Tài liệu bồi dưỡng học sinh giỏi môn tiếng anh

LỜI NÓI ĐẦU
Trong hành trình phát triển của nền giáo dục Việt Nam, hệ thống các trường THPT
chuyên ngày càng khẳng định được vị thế quan trọng của mình trong việc phát hiện,
tuyển chọn và bồi dưỡng nhân tài, chắp cánh những ước mơ bay cao, bay xa tới chân trời
của tri thức và thành công. Đối với các trường THPT chuyên, công tác học sinh giỏi luôn
được đặt lên hàng đầu, là nhiệm vụ trọng tâm của mỗi năm học. Hội thảo khoa học các
trường THPT chuyên Khu vực Duyên Hải và Đồng bằng Bắc Bộ là một hoạt động bổ ích
diễn ra vào tháng 11 thường niên. Đây là dịp gặp gỡ, giao lưu, học hỏi, trao đổi kinh
nghiệm giảng dạy, phát hiện, tuyển chọn và bồi dưỡng đội tuyển học sinh giỏi Quốc gia,
Quốc tế giữa các trường THPT chuyên trong khu vực. Năm năm qua, các hội thảo khoa
học đều nhận được sự hưởng ứng nhiệt tình của các trường, bước đầu đã đem đến những
hiệu ứng tốt, tác động không nhỏ đến công tác bồi dưỡng học sinh giỏi và chất lượng đội
tuyển học sinh giỏi quốc gia của các trường Chuyên.
Năm 2013 là năm thứ 6, hội thảo khoa học của Hội các trường THPT chuyên Khu
vực Duyên hải và Đồng bằng Bắc Bộ được tổ chức tại Thái Bình - mảnh đất quê lúa,
mang trong mình truyền thống yêu nước và truyền thống hiếu học. Tại hội thảo lần này,
chúng tôi chủ trương tập trung vào những vấn đề mới mẻ, thiết thực và có ý nghĩa đối với
việc bồi dưỡng học sinh giỏi, để quý thầy cô đã, đang và sẽ đảm nhiệm công tác này tiếp
tục trao đổi, học tập, nâng cao hơn nữa năng lực chuyên môn của mình.
Tập tài liệu của Hội thảo lần thứ VI bao gồm những chuyên đề khoa học đạt giải
của quý thầy cô trong Hội các trường THPT chuyên Khu vực Duyên hải và Đồng bằng
Bắc bộ. Các bài viết đều tập trung vào những vấn đề trọng tâm đã được hội đồng khoa
học trường THPT chuyên Thái Bình thống nhất trong nội dung hội thảo. Nhiều chuyên đề
thực sự là những công trình khoa học tâm huyết, say mê của quý thầy cô, tạo điểm nhấn
quan trọng cho diễn đàn, có thể coi là những tư liệu quý cho các trường trong công tác
bồi dưỡng học sinh giỏi.
Xin chân thành cảm ơn sự cộng tác của quý thầy cô đến từ các trường THPT chuyên
Khu vực Duyên hải và Đồng bằng Bắc Bộ cùng các trường THPT chuyên với vai trò
quan sát viên. Chúng tôi hy vọng, sẽ tiếp tục nhận được nhiều hơn nữa sự phản hồi, đóng
góp, trao đổi của quý thầy cô để các chuyên đề khoa học hoàn thiện hơn.
Thái Bình, tháng 11 năm 2013

TR­êng THPT Chuyªn th¸i b×nh

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Chuyên đề xếp giải Xuất sắc

How to teach speaking skill to English
majored students
Họ và tên: NGÔ THÙY DUNG
THPT Chuyên Bắc Ninh
PART ONE : INTRODUCTION
Undeniably, English is a global language crossing many international boundaries. In fact,
the English language is so popular, it is spoken in more than a hundred countries and has more
than a million words. English is considered as the medium of communication in the fields of
science, technology, diplomacy, and business, and so on. English has an inherent simplicity and
flexibility allowing it to be learnt quickly, cementing English as a global language.
In addition, the political and economic changes have great positive impact on the teaching
methods of teachers of English in Vietnam. They have realized that students can only improve
their language competence through communication. It is the need for oral competence in English
that has turned the teachers’ emphasis from teaching grammar into teaching communication.
Therefore, speaking skills nowadays play a much more important role in modern English than
ever before. In every English class, teachers would like to develop students’ speaking skills by
applying the communicative language teaching method known as one of the most effective
approaches that help students speak.
However, in some places in Vietnam, English teaching has been strongly influenced by the
traditional methods. Teachers as well as students pay much attention to the grammatical items.
In these classes, teachers mainly focus on explaining the grammatical rules and structures to
students who are considered as passive recipients. As a result, those students might be
structurally competent but communicative incompetent. That causes a lot of difficulties in using

