SOME SUGGESTIONS OF HOW TO MAKE ACTIVE TEACHING METHODS MORE EFFECTIVELY IN SPEAKING LESSONS, ENGLISH 11(BASIC) UNIT 4 PERIOD 23, UNIT 6 PERIOD 30, UNIT 12 PERIOD 77

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HẬU LỘC 3 UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL
---------o0o---------

THE RESEARCH
SOME SUGGESTIONS OF HOW TO MAKE ACTIVE TEACHING
METHODS MORE EFFECTIVELY IN SPEAKING LESSONS,
ENGLISH 11 (BASIC )
UNIT 4: PERIOD 23, UNIT 6: PERIOD 30, UNIT 12: PERIOD 77

Writer : NGUYỄN QUỲNH ANH
Position : A teacher of English
Field :
English
Academic year :
2016 - 2017

THANH HÓA 2017
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE
PAGE
A. Introduction………………………………………………………
2
I. Reason for choosing the research………………………………….
2
II. Aim of the research…………………………………………………

2
III. Scope, object and researching method……………………………
2
B. Solving problems………………………………………………….
3
I. Theory basic………………………………………………………..
3
II. The fact of study problem………………………………………. ..
3
III. Solutions……………………………………………………………..
4
1. Methods to carry out………………………………………………
4
1.1 Brainstorming………………………………………………………
4
1.2 Controlled speaking…………………………………………………
4
1.3 Two-tier task………………………………………………………
4
1.4 Flash method………………………………………………………
4
1.5 Free practice…………………………………………………………
5
2. The solutions to carry out.…………………………………………
5
IV. The study results of problems………………………………………
13
C. Conclusions and proposals………………………………………
14

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A: INTRODUCTION:
I.REASON FOR CHOOSING THE RESEARCH
It is undeniable that English is an international language. English is
considered as the medium of communication in many different fields such as:
science, technology, aviation, international sport, diplomacy, and so on. English
is also the official language of many international organizations, such as:
ASEAN, WTO, WHO, UN, etc. With the spread of globalization and the rapid
expansion of informational and technologies, there has been an explosion in the
demand for English worldwide.
Thanks to the innovation of ways in teaching English, English lessons
are taught with four skills (speaking, reading, listening, writing) in one unit.
Moreover, there exists three stages – Pre - while – post - teaching in one lesson.
This really helps students improve their skills beside the grammar exercises to
pass the exams.
In the process of fact teaching at Hau Loc 3 Upper Secondary School,
fact teaching in classes , I find that most teachers have been strongly
influenced by the traditional methods. Emphasis has been placed on the
mastery of language structures rather than on how language is used.
Teachers as well as students are used to concentrating on grammatical
items. Some of them even ignore teaching speaking skill and focus only on
grammar excercises for the exams. As a result, this leads to the problem. their
English is not good enough to use in real communicating situations. So, through
the process of teaching and applying active teaching methods in the speaking
lessons. I found that students’speaking ability was improved .They didn’t feel
difficult to express their opinions in English. they were confident in the
knowledge and especially , they were also confident to present a problem in
front of the class ,they use their own language in order to carry out the

communication independently and confidently, So I choose this theme with the
aim to exchange some experiences of myself in the process of teaching “
Speaking lesson” English 11 (basic). I am very glad to receive the sharing and
contributing ideas of colleagues so that I can perfect in the process of applying
and teaching facts.
II. AIMS OF THE RESEARCH:
-Giving out the principles for teaching speaking periods.
-Helping students to be more active in speaking lessons and they can speak
English more confidently.
-Helping teachers to use active teaching methods in speaking lessons more
effectively in different classes.
III.SCOPE, OBJECT AND RESEARCHING METHOD.
-Scope: Researching in the process of teaching English at Hau Loc 3 Upper
Secondary School.
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-Object: This subject is concerned with ways of organizing activities in the
class.
-Researching method: Reading reference books, discussing with other teachers,
applying in teaching, observing and drawing out experiences.

