a study on the problems in teaching english speaking skills to the minority students at sonla ethnic boarding high school and so

Họ và tên

: Nguyễn Thị Hơng Giang

Ngày sinh

: 7/10/1976

Nơi sinh

: Phúc Hà - Đồng Hỷ Thái Nguyên

Đối tợng : HVCH K14 K2005 2008
Khoa

: Ngôn ngữ Văn hoá Anh Mỹ

Trờng

: ĐHNN- Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội

MÃ thẻ th viÖn: M4070339


vietnam national university, hanoi
college of foreign languages
department of post-graduate studies

Nguyễn Thị Hương Giang

a study on the problems in teaching english speaking

skills to the minority students at sonla ethnic boarding
high school and some suggested solutions

(Tìm hiểu những khó khăn trong dạy kỹ năng nói
cho học sinh dân tộc thiểu số ở trờng THPT Dân tộc nội trú
tỉnh sơn la và một số giải pháp khắc phục)
M.a minor thesis (coursework)

Course: K14

Field: English teaching Methodology
Code: 601410

supervisor: ngun bµng, ma.

Sơn La, 2008


Declaration

I, Nguyen Thi Huong Giang, certify that this thesis is entirely my own work and contains no
material which has been submitted for the examination in any other course or accepted for
the award of a degree in any other university or institution. The thesis also contains no
material previously published or written by other person, except where due reference is made
in the text.
Sonla, November 2008
Signature

Nguyen Thi Huong Giang

ii
acknowledgements

For the completion of this thesis, I have received great assistance and support from my
teachers, colleagues, students and my family.
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Mr.
Nguyen Bang, MA. from College of Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University,
Hanoi, for his invaluable guidance, criticism and his encouragement in the process of
completing the minor thesis.
I am also grateful to all lecturers and the staff of the Department of Post-Graduate
Department, College of Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their
useful lectures and guidance during my study at the Institution.
I truly wish to thank all the colleagues and the students at Son La Ethnic Boarding High
School for their assistance and co-operation in giving me valuable information.
Last but not least, I would like to acknowledge my debt to my family, whose patient love
enabled me to complete this work.


iii
Abstract

The importance of speaking is undeniable in language teaching and learning. Therefore,
understanding the teachers’ difficulties in teaching speaking skills is apparently necessary to
gain effective teaching and learning.
This minor thesis was carried out with an attempt to investigate the areas of difficulties and
obstacles that the teachers have encountered when teaching speaking skills to the minority
students at Son La Ethnic Boarding High School (SEBH). The Thesis is organized in 3 parts:
First, the Introduction presents the rationale, aims and significance of the study, research
questions, scope, method and design of the study.

The Development is divided into 3 chapters.
Chapter one provides some theoretical background of related issues concerning the definition
of CLT, characteristics of CLT as well as the teacher’s and student’s role in CLT. Moreover,
there is a presentation of the language skills, the nature of speaking skills, the characteristics,
the role of speaking in language teaching and learning, the approaches to teaching speaking
and some problems in teaching speaking.
Chapter two carries out about the research setting, the methodology, the instrument, and the
subjects of the study. There also presents the results of the two survey questionares designed
to find out the problems that teachers and students at SEBH have encountered in teaching
and learning speaking skills.
Chapter three provides researcher’s findings of the problems in teaching and learning
speaking skills. Another very important part of this chapter is the suggested solutions which
help overcome the major problems as well as improve the quality of teaching and learning
speaking skills at SEBH.
Finally, the Conclusion summaries the study and offers some suggestions for further study.

iv


List of abbreviations

Clt: Communicative Language Teaching.
Sll: Second Language Learning.
Elt: English Language Teaching.
Sebhs: Son La Ethnic Boarding High School.
Moet: Ministry of Education and Training.

v

List of tables

Table 1: Description of teachers’ experience
Table 2: Teachers’ attitudes towards speaking skills and teaching
English speaking in the text book
Table 3: Teachers’ CLT training background
Table 4: Teachers’ perception of CLT
Table 5: Number of teachers who have applied CLT in teaching speaking skills
Table 6: Teachers’ difficulties in teaching speaking skills to the minority students
Table 7: The teachers’ attitudes towards reluctant speakers
Table 8: Techniques to minimize the difficulties in teaching speaking
Table 9: Methods applied in teaching speaking
Table 10: Students’ reason for learning English
Table 12: Students’ opinions on the speaking topics
Table 13: Factors that make the students reluctant to speak
Table 14: Teachers’ reactions to students’ mistakes
Table 15: Students’ opportunities to speak English outside classroom
Table 16: Teachers’ current techniques to encourage students to speak English

vi


Table of contents
Declaration……………………………………………………………………………i
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………..…………….ii
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………… ...iii
List of abbreviations……………………………………………….……………..iv
List of tables…………………………………………………………….…………....v
Part
Introduction……………………………………………………… ...........1

A:

1. Rationale…………………………………………………………………………......1
2. Aims and Significance of the study………………………………………………….2
3. Research questions…………………………………………………...……………...2
4. Scope of the study……………………………………………………………………3
5. Method of the study………………………………………………………………….3
6. Design of the study…………………………………………………………………..3
b:

Part

development………………………………………………… ...

………… .4
Chapter one: literature review………………………………….….....………4
1.1. Communicative Language Teaching……………………………………...………4
1.1.1. Definitions of Communicative Language Teaching ……………… .……..4
1.1.2. Characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching…………..………….5
1.1.3. The teachers and students’ role in Communicative Language Teaching…….6
1.2. Language skills……………………………………………………………………..7
1.2.1. Oral communication……………………………………………………...……7
1.2.2. Oral skills…………………………….………………………………...……...8
1.3. Speaking skills……………………………………………………………………...9
1.3.1. Definitions of speaking………………………………………………...……...9


vii
1.3.2. The characteristics of speaking………………………………………...……...9

1.3.3.The role of speaking in language teaching and learning………………...……10
1.3.4. Approaches to the teaching of speaking………………………………...……11
1.3.5. Problems with speaking activities…………………………………...…….....12
1.4. Summary…………………………………………………………………...….....13
Chapter two: the study……………………………………… .……………………
14
2.1. Research setting……………………………………………….…………………..14
2.1.1. An overview of the research site……………….…………………….......…..14
2.1.2. Description of the teachers of English in SEBH…………….……………….14
2.1.3. The students at Son la Ethnic Boarding High School…………….………….15
2.1.4. The current situation of English teaching and learning at SEBH……..……...15
2.1.4.1. The materials of teaching and learning………………………..…….…15
2.1.4.2. The teaching and learning English speaking skills………………...…..16
2.2. Methodology study……………………………………………………….………16
2.2.1.Participants…………………………………………………………….…..….16
2.2.2. Research instruments……………………………………………….………..17
2.2.3. Data analysis………………………………………………………..…….......17
2.3. Presentation of the statistical results……………………………………...………17
2.3.1. Data analysis of teachers’ survey questionaire…………………….………....17
2.3.1.1. Methodology………………………………………………………......17
2.3.1.2. The findings ……………………………………………………..….....18
2.3.2. Data analysis of students’ survey questionare………………………...……....24
2.3.2.1.Methodology……………………………………………………………24
2.3.2.2. The finding……………………………………………………..………25
2.4. Summary…………………………………………………………………………..32
Chapter three: findings and suggestions…………………………..………..33
3.1. Findings………………………………………………………………...………….33
3.1.1. Problems from the teachers…………………………………………………..33
3.1.1.1. Lack of training in CLT………………………………………………..33
3.1.1.2. Teaching method is not satisfactory…………………………………...34

3.1.2. Problems from the students…………………………………………………..35
3.1.2.1. Low English proficiency………………………………………………35


viii
3.1.2.2. Lack of motivation…………………………………….………………35
3.1.2.3. Lack of confidence…………………………………………………….36
3.1.2.4. Use of the mother- tongue during group work…………...……………36
3.1.3. Other Problems……………………………………………………………….36
3.1.3.1. Classes are of big size…………………………………………………36
3.1.3.2. Lack of necessary facilities…………………………………….…… 37
3.2. Possible solutions……………………………………………………….……….37
3.2.1. Improving CLT knowledge for the teachers……………….………………37
3.2.2. Using suitable techniques for error correction in English speaking lessons.38
3.2.3. Implementing of some kinds of communicative activities………….……..38
3.2.4. Providing more interesting topics to encourage students’ participation...…40
3.2.5. Providing more opportunities to practise speaking English………………..40
3.2.6. Helping students to be confident……………………………………….…..40
3.2.7. Building a habit of speaking English for students in class………..………..41
3.2.8. Training students to become efficient speakers…………………………....41
3.2.9. Making good use of emotional factors………………………………….….41
3.2.10. Equipping teaching facilities……………………….………………..……42
3.3. Summary……………………………………………………………………...…42
part

c:

conclusion……………………………………………………………… ..43
1. Summary of the study…………………………………………...…………………43
2. Limitations of the study……………………………………………………………44

3. Suggestion for further study………………………………………………………..44
References…………………………………………………………… ...……………
45

Appendices………………………………………………… ...
………………………… i

Appendix a (A questionnaire completed by the teachers)……………………………….i


Appendix b ( A questionnaire completed by the students)……………………………...iii

Part a: introduction

1. Rationale
In Vietnam, in the recent years, the teaching and learning of English have been
gaining significance firstly because it is an international language; secondly it is also
seen as a means to promote mutual understanding and cooperation between Vietnam and
other countries, especially since Vietnam became an official member of WTO. There
have been an increasing number of people desiring to know English with the hope of
keeping up with the latest modern technology in the world. English has now been taught
not only at all universities and colleges, but also at almost every senior high school and it
is considered as a compulsory subject at secondary school.
To meet the demand of learners of English, teachers of English in Vietnam have
been trying to find out the most suitable and effective method of teaching English.They
have always tried to catch up with the world’s latest frameworks of English Language
Teaching. As in other countries, teachers of English in Vietnam are now using
Communicative Approach to teach English to learners of all levels. They hope to provide
learners with a means of communication, namely English which is vital for them to be
successful in their job and to fulfill their social demands in the time of globalization.

At Son la Ethnic Boarding High School, where the author studies, English is a
compulsory subject in the curriculum and it is considered as a major subject for the high
school examination. It is taught with the purpose that students have some basic
knowledge of English in order to communicate and to use it as a key to science and
technology. However, there still exist many difficulties facing English language teachers
in Vietnam in general and English language teachers at Son La Ethnic Boarding High
School in particular in teaching speaking skills to students. The teachers of English at
Son La Ethnic Boarding High School find it difficult to teach speaking successfully.


In the teaching situations, the students usually keep quiet in speaking lessons; they
mind speaking English. There are many students who have good knowledge of grammar
which works wonderfully at reading and writing exercises but they can not express
themselves in English. What is more, in real-life situations, students find it hard to
communicate with English speaking people; it is hard for them to response
spontaneously and naturally.
Certainly, there are many reasons for this. If those difficulties are not found out and
no solutions can be given, the speaking classes cannot be successful and students will be
fed up with learning English if they find it worthless to study the subject.
All of the above reasons have inspired the author to do the research on “The problems
in Teaching English Speaking Skills to the Minority students at Son La Ethnic Boarding
High School and some Suggested Solutions” with the hope to make a small contribution
to the quality of teaching and learning speaking skills at Son La Ethnic Boarding High
School.
2. Aims and Significance of the study
This study is aimed at finding out the areas of difficulties in teaching English
speaking skills to the minority students at SEBH. Also, it is expected that some solutions
to overcome difficulties encountered will be suggested.
To be more specific, in realizing this study, the objectives are:
-

Investigating the current situation of teaching and learning of speaking skills at Son
La Ethnic Boarding High School.

-

Investigating the areas of difficulties and obstacles that the teachers at SEBH have
encountered when teaching the speaking skills.

-

Suggesting some solutions with the hope of helping English language teachers at
SEBH improve the quality of their teaching, this later helps improve students’
learning quality.

3. Research questions:
In order to achieve the above aims, the research questions are as follows:


(i)

What are the current methods and techniques of teaching speaking skills used at
Son La Ethnic Boarding High School?

(ii)

What are problems experienced by the teachers in teaching English speaking
skills at Son La Ethnic Boarding High School?

(iii)

What are feasible solutions to overcome those difficulties?

4. Scope of the study
The study focuses on the difficulties that the English language teachers have met when
teaching speaking skills to the minority students at SEBH and some suggested solutions
which help them improve the quality of their teaching.
The study of difficulties, some suggested solutions to other skills and levels would be
beyond the scope of the study.
5. Method of the study
In order to realize the aims of the study, quantitative method was used. Two survey
questionnaires were used to collect information and evidence for the study:
- The first survey questionnaire is carried out on 140 students at SEBH.
- The second survey questionnaire is carried out on 4 English language teachers of
SEBH.
All comments, remarks and recommendations given in the study were based on the data
analysis.
6. Design of the study
This study consists of three parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion.
• Part A: Introduction
• Part B: Development
The development comprises three chapters:
+ Chapter I

:

Literature Review

+ Chapter II :

The study

+ Chapter III :

Data analysis and Discussion of the findings


• Part C: Conclusion
Part b. development
Chapter 1: literature review

1.1. Communicative Language Teaching.
1.1.1. Definition of Communicative Language Teaching
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) appears in the 1960s and 1970s and was thought
as a resolution against the Audio- lingual Method. It is an outcome of more attention to
learners’ effective and appropriate use of language learnt. It is pointed out by Brindley
(1986: 11) that “The 1970’s and 1980’s could be regarded as the era of Communicative
Language Teaching”. Communicative Language Teaching also marks the beginning of a
major innovation within language teaching because of its superior principles which are
widely accepted nowadays. So far, several researchers have done the work on CLT and
different authors view CLT differently.
However, it is difficult to define it in a satisfactory way. There is a variety of definitions
about CLT and each of them developed her / his own ideas regarding CLT.
As for Nunan (1989: 194), Communicative Language Teaching means:
CLT views language as a system for the expression of meaning. Activities involve
oral communication, carrying out meaning tasks and using language, which is meaningful to
the learners. Objectives reflect the needs of the learners; they include functional skills as
well as linguistic objectives.The learner’s role is as a negotiator and integrator. The
teacher’s role is as a facilitator of the communication process. Materials promote
communicative language use; they are task- based and authentic.

It is thought that the definition contains aspects that are common to many other definitions.
The definition above, as with any definitions of the language teaching method ( Penny Cook,
1989), represents a particular view of understanding and explaining language acquisition. It


is socially constructed and must be seen as a product of social, cultural, economic, and
political forces.
Williams (1995) summarizes the CLT classroom as one in which there is an emphasis
on the use of authentic language and unpredictable input. Negotiation of meaning between
students and teachers should be essential in the implementation of tasks with resulting
comprehensible input. Risk talking which leads to successful communication is also very
important. In his viewpoint, Williams emphasizes the lack of focus on the direct instruction
of language rules and error correction. A major emphasis is on learner autonomy.
According to Bock (2000) CLT is tailored to get at meaning and leaners negotiate
meaning in class. Meaning is considered as what is communicated. The negotiation of
meaning can be implicated through pair work, group work in problem- solving tasks. He also
states: “Authentic materials, functional tasks, and groups and pair work are significant
aspects of CLT”.

1.1.2. Characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching.
The theory of language in CLT shows that language is used as a means of communication.
Characteristics of CLT are given by Richards and Rodgers( 2001) as follows:
•

Language is a system for the expression of meaning.

•

The primary function of language is to allow interaction and communication.

•

The structure of language reflects its functional and communicative uses.

•

The primary units of language are not merely its grammatical and structural features,
but categories of functional and communicative meaning as exemplified in discourse.

Thus, the objective of language teaching is to develop “communicative competence”.
Richards and Rodgers (2001 : 155) show that CLT aims to “ make communicative
competence the goal of language teaching” And communicative competence is defined by
Hymes( 1972 : 7): “ Communicative competence as speaker needs to know to communicate
effectively in culturally significant setting.”
Another characteristic of CLT is the introduction of authentic material (Dublin, 1995;
Larsen- Freeman, 1986; Long and Crooks, 1992; Nunan, 1990; Widdwson, 1996). In CLT, it
is considered desirable to give learners the opportunity to response to genuine
communicative needs in realistic L2 situations so that they develop strategies for
understanding language as actually used by native speakers (Canale and Swain, 1980).


1.1.3. The Teachers’ and Students’ roles in Communicative Language Teaching.
•

Teacher roles:

As Communicative Language Teaching is learner- centered, the teachers, though, are still the
people to set up activities and give instructions to students, they step back to listen and
monitor the class rather than talking much.
Breen and Candlin (1980) describe teacher roles in CLT in the following terms:

The teacher has two main roles: the first role is to facililate the communication
process between all participants in the classroom, and between these participants and the
various activities and texts. The second role is to act as an independent participant within
the learning- teaching group. The latter role is closely related to the objectives of the first
role and arises from it. These roles imply a set of secondary roles for the teacher; first, as an
organizer of resources and as a resource himself, second as a guide within the classroom
procedures and activities…A third role for the teacher is that of researcher and learner,
with much to contribute in terms of appropriate knowledge and abilities, actual and
observed experience of the nature of learning and organizational capacities.
It is clear that teachers have many roles; however, they need to try hard and to be supported
to fulfill these roles. They should have adequate knowledge of CLT, they should have
chances to access the authentic materials, etc. For those who never or rarely attend any
courses on CLT, training and retraining in CLT is necessary as teachers’ competence decides
the success or failure of applying CLT in ELT.
•