English in real-life communication.
To meet the demand of learners of English, teachers of English have been trying to find out
the most suitable and effective method of teaching English Speaking. Therefore, the
Communicative Language Teaching Approach (hereafter CLT) is applied to teach English to
learners of all levels. They hope that by using this teaching method, they can help their learners


improve their English and use it effectively and fluently in communication. That is also the idea
suggested by many linguists and methodologists such as Nunan (1991) and Das (1985).
Nevertheless, there still exist many difficulties facing English Language teachers in
Vietnam. Many Vietnamese learners can write and read English quite well but they cannot speak
fluently and correctly in communication. Certainly there are many reasons for this. As one
teacher of English I realized that although both teachers and learners try their best to reach their
goals to teach and study English speaking skills effectively, up to now the results have been still
far from satisfaction.
This has given me the desire to conduct this study to examine the teaching and learning
English speaking skill as well as to find techniques and activities to improve the quality of the
teaching of speaking skill and motivate the students to talk in English speaking lessons.

PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT
I. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
It is known that the history of language teaching has shown the change on methods, which
have reflected recognition of changes in the sort of proficiency learners needs. What has
changed in a second language teaching is not the way we teach but in the aim of language
teaching and learning (Le, 2004).
Teaching a second language used to aim at enabling learners to read and appreciate class of
literature. Therefore, any teachers who were able to reach this aim were thought to be good
teachers (Le, 2004). For a long time traditional methods - Grammar translation and Audiolingual were used to teach English that made learners become structure competent and
communicative incompetent.
It is undeniable that most learners of English nowadays desire to be able to communicate

with others in the language they learn. Parallel with this change in the aims of learning English,
methods of teaching had to be changed. For a long time, a number of language teaching
methodologists have constantly looked for the most appropriate way to teach English
effectively. As a result, some teaching methods came into being such as:
* Grammar-translation method
* The Direct method
* The Audio-lingual method
* The Audio-visual method
* Communicative Language Teaching.


Mackey (1965) remarks that most methods, which have ever developed, still continue to
exist in one form or another as each method has its advantages and disadvantage. For example,
grammar-translation is easy to implement and cheap to administer which makes it still be used
in many classroom situations in large classes.
General speaking, it is hard to say which method is the most effective and appropriate
without considering the circumstances in which it is applied. The question of which method
should be used in Vietnam depends most on the background of English language teaching and
learning in the country, sources of materials, teachers' proficiency, learners' needs and facilities
for teaching and learning.
II. Using CLT in Teaching Speaking Skill
When using communicative activities, it is important to make students feel comfortable
and confident, feel free to take risks and have opportunities to speak. According to Pica, Young
and Doughty (1987), there are two kinds of classroom available to second language learners:
Input has been modified or simplified such as a traditional "teacher-fronted" classroom;
and authentic students-to-student interaction is emphasized. It provides the learners more
opportunities for speaking since the learners try to achieve mutual understanding and modify
their language according to the demand of the situation.
Objectives for speaking are often given by the particular program in which the teacher
must work. In some cases, the syllabus will consist of a list of grammar structures to be taught.

The teacher needs to be flexible in making best use of what is available for teaching purpose. In
other words, the teacher must have some freedom in deciding what objectives to meet, what
content to cover, and what activities to use. In this case, the teacher can go beyond the more
specific goals and objectives of the particular program to the speaking needs that the students
have in the "real world".
There are many speaking activities can be used in classroom such as scrambled sentence,
language games, role-plays, problem-solving, discussion, cued story, picture story etc.
III. Speaking skill
III.1. Concepts of speaking
As mentioned above, speaking is the productive, oral skill. Speaking consists of producing
systematic verbal utterances to convey meaning (utterances are simply things people say).
Speaking is "an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and
receiving and processing information" (Florenz, 1999, p.1). It is "often spontaneous, open-ended
and evolving" (ibid., p.1), but it is not completely unpredictable.


