Adapting speaking tasks in English 10 for the minority students at Yenbai Ethnic Boarding High school = Thiết chỉnh một số bài tập nói trong cuốn sách Tiếng An20150227

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List of tables, graphs and figures

Table 1: Evaluation of the effectiveness of model, picture presentation parts
in the speaking tasks.

Table 2: The suitability of the topics in the speaking tasks with students‟
needs and interests.

Table 3: Speaking skills gained by students after finishing learning textbook

Table 4: Teachers‟ ways of exploiting

Table 5: Factors affecting task adapting

Figure 1: Students‟ evaluation of speaking task forms in the textbook.

Figure 2: Teachers‟ evaluation of speaking task forms in the textbook

Figure 3: Students‟ evaluation of the difficulty level of speaking tasks in the
textbook.

Figure 4: Teachers‟ evaluation of the difficulty level of speaking tasks in the
textbook.

Figure 5: Students‟ evaluation of the effectiveness of different types of
speaking tasks.

Figure 6: Teachers‟ evaluation of the effectiveness of different types of
speaking tasks.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
LIST OF TABLES, GRAPHS AND FIGURES
TABLES OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACTS
PART I: INTRODUCTION 10
I.1. Rationale: 10
I.2. Aims of the study: 11
I.3. Research questions 11
I.4. Research method 11
I.5. Scope of the study: 12
I.6. Organization of the study 12
PART II: DEVELOPMENT 14
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 14
I.1. ADAPTATION 14
I.1.1. Definition of adaptation: 14

I.1.2. Adaptation speaking tasks is necessary: 14
I.1.3. Purpose of adapting speaking tasks 16
I.1.4. Techniques of adapting tasks for teaching speaking: 17
I.1.4.1. Adaptation as addition 17
I.1.4.2. Adaptation as change: 19
I.1.5. Factors affecting adaptation process: 20
I.1.5.1. Speaking task evaluation 21
I.1.5.2. Learner factor: 22
I.2. Speaking skill 24
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I.2.1. The nature of language skills 24
I.2.2. The importance of teaching speaking 25
I.2.3. Communication and classroom communication 26
I.2.4. Problem with speaking 27
CHAPTER II: THE STUDY 33
II.1.Research setting 33
II.1.1.An overview of the research site 33
II.1.2. Description of the teachers of English in Yen Bai Ethnic
Boarding High School. 33
II.1.3. The students at Yen Bai Ethnic Boarding High School 34
II.1.4. The materials of teaching and learning 34
II.2. The subject 35
II.3. The Instrument: 36
II.4. Procedure: 38
CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS, DISCUSSION AND
RECOMMENDATION 41
III.1. Data analysis and discussions 41
III.1.1. Questionnaires for both teachers and students 41
III.1.1.1. Evaluation of the effectiveness of model, picture

presentation parts in the speaking tasks 41
III.1.1.2. The suitability of the topics in the speaking tasks with
students‟ needs and interests 42
III.1.1.3. Evaluation of speaking task forms in the
textbook…………………………………………………………… 42
III.1.1.4. Evaluation of the difficulty level of speaking tasks in the
textbook 44
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III.1.1.5. Evaluation of the effectiveness of different types of speaking
tasks 47
III.1.1.6. Speaking skills gained by students after finishing learning
textbook 48
III.1.2. Questionnaires for teachers 50
III.1.2.1. Ways of exploiting tasks 50
III.1.2.2. Factors affecting task adapting 50
III.1.3. The Interview 51
III.2. Some suggested techniques of adapting speaking tasks to encourage
communication to the 10
th
grade ethnic students in YEBHS. 53
III.2.1. Replacing 53
III.2.2. Extending 56
III.2.3. Supplementing 57
PART III: CONCLUSION 60

