A research on the advantages and disadvantages of the application of task-based approach in teaching speaking to the fisrt-year non-English major students at Ha

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Declaration....................................................................................................................................i
Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................ii
Abstract.......................................................................................................................................iii
Table of Contents........................................................................................................................iv
List of Abbreviations.................................................................................................................vii
List of tables.............................................................................................................................viii
List of figures............................................................................................................................viii
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................1
1. Rationale for the study.............................................................................................................1
2. Aims of the study.....................................................................................................................2
3. Scope of the study....................................................................................................................2
4. Significance of the study..........................................................................................................2
5. Methods of the study................................................................................................................2
6. Structure of the study...............................................................................................................3
PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT..............................................................................................4
CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW..........................................................................4
1.1. Task-based language teaching..............................................................................................4
1.1.1. What is a task?.......................................................................................................4
1.1.2. Task types..............................................................................................................4
1.1.3. What is TBLT?......................................................................................................5
1.1.4. A framework for designing TB lessons.................................................................6
1.2. Speaking skill in language teaching......................................................................................8
1.2.1. What is speaking skill?..........................................................................................8
1.2.2. The importance of speaking skill in language teaching programs.........................8
1.3. Factors affecting TBLT application in speaking skill...........................................................9
1.3.1. Teachers.................................................................................................................9
1.3.1.1. Teachers’ attitudes and beliefs................................................................9

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1.3.1.2. Teachers’ qualities and personalities.....................................................9
1.3.2. Learners...............................................................................................................10
1.3.2.1. Learners’ motivation............................................................................10
1.3.2.2. Learners’ attitudes and beliefs..............................................................10
1.3.2.3. Learners’ anxiety and confidence.........................................................10
1.3.3. Learning environment and Text books................................................................11
CHAPTER TWO: THE STUDY............................................................................................12
2.1. The context of the study......................................................................................................12
2.1.1. English language teaching at HaUI......................................................................12
2.1.2. The teaching materials and assessment................................................................13
2.1.3. Teachers and students..........................................................................................13
2.1.4. Teaching and learning facilities...........................................................................14
2.2. The research methodology..................................................................................................14
2.2.1. Research questions...............................................................................................14
2.2.2. The participants....................................................................................................15
2.2.3. Data collection instruments..................................................................................15
2.2.3.1. Questionnaire........................................................................................15
2.2.3.2. Class Observation.................................................................................16
2.2.3.3. Interviews..............................................................................................17
2.3. Data analysis methods.........................................................................................................17
2.3.1. The questionnaires...............................................................................................17
2.3.1.1. The questionnaires for students............................................................17
2.3.1.2. The questionnaires for teachers............................................................22
2.3.2. The class observation.......................................................................................25
2.3.2.1. Class environment.................................................................................25
2.3.2.2. Teachers’ preparation............................................................................25

2.3.2.3. Teachers’ attitude..................................................................................26
2.3.2.4. Teachers’ method..................................................................................26
2.3.2.5. Students.................................................................................................27


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2.3.3. The interview.......................................................................................................28
2.3.3.1. The interview for teachers....................................................................28
2.3.3.2. The interview for students....................................................................31
2.4. Conclusion..........................................................................................................................33
CHAPTER THREE: FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS......................................34
3.1. Findings of the study...........................................................................................................34
3.1.1. Advantages...........................................................................................................34
3.1.1.1. From the students..................................................................................34
3.1.1.2. From the teachers..................................................................................34
3.1.1.3. From the administrators........................................................................35
3.1.2. Disadvantages......................................................................................................36
3.1.2.1. From the students..................................................................................36
3.1.2.2. From the teachers..................................................................................37
3.1.2.3. From the administrators........................................................................37
3.1.2.4. From the syllabus..................................................................................38
3.2. Recommendations for better TBLT application.................................................................38
3.2.1. For the teachers....................................................................................................38
3.2.2. For the students....................................................................................................39
3.2.3. For the administrators..........................................................................................39
PART THREE: CONCLUSION............................................................................................41
1. Conclusion.............................................................................................................................41
2. Limitations of the study.........................................................................................................41
3. Suggestions for further study.................................................................................................41

REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................43
APPENDIXES............................................................................................................................I
APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS..............................................................I
APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS............................................................IV
APPENDIX 3: CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET..................................................................VII
APPENDIX 4: INTERVIEW DATA.....................................................................................VIII


vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
HaUI

: Hanoi University of Industry

TB

: Task-based

TBL

: Task-based Language

TBLT

: Task- based Language Teaching

ULIS, VNUH : University of Languages and International Studies - Vietnam National
University, Hanoi

viii

LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 1:

A framework for designing task-based lessons

6

Table 2:

Students’ evaluation of their English learning ability

18

Table 3:

Students’ attitudes of learning English speaking

19

Table 4:

Students’ opinions of the application of a task-based approach in learning

20

English speaking

Table 5:

Students’ advantages and disadvantages in learning English speaking

21

based on tasks
Table 6:

Students’ suggestions to make use of advantages and surmount

21

disadvantages
Table 7:

Teachers’ attitudes toward English speaking skill

22

Table 8:

Teachers’ opinions of the application of task-based approach in teaching

23

English speaking
Table 9:

Teachers’ advantages and disadvantages in implementing a task-based

24

approach in teaching English speaking
Table 10:

Teachers’ suggestions to make use of advantages and surmount

24

disadvantages

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1:

The grade students started learning English

18

Figure 2:

Teachers’ experience in teaching English

22


1

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale for the study

Nowadays, English is the language of international communication so it now plays
an important role in socio-economic development not only in Vietnam but also all over the
world. That is the reason why the demand for good English users is higher, especially in
the field of communication.
In Vietnam, English has been extensively studied and taught for decades. However,
how to effectively teach and learn English in general and English speaking in particular is
a matter of controversy. There exist some weakness in the teaching and learning of the
speaking skill in non-English major courses at colleges and universities with inappropriate
teaching materials and instructional techniques. Being a teacher of English at a university,
I realize that most of the students have faced many problems in learning this skill. It is due
to the fact that the common teaching approach applied is teacher-centered and lectureoriented, which normally results in learner passivity and non-involvement in English
speaking activities. Thus, it is necessary to change the learning process because if the
processes actively engage the learners, then a more positive outcome is assured. It is
obvious that in some recent years, many modern approaches have been applied in teaching
languages with the hope to achieve the expected communicative results. One of these is to
use Task-based language teaching. The task-based approach has numerous advantages.
Candlin (1987:3) asserted that “Task-based learning continues with and develop recent
attention to learner-centered approaches, and in particular the ideas of differentiation and
learner independence”, adding that “tasks serve as compelling and appropriate means for
realizing certain characteristic principles of communicative language teaching and
learning” (p.5). Tasks also provide input to learners and opportunities for meaningful
language use, both of which are generally considered valuable in promoting language
acquisition. Students can become fully engaged in fulfilling tasks, which can reduce
tedium and make class work more challenging and relevant to their interests.
For some recent years, Faculty of Foreign Languages of HaUI has applied this
approach in teaching languages. However, how to effectively apply this approach in
teaching languages, especially teaching English speaking to the first-year non English
majors is a big question. Being a teacher of English at HaUI, I myself think that it is

2

essential to do a research on the advantages and disadvantages of teaching speaking to the
first-year non-English major students at my university by using the Task-based approach
so that some appropriate suggestions could be proposed to surmount the disadvantages and
to exploit the advantages in implementing this approach.
2. Aims of the study
The study is aimed at finding out the advantages and disadvantages of using a taskbased approach in teaching speaking to the first-year-non-English-major students at HaUI.
And then some possible suggestions are given to help teachers and students overcome
those disadvantages as well as exploit the advantages so as to make an improvement in our
teaching and learning English speaking.
The specific objectives of the study are:
-investigating the teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions of the advantages and
disadvantages in teaching and learning speaking with task-based approach.
-giving some appropriate suggestions to surmount the disadvantages and to make
use of the advantages.
3. Scope of the study
This study mainly focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of using a taskbased approach as perceived by the teachers and students of HaUI in English speaking
teaching and learning. It involves the participation of 150 first-year non English majors
who are in their first semester and 30 teachers of Faculty of Foreign Languages at HaUI.
The findings and recommendations most appropriately applied to the teachers of English as
well as the first-year non English majors of HaUI.
4. Significance of the study
The study is an attempt to respond 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 find ways to most effectively apply task-based
approach in teaching languages in general, English speaking in particular. The teachers and
students will be able to use appropriate tasks to overcome difficulties and to improve their
process of teaching and learning English speaking.
5. Methods of the study

The study is conducted in the form of a survey research. To carry out the research, I
decided to use questionnaires with participation of 150 first-year non English majors and


3

30 teachers of Faculty of Foreign Languages at HaUI. In addition to the questionnaires,
class observation and interview with the student informants and interview with their
teachers were also employed.
6. Structure of the study
The study consists of three parts:
Part One: The Introduction:
This part presents the rationale, the aims, the scope, the significance, the methods and the
structure of the study.
Part Two: The Development includes of following chapters:
Chapter 1: Literature review
This chapter reviews basic issues on task-based language teaching (TBLT) with the
definition of a task, task types, the definition of TBLT and a framework for designing TB
lessons. An overview of speaking with the definition of speaking skill, the importance of
speaking skill in Language Teaching programs and factors affecting TBLT application in
speaking skill is also presented.
Chapter 2: The study
This chapter first refers to the current situation of teaching and learning speaking English
at HaUI. It then presents the research questions, the methodology with methods for data
collection and data analysis.
Chapter 3: Finding and Recommendation
This chapter proposes the findings concluded from the results of the previous chapter and
some recommendations for teachers and students at HaUI in the hope of improving their
process of teaching and learning speaking English.
Part Three: Conclusion:

This part summarizes the study, the limitation of the study and suggests some ideas for
further study.


