Sử dụng phương pháp dạy học giao nhiệm vụ để tăng cường sự tham gia của học sinh trong các giờ học nói Nghiên cứu hành động tại trường Trung cấp Đức Thiện

NGUYỄN THỊ THU HIỀN


USING TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING TO
INCREASE STUDENTS’ PARTICIPATION IN SPEAKING
LESSONS: AN ACTION RESEARCH AT ĐỨC THIỆN
VOCATIONAL SCHOOL
(SỬ DỤNG PHƢƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC GIAO NHIỆM VỤ ĐỂ TĂNG
CƢỜNG SỰ THAM GIA CỦA HỌC SINH TRONG CÁC GIỜ HỌC NÓI:
NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG TẠI TRƢỜNG TRUNG CẤP ĐỨC THIỆN)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS


Field: English language teaching methodology
Code: 60 14 10





HANOI – 2013

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ THU HIỀN


USING TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING TO
INCREASE STUDENTS’ PARTICIPATION IN SPEAKING
LESSONS: AN ACTION RESEARCH AT ĐỨC THIỆN
VOCATIONAL SCHOOL
(SỬ DỤNG PHƢƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC GIAO NHIỆM VỤ ĐỂ TĂNG
CƢỜNG SỰ THAM GIA CỦA HỌC SINH TRONG CÁC GIỜ HỌC NÓI:
NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG TẠI TRƢỜNG TRUNG CẤP ĐỨC THIỆN)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS


Field: English language teaching methodology
Code: 60 14 10
Supervisor: Dr. Dƣơng Thị Nụ





HANOI - 2013

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Declaration i
Acknowledgements ii
Abstract iii
Table of contents iv
List of abbreviations vii
List of tables and charts viii
PART A: INTRODUCTION 1
1. Rationale of the study 1
2. Aim and objectives of the study 2
3. Research questions 2
4. Scope of the study 2
5. Methods of the study 2
6. Significance of the study 3
7. Design of the study 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT 4
Chapter 1: Literature review 4
1.1. Speaking skill 4
1.1.1. What is speaking? 4
1.1.2. The importance of speaking skill in learning language 4
1.2. Student participation 5
1.2.1. What is student participation? 5
1.2.2. Factors affecting student participation in speaking class 6
1.2.2.1. Students‟ learning styles 6
1.2.2.2. Students‟ motivation 6

1.2.2.3. Teachers‟ teaching techniques 6
1.2.2.4. Teachers‟ personal qualities and characteristics 6
1.3. Task-based language teaching (TBLT) 7
v

1.3.1. What is of TBLT? 7
1.3.2. What is task within TBLT? 8
1.3.3. Task classifications 9
1.3.4. A framework for TBLT Implementation 10
1. 4. Previous studies relating to applying TBLT in teaching speaking skill 11
1.5. Summary 12
Chapter 2: Methodology 13
2.1. An overview of action research 13
2.2. Rationale for the use of an action research 14
2.3. Description of the context of the research 15
2.3.1. The current method of English language teaching at DTVS 15
2.3.2. The teaching program and materials 16
2.4. Description of the research 17
2.4.1. Subjects of the research 17
2.4.2. Data collection instruments 17
2.4.3. The action procedures 19
2.4.4. Data analysis procedures 21
2.5. Summary 22
Chapter 3: Data analysis and discussion 23
3.1. Analysis of questionnaire 23
3.1.1. Students‟ attitudes towards speaking skill 23
3.1.2. Students‟ participation in speaking class 24
3.1.3. Students‟ motivations and learning styles 24
3.1.4. Students‟ difficulties in learning speaking skill 26
3.1.5. Students‟ opinions on speaking activities in the textbook 26

3.1.6. Teacher‟s teaching methods in speaking class 27
3.1.7. Students‟ preferences and suggestions to increase their participation in
speaking lessons 28
3.2. Analysis of observation 29
vi

