SOME SUGGESTIONS TO TEACH ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL FOR YEN DINH 2 SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ONLINE ENVIRONMENT

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO THANH HOÁ

TRƯỜNG THPT YÊN ĐỊNH 2

SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM

TÊN ĐỀ TÀI
SOME SUGGESTIONS TO TEACH ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL FOR
YEN DINH 2 SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ONLINE
ENVIRONMENT

Người thực hiện: Lê Thị Sáu
Chức vụ: Giáo viên
Đơn vị công tác: Trường THPT Yên Định 2
SKKN thuộc lĩnh vực : Tiếng Anh

1


TABLE OF CONTENTS
I: INTRODUCTION

4

1 Rationale for the study

4

2. Purpose of the study

4

3. Scope of the study

5

4. Methods of the study

5

II: DEVELOPMENT

5

2.1. Theoretical background of teaching English speaking skill
5
2.1.1. What Is "Teaching Speaking"?

5

2.1.2. T and sts’role in speaking skill

5

2.1. 3. Advantages of teaching in online environment
2.2. The setting of the study

7
7

2.3. Difficulties encountered by sts and teachers when being taught and 8

teaching online
2.4. Suggestions for teaching and learning English online

9

2.5. Applying suggestions in teaching English online for 11th form sts

16

2.6. Results

21

III. Conclusions

22

REFERENCES

24

2


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
YD2SS: Yen Dinh II secondary school
Sts: students
T: Teacher
MOET: Ministry of Education and Training

3


I.

Rationale

The globe has already closed schools in the wake of the coronavirus
pandemic including those in Vietnam for nearly 2 months from January to
March. As a result, teachers were suddenly faced with the challenge of how
to not only continue their students’ education but also ensure safety for
students. Therefore, MOET implemented distance learning online and on
television. Although teaching on the internet and television is a temporary
measure in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, it was emphasized that the
education sector would take this opportunity to accelerate the digital
transition
However, teaching English on the internet is really challenging for high
school teachers. In reality, a lot of them , especially in the countryside are
familiar with the traditional method of teaching in classrooms.
Consequently, it took them lots of time to adapt to the new method during
the social distancing without the best result. More seriously, most of English
teachers dont know how to deal with speaking lessons in online
environment because they often take place in a room with a live interaction
including gestures and sounds for English learners to get the lessons easier,
so transition from the classroom to the web is a daunting task. That’s why I
chose this study “ Some suggestions to teach English speaking skill for Yen
Dinh 2 secondary school students in online environment ”. I hope that
teachers can apply some strategies to bring students better outcomes in
long terms under any unexpected situations like pandemics or disasters.
1.2. Purpose of the study

4


The main purpose of the study is to find out diffculties

teachers

encounter in teaching speaking skill online at YD2SS. This also offers some
appropriate strategies to better the current context.
Research questions:
1. What are difficulties of the teachers at YD2 SS in teaching speaking
English on the internet?
2. How to find out some solutions to overcome this problem?
1.3. Scope of the study
This study was conducted among the English teachers , 11A1,11A2
and 11A9 Sts at YD2SS during the school year 2019-2020.
1.4.Methodology of the study
Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used. First of all, for the
theoretical basis, a lot of reference materials on English speaking skill and
how to teach English speaking skill online have been collected, analyzed
and synthesized carefully with the due consideration for the Ts’ teaching
and sts’ learning situations.
Secondly, Interviews have been carried out with Ts and sts to find out the
causes for teaching speaking English online ineffectively as expected. Based
on what I have collected, I would like to give some ways to improve this
problem.
II. DEVELOPMENT
2.1. Theoretical background of teaching English speaking skill
This second chapter provides readers with the relevant literature of

the study by introducing some key concepts necessary for the best
understanding of this research. There are some most crucial concepts
chosen to be clarified in this part such as English speaking skill, online
education.
5


2.1.1. What Is "Teaching Speaking"?
What is meant by "teaching speaking" is to teach ESL learners to:


Produce the English speech sounds and sound patterns



Use word and sentence stress, intonation patterns and the rhythm of
the second language.



Select appropriate words and sentences according to the proper
social setting, audience, situation and subject matter.



Organize their thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence.



Use language as a means of expressing values and judgments.



Use the language quickly and confidently with few unnatural pauses,
which is called as fluency. (Nunan, 2003)

2.1.2. T and sts’role in speaking skill
2.1.2.1. Teachers’ Role According to Anuradha et al (2014), teachers play
significant role in stimulating interactionand developing speaking skills.
The roles are as follows:
- The teacher must be fluent and accurate in spoken elements of language so
as to be a role model for the learners.
- The teacher asks questions to stimulate learners to practice the target
language. Throwing questions and compelling them to answer something is
one of the types of oral drills. Further, encouraging students to ask
questions to the teacher and peers is also a good technique to propel
discussion and involve learners to speak.
- The teacher brings chart containing pictures in the classroom. Teaching
aids like charts containing pictures are good stimulators of interaction in

6


the classroom. The teacher highlights that part of the chart which breeds
discussion in the class.
- The teacher narrates a story or a joke in the classroom and evokes the
learners to do the same. The narration is corrected by the students and the
teacher if mistake is done. This way the interest to speak may be kindled
among students.
- The teacher uses minimal pairs (pairs of words differing by one single

sound) to teach some difficult sounds in the classroom with the help of
familiar sounds of the students.
2.1.2.2. Learners’ Role
Speaking is an art and to achieve it, students should:
- Be conversational and courteous in conventional greetings and other
expressions.
- Ask questions and answer them too to maintain dialogue with other
classmates and the teacher. - Strive for building vocabulary, acquiring
fluency and achieving accuracy.
- Make an attempt for better pronunciation, appropriate intonation and
stress in the expressions of ideas and feelings.
2.1. 3. Advantages of teaching in online environment
Continuity: The clearest advantadge of teaching in online environment we
can see from Covid 19 pandemic is that it helps education uninterupted in
unexpected disasters or social distancing.
Greater focus on learning. In a traditional classroom, there are lots of
distractions that may take away your student’s attention and then will take
time to bring it back. It’s more difficult to do so online when a student is
working on a task.

7


Wider range of materials, easily accessible on all devices. There are
plenty of resources on the internet, and that makes your materials more
versatile and customized.
The time saving and comfort factor. There is no commuting involved into
online teaching. It’s comfortable, convenient and easy for everybody
involved. That increases the happiness factor, which makes the environment
more conducive to teaching and learning.

2.2. The setting of the study
The study was conducted at YD2SS in Yen Dinh district, Thanh Hoa
province among English teachers and students in grade 11.
2.2.1. The teachers’ English levels and their facilities at home for
teaching online
All of the teachers graduated from universities in English major, at
least 10 years’ experience. They are qualified enough to teach secondary
school sts. Moreover, everyone has a computer or a laptop to faciliate their
online teaching besides class room time (and in social distancing )
2.2.2. The Sts’ English levels and their facilities at home for learning
online
Although they all know that speaking skill is the final goal to master in
learning a language, they dont have spend enough time on it so their
speaking level is quite unsatisfactory.
Luckily, all of the students have their own smartphones or computers
connected with Internet service. They can join online class as required. Most
of their parents are favor of online free classes from T so that their children
will have more chance to practise English at home
2.3. What are challenges when Ts teach sts English speaking skill in
online environment?
2.3.1. Technical problems
Technical problems are one of the significant challenges in teaching
online. They deal with Wi-Fi interruptions, equipment failures, computer
updates and power outages. Not only do we tutors have to deal with our
equipment issues, but we also rely on our students' equipment..
2.3.2. Neophobia: second is neophobia, fear of new things closely
followed by technophobia.
8

Teachers are complex humans in the sense that while we are
creatures of habit but we also enjoy challenges and adventure. Teachers of
the last decade are not very comfortable handling technology as well as the
net gen. This challenge was definitely overcome within the first few days as
we got used to the modalities of connecting with students and delivering
lessons.
2.3.3. Isolation
Learning from home can be lonely. Without the buzz of the classroom
setting and the company of their peers, it’s no surprise that some students
can begin to feel a strong sense of isolation that slowly erodes their desire
to learn.
Despite what they say, many students will find that they miss school
when the alternative is to be desk-bound at home. Isolation can also
undermine many of the instructional strategies that we take for granted in
our classrooms. Group work, class discussion and collaborative activity can
disappear from the program entirely if we aren’t careful, and with them go
the associated levels of student engagement and rich learning that those
experiences provide.
2.3.4. Lesson plans and what educational aids
Next challenge was the lesson plans and what educational aids to
be used and how to incorporate them. There is an ocean of online sites with
numerous interesting and exciting lesson plans, activities, and teachinglearning systems in the internet. It is difficult to choose the right thing, but it
is more challenging to mould it according to the needs of the students. One
has to consider one’s own comfort level too.
2.3.5 Lack of motivation in students
As hard as distance teaching might be for us, it’s likely even harder for
our students. They’ve gone from classrooms explicitly designed to support
learning, to bedrooms and kitchen tables where distractions are plentiful
and expert support isn’t always on hand.
2.4. Suggestions for teachers

2.4.1. Choose your platform and teaching tools
There are some issues that you need to be aware of:
9


Assess whether your students have reliable access to technology before
you even start. Not every home will always have a reliable internet
connection or readily available device for students to use. An initial email,
message or text to parents will give them the opportunity to flag these
issues so that you can prepare to accommodate such students ahead of time.
It’s also important to remember that, for all the talk of our students being
‘digital natives’, many of them aren’t that proficient when it comes to
tackling unfamiliar software or using it in a responsible manner. An initial
‘onboarding’ session for students is therefore a good idea, and you should
consider giving parents a brief orientation too via email. Whatever systems
you have in place, just ensure that you also have a clear ‘hotline’ where
students can report technical issues. That’s not to say you’ll take on a fulltime role in IT support – you can’t fix everything – but it will, at the very
least, alert you to students who might need alternative arrangements.
Below are some common choices of many English teachers
Vocaroo (): