An application of project based learning to develop the grade 10, 11 students’ speaking skills

A. INTRODUCTION
I. Reasons for choosing the topic
English has become more and more important nowadays. Owing to this
point, teaching English faces the challenge of finding out the effective methods to
satisfy study and communication.
One of the most updated types of approaches is Project - Based which seems
to satisfy at least three requirements of teaching language. It promotes the eventual
uses of the target language by emphasizing the real-world projects. And the project
derived from the analysis of the learners’ needs increases learners’ interest and
motivation, (Brophy, 2004, as cited in Tsiplakides, 2009). Moreover, its result
comes from the learners’ experience during their performance of the projects.
II. Research purpose and objectives
This study is carried out to meet the following aims:
1. To experiment the applicability of project- based learning in developing
grade 10,11 students’ speaking skills.
2. To measure the impact of project- based learning on grade 10, 11
students’ speaking skills.
III. Research questions
1. To what extent does project- based learning help grade 10, 11 students to
develop their speaking skill?
2. How applicable is project- based learning in the high school context?
3. What adaptations are needed to make project- based learning more
practical in the high school context?
IV. Research Methodology
This section presents the research design as well as research method, data
collection and data analysis. The research context with an overview of Kim Lien
high school, the syllabus, the current teaching and learning situation are
mentioned. The research approach and method of data analysis are presented later
on to provide how to deal with the research questions and reach the solutions.
1. An overview of the research site
Now I am a teacher of English in a local high school where the average level

of English of students lies in the low standard and the facilities of both teaching
and learning are under a lot of difficulties. That is an obstacle for the teachers to
adapt this approach to teaching. The students do not have enough necessary


knowledge to perform their projects as well as the other facilities such as time, the
conditions of learning and the cost of living.
2. Research design
Questionnaires were administered to collect the data about the students’
preferred techniques and methods and teachers’ opinions of the situation. These
data were used as the basis for proposing effective techniques and activities for
teaching speaking to the students at the school.
3. Research method
To carry out the study, quantitative and qualitative methods were mainly
used. The data collected for the study come from two sources: the grade10,11
students and the teachers of English from Kim Lien high school.
The quantitative method with survey questionnaires, two for students (preand post-questionnaire) and one for the teachers, were used to gather information
and evidence for the study. In addition, to make the data collected more reliable
and authentic, the qualitative method was applied with class observation. All the
comments, remarks, recommendations and conclusion provided in the study were
based on the data analysis of the study.
4. Participants
The participants in the survey questionnaires were 120 students of 3 classes
which were selected randomly from the classes of grade 10 ,11from Kim Lien high
school and 5 teachers were selected to get the objective data.These teachers have
had many years of teaching. All the participants took part in the survey by
responding to the three kinds of questionnaires, two for the students and one for the
teachers.
5. Data collection instruments
Questionnaires and class observation as the main tools for collecting

information are used.
5.1. Survey questionnaires
The instruments used in this study consist of three questionnaires: two
questionnaires for students and one for teachers. The questionnaires were designed
in both closed and open-ended questions. The questionnaires for the students were
checked to make sure that they could understand all questionnaire items.
5.1.1. Questionnaires for students
5.1.1.1. Pre-task questionnaire
This pre - task questionnaire was designed with three parts with 9 questions
Part 1 was about the students’ personal information
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Part 2 was designed to elicit the students’ opinions of their motivation and
attitude in learning speaking English
Part 3 collected some information relating to factors affecting their working
time in English speaking class
5.1.1.2. Post-task questionnaire
The post-task questionnaire consists of 9 questions which are divided into 3
parts:
Part 1 was about the students’ personal information
Part 2 was about the students’ motivation changes after applying new
project- based learning in speaking English.
Part 3 was aimed at collecting information about teachers’ applying
activities in teaching speaking English and the changes in students’ learning.
5.1.2. Questionnaires for teachers
The survey to the teachers with nine questions was designed with two parts:
Part 1 was the demographic information which contains the teacher’s
gender, age, and the number of years they have been teaching English
Part 2 was about what problems teachers are often faced with in teaching

speaking English, what they had done to increase the students’ motivation in
English speaking classroom, their beliefs in using project - based learning in
teaching English speaking
5.2. Class observation
The researcher carried out the classroom by visiting 3 classes and recording
all activities taking place in each class: the teacher’s questions and explanations,
the students’ presentation, the presentation of the teachers in the class. The
observation checklists for communicative groups were made and after the class,
the elements in the checklist were given assessment. The checklist includes six
criteria:
- Teacher’s preparation
- Teacher’s presentation
- Teacher’s method
- Teacher’s personal characteristic
- Student’s presentation
- Teacher’s feedback
The assessment is divided into 2 scales: applicable and not applicable (not
using PBL).
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6. Data collection procedures
First, the questionnaire for teachers was conducted to gather the information
about teachers’ attitudes towards students’ motivation in speaking English;
difficulties that the teachers have to face in teaching speaking; and techniques
used by the teachers in the English speaking classroom.
And then the pre-task questionnaire was delivered to the students in the
classes where only a few teaching techniques are taken to measure the students’
input motivation. After collecting information from the students’ pre-task
questionnaire and the teachers’ questionnaire, the teachers would be suggested to

teach the students for a certain period of time with applying chosen project- based
approach, and then post-task questionnaire was given to students’ to gather
information about the students’ motivation changes, students’ attitudes towards the
activities and PBL applied by both the students and the teachers.
7. Summary
This section has presented the research site whose notable contextual feature
is that learning English is compulsory and students tend to put their focus on
grammar and vocabulary. Besides the subjects of the study and the data collection,
methods have also been discussed.

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B. CONTENTS
I/. SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS
In this assignment, I have reviewed the definition of project and projectbased learning. I also have had a close look at the characteristics of project-based
learning. Besides, the advantages and disadvantages of project-based learning are
also analyzed. The project-based learning is relevant to my English teaching since
it helps prepare students for the way how to solve the problems they will do in the
future, “students learn by doing, not just by listening to the teacher.”(Kolb, 2009
cited in Tsiplakides, 2002).That is also the basis and the purpose of learning
English
1. Promoting the students internal factors
The main reason for the majority of the students to learn English speaking
was that they could pass the final exam. Studying speaking English for the future
job was what many students were concerned. Some other students expressed their
wishes to study abroad, but this number was not too high. A necessity for
communicating with English speaking people was not regarded as their main
reason. However, the lowest percentage of them stated that they learnt speaking
English for their interest or enjoyment. Therefore, it was undeniable that the major

kind of motivation for the students to learn English speaking is instrumental not
integrative. Thus, they are more extrinsically than intrinsically motivated.
Nonetheless, many of the students have the combination of the two types,
instrumental and integrative. In general, students who possessed extrinsic
motivation often felt unwilling and forced to learn English while students with
instrumental and integrative orientation were quite eager to learn English.
Therefore, in order to help students increase their motivation in learning English
speaking, the teachers should know their students’ interest and expectation in
learning English. Teachers should investigate what students want to see that
whether their teaching methods and knowledge they applied are suitable for the
students or not. Secondly, most of the students learn English because it is a
compulsory skill at school, therefore the teachers had better maintain the extrinsic
and instrumental motivation and enhance the intrinsic one. For the extrinsically
motivated students, teachers should give them more tasks; require them to do more
exercises in order that they can get good results in their test and examination.
Besides, teachers can enhance their intrinsic motivation by inserting English
culture and custom in speaking lessons; arouse their love for English by
conducting the lesson projects following the topics that they enjoy. For
intrinsically motivated students, teachers can motivate them by varying activities,
tasks and materials to increase their interest level. Providing them with reference
materials and some websites in English on the Internet is a good way to encourage
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their love for English. One more thing is that self-confidence determines the
amount of effort and time the students will spend and the persistence they will
display in the process of learning, so it is important for the teachers to increase the
students’ self-confidence in learning English speaking. Teachers should make
students believe that speaking English competence is changeable and controllable
as long as they exert enough effort in learning.

2. Varying speaking activities
The teachers should stimulate the students to speak English by providing
them with a variety of ways to present. Firstly, pair work and group work in PBL
are thought to be very useful in speaking lessons. Using pair work and group work
helps teachers reduce boredom and tiredness among students. In the large classes,
establishing routines of pair work and group work activities will make the teachers
easily control and motivate the students. Each student has an opportunity to take
part in the PBL lesson and their mistakes can be corrected by other group members
or partners. In multi level classes, when working in groups or pairs students can
share ideas and structures with others. Besides, the teachers can help some students
get out of silence in class by assigning roles to help them choose their management
responsibilities when they work in groups. Assigning different roles to all of the
students in groups can help the teachers encourage the quieter students and provide
all the students opportunities for balanced interaction and taking turns.
Secondly, making full use of computer aids is what the teachers should
concern. Computers help students overcome the difficulties to finish their projects.
The teachers can use computers connected to the internet in any stage of the
lesson; however, it is thought that computers bring the most beneficial if it is used
in PBL. Visual aids such as music, pictures, and maps are believed to create
enjoyable and motivating learning atmosphere when the students are taught with
PBL. Also, other activities such as discussions, interviews, and picture
description... should be introduced to the students so that they can perform their
presentation in front of the class in an attractive way.
3. Combining the textbook with relevant materials
Textbook is considered suitable, reasonable and authentic in the content and
up-dated in information and added materials for teaching and learning are
necessary. The teachers should deliver handouts or some photocopied papers
besides the textbook to help the students have more sources of information. The
teachers can also ask the students to find out the information related to the lesson
through other sources such as newspapers, the Internet...

4. Setting up co-operative atmosphere in class
A tense class atmosphere arouses the students’ anxiety that hinders the
students’ motivation and effectiveness in learning speaking English while a cooperative classroom atmosphere facilitates the students to express their opinions
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and make the students no longer feel embarrassed when they make mistakes.
Teachers, thus, should build a warm environment in which teachers can have a
close relationship with the students.
5. Being enthusiastic, tolerant, helpful, creative and active
Teachers’ characteristics are decisive factors to help increase motivation. It
is teachers’ helpfulness; friendliness and enthusiasm that cause students to grow
fond of learning. Besides, teacher’s tolerance also makes students feel warm in
their heart, which help reduce stress. Moreover, teacher’s creativeness and
activeness is one factor that can help the students succeed in the speaking project.
Creative and active teachers always have vivid and impressive knowledge that aids
all students in speaking lessons
6. Aware of and satisfy students’ interest and desires
Although the teachers had made a great effort to create the students’
motivation, many students were de-motivated to speak because of differences
between the teaching methods and students’ expectations. Thus, an investigation of
students’ interest and expectations should be carried out at the beginning of the
term to see if their teaching methods and attitude are preferable to their students or
not. This serves as the basis for the teachers to select interesting, especially suitable
teaching methods for their students.
7. Helping the students improve their knowledge of grammar and enrich
their vocabulary
From the findings we know that the majority of the students found it hard to
carry on their speaking tasks because of their poor vocabulary and structures. Thus,
the teachers should create a competitive atmosphere for the students to memorize

new words and structures in a logical way. A careful and regular check on them
should be conducted in a variety of ways such as in both oral and written forms,
through games and puzzles. Equally important, added and extra materials are
sometimes beneficial. In addition to the exercises in the textbooks, the teachers
should provide students with photocopied papers to practise and check vocabulary
and grammar, which arouses their interest and excitement.
8. Recognizing the potential value of available facilities of the school and
the Internet
Most teachers and students are facing the poor facilities in both teaching and
learning. The lessons taught with PBL without assistance from facilities sometimes
lead to boringness. Because of this, teachers and students should take full
advantage of the available facilities of the school and overcome obstacles and
difficulties with speaking in poor facility environment. For example, through a
cassette player, students can express their ideas with some songs or pieces of news
or through a projector, teachers and students can make the lesson more interesting
and attractive with lively pictures and video clips in their presentation. Because the
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school does not have language labs and cannot provide students with the Internet
at the school library, teachers can help the students with guiding them how to use
the Internet in their free time and provide them with useful Website addresses for
their study. First, teachers let students find interesting authentic materials on the
Internet, in the form of news, weather reports, songs in English, sport reports and
so on. These texts consist of varied grammatical structures and wide-ranging
vocabulary which students can read or hear in the context. Teachers, then, can
check up again by giving students tasks based on finding particular information on
the Internet. Besides, there are now many Websites that teach students speaking
and especially pronunciation.
II/. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND:

* Approaches to language teaching
Language teaching has a long, fascinating but rather tortuous history, in
which a debate on teaching methods has evolved particularly over the last hundred
years. The names of many of the methods (Grammar-translation Method, Direct
Method, Audio-lingual Method, Communicative Teaching Method, etc) are
familiar enough, yet the methods are not easy to grasp in practice because a
method, however ill-defined it may be, is more than a single strategy or a particular
technique. As a part of language teaching theories, these methods are derived
partly from social, economic, political, or educational circumstances, partly from
theoretical consideration (new changes in language theories and in new
psychological perspective on language learning), partly from practical experience,
intuition, and inventiveness. Therefore, to some extent, they represent a
combination of language teaching beliefs, but it is evident that they are
characterized by the over-emphasis on single aspects as the central issue of
language teaching and learning.
* Project-Based Learning
The assignment realizes that most of the students from high schools find it
more interesting to be taught English through the activities that they are involved
in. Among several versions of the Communicative Approaches: Content -Based,
Task-Based, community language learning, the assignment shows that ProjectBased learning (PBL) is popular and relevant to our educational purposes.
PBL refers to an approach based on conducting a project as the core unit of
planning and instruction in language teaching, (Bullent Alan & Fredricka L.Stoller,
2005, p11). And it provides a structured framework for both instruction and
assessment. Students are more likely to develop intrinsic motivation in a ProjectBased approach and it enables teachers to see if students are developing the ability
to communicate in language learning.
Since the students from high schools hope to be able to speak and deal with
the real situations in their life in English relating to their interests of drawing,
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watching videos, listening to songs... It is believed that a Project - Based Learning
in each unit is the most appropriate for these students than other types. As a result,
only the Project - Based Learning is discussed in detail in the following section.
1. What is Project-Based Learning?
It should be noted that most good studies starting by defining their terms
and a study on “Project-Based Learning” seem to require a definition of “Project”
as a priority.
Many definitions of project have been offered in the literature by the
researchers from different research perspectives. The concept has been associated
with real world activities, focusing on meaning and form, coming to the
comprehensive definitions . In the following, the definitions are selected to indicate
the changes in people’s conception about projects or project-based language teaching.
Bruner (1973) noted that the basic ideas of project-based learning are based
on various socio-constructivist schools of thoughts and other modern instructional
theories. Thomas, Mergendoller, and Michaelson (1999) assumed that projectbased learning was considered a set of pedagogies through social activities.
A project goes beyond language, researching "the complex variables that
constitute an online learning, playing, and socially conscious experience"
according to a broadside of the Center for Research on Learning & Technology.
As stated by David (2008, as cited in Tsiplakides (2009), the Project -Based
learning is a process in which the students integrated language and other
articulated skills in specific settings of language use beyond the subjects in
classrooms. While these definitions vary somewhat, they all emphasize the fact
that projects involve communicative language use in which the user's attention is
focused on the learner’s experiences through performing the project rather than
gaining knowledge in a passive way according to the traditional school methods.
To have an overall of the above definition, project-based learning is a
process in which the students’ knowledge and understandings through learning
activities require a high level of involvement with meaningful activities.
2. Characteristics of Project-Based Learning
A project - based lesson is based on project-based learning, an approach

where learners carry out project such as solving a problem or planning an activity.
The language learnt comes out of the linguistic demands of the activity. Kolb
(Kolb, 1984, cited in Tsiplakides, 2009) provided that a project - based lesson is
structured around the need that arises during the performance of a given project. In
the classroom, various elements of the project -based approach are applicable to
activities in other methodologies. For example, learners can see a model of the
activity they are to do first, prepare a report on how they complete a project, and
the teacher can record this report and analyze it for further work. The followings
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are the characteristics of project- based lesson that are emphasized by Tsiplakides
(2009)
1. Project-based learning is potentially powerful and widely applicable.
2. Suitable for learners of all ages and backgrounds.
3. Addressing the crucial problem-directly by using active and real project as
learning activities.
4. Ability to perform the instructional project is equivalent to the ability to
use the language, so a functional ability should be a natural outcome of the
instructional experience.
5. Project-based learning can be very effective when the learners are
engaged in relatively similar out-of-class activities (social or academic).
6. Project-based learning can be especially useful for learners who are not
accustomed to a more traditional type of classroom learning or who need to learn
cognitive, cultural, and life skills along with the language.
3. Learning philosophy underlying project-based learning
Project-based learning gives the students opportunities to work independently
and realistically to have products. These activities enable the students to explore and
develop their ability by themselves in a certain context. When a student experiences a
problem in a real context, they tend to recognize the value that they have overcome.