3.2.1. Number of students participating in speaking lessons 30
3.2.2. Students‟ speaking turns 31
3.2.3. Students‟ quality of participation 31
3.2.3.1. Data from Observation sheet 1 32
3.2.3.2. Data from Observation sheet 2 33
3.3. Analysis of interview 35
3.3.1. Students‟ attitudes towards applied tasks and TBLT 35
3.3.2. Students‟ difficulties in task-based speaking lessons. 36
3.3.3. Students‟ suggestions for better implementing task-based lessons 36
3.4. Discussion of the research questions 36
3.5. Summary 39
PART C: CONCLUSION 40
1. Conclusions 40
2. Limitations of the study 41
3. Suggestions for further research 41
PART D: REFERENCES 42
APPENDICES I
Appendix 1 I
Appendix 2 IV
Appendix 3 VI
Appendix 4 VIII
Appendix 5 IX
Appendix 6 XII
Appendix 7 XV

vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

DTVS: Đức Thiện Vocational school
TBLT: Task-based Language Teaching
TBL: Task-based Learning
TBL: Task-based Lesson
NTBL: Non-task-based Lesson

viii

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

TABLES
Table 1: Students‟ motivations on learning speaking skill
Table 2: Students‟ learning styles
Table 3: Students‟ difficulties in learning speaking skill
Table 4: Students‟ opinions on speaking activities in the textbook
Table 5: Students‟ comments on their previous teachers‟ teaching speaking skill
Table 6: Students‟ preferences in working in speaking lessons
Table 7: Students‟ recommendation for the things the teacher should do

CHARTS
Chart 1: Students‟ attitude towards importance of speaking skill
Chart 2: Students‟ attitude towards interestingness of speaking skill
Chart 3: Students‟ participation in speaking lessons
Chart 4: Students on-task behavior
Chart 5: Students‟ speaking turns

1

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale of the study
English has been extensively studied and taught in Vietnam for decades.
However, there exists some weakness in the teaching and learning of the speaking
skill in non-English major courses at vocational schools, colleges and universities. I
realize that most of students have many problems in learning this skill. It is due to
the fact that the common teaching approach applied is teacher-centered and lecture-
oriented, which normally results in learner passiveness and non-involvement in
English speaking activities.
Since I started teaching at Đức Thiện vocational school, I have always been
trying my best to help my students speak better. However, I have had many
frustrations because my students are always inactive in speaking lessons. In fact, at
the beginning of each new course, teachers of English at DTVS always make as
many efforts as possible to teach speaking skill carefully. Even though the students
are really encouraged by the teachers, their participation in speaking lessons is very
poor. This problem leads to the fact that the teachers often omit or teach speaking
lessons perfunctorily to spend time teaching other parts in units so that their
students can pass the final exam well.
Although the students are not required to take any English speaking tests,
communicative skill is very important for their future jobs. How to help students

become more active and participate in speaking lessons better, it is really a big
question for me and my colleagues.
In some recent years, many modern approaches have been applied. Task-based
language teaching has been preferably applied in teaching languages with the hope
to achieve the expected communicative results. Thanks to lectures on English
language teaching methodology delivered in my master course, I understand about
and really felt interested in TBLT. Richards and Rodgers (2001:228) asserted that
“Tasks are believed to foster process of negotiation, modification, rephrasing, and
2

experiment that are heart of second language learning”. Besides, Nunan (2005)
argues that “task-based teaching does provide a flexible, functionally compatible
and contextually sensitive approach for many teachers, as well as learners”.
Therefore, the research “Using task-based language teaching to increase
students’ participation in speaking lessons: An action research at Đức Thiện
Vocational School” was conducted in the hope of solving the problem in my
school‟s teaching context.
2. Aim and objectives of the study
The study is designed with an aim to increase students‟ participation in speaking
lessons at DTVS by using task-based language teaching. Specifically, it has three
objectives:
- To find possible explanations for the poor participation of the students.
- To justify the effect of task-based language teaching on students‟ participation.
3. Research questions
1. What are possible reasons that lead to students‟ participation in speaking lessons?
2. To what extent does task-based language teaching help increase students‟
participation in speaking lessons?
4. Scope of the study
The study concentrates on communicative tasks that students are assigned in
English speaking lessons, which result in increasing the participation of first-year

students‟ at DTVS. Within its scope, the research was aimed at justifying the extent
of class activity participation improvement of the students.
5. Methods of the study
This study is conducted as an action research because action research is the best
choice for the purpose of investigating students‟ difficulties in learning speaking
and improving the students‟ participation in speaking lessons. In order to get data, a
combination of different instruments, namely class observation, informal interviews
and questionnaire, is used. The data collected from the observation and
3

interviews will be analyzed by qualitative method, and the data collected
through the questionnaire will be analyzed by quantitative method.
6. Significance of the study
The study is an attempt to the concern of teachers and administrator who take
responsibility of the course quality and students‟ learning. From the findings of the
study, teachers and administrator can decide whether or not task-based language
teaching should be used for teaching English at DTVS in future. This new method
may become the positive solution to the students‟ poor participation in learning not
only speaking skill but also other skills.
7. Design of the study
The study consists of three main parts as follows.
 The first part, Introduction, deals with rationale, purposes, research
questions, scope, methods, significance and design of the study.
 The second part, Development, contains three chapters, in which chapter
1 reviews the literature focusing on the theoretical basis related to task-based
language teaching and speaking skill, chapter 2 presents a detailed description of the
research methodology, and chapter 3 discusses the findings of the study.
 The final part, Conclusion, recapitulates all the main points discussed
throughout the thesis, provides pedagogical implications and suggests further
research orientations.

4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter is concerned with the theoretical background of the study which
includes an overview of speaking skill, students‟ participation, task-based language
teaching, and previous studies relating to applying TBLT in teaching speaking skill.
1.1. Speaking skill
1.1.1. What is speaking?
Linguists and educators define speaking in various ways:
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Current English (2004), speaking is “the
action of conveying information or expressing ones‟thoughts and feelings in spoken
languages.” Chaney (1998:13), however, considered speaking “the process of
building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal or non-verbal symbols in a
variety of contexts”. Sharing the same viewpoint, Florez (1999:1) added that
speaking is an “interactive” process, which consists of three main stages
“producing, receiving and processing information.” In language teaching and
learning, speaking is considered a skill to practise. In this light, Nunan (2003:48)
put it that “speaking is the productive oral skill. It consists of producing systematic

verbal utterance to convey meaning.” Indeed, to be a good learner of speaking,
studying knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, intonation, etc. is not
enough but the skill to use this knowledge to communicate successfully
is indispensable.
In brief, there are different concepts of speaking, i.e. speaking as an action, a
process and a skill. In this study, the term “speaking” will be used to refer to as a
skill related to language teaching and learning.
1.1.2. The importance of speaking skill in learning language
Speaking plays an important part in communication. Marilyn Lerris (2003)
believes that “Speaking makes you a more fluent language user, speaking is a
chance to notice the gaps between what you want to say and what you can say, it is
a chance to test hypotheses about language.”
5

In recent years, communicative approach has become the main one in teaching
and learning foreign languages. The ability to communicate in a second language
“contributes to the success of the learner in school and later in every phase
of life” (Kayi, 2006). It is undeniable that the speaking ability is a good source of
motivation for many language learners. They view learning the language as learning
how to speak the language. Teachers should pay great attention to teaching
speaking. However, teaching speaking is not easy. Thus, a lot of studies relating
speaking have been carried out to help learners speak with confidence.
To sum up, speaking is the most effective way for people to communicate with
each other. That is the reason why speaking skill is an important part of the second
language learning and teaching. This is the working definition which the researcher
will take into consideration during the whole research process.
1.2. Student participation
1.2.1. What is student participation?
Student participation can be identified in terms of three kinds of interaction:
students to their teacher, students to students, and students to material.

