TEACHING GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL BY USING COMMUNICATIVE TASKS

TEACHING GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS BY USING
COMMUNICATIVE TASKS.
INTRODUCTION
Vinh Cuu, which is one of the largest districts in Dong Nai Province, has
attracted a lot of foreign companies and factories. Many foreigners work in the
companies and factories need to use English to interact with their customers, their
workers and partners. In order to communicate to foreigners, to find good jobs, many
young people and students have to be good at speaking English . Of course, more and
more people want to use it as a means of communication at work, in business and
tourism. As a teacher, I am aware that English has been one of the compulsory
subjects in secondary schools and high schools in Vietnam. In the first term of the
school year 2015, all grade 10 students in Dong Nai Province had to take
communicative English tests with the four language skills: Listening, speaking,
reading and writing. Therefore, English teachers have the responsibility for training
and helping their students to become good communicative English users. In teaching
the four language skills, we think that speaking is the most important skill, but the
teaching of speaking in my school has not been effective in terms of communication.
STUDENTS’ LEARNING PROBLEMS
Many students in Tri An School are not good at oral communication in English
for a number of reasons: First, they have very few learning speaking strategies because
they are usually provided with grammar and language structures which their teachers
think that these structures are important for the first and second term examinations.
Second, they are very shy when they speak out in front of the class because they are
not usually trained to use English communicatively. Finally, many tasks in the
textbooks : English 10, English 11 and English 12 are not suitable for students’
learning needs.
As a teacher of English, I think that teaching English for “spoken
communication” is essential. However, my personal experience of its methods is still
limited due to many following reasons: The students have very few chances for
communication due to the large number of students, time limitations, grammar
translation method. Most of the teachers don’t get familiar with natural responses to

communicative situations except for questions and answer activities between teacher
1
TEACHING GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS BY USING
COMMUNICATIVE TASKS.
and students. Therefore, the students are not confident enough to express themselves in
English.
As a teacher, I know that there are a lot of methods that can be applied in the
class. However, in this research I focus on grade 11 students’ speaking skill because
speaking is a productive skill. It involves using speech to express meanings to others.
Interaction is two-way communication that involves using language and body
language to keep our listeners involving in what we are saying and to check that they
understand our meanings.
LITERATURE REVIEW
We all know the importance of speaking, teaching speaking to the ultimate goal of our
English language teaching. Speaking is one of the crucial productive skills and people
can evaluate our English competence by listening to our speaking first.
Nunan (1991) wrote, "Success is measured in terms of the ability to carry out a
conversation in the (target) language." Therefore, if students do not learn how to speak
or do not get any opportunity to speak in the language classroom, they may then get
frustrated and lose interest in learning the language. Our responsibility is to improve
students’ four language skills: Listening, speaking, reading and writing. I think
speaking is the most important skill for my students because the purpose of our
English course is really to enable our students to communicate effectively. In fact, if
the appropriate communicative tasks or activities are taught in the right way, speaking
in class can be a lot of fun. The achievement in learning speaking will increase
students’ motivation.
In recent research, it is true that in a language class, it is necessary for the teacher to
create a positive classroom atmosphere so that he or she can encourage the students to
communicate with each other. By doing this, the students can express their ideas,
feelings and opinions without feeling afraid of making mistakes. Besides, the students

can conduct communicative tasks in an effective way. Many researchers emphasize the
importance of teaching conversations or role play to English language teaching.
2
TEACHING GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS BY USING
COMMUNICATIVE TASKS.
Jack C. Richards emphasizes that communicative practice refers to activities where
practice in using language within a real communicative context is the focus, where real
information is exchanged, and where the language used is not totally predictable.
In agreement with Richards, Willis (1996) states that creating a low stress atmosphere
and using the language for real purposes are ways to get meaningful communication
and through interaction and students have the opportunity to acquire discourse skills.
Willis also points out that the essential conditions for effective language learning, such
as exposure, use, and motivation. In agreement with Willis, Nunan (1991) says that
task-based learning views the learning process as a set of communicative tasks that are
directly linked to the curricular goals they serve. He also stresses the crucial role of
communicative tasks in task-based teaching and learning. He says that task-based
teaching involves an approach where communicative tasks are particularly important
because students need to be involved in interactions in the classrooms and real life. As
a result, this view changes the approach of designing tasks to be developed in the
classroom.
TASK MODIFICATION
Roger Nunn suggests that teachers must take into account the following criteria
when they design tasks and exercises for English learners or students. Let’s consider
the areas:
Simulating "Real" Conversation
Classroom tasks are simulations and can only approximate real-life
communication, but real-life skills, such as adjusting to an interlocutor's contribution
can be built in. Tasks designed to practise interactive ability should be an appropriate
task for students. They must be able to imagine themselves in the situation.
Exchanging