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PART I: INTRODUCTION

I.1. Rationale:
Vietnam is in the open-door period, moreover, from the November
2006, has become a member of WTO, and so, English is getting more and
more essential to Vietnamese people.
Being aware of this, Vietnamese students in general and students from
Yen Bai Ethnic Boarding High School have tried hard to study English
better and better. However, English teaching and learning have not been as
effective as we expected. One of the reasons for those, according to many
teachers and students of English, is that the textbook “English 10” (the old
version), which is available for teaching and learning, is not always updated,
realistic, and appropriate to the context of an open-door policy and a market
economy, even not interesting enough to keep teachers and learners active

during English lessons. Moreover, this textbook is proved to lack flexibility,
adaptation and linkage and reveals many shortcomings
As a teacher of English at Yen Bai Ethnic Boarding High School for 4
years, I find that my students, especially the 10
th
grade ones, are quite bored
with the tasks suggested in their textbook “English 10”. Without adapted
tasks proposed by teachers, English lessons may become a burden for both
teachers and students. Also, many of my colleagues have tried to adapt tasks
in the textbook to teach speaking and found that any adapted tasks always
drew more students‟ attention and interest.
Furthermore, improving speaking skill for students from 10
th
grade
proves essential because most different ethnic students mind speaking
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English, usually keep quiet in speaking lessons and their speaking ability is
extremely poor.
For all those reasons, I have decided to carry out a study under the
title: “Adapting speaking tasks in English 10 (the old version) for the
minority students at Yen Bai Ethnic Boarding High School”
I.2. Aims of the study:
The study aims to:
- Investigate into the evaluation and attitudes of 10
th
grade students
and teachers in Yen Bai Ethnic Boarding High School(YEBHS) towards the
speaking tasks based on “English 10” (the old version).
- - find out techniques of adapting speaking tasks in order to make

speaking teaching and learning more effective and communicative.
I.3. Research questions:
- What are the teachers and students‟ evaluation and evaluation an
attitudes towards the speaking tasks in “English 10” (the old version)?
- What techniques should be used to adapt of adapting speaking tasks
in English 10 for the 10 grade students in Yen Bai ethnic boarding high
school?
I.4. Research method
In order to carry out this study, which is a survey research, a
combination of different data collection instruments are use to ensure the
reliability of the collected information as well as the accuracy and
practicality of the study. To begin with, data was collected via from survey
questionnaires completed done by students and teachers in Yen Bai Ethnic
Boarding High School. The writer, then, worked with the data by combining
different methods like analyzing, synthesizing, comparing, etc. in order to
draw out important findings.
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In addition, five classes were chosen at random. Each class was asked
to discuss five questions in 15-20 minutes before giving the answers. The
monitors then collected the answers from the members in their classes and
noted down the most common ones. These answers were then reported to the
writer in the post-discussion interview.
I.5. Scope of the study:
The study is limited to the data obtained from the survey
questionnaires on the students and teacher‟s evaluation of the speaking tasks
used for the 10
th
grade students on “English 10” (the old version). Besides,
they tended to find out their attitudes toward speaking task adaptation. The

responses from the participants were put as basis for suggested techniques of
adapting speaking tasks. Due to the limited time and the scope of a minor
thesis, the questionnaires were designed to mainly focus on evaluation. The
study does not refer to how to teach speaking or how to apply adapted tasks
in teaching peaking. The aim of the study is to make speaking tasks more
practical and useful by creating more chances for students to communicate
through adapted tasks. By that way, students are more motivated to study
and speaking topics are not separated from real life contexts.
Conclusions and suggestions are mainly based on analysis data.
However, with the limited number of informants, the writer will only present
her remarks, comments and recommendations for appropriate techniques of
adapting tasks for teaching speaking skill to the 10
th
grade students in
YEBHS.
I.6. Organization of the study:
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Part I: Introduction: This part provides an overview of the study with
specific reference to the rationale, the aims, scope, and the research method
of the study.
Part II: Development includes three chapters, namely
Chapter I: The chapter explores relevant theoretical background for
the thesis.
Chapter II: This chapter deals with the subjects, instruments and
procedures of research methods applied in the study.
Chapter III: This chapter is devoted to detailed description of the data
analysis and a brief discussion of the findings. From that, some
recommendations on ways of adapting speaking tasks are suggested in the
form of giving samples.

Part III: Conclusion.






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PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

I.1. ADAPTATION
I.1.1. Definition of adaptation:
Many teachers of English as a foreign language have recognized the
importance of adaptation and there are a number of definitions of adaptation
given by different scholars.
According to Madsen and Bowen (1978), adaptation is the action of
employing “one or more of a number of techniques: supplementing,
expanding, personalizing, simplifying, modernizing, localizing, or
modifying cultural/situational content”.
From Tomlinson‟s point of view (1998), adaptation is referred to
“reducing, adding, omitting, modifying and supplementing”. Another author,
Elli (1986:47) considered adaptation the process of “ retaining, rejecting, re-
ordering and modification”.
More or less, most of the scholars‟ viewpoints, which I base my thesis
on, agree on some kinds of change and addition when mentioning
“adaptation”.
I.1.2. Adaptation speaking tasks is necessary:
There are always sound practical reasons for adaptation tasks in order

to make them as accessible and useful for learners as possible. However,
reasons for adaptation have varied and changed as the field has developed
and views on language acquisition and teaching practice have become better
informed by research and experience.
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Within the context of the study, only the reasons for adapting
speaking tasks are discussed here. It is not so difficult to understand why
some teachers want to adapt speaking tasks. Before the advent of the
communicative approach, many course books focused on largely on
structures and were heavily influenced by the legacy of grammar translation
methods of teaching. Language was viewed primarily in structural terms and
was not treated as a tool for communication, while learning was seen in
terms of forming correct behavioral patterns. Despite an increased awareness
and sensitivity to language as communication and learning as a
developmental process, many teachers were finding themselves faced with
tasks that did not reflect these teaching and learning principles.
In their books “Materials and Methods in ELT”, McDonough and
Shaw devote a chapter to the issue of adaptation. They quote Madsen and
Bowen (1978) to set a context for adaptation:
“Effective adaptation is adaptation matter of achieving “congruence” The
good teacher is constantly striving for congruence among related
variables: teaching materials, methodology, students, course objectives, the
target language and its context, and the teacher‟s own personality and
teaching style”
One reason for adaptation is that tasks are necessarily constrained by
the syllabus, unit template and other space concerns. Not all tasks, therefore,
are fully developed. A good teacher‟s guide will supplement materials with
useful alternatives and adaptations, but where this does not happen or a
teacher does not have the teacher‟s guide, adaptation will become part of the

creative dialogue between teachers and tasks.
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McDonough and Shaw (cited in Brian Tomlinson, 2004:178) give out
lists of reasons for adaptation of which are related to speaking task
adaptation:
1. Not enough speaking coverage in general.
2. Not enough practice of information points of particular difficulty to
these learners.
3. The communicative focus means that information is presented
unsystematically.
4. Subject matter inappropriate for learners of this age and intellectual
level.
5. Photographs and other illustrative for speaking not culturally
acceptable.
6. Amount of tasks too great/too little to cover in the time allocated to
lesson.
7. Too much or too little variety in the activities.
8. Accompanying tests needed.
The list implies that tasks are limited in that they do not provide many
opportunities for real communication; instead they simply provide practice
of linguistic structures. This is also the fact that in many speaking tasks that
needs adapting. The needs for task adaptation will be further discussed in the
next part dealing with the purposes for adaptation.
I.1.3. Purpose of adapting speaking tasks
Cunningsworth (cited in Ian McGrath: 2002) suggests the two most
frequently cited purposes for adaptation as follows:
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1. To make the tasks more suitable for the circumstances in which it is

being used, i.e. to mould it to the needs and interest of learners, teacher‟s
own capabilities and such constrain as time, or as Mc Donough and Shaw
(1993;85) put it “to maximize the appropriations of teaching materials in
context, by changing some of the internal characteristics of course book to a
better suit our particular circumstances”
2. To compensate for any intrinsic deficiencies in the task, such as
linguistic inaccuracies, out-of-datedness, lack of authenticity (Madsen and
Bowen, 1978) or lack of variety ( Tice, 1991).
We could take McDonogh and Shaw‟s definition of purpose a little
further. Maximizing the appropriations of teaching speaking (for example by
modifying them in such a way that they seem more relevant to learners‟
interests and needs)
is important because it can stimulate motivation, and increased motivation is
in turn likely to lead to a classroom atmosphere more conductive to learning.
In point of fact, when we make changes to a course book “to better suit our
particular purposes”, what we really trying to do is to improve the
effectiveness of the learning experience.
I.1.4. Techniques of adapting tasks for teaching speaking:
There are various techniques for adapting depending on teacher‟s
purposes and learning context. However, within the limit of the study, only
some techniques will be discussed to be applied in the next chapter.
I.1.4.1. Adaptation as addition
+ Extension and Supplementation:
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One particular form of adaptation which seems to have been largely
ignored in the literature is extension. This refer to the provision of teachers
of additional tasks (e.g. further examples of a situation or further items of a
task) in order to enhance understanding or learning. When extending an
activity, the teacher supplies more of the same types of task, thus making a

quantitative change in the tasks. For example, a task may practice a
particular topic point by asking the learner to complete a paragraph with the
missing information. The course book may have provided ten sentences for
this treatment, but the teacher may value this type of activity for her
particular class and adapt the course book by adding five more sentences
with the missing verbs.
Another form of adaptation which is quite among teachers is
supplementation. According to Ian Mc Grath (2002:80)
“Supplementation, which means no more than “adding something
new”, stems primarily from the recognition of a deficit: it is an attempt to
bridge the gap between a course book and an official syllabus (or statement
of aims), or a course book and the demands of a public examination, or a
course book and student‟s needs”
We can supplement a course book in one of two ways:
+ By utilizing items, such as tasks, texts or activities, from another
published source: a course book, a supplementary skill book, a book of
practice tasks or a teacher‟s resource book
+ By devising our own tasks; this may include the exploitation of
authentic visual or textual items.
The main difference between extension and supplementation is that
extension means “more of the same”. If the course books contains only one
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short task to practice a grammar point which your students find particularly
difficult and you devise more items of the same type as the original task, this
is extension. If you give them another task from another source or make up
another task yourself, this is supplementation. The distinction is not just
terminological; when we extend a task we can be fairly sure that we are
staying true to the design of the original material and will be contributing to
the goals that underpin this material; when we supplement, especially when

we design our own tasks, we have to be very vigilant unless we introduce a
new learning objective.
# Reordering:
When reordering, the teacher has decided that it makes more pedagogic
sense to sequence activities differently. An example is beginning with a
general discussion before looking at a reading passage rather than using the
reading as a basis of discussion.
# Replacing:
When replacing a material, a teacher may decide that a more
appropriate visual or text might serve an activity better than the ones
presented in the published material. This is often the case with culturally
specific or time-specific activities. A teacher may decide to replace an
illustration for one that students could identify with more closely or use
information concerning a popular figure with which the students are familiar
rather than the one presented in the published materials. Teacher may also
decide to replace the whole activity depending on the goals of a particular
class or lesson. For example, a reading activity might be replaced with a
listening activity.
I.1.4.2. Adaptation as change:
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a- A principled approach to adaptation:
Cunningsworth (1984:66) suggests three questions that might be
asked when one considering adaptation:
+ What does the exercise actually get the learners to do?
+ What do I want the learners to do?
+ How can I get the exercise to do what I want it to do for the
learners?
To these, we should perhaps add a fourth and logically prior question:
+ What is the objective or the activity?

This last question calls for a description of the linguistic intention
behind an activity or exercise (e.g. “to provide practice in the use of past-
tense question” or “to provide practice in eliciting information about
someone‟s past”)
b- Foci and forms of change:
One of the reasons given above for adaptation was to maintain learner
interest by varying what might otherwise be a rather repetitive diet. The
problem of “the textbook straitjacket” and some flexible responses to this are
described by Tice (1992:23):
“Vary the means of testing comprehension by introducing prediction tasks,
nonlinguistic tasks such as ordering or selecting pictures or note taking ”
I.1.5. Factors affecting adaptation process:
At the moment, the process of task adaptation is, in the great majority
of cases, left in the teacher‟s hands, and it is largely based simply on their
intuition and experience. However, having assessed the importance of task
adaptation as probably the most relevant and useful link between the reality
of the language classroom and the research findings, there is obviously a
great need to develop further such adaptation process and put into practice
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those theories and ideas in adaptation more systemic manner, particularly as
far as the published tasks are concerned.
There are obviously many factors affecting the process of adaptation.
For the purpose of the study, only some factors are presented here.
I.1.5.1. Speaking task evaluation:
Adaptation process, indeed, raises form the fact of the published tasks
and the learners‟ needs. Tasks evaluation, therefore, is vital in the process of
adapting. In the process of evaluating tasks, we can find out what should be
adapted to suit our objectives.
Tasks evaluation is a broad area to cover. There are so many factors in