The interaction between students and their teacher includes care, contact, co-
operation between them in the class. Participation not only means attending the
class regularly and on time but also taking part in the lesson actively or showing
desire or be active. Students become self- centered in the class activities.
The interaction between students and students is set up through their discussion
in small groups. They work together, help each other, and learn from each other. A
good interaction involves their co-operation and contribution to the task given.
Students feel pleasant and comfortable when they work together, then they will do
their best to complete the task.
Student participation also includes the interaction between students and
material. Good and interesting materials can get students involved in the lesson.
Students will find it difficult to participate in the class activities if they don‟t
understand the tasks or feel bored with them. (Ellis, 1994:178)
6

1.2. Factors affecting student participation in speaking class
1.2.1. Students’ learning styles
Learning style shows how students achieve the target language. Willing (1985)
classifies learning styles into four types as follows:
Concrete learners: they prefer learning by games, pictures, films, videos,
talking in pairs and learning through the use of cassettes.
Communicative learners: they like to learn by observing and listening to native
speakers, talking to friends in English and learning English wherever possible.
Analytical learners: they like to study grammar, find their own mistakes, and
learn through reading newspapers.
Authority oriented learners: they want their teacher to explain everything and
they prefer writing everything in their notebooks, learning to read, studying
grammar, and learning English words by seeing them.
1.2.2. Students’ motivation
Motivation is a key factor leading students‟ success in learning in general, and

in learning language in particular. Also, there are many different kinds of
motivation such as integrative motivation, instrumental motivation, intrinsic
motivation, extrinsic motivation, global motivation, situational motivation and so on.
1.2.3. Teachers’ teaching techniques
It is obvious that different teaching techniques create different degrees of
students‟ participation and interest in the lesson. For example, techniques which
focus on grammatical and phonological accuracy like choral repetition, drilling
substitution, content explanation will result in learners‟ passiveness and limit their
participation in learning. In contrast, the techniques that involve students in
communicative activities such as role-play, problem-solving, pair and group work,
discussion, etc. can encourage students to participate in the lesson.
1.2.4. Teachers’ personal qualities and characteristics
In order to involve students in the lesson, teachers should be ones that students
trust and respect. In other words, when students feel “safe” in the class, they will be
7

willing to participate in class activities. Barry (1993) points out some characteristics
a teacher should have. They are being natural, being warm, being pleasant, and
being tolerant.
In addition, so as to interest students a teacher should have some following
personal qualities such as being sincere, friendly, supportive, well- organized,
enthusiastic, and flexible and so on.
It is pointed out that no teacher has all characteristics and personal qualities
listed above. However, these characteristics and qualities can help much in
increasing students‟ motivation, creating positive learning environment, and
enhancing students‟ participation in the class activities as well.
1.3. Task-based language teaching (TBLT)
1.3.1. What is of TBLT?
TBL has increasingly achieved popularity in recent years and has been
recommended as a way forward in ELT. TBLT is not a monolithic teaching method,

but an adaptable approach to language teaching. As Ellis notes, „there is no single
way of doing TBLT‟ (2009: 224)
Long (1985) and Prahu (1987) take the view that TBLT is an approach to
language education in which students are given functional tasks that encourage
them to focus primarily on meaning exchange and to use language for real world,
non-linguistics purposes.
According to Nunan (1991), as cited in Lê Văn Canh (2004), a task-based
language teaching approach is characterized by:
a) An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target
language.
b) The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.
c) The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language,
but also on the learning process itself.
d) An enhancement of the learner's own personal experiences as important
contributing elements to classroom learning.
8

e) An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation
outside the classroom (p.103).
Richards and Rogers (2001) define TBLT as „an approach based on the use of
tasks as the core unit of planning and instruction in language teaching‟. „In other
words, students are given a task to perform‟ (Harmer, 1998:41).
In their definitions, Richards and Rogers and Harmer mention the term „task‟. Tasks
have been used in classes for years by teachers and practitioners around the world.
Because tasks are basic units of a TBLT framework, it is crucial to clarify explicitly
the definitions of task.
1.3.2. What is task within TBLT?
In literature, there are many different definitions of tasks given by different
second language researchers and linguists.
According to Long (1985, 89), task is “a piece of work undertaken for oneself or