Thus, the students develop their life skills in society as independent workers, critical
thinkers, and lifelong learners. Moreover, they learn the way how to solve the
problems.
Project-based learning, therefore, helps the students form the basic skills of
working cooperatively with other people.
4. Project-based learning in foreign language education
Learning a language requires a student to communicate with the other
people using the same language. Thus, they take part in various real situations such
as designing investigations, making explanations, modeling, and presenting their
ideas to others when they conduct a project. One of the benefits of project-based
learning is that students can more easily see the value and the meaning of the tasks
and activities they perform.
Either way, it’s hard for them to see the meaning in what they’re doing. But
when they are involved in a investigation designed to answer a question that is
important to them because they have a chance to practise language naturally, they
can see how a language can be spoken to solve important problems. Clearly,
Project-Based learning can meet this need when it is applied to a speaking lesson.
(Krajcik, 1998).

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5. How is a project-based lesson designed?
As mentioned in Tsiplakides (2009) cited Kriwas (1999) as finding that
conducting projects is involved in many activities following the stages that have
been raised in his literature. If a project is conveyed in organism and a
structuralism, it must be easy to conduct. For this reason, the teacher should
practise the stages as a guide to plan a better lesson plan following the projectbased approach:
1. Stage 1: Speculation (Choosing the topic and sensation about it)
2. Stage 2: Designing the project activities (formatting of groups, assignment

of roles, methodology, sources of information, activities)
3. Stage 3: Conducting the project activities (performing the group’s
activities relating to cooperation. If necessary, the teacher’s or the others’
assistance will be provided)
4. Stage 4: Evaluation (assessing the activities from the students includes the
teacher’s evaluation and the student’s self-evaluation)
6. Applying techniques and activities of PBA
Some techniques for developing speaking skill:
Encouraging students to work in pairs, groups and work individually
Combining textbooks with relevant materials
Giving feedback regularly by marking and giving comments on students’
speaking
Creating co-operative atmosphere
Varying communicative activities
Encouraging the students to speak by suggested questions
III/. PRACTICAL BACKGROUND
Following is the treatment of all data collected from the survey
questionnaires from 120 students and 5 teachers of English at Kim Lien high
school. The analysis of the data is presented in four parts: The first and the second
parts are the results of the pre-treatment and post-treatment questionnaire for
students. The third is from the questionnaire for teachers. Along with the
information via survey questionnaires and information gained through some small
talks , class observations were added to these main parts to assist the results.
3.1. Results from students’ pre-task questionnaire
3.1.1. Students’ motivation and opinions of learning to speak English
Question 1: Could you give me the reason why you want to learn to speak
English?
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Table 3.1: Types of motivation
Reasons

Students Percentage

It is a compulsory skill in learning English at high
school

64/120

53,3%

You think it is necessary for your future job

105/120

87,5%

To know more about the world

43/120

35,8%

To communicate with foreigners

90/120

75%

To be able to study abroad

24/120

20%

Table 3.1 reveals that English is necessary for the students’ future jobs and
the main reason for students’ studying English speaking. The highest percentage
(87,5%) of the students wanted to learn English because they thought that they
would need it to find a job and it would help them much in their future jobs. To
communicate with foreigners was also the thing that most students (75%) are
concerned. About 53,3% of the respondents answered that it is a compulsory skill
in learning English at high school. The others (35,8%) wanted to learn English
because they would like to know more about the world. Clearly, most of the
students knew the role of English in modern life when foreign language was
considered the main means of communication and work in most of the countries in
the world. The lowest percentage of the students affirmed they wanted to study
abroad in the future though so far they had not known whether they could achieve
their wishes or not; and that was the reason they tried to learn English.
Question 2: How necessary is speaking skill to you?
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%

D, 58%

20%

B, 40%

C, 46%
E, 32%

A, 30%
10%
0%
A

B

C

D

E

Figure 3.1: Students’ perceived necessity of English

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As can be seen from Figure 3.1, the highest percentage of the respondents
(35%) considered speaking skill very necessary to them while 27% stated it was
rather necessary. 21% of the respondents mentioned speaking as normal. In
general, the necessity of English speaking was highly evaluated by a majority of
the students. Most of them were aware of the necessity of English in their study.
12% of the students thought English speaking skill was a little necessary and the
rest of 5% considered English speaking not necessary at all. It was, thus, the

teacher’s role to find ways to stimulate the students to take part in the learning in
the class.
Question 3: How much are you fascinated in learning to speak English?
Figure 3.2 reveals that the majority of the students (26%) were quite
fascinated in learning speaking. 30 out of 120 students (25%) answered that their
fascination was normal. This figure was a little higher than those with the high one
(20%).. For them, they learnt English because of the pressure from outside such as
requirement of the teachers and parents, the need for the exam...not because of
their willingness. 18% of the students was very fascinated. The lowest percentage
of the respondents (11%) affirmed their fascination was very low. They were the
students who had no passion in learning to speak English.
not at all
11%
little
26%
normal
25%

very
fascinated
18%
rather
fascinated
20%

Figure 3.2: Students’ interest in learning English
Question 4: How often do you speak English in English class time?
The frequency of speaking English in class time also shows how much effort
students wanted to master it. Figure 3.3 represents that only 17% of the
respondents spoke English willingly, only 22 out of 120 students were always

willing to speak English and 11% of the participants said that they usually spoke
English in class; whereas 33% rarely spoke it and 9% never spoke English in class
except for the teacher’s requests. Also, 30% of the students affirmed they liked
speaking but sometimes, they were not accustomed to speaking in class because of
their shyness or worry about making mistakes. In some small talks , some students
stated that they wanted to speak English in class because it was the class time that
they could train themselves and expressed their opinions in English. Except that,
no environment was available for them. In general, the time to speak English in
class was unequal among the students. Therefore, what the teachers should do was
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how to use suitable methods to stimulate learners’ interest, how to create a
communicative environment for the students to participate in speaking lesson.
never
9%

rarely
33%

always
17%
usually
11%

sometimes
30%

Figure 3.3: Students’ frequency of speaking English in class time
3.1.2. Factors making students unwilling to speak English in class

Question 5: What factors make you unwilling to speak in class?
Table 3.2: Factors making students unwilling to speak English in class
Factors

Students

Percentage

Limitation of communicative environment

58

48,3%

Being afraid of losing faces

69

57,5%

Unfamiliar topics

65

54,2%

Boring teaching ways

67

55,8%

Lack of vocabulary and structures

84

70%

There are learners’ factors, teachers’ factors, teaching, and learning
conditions that make learners unwilling to speak. Here I only mention two factors:
learners’ factors and teachers’ factors. For students in the survey, the most
influential factor was the lack of vocabulary and structures. 84 out of 120 students
(70%) blamed their fear of speaking for lack of vocabulary and structures. In the
small talk with the researcher, some of the students stated: “I like speaking
English. But I can’t find words and structures to express my ideas”. Another
complained: “My English is not very good. That is why I am not willing to speak
in class”. The second factor was being afraid of losing faces. 57,5% of the
respondents affirmed that they wanted to speak in class, but they were always
afraid of making mistakes and losing faces. The next one (55,8%) was boring
teaching ways. In fact, some of the teaching ways applied by the teachers at high
schools were thought to be too boring and less interesting to the students. In this
case, the role of the teachers is to modify and bring to the class some other more
interesting teaching methods and help bring inspiration to the students. These
students stated that teacher’s clear instruction, logical teaching steps as well as
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teacher’s good behaviors with sense of humor; enthusiasm or tolerance...in each
lesson would encourage them to speak more. Moreover, some students claimed
teacher’s bad pronunciation and poor background knowledge decreased their desire

of speaking English. Others put the blame on teacher’s behavior and attitude that
decided whether they were willing to speak or not. In addition, unfamiliar topics
were an important factor. 54,2% of the students showed that unfamiliar topics in
the text book made it impossible for them to feel interested in taking part in the
speaking lessons. The smaller number of the students (48,3%) mentioned had the
limitation of communicative environment in the class rooms. Clearly, students
sometimes did not speak up in class not because they lacked new vocabulary,
expressions and structures but they had the habit of preferring listening to
speaking. Some others thought they had better master the grammatical rules,
remember as many structures as possible and have richer vocabulary. Therefore,
they could do well in the exam and get good marks.
In short, there are a variety of factors that the students had to face . These
factors came from students as well as teachers. In order to be better in English
speaking activities in class, the changes need to be done between both teachers and
students. Teachers change teaching methods and students change the way they learn
3.1.3. Factors increasing students’ motivation in speaking English
Question 6: Which of the following factors stimulates you in speaking
English in the classroom?
Table 3.3: Factors stimulating students to speak English
Factors

Students

Percentage (%)

Teacher’s teaching method

61/120

50,8

Opportunity for all students to speak out

37/120

30,8

Interesting topics in the textbook

59/120

49,2

Good-natured classroom

46/120

38,3

Various speaking activities

47/120

39,2

It was interesting that the most influential factors in the students’ motivation
were the teachers’ teaching methods, which occupied 50,8% of the respondents.
The keys to a successful speaking lesson were that all students participated in the
activities of the lesson; they could give their ideas to discuss with their classmates,
ask and answer their own questions with the help from the teacher and better

students. Teachers, as the guide , should avoid adopting a teacher-centered
authoritarian posture. She/he should keep asking questions, having students
enthusiastically find out the answers and take part in the task completion. Ranking
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second was interesting topics in the textbook that held 49,2% of the respondents’
ideas. If the teachers appointed the students to talk about a boring topic, it would
lead to boredom among students. Teachers, therefore, should select interesting
topics in the textbook according to how well they engage the students in
meaningful and effective lessons rather than in the reluctant speaking practice.
Interesting topics could be chosen based on not only the textbook but also the
students’ interest. Next, 39,2% perceived that various speaking activities highly
affected their motivation and related to the inside and outside activities of the class
such as pair work, group work, games, interviews, role play and so on. Equally
important, a good-natured classroom also highly motivated students (38,3%).The
class in which classmates helped each other; both weaker and better students
shared ideas, vocabulary and structures; both teacher and students together
discussed and solved the problems was the best environment for the students to
practise speaking.
The opportunity for all students to speak out was the influential factor,
too. The teacher could use new teaching methods to create an environment for
all students to feel comfortable and self- confident to speak out their opinions.
Students were willing to discuss and express their ideas with classmates and
their teacher.
3.1.4. Activities used by teachers and students’ preference
Question 7: What do you think the teachers should do to motivate you to
take part in speaking activities?
Table 3.4: What teachers do to motivate students to take part
in speaking activities

Teachers’ techniques

Students

Percentage (%)

Have clear instructions.

56/120

46,7

Be enthusiastic, friendly and helpful

54/120

45

Encourage you with nice compliments and a
good feedback

63/120

52,5

Give interesting topics, games and activities in
speaking skill.

56/120

46,7

Not pay attention to your mistakes but your
strong side

67/120

55,8

As shown in the table 3.4, what most students (55,8%) wished was that the
teachers were to encourage them with strong side but not mistakes. Answering
researcher’s questions, one student expressed: “I think the teachers’ comments are
very important. If I do not speak English well, teachers should not pay attention
too much to my mistakes”. The second thing should be done was to encourage
18


students with nice compliments and a good feedback. Teachers’ comments and
feedback in class were paid much attention from the students. In general, most
students hoped the teachers should be more flexible, tolerant, sensitive to make
students confident in speaking lessons. 46,7% students liked the teacher to give
interesting topics, games and activities in speaking skill. Games and various
activities could help students reduce stress, feel funny and become more active in
learning. In some small talks with some of the students; one student said: “In fact,
we are often pressured in speaking lesson. I think communicative games can help.
They help us reduce stress and make it easy to speak out”. Teachers’ clear
instructions were quite important .46,7% of them complained about teachers’
complicated questions; lengthy instructions and unsatisfactory explanations could
confuse and sometimes made it impossible for them to understand the lesson.. 45%
were concerned with how teachers were in the class. The teachers should be

enthusiastic, friendly and helpful
In conclusion, what the students wanted the teachers to do for them was to
create a communicative environment, guide them clearly, behave in a friendly and
helpful way, give nice compliments on their speaking and a useful feedback.
Question 8: Which activities do you enjoy in speaking lessons?
Table 3.5: Activities applied by the teachers and students’ preference