B: SOLVING PROBLEMS
I.THEORY BASIC:
In recent decades, English has been more and more important in Vietnam.
The importance of English is not only in how many people speak it but also in
what it is used for. Beside the native language is popularly used in all fields of
the society, English is now widely known as the major language of
intercommunication, international commerce and business, science and
technology and so on. Thus, people with good English proficiency are extremely

needed in any fields of society. As a result, there has been a positive trend of
teaching and learning English across the country. People, from children to
adults, learn English with different purposes. Children learn English because of
the requirement of their parents and school. Students learn English to pass the
exams, to study abroad or to find a good job in the future. Adults learn English
in order to be able to communicate with foreigners or do business. In general,
despite deriving from different purposes, everyone wants to turn English to
become their own instrument in their lives.
After every speaking lesson, the students have to be able to communicate
successfully in social situations such as talking about life or career. They have to
take part in discussion, negotiation or explanation of social issues, agree or
disagree with others’ opinions, .... They have to gain confidence in
communicating successfully, using communicative strategies to express their
ideas, and feelings appropriately and fluently.
II. THE FACT OF STUDY PROBLEM.
1. The fact of teaching and learning problem at Upper Secondary Schools.
We are living in the global world in which English language has rapidly
become an international language. To meet this requirement, English has been
taught almost everywhere in Vietnam, especially in schools, colleges,
universities, English is a compulsory subject.
However, how to speak English well is a problem for many learners of English,
especially for the students of upper secondary schools. Despite the fact that most
of the students have been learning English since they were at lower secondary or
high school, they are deficient in English speaking.
As a teacher of high school, from our observation and our own teaching
experience, we see that during the speaking lesson classroom interaction is
restricted. Only some students get involved in the activities conducted by the
teacher while others keep silence or do other things. Thus, one of the challenges

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to the teacher is to find out the answer to the question “Why don’t many students
of English get involved actively in speaking lesson?”
To find the answer to this question it is necessary to investigate what motivates
and de-motivates students in English learning in general and in speaking in
particular. And the teachers ask their students to be willing to speak. They speak
a lot and understand what other people speak, they can reach the aims of
learning foreign language.
2. The fact problem of learning foreign language at Hau Loc 3 Upper
Secondary School.
Hau Loc 3 Upper Secondary School belongs to six north west communes
of Hau Loc, including Dai Loc, Thanh Loc, Cau Loc, Dong Loc , Chau Loc and
Trieu Loc. The economic condition is not good and the social learning is also
not good so teaching and learning of teachers and students are having many
difficulties. The approaching with books, newspapers and modern
communication media is limited . Otherwise, the class is crowded . level is
uneven. Most students are in the status “losing basic knowledge” of Primary and
Lower Secondary School’s knowledge. Besides, they consider English a difficult
subject, so they are worried of learning. In the English period , the students are
not confident in communicating because they are worried of speaking wrong or
pronouncing not very exactly, so the application of communication practice
method in teaching is very difficult.
III: SOLUTIONS
1. Methods to carry out.
Some active teaching methods in speaking lessons, English 11 ( basic).
1.1. Brainstorming.
It is suggestion method for students to contribute general ideas for
speaking lesson. The teacher lets students work in pairs/ teams or the whole
class, they discuss and list ideas, after that they contribute with the whole class.

2.1. Controlled speaking.
It is a required speaking method and uses the things or given vocabulary
and structures.
The teacher let students work in pairs / groups to save time and practise
speaking the most.
3.1. Two-tier task.
This method is used for group students who have unequal levels.
Sometimes it is due to unequal levels, the time for group students complete of
the requirement of practice is uneven. So the teachers use this method to supply
further requirement for better students. For example, after finishing speaking ,
they write in brief or find out causes , they are statistic quantity,compare…
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4.1. Flash method
It is the method with the aim to mobilize the students’ involvement about
any theme, or to get reactive information or to improve communication status
and the learning atmosphere in class, through the things that the members in the
class give quickly ideas about a theme or mission of the lesson.
5.1. Free practice.
In this stage, the teachers only give general requirement, don’t limit ideas
as well as language, they let students speak freely . The students speak about
their own experiences , friends , relatives or about hometown they live. In this
stage , students still work in pairs/ teams.
2. The solutions to carry out.
In this part , I give some examples about applying above methods in the
process of some speaking lessons basic English 11 :

Unit four: VOLUNTEER WORK
Lesson: Speaking

Aims: Helps students to master the words related to volunteer work , talk about
different kinds of activities related to volunteer work and express their ideas
about volunteer activities.
Warm up: In this part , I use “brainstorming” to lead students into the
lesson.The teacher gives some pictures with some phrases related to the theme
such as : Teaching the poor children, Taking part in a Blood Donation activity
and Collecting the rubbish.