Student roles:

On their part, learners in CLT classes, far different from those found in traditional second
language classrooms. Breen and Candlin (1980) state that:
The role of learner as negotiator- between the self, the learning process, and the
object of learning- emerges from and interacts with the role of joint negotiator within the
group and within the classroom procedures and activities which the group undertakes. The
implication for the learner is that she/ he should contribute as much as she / he gains, and
thereby learn in an interdependent way.
From the description above, it could be seen that the learners find themselves talking more
and frequently moving around to accomplish the tasks. That is the reason why classroom is
no longer the scene of order and quiet classes. The excessive noise is sometimes
unavoidable. That makes some teachers feel reluctant to carry out communicative activities
due to the fear of losing control over their classes.

CLT methodologists consequently recommend that learners learn to see that failed
communication is a joint responsibility and not the fault of speaker or listener. Similarly,
successful communication is an accomplishment jointly achieved and acknowledged.


1.2.Language skills.
It is understood that language communication involves several language skills. On the
teaching points of views, language skills consist mainly of four- macro skills ( listening,
speaking, reading and writing) which are inter- related. That is why students of English are
required to have an adequate mastery of the four – macro skills. However, the degree of
fluency of each skill, which a learner requires, depends on the purpose of the course she/he
takes.
Among the four – macro skills, listening and reading are believed to be receptive skills;
speaking and writing are productive skills (Byrne, 1991). They are also divided according to
the manners by which they are formed. The skills which are related to articulatory organs are
called oral skills namely listening and speaking. The ones in connection with manual script
named literacy skills consist of reading and writing.
Of the four skills, speaking plays a very important role since it is the step to identify who
knows and does not know a language. Anyone who knows a foreign language can speak that
language.
1.2.1. Oral communication
Without communication, teaching and learning could not occur. Teachers, therefore, are
intimately involved in the communication process as they interact with students on a daily
basis. Teachers continually send messages to students and receive messages from them.
Oral communication is the spoken interaction between two or more people, when the
message is made by the speaker(s); it is decoded and responded by the listener(s).
According to Byrne (1991:9), the nature of oral communication is comprehended a
two- way process between the speaker and the listener. In oral communication process, the
roles of speaker and listener are interchanged; information gaps between them are created
and then closed with the effort from both sides. In organizing classroom oral practice,

teachers should create as much information gaps as possible and teachers’ vital duty is to
encourage communication which yields information gaps. Teachers should also bear in mind
the differences between real-life oral communication and classroom oral communication.
Nunan (1989) describes the list of characteristics of successful oral communication as
follows:
•

Comprehensible pronunciation of the target language

•

Good use of stress, rhythm, intonation patterns

•

Fluency

•

Good transactional and interpersonal skills

•

Skills in talking short and long speaking in turns

•

Skills in the management of interactions

•

Skills in negotiating meaning


•

Conversational listening skills

•

Skills in knowing about and negotiating purposes for the conversation

•

Using appropriate conversational formulas and filters

However, not all people are good communicators. How to conduct oneself effectively in a
variety of personal, professional, and academic environments with confidence, a speaker
need arming with necessary oral skills.
1.2.2. Oral skills
Oral skills, as divided by Bygate, M. (1991: 22), includes negotiation skills and production
skills.
The first types of oral skills, negotiation skills, is a term referring to skills which can be seen
from two different aspects: management of interaction and negotiation of meaning.
Management of interaction means the freedom that participants can enjoy when taking
part in the conversation without any intervention and it consists of two sub- skills named
Agenda management and Turn- taking. The former refers to the participants’ choice of
topics, the way in which the topics are developed and the length of time for which the
conversations are prolonged. And, Turn- taking refers to the matter of when one speaker
takes the floor and when to step back for other to take turns. It requires speakers some

abilities to take turns effectively. First of all, they must be aware of the way to signal their
want of speaking by using gestures, sounds or phrases…Also, they must be able to recognize
other’s signals to speak and know how to let others take their turns. The abilities to
recognize the right moment to take turn and use appropriate turn structure are also very
important to be an effective speaker.
Negotiation of meaning refers to speakers’ ability to communicate clearly. This means
they know what, how and how much to say to be suitable with their listeners. Thus, knowing
who they are talking to is obviously of decisive importance.
The second type of oral skills is production skills. It is divided into two sub- skills:
Facilitation skills and Compensation skills.
Facilitation skills refers to the ability to simplify language by using simple structures,
ellipsis, halting devices…And, Compensation skills refers to the ability of self- correction,
recitation and rephrasing, improvising, discarding, avoiding, foreignizing, paraphrasing,
mining of a word, and clarifying…in order to express oneself and comprehend others.
In short, speakers are required to incorporate so many skills to be considered a
competent speaker. Thus, teaching speaking effectively means helping students to develop a
whole range of oral communication skills.


1.3. Speaking Skills
1.3.1. Definitions of speaking
Of the four skills ( listening, speaking, reading and writing), speaking plays a vital role since
it is the step to identify who knows or does not know a language. Pattison (1992) confirms
that when people know or learn a language, they mean being able to speak the language. The
nature of speaking has been discussed by many scholars.
According to Brown, G. and Yule, G. (1983), spoken language consists of short,
fragmentary utterances in a range of pronunciation. There is often a great deal of repetition
and overlap between one speaker and another, and speakers usually use non- specific
references. They also point out that in speaking the loosely- organized syntax, and nonspecific words and phrases are used. Spoken language is, therefore, made to feel less
conceptually dense than written language.

Brown, G. and Yule, G. (1983) point out that 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 skills generally have to be
learnt and practiced carefully before giving a presentation.
Another author examining the nature of speaking is Bygate, M. ( 1987), who shows
that in order to be able to speak a foreign language, it is obviously necessary to have microlinguistic 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, M. 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.
1.3.2. The characteristics of speaking
According to Bygate, M. (1985), in almost speaking, the person to whom we are speaking is
in front of us and able to put us right if we make mistakes. He or she can generally show
agreement and understanding or incomprehension and disagreement as well. Unlike readers
or writers, speakers may need patience and imagination, too. While talking, speakers need to
take notice of the other and allow listeners chance to speak . It means that we often take turns
to speak.
To be more specific, Bygate (1987) assumes that conversation can be analyzed in terms
of routines, which are conventional ways of presenting information.
In Bygate’s opinion, there are two kinds of routines. They are information routines and
interaction ones.
Information routines may be described to involve two sub- routines: expository and
evaluation. The former includes description, narration, comparison and instruction. The latter
consists of explanation, prediction, justification, preference and decision.
Interaction routines are routines based not so much on sequences of kinds of terms
occurring in typical kinds of interactions. These routines, thus, can be characterized in broad

terms including the kinds of turns typically occurring in given situations and the order in
which the components are likely to occur. So, telephone conversation, interview
conversations casual encounters, conversations at parties, lessons, radio or television
interviews, all tend to be organized in characteristic ways.
To sum up, in learning speaking skills, the learners can be much more confident with clear
understanding and governing these skills. Moreover, the oral skill depends much on
knowledge of language they can learn such as grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary.
In addition, learners rely on common conventional expression of communicating specific
meanings, particularly on the language environment. It is clear that practice in classroom
might not be similar to oral communication outside classroom. In a foreign language
classroom, practice is rather simple and far from real life.
And it is undeniable that speaking is a key to communication. By considering what good
speakers do, what speaking tasks can be used in class, and what specific needs learners
report, teachers can help learners improve their speaking and overall oral competency.
1.3.3. The role of speaking in language teaching and learning
Speaking in a second or foreign language has often viewed as the play most demanding of
the four skills. On the other hand, speaking plays an utmost important role among the four
language skills since it helps identify who knows or does not know a language.
According to Pattison (1992), when people mention knowing or learning a language,
they mean being able to speak the language.
It can not be denied that in our daily lives most of us speak more than we write. Speaking
when compared with writing according to Wilkin (1979; cited in Nabiar 1985), is the
essential form of language and writing is ranked second after it and derived from it.
When talking about the role of speaking, Bygate (1987: 7) claims that: “It is the vehicle of
social solidarity, of social ranking, of professional advancement and of business”.
In language teaching and learning, speaking is a medium through which much
language is learnt, and which is particularly useful for learning.The ability to communicate
in a second language clearly and efficiently contributes to the success of the learners in
school and success later in every phase of life. (Kayi, 2006).
More than this, speaking is regarded as the first step to confirm who knows or does not

know a language. Ur, P( 1996) shows that people who know a language are referred to as “
speakers” of that language as if speaking included all other kinds of knowing.
Too many language learners “mastering the art of speaking is the single most important
aspect of learning a second language or foreign language, and success is measured in term of
ability to carry out a conversation in the language”. (Nunan,1991: 39).
It can be inferred from Nunan’s viewpoint that speaking is a very important skill among the
four basic ones. Therefore, having dealt with the importance of oral skills in language
teaching and learning it is essential that language teachers should pay more attention to
teaching speaking skills. In order to carry out many of the most basic transactions, it is
necessary for learners to speak with confidence.


1.3.4. Approaches to the teaching of speaking
According to Byrne (1991:23- 24), there are three phases to develop learners’ oral ability:
•

Phase 1: The presentation phase

In this phase, teachers play a centre role in learning and teaching process. They work as an
information provider as they know English, select teaching materials and the ways to present
the materials. And in this first phase, students usually observe and listen to the teacher, i.e.
they passively receive information. As we know, oral materials are written mainly in two
forms, which are dialogues and prose. Thus, it is obviously that these two different forms
need presenting in different ways.
Byrne, D. (1991) summaries ten different steps to present a dialogue as follows:
1. Establish setting by using pictures. At this step, English is used as much as
possible.
2. Draw out learners’ experience related to situation.
3. Explain some key words.
4. Set the listening task by asking key information of the dialogue

5. Ask learners to listen without looking at the dialogue.
6. Allow learners to have a look at their book when necessary.
7. Ask learners to listen and repeat.
8. Ask learners to pick up difficulties and explain them.
9. Ask them to practice ( role- play)
10. Ask them to dramatize the dialogue.
From the steps above, we can see that they are perfectly and logically arranged. However,
not all of them need to use for presenting a dialogue, it depends on the learners’ English
competence.
To present a prose, Byrne (1991:26) suggests that teachers should use the following nine
steps:
1. Introduce the topic by asking learners to look at the pictures or asking them about
related things.
2. Introduce the text. New words and structures are given.
3. Provide relevant practice.
4. Set the reading task: make questions.
5. Ask the learners to read the passage in silence and find the answers.
6. Ask learners to read again aloud and ask for the answer.
7. Explain difficulties they still have.
8. Do silent reading again because learners need to go on with step nine.


9. Get the learners to talk about what they have to learn based on the previous
answers.
To increase the learners’ motivation, these steps should also be used suitably.
•

Phase 2: The practice phase

This phase is the time for learners to do most of talking as they are provided maximum

amount of practice in the form of controlled and guided activities to improve vocabulary and
grammar knowledge as well as fluency of speaking. The learners, at this phase, answer the
teacher’s guided questions, discuss with their partners to find new ideas related to the topic.
•

Phase 3: The production phase

This is the phase in which learners are given chances to speak English freely. Being in a real
situation, learners use English by themselves, not depend on the teacher. They can develop
their own ideas and their friends’ ideas. A real chance to speak English takes place when the
learners can use English naturally for themselves, not for their teacher. Pair work and group
work are of great importance and effectiveness at this phase as all learners have chance to
participate in talks: Moreover, this can save a great deal of time and learners seem to be
more confident.
In short, to improve speaking ability for learners in the process of teaching speaking,
teachers should follow these phases orderly. However, the practical application much
depends on such factors as the time available, the target learners’ level and the material used,
etc…
1.3.5. Problems with speaking activities
Whether or not the success performance of speaking activity depends on a number of factors.
There are a lot of factors affecting the degree of success of speaking activities. Some factors
which have negative effects on the speaking activities and therefore impede the success are
usually referred to as problems facing teachers and learners in their attempt to promoting
speaking skills.
We strongly agree with Ur, P. (1996: 82) when she points out four characteristics of a
successful speaking activity: learners talk a lot, even participation among the students,
student strong motivation to speak and comprehensibility of the students’ language. She also
points out the following common problems that tend to occur in a speaking class:
•

The students are inhibited about trying to say things in the classroom.

•

Students can not think of anything to say.

•

Some students dominate while others speak very little or not at all.

•

Students tend to use their mother tongue instead of the foreign language.


