APPLYING VIDEO PRODUCTION IN TEACHING SPEAKING SKILL OF UNIT10 ENDANGERED SPECIES ENGLISH 1

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HOANG HOA 4 HIGH SCHOOL

EXPERIENTIAL INITIATIVE

APPLYING VIDEO PRODUCTION IN TEACHING SPEAKING
SKILL OF UNIT10: ENDANGERED SPECIES
ENGLISH 12

Author: Nguyen Thi Phuong
Position: Teacher
Subject: English


THANH HOA, YEAR OF 2018

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ORDER
A
I
II
III
IV
B
I
II
III
1
2
3

4
C
I
II

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
RATIONALE
AIMS OF THE STUDY
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
METHODS OF THE STUDY
CONTENTS OF THE STUDY
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
PRACTICAL BACKGROUND
IMPLEMENTATION AND SOLUTIONS
TECHNIQUES IN TEACHING SPEAKING SKILLS
WHAT IS VIDEO PRODUCTION?
APPLYING VIDEO PRODUCTION IN TEACHING
SPEAKING SKILL OF UNIT 10: INDANGERED
SPECIES – ENGLISH 12
RESULTS AFTER APPLYING THE STUDY IN
TEACHING
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
CONCLUSION
SUGGESTIONS
REFERENCES
APPENDIX
EXPERIENTIAL INITIATIVE LIST

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3
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3
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10

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A. INTRODUCTION
I. RATIONALE
Nowadays it is not daring to say that the ability to speak at least one foreign
language is a necessity. “Language is arguably the defining characteristic of the
human species and knowledge of language in general, as well as ability to use

one’s first and, at least one other language, should be one of the defining
characteristics of the educated individual” (Nunan, 1999). The world has
become smaller. It is said it has turned into the size of the so-called “global
village”. We are living in the time of immense technological inventions where
communication among people has expanded way beyond their local speech
communities (Ellis, 1997). Today receiving education, language education not
excepting, is not an issue connected exclusively with schools; the time requires
everyone to learn throughout their lifetimes. Therefore learning a second
language has become a means of keeping up with the pace of the rapidly
changing world.
Nowadays a foreign/second language forms a permanent part of all types of
curriculum, from primary schools to universities, not mentioning an
employment where a person, in most cases, can hardly survive without this
ability. The demands of the contemporary society together with the position of
English as an international language (McKay) may present a reason for learning
this language in particular.
Objectively, the increasing demand for learning a foreign language, especially
English in Vietnam is an evident tendency in the global integration along with
Vietnam’s policy of innovation and industrialization and modernization cause.
Most of the learners of English agree that the ability to express themselves
freely in communication is of great importance for their future career, especially
in modern societies where contacting with foreigners often occurs. However,
there still exist many difficulties in learning and teaching English in Vietnam in
general and at Hoang Hoa 4 high school in particular. Many Vietnamese learners
can write and read English quite well but they cannot speak it correctly and
fluently in real-life communication. Surely, there are many reasons for this
reality. After teaching English in Hoang Hoa 4 high school for 13 years, I have
recognized some big obstacles which prevent English teachers and learners in
Vietnam from achieving their aims. These obstacles are: large and

3


heterogeneous classes, students’ low level of English language proficiency,
students’ low motivation and some others. Unfortunately, this is not only the
situation in my school but also the case for many other schools in Thanh Hoa as
well as schools in Vietnam. This has given me the desire to conduct
“APPLYING VIDEO PRODUCTION IN TEACHING SPEAKING SKILL
OF UNIT10: ENDANGERED SPECIES - ENGLISH 12”.
II. AIMS OF THE STUDY
The study is carried out to:
- improve 12th- form students’ awareness of speaking English.
- suggest some ways to stimulate students and help them find it useful when
speaking English.
- to investigate how effective the methods of teaching speaking are, and how
successful the students are in speaking English, and also to find out the role of
the teachers in teaching speaking.
-The participants in the sample group of this study were intermediate level
undergraduate preparatory program students at the school of Hoang Hoa 4 at
Hoang Hoa district, Thanh Hoa province.
III. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The subjects chosen for this study are 155 students in 12 th- form at Hoang
Hoa 4 high school. My school is in the countryside, almost families are farmers.
Therefore, students’ speaking English mainly depends on teachers and
textbooks. I myself take responsibility for the job and create several simply
ways to increase students’ awareness of speaking English.
IV. METHODS OF THE STUDY
To achieve the objectives of the study, several methods are used, but I use
mainly quantitative and qualitative methods.
The data serving the research analysis and discussions are collected by means

of a survey questionnaire for students and observation.