the process of evaluating tasks and so many views from different linguistics.
Within the limit of this small study, I just dare to give out the ideas which I
am most interested in and related to my thesis.
According to Brain Tomlinson (2003:15), task evaluation is a
procedure that involves measuring the value (or potential value) of
adaptation set of learning tasks. It involves making judgment about the
effect to the tasks on the people using them and tries to measure some or all
of the following:
+ The appeal of the tasks to learners
+ The credibility of the tasks to learners, teachers and administrators
+ The validity of the tasks (i.e., is what they teach worth teaching?)
+ The reliability of the tasks (i.e., would they have the same effect
with different groups of target learners?)
+ The ability of the tasks to interest the learners and the teachers
+ The ability of the tasks to motivate learners
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+ The value of the tasks in terms of short-term learning (important, for
example, for the performance on test and examinations)
+ The value of the tasks in terms of long-term learning (of both
language and of the communication skills)
+ The learners‟ perceptions of the value of the tasks
+ The teachers‟ perceptions of the value of the tasks
+ The assistance given to the teachers in terms of preparation, delivery
and assessment.
+ The flexibility of the tasks (e.g., the extent to which it is easy for
adaptation teacher to adapt tasks to suit a particular context)
+ The match with administrative requirements (e.g. standardization
across the classes, coverage of a syllabus, preparation for an examination).
I.1.5.2. Learner factor:

Research has for decades stressed the importance of the learner‟s role
in the language process; many areas of research since the 1970s have
explored and described extensively the advantages of learner involvement in
program design, methodology, task adaptation and selection (Clark, 1989,
cited in Brain Tomlinson, 2004).
However, learners are traditionally left with a rather passive role inn
the classroom particularly as far as the adapting tasks are concerned.
According to Brain Tomlinson (2004:74), “the process of adaptation is based
on an initial evaluation, which should be carried out by learners”
In the list of the key features in task adaptation, Tomlinson also takes
the “learner-centered” as the first one. In his opinion, there is a large amount
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of literature on learner- centered approaches in principles. However, there
are very few language teaching and learning tasks are truly learner-centered
in the sense that their aims are the development of the learner‟s awareness,
of the learning process, linguistic empowerment and therefore learning
independence. The tasks should put learners at the centre of the learning
process and make them the main input providers ( hence the ones who adapt
tasks), whereas teachers and/or tasks should present the facilitators of
language learning and should provide a mere stimulus, a starting point, for
language expose as well as for different approaches. Tasks, should,
therefore, be written to facilitate adaptation, which should be left mainly in
the hand of learners.
According to some authors like Mathew (1991), Cunningsworth
(1995) and McDonough and Shaw (1993) (cited in Ian McGrath: 2002:19),
these are the learners factors affecting the process of adapting and selecting
tasks:
+ Age range
+ Proficiency level in the target language (and homogeneity within the

learner group)
+ First language (all the same?)
+ Academic and educational level
+ Socio- cultural background
+ Occupation (if relevant)
+ Reasons for studying the target language (if applicable)
+ Attitudes to learning (including attitudes to the language, its
speakers, the teacher, the institution)
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+ Previous language learning experience (of the target language and
any other languages)
+ Language learning aptitude
+ General expectations (of the course/ the textbook/ teacher/own role)
+ Specific wants
+ Preferred learning style
+ Sex distribution (single sex? If mixed, what portion of M/F)
+ Interest (is so far as these general sable)
I.2. Speaking skill
I.2.1. The nature of language skills
Based on the purpose of analysis and instruction, language is divided
into different skill areas. On the teaching point of view, language skills
consist mainly of four macro-skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing.
Those four skills have supportive relationship. Among the four skills,
listening and reading are perceptive skills while speaking and writing are
productive skills (Byrne, 1991:8). They are also divided according to the
manners by which they are formed. The skills which are related to articulate
organs are called oral skills which include listening and speaking. The ones
in connection with manual script are named literacy skills which consist of
reading and writing.