Speaking is such a fundamental human behavior that we don't stop to analyze it unless
there is something noticeable about it. For example, if a person is experiencing a speech
pathology (if a person stutters or if his speech is impaired due to a stroke or a head injury), we
may realize that the speech is atypical. Likewise, if someone is a particularly effective or lucid
speaker, we may notice that her speech is atypical in a noteworthy sense. What we fail to notice
on a daily basis, however, are the myriad physical, mental, psychological, social, and cultural
factors that must all work together when we speak. It is even a more impressive feat when we
hear someone speaking effectively in a second or foreign language.
According to Brown and Yule's opinions (1983), spoken language consists of short
fragmentary utterances in a range of pronunciation. However, speaking is a skill, which deserves
attention as much as literacy skills in both first and second language because our learners often
need to speak with confidence in order to carry out a lot of their most basic transactions (Bygate,
1991). Furthermore, speaking is known with two main types of conversation called dialogue and
monologue.

Brown and Yule (1983) point out the ability to give uninterrupted oral presentation
(monologue) is rather different from interacting with one or more other speakers for
transactional and international purposes. It is much more difficult to extemporize on a given
subject to a group of listeners. That explains why speaking skill generally has to be learnt and
practised carefully before giving a presentation.
A comprehensive discussion of the nature of speaking is provided by Bygate (1987), who
shows that in order to be able to speak a foreign language, it is obviously necessary to have
micro-linguistic skills, that is, to understand some grammar, vocabulary and the rules governing
how words are put together to form sentences. However, these motor-perceptive skills, as
Bygate calls them, are not sufficient since while producing sentences, we often have to adapt
them to the circumstances. He then presents the second set of speaking skills: the interaction
skills, which involve using knowledge and basic motor-perception skills in deciding what to say
and how to say it, while maintaining the intended relation with others.
III.2. Characteristics of speaking
As for Bygate M. (1987), in most speaking the person to whom we are speaking is in front
of us and able to put right if we make mistakes. He/ She can also generally show agreement and
understanding - or incomprehension and disagreement. Unlike readers or writers, speakers may
need patience and imagination, too. While talking, speakers need to take notice of the other and
allows listeners chance to speak it. It means that we take turns to speak. Brown (1983) and her
colleagues point out that a listener helps speakers improve their performance as a speaker
because being a listener gives learner models to utilize when acting as a speaker. In addition,


being a hearer first helps the learner appreciate the difficulties inherent in the task. It is clear that
giving speakers experience in hearer's role is more helpful than simple practice in task in which
a speaker is having real difficulties in appreciating what a particular task required.
Speaking has the following characteristics:
Firstly, its form and meaning are dependent on the context in which it occurs, including the
participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes
for speaking. It is often spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving. However, speech is not always

unpredictable. Language functions (or patterns) that tend to recur in certain discourse situations
can be identified and charted.
Secondly, speaking requires that learners not only know how to produce specific points of
language such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary ("linguistic competence"), but also that
they understand when, why, and in what ways to produce language ("sociolinguistics
competence").
Thirdly, speech has its own skills, structures, and conversations different from written
language. A good speaker synthesizes this array of skills and knowledge to succeed in a given
speech act.
Finally, Bygate (1987) considers speaking as an undervalued skill in many ways. The
reason is that almost all people can speak, and so take speaking skill too much for granted. He
also asserts that speaking skill deserves attention every bit as much as literacy skills. Learners
often need to be able to speak with confidence in order to carry out many of their most basic
transactions. Bygate also highly appreciates speaking by stating that speaking is the medium
through which much language is learnt.
In conclusion, it is undeniable that speaking is key to communication. By considering what
good speakers do, what speaking tasks can be used in class, and what specific need learners
report, teachers can help learners improve their speaking and overall oral competency.
III.3. The development approach of speaking skill
Byrne (1991, p. 22-31) points out that there are three phases to develop learner’s oral
ability, which are as follows:
Phase 1: The Presentation Phase (when you introduce something new to be learned)
In this phase, teachers are centre. It means that they work as information provider, since
they know English, select materials to teach and present the material in such a way that the
meaning of the new language is as intelligible and memorable as possible while the learners are
motionless. As far as we know, oral materials are written mainly in two forms in every course-


book. They are dialogues and prose. And obviously these two forms must be presented in
different ways.

According two Byrne (1991, p.22) 10 different steps are used to present a dialogue. They
are the following:
- Establish setting by using pictures. At this phase English should be used as much as
possible.
- Draw out learners’ experience related to situation.
- Explain some key words.
- Set listening task by asking key information of the dialogue.
- Ask learners listen without looking at the books.
- Allow learners to have a look at their book when necessary for them.
- Ask the learners to listen and repeat.
- Ask learners to pick up difficulties (good chance for them to speak) and explain
difficulties.
- Ask them to practice (role-play)
- Ask them to dramatize the dialogue.
It is known that this procedure is perfect and logically arranged. However, it is dependent
on learner’s competence so some steps can be left out. It is quite hard for Vietnamese learners to
conduct the step 10 because they are generally shy and time is limited. 9 other steps are used to
present a prose. Byrne (1991, p.26) suggests that teachers should use the following steps to
present a prose.
- Introduce the topic by asking to look at the picture or asking them about the related thing.
- Introduce the text. New words and structures are given.
- Provide relevant practice.
- Set the reading task: make questions.
- Ask the learners to read the passage in silence and find the answer.
- Explain difficulties they still have.
- Do silent reading again because the learners need to go on with the step 9.
- Get the learners to talk about what they have to learn based on the previous answers.
Phase 2: The Practice Phase (when you allow the learners to work under your direction)