From Ur’s viewpoint above, for a successful speaking lesson, the teachers and learners
should be aware of these problems in order to have appropriate and effective solutions to
help learners develop speaking skills.
1.4. Summary
The chapter so far discussed issues and aspects concerning to the topic of the study. It has
discussed the concepts and ideas relating to CLT. Such issues include definitions of CLT,
characteristics of CLT as well as teacher’s and student’s roles in CLT. Given the purpose of
the study, it was mainly focused on the discussion of language skills and speaking skills. It
includes the definitions, the characteristics of speaking, and the role of speaking in language
teaching and learning.
Besides, the problems with speaking activities, and approaches to teaching speaking have
been presented as well.
The following chapters will present the investigation, the findings and suggested solutions to
the problems under the light of the above mentioned theories.

Chapter two: the study


This chapter discusses the context that determines the study of the difficulties experienced
by the teachers in teaching English speaking skills to the minority students at SEBH.
The researcher starts by describing the situation where the study was conducted and the
informants involved in the study. It includes an overview of Son La Ethnic Boarding High
School, the teachers of English, the students, the textbooks, the current teaching and learning
situation. The subjects and the method of data collection are also discussed in detail. At the
end of the chapter there will be the analysis of the data collected from the survey
questionnaires and it is expressed as a percentage in the form of tables.
2.1. Research setting
2.1.1. An overview of the research site
Son La is a mountainous province in the North- West of Vietnam. Over 80% people here
belong to ethnic groups. There have been many difficulties in life as well as in educational
development, especially in the development of teaching a foreign language like English.
Son La Ethnic Boarding High School which is situated in the centre of Son La town, Son La
province, was established in 1996. It has for many years been the reliable address for
minority students of all the districts in Son La province. At present, there are 12 classes with
over 400 students placed into three different grades: grade 10 th, 11th and 12th. The24teaching
staff composes of 30 teachers of 14 compulsory subjects, of who one- third is young and
creative whereas the others are experienced and enthusiastic. English is taught here as a
compulsory subject.
2.1.2. Description of the teachers of English in Son La Ethnic Boarding High School
If students are the most important factor in the learning process, teachers are the most
important factor in the teaching process. In SEBH there are 4 teachers of English currently
working. All of them are female ranking from 31 to 48. Their experience in teaching English
varies from 5 to 12 years. All of them were trained from in- service Training courses at
Hanoi Foreign Language Teacher’s Training College. Of the four teachers, two teachers used
to be teachers of Russian but now Russian is no longer taught here. So, having attended an

English- Training course for more than two years, they became teachers of English.
Obviously, the age of the English teachers reveals the fact that all of them were trained in the
traditional method- the Grammar- Translation One. Few of them have taken retraining
courses to improve their English and their teaching method.


2.1.3. The students at Son La Ethnic Boarding High School
The school has 12 classes with over 400 students ranged from grade 10 to grade 12; most of
them are aged from 15 to 20. Most of them have been learning English since they were at 6 th
form.
The students at SEBH come from every part of the province and belong to different ethnic
groups of Thai, Muong, Mong, Dao, K. Mu, Khang, S. Mun, La ha, Lao. They are brought
up by scholarships from national and provincial budgest. The Ethnic students are often lack
of proper teaching and learning materials when they were at primary and secondary schools.
Teachers of the schools have to work harder than their colleagues at other upper secondary
school in the province to help their students study effectively. Because their students are
struggling to cach up with general knowledge of most subjects and they have to learn about
the ethnic language in order to help students understand the lessons.
English here is considered as one of the compulsory subjects. The students study English in
order to pass the examinations. In the reality, teaching of English in general, and teaching
speaking English in particular have encountered a great deal of difficulties. The students are
good at grammar but not speaking. They can do grammar exercises very quickly and well
but they can not speak it fluently and most of them do not feel confident in communicating
in English.
2.1.4. The current situation of English teaching and learning at Son La Ethnic
Boarding High School
2.1.4.1. The materials of teaching and learning
At Son La Ethnic Boarding High School, English is one of the compulsory subjects in the
curriculum and students have to pass at the national examination by the end of grade 12 to be
qualified for the secondary school diploma.

The text books currently used to teach English to the students are: “ Tieng Anh 10”, “ Tieng
Anh 11”, “ Tieng Anh 12” published by Ministry of Education and Training (MOET).
Students who have finished senior high school are supposed to widen and enrich their
knowledge with the basic, modern and systematic English language. Moreover, the students
are supposed to acquire the general knowledge of the people and cultures of several Englishspeaking countries. The textbooks cover four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing.
And at the end of each semester, students are assessed based on a test of reading, writing,
speaking and listening skills.