Speaking activities

The activities applied by
the teachers (responded
by students)

Students enjoying the
activities

Students

Percentage
(%)

Students

Percentage
(%)

Role-play

50/120

41,7

35/120

29,1

Interviews

54/120

45

72/120

60

Games

48/120

40

58/120

48,3

Pair-work/Group-work and
problem solving

66/120

55

92/120

76,7

Picture description

60/120

50

65/120

54,2

Visual aids (picture, map,
music, handouts, computers)

53/120

44,2

86/120

71,6

As can be seen from the table 3.5, the activities preferred by most students
were pair work and group work and problem solving (76,7%), and Visual aids

(pictures, maps, music, handouts, computers) (71,6%); Interviews (60%). The
explanation for these could be that such activities were easy to prepare, speak up,
and participated by many students and good ways for students to speak correctly
based on structures. Also, from table 5, most students (76,7%, 71,6%, and 60%
19


respectively) stated that their teachers also often provided them with these activities
in speaking lessons. Next, picture descriptions were enjoyed by many students
(54,2% respectively). They said that these kinds of activities were not difficult to
prepare, reasonable for their English proficiency level, quite interesting and
provided them with opportunities to express their own opinion. Nevertheless, 50%
claimed picture description was often given to them. Role-play was sometimes
preferred by the teachers (41,7% respectively). In fact, this activity could provide the
students with good chances to express their own ideas, make them more selfconfident and require them to think deeply. Yet these activities were rarely enjoyed
by the students (29,1%) because most of them lacked vocabulary of English and
social knowledge. Moreover, the students also blamed for their low English
proficiency that made it impossible for them to feel self-confident enough to take
part in these activities. Games were enjoyed by the students (40%). Students
answered that they really enjoyed games in speaking lessons because taking part in
games helped them reduce stress and motivate them to get involved in the tasks.
However, 48,3% of the students claimed their teachers used games in speaking
lessons. The reasons why teachers rarely used games in speaking lessons were that
games needed much time and were not beneficial. In fact, when being asked about
games in speaking lessons, most of the students in some small talks supposed that
games strongly attracted their intension, involvement, interest and motivation in
learning, however, games makes the lesson less focused by the students.
In short, there were some speaking activities that were preferred by most
teachers and students such as question and answer exchange, interviews, picture
description.However, there was a quite big gap between the ways the teachers had

done to motivate the students and how the students enjoyed as mentioned above.
Teachers, thus, should realize and analyze students’ needs in order to guide and
teach them in the suitable way.
Question 9: How do you enjoy these following activities?
(On each row tick a, b, c, d or e for your choice)
Table 3.6: Activities enjoyed most by students
Really enjoy

Don’t care

Enjoy

Don’t enjoy

Students % Students % Students % Students

%

Don’t really
enjoy
Students %

Individual
work

8/120

6,7

9/120

7,5

5/120

4,2 92/120 76,7

6/120

5

Pair work

18/120

15

84/120

70

7/120

5,8 11/120

9,2

0/120

0

57/120 47,5 54/120

45

6/120

2,5

0/120

0

Group
work

5

3/120

20


The table 3.6 shows that group work was preferred by most students. 92,5% of
the students enjoyed working in groups. 47,5% of them felt really fond of doing this,
and 45% said that they enjoyed group work activities in speaking lessons. While only
5% did not care and 2,5% were not fond of this activity. The main reason for this
could be that group work could promote learners’ responsibility and self-governing, it
also had relationship with learner psychological factors such as lessening learners’
anxiety, laziness and unfamiliarity with communicative lessons. Ranking the second

was pair work, which was preferred by 85% of the students, of which 15% really
enjoyed it. 5,8% and 9,2% were figures that showed the numbers of students did not
care or enjoy the activity, a little higher than those of group work. Pair work was
considered the simplest form of group work because it included two people working
together. Pair work was suitable for the students when they took part in question and
answer exchange activity, role-play… When students work in pairs, they seem to
reduce anxiety and reluctance in speaking. However, sharing ideas with other
classmates could be limited. The least favorable activity for those students was
individual work. Only 6,7% of the students showed their high interest in working
individually. 7,5% felt enjoyable, while 76,7% of them did not enjoy and 5% really
don’t enjoy it. As from what the researcher observed in class observations, it seemed
that only good students enjoyed working individually because they could talk more
and discuss more with the teachers. In fact, individual work sometimes led to
boredom or even tiredness among students, thus it decreased motivation. For speaking
lessons, not only teachers but also students enjoyed pair work and group work. Some
students, for instance, in the small talk stated that: “I enjoy working in groups because
my group members and I can share ideas and help to find structures”. Or “Yes, of
course. Pair work and group work are suitable and useful. We can help each other
correct mistakes and share ideas.”
3.2. Results from students’ post-task questionnaire
3.2.1. The changes of students’ motivation and attitude towards English
speaking skill.
Question 1: Could you give me the reason why you want to learn to speak
English?
Table 3.7: The changes of students’ motivation
Students

Percentage (%)