Unlike the presentation phase, this phase learners have to do most of talking. Teachers
provide maximum amount of practice. Practice is usually in the forms of activities to improve
fluency of speaking. At this phase, pair work or group work is used.
Phase 3: The Production Phase (when you give learners opportunities to work on their
own)
At this phase learners need chances to speak English freely. A real chance to speak English
takes place when the learner is able to use English naturally for themselves, not for their
teachers. Group work plays an important part in making learners practice speaking here. Doing
group work, all learners can have chance to participate in talks. Time can be saved and learners
seem more confident.
Byrne (1988, p.2) concludes that in order to improve speaking ability of learners. These
three phases should be followed orderly. But in fact, they might not be applied as expected due
to time limitation, types of learners and materials in use.
IV. Some suggested classroom techniques and activities for teachers to motivate
English majored students
Below are the most commonly used techniques and activities to motivate reticent students
to communicate in English speaking lessons. However, before putting into use, teachers of
English need to take a serious consideration into what is appropriate for particular subjects in
particular situations. The effectiveness of these techniques and activities varied from contexts to
contexts.
IV.1. Some suggested techniques in teaching speaking
IV.1.1. Teaching speaking strategies
Many people believe that effective teachers teach students speaking strategies which they
can use to help themselves expand their knowledge of the language and their confidence in
using it. According to Burkart (1998), speaking strategies including: using minimal response,
recognizing scripts and using language to talk about language.
• Using minimal responses
Language learners who lack confidence in their ability to participate successfully in oral
interaction often listen in silence while others do the talking. One way to encourage such
learners to begin to participate is to help them build up a stock of minimal responses that they

can use in different types of exchanges. Such responses can be especially useful for beginners.
Minimal responses are idiomatic phrases that conversation participants use to indicate
understanding, agreement, doubt, etc. They are very useful for unconfident students who often
listen in silence while others do the talking. They can build a stock of minimal responses that


they can use in different situations. Possessing a stock of minimal responses enables students to
focus on what the other participants are saying as they do not have to plan responses.


* Recognizing scripts
Some communication situations are associated with a predictable set of spoken exchanges
– a script. Greetings, apologies, compliments, invitations, and other functions which are
influenced by social and cultural norms often follow certain patterns or scripts. In these scripts,
the relationship between a speakers’ turn and the one that follows it can often be anticipated.
Teachers can help students develop speaking ability by making them aware of the scripts
for different situations so that they can predict what they will hear and what they will need to
say in response. Through interactive activities, teachers can give students practice in managing
and changing the language that different scripts contain.
* Using language to talk about language
Language learners are often too embarrassed or shy to say anything when they do not
understand another speaker or when they realize that a conversation partner has not understood
them. Teachers can help students overcome this reticence by assuring them that
misunderstanding and the need for clarification can occur in any types of interaction, whatever
the participants’ language skill levels. Teachers can also give students strategies and phrases to
use for clarification and comprehension check.
By encouraging students to use clarification phrases in class when misunderstanding
occurs and by responding positively when they do, teachers can create an authentic practice
environment within the classroom itself. As they develop control of various clarification
strategies, students will gain confidence in their ability to manage the various communication

situations that they may encounter outside the classroom.
IV.1.2. Base the activities on easy language
Generally, the level of language needed for a discussion should be lower than that used in
intensive-learning activities in the same class. The language required for a discussion should be
easily recalled and produced by students so that they can speak fluently. In some cases, preteaching or reviewing essential vocabulary and grammatical structures before the activity starts
is a good idea.
IV.1.3. Use language in authentic ways
In learning speaking, it is the best if students have frequent chances to hear and read the
language as native speakers use it. Teachers can give students these chances through teachers’
talk and materials.
As for teachers, they should try to use the language as naturally as possible. It is advisable
that teachers should: speak at normal rate; use vocabulary and structures that students are
familiar with; state the same idea in different ways to aid comprehension.