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Teaching the poor children

Taking part in a Blood Donation activity

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Collecting the rubbish
Students can discuss and speak easily and give some other phrases such as:
Taking part in directing the traffic
Taking care of the disadvantaged children
Helping people in mountainous area
Through the activities , students can know the aim of the lesson.
Task 1: Decide which of the following activities are volunteer work .
In this task , I use “ controlled speaking” method . I ask students to work in
pairs to ask and answer the questions : one student asks and another answers
,then change the role. The teacher moves around the classroom to give help and
jot down students’mistakes in pronunciation and grammar for later correction.
After that , the teacher calls on some pairs to act out the dialogues:

Questions: 1. Have you ever helped people in remote or mountainous areas/
joined the Green Saturday Movement/ given care and comfort to the poor and
the sick…?
2. When do you take part in these activities?
3. Do you think that taking part in an excursion and participating in
an English speaking club are volunteer work ? Why?
4. How do you help people in remote or mountainous areas?
…………………..
Answers: 1. Yes, I have/ No, I haven’t
2. Last summer/ When I have free time
3. No, I don’t think so because we take part in these activities for
ourselves, not to help other people. .
…………………………………………………..
Task 2: Practise the dialogue and then make similar conversation, using the
activities that follow.
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Teacher asks students to read the model conversation of the task, the list
of volunteer activities and the exact things related to them. In this task, I use “
controlled speaking method” so that students can ask and answer fluently about
the volunteer activities based on page 50 (textbook).
Example: S1: What kind of the volunteer work are you participating in ?
S2: We’re helping people in mountainous areas.
S1: What exactly are you doing?
S2: Well, We’re teaching the children to read and write/ giving them
money.
S1: Do you enjoy/ like/ the work?
S2: Yes, I like helping people
…………………………………………………..

Task 3: Talk about a kind of volunteer work your friends and you usually do to
help people.
In this task I use “two-tier task” . With weak and average students , I ask
them to ask and answer ( with other partner) , using questions such as: How
often do you do/ take part in the volunteer work? How long have you spent for
the work? With better students, I arrange them to work in groups of four or five
and encourage students to use transition signals such as also, besides,
moreover, ... to make their talk more coherent.
When I use this method , I find that all students can speak very well . I
call one group to present in front of the class.
Suggested ideas:
- We usually take part in helping people in mountainous areas. We teach the
children to read and write, we also give them money. We enjoy the work
very much because we like helping people.
Mai usually takes part in directing the traffic. She directs vehicles at the
intersections. Besides, she helps old people and young children to cross
the road. She enjoys the work very much because she like helping
people………………
- ………………………………………………………….

Unit six: Competitions
Lesson : Speaking
Aim: Help students to master the words related to competitions, to ask for and
give information about types of competitions, and then express their ideas about
the competition.
Warm-up: In this part , Teacher can use “brainstorming method” to lead
students into the lesson.Teacher shows competitions’ pictures and ask students to
match the words with their names exactly:
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1. Sao Mai Television Singing contest

2. English Competition

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3. Art competition

4. London Marathon
Thanks to the activities , students can know the aim of the lesson about the
competitions.
Task 1: Which of the competitions/ contests below do you like or dislike? Put a
tick(v) in the right column. Then compare your answers with a partner’s .
In this task, I use method “ free speaking” . I ask students to work in pairs
to ask and answer the questions : one student asks and another answers ,then
change the role. The teacher moves around the classroom to give help and jot
down students’mistakes in pronunciation and grammar for later correction.
After that , the teacher calls on some pairs to act out the dialogues:
Example: S1: Which competitions/ contests do you like ?
S2: I like the General knowledge quiz / the English competition/ the
poetry reading.
S1: Why do you like it?
S2: Because it’s an opportunity to test my general knowledge/ it
makes me cheerful………………..
Task 2: Work in pairs. Ask your partner how he / she feels about each type of
the competitions/ contests in Task 1.
For the requirement of the task , I can choose some methods such as controlled
speaking, two-tier task, flash method , free speaking.

In this part , I use “ flash method” to motivate students as well as to insure
time.
After students find out the task’s requirement, I ask some students to list
some adjectives that students can use to talk about the competitions such as.
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interesting / great / stimulating/ hilarious / good fun / wonderful/ boring /
exciting/ amusing/ silly/ dull……..
The teacher sticks the handout with the model prepared at home on the
board:
Example:
A: What do you think about/ What’s your opinion about / Do you
like/ How do you feel about…….?
B: Oh, I think. It’s great/ good fun/ boring/ …... It’s an
opportunity/ a good chance for my creative activities/ my physical training/ It
makes me / cheerful/ feel happy/ sleepy……………...
The teacher asks students to work in group of 3 in five minutes with
both the good and the bad in a group to support each other. base on the model to
practise.
I always move around the class to control and give help if necessary and
then calling some groups to act out the conversations. With this method , I find
that students are excited about speaking and the class is exciting.
Task 3: Personalization.
For me, in this task , I use “ two-tier task” and “ free speaking method”.
With weak and average students , I ask them to ask and answer ( with other
partner) , using questions suggested below.
Question:
1. Where and when did you see or take part in it?
2. What type of competition or contest was it?