4

PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Task-based language teaching (TBLT)
1.1.1. What is a task?
In general education, there are many different definitions of a task. Nunan (1989)
defined a 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. The task should also have a sense of
completeness, being able to stand alone as a communicative act in its own right .
Bygate, Skehan and Swain (2001) agreed that a task is an activity which requires
learners to use language, with emphasis on meaning, to attain an objective.
Breen had another definition “Task is assumed to refer to a range of workplans
which have the overall purpose of facilitating language learning – from the simple and
brief exercise type to more complex and lengthy activities such as group problem-solving
or simulations and decision making” (Breen 1987:23).
1.1.2. Task types:
Task types are very numerous. We can take into consideration some types of tasks
suggested by Long (1989) as follows:
The first is information gap tasks which includes one-way tasks and two-way tasks.
These tasks are information exchange tasks that are distinguished in terms of how the
information to be shared. In the case of one-way tasks, the burden of completing the task
successfully is placed on the participant who holds the information, although other
participants can contribute by demonstrating when they comprehend. In constrast, in twoway tasks, all the participants are obligated to participate in order to complete the task.
However, Long (1989:13) claimed that “two-way tasks produce more negotiation work and

more useful negotiation work than one-way tasks”.
The second are the tasks related to task outcome. Those are open tasks and closed
tasks. Open tasks are those where the participants know there is no pre-determined
solution. For example, tasks in involving making choices, surveys, debates, ranking
activities, and general discussion are open because learners are free to decide on the
solution. Closed tasks are those that require students to reach a single, correct solution or


5

one of a small finite set of solutions. Long (1989) argues that closed tasks are more likely
to promote negotiation work than open tasks because they make it less likely that learners
will give up when faced with a challenge. In the case of open tasks such as “free
conversation” tasks there is no need for students to pursue difficult topics. They can treat
topics briefly and switch topic if necessary. In short, open tasks remove the need to make
an effort to communicate. In contrast, closed tasks require students to persevere to make
themselves understood, resulting in greater precision and more language recycling. It is
good for acquisition.
The third are planned tasks and unplanned tasks. Planned tasks are the ones that
are prepared and planned in advance to access their effects on written or oral work. For
example, planning the words, phrases and ideas before carrying out an interview.
Unplanned tasks are the ones that are not prepared and planned in advance before
accessing their effects on written or oral work. For example, students are asked to have
informal face-to-face conversations.
The final are convergent tasks and divergent tasks. Convergent tasks include
problem-solving through social interaction, decision making, arrangement making and
information organizing through conversation or correspondence. Divergent tasks include
topic discussions through the exchange of information, ideas, opinions, attitudes, feelings,
experiences and plans. Convergent tasks refer to tasks in which all participants have the
same goal as a regarded outcome; with divergent tasks, the goals will be different.

1.1.3. What is TBLT?
TBLT is a development within the communicative approach. “TBL is a perspective
that can be taken within a communicative language teaching framework”(Brown,
1994:83). He aslo said that what various understanding of TBT emphasize is the centrality
of task itself in a language course and, for TBT as an overall approach, the importance of
organizing a course around communicative tasks that learners need to engage in outside the
classroom. Candlin stated that “task-based learning continues with and develops recent
attention to learner-centered approaches, and in particular the ideas of differentiation and
learner interdependence” (1987:3).
Nunan (1991) gave five characteristics of a task-based approach to language
teaching:


6

(1) An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target
language.
(2) The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.
(3) The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language, but also
on the learning process itself.
(4) An enhancement of the learner‟s own personal experiences as important
contributing elements to classroom learning.
(5) An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside
classroom.
1.1.4. A framework for designing TB lessons
We can consider Ellis‟s model which provides a clear structure for a lesson and
allows for creativity and variety in the choice of options in each phase.
Phase

Examples of options

A Pre-task

Framing the activity, e.g establishing the outcome of the task
Planning time
Doing a similar task

B During task

Time pressure
Number of participants

C Post-task

Learner report
Consciousness raising
Repeat task

Table 1. A framework for designing task-based lessons (Rod Ellis, 2003:244)
It is important to consider three phases in the implementation of a task-based
approach in a lesson.
The pre-task phase
The purpose of the pre-task phase is to prepare students to perform the task in ways
that will promote acquisition. This phase concerns the various activities that teachers and
students can undertake before they start the task. For example, teachers provide an advance
organizer of what students will be required to do and the nature of the outcome they will
arrive at. Students are aslo given time to plan the performance of the task. Especially,