Reasons

Pre-task

Post-task

Pre-task Post-task

It is a compulsory skill in learning
English at high schools

64

61

53,3

50,8

You think it is necessary for your
future job

105

107

87,5

89,2

21

To know more about the world

43

55

35,8

45,8

To communicate with foreigners

90

101

75

84,2

To be able to study abroad

24

40

20

33,3

The majority of the students still confirmed that they learnt English speaking
because it was necessary for their future job and there was also an increase in the
number of students who wanted to communicate with foreigners (84,2%
respectively) because of its necessity for their future job. The number of the
respondents who were quite interested in knowing more about the world increased
from 35,8% to 45,8%. They felt like learning English speaking because of their
interest in exploring the world. The students who wanted to learn to speak English
for studying abroad considerably increased with 33,3%. This shows that the
motivation of the students has changed in a positive trend after the treatment.
Question 2: How necessary is speaking skill to you?
After the treatment, the motivation of the students in speaking skill was
increased to some extent. The number of students considering speaking very
necessary increased from 35% to 40% while the number of students who thought
of speaking as normal reduced to 16%. All of the students confirmed the crucial
role of speaking to their present study at high school as well as to their future jobs.
Question 3: How much are you fascinated by learning to speak English?
There was no doubt that students’ fascination in learning English speaking
was changed considerably. They were highly motivated in taking part in speaking
activities in class. The number of students with very high fascination went up from
18% to 30%. Contrary to this, the number of the respondents with no passion was
down to 6%, a decrease of 5%. The students with quite high fascination were of
20% up to 32%, and from 26% down to 17% were of the students who had little
fascination. The researcher’ observation pointed out that students’ passion in
English speaking had been changed. Most of the students were more eager to speak
Question 4: How often do you speak English in English class time?
It was clear that the frequency of the participation in speaking English in
class was changed much because of the increase in students’ interest. The students
who were always willing to speak increased from 20 to 38 people, an increase of
19% (from 17% to 32%). The students who never spoke except when being asked

by teachers at that time reduced to 6% while the students who usually spoke
increased from 11% to 25%. The changes also happened to the number of students
who sometimes rarely spoke in class with a decrease of 12% (from 33% down to
21%). The rest ones (45%) were of the students who sometimes took part in the
tasks. They seemed to be more frequent in speaking English. They became the
students who were of quite high interest and more willing to speak English.
22


Question 5: What factors make you unwilling to speak in class?
Table 3.8: The changes of the factors making students unwilling to speak
Students

Percentage

Factors
Pre-task

Post-task

Pre-task (%)

Post-task (%)

Limitation of communicative
environment

58

36

48,3

30

Being afraid of losing faces

69

42

57,5

35

Unfamiliar topics

65

40

54,2

33,3

Boring teaching ways

67

30

55,8

25

Lack of vocabulary and
structures

84

51

70

42,5

As we know there are many factors that affect students’ motivation in
speaking English. Factually, both teachers and students did their best to solve the
problems. They made much of their effort to co-operate with one another in
English speaking class. A new method with various techniques and activities were
applied by the teachers in order to make the students more motivated and active in
English speaking class. But there was still one thing we could not deny that how
hard teachers and students tried, there were still students unable to join in
conducting the project lesson. However, the figures shown in table 8 reveal that the
number of reluctant speakers dramatically reduced after the treatment. Before the
treatment, 57,5% of the students felt afraid of losing faces when speaking out.
Only 42 out of 120 students thought that after the treatment. And only a few
students felt reluctant because of unfamiliar topics or teachers’ teaching methods.
3.2.2. Factors increasing students’ motivation in English speaking skill.
As illustrated in Figure chart 3.4 below, the majority of the students (64%)

affirmed their English speaking skill improved much after the treatment. Clearly,
when teacher applied PBL to teaching speaking, teachers created various speaking
activities, used many useful techniques and behaved towards students in friendly and
co-operative ways, making pleasant class atmosphere, emphasizing on fluency more
than accuracy and giving students opportunities to communicate with other students,
therefore, If weaker students had more chances to speak up, they would exchange
information with the better ones, and the practising time for each student would
increase. This was why more students felt interested and self-confident to speak
English in class (49%). They no longer find English so difficult and boring to learn
(35%). And the figure of 24% of the students stated that their English knowledge was
widened a lot. That was why 35% of the students always felt willing to express their
opinion in English speaking class. In fact, most students seemed more eager to learn
23


and less stressed in speaking lessons. English final exam was not a burden to most of
the students. Students, then, learnt English in a more relaxing and pleasant
environment.
In conclusion, the more properly activities and techniques were applied , the
more motivated and active students became in speaking class lessons .
70%
60%

50%
40%
30%
20%

10%

D, 58%
A, 30%

B, 40% C, 46%

E, 32%

0%
A

B

C

D

E

Figure 3.4: Students’ result after the treatment
A. More self-confident and fascinated in speaking English
B. English speaking skill has been improved
C. English knowledge has been widened
D. Learning to speak English well is not too difficult
E. Willing to speak English in class
3.3. Results from teachers’ survey questionnaire
3.3.1. Problems teachers are often faced with in teaching speaking English
Question 1: What problems are you facing when adopting PBL in teaching
speaking English?
Table 3.9: Problems teacher faced in teaching English speaking
Problems

Teachers Percentage (%)