Authentic materials can be found in magazines, newspapers, TV and radio broadcastings,
etc. Besides proving students with the chances to see how communication is carried out in real
life, authentic materials also help introduce social and cultural aspects of language use to
students.
IV.1.4. Design activities with a purpose
Normally, every real-life communication has a purpose-to convey information. Activities
in the language classroom simulate communication outside the classroom when they are
structures with such a purpose. In other words, the clearer the purpose of the discussion is, the
more motivated students will be. In such classroom activities, students use the language to fill an
information gap by getting answers or expanding a partial understanding.
IV.1.5. Use pair work and group work
The use of pair and group work can help teachers in dealing not only with large classes, but
also with mixed ability classes. By using pair and group work a teacher can maximize student
talking time and minimize teacher talking time going on in a limited period of classroom time.
This helps to change classes from being more teacher-centered to being more student-centered.

In so doing, teachers can use students to teach other students; this will make learning less
intimidating to students who may be shy and unwilling to express and exchange their own ideas
with their classmates when working in pairs and groups. Moreover, this kind of activities gives
students an opportunities to rehearse their responses in pairs or small groups before being asked
to speak in front of the whole class. Pair work and group work benefits not only students but
also teachers because, as mentioned, it minimizes teacher talking time in the class. This means
that organizing pair work and group work in class helped teachers escape from the hard and
boring work of knowledge transmitters who spend their whole talking time in explaining
everything and then calling students to answer questions or do exercises. At that time, during
pair work and group work activity, teachers play the new roles as organizers and facilitators.
Teachers must select appropriate pair and group work activities and monitor them
carefully. For example, effective pair and group activities have the following characteristics: (1)
communication gap: each student has relevant information that the other don’t; (2) task
orientation: an activity has a defined outcome such as solving a problem; (3) time limit:
students have a preset amount of time to complete the task. In case the task is based on group
discussion, the teachers should include instructions about participation when introducing it.
On the other hand, pair work and group work has its disadvantages, too. Using pair and
group work, it may be more difficult for teachers to manage and control the class at the
beginning of the course. It may also take time and the class may be noisy. Moreover, some
students may use Vietnamese instead of English during discussion or even chat with each other


and the best way to prevent students from speaking Vietnamese during discussion or even chat
with each other and the best way to prevent students from speaking Vietnamese is that the
teachers should try their best to put an eye on all groups, remind students and model them the
language use. However, students will gradually get used to this method and will be interested in
it as they themselves can realize the benefits which pair and group work brings about to them.
IV.1.6. Adjust feedback/ Error correction
Teachers should use different ways of giving feedback or correcting errors for different
lessons. For lessons that focus on form like grammar lessons, direct and immediate feedback and

error correction are needed and expected. However, in communicative lessons like speaking, the
flow of talk should not be interrupted by the teachers’ corrections. Teachers should only give
feedback and correction errors after students already finish their task. When giving feedback,
teachers should give feedback on both form and content. It is advisable that teachers should
encourage students to self-correct. Giving feedback and correcting errors is also a good way to
motivate students as it is a useful comprehension for students and it shows that he teachers really
listen to what they say.

IV.2. Categories of English speaking activities
Many researchers discuss classroom activities and a lot of activities are adapted or
designed based on the theory and characteristics of CLT.
Littlewood (1981) distinguishes between “functional communication activities” and “social
interaction activities”. In his views, the former includes such tasks as learners noting similarities
or differences in sets of picture, discovering missing features in a map or picture, one learner
communicating behind a screen to another learner and giving instructions on how to draw a
picture or shape, or how to complete a map, following directions, and solving problems from
shared cues. The latter includes conversation and discussion sessions, dialogues and role- plays,
simulation, improvisations and debates.
Richards and Rodgers (1986: 165) discuss that the range of exercise types and activities
with a communicative approach is unlimited, provided that such exercises and activities enable
learners to attain the communicative objectives of the curriculum, engage learners in
communication and require the use of such communicative processes as information sharing,
negotiation of meaning, and interaction. In their views, classroom activities should be designed
to focus on completing tasks that are mediated through language or involve negotiation of
information and information sharing.


Activities may be classified as activities for accuracy that aim at learners’ competence in
producing right words, phrases or sentences and activities for fluency that aim at learners’
capacity to sustain the flow of speech with ease and comfort.