others, freely or for some reward. Thus, examples of tasks include painting a fence,
dressing a child, filling out a form,etc ” Long‟s examples show that tasks must be
real-world. They are any activities occurring in day-to-day living and involve both
oral and written activities.
However, Nunan (1989) argues that Long‟s definition is a non-technical, non-
linguistic one. Some of the tasks here may not involve language. Therefore, he
defines task as “a piece of classroom work which involves learners in
comprehending, manipulating, producing, or interacting in the target language while
their attention is principally focused on meaning rather than form.” According to
him, in carrying out a task, learners principally focus on exchanging and
understanding meanings, rather than on practicing a specific form or pattern.
Despite the agreement with Nunan on perspective that a task is “a workplan that
requires spontanous communication of meaning”, Breen (1989) has different opinion
on task‟s scope. He specifically states that a “task” can be “a brief practice exercise”.
Reviewing a lot of definitions by some linguists and language researchers, Ellis
(2003:9) gives 6 criteria features of a task as follows:
9

1. A task is a workplan.
2. A task involves a primary focus on meaning.
3. A task involves real-world processes of language use.
4. A task can involve any of the four language skills.
5. A task engages cognitive processes.
6. A task has a clearly defined communicative outcome.
In short, the researcher himself agrees that tasks can be defined in different
ways but essentially they are meaning-focused activities closely related to learners‟
actual communicative needs and with some real-world relationship, in which
learners have to achieve a genuine outcome and in which effective completion of
the task is accorded priority.
1.3.3. Task classifications

Some classifications of tasks are general, and others are specific, which can
change with the insights of different linguists and researchers.
Richards (2001:162) distinguishes tasks into two types: pedagogical tasks and
real world tasks. “Pedagogical task are based on second language acquisition theory
and are designed to trigger second language learning process and strategies”. The
task itself is not something one would normally encounter in the real word.
However the interactional processes it requires provides useful input to language
development. According to Richards, real world tasks “are designed to practice or
rehearse those activities that are found to be important in a needs analysis and turn
out to be important and useful in the real world”.
The present study has adopted Willis‟s (1996: 149) typology of pedagogical
tasks to enhance students‟ participation in learning speaking skill.
1. Listing: listing tasks tend to generate a lot of talk as learners explain their
ideas. The processes involved are brainstorming and fact-finding. The outcome can
yield completed lists or mind maps.
2. Ordering and sorting: these tasks involve four main processes: sequencing,
ranking, categorizing and classifying items.
10

3. Comparing: the process involves matching to identify specific points and
relating them to each other, finding similarities and things in common, and finding
differences.
4. Problem solving: real-life problems may involve expressing hypotheses,
describing experiences, comparing alternatives, evaluating and agreeing to a solution.
5. Sharing personal experiences: these tasks encourage learners to talk more
freely about themselves and share their experiences with others.
6. Creative tasks: these can involve combinations of task types: listing,
ordering and sorting, comparing and problem solving. Organizational skills and
team-work are important in getting the task done. The outcome can often be
appreciated by a wider audience than the learners who produced it.

These tasks are listed from easy to difficult, and all of them reveal the
recognition process of students. The tasks in TBLT should be applicable to real life
to help students accomplish the tasks and show their communicative competence in
classroom teaching and real life situations (Willis, 1996: 149).
1.3.4. A framework for TBLT Implementation
Willis (1996:52) proposed a three-stage model for implementing task in
language classroom as follows:
1. Pre-task: introduces the class to the topic and the task activating topic-
related words and phrases.
2. Task Cycle: offers learners the chance to use whatever language they
already know in order to carry out the task and then to improve their language
under the teacher‟s guidance while planning their reports on the task. Task Cycle
offers learners a holistic experience of language in use. There are three components
of a task cycle:
a. Task: Learners use whatever language they can master, working
simultaneously, in pairs or small groups to achieve goals of the task.
11

b. Planning: Comes after the task and before the report, forming the central
part of the cycle. The teacher's role here is that of a language adviser. Learners plan
their reports effectively and maximize their learning opportunities.
c. Report: In this stage learners tell the class about their findings. So the
report stage gives students a natural stimulus to upgrade and improve their
language. It presents a very real linguistic challenge to communicate clearly and
accurately in language appropriate to the circums tances.
3. Language Focus: allows a closer study of some of the specific features
naturally occurring in the language used during the task cycle. Learners examine the
language forms in the text and look in detail at the use and the meaning of lexical
items they have noticed.
1. 4. Previous studies relating to applying TBLT in teaching speaking skill