4


B. CONTENTS OF THE STUDY
I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
English as a language has great reach and influence; it is taught all over the
world. English may not be the most spoken language in the world, but it is the
official language in a large number of countries. It is estimated that the number
of people in the world that use in English to communicate on a regular basis is 2
billion. Learning English can also help students to meet new people. They can
practice their English with someone who is also learning.
English is the language of science, of aviation, computers, diplomacy, and
tourism. Speaking English increases students’ chances of getting a good job in a
multinational company within their home country or of finding work abroad.
II. PRACTICAL BACKGROUND
The study was conducted at Hoang Hoa 4 high school, a rural school of
Thanh Hoa province.
The school has 32 classes, each class consists of from 37 to 46 students.
Most of the students come from the villages in the district where English
learning and teaching does not get much attention. The only sources from which
students can get knowledge are the textbooks and their teachers. With three
periods per week, this is unable for teachers to meet students’ demand. At home,
they are short of dictionaries, reference books, cassette tapes, speakers.
Additionally, their parents do not know anything about English. As a result, they
find it difficult to speak English and they become lazy.
The total number of English teachers at Hoang Hoa 4 high school is 7, all of
whom are female aged from 32 to 42. They were trained from training courses in
English language teaching at different universities in Vietnam. All of them are

young teachers who are friendly, active, knowledgeable and full of inspiration for
teaching.
The main English textbooks used in teaching English at this school are
English textbooks 10, 11, 12, Education Publishing House ( Basic stream). From
my personal observation as a classroom teacher and a head teacher, students
seem to be bored with doing the same activities. They do not have motivation to
speak English.
The data analysis conducted by means of frequency, mean and percentage
revealed that the students are unsuccessful in speaking English although they are
highly eager for having this skill. High anxiety level is an important factor in
this failure. The findings of oral interview demonstrated that the students only
feel themselves not irritated while working with classmates or playing games.
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The techniques and the methods used in teaching speaking in English assist
learning this skill positively but it is confirmed that this is not enough.
The attitudes, manners and behaviour of the language teachers who teach
speaking English to the language learners are appreciated by the students;
however, this does not change the reality that they are unsuccessful in speaking
English.
- I have been teaching English for 15 years and during this time period I have
observed that many of the students have difficulty in speaking English although
they are always grammatically successful. Therefore the question came to my
mind. Why? Why are the students successful in grammar but not in speaking?
Then I wanted to have my experiential initiative on this topic:
“APPLYING VIDEO PRODUCTION IN TEACHING SPEAKING SKILL
OF UNIT10: ENDANGERED SPECIES - ENGLISH 12”
III. IMPLEMENTATION AND SOLUTIONS
1. Techniques in teaching speaking skills

1.1 Why Teach Speaking Skills?
In today's teaching climate, it's easy to forget the importance of oral language,
or speaking and listening skills. With all the focus on reading and writing,
sometimes teachers neglect this more basic aspect of language! Yet students
need to learn speaking skills and have opportunities to practice making their
voices heard in a safe and constructive environment. Speaking skills are
important because:
• Skilled speakers can effectively present their own points of view.
• Skilled speakers are often better readers and writers.
• Skilled speakers are more confident participants in a variety of contexts both in and out of school.
• Skilled speakers are able to advocate for themselves and get their
academic and emotional needs met.
1.2 Which Skills Matter?
One of the reasons teachers might feel hesitant about teaching speaking skills is
that it can feel overwhelming. Oral language is complex, and in order to teach it
properly, we need to reconstruct it into separate skills. The following skills are
important to consider when working on speech with students:
Mechanical Skills
Students need to learn how to project, or speak at the right volume for their
audience to hear them. They need to learn how to use intonation to express

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mood and how to pronounce words properly. They must also learn how to pace
their spoken language so that they are neither too fast nor too slow to be
understood.
Organizational Skills
Just as students must learn to organize their writing, they must learn how
to organize, or structure in a meaningful way, their oral language. This means