In short, speaking activities are various and can be found in a great number of resources.
However, in this minor thesis, the author would introduce some most applicable types which
have proven the most effective.
IV.2.1. Conversation
Conversation serves many functions. People use conversations to establish relationships
through personal expression, to find out information, and to compare views with other.
Conversation provides a means for sharing experiences and solving problems.
Teachers can capitalize on the critical role of conversation in students’ lives and use it to
enhance their language learning. Through, experiences with the language processes, students can
discover a steadily expanding series of topics and purposes for conversation. Students should
have opportunities to talk about a variety of topics such as projects, books, characters, television
programs and videos. In conversation, it is important for students to have useful vocabulary.
Clarity and precision are the keys to effective word choice in conversation. Teachers should not
expect perfection from students in the use of unfamiliar or difficult words, but rather should
develop a supportive environment and group rapport the encourage students to experiment with
unfamiliar words.
IV.2.2. Discussion
Discussion differs from conversation in that it generally has an identifiable purpose, such
as coming to clearer understanding of characters’ roles in a drama or exploring the possibilities
for publishing student writing. Discussion is similar to conversation with regard to listening
carefully, considering what others say, being courteous, and speaking so that all can hear. Many
of students’ conversational abilities will transfer to discussion situations.
Discussion assists students in the development of reasoning, critical thinking, and
problems-solving skills. It gives them practice in expressing ideas orally in an organized manner
and enables them to arrive at conclusions, clarity or modify ideas, resolve differences, and find
alternative solutions. In group discussions, students many encounter viewpoints different from
their own. They come to see that there are many problems for which no one finds appropriate
solution. As well, discussion can serve as a means of building consensus among group members.
Groupings of three to five are good for effective discussion. Everyone is able to contribute
to the discussion as a listener and as a speaker. In addition, a small group draws out quieter

students who many not contribute to larder group discussions.


IV.2.3. Storytelling
Storytelling is an oral sharing of a personal or traditional story, told using the essence of
the tradition from which it originates. As a shared experience between teller and listener, it
offered natural language experiences for students.
Storytelling allows students to internalize important aspects of story beginnings and
endings, settings, characters, and plot lines. It provides practice in expressing ideas in thought
units, using colorful and descriptive language, developing ideas in sequence, and choosing
effective action words.
The speech abilities needed for storytelling are essentially the same as ones required for all
speaking activities. Storytelling encourages students to experiment with voice, tone, eye-contact,
gestures, and facial expressions. It also lets them practice techniques for holding audience
attention.

IV.2.4 Oral reports
In preparing reports, students develop the ability to select material appropriate to
classroom topics and to the audience, and the ability to collect and organize material (requiring
skills in reading critically, taking notes, summarizing, and outlining). Often a report can be made
more meaningful to the audience through the use of visuals such as charts, maps, diagrams, and
overhead transparencies.
Oral reports should emerge from other English language arts processes. If some students
are not comfortable with reporting, they can develop more confidence by taking part in other
oral activities before they are ready to give a report.
IV.2.5. Telephoning
The telephoning is an important tool for personal, school, and business use because of the
rapid communication it permits. Therefore, there is need to reinforce personal speaking and
listening abilities regarding telephone use.
The students should be provided with functional and helpful vocabulary and they must

have authentic reasons for telephoning when they are practicing their skills in the English
language arts classroom.
IV.2.6. Announcements
Making announcements can serve as useful oral speaking practice at any grade level. As
with other types of speech activities, criteria for making announcements should be developed by


the class. These criteria should address the recommended format and manner of presentation and
serve as guidelines for the students.
After the announcements are made, peers or the teacher might write the student announcer
an informal note, commenting on the strengths of the presentation and including one suggestion
for improvement.
IV.2.7. Role play
Role play provides the opportunity for students to develop and revise their understanding
and perspectives by exploring thoughts and feelings of characters in given situations. The
teacher may take a role, becoming an active participant in promoting independent thinking and
co-operative learning.
Role play helps students to develop empathy as they examine others’ ideas, feelings, and
points of view as well as oral expression and interpretation skills as they use language to
describe perceptions, emotions, and reactions In addition, it also helps students to improve
decision-making, problem-solving skills as they gain experience independence thinking and cooperative learning.
IV.2.8. Interviews
An interview is a good way to gain information and provide the participants with practice
in proving speaking and listening skills. Results of interviews can be prepared for publication in
reports or in the school newspaper, thus supporting the writing component of the language arts
program.
Students might interview people from the community who have firsthand knowledge
regarding topics being studied at school or they might interview visitors, fellow students or
teachers. It is important that the interview has a definite purpose.
IV.2.9. Informal Debate

Students who participate in debates have an opportunity to explore, listen, and enjoy
learning. Debates gave students additional opportunities to hear their classmates’ views and to
express opinions regarding topics that matter to them. They also help students make important
decisions and become critical listeners. The informal debate helps students to work together to
understand common problems.
Informal debate reflects the learning process. Debating allows students to explore ideas
and arguments in a non-threatening atmosphere, because presentational guidelines are provided.
Debating is an effective method of acquiring knowledge, as arguments need to be supported by
relevant, accurate, and complete information. Students who debate informally learn to recognize
the elements of a good argument and to develop further their abilities to speak confidently.


IV.2.10. Co-operative learning
Co-operative learning involves students in group collaboration in order to achieve a goal or
to complete a project. Although students do not necessarily work together at one table
throughout the project, participation by each group member is necessary to accomplish the task.
Success and assessment are based on the performance of the group, as well as on individual
contributions and performance within the group.
Co-operative learning experiences are particularly effective at the Middle Level, where
students have an innate desire to be accepted. Competitive, individual efforts are appropriate at
times, however, co-operative learning experiences have the advantage of helping students work
together and support each other.
To sum up, communicative output activities give students the opportunities to experiment,
to see how far they can communicate in situations where they themselves are the people who
choose the language and to practise using the language they know fluently. These activities also
create a supportive atmosphere that allows students to make mistakes without making fear of
embarrassment. These activities also motivate students and make they fell more confident to
speak.

V. A sample speaking lesson

Lesson: Unit 12 – Hobby – Talking about preferences
Level: Grade 11
Students: English majored students
Time: 45 minutes
Step
1.
Warm – up

Teacher’s activities

Students’ activities

Game: Find someone who
- Explain the rule

- Listen to the explanation

+ Each student has a list of and do the task.
activities
+ All students have to go
round the class and interview their


friends by asking the questions
about whether they like or dislike
doing these activities in their free
time.
+ The winner is the one who
first finishes the task or have the
most interviewed friends after 3

minutes.

2.
Pre
speaking

- Lead to the new lesson by

- Answer the questions

- asking some questions.
-

Suggest

some

useful

expressions to express preferences
(Handouts)
QUESTIONS
1.

Do you like / love /

enjoy / go for … + st. / V-ing?
2.

Are you fond of /

interested in / fascinated by … + st.
/ V-ing?
3.

What’s your

hobby/interest/preference …?
4.

What are your

feelings about + st. / V-ing?
5.
Does + st. / V-ing +
appeal to/fascinate/intrigue you?
6.

Have you got any

interest in + st./V-ing?
7.

What do you

like/prefer … + st. / V-ing?
LIKE
- I like / love … + st. / V-ing

- Listen and take note

- I’d like / love to … + V
- I’m interested in / fond of /
keen on / crazy about / mad about /
nuts about … + st. / V-ing
- I have a great interest in / a
passion for + st. / V-ing
- My main interest / hobby /
favourite / preference … is + st. /
V-ing
- I have a particular fondness
for + st. / V-ing
- I’m dying / longing / going
+ for + st. / V-ing
- … interests / fascinates /
intrigues / appeals me a lot
DISLIKES
- I dislike / don’t like / love …
+ st. / V-ing
- I really don’t like / love to
…+V
- I’m not interested in / fond
of / keen on / crazy about / mad
about / nuts about … + st. / V-ing
- I don’t have a great interest
in / a passion for + st. / V-ing
- … does not + interest /
fascinate / intrigue / appeal me a
lot

- … is not one of my
favourites / to my taste / liking / cup
of tea.
3.

Task 1: Work in groups of 4


While
speaking

- to make a list of what students often
like to do
-

Give

- Work in groups of 4 to
make a list

the

students

the

instruction

Activities

that

students

often like to do:
- Watching films
- Hanging out with friends
- ……

-

Ask

some

students

to

present their discussion.

- Work individually

Task 2: Work individually to

Eg: I like playing football in
talk about what you like and dislike my free time because it is fun and
to do. Give the reasons for your not expensive at all. But I don’t
preferences.
like taking photographs because

-

Give

the

students

the it takes time and costs money.

instruction
- Work in groups
Task 3: Work in groups of
three to talk about your hobby.
-

Give

the

students

Sample interview:
- S1: What do you like

the doing in your free time?

instruction
INTRUCTION:

- S2:

I

like

playing

basketball

- Student 1 is the interviewer
- S1: Really? That sounds
and student 2 is the interviewee interesting. When did you start
who will discuss about the hobby.
your hobby?
- Student 3 is the secretary

- S2: Well, one year ago

who has to take note the answers of when I was in grade 10
student 2 and fills in the map.
- S1: When do you often
play basketball?
- S2: I often play after
school from about 5 p.m to 6.30


p.m
- S1: Who do you often
play with?