Teaching English as a foreign language by using task-based learning has been
proven by researchers at various levels; from basic to advance over the past twenty
years. In this section, the researcher mainly mentions the studies relating to using
TBLT in teaching speaking skill that help increase students‟ participation.
Willis (1996: 35-6), whose numerous studies in TBLT, states that TBLT help
“give learners confidence in trying out whatever language they know; give learners
chances for negotiating turns to speak; engage learners in using language
purposefully and cooperatively; make learners participate in a complete interaction,
not just one-off sentences”
Nunan (2005) believes one of TBLT‟s advantages is “increasing student
participation when task teaching is well planned and implementing sensitive to
learners‟ learning styles, learning and communicative strategies, personalities,
multiple intelligences and the overall local context, for example.”
Lochana and Deb's (2006) project in a school run by the Basaveshwara
Education Society in India developed an experiment in which non-task-based
textbook activities were converted into task-based ones in order to test two
hypotheses: (1) “Task-based teaching enhances the language proficiency of the
12

learners” and (2) “Tasks encourage learners to participate more in the learning
processes”. Their findings suggest that TBL is beneficial to learners not only in
terms of proficiency enhancement but also in terms of motivation.
In Vietnam, there have been some studies relating to using TBLT in teaching
speaking skill. Khanh (2010) observed task-based speaking classes of first-year
non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry. After conducting a
survey questionnaire with these students, she concludes that TBLT “activates
learning speaking among students and fosters students‟ independence and autonomy
in learning and develop team work skill”.
In her survey research, Ngan (2009) claims that after task-based project her first
year non-major students of English at National Economics University “regarded

TBLT as a motivating experience”. Moreover, “The learning outcomes were
enhanced and the learning process became more enjoyable and rewarding”.
Two studies above have similar features as the researcher‟s one, such as non-
major English students coming from many places in Vietnam and they are being
trained for their future professions. There have not been any studies primarily
investigating the effect of TBLT on student participation in learning speaking skill
so far. However, with the achievements of the previous researches, the researcher
hope that TBLT can help improve the current state of students‟ poor participation in
learning speaking skill at her teaching context.
1.5. Summary
The chapter has presented some theoretical issues of speaking skill and its
importance in studying a foreign language. Students‟ participation and the factors
affecting it is also shown. The focus of the literature review is on Task-based
Language teaching and learning with several important points such as: the definition
of TBLT and task within TBLT, classification of tasks, the distinction of tasks,
activities and exercises; and the framework for implementing TBLT.


13

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
This chapter provides background information about action research, the current
situation of teaching and learning English at DTVS and a description of the
methodology employed to collect data for the study.
2.1. An overview of action research
The term “action research” refers to two dimensions of activity: the word
“research” in “action research” refers to a systematic approach to carrying out
investigations and collecting information that is designed to illuminate an issue or
problem and to improve classroom practice, meanwhile the word “action” refers
to taking practical action to resolve classroom problems (Richards, 2005: 171).

Therefore, action research achieves both action (change or improve) and research
(understanding).
According to Cohen and Manion (2007), action research is “small-scale
intervention in the functioning of the real world and a close examination of the
effects of such intervention.”
Kemmis and Mc Taggart (1988:6) identify three characteristics of an action
research, which are: “carried out by practitioners”, “collaborative” and “aimed at
changing things”.
Tsui (1993) suggested 5 steps in conducting action research: Identifying
problems; Finding causes of the problem; Designing strategies for improvement
(plan for action) and writing a proposal for action research; Trying out the strategies
(action) and keeping a diary of what happened in the class; and Evaluating the try –
out. Whereas Nunan (1992) defines the framework of a research as consisting of
seven steps as follows:
- Step 1: Initiation (Identify the problem)
- Step 2: Preliminary investigation (Collect data through a variety of means)
- Step 3: Hypothesis (Develop research questions)
- Step 4: Intervention (Devise strategies and innovation to be implemented)
- Step 5: Evaluation (Collect data again and analyze it to work out the findings)
14

