An action research on developing speaking skill throught oral presentations with reference to the coursebook Talk Time for the second year non-major students

1



VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES


NGUYỄN THỊ TÂM

AN ACTION RESEARCH ON DEVELOPING SPEAKING
SKILL THROUGH ORAL PRESENTATIONS WITH
REFERENCE TO THE COURSEBOOK “TALK TIME” FOR
THE SECOND YEAR NON-MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY
(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ PHÁT TRIỂN KỸ NĂNG NÓI THÔNG QUA THUYẾT
TRÌNH THEO CUỐN SÁCH “TALK TIME” CHO SINH VIÊN KHÔNG
CHUYÊN NĂM THỨ 2 ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI)

MINOR PROGRAM THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE: 60 14 10



HANOI – 2012
2

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES


NGUYỄN THỊ TÂM

AN ACTION RESEARCH ON DEVELOPING SPEAKING
SKILL THROUGH ORAL PRESENTATIONS WITH
REFERENCE TO THE COURSEBOOK “TALK TIME” FOR
THE SECOND YEAR NON-MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY
(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ PHÁT TRIỂN KỸ NĂNG NÓI THÔNG QUA THUYẾT
TRÌNH THEO CUỐN SÁCH “TALK TIME” CHO SINH VIÊN KHÔNG
CHUYÊN NĂM THỨ 2 ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI)

MINOR PROGRAM THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE: 60 14 10
SUPERVISOR: ĐINH HẢI YẾN, M.A.


HANOI – 2012
6


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration i

Acknowledgement ii
Abstract iii
Table of Contents iv
List of Abbreviations vii
List of Tables, Charts and Figure viii
PART A: INTRODUCTION 1
1. The rationales of the study 1
2. The scope and significance of the study 2
3. The aims of the study 2
4. Methods of the study 2
5. The design of the study 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT 4
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 4
1.1. Speaking skill 4
1.1.1. Definitions of speaking 4
1.1.2. Approaches to speaking 5
1.1.3. Differences between spoken and written language 6
1.1.4. The importance of teaching speaking skill 7
1.1.5. Types of classroom speaking performance 7
1.2. Oral presentations 8
1.2.1. Definitions and characteristics of oral presentations 8
1.2.2. The importance of oral presentation skills 9
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1.2.3. Types of oral presentations 10
1.2.4. Procedure for using oral presentations as a class activity 11
1.3. Sub-conclusion 12
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 13
2.1. Action research 13

2.1.1. Definitions and characteristics of action research 13
2.1.2. Why action research? 13
2.1.3. Phases in action research 14
2.2. The current situation of teaching and learning English at HaUI 16
2.3. The coursebook “Talk time” and the syllabus 18
2.4. Participants 19
2.5. Data collection instruments 19
2.6. Data collection procedures 20
2.7. Data analysis 20
CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 21
3.1. Results from the questionnaire 21
3.1.1. Students’ attitudes toward the use of oral presentations in English lessons
21
3.1.2. Students’ suggestions to increase the effectiveness of oral presentations in
English lessons 24
3.2. Results from the students’ journals 27
3.2.1. Students’ overall performance during oral presentations 27
3.2.2. Students’ suggestions to make a better presentation 29
3.3. Results from the observation sheet 31
CHAPTER 4: IMPLICATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 35
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4.1. For students 35
4.1.1. Planning, preparing, rehearsing and presenting 35
4.1.2. Setting up a good mood for the presentation 37
4.2. For the teacher (s) 38
4.2.1. Establishing a supportive and low-threat learning environment 38
4.2.2. Improving students’ non-verbal skills 38
4.2.3. Improving students’ verbal skills 39

PART C: CONCLUSION 41
1. Summary of the findings 41
2. Limitations and suggestions for further study 42
REFERENCES 43
APPENDIXES I
Appendix 1 I
Appendix 2 V
Appendix 3 VII
Appendix 4 VIII








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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

HaUI: Hanoi University of Industry
ESL: English as a Second Language
EFL: English as a Foreign Language
CLT: Communicative Language Teaching

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LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS AND FIGURE
Tables:
No
Title
Page
1
English curriculum at HaUI
17
2
Syllabus for teaching the course book “Talk time”
18
3
Students’ general beliefs in the usefulness of oral presentation
21
4
Students’ general belief about their own ability to do oral
presentation
23

5
Students’ general attitudes towards oral presentations
24
6
Result of the first observation of students’ presentations
31
7
Result of the second observation of students’ presentations
32

Charts:
No
Title
Page
1
Aspects of the presentations students want their teacher to give
more feedback
24
2
Things teacher should do to help students make better
presentations
25
3
Things students should do to make good presentations
26

Figure:
No
Title
Page

1
Figure 1: Action research phases
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PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. The rationales of the study
Obviously, English is one of the most important and powerful languages in the world. No
language, ancient or modern, can be compared with English in respect of its international
status. It is interesting to note that about half of mankind has chosen it as a means of
communication with those who do not share the same language as them. It is means of
international communication in the sense that it helps in interlinking the people living in
other countries of the world.
In Vietnam, Ministry of Education and Training has put more emphasis on teaching and
learning foreign languages, especially English than ever before. It is explicitly stated in the
project entitled “Teaching and Learning Foreign Language in national education system,
period 2008-2020” that “by the year 2020 most Vietnamese youths whoever graduate from
vocational schools, colleges and universities are capable of using a foreign language
independently and confidently in communicating, studying and working in an environment
of integration, multi-lingualism and multi-culturalism, making foreign languages the
strength of Vietnamese people to serve the cause of industrialization and modernization of
the country” (Ministry of Education and Training, 2008, Decision No. 1400/QD-TTg). To
this aim, speaking as a communicative skill deserves more attention in teaching a foreign
language. With the recognition of the importance of developing speaking skill for students,
Hanoi University of Industry has implemented a new program which lasts four semesters
and focuses on teaching English extensively for communication. The coursebook “Talk
time” has been used for the fourth semester to help students master their speaking and

listening skills. Experiencing one term teaching this book last year, the researcher
encountered quite a few problems in terms of the syllabus and the low English proficiency
of the students. In addition, after making reference to the other teachers who also teach this
coursebook, the author found out that all of classes still applied teacher-centred approach
to the teaching and learning of English. As a result, teacher talking time was much greater
than student talking time in class. Consequently, students’ speaking ability is not good
enough. To solve her own problems and give the students a chance to work independently
and practise their English speaking skill, the author would like to do a small research on
“An action research on developing speaking skill through oral presentations with
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reference to the coursebook “Talk time” for the second-year non-major students at Hanoi
University of Industry”.
2. The scope and significance of the study
This study mainly focuses on the impacts of oral presentations on the second year students’
performance in English lessons. Besides, their attitudes towards making oral presentations
in class are also one of the concerns of the study. After that, some suggestions to help
students improve the effectiveness of their presentations and speaking skills are offered.
The study involves the participation of 42 second year non English-majored students of
Faculty of Accounting at Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI). They have experienced
four semesters studying English at this university.
Conducting this study in a very specific context, I hope that, to some extent, the effective
integration of oral presentations will make my students’ speaking and presentation skills
much better and the current situation of teaching and learning English with the coursebook
“Talk time” at HaUI will be generally improved.
3. The aims of the study
This study is designed to bring a new air into English classes for the second-year students
at HaUI. In general, it has three purposes. Firstly, it is to investigate the impacts of oral
presentations on the students’ performance in English lessons. Secondly, it aims at finding

students’ attitudes towards the use of oral presentations in the classroom. Finally, it is to
provide the teachers with some suggestions to make best use of oral presentations in their
teaching with a view to better their students’ speaking skill.
4. Methods of the study
The theoretical background of the study is based on the theories and ideas presented in
many books and articles published by various writers on language teaching in general and
oral presentations in particular.
This study employs three data collection instruments including questionnaire, students’
journals and observation sheet. By administering a questionnaire to a group of people, a
huge amount of information can be collected in a limited amount of time. It is also proved
to be cost-effective and time-saving. In addition, students’ journals provide extensive data
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for the study. Furthermore, teacher’s observation sheet is used to reflect students’
improvement in speaking and presentation skills.
5. The design of the study
The study consists of 3 parts:
Part A, introduction, briefly states the rationales, the aims, the scope and significance,
methods and design of the study.
Part B, development, includes 4 chapters:
 Chapter 1, literature review, presents the theoretical background related to speaking
skills and oral presentations in English.
 Chapter 2, methodology, presents an overview on current situation of teaching and
learning English in general and the coursebook “talk time” in particular.
Furthermore, a description of syllabus and the coursebook is clearly presented. The
justification of the use of data collection instruments is also included in this
chapter.
 Chapter 3, results and discussion, is devoted to the data analysis and discussion of
the findings.

 Chapter 4, implications and suggestions, offers some pedagogical suggestions for
the students and teachers of English at HaUI.
Part C, conclusion, summarizes the key points and the limitations of the study.








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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter briefly presents the previous and current literature on speaking skill and oral
presentations. Besides, it also describes how oral presentations help improve students’
speaking skill in an ESL classroom.
1.1. Speaking skill
1.1.1. Definitions of speaking
In terms of the direction and modality, speaking is a productive oral skill which is
generated by learners in language teaching. Speaking consists of producing systematic
verbal utterances to convey meaning. According to Florez (1999, p.1), speaking is “an
interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and
processing information”. It is often “spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving” (1999, p.1)
but it is not completely unpredictable.
Scott (1990, p.70) adds that “speaking emphasizes the use of language above the level of
the sentence” and that “the learner is now concerned with using language, not English
usages”. The ultimate goal of learning a language is actually to be able to communicate,

not to know language grammar rules or language usages. Therefore, learning to speak
involves developing a number of skills and different types of knowledge about how and
when to communicate.
Brown and Yule (1983) propose a useful distinction between two basic language functions.
These are the transactional function, which is primarily concerned with the transfer of
information, and the interactional function, in which the primary purpose of speech is the
maintenance of social relationships. They also highlight another basic distinction between
monologue and dialogue when considering the development of speaking skill. The two
authors state that the ability to give an uninterrupted oral presentation (monologue) is
rather different from interacting with one or more other native speakers for transactional
and interactional purposes. Therefore, presentation skills should be learned and practiced
carefully.
To conclude, it is totally wrong that knowing the grammar rules of a language means that
one can speak that language. The speaker has to possess a variety of knowledge about
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language use and culture to convey the right meaning and about when to speak
appropriately.
1.1.2. Approaches to speaking
Traditionally, language teaching aimed at helping learners develop linguistic competence –
that is, helping students master the sounds, words, and grammar patterns of English. It was
thought that they could eventually put them all together and communicate.
In the mid-1970s, the notion of linguistic competence came to be viewed as a component
of the broader idea of communicative competence. That is “the ability of language learners
to interact with others speakers, to make meaning, as distinct from their ability to perform
on discrete-point tests of grammatical knowledge” (Savignon, 1991, p.264). There are
some important and prominent models of communicative competence but all of them
include sociocultural competence, or the ability to use language appropriately in various
contexts, strategic competence, or the ability to use language strategies to compensate for

gaps in skills and knowledge. Another important element of communicative competence is
discourse competence, that is, how language is tied together, which includes both cohesion
and coherence.
These four components - linguistic competence, sociocultural competence, strategic
competence and discourse competence - have several practical implications for EFL and
ESL teachers. Since communicative competence is a multi-faceted construct, it is
important to understand the complexities learners face when they are speaking English.
One of those is balancing fluency and accuracy. Accuracy refers to “the ability to speak
properly- that is, selecting the correct words and expressions to convey the intended
meaning, as well as using the grammatical patterns of English” (Bailey. K.M, 2005, p.5).
Meanwhile, fluency is “the capacity to speak fluidly, confidently, and at the rate consistent
with the norms of the relevant native speech community” (Bailey. K.M, 2005, p.5).
Discussing this issue, Scarcella and Oxford (1992, p.156) have seen many educators who
believe that in a communicative class, “it is not necessary to teach conversational features
or push students to communicate accurately” and that “fluency can be developed by simply
providing students with lots of conversational practice”. On the contrary, Ur (1996)
believes that both fluency and accuracy are taken into consideration, apart from other
factors. This is a good balance. Brown (1994, p.254) also shares the same idea that “both
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fluency and accuracy are important goals to pursue in CLT”. Nonetheless, the balance
between fluency and accuracy is also dependable on the purpose of the course, the English
level of students and the context of learning and teaching. In fact, while students are at the
beginning and pre-intermediate level of language learning, that is, they are learning to
master grammar rules, acquire essential vocabulary items and search for the right words in
their mental processes, accuracy and fluency often work against each other.
1.1.3. Differences between spoken and written language
Recognizing the differences between spoken and written language are of great importance
to the language learners. Sometimes speaking in a way that things would normally be

written, or writing in a way that people speak can lead to strangeness, unnaturalness or
inappropriateness because there are many differences between written and spoken
language.
One of the first things is that “when speech is written down it appears far more
disorganised and chaotic than written language yet in real spoken interactions speakers are
readily able to understand and respond to each other” (Burns A. & Joyce, H. 1997, p.7).
That indicates that speech has its own systematic patterns and structures – they are
somewhat different from those in written language. Formulaic phrases or set expressions
such as “I don’t know”, “you know”, “I mean” are often used in spoken language to help
the speakers put forward their opinions. There are also many slang words that are popped
into spoken language, that depending on the context are not strictly correct in written
language.
There is far less repetition when referring to the main topic, so a written version of a
speech will be much shorter. Furthermore, “writing also tends to stick more to consistent
grammatical structures” (p.8). Since written texts can be revised and thought out more
thoroughly than spoken language, they can present communicative ideas in a precise, well-
ordered and presented in a more sophisticated way engaging higher level vocabulary and
ideas than is often presented in spoken language. Conversely, spoken language can
sometimes be more communicative than written language. Speakers can use tone or body
language to add a significant amount of information to the listeners.
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In short, spoken language is generally less formal and less precise than written language.
However, it can transfer more information than written language due to extra cues such as
body language and tone.
1.1.4. The importance of teaching speaking skill
For most people, the ability to speak a language is synonymous with knowing that
language since speech is the most basic means of human communication. Ur (1996) also
points out that “of all four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), speaking seems

intuitively the most important, people who know a language are referred to as “speakers”
of that language, as if speaking includes all other skills of knowing” (p.120). As
aforementioned, with the emergence of communicative competence, the focus of language
teaching is spoken language. “The term “communicative” has often been interpreted as
relating to speaking only, and in some cases, this has meant that the teaching of speaking
has taken precedence over the teaching of reading and writing” (Hammond et al, 1992,
cited in Burns, A. (2002, p.54)).
From the awareness of the role of speaking skill, it is easily recognized that teaching
speaking skill is so important. It creates motivation for students in the process of learning a
foreign language because many of them view that learning a language is to use that
language to communicate and express ideas. The ability to communicate in a second
language clearly and efficiently contributes to the learners’ success in schools and later in
every phase of life. Therefore, it is essential that language teachers pay great attention to
teaching speaking.
1.1.5. Types of classroom speaking performance
According to Brown (1994, pp.266-268), there are six categories of speaking performance
that students are expected to carry out in the classroom. They are imitative, intensive,
responsive, transactional (dialogue), interpersonal (dialogue) and extensive (monologue).
 Imitative speaking performance is carried out in the form of imitation drills when
learners listen to the teacher or a tape and repeat what is heard. The author believes
that “drills offer limited practice through repetition. They allow one to focus on one
element of language in a controlled activity” (p.266).
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 Intensive speaking is one step beyond imitative speaking. It includes any speaking
performance that is designed to practise some phonological and grammatical aspect
of language.
 Responsive performance is understood as short replies to the teacher’s or students’
questions or comments. Brown (1994) supposes that these replies are usually

sufficient and do not extend to dialogues, so they can be meaningful and authentic.
 Transactional (dialogue) is an extended form of responsive language. It is carried
out for the purpose of conveying or exchanging information or messages.
Conversations are considered to have more of a negotiative nature than merely
responsive speech.
 Interpersonal speaking performance is carried out more for the purpose of
maintaining social relationships than for the transmission of facts and information.
These conversations are a bit challenging for learners because they can involve
some or all of the factors, namely, colloquial language, slang, ellipsis.
 Extensive (monologue) is for learners at intermediate to advanced levels. They are
required to give extended monologues in the form of oral reports, summaries or
short speeches, which can be planned or delivered without preparation.
1.2. Oral presentations
1.2.1. Definitions and characteristics of oral presentations
Oral presentations are defined as “brief discussions of a focused topic delivered to a group
of listeners in order to impart knowledge or to stimulate discussion” (“Guidelines for Oral
Presentations”, 2001). When somebody is speaking about some topic in front of a group of
people, that means he or she is making a speech or giving a presentation. It is often
assumed that only VIPs have chance to make a speech. However, the fact is that almost
everyone may face the necessity of giving a presentation, regardless of his or her
occupations. In class, students can also make a speech or give a short presentation. Their
listeners or audience are their teacher and classmates. This activity is then called classroom
presentation.
Iftimie, N.M and Chang A.N (n.d, p.83) give a more detailed definition on oral
presentations. They claim that “making an oral presentation means preparing and
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delivering a speech on a specific topic in a clear, concise and logical form”. From this
definition, it is clearly seen that there are three four elements of oral presentations-that is,

content, delivery, language and organization.
According to Clark, D. (2010), a good presentation firstly has content. That is, it contains
information that people need. Secondly, it has structure with a logical beginning, middle
and end. It must be sequenced and paced so that the audience can understand it. Thirdly, a
presentation is characterized by packaging: it must be well prepared. Finally, a good
presentation has human element in it. It will be remembered much more than a report
because it has a person attached to it.
1.2.2. The importance of oral presentation skills
In a broader perspective, presentation skills play an increasingly important role for
students’ future job prospects. They are not only a must for faster growth in the
organization but also a necessity to be in the eyes of management to get responsible
assignments. When people can speak clearly, concisely, and convincingly, they will gain
enormous confidence, which as Emden and Becker (2004, p.2) put it “will result in an even
better presentation next time” and “the newfound confidence may affect other areas of
work”. Moreover, through mastery of speech, individuals come to fully effective in
organization, in the management and expression of ideas and arguments (Powell, 2003).
In a narrow perspective, oral presentations help improve students’ vocabulary, grammar,
speech delivering ability and strategic competence. They also often provide practice in
speaking for the presenter. Firstly, while preparing a presentation, the presenter has to
think twice before choosing which words, phrases or structures to use or what sentences to
make. Later on, when delivering the presentation, he also has to recall such knowledge in
order to make an accurate speech. Therefore, his vocabulary and grammatical knowledge is
revised and improved all the time throughout his presentation. Secondly, the speech
delivering ability is much improved through making presentations because the speaker has
to look for the way to deliver his speech so that the audience would most likely to
understand and enjoy it. Lastly, presentations help improve strategic competence. The
presenter should find the most appealing ways of beginning, developing and closing his
speech to draw his audience’s attention. In other words, the presentation skills and the
strategic ability are tightly linked to each other.
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In a word, presentations help improve communicative competence in particular and
speaking skill in general, in a surprisingly effective way. To a greater extent, presentations
help develop learners’ command of English.
1.2.3. Types of oral presentations
In terms of the manners of delivery, Dwyer (2000, pp.198-199) offers a thorough
description of five presentational forms or speeches, as he calls them as the followings:
 The impromptu speech is unexpected and delivered without preparation.
Consequently, it is important for him or her to think clearly and speak briefly and
straight to the point.
 The manuscript speech is structured and read. It is suited to longer, more difficult
presentations such as technical and legal ones, a press release or a speech that will
be reported. However, it is important to keep and maintain eye contact with the
audience by using wide margins, large type and double spacing.
 The memorized speech is learned and recalled. It is suited to short talk. The speaker
should try to memorize the introduction carefully. If he or she tries to memorize a
long talk, he or she may get lost or lose confidence.
 The briefing is a short oral summary or report of a plan, event or operation. Its aim
might be to inform, propose or justify solutions or persuade the audience.
 Team briefings are most often used for staff meetings, reports to supervisors or
managers on progress, results or problems. As the name suggests, team briefings
refer to team members working together for their presentation.
In terms of the speaker’s intention, there are three types of presentations including
entertaining, persuasive and informative.
 An entertaining presentation simply tries to gain and keep the audience’s attention.
The speaker wants the listeners to have a good time and to be amused or interested
by the presentation.
 A persuasive presentation is intended to change the audience’s attitudes or
behaviors.

 An informative presentation provides the audience with information about a new
subject or new information about a familiar subject. Informative presentation is the
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most commonly used type of presentation in classrooms and in scientific
conferences at universities.
To conclude, an oral presentation can be one of the above-mentioned types. Each type of
presentation has its own characteristics. However, a presentation is sometimes mixed up by
several types. At universities, students can work individually or be grouped to present a
new topic of the lesson in front of the class or share their ideas about an issue.
1.2.4. Procedure for using oral presentations as a class activity
Oral presentations have been used in teaching to improve learners’ speaking ability for
many years. This issue has also been discussed by scholars, researchers and practitioners.
As a matter of fact, the purposes of oral presentations, according to Underhill, 1987,
Miller, 1994, are to help language learners develop their fluency and increase their
confidence when speaking. Underhill (1987, p.47) suggests that “in a less formal situation,
mini presentations may be a routine part of the daily teaching schedule”. Each day a
learner takes turns to make an oral presentation to the rest of the class. At the end of the
presentation, he/she is supposed to deal with any questions raised by their friends. It is the
learner’s job to conduct the whole activity without the intervention of the teacher. The
presentation may be taped either for marking or for subsequent classroom analysis.
Miller (1994, pp.280-281) shows the procedure for oral presentations carried out as a class
activity as follows:
1) At the beginning of the semester, have students organize themselves into small
groups.
2) Generate topics for discussion in one of three ways:
 Have the students suggest topics.
 Prepare and suggest topics to the class.
 Have students (or yourself) research and suggest topics related to their field

of study.
3) Make sure each group has a different topic, which can vary depending on the level
of the class and the interests of the students.
4) Discuss strategies for presenting topics in English and encourage group members to
agree or disagree with the ideas of other members during the upcoming discussion.
Let students know that after each group discussion, one member will be chosen to
22


present the groups’ ideas to the class. It is important not to tell the group in advance
who is going to speak in front of the class so that all students take part in the group
discussion.
5) Have one member of each group present the ideas to the others for a group
discussion lasting about 12-15 minutes, while you listens and circulate among
groups to help with language problems. (Try to intervene as little as possible so
students are encouraged to speak freely).
6) Once the time has expired, choose one person from each group to stand up and
present the group’s ideas to the whole class for 2-3 minutes.
7) Encourage students in the class to ask the presenter/group questions.
In short, oral presentations, if properly guided and carefully planned, will provide a
positive learning experience and long life skills in the students’ future careers. Students
need to be supplied with linguistic skills as well as non-linguistic ones to make a good
presentation and master their speaking skill.
1.3. Sub-conclusion
In summary, this chapter has presented some background theories related to speaking skills
and oral presentations including the definitions, the characteristics, the importance and
some types of speaking performance and oral presentations. It gives the researcher the
framework to follow throughout the thesis.

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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
This chapter provides background information about action research, the current situation
of teaching and learning English of non English-majored students with the coursebook
“Talk time” and a description of the methodology employed to collect data for the study.
2.1. Action research
2.1.1. Definitions and characteristics of action research
For many years, action research has captured the attention of practitioners and
administrators and is becoming increasingly significant in language education. It is defined
in a number of different ways. Frost (2002) claims that “action research is a process of
systematic reflection, enquiry and action carried out by individuals about their own
professional practice” (cited in Costello, 2003, p.3). Bassey (1998, p.93) shares the same
view and defines it as “an inquiry which is carried out in order to understand, to evaluate
and then to change, in order to improve some educational practice”. In other words, it
allows teachers to study their own classrooms – for example their own teaching methods,
their own students, their own assessment – in order to better understand them and be able
to improve their quality or effectiveness. According to Kemmis and McTaggart (1988),
there are three major characteristics of action research. Firstly, it is carried out by
practitioners (classroom teachers) rather than outside researchers. Secondly, it is
collaborative. Lastly, it is aimed at changing things (cited in Nunan, 1992, p.17).
In short, action research is referred to as a process or an inquiry carried out by the
educators to improve the current state of affairs within the educational context.

2.1.2. Why action research?
It is necessary to do researches into classrooms to improve and develop teaching and
learning. Teachers need to know what is exactly happening in their classes, what students
are thinking, why they are reacting in the way they do, what aspects they need to focus on
and how they should change in these aspects and then they will know what is beneficial to
their students.
As a teacher, the author does not have an ambition to change and solve big problems of the
university or the education system. This study addresses her own problem in her teaching
and this kind of research gives her opportunity to better understand, and therefore, improve
24


her own teaching practices. It also provides her with alternative ways of viewing and
approaching her teaching questions and problems and with new ways of examining her
own teaching practices.
2.1.3. Phases in action research
Gerald Susman (1983, p.102) identifies five phases in conducting in this kind of research
as in the following figure.

Figure 1: Action research phases
2.1.3.1. Diagnosing
In English lessons, the author found that the students were quite passive in their learning.
They did not contribute actively to the lessons and they often kept quite. It seemed to her
that she spoke almost all the time in class. It was clear that teacher-centred approach was
still applied to the teaching and learning English in HaUI in general and in this class in
particular. As a result, the students’ speaking ability is not good.
DIAGNOSING
Identifying or defining
a problem
SPECIFYING
LEARNING
Identifying general
findings
ACTION PLANNING
Considering alternative
courses of action
EVALUATING
Studying the
consequences of an
action
TAKING ACTION
Selecting a course of
actions





25

2.1.3.2. Action planning
To solve her own problems, the author worked out several alternative ways which could be
applied in this context to improve her students’ speaking skill and give them opportunity to
work independently and responsibly. They are role-play activity, discussion activity,
information-gap activity, oral presentations Finally, she decided to choose oral
presentations as a learning activity to help her solve her problem.
2.1.3.3. Taking action
Students were required to make presentations in class in groups of three on one of the
topics in the coursebook.
 They chose the group members at the first period of the course.
 The teacher provided a list of topics for them to choose or they could choose their
own topics which they were interested in but it had to be related to the lesson and
agreed by her.
 Each presentation was allowed to give in about 15 minutes. In other words, each
presenter had 5 minutes for their part of presentation.
 Each representative of the groups drew the lots to decide which topics they would
make their presentations on.
 Students could use the computer and the projector equipped in the classroom. It
meant that they had to prepare PPT slides for their presentations.
The teacher devoted the first period to give students detailed instructions on how to prepare
for the presentation, how to entrust tasks for each member of the group to ensure that all of
them had to raise their voice in their presentation, and how to make an effective
presentation, in which presentation skills were discussed. More importantly, she told them
about the criteria for their performances (see Appendix 2). She had to make sure that all of
the students understood exactly what they had to do by asking them some questions to
check.
A unit which consisted of two different topics (see table 2) would be learned in 6 periods:
3 on Monday morning and 3 on Wednesday morning. The procedure of a presentation was

carried out as follows. A group made presentation on a topic relating to the lesson and then
some minutes were spent on asking and answering questions and discussion. Students were
26


also given a chance to make comments on their friends’ presentations. During the
presentations, they acted as audience, observers and assessors. Finally, teacher’s
constructive feedback on the presentation played a very important role so that students
could improve presentation and speaking skills.
The teacher gave a mark for each member of the groups because of the following reasons.
First, it forced all students especially lazy and passive ones to work and practice for the
presentation. Second, it encouraged their enthusiasm and creativity to achieve the best
result. Last but not least, it provided the teacher a tool to assess students’ speaking ability.
2.1.3.4. Evaluating
When actions were taken, some instruments such as questionnaires, observations and
students’ journals were employed to collect data to evaluate the consequences of these
actions.
2.1.3.5. Specifying learning
After data were collected, they would be analyzed to find out the results and the findings
would be interpreted in light of how successful the action has been.
2.2. The current situation of teaching and learning English at HaUI
In general, English is paid much more attention than other general subjects at HaUI. The
teaching of English is divided into two phases. In the first phase (the first four semesters),
students study general English with four skills: writing, listening, reading and speaking.
After the first phase, students are expected to understand sentences and frequently used
expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and
family information, shopping, local geography, employment), to communicate in simple
tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar matters, to describe
their background, their environment, their experiences and events, briefly give reasons and
explanations for their opinions. In other words, with reference to speaking skill in

particularly, students can interact with an acceptable level of fluency and accuracy with the
others on familiar and common topics. One teacher is responsible for teaching English
including four skills during the whole semester for one class. In the second phase (the fifth
semester), they study English for specific purposes matching with their majors (e.g.,
English for accounting, English for electricity, English for tourism…). After this phase, it
27


is expected that students can acquire some basic vocabulary related to their fields and
understand technical terms which they might find or use in their future jobs. The below
table summarizes the English curriculum at HaUI.
Semester
Number of
credits
Coursebook
1
st
semester
6
New Headway (elementary)
2
nd
semester
6
New headway (Pre-Intermediate-the first half)
3
rd
semester
6
New headway (Pre-Intermediate-the second half)

4
th
semester
6
Talk time
5
th
semester
3
English for specific purposes
Table 1: English curriculum at HaUI
Students at HaUI come from many provinces of the country, from rural villages to
developed cities. Therefore, the number of years of learning English is very different.
Some has had more than 10 years while others has had only one year studying English at
HaUI. Moreover, the levels of English proficiency of the students especially speaking skill
are generally various and quite low. The problem results from several causes. The first one
is that their academic results from the entrance university exam are very low, so the self-
consciousness, consciousness and self-study of most students may not be good. The second
cause is that they still adopt the teacher-dependent learning style which is not suitable for
university students who are required to research and work much more independently at
university than at high schools. For a long time at high schools, they only focused on
grammar exercises and vocabulary in order to pass the written exams, and they hardly
spoke English. As a result, although some of them have acquired a good knowledge of
grammar and vocabulary, their English speaking ability seems to be quite bad. The last
problem, as I believe, is that the teacher-center approach has been applied for a very long
time at HaUI. The teacher seems to present all the things in the book and play the decisive
role in their students’ learning process, and gradually creates a teacher-dependent learning
style for them.
In a nutshell, the teaching and learning situation at our university are not as good as we
expect. Therefore, enormous efforts should be made to help improve students’ English

proficiency in general and speaking in particular.
28


2.3. The coursebook “Talk time” and the syllabus
The coursebook “Talk time” adopted by HaUI for the second year non English–majored
students is “Talk time 3” by Susan Stempleski published by Oxford University Press in
2007. It is a listening and speaking book based on a task approach. Each unit has two
lessons, and each lesson has five parts: speaking, listening, grammar, conversation, and
communication. There is a total of twelve thematic units in “Talk time”. Listening and
grammar presented in manageable chunks allows for plenty of speaking time.
As for syllabus, the class meets twice a week on Monday and Wednesday, each time for 3
45-minute periods. The term lasts 15 weeks of studying. The following is the table which
describes the syllabus for teaching the coursebook “Talk time”.
No
Units
Periods
Theory
Practice
Test
1
Unit 1: Describing characters – Free-time activities
02
04

2
Unit 2: Geography-Weather
02
04

3
Unit 3: Everyday activities-Life experiences
02
04

4
Unit 4: School subjects- At school
02
04

5
Unit 5: Phone messages-Favors and requests
02
04

6
Unit 6: Wishes-Opinions
02
04

7
Unit 7: Customs-Events and celebrations
02
04

8
Unit 8: Jobs- At works
02
04

9
Unit 9: Recent activities-Leisure activities
02
04

10
Unit 10: Describing people-Everyday habits
02
04

11
Unit 11: Stories-In the news
02
04

12
Unit 12: Before you travel-Travel experiences
02
04

13
Revision
00
06

14
Practice
00
06

15
Tests
00
00
06
Total of periods
90
Table 2: Syllabus for teaching the coursebook “Talk time”