- S2: With my friends or
my neighbors
- S1: Why do you like it?
- S2: Because it is good for
my health and I make a lot of
friends through playing this sport.
- S1: Thanks a lot. Wish
you more fun with this sport in
the time to come.
- S2: Thank you very much
4.

Report what you have
Work individually
Post
- interviewed your friend about her present the report.
hobby, using the map you have
speaking

and

filled

5.

Do the task in the handout

Take note

Homework

PART THREE: CONCLUSION
1. Overview
This study set three purposes: to give an overview of the current situation of teaching and
learning speaking skill in our province, to find out the difficulties which the teachers and
students encounter in teaching and learning speaking as well as suggest some techniques and
activities to the better teaching and learning speaking skill.
Concerning the teachers’ difficulties, the researcher revealed some typical challenges
which hindered the teachers in teaching speaking skill. These are the students’ low level of
English proficiency, and low motivation as well as the large and multi-level class and the lack of
class time. In terms of students’ difficulties, it is obvious that their low level of English


proficiency, low motivation of communicative competence, resistance to participating in class,
and passive learning style were the important factors which demotivated the students in learning
speaking skill. The study is concluded with several suggestions for the teachers. For the
teachers, they need to improve CLT knowledge, adjusting teaching time and using suitable
techniques for error correction in English speaking lessons. Based on the findings of the study, a
number of suggestions for alleviating the difficulties in teaching the skill of speaking to English
students were given to teachers of English in our province.
2. Recommendations
2.1. Some coping strategies for teachers
According to the findings in the study, it is clear that the difficulties in teaching speaking
skill was caused by the teachers of English; therefore, teachers play a very important role in
reducing the problems happening in English speaking lessons. A number of suggestions for
teachers will be discussed below.


Improving CLT knowledge for teachers

From the survey and interview, it is clear that many teachers in Bac Ninh province are
deficient in English communicative competence. To solve this problem, the English Division
should organize training courses for the teachers to improve their knowledge on CLT, selftraining proves to be more practical and immediate approach to teachers of English. In most
cases, professional teachers of English can train themselves, learning as they go. Many other
teachers are doing the same, for lack of teachers of English do not allow them to have any preservice or in-service training.


Adjusting teaching time and using suitable techniques for error correction in

English speaking lessons
At present, most of the teachers of English are working under pressure of time. Since there
is no way to change the allotted time for the English subject, teacher must adapt themselves to
this new timeframe. For example, it is advisable for them to reduce the amount of time spent on
items that students find easy, and more time on problematic areas that students face with.
Moreover, teachers should always bear in mind that the utmost purpose in teaching English is to
improve students’ communicative competence, so the course should be designed to promote the
active use of language, to encourage the students to participate, and to give confidence and a feel
for communicative value of language. Next, teachers had better have a tolerant attitude towards
students’ errors. During communicative activities teachers should not interrupt students in midflow to point out grammar, lexical or pronunciation error. All the errors of the students should
be treated tactfully. Teachers should correct serious mistakes or just stop if students’ answers are
unclear. Another better way to correct students’ errors is to write common errors and correct as a


class discussion at the end of activities. It is important to help students fell that making mistake
is something unavoidable, and thus, they fell free and self-confident to speak. It is important that
teachers select the right time to correct students’ errors, preferably at the end of their speech as
suggested by the student respondent in this study.


REFERENCES

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Chuyên đề xếp giải A

HOW TO TEACH SPEAKING SKILL
FOR ENGLISH MAJORED CLASS
Họ và tên: Trương Thị Nhung- Lê Thị Cẩm Vân
Tổ chuyên môn: Khoa học xã hội

Trường: THPT chuyên Nguyễn Tất Thành- Yên Bái

Yên Bái, tháng 8 năm 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part I. Introduction
1. Rationale for choosing the study ?
2. Aims of the study
Part II. Development
Chapter 1: Theoretical background
Issues for teaching and assessing speaking
1.

Approaches to the teaching of speaking in the classroom

2.

Models and standards of teaching speaking

2.1.

The problems of the communicative approach in relation to accuracy

2.2.

Social aspects of fluency and pronunciation

2.3.

The current scene in materials to teach speaking

3.

Components in assessing speaking

3.1.

TOEFL (Testing of English as a Foreign Language) speaking test

3.2.

IELTS speaking test

Chapter 2 : Teaching speaking integrated with other skills
1. Suggested activities for pre-speaking
2. Suggested activities for while-speaking
3. Suggested activities for post-speaking
Part III. Conclusion
Reference