- Step 6: Dissemination (Report the result by running workshops or issuing a
paper)
- Step 7: Follow-up (Find alternative methods to solve the same problem)
Different from Tsui, Nunan (1992) suggested that teachers should observe and
make notes on what their learners said and did in class, and then, based on these
observations, identified positive ways to bring about this change. In the researcher‟s
teaching context where cassette recorders or camcorders are not available,
observing the class and making notes are feasible for the researcher to implement
her action research.

A necessary component of action research is collaboration among different
people. They are teachers, their colleagues and students, who should be willing to
talk with each other about the problems and find out the solutions together, as well
as help each other in implementing classroom–centered action research projects. It
also needs the collaborative efforts of students who participate in the action research
project. Students‟ collaboration plays an important role in the success of the action
research project.
2.2. Rationale for the use of an action research
Cohen and Manion (2007) state that the aim of action research is to improve the
current state of affairs within educational context in which the research is carried out.
Koshy (2005) also maintains that action research is a powerful and useful
model for practitioner research because research can be set within a specific
context or situation and researchers can be participants – they do not have to
be distant and detached from the situation.
Teachers in general and teachers of English in particular actually carry out
action research for most of their time. Whenever s/he identifies a problem which is
happening in the class, it is his/her task to find ways to solve that problem.
Therefore, action research is inevitably a very common practice.
This research was carried out by me, a practitioner, a teacher of English.
The inspiration for the research was the recognition and observation of a real
15

problem in the classes that my colleagues and I taught in the first semester of this
school year. Most of the students appeared to neglect or poorly participate in
speaking lessons. Many of them learned to speak English passively and
unenthusiastically. They may only speak when being asked by their teacher. This
research was conducted with a desire to motivate students‟ performance and
encourage the students to speak more in speaking lessons through using speaking
tasks. This change would make them have inspiration of engaging and need to
express their opinion when taking part in the tasks. With this view, this research

meets the definition of action research as aiming at changing things for the better.
This is also an action study because it was conducted in the real context
of my classroom, aimed at professional development through changing my
methods of teaching to raise students‟ participation and ability in learning to
speak English.
2.3. Description of the context of the research
2.3.1. The current method of English language teaching at DTVS
Since its establishment in 2007, Đức Thiện Vocational School has performed its
function of training nurses, physicians, druggists and chemists. There are two main
majors: Nursing and Pharmaceutics. The teachers in English Group take
responsibility for teaching English to all the students who are studying at DTVS.
There are 2 categories of English: Basic English for first-year student and English
for Specific Purpose for second-year students.
The current common English teaching approach applied in DTVS is
Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP). This traditional method is teacher-centered
and lecture-oriented. Some efforts of the educational administrators has been made
such as equipping three classrooms with overhead projectors, computers and
speakers and blue board so that it is possible for teachers to bring the advantages of
new technology to language teaching. However, in fact, the teachers find it more
convenient to teach grammar, vocabulary and reading skill rather than speaking
skill. Most of them teach speaking skill depending on the course book – Lifelines
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Elementary. In speaking classes, teachers firstly teach vocabulary and structures and
then ask students to make sentences with them. Teachers show speaking
exercises/activities available in the course book onto a screen and have the students
do them. After some time, they call some students to answer questions or perform
their conversation. The students‟ mistakes were corrected while they are speaking.
Moreover, students are asked to note everything shown on the screen down to their
notebooks. This method does not help students learn speaking skill effectively.