3. Who organized it?
4. Who participated in it?
5. Who won the competition/ contest?
6. Did you enjoy it ? why/ why not?
Answers:
1. I saw / took part in it …………………..
2. It was ………………………………
3. Our English teachers/ The HochiMinh communist youth union
of our school …………………………………………………
For better students , I put students to work in groups of four or five, each
group has a poster and a board marker . I assign the groups to speak about the
competitions given in the posters. With this method , students learn effectively
and the learning atmosphere is exciting.

Unit twelve: The Asian Games
Lesson : Speaking
Aim: Help students to master the words related to the Asian Games , to ask for
and give the information about the Asian Games.
Warm-up: In this lesson , I use some pictures about sports and ask students to
match the sports with the pictures (free practice).
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Bodybuilding

Bodybuilding

Shooting

Billiards

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Through asking and answering the questions related to the theme of the
lesson , the atmosphere of the class will be exciting and lead students to the
lesson easily.
Task 1: Work in pairs. Ask and answer questions about the Asian Games, using
the information from the table below.
Teacher asks students to read the requirement of the task. In this task, I
use
“ controlled speaking method” so that students can ask and answer fluently
about the Asian Games based on page 139 (textbook).
Example: S1: When and where were the 1st Asian Games held ?
S2: (They were held) in 1951 in India.
S1: How many countries took part in the Games?
S2: Eleven.
………………………………………………..
Task 2: Personalization.
For me, in this task , I use “ two-tier task” and “ free speaking method”.
With weak and average students , I ask them to ask and answer ( with other
partner) , The teacher sticks the handout with the model prepared at home on the
board.
Model: A: How many medals did Vietnamese athletes win in bodybuilding?
B: Two medals
A: What kinds of medals did they get?
B: One gold medals and one bronze medals.
For better students , I put students to work in groups of four or five . I
require them to talk much more, depending on their opinion and understanding.
Example: As can be seen, at the 14th Asian Games held in Bussan, Korea, in
bodybuilding, the Vietnamese athletes won one gold medal and one bronze

medal. Ly Duc and Pham Van Mach were our heroes. In billiards, they won one
gold medal and one silver medal….The best billiard snooker was Tran Dinh
Hoa….
I always move around and help if necessary. I find students can speak very
well. Of course, I will correct mistakes if students make.
IV. THE STUDY RESULTS OF PROBLEMS.
Using some active teaching methods in speaking lesson textbook 11 really
have its effects because the students are active, enthusiastic, excited to learn.
By using this method, the students who are always afraid, shy, lazy now are
active in learning , makes the speaking period more and more exciting. In the
school years of 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 I carried out my theme in
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11grades at Hau Loc 3 Upper Secondary School , the general results of
students when they do the English tests are following:
Kind
excellent
Object
Don’t apply in 0%
11B4, 11B6 in the
school year of
2016-2017
Apply in 11B4, 5%
11B6
in
the
school year of
2016-2017

good

average

weak

Bad

25%

30%

35%

10%

40%

40%

15%

0

C. CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS
This is suitable theme for teaching and learning of teachers and students. This
theme can apply to all students but if it is applied to good students , the effect is
better. Learning English , communication atmosphere is very important. If the
students can approach the facts, always use what they learn , their
communication and knowledge are more and more stable.

So, my theme can have good results and can be carried out widely and deeply
for students. I have some opinions to put forward:
- For school managers, it is necessary to invest more consulted documents for
teachers, to have abundant library for students to study documents, to have
expenditures to help and encourage teachers.
- Giving time condition to train weak, bad students; improve excellent and
good students. In order to do that , the theme can be applied widely and give
better results.
- Organizing more special subjects to innovate teaching methods for all
teachers of English to attend and they can have themselves the best teaching
method. At the same time , those special subjects should have concrete teaching
period in each grade for us to learn.
They are some my above experiences through process of teaching in the
last school year 2016-2017 . However, due to limit of documents and time, there
will be some shortcomings . I hope to receive sincere advices from leaders and
colleagues .

Thankyou for your attention to my study.
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The head master’s confirmation

Thanh Hoa, 23th May , 2017
Undertaking not to copy
Nguyễn Quỳnh Anh

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REFERENCES
1. Harmer, J. 1984. The Practice of English Language Teaching. London:
Longman.
2. Practical handbook of language teaching (David Cross)
3. A course in language teaching - Practical and Theory (Penny Ur)
Cambrige university press
4. Giao trinh giao hoc phap (Khoa ngôn ngữ và văn hóa Anh - Mĩ - Úc – Trường
đại học quốc gia Hà Nội)
5.Phương pháp dạy tiếng Anh Trung học phổ thông (Nguyễn Hạnh Dung)

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