Large-size class

5/5

100

Students’ low proficiency of English

5/5

100

Lack of time

5/5

100

Students use Vietnamese in pair work and group work

4/5

80

Lack of authentic teaching materials

5/5

100

From the Table 3.9, it is clear that problems teachers often face in teaching
speaking English are large-size classes, students’ low proficiency, lack of time,
students’ using Vietnamese and lack of authentic materials. All of the teachers
complained that too many students in a speaking class caused many problems such as:
24


noise, students’ laziness, teachers’ uncontrolled managements, lack of time for all
groups of students to practise... etc. Each class at Kim Lien high school consists of 40
students. Next, all teachers responded that students’ low proficiency and limited time
were also problems. Most of the students were not good at or interested in English
speaking. That was because of their behavior in studying in the lower grades. They only
paid much attention to the main subjects which required much of their effort for their
exam. Factually, 40 students with low proficiency in 45-minute speaking class project
brought a lot of challenges to teachers. Teachers, therefore, were very difficult to apply
PBL to speaking lessons. As we learnt from the result of students’ survey questionnaire,
some of the activities applied by teachers did not interest students at all. That was
because they were thought to be too difficult for the students with poor vocabulary and
bad knowledge of the language. There was no better way than that the teachers should
try their best to help the students solve their own problems. It is teachers’ role to
increase students’ motivation, enrich their vocabulary and enlarge their knowledge of
English language. One more problem that teachers found in teaching speaking was
students’ using Vietnamese. Whenever teachers assigned speaking projects, students
immediately found ideas and showed opinions in their mother tongue. They often asked
the teachers to help them to transfer their thought into the target language. The students
said that: “They find expressing themselves in English more difficult than in
Vietnamese and furthermore pair work and group work were a good chance for them to

chat in Vietnamese. They only used English when the teacher was with their group. It
was very difficult for the teacher to control all groups in the big class. The last thing that
the teacher had to face was the school facilities. Some facilities of the school seemed
out of date, the others did not have enough for all the teachers and students in the school
to use at the time. The teachers sometimes did their best to design some authentic
materials instead. But not all of the teachers could do that frequently.
3.3.2. Teachers’ opinion towards students' motivation in speaking English
Question 2: What do you think of the necessity of speaking to your students?
Table 3.10: Teachers’ opinions towards students’ motivation
in speaking English
Teachers’ opinions

Teachers

Percentage (%)

Speaking helps students improve other language
skills and linguistic knowledge

5/5

100

Speaking can bring students enjoyment and pleasure

3/5

60

Speaking can help students build up other life skills

5/5

100

Students can communicate much through speaking

5/5

100

Others (please specify): …………
25


Table 3.10 revealed that all the teachers (100%) were aware of the importance
of speaking to the students in language learning. All of them agreed that speaking
helped students to improve other language skills and language linguistic knowledge as
well as could help them to communicate a lot. And last but not least the next in the
thought of 5 teachers who affirmed the importance of speaking to students’
broadening knowledge. As a matter of fact, 3 out of 5 teachers thought that speaking
could bring students enjoyment and pleasure.
3.3.3. Techniques and activities of PBL applied by teachers
Question 3: How often do you consider division of the classroom (pairworks, group- works…)
On being asked this question, most of the teachers smiled and complained
that it was too difficult to do. The class was quite big, so many students in the
classroom are in the difference of levels. Three of them confirmed they never
thought of this. Only one teacher usually considered level of students when
arranging group work. And another teacher sometimes paid attention to this. 4 out
of 5 teachers rarely took care of that issue. However, if teacher applies real

communicative project to speaking lessons in the classroom, the students must be
seated in groups to work together in an effective way. As we know, if the students
are seated in randomly layout, the only result you are going to get is finishing the
speaking project in time. Rearranging the students in groups is not always easy, but
it is worth the effort. The students will help you.
Question 4: What do you often do to create close relationship with your
students to help them speak English better? (You can have one more choice)
Table 3.11: Teachers’ opinions in creating good relationship with students
Teachers’ opinions

Teachers Percentage (%)

Sitting at the teacher’s desk to watch the whole class

2/5

40

Standing at the front of the class near the black board

3/5

60

Standing close to the students who tend to speak much

0/5

0

Walking around the class to give help.

4/5

80

Talking to them in friendly ways

5/5

100

All of the teachers expressed that they always behaved students in a friendly
way. For them, letting students have close relationship with teachers would motivate
their students in speaking projects. 80% of the teachers said that they often walked
around the classroom to give the students some help when necessary. Especially, in
pair or group work time, students’ ideas might not be accepted by group members,
teachers’ timely and appropriate suggestions would enhance students’ motivation.
Besides, two of the teachers affirmed that they could control the class better if they
26


were at teachers’ desk or in front of the class near the blackboard. When they were at
these places, they could see all the students clearly and know what they were doing,
even talking or doing private things. And it was not surprising that the last thing,
namely, standing near the students who spoke a lot, was not chosen by any teacher.
In short, to create good relationship with the students to make students
interested in speaking, different ways were exploited by different teachers. The
frequency of using these depended much on teachers’ characteristics. Moreover,
the teachers who should be instructors during the students’ speaking projects aid

them a lot if they may need any help.
Question 5: How tolerant are you when your students keep making mistakes?
a. Very tolerant (silent until they finish their task, smile and help them
realize and correct the mistakes)- (22%)
b. Tolerant (silent but not willing enough to smile and supportive) - (22%)
c. A bit tolerant- (35,3%)
d. Impatient - (11%)
e. Pay no attention to their mistakes -0
From the above list, the largest number of the teachers (35,3%) was a bit
tolerant when their students kept making mistakes. They simply stopped them and
corrected students’ mistakes when the speech was in progress. 11% were not
patient enough and got angry with their students about mistakes. Being very
tolerant and tolerant occupied 44% (22% for each). Paying no attention to
students’ mistakes was not chosen by any teacher. It means that the teachers either
stopped the students suddenly and corrected their mistakes or kept silent until
students finished and helped them correct the mistakes.
In summary, accuracy, not fluency was still the focus of most teachers in
teaching speaking English. Therefore, their teaching methods used in class seemed
not to be appropriate to create student motivation. As a result, they did not get
success in improving students’ communicative ability.
Question 6: Which of the following techniques do you use to help your
students to be more active and interested in speaking lessons? (You can have one
more choice)
Table 3.12: Techniques used by teachers to make students
more active and interested in speaking lessons
Techniques used by teachers

Teachers

%

Combining textbook with relevant materials

2/5

40

Giving feedback regularly by checklists and rubrics and
giving comments on students’ presentation

4/5

80
27