Students rarely have opportunities to practice speaking. They have to listen to
teachers so much. Most of them admit that speaking lessons are so boring that they
often have private talks or do other work. Therefore, students‟ communicative
ability is not good enough to meet the demand of their job in the future.
Finding that problem, the educational administrators in DTVS in general and
English Group in particular are concerned to changing the teaching method from
PPP approach into a communicative teaching method.
2.3.2. The teaching program and materials
The textbook used for teaching and learning Basic English is Lifelines
Elementary by Tom Hutchinson (1997). This book includes 14 units in which
consist of 6 main parts: Grammar, Vocabulary, Reading and Writing, Listening and
Speaking and Pronunciation. First seven units are taught for 60 periods in the first
semester and the rest is taught in the second semester with 4 periods per week
during 15 weeks. Part “Listening and Speaking” may be taught for 2 or 3 periods
(depending on the length and the difficulty level)
The book is actually designed for students and teachers around the world. So
teachers are strongly advised to use it as a guideline in their teaching. Although
teachers in my English Division are often encouraged to adapt activities in the book
to make them more suitable for the needs as well as the interest of students, they do
not make any adaptation at all. Furthermore, students are not required to take any
speaking tests or exams so they don‟t learn speaking skill enthusiastically.

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2.4. Description of the research
2.4.1. Subjects of the research
The participants of the research were selected on the basis of cluster sampling.
The researcher, who is also a teacher, was in charge of teaching 42 first-year students
(17 boys and 25 girls) majoring in Nursing from classes YK10, academic year 2012-
2014 at DTVS. Most of the students are between 18 and 20 years old. They are from

many provinces such as Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ninh Binh…. Most students who
come from city and have had at least 7 years of learning English at high schools show
to be better when practicing speaking the language while the students from
districts reveal to be slow and shy. They seem to keep silent most of the time and
even scared when asked to speak.
Naturally, these students became ideal samples for the research. With the
method of cluster sampling, the research ensures the variety of the students‟
background, which varies from one to another as the group was chosen randomly.
This also enables for a wider range of application to other classes, which, to some
extent, shorten the limitation of an action research.
2.4.2. Data collection instruments
The results of the study were developed on the basis of empirical data collected
through three instruments: a survey questionnaire, observations and interviews.
* Questionnaire
The survey questionnaire (See Appendix 1) was conducted at the first week of the
research with 42 students. All of the questions are written in Vietnamese to make sure
that they could fully understand the questions. The questionnaire aims to investigate
students‟ attitudes towards speaking skill, their learningstyles, the factors from
themselves and from their previous teachers that affect their participation, and their
preferences for classroom speaking activities. The results from the questionnaire, in
cooperation with a lot of friendly talks with students and discussions with other
colleagues could help the researcher identify possible reasons for students‟ poor
participation.
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* Observation
There are two sets of observation form used in the study.
The first one (see Appendix 2) is adapted from Hopkins (1985; 95) and The
Postgraduate Research Handbook by Gina Wisker (2001). This observation sheet
focuses on measuring the frequency and the nature of each student‟s participation in

both ordinary instructional and task-based speaking lessons. The observation has
been done by 4 teachers of English (in every lesson, each of whom will
observe two or three tables which are next to them). The observers were
explained clearly about the focal topic, the purposes of the study as well as
the observation forms. Moreover, they were always given the plan and the detailed
tasks before every lesson so that they could prepare well for the observation.
The second set of observation (see Appendix 3) is adapted from Willis (1996)
about the learners‟ roles in the framework of TBLT. It consists of a series of detail
requirement for students while taking part in task-based lessons. This observation is
used by the teacher, also researcher only, to observe the whole class‟s participation
during task-based lessons.
Observations were conducted through the whole research program. The data
from the observation sheets will be analyzed and compared to show the difference
between pre and post task-based application. This helped the researcher yield the
conclusion about to what extent the students improve their participation.
* Interviews
The researcher used both informal and formal interviews.
Informal interviews were carried out before, during and after the action.
Throughout the research, the researcher conducted informal talks with the students
and my colleagues during tea breaks.
Formal interviews (See Appendix 4) were conducted with only 3 individual
students chosen randomly after each task-based lesson in the hope of finding the
students‟ attitudes toward the lesson and their remaining problems so that the
teacher can make some necessary changes for the next task-based lesson plan. The