talking in logical sequence, stating thoughts in an order that makes sense, and
making sure the spoken word is relevant to the topic of conversation.
Expressive Skills
One of the most important aspects of speaking is expression, or the ability to
effectively communicate ideas and feelings. Students must learn how to say
what is on their mind or make oral arguments that get their points across.
Pragmatic Skills
Finally, students who are learning speaking skills must gain experience
with pragmatics, or the aspect of language that has to do with social norms and
the rules of conversations. Students need practice taking turns in conversation,
making eye contact while speaking, and responding appropriately during
dialogues.
1. 3 Activities to promote Speaking
Discussions
After a content-based lesson, a discussion can be held for various reasons. The
students may aim to arrive at a conclusion, share ideas about an event, or find
solutions in their discussion groups. Before the discussion, it is essential that the
purpose of the discussion activity is set by the teacher. In this way, the
discussion points are relevant to this purpose, so that students do not spend their
time chatting with each other about irrelevant things. For example, students can
become involved in agree/disagree discussions. In this type of discussions, the
teacher can form groups of students, preferably 4 or 5 in each group, and
provide controversial sentences like “people learn best when they read vs.
people learn best when they travel”. Then each group works on their topic for a
given time period, and presents their opinions to the class. It is essential that the
speaking should be equally divided among group members. At the end, the class
decides on the winning group who defended the idea in the best way. This
activity fosters critical thinking and quick decision making, and students learn
how to express and justify themselves in polite ways while disagreeing with the
others. For efficient group discussions, it is always better not to form large

groups, because quiet students may avoid contributing in large groups. The
group members can be either assigned by the teacher or the students may
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determine it by themselves, but groups should be rearranged in every discussion
activity so that students can work with various people and learn to be open to
different ideas. Lastly, in class or group discussions, whatever the aim is, the
students should always be encouraged to ask questions, paraphrase ideas,
express
support,
check
for
clarification,
and
so
on.
Role Play
One other way of getting students to speak is role-playing. Students pretend they
are in various social contexts and have a variety of social roles. In role-play
activities, the teacher gives information to the learners such as who they are and
what they think or feel. Thus, the teacher can tell the student that "You are
David, you go to the doctor and tell him what happened last night, and…"
(Harmer,1984)
Simulations
Simulations are very similar to role-plays but what makes simulations different
than role plays is that they are more elaborate. In simulations, students can bring
items to the class to create a realistic environment. For instance, if a student is
acting as a singer, she brings a microphone to sing and so on. Role plays and
simulations have many advantages. First, since they are entertaining, they

motivate the students. Second, as Harmer (1984) suggests, they increase the selfconfidence of hesitant students, because in role play and simulation activities,
they will have a different role and do not have to speak for themselves, which
means they do not have to take the same responsibility.
Information Gap
In this activity, students are supposed to be working in pairs. One student will
have the information that other partner does not have and the partners will share
their information. Information gap activities serve many purposes such as
solving a problem or collecting information. Also, each partner plays an
important role because the task cannot be completed if the partners do not
provide the information the others need. These activities are effective because
everybody has the opportunity to talk extensively in the target language.
Brainstorming
On a given topic, students can produce ideas in a limited time. Depending on the
context, either individual or group brainstorming is effective and learners
generate ideas quickly and freely. The good characteristics of brainstorming is
that the students are not criticized for their ideas so students will be open to
sharing new ideas.
Interviews

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Students can conduct interviews on selected topics with various people. It is a
good idea that the teacher provides a rubric to students so that they know what
type of questions they can ask or what path to follow, but students should
prepare their own interview questions. Conducting interviews with people gives
students a chance to practice their speaking ability not only in class but also
outside and helps them becoming socialized. After interviews, each student can
present his or her study to the class. Moreover, students can interview each other
and

"introduce"
his
or
her
partner
to
the
class.
Story Completion
This is a very enjoyable, whole-class, free-speaking activity for which students
sit in a circle. For this activity, a teacher starts to tell a story, but after a few
sentences he or she stops narrating. Then, each student starts to narrate from the
point where the previous one stopped. Each student is supposed to add from four
to ten sentences. Students can add new characters, events, descriptions and so
on.
Reporting
Before coming to class, students are asked to read a newspaper or magazine and,
in class, they report to their friends what they find as the most interesting news.
Students can also talk about whether they have experienced anything worth
telling
their
friends
in
their
daily
lives
before
class.
Playing Cards
In this game, students should form groups of four. Each suit will represent a

topic. For instance:
• Diamonds: Earning money
• Hearts: Love and relationships
• Spades: An unforgettable memory
• Clubs: Best teacher
Each student in a group will choose a card. Then, each student will write 4-5
questions about that topic to ask the other people in the group. For example:
If the topic "Diamonds: Earning Money" is selected, here are some possible
questions:
• Is money important in your life? Why?
• What is the easiest way of earning money?
• What do you think about lottery? Etc.
However, the teacher should state at the very beginning of the activity that
students are not allowed to prepare yes-no questions, because by saying yes or
no students get little practice in spoken language production. Rather, students