Of the four skills, speaking plays an essential role. Byrne (1991:9)
proves that this oral skill in communication is complementary. If one man is
good at speaking skill, other skills will be much supported.
To sum up, all the above skills are important for learners. Whenever
they acquire those skills they can have confidence in speaking and using a
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foreign language. But it should be emphasized that speaking skill can never
be separated with other skills (listening, reading and writing). All of them
are integrated and supportive to each other.
I.2.2. The importance of teaching speaking
It is observed that many Vietnamese teachers of English are good at
teaching vocabulary and grammar in order to translate texts and to prepare
students for examination. However, organizing lessons to practice speaking
English can be a big challenge for both teachers and students. Many teachers
worldwide have to teach mainly grammar and vocabulary because these
areas are tested in examinations. This means that speaking is a neglected
language skill in many classrooms. Students may have a good knowledge of
grammar and a wide range of vocabulary, they can use this knowledge to
pass the examinations, but they find it difficult to speak English in the real-
life situation.
A classroom is not only a place where we learn about the rules of
language. It is also a place where students can practice using the language in
a supportive environment. As a result, we, teachers, have to try to speed up
this process. This means that teachers have to introduce new language and
help students practice it often.
Teachers need to use lots of interesting ways to motivate students to
speak and improve their speaking ability. Teachers not only given them new
words and tell them how to put words together correctly but also give them
opportunities to use and practice the language they have learnt. Also,

adapting speaking tasks is a very effective way to encourage students to
practice and improve their speaking skills.
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I.2.3. Communication and classroom communication
Communication is the exchange of ideas, information, feelings and
attitudes between two or more persons. When communication takes place,
speakers feel the need to speak, expecting something to happen (e.g.
expressing pleasure, charming listeners, etc) and select from their stored
language the item they think is appropriate for their purpose. In order for
communication to be successful, there should be a desire for the
communication to be effective both from the point of view of speakers and
listeners. In most of the processes of communication, the roles of speakers
and listeners are interchanged; information gaps between them are created
and then closed with the effort from both sides. In classroom practice,
information gaps should be created as much as possible and teachers‟ vital
duty is to encourage real communication which yields information gaps. But
teachers must take into account the reality of oral communication practice
inside the classroom which differs from that of communication in the real
world.
Pattison (1992:7-8) points out the characteristics of classroom oral
communication as follows:
- The content or topic is highly predictable and decided by teachers,
textbooks, tapes, ect. The meaning of what they say may not always
be clear to the speakers.
- Learners speak in order to practice speaking, to follow teachers‟
instructions or demands and to get good marks.
- The extrinsic motivation is satisfied as the foreign language is
practice, as teachers accept or correct what is said, as teachers give
marks to learners.

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- Participants are often a large group in which not everyone is facing
the speakers are interested in what they say except for the teacher.
- Language from the teachers or tapes is closely adapted to learners‟
level. All speech is as accurate as possible and usually in complete
sentences. Learners are often corrected if their speech deviates from
standard forms. Problems in communicating meaning are often solved
by translation.
Oral practice in English classes as shown above by Pattison might
remain unnatural. In the classroom, since the teacher takes over what to
teach in the confined time available, the students can hardly be fully free to
decide what they will say, why, to whom, how and with what result
However, oral practice in English classroom does not mean that the
learners‟ communication skills are impossibly matured. English teachers
who take account of communication as the goal of foreign language teaching
can select, organize, adapt, design oral tasks that have more characteristics
of oral communication outside the classroom. In order to make speaking
tasks in class more like communication in real life, it is necessary to bear in
mind that speaking ability can be developed under four circumstances:
1. The learners opt for what they want to say by giving them a list of
different situations or topics.
2. The type of drills in which the learners respond mechanically without
thinking about what they are saying is left out.
3. More attention is paid to fluency than accuracy. No interruption with
corrections is made.
I.2.4. Problem with speaking
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Brown (1994:256) classifies the characteristics of spoken language

that can make oral performance difficult as follows:
- Clustering: In order to speak fluently, speakers have to select from
their store of language clustering, which are groups of words, not
word by word.
- Reduced forms: Contractions, elision, reduced vowels, etc create
difficulties in teaching and learning spoken English. If learners do not
learn colloquial contractions, they can develop the kind of speaking
that is stilted, bookish.
- Colloquial language: Colloquial appears both in monologues and
dialogues. If learners are only exposed to Standard English and/or
„textbook” language, they sometimes find it difficult to understand
and produce words, idioms and phrases of colloquial language.
- Stress, rhythm and intonation: Learners of English often find it
difficult to pronounce English words, to stress the right syllables, to
follow the stress-timed rhythm and intonation patterns of spoken
English.
- Affective factors: Learners learning to speak often encounter the risk
of saying out things that may be wrong, stupid an incomprehensible.
At those times, they tend to be anxious because they do not want to be
judged by other learners.
- Interaction: The greatest difficulty that learners face in learning to
speak originates from the interactive nature of most communication.
Engaged in process of negotiation of meaning with many discourse
constraints, learners have to do the complex tasks of choosing what to
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say, how to say, when to speak, etc. Learners are also affected by their
interlocutors‟ performance.
I.3. Evaluation on speaking tasks in the textbook “English 10” (the old
version)

The textbook - “English10” (the old version) - has had remarkable
contribution to English teaching and learning at Vietnam upper secondary
schools over more than two decades. The textbook is a course developed
from a situational syllabus which teaches the language that occurs in the
situations. The content of language teaching is a collection of real or
imaginary situations in which language occurs or is used. Throughout the
activities, learners are encouraged to learn by actively participating in four
language skills. All the practice, activities and exercises in this book are
designed to helped learners to improve their communicative competence,
especially speaking skills. However, it has become outdated and English
teaching and learning seems not to make much progress in using it to
communicate practically and efficiently in the context of an open-door
policy and a market economy by the Vietnamese government. This old
textbook was proved to lack flexibility, adaptability and linkage and reveals
many shortcomings, especially in the speaking tasks. Speaking tasks can be
reviewed in terms of relevant methodology, task design, layout and the
content of knowledge
In the first place, on the methodology, these speaking tasks are tasks
based on the old structural, grammar-translation method that focus on
grammatical items and translation, English structures were selected, graded
and presented and students were to practice those structures by doing a great
deal of meaningless, uncommunicative drill. It is too difficult for them to
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participate into the speaking tasks actively when these tasks are built
according to grammatical structures of the language. So, what the students
attempt to do is to attend class, listen to the teacher‟s explanation, take notes
and memorize everything. The concept of learner autonomy or learner
independence seems to be very new. That gives students‟ passive learning
habits and remains the lecturer-oriented or teacher-centered language

classroom with the focus on grammatical items and translation. The students
only learn effectively about language when they take part actively in the
communication with language rather than only passively accepting what the
teacher said.
In the second place, on the design and Layout of each task: For the
design of each task, the activities, language and content in the tasks are
selected according to topic difficulty, namely: greeting and introduction (the
first unit), my flat ( unit three), my school or my hobbies The tasks are
based on a grammatical syllabus in which grammatical structures are divided
into sections graded according to difficulty and/or importance. All three
tasks are more grammatically oriented and less communicatively oriented as
follows:
- include mechanical exercises ( Read aloud the vocabulary items
below each picture again and again after teachers)
- Apply, broaden and enhance way of speaking (The exercises in form
of gap filling, matching )
- practice certain situation, sentence patterns( Look at the pictures and
make questions and answers )
- Practice listening and speaking skills. (Speak out the hobbies, describe
your school, your flat, retell your first holiday…)