:
“Motivation is the extent to which you make choices about (a) goals to pursue and (b) the
effort you will devote to that pursuit.”


24

The underlying implications of all theories about motivation, especially for teachers, are
that how to motivate learners in learning.
In this case, some suggested ideas from Lightbown and Spada (1999) are worth
considering:
1. Motivating students into the lesson by activities can lead to higher levels of their
interests.
2. Varying the activities, tasks and materials to avoid boredom in lessons.
3. Using co-operation to increase the self-confidence of students
I.3.2 Attitudes of the learners
In Vietnam‟s pedagogical context, attitudes of the learners depend much on their purpose
for learning English. In general, students of English in Vietnam have three major categories of
needs (Le, V.C, 1999). Some consider English as a tool for more attractive employment in the
future. Others want to learn English well for further study at universities or colleges. Most of
students learn English just to pass the national examinations. Currently, the two most important
English examinations in Vietnam are the school final examination and the university entrance

examination. Both are administered at the end of Grade 12 and neither of them has a listening
and speaking component.
In an exam-oriented environment like Vietnam, testing strongly affects learners‟ attitudes
and learning styles and because there are no real communicative tests in Vietnam, the learners
hardly see the need to carry out communicative activities in class.
I.3.3 Psychological factors
One of the factors affecting learners‟ participation is psychological factors in the
classroom. The developmental processes happen inside the learner so one of the important
factors the teacher help them is the learner‟s psychological state. (Wood.W.L, 1981:92)
In fact, the development of communicative skills only happens if learners have motivation and
opportunity to relate with other people around them. As a consequence, a learning atmosphere
gives them a sense of security and value as individuals. In turn, this atmosphere depends to a
large extent on the existence of interpersonal relationships.
Some suggested ideas are given out by Wood.W.L (1981:94) for the communicative
teaching methods so that learner can contribute their own personality to the learning process:
- The teacher‟ role in the classroom should be less dominant. The learners can contribute
in their learning more independently.
- Communicative interaction gets more opportunities for cooperation among learners and
between teachers and learners.


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- Through communicative interaction learners have more opportunities to express their
own individuality and integrate the foreign language with their personality in the classroom.
- Many pair work and group work are used in classroom so learners can be independent of
the teacher.
- The teacher‟s role as „co-communicator‟ helps learners break down tension and barriers
between them.
- With communicative skills, learners‟ errors are not constantly corrected so they can

reduce anxiety in the classroom.
To sum up, teachers should be always aware of the importance of the learners‟ motivation,
attitudes to the success of second language learning and learners‟ psychological factors. That
kind of awareness will then help them continuously find out suitable ways to improve STT in
speaking lessons.




CHAPTER II: THE STUDY

II.1 An overview of English teaching and learning at Hoang Van Thu high school, Nam
Dinh
II.1.1 Hoang Van Thu high school
Hoang Van Thu high school is one of the leading schools in Nam Dinh city. It has a long
history of nearly 45 years of foundation. In spite of being located in a rural area, it is famous for
its tradition of good teaching and learning with the students getting many prizes in the exams of
Nam Dinh city every year. The material conditions of the school are rather well-provided, which
also helps to create its success. However, most of students are good at and like learning natural
science subjects. The school is trying to look for methods so that students are good at both
natural subjects and social ones, especially English.
II.1.2 English teachers at Hoang Van Thu high school
There are 10 teachers of English, including the researcher, aged from 27 to 50. All of them
graduated from universities. The number of female teachers formed the majority (8 female
teachers and 2 male teachers). All of them are enthusiastic with their career and have at least 3
years of experience in teaching English.