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ask open-ended questions to each other so that they reply in complete sentences.
Picture Narrating
This activity is based on several sequential pictures. Students are asked to tell
the story taking place in the sequential pictures by paying attention to the criteria
provided by the teacher as a rubric. Rubrics can include the vocabulary or
structures
they
need
to
use
while

narrating.
Picture Describing
Another way to make use of pictures in a speaking activity is to give students
just one picture and having them describe what it is in the picture. For this
activity students can form groups and each group is given a different picture.
Students discuss the picture with their groups, then a spokesperson for each
group describes the picture to the whole class. This activity fosters the creativity
and imagination of the learners as well as their public speaking skills.
Find the Difference
For this activity students can work in pairs and each couple is given two
different pictures, for example, picture of boys playing football and another
picture of girls playing tennis. Students in pairs discuss the similarities and/or
differences in the pictures.
The interactive and downloadable material asks teachers or students to think
through the decisions that go towards making a speaking activity successful –
groupings, instructions, language input etc. No ‘right’ answers are given but
rather teachers are encouraged to think ‘it depends’ - the ‘right’ way to set up an
activity depends on the nature of the activity.
2. What is video production?
Video production is the process of producing video content. It is the equivalent
of filmmaking, but with images recorded digitally instead of on film stock.
There are three stages of video production: pre-production, production, and postproduction. Pre-production involves all of the planning aspects of the video
production process before filming begins. This includes scriptwriting,
scheduling, logistics, and other administrative duties. Production is the phase of
video
production
which
captures
the
video

content
(moving images / videography) and involves filming the subject(s) of the video.
Post-production is the action of selectively combining those video clips
through video editing into a finished product that tells a story or communicates a
message in either a live event setting (live production), or after an event has
occurred (post-production).
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Video production can be used at sporting, school, stage, wedding, church, and
similar events to provide recordings of the events (Video production at Curlie).
Benefits of video production in teaching at school
•

Videos are easier to be accepted by students

•

Immerse students in the prodcution

•

Stimulate activities

•

Video brings more information

•

Engage learners

•

Integrate the outside world into classroom

•

More than words can tell

•

Videos are more flexible

•

Easier to understand

•

Video creates an experience

3. Applying video production in teaching speaking skill of unit 10:
Endangered species – English 12
“Applying video production in teaching speaking skill of unit 10: Endangered
species – English 12” is a new technique that I create to stimulate students in
speaking lesson. So as to teach speaking skill of unit10: Endangered Species, I
require students to do all the tasks at home. To help them do well, I explain
some words such as decline, illegal trading …..and guide students to work.
• In task 1, students work in pairs and practise asking and answering questions

in textbooks.
• In task 2, students do pair work as model in the textbook using information
in the boxes.
• In task 3, students work in groups and give an oral report on the animals
mentioned in Task 2. Group1 talks about pandas, group 2 talks about rhinoceros,
group 3 talks about tigers and group4 talks about elephants. After that, students

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choose one of the best speakers in the groups and conduct video production with
images or live videos recording their speaking by using camera of the mobile
phones. Students have to make sure the videos concluding 5 criteria:
∙ Fluency
∙ Content
∙ Illustration
∙ Sound
∙ Brightness
When students have fulfilled their videos in one week, they send to my mail. If
they are not good enough, the groups have to redo their videos and hand in
before the deadline.
In the speaking lesson of each class, the videos of four groups are shown on the
projector.
Whereas the video of each group is shown, I ask students in other groups to give
comments and the speakers of groups also assess themselves (self assessment)
basing on provided criteria( See appendix 1). At the end of the lesson, I give my
assessment and marks to the groups( See appendix 2).
In teaching speaking lesson ( Unit 10: Endangered species – English 12) of 4
classes, I find students very excited, close-knit and confident. They have
chances to become English reporters about endangered species through videos

(see CD). Besides,students can find out how correct their pronunciations are and
experience for them. Here are my students’presentations.

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13


14


GROUP 3

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IV. RESULTS AFTER APPLYING THE NEW TECHNICQUE IN
TEACHING.
In the school year 2016-2017, students’ attention in speaking lesson was
shown as follows:
Clas
s
12A1
12A2

Number

of student
43
40

Very attentive
%
02=4.5%
0

Attentive
%
6=14%
6=14%

Not attentive
%
35=81.5%
36=86%

After applying the new technique in the school year 2017-2018, the result is
clearly shown much better:
Class
12A4
12A9
12A5
12A8

Number
of students
40

39
37
39

Very attentive
%
10=25%
8=20%
7=19%
5=13%

Attentive
%
28=70%
27=69.5%
25=67%
27=69%

Not attentive
%
2=5%
4=10.5%
5=14%
7=18%

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C. CONCLUSION AND SUGGUESTIONS
I. CONCLUSION

Teaching speaking is a very important part of second language 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.
Therefore, it is essential that language teachers pay great attention to teaching
speaking. Rather than leading students to pure memorization, providing a rich
environment where meaningful communication takes place is desired. With this
aim, various speaking activities such as those listed above can contribute a great
deal to students in developing basic interactive skills necessary for life. These
activities make students more active in the learning process and at the same time
make their learning more meaningful and fun for them.
I have found some specific characteristics to create experiential steps singled
out from factual teaching at Hoang Hoa 4 high school in the past school
year.The study has provided students with basic and understandable knowledge
to help them improve English speaking skill. This study will be applied in next
years. I will try my best to explore effective techniques to make students take
more care of speaking English contributing to increase the quality of the subject
as well as the quality of education industry.
II. SUGGESTIONS

Firstly, to bring students effective school time, I suggest that modern
educational equipment should be installed in the classes for the ease of applying
technology in teaching. Secondly, English speaking club among classes should
be held monthly.
I hope my experiential initiative will be received great comments so that I can
promote good points and limit shortcomings next time. I also would like to
thank all the colleagues for their support and encouragement to my study.
THE CONFIRMATION OF
THE LEADER.

Thanh Hoa, May 25th, 2018
I assure this experiential initiative is written
by myself, I do not copy the others’ content.

NGUYỄN THỊ PHƯỢNG
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REFERENCES
• Nunan, 1999. Practical English Language Teaching. NY:McGraw-Hill.
•Ellis(1997). Language & Development – Teachers in a Changing World. New
York: Longman
• Mc Kay, S. L. (2002). Teaching English as an International Language. Oxford :
Oxford University Press.
• Harmer, J. 1984. The Practice of English Language Teaching. London:
Longman.
• Best Explainer Video Production Companies at Squareship
• Jump up^ Zettl, Herbert. Video Basics 6. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing,
2009.
• Video production at Curlie (based on DMOZ)
• Benefits of video production in teaching at school (By Liza Brown
May 22,2018 18:49 pm)

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APPENDIX
Speaking skills rubric
1.
Excellent to very good

100 – 90
Very good
89 - 80
Good
79 -70
Fair
69 - 60
Unsatisfactory
59 or fewer

Excellent to very good fluency. Enough and exact
content. Various or live illustration. Clear sound
and brightness.
Very good fluency. Enough content. Various
illustration. Clear sound and brightness.
Good fluency. Enough content. Various
illustration. Clear sound and brightness.
Fair fluency. Enough content. Little illustration.
Enough sound and brightness.
Failure to speak and to make him / herself
understood the content

2.
Criteria

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Fluency

good

fairly good

not very good

good

Content

enough

enough, exact

enough

enough

Illustration

not much

lively, factful

various

partly

Sound

clear

clear

not clear

good

Brightness

good

good

good

enough

Mark

8

9

7

8

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DANH MỤC
SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM ĐÃ ĐƯỢC HỘI ĐỒNG SÁNG KIẾN KINH
NGHIỆM NGÀNH GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO HUYỆN, TỈNH VÀ CÁC
CẤP CAO HƠN XẾP LOẠI TỪ C TRỞ LÊN
Họ và tên tác giả: Nguyễn Thị Phượng
Chức vụ và đơn vị công tác: Giáo viên trường THPT Hoằng Hóa 4

TT

1.

Tên đề tài SKKN

Năm học
đánh giá
xếp loại

SGD&ĐT

Loại C

2008-2009

SGD&ĐT

Loại C

2011-2012

SGD&ĐT

Loại C

2013-2014

lớp 10 THPT.
Nâng cao ý thức học tiếng
Anh qua các bài kiểm tra

3.

Kết quả
đánh giá
xếp loại
(A, B,
hoặc C)

Một vài hình thức tổ chức
dạy kỹ năng nói cho học sinh

2.

Cấp đánh giá
xếp loại

(Ngành GD cấp
huyện/tỉnh;
Tỉnh...)

trong trường THPT
Vai trò của giáo viên chủ
nhiệm trong việc giáo dục
đạo đức, nhân cách, lối sống
cho học sinh THPT hiện nay

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