7

teachers will support students in performing a task similar to the task they will perform in
the during-task phase of the lessons or ask students to observe a model of how to perform
the task.
The during-task phase
This phase centres around the task itself and affords various instructional options,
including whether students are required to operate under time pressure or not and the
number of participants in task. Ellis (2003:249) found that giving students an unlimited
time to perform a narrative task resulted in language that was both more complex and
accurate in comparison to a control group that was asked to perform the same task under
time pressure. The students used the time at their disposal to monitor and reformulate their
utterances. The opportunity to plan online produced a different effect from the opportunity
to engage in strategic planning, which led to greater fluency and complexity of language. It
seems that if teachers want to emphasize accuracy in a task performance, they need to
ensure that the students can complete the task in their own time. However, if they want to
encourage fluency, they need to set a time limit.
The post-task phase
This phase have three major goals: (1) to provide an opportunity for a repeat
performance of the task, (2) to encourage reflection on how the task was performed, and
(3) to encourage attention to form, in particular to those forms that proved problematic to
the learners when they performed the task.
Firstly, teachers should ask students to present a report on how they did the task
and on what they decided or discovered. The teacher‟s role is to act as a chairperson and to
encourage the students. The reports can be oral or written. Students should primarily focus
on summarizing the outcome of the task and reflect on and evaluate their own performance
of the task. For example, they could comment on which aspect of language use (fluency,
complexity, or accuracy) and why or how they dealt with communication problems, what
language they learned from the task. These may contribute to the development of the
strategies of planning, monitoring and evaluating for language learning. Then,
consciousness – raising should be use to direct students to attend explicitly to a specific

form that they used incorrectly or failed to use at all in the main task. Finally, teachers
should ask students to repeat a task. A repeat performance can be carried out under the
same conditions as the first performance , i.e. in small groups or individually, or the


8

conditions can be changed. When learners repeat a task, their production improves in a
number of ways, for example, complexity increases, propositions are expressed more
clearly and they become more fluent.
1.2. Speaking skill in language teaching
1.2.1. What is speaking skill?
Speaking skill is one of the most important skills in learning foreign languages.
Bailey and Savage (1991: vii) say “for many people, speaking is seen as the central skill
because of the desire to communicate with others, often face-to-face and in real time”. Ur
(1996) considers speaking intuitively the most important of the four skills: people who
knows a language are referred to as „speakers‟ of that language as if speaking included all
other kinds of knowing; and many if not most foreign language learners are primarily
interested in learning to speak.
According to Brown and Yule‟s (1983:127), speaking skill consists of short,
fragmentary utterance, in a range of pronunciation. There is often a great deal of repetition
and overlap between one speaker and another and speakers usually use non-specific
references. Brown (1994:45) defined that speaking is an interactive process of constructing
meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information. When
participating in communicative activities, the speaker should choose the correct vocabulary
to describe the things they want to say about, to rephrase or emphasize words to clarify the
description to produce the expected pattern of specific discourse situations.
1.2.2. The importance of speaking skill in language teaching programs
Language is an effective means of communication through which we can convey
our ideas, our thought, or our desires. Human beings have never achieved such

developments as they have done these days without language. Speaking ability is
considered a measurement of knowing a language. It is very important to language teachers
and learners. Bygate, M. (1987:5) stresses that speaking “is also a medium through which
much language is learnt, and which for many is particularly conductive for learning”.
Nunan (1991:279) also states that success in an oral conversation is measured in terms of
the ability to carry out a conversation in the target language. If a student doesn‟t know how
to speak and has no chance to speak in the language classroom, he will lose interest in
learning. In the speaking class, on contrary, if the teacher doesn‟t organize right and
positive activities, the speaking a language will become less and less boring. Brown, G and


9

Yule, G (1992:256) point out that speaking plays an important role in a very transactional
intention, that is, to make clear what they want to say. Speaking not only helps students to
communicate well and exchange information and culture with others but also promote the
integration of speaking, listening, reading and writing in the ways that reflect natural
language use.
From the above points, we can see that besides listening, writing and reading skills,
speaking skill plays a vital role in language teaching program.
1.3. Factors affecting TBLT application in speaking skill
It is commonly seen that any choice of a method of teaching needs favourable
conditions for effective application. We can consider some factors affecting TBLT
application in speaking skill as follows:
1.3.1. Teachers
1.3.1.1. Teachers’ attitudes and beliefs
Teachers‟ beliefs are the strongest guiding influence on teachers‟ instruction.
Teachers‟s beliefs are found on the goals, values which they hold in relationtion to the
content, process of teaching and their understanding of the systems in which they work and
their roles within it. Teachers have to believe in the effectiveness of a particular approach

or method of teaching and consistently try to implement it in the classroom. If their beliefs
are strong, it will help them confidently introduce the method that they chose.
Teachers‟ attitude is also very important in apply a teaching method. It affects to
their teaching process, learners‟ learning process and the results of teaching and learning
after the course. We can see that a teacher plays roles such as an instructor, a consultant, a
supervisor, a communicator and a controller. The teacher is the manager of the activity and
must plan it, organize it, start it, monitor it, time it and conclude it.
To summarize, teachers‟ beliefs and attitudes have an effect on the classroom
behavior, influence what learners learn, and are potent determinants of teachers‟ teaching
style.
1.3.1.2. Teachers’ qualities and personalities
It is generally accepted that the teacher‟s qualities and personalities play an
important role in the class. Teachers‟ qualities and personalities also affect to learners‟
attitudes toward their study. It is clear that teachers need to do everything possible to create
a good support with their learners. Partly this happens by providing interesting and


10

motivating classes; partly this comes from such things as treating all learners the
same...and acting upon their hopes and aspirations. Most of it depends on paying more
attention to the learners than to the teachers. Nunan (1991:279) aslo give some advices to
the teachers when teaching speaking skill: (1)emphasizing on learning to communicate
though interaction in the target language, (2) introducing authentic texts into the learning
situations, (3) providing opportunities for learners to focus, not only on languages but also
on the learning process itself, (4) enhancing the learners own personal experiences as
important contributing elements to classroom learning, and (5) attempting to link
classroom language learning with language activation outside the classroom. If the
teachers‟ qualities are high, they can pay attention more to the quality of teaching method
and design effective and suitable tasks in activities in speaking lessons.

A teacher‟s personality is important because it helps build the learning environment
with good relationship between teachers and learners and increase learning motivation.
1.3.2. Learners
1.3.2.1. Learners’ motivation
Language learners‟ motivation is basically originated from goals of various kinds
and needs. It is popularly considered to play a very important role in learning. The
motivation is some kind of internal drive that encourages somebody to pursue a course of
action. Motivation is seen as the fulfillment of the goals and needs. It is considered to be
instrumental when learner‟s mastery of the target language and is believed to be able to aid
learners in obtaining a good job, high position or status. If learners have high motivation,
they will learn harder.Thus, they can get higher result in learning.
1.3.2.2. Learners’ attitudes and beliefs
Learners‟ attitudes and beliefs influence on how they approach their learning.
Learners should have right attitudes and beliefs in their learning, especially in learning
English speaking. This contributes to the effectiveness of their learning process. If
learners‟ attutudes and beliefs are positive, they will directly affect to the learning result.
Learners‟ beliefs are influenced by the social context of learning and can influence both
their attitude toward the language itself as well as toward language learning in general.
Therefore, investigating learners‟ beliefs is one of the important duties of teachers.
1.3.2.3. Learners’ anxiety and confidence


11

Language anxiety is one of the characteristics which have a relationship with
learning process. Many studies have also suggested that language enxiety has a negative
relationship with learning success and vive versa, self-confidence has a positive
relationship. The level of anxiety felt by learners is a result of the nature of the situation
itself. With anxiety, learners may have difficulties in making casual conversations or
expressing spontaneous reactions. Therefore, unless they have formed confidence in

themselves, they may come to feel that they project a silly, boring image and become
withdrawn. Confidence plays an important role in learning speaking skill. If learners have
confidence, they will express their opinions clearly and fluently. Teachers should pay
attention to learners‟ anxiety to give out suitable tasks to make them involve in activities
naturally.
1.3.3. Learning environment and Text books
The learning environment can greatly influence on their academic performance.
The learning environment can be seen as physical conditions, such as class size, chairs,
desks, tables, lights, boards. Physical conditions have great impact on students‟ learning as
well as their attitudes towards the subject matter.
While learning environment can be seen physical conditions, textbooks and
teaching aids can be considered important resources. The textbook is essential in forming
comprehensible input. If the contents of the textbook are suitable and up to students‟
knowledge, they will much help develop students‟ speaking competence.
Teaching aids are also considered as an important factor affecting students‟
learning situation. They allow the teachers to talk less by dimissing the importance of the
verbal stimuli provided by the teachers‟ voice and allow the students to talk more.


12

CHAPTER TWO: THE STUDY
2.1 The context of the study
2.1.1. English language teaching at Hanoi University of Industry
Hanoi University of Industry is the multi-branch university. It is specializedly
controlled by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Since it officially became a university in
2005, the university has performed its function of training bachelors and high
technological engineers. There are fifteen departments: Mechanical Engineering,
Information Technology, Garment Technology and Faction Design, Automobile
Technology, Chemical Technology, Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Fundamental

Science, Economics, Teacher Training, In-service Training, Marxism-Leninism, Foreign
Languages, International Cooperation Training, Physical-National Defense Education.
The teachers in Faculty of Foreign Languages take responsibility for teaching
English all the students who are studying at HaUI. There are 2 categories of English – one
for students in Faculty of Foreign Languages who are called English majors, one for
students in other Faculties who are called non-English majors. In this study, I only focus
on first-year non-English majors.
Some years ago, the common English teaching approach applied in HaUI is
Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP). This traditional method is teacher-centered and
lecture-oriented. Teachers usually speak during the lessons and students take notes. They
only give the lectures which depend on the materials. This method is not much effective in
helping students learn speaking. Students rarely have opportunities to practice speaking.
They have to listen to teachers so much. Many students cannot be relaxed when learning.
Most of them admit that the lesson is too long and so boring that they easily get tired and
stressful. So they can hardly concentrate on the lesson. The students often fall into the
passive situation. They are not active to practice speaking English. Therefore, the learning
result of students is not high. Speaking skill of students are not good enough to meet the
demand of their job when they graduate from the university. The communicative ability in
English is bad so that it is quite difficult for them to apply for a good job.
Finding that result, the educational administrators in HaUI in general and in Faculty
of Foreign Languages in particular decided to change the teaching method from PPP
approach into task-based approach in teaching English speaking skill and other skills. This


13

is a communicative teaching method. It has high effectiveness in making the lessons more
interesting so that the teachers can attract the students‟ attention and help improve their
speaking skill as well. However, during the process of applying this approach in teaching
English, apart from advantages, there also exist some disadvantages. Being a teacher of

Faculty of Foreign Languages at HaUI, I find that it is necessary to make clear these
advantages and disadvantages to sort out the disadvantages and exploit the advantages to
apply this approach more effectively.
2.1.2. The teaching materials and assessment
In the first year, the students study English 1 with the course book New Headway –
Elementary (Third Edition) by Liz and John Soars. This course book is designed for
Elementary learners. There are four skills in this book – listening, speaking, reading and
writing. However, this book especially focuses on communicative competence. Speaking
skill is an important skill in learning English.
Students are required to pronounce words and phrases in English, use English to
collect information by making questions, making conversations with everyday English
expressions, making presentations or sentences with tenses in English such as Present
Simple, Past Simple, Present Continuous and Present Perfect. I think this course book is
suitable for the first-year non English major students. It is not very difficult for the students
who have no experience in speaking English before.
The assessment is as follows. The students‟ studying result is the average of the
average of all the marks in class and the term-end test. All the marks in class include class
attendant, a midterm test and two other tests.
2.1.3. Teachers and students
There are 110 teachers in Faculty of Foreign Languages. All of them graduated
from the English Department of ULIS, VNUH or Hanoi University. 58 people are longterm contracted teachers and the rest are short-term contracted teachers. 28 of them have
got an M.A degree. 30 are doing M.A. In general, the teaching staff is always eager for
knowledge, energetic, enthusiastic and willing to apply better ways to upgrade their
teaching quality.
The proficiency level of first-year non English major students at HaUI is generally
not high. This results from some reasons. The first one is that their academic results at
entrance examinations are not very high. The second reason is many students show a


14

passive learning way. They are still affected by the way of learning English at secondary
and high schools. Hence, they continue to adopt the teacher-dependent learning style. It
means that they only listen to the teachers‟ lectures and take notes. They have no their own
ideas and do not stand to think about the topics or problems which their teachers provide.
The third reason is that they only concentrate on grammar exercises and vocabulary. They
hardly have spoken English. The last reason is they are lack of confidence. Most of them
come from rural areas with no chances for learning English with enough four skills. They
are not dare to talk to the teachers and other students in English when they have opinion.
2.1.4. Teaching and learning facilities
In the early years established, the constructure of the university is bad. It did not
have enough classrooms for teaching and learning. So the teaching and learning had to take
place in the mornings, afternoons and evenings, evenly on Sundays. The university did not
have a language lab for English classes. The library had few English books, papers and
magazines for students to improve their knowledge.
Today, the materials and constructure are upgraded. There are enough classrooms
for teaching and learning. However, there is a serious shortage of modern facilities such as
overhead projectors. Only some buildings have projectors. Especially, there have no
projectors in the classrooms which are for the first-year students. Teaching with projectors
will illustrate the lectures with videos and pictures which attract students and make the
lessons more interesting.
Due to the characteristic of a technological training university, the number of
students in each major class is too big, about 100 students. Therefore, the number of
students in each English class is quite crowded, about 50 students, evenly 60 students. It is
very difficult for teachers to teach effectively such a big class. Each student rarely has
opportunities to speak in front of the class. The teachers have not got enough time to call
all the students to answer the questions or make conversations. So they are unable to check
the pronunciation for students.
2.2. The research methodology
2.2.1. Research questions

In order to make use of the advantages and sort out the disadvantages in applying
task-based approach in teaching English speaking to the first-year non English major
students, it is essential to answer the following questions:


15

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages as perceived by EFL HaUI learners
of task-based approach in learning English speaking?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages as perceived by EFL HaUI teachers
when using a task-based approach in teaching English speaking?
3. What could be done to surmount the disadvantages and exploit the advantages?
2.2.2. The participants
In order to gather information for the study, 150 freshman non English major
students at HaUI were chosen to answer the questionnaire. There are 140 male students
and 10 female students. Most of them are aged 18 (only 7 students are aged 20 because
they failed in the two previous university entrance examinations). The majority come from
the countryside. Some of them are from big cities such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh or
Thanh Hoa. The differences of domicile partly lead to different ways of learning foreign
language.
30 English teachers aged from 26 to 37 were invited to answer the questionnaire. 4
of them are male and other 26 are female. The teachers have had the teaching experience
from 3 to 17 years.
20 students who are volunteers were chosen for the interview after the class
observation by the reseacher. 3 of them are female and the rest are male.
5 of 30 English teachers were invited to take part in the interview after they finish
teaching their speaking lessons observed by the reseacher. 2 of them are male and 3 are
female.
All these teachers and students are teaching and learning English speaking with
task-based approach.

2.2.3. Data collection instruments
To gather more accurate data, both quantitive and qualitative methods were used.
Quantitive data were gathered through questionnaire for both students and teachers and
qualitative data were collected via class observation and interviews of teachers and
students.
2.2.3.1. Questionnaire
The questionnaire is one of the most popular instruments in gathering data. It is
very suitable to implement a large-scale survey, the aim of which is to find out
participants‟ opinions and attitudes.


16

150 copies of the survey questionnaire were handed out to 150 students. These
questionnaires were designed to find out the students‟ perceptions of the advantages and
disadvantages which the students encounter when learning English speaking with taskbased approach. The reseacher also want to gather what the students would like to be done
to improve the situation.
The questionnaire for students was designed as follows:
Part one was about the students‟demographic information. Part two was about the
students‟ experience in learning English. Part three aimed at the students‟ attitudes of
learning English speaking skill. Part four was designed to elicit the students‟ evaluations of
the application of task-based approach in learning English speaking. Part five focused on
the students‟ perception of advantages and disadvantages when learning English speaking
with task-based approach and their suggestions to exploit the advantages and surmount the
disadvantages.
30 copies of another questionnaire were delivered to 30 teachers. The questionnaire
for teachers was designed as follows:
Part one was about the teachers‟ demographic information. Part two was about their
experience in teaching English. Part three was designed to elicit the teachers‟ evaluations
of the application of task-based approach in teaching English speaking. Part four focused

on the teachers‟ perception of the advantages and disadvantages they face with in their
teaching English speaking with task-based approach and their suggested solutions to
overcome the disadvantages and make use of the advantages.
2.2.3.2. Class Observation
The class observation is aimed at observe how the teachers perform their lecture,
what atmosphere is in the class, what students‟ attitudes to the lecture are like and what
interactions of students are during the lesson.
In order to get more information, 5 class observation were implemented. The 5
teachers were chosen to be observed. The class observations were carried out in 3 stages:
before the lesson, during the lesson and after the lesson. In before-lesson stage, the
reseacher asked the teachers about their teaching attitudes. In during-lesson stage, the
reseacher focused on the teachers‟ techniques and the students‟ interaction in the class. In
after-lesson stage, the reseacher concentrated on discussing and changing opinions with the
observed teachers.


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2.2.3.3. Interviews
The interviews were implemented to 30 students in the observed class and 5
observed teachers. The objective is to get more in-depth information about the teachers‟
and students‟ perception of the advantages and disadvantages when applying task-based
approach in teaching and learning English speaking.
The interview for students was implemented in Vietnamese. It consists of 6
questions. Question 1 is used to find out the students‟ opinion of speaking English.
Question 2 is to investigate students‟ estimation of the importance of English speaking
skill. Questions 3 concentrates on the students‟ attitudes of learning English speaking with
task-based approach. Question 4, 5 are to gather students‟ opinions of the advantages and
disadvantages they faced with under TB instruction. Question 6 is aimed at students‟
suggestions to make use of advantages and surmount the disadvantages.

The interview for teachers includes 7 questions. Question 1 is to gather teachers‟
ideas of the importance of English speaking skill to the students. Question 2 and 3
investigates the attitudes of teachers about teaching English speaking, especially when
using task-based approach. Question 4 is about the opinion of teachers about their students‟
attitudes with the speaking lesson applied a task-based approach. Question 5 and 6 elicit
the advantages and disadvantages teachers coped with in teaching English speaking with
this approach. The last question - question 7 is to gather teachers‟ suggestions to apply
task-based approach more effectively.
2.3. Data analysis methods
In this section, the results of the study are presented. The data has been collected
from the questionnaires, the class observation and the interviews. The result will be
represented in forms of tables and figures.
2.3.1. The questionnaires
2.3.1.1. The questionnaire for students
2.3.1.1.1. Students’ experience in learning English
Figure 1: The grade students started learning English


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100
80
60
40
20
0
From grade 6

From grade 10

Others

Figure 1 represents the data of question 1. According to this figure, we can see that
121 of 150 students (80,7%) have been learning English since grade 6 meanwhile 22
students (14,7%) say that they started learning English from grade 10. The reason for this
is these students come from rural areas where they didn‟t have opportunities to learn
English or some of them learned other foreign languages such as French or Russian at
secondary school. 7 students (4,6%) say that they have been learning English since 1, 2, 3,
4, or 5. These students come from the centre of the town or city.
Table 2: Students’ evaluation of their English learning ability
Alternatives

a

b

c

d

e

2

0

8%

44,7%

29,3%

18%

3

3,4%

14%

28%

33,3%

21,3%

4

36%

32,7%

14%

12,6%

4,7%

Questions

Table 1 shows the results of students‟ English learning ability. According to the
figure collected in question 2, we can find that although most of students started learning
English from grade 6, their levels of English are not high. There are not any students who
are excellent at English (0%). Only 12 students (8%) are good at English. Meanwhile,
there are 67 students (44,7%) have a neutral level of English, 44 students (29,3%) have a
bad level and 27 students (18%) have a very bad level.
In question 3, when asked about the skill the students are good at, the majority (50
students – 33,3%) assumed that they are good at writing skill. 42 students (28%) think that
they are good at reading skill. Only 5 students (3,4%) are good at listening and 21 students
(14%) are good at speaking. Especially, 32 students (21,3%) think that they are not good at
any skills. We can see that the number of students who are good at reading and writing is
more than that of students who are good at listening and speaking.


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The answers to question 4 show a contrastive result to the result of question 3.
There are 54 students (36%) are bad at listening, 49 students (32,7%) are bad at speaking.
Only 21 students (14%) are bad at reading and 19 others (12,6%) are bad at writing
whereas 7 students (4,7%) are not bad at any skills. They think that they are not good or
bad at any skills.
2.3.1.1.2. Students’ attitudes of learning English speaking
Table 3: Students’ attitudes of learning English speaking
Alternatives

a

b

c

d

e

1

16,7%

40%

23,3%

8%

12%

2

63,4%

23,3%

8%

5,3%

0%

3

36,7%

34,7%

7,3%

16,7%

4,6%

Questions

The figures in table 2 show the result of students‟ attitudes of learning English
speaking. In question 1, 25 students (16,7%) are very interested in learning English
speaking and 60 others (40%) are interested in learning it. There are 35 students (23,3%)
are neutral. Meanwhile only 12 students (8%) are uninterested in learning this skill and 18
students (12%) are very uninterested in learning it. Therefore, we can see that the number
of students who like learning English speaking skill is quite big.
The result of question 2 shows that students‟ awareness of learning English
speaking is very high. Most of students (63,4% - 95 students) think that English speaking
skill is very important to them. 23,3% (35 students) think that it is important. Only 8% (12
students) think it is neutral and 5,3% (8 students) think it is unimportant. There are not any
students think it is very important.
When asked about the purpose of learning English speaking skill, a quite big
number of students (36,7% - 55 students) think that they learn this skill to pass the exam.
34.7% (52 students) want to get a good job in the future. 7,3% (11 students) want to
communicate with the foreigners. 16,7% (25 students) think that they have to learn it
because it is a compulsory skill in learning English at university and 4,6% (7 students)
learn it because of other reasons such as travelling abroad, living abroad in the future,

studying abroad after graduating from university, etc.
2.3.1.1.3. Students’ opinions of the application of a task-based approach in learning
English speaking


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Table 4: Students’s opinions of the application of a task-based approach in learning
English speaking
Alternatives

a

b

c

d

e

1

28%

58%

8%

4,7%

1,3%

2

30%

52,7%

6%

7,3%

4%

3

34%

48%

5,3%

7,4%

5,3%

4

47,3%

34,7%

5,3%

7,4%

5,3%

Questions

The results of table 3 show students‟ opinions of the application of a task-based
approach in learning English speaking. In question 1, 42 students (28%) like learning
English speaking with a task-based approach very much and 87 students (58%) like this.
Meanwhile, only 7 students (4,7%) disagree and 2 students (1,3%) strongly disagree with
learning English speaking based on tasks. 12 students (8%) are neutral. Thus, we can find
that most of students like learning English speaking with this approach.
The figures in question 2 show that most of students think learning speaking with
this approach is very suitable (30% - 45 students) and suitable (52,7%-79 students) to
them. Only 9 students (6%) are neutral and 11 students (7,4%) and 6 students (4%) think it
is unsuitable and very unsuitable respectively.
When asked whether their speaking skill is improved with this approach, the
majority (72 students – 48%) agree and 51 others (34%) strongly agree with this. Only 8
students (5,3%) are neutral, 11 students (7,4%) disagree and 8 others (5,3%) strongly
disagree with this.
The results in question 4 show that a big number of students (71 students – 47,3%)
strongly agree and 52 students (34,7%) agree to continue to learn English speaking with a
task-based approach next semester. Meanwhile, only 8 students (5,3%) are neutral, 11
students (7,4%) disagree and 8 others (5,3%) strongly disagree with this.
2.3.1.1.4. Students’ advantages and disadvantages in learning English speaking with a

task-based approach and possible suggestions
Table 5 : Students’ advantages and disadvantages in learning English speaking based on
tasks