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II.1.3 The 11
th
-form students and observation classes 11
The subjects of the study include 150 students in some 11
th
classes and the observation
classes are 11A1, 11A2, 11A3, 11A4. They are both male and female. Lots of them come from
comparatively poor families, so their learning condition is low. In addition, their awareness of
the importance of English is not high as well as low motivation makes them not interested in
learning English. Although most of them have already learnt English for four years at lower
secondary school, their knowledge of English in general and grammar in particular is still poor
and limited, only some students are good at this subject.
II.1.4 Tieng Anh 11 textbook and its speaking lessons
The 2006 – 2007 academic year witnesses the introduction of new Tieng Anh 11 textbook
(Hoang et al., 2006) and the reformed language teaching methodology towards the
communicative approach. Therefore, although the two curricula (one for general students and
the other for those specializing in English) remain, the share objectives have recently been
adjusted for a better use of English “as a tool of communication at basic level in terms of
listening, speaking, reading and writing” (Hoang et al., 2006a, p.33). The researcher chose
Tieng Anh 11 textbook for general students for this study.
The content of this study relates to speaking topics. The book includes 16 units with the
following topics:
Unit 1: Friendship
Unit 2: Personal experiences
Unit 3: A party
Unit 4: Volunteer work
Unit 5: Illiteracy
Unit 6: Competitions
Unit 7: World population
Unit 8: Celebrations

Unit 9: The post office
Unit 10: Nature in danger
Unit 11: Sources of energy
Unit 12: The Asian games
Unit 13: Hobbies
Unit 14: Recreation
Unit 15: Space of conquest
Unit 16: The wonder of the world
II.2. Research method


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II.2.1 The subjects of the study
The subjects taking part in the study include 150 students at Hoang Van Thu high school
and 10 teachers at the same place. All of these students have learnt English for six years. The
size of these classes is not ideal for practice of speaking skill. Each class ranges from 46 to 50
students. Therefore, organizing activities during a speaking lesson is not easy and their talking
time in class for a period is too little.
II.2.2 The instruments
Two Questionnaires are designed to collect data for the study. The first Questionnaire is for
learners and the other is for teachers at Hoang Van Thu high school.
The first Questionnaire consists of 11 questions with the aim of finding out students‟
opinions toward English speaking lessons, their difficulties in learning speaking, their talking
time in speaking lessons and the teaching methods used by their teachers. The results collected
from the Questionnaire will be the base for important findings, from which the researcher will
be able to find the best methods in order to increase students‟ talking time as much as possible.
The second Questionnaire includes 10 questions, the purpose of which is to find out
teachers‟ current teaching methods, their difficulties in teaching speaking to learners, their ways
to motivate their students to talk in class, the amount of time students talk in speaking lessons.

The researchers will base on the current situation to make some possible suggestions to help
students increase their talking time in class.
In addition, observation is also carried out by the researcher to make the study more
reliable.
II.2.3. Procedures:
The questionnaires were prepared to hand out to 10 teachers and 150 students at Hoang
Van Thu high school to collect important information for the study. The two questionnaires
include both multiple-choice and open-ended questions. The questionnaires take 15 minutes to
fill in. After that the responses to each question were calculated and converted into percentage
for analysis and discussion.
II.2.4 Method:
The major method used in this study is the Quantitative and Qualitative to fulfill the aims
of the study. The data analysis comes from the 2 following sources.
- The students and teachers‟ respondents at Hoang Van Thu high school.
- All considerations, comments, assumptions, suggestions and conclusions provided in the
study were based on the analysis of the statistic data collected from Questionnaire
Survey and Observation.



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CHAPTER III: STATISTICAL RESULTS AND DATA ANALYSIS
The main source of data is derived from the answers of the two questionnaires.
Questionnaire 1 (for learners) and Questionnaire 2 (for teachers) are included in Appendix 1
and Appendix 2.
III.1. Data analysis from learners’ questionnaires
The questionnaire for the learners consisting of 11 questions was designed and delivered to
150 students to ensure the reliability and validity of the data collection.
III.1.1 Students’ opinions about speaking topics in the new text book “Tieng Anh 11”
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
percentage

Figure 1: Students’ opinions about speaking topics in the new text book “Tieng Anh 11”
interesting
boring
difficult
easy
Interesting: 50%

Boring: 16%
Difficult: 32%
Easy: 2%