3
TEACHING GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS BY USING
COMMUNICATIVE TASKS.
An interactive task should require students to exchange information, opinions,
attitudes, but not for its own sake. There should be a real purpose; each participant
should need to find something out from the others in order to complete the task.
Comprehensible Input
The task should require the participants to make sure they fully understand what
the others tell them and to make themselves fully understood to the others. In this way,
students will need to adjust to each other's contributions.
Improvising
The task should require both predictable and unpredictable communication.
Real conversation always involves unpredictability so an ability to improvise needs to
be practised. For example, an attempt to come to an agreement is unpredictable. There
is no requirement to actually reach an agreement, so the participants may develop the
conversation freely. On the other hand, they must exchange the information for an
agreement to be possible and cannot easily avoid asking questions.
Mixed- Ability
For mixed-ability courses, tasks should favour the production of contributions
of all kinds. They should allow both weak and strong participants to extend themselves
to their full ability. For strong participants, making themselves understood to students
with less linguistic ability is a useful skill. Opportunity and time must be available for
candidates.
(Roger Nunn - Kochi University, Japan)
In order to make the tasks more effective and relevant and appropriate for our
students, I often redesign the tasks to meet the students’ learning goals. Let’s have a
look at the following task design.
Part one: English 11- Unit 1: Friendship (Page 16)
Task 3 (Task from the textbook)
Role - play: Talk about a famous friend.

4
Journalist Interviewee
You are interviewing the interviewee
about a friend of his or hers who has
just won the first international prize in
Mathematics.
You have a friend whom you admire
greatly. She/ He has just won the first
international prize in Mathematics. You
are being interviewed by a journalist
about him or her.
TEACHING GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS BY USING
COMMUNICATIVE TASKS.
Before you start, agree upon the basic profile of the friend. Use the following
suggestions to ask and answer questions:
• his/ her name
• date of birth
• his/ her physiccal characteristics
• his/ her hobbies
• his/ her personalities
• why he/ she is interested in Math
• how much time he/ she spends on Maths every day
• what makes him/ her a good friend
• what made him/ her successful
• what he/ she does in his/ her free time
Useful language:
His or her personalities:
Friendly, humorous, quick-witted, good-natured, helpful, honest, pleasant, caring
How he or she won the prize:
Studious, intelligent, keenly interested in Mathematics, eager to learn, patient, calm

Newly- designed Task
1. Role- playing:
Instruction:
Work in pairs to play roles in the dialogue. Change the roles when you
have finished.
Journalist: Hello. Our guest today is Phuong, a student who has won a
gold medal in Physics. We can see you’re very excellent. So Phuong, do you
admire anybody?
Phuong: Yes, of course. That is my best friend. I so much admire him
because he is very intelligent and he has just won the first international prize in
Maths.
Journalist: What’s his name?
Phuong: His name is Long.
Journalist: What is his date of birth?
Phuong: Uh, it’s on 23
rd
September 1998.
5
TEACHING GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS BY USING
COMMUNICATIVE TASKS.
Journalist: I want to know details of himself. What are his physical
characteristics?
Phuong: Well, he’s tall and thin. Sometimes I see him as a scientist in
his short-sighted glasses.
Journalist: Oh, maybe he is very handsome. How about his
personalities?
Phuong: You know? I admire Long because of not only his excellence
but also his good personality. In spite of being a good student, he is very
modest and he always helps friends in learning. He also has sense of humour
that makes people laugh a lot.

Journalist: Long is such a perfect student. Why is he interested in
Maths?
Phuong: Well, he said he loved Maths when he was a little boy. He likes
counting, figures.
Journalist: Does he spend all his time studying Maths?
Phuong: He spends much time studying it but not all of it. He always
has a suitable schedule between studying and playing.
Journalist: What does he do in his free time?
Phuong: He plays sports with his friends. Sometimes he plays
rubikcube.
Journalist: After your share, I know how he has such a great success.
That’s all interesting. Thanks for your share. I hope to see you and Long
someday. Goodbye.
Phuong: Bye. See you soon.
Rationale: After the weaker students have already practised playing roles in the
dialogue, they can make questions with cues based on the dialogue. The students work
in pairs to make their own dialogue, using their own ideas. This task is considered “a
communicative task” because the students can exchange real information. They use
their own ideas to interact with each other. We should help students practice playing
roles with a model first, then they can make their own dialogue. They are provided
with opportunities to decide on things in the dialogue and this is considered as
simulation.
2. Making questions:
6
TEACHING GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS BY USING
COMMUNICATIVE TASKS.
Instruction: Work in pairs to make correct questions, using the word
provided. Then, ask your partner to answer the questions to make your own
dialogue.
Name What

Date of birth What
Physical characteristics What
Personalities How about
Interest in Maths Why
Time he/ she spends on Maths Does he………………?
Hobbies What
Suggested Questions
Name What’s his/ her name?
Date of birth What is his date of birth?
Physical characteristics
What are his/ her physical
characteristics?
Personalities How about his/ her personalities?
Interest in Maths Why is he/ she interested in Maths?
Time he/ she spends on Maths
Does he/ she spend all his/ her time
studying Maths?
Hobbies
What does he/ she do in his/ her free
time?
Part two: English 11 - Unit 3: A Party (Page 36)
Task 2 (Task from the textbook)
Work in pairs. Tell your partner about the party.
Newly-designed Task
1. Role- playing:
Instruction: Work in pairs to play roles in the dialogue. Change the
roles when you have finished.
Ngoc: Hi! Hang.
7
TEACHING GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS BY USING

COMMUNICATIVE TASKS.
Hang: Hello, Ngoc.
Ngoc: Well, you look nice today.
Hang: Thank you. You are, too.
Ngoc: Where did you go last night?
Hang: Oh, I went to my friend’s birthday party.
Ngoc: Who did you go with?
Hang: Well, I went with some of my friends.
Ngoc: How did you go there?
Hang: Year, we went there by motorbikes.
Ngoc: What did you give her?
Hang: Oh, we bought a very beautiful dress for her. We hope she will like it.
Ngoc: That sounds interesting. Were there a lot of people there? Did you know
most of them there?
Hang: Uh, there were a lot of people. Some of them were my friends and the
others were her relatives that I didn’t know.
Ngoc: What did you do at the party?
Hang: Well, firstly we sang the song “Happy Birthday!” together and then we
ate candies, birthday cakes and played some games.
Ngoc: How interesting it was! What time did it finish?
Hang: Oh, at nine o’clock. I am really interested in talking with you but I have
some things to do. Goodbye for now!
Ngoc: Bye. See you later.
Hang: Thank you.
2. Making questions:
Instruction: Work in pairs to make correct questions, using the word
provided. Then, ask your partner to answer the questions to make your own
dialogue.
Birthday party Where
With some of friends Who

By motorbikes How
8
TEACHING GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS BY USING
COMMUNICATIVE TASKS.
A very beautiful dress What
A lot of people Were there……
Sing songs and eat candies,
birthday cakes
What
At nine o’clock What time
Rationale: Helping students to make questions is a very important strategy in teaching
oral discourse because in real life sometimes we ask and sometimes we make
responses. We do this in order to help students increase their ability to make questions
in real life.
Suggested Questions
Birthday party Where did you go last night?
With some of friends Who did you go with?
By motorbikes How did you go there?
A very beautiful dress What did you give her?
A lot of people Were there a lot of people there?
Sing songs and eat candies,
birthday cakes
What did you do at the party?
At nine o’clock What time did it finish?

Part three: English 11- Unit 9: The Post Office (Page 104)
Task 3 (Task from the textbook)
Work in pairs. Imagine that one of you is a clerk at the post office and the other is a
customer, make a dialogue for each of the following situations.
1. You want to subscribe to the Lao dong Daily for a year and have the newspaper

delivered to your home every morning before 6.30. Your address is 67 Ngoc Ha
Street, Hanoi.
9
TEACHING GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS BY USING
COMMUNICATIVE TASKS.
2. Your best friend’s birthday is on 16
th
May. You want to use the Flower Telegram
Service provided by the post office to send her a greetings card and a bunch of red
roses on her birthday.
Newly- designed Task
1. Role- playing:
Instruction: Work in pairs to play roles in the dialogue. Change the
roles when you have finished.
Clerk: Good morning. Welcome to Thanh Ba post office.
Can I help you?
Thuy: Good morning. Well, I want to subscribe to the newspaper?
Clerk: Which newspapers do you want to subscribe to?
Thuy: Well, I want to subscribe to the Lao Dong Daily.
Clerk: How long have you used this service?
Thuy: For a year, please. Can you start tomorrow?
Clerk: Certainly. What’s your address?
Thuy: Well, my address is 67 Ngoc Ha Street, Hanoi.
Clerk: Ok. My staff will deliver the newspaper to your house at 7.00
a.m.
Thuy: Could you deliver the newspaper before 6.30? Because I have to
go to school at 7.00 a.m.
Clerk: Yes, of course. We will deliver it bebore 6.30.
Thuy: How much is the fee?
Clerk: Well, do you pay for per month or for a whole year?

Thuy: Uh, just per month.
Clerk: Yes, it’s 30.000 VND per month. Can you fill in this form?
Thuy: Yes. Here you are. Thank you.
Clerk: You’re welcome. It’s my pleasure.
Thuy: Oh, it’s too late. I have to go home. See you later.
Clerk: Bye. See you next time.
Rationale: After the weaker students have already practised playing roles in the
dialogue, they can make questions with cues based on the dialogue. The students work
in pairs to make their own dialogue, using their own ideas. It is very essential to help
10
TEACHING GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS BY USING
COMMUNICATIVE TASKS.
students make questions in teaching oral discourse. We do this in order to help
students develop their ability to make questions in real life.
2. Making questions:
Instruction: Work in pairs to make correct questions, using the word
provided. Then, ask your partner to answer the questions to make your own
dialogue.
Greetings Can………?
The Lao Dong Daily Which
For a year How long
67 Ngoc Ha Street, Hanoi. What
Before 6.30 Could
30.000 VND per month How much
Suggested Questions
Greetings Hi! Can I help you?
The Lao Dong Daily Which newspapers do you want to subscribe to?
For a year How long have you used this service?
67 Ngoc Ha Street, Hanoi. What’s your address?
Before 6.30 Could you deliver the newspaper before 6.30?

30.000 VND per month How much is the fee?
REFERENTIAL QUESTIONS
Besides using dialogues, I often make referential questions when I teach the
four language skills: Listening, speaking, reading and writing because using more
11
TEACHING GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS BY USING
COMMUNICATIVE TASKS.
referential questions in the classroom will provide students with opportunities for real
communication. I also encourage my students to make referential questions so that
they can exchange real information in the class. As Nunan (1994) says: Referential
questions are questions we ask someone because we don't know the answer. In a
language classroom, this can mean questions that the teacher asks students and
students ask each other. He also explains that referential questions can be compared to
display questions, for which the answer is already clear and the teachers ask just to see
if the students know the answer, or for language manipulation. We should consider the
following example :
English 11- Unit 10: Nature In Danger - Reading - After you read (Page 117)
Find out why some animals have become extinct.
We should consider this question “People kill animals for fur, skin and food. People
keep animals as pets. People hunt or capture animals for recreation or
entertainment.Which is the most important cause, in your opinion? Why?”
(Referential question).
The students will have opportunities to express their opinions, exchange real
information with each other by deciding on the most important cause. This means that
I am successful in helping them to produce real communication.
CONCLUSION
It is the second time I have written this research paper, I expect that the research
will bring good results to me and other teachers in Tri An High School. I strongly hope
12
TEACHING GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS BY USING

COMMUNICATIVE TASKS.
that communicative tasks in teaching speaking skills are not only useful for students
but also for teachers and my school.
Teaching speaking in a communicative way can be applied in all classes. As
for students and teacher’s perspectives to teaching and learning grammar, this
approach to teaching speaking will change their thinking that the teachers only make
use of all exercises in the textbook without any improvements, but it is the teacher’s
job to design communicative tasks or activities in order to help students to achieve
their communication goals of learning and teaching.
Finally, I would be very thankful for any comments and suggestions regarding
possible improvements.
MẠCH THI THU NGA
REFERENCES
Brand, S.T. and Donato, J. M, (2001). Storytelling in Emergent Literacy: Fostering
Multiple Intelligences, Thomas Learning, USA.
Brown, H Dough. (1994). Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to
Language Pedagogy. Prentice Hall Regents.
13
TEACHING GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS BY USING
COMMUNICATIVE TASKS.
Harmer, J.(2001) The Practice of English Language Teaching, Pearson Education Ltd
Hubbard and Jones, P&H.(1983). A Training Course for TEFl, Oxford University
Press.
Keppel, G. (1991).Design and analysis: A researcher’s handbook (3

rd ed )
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Larsen-Freeman, Diane. (1986).Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching,
Oxford University Press.
Littlewood , W. T. (1992). Teaching Oral Communication, Blackwell Publishers, UK

Roger Nunn - Kochi University (Japan)
Ur, P. (1996) A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and theory, Cambridge
University Press.
Willis, D. and J. Willis (2007)Doing Task-based Teaching, Oxford University Press.
Willis, J. (1996). A framework for task-based learning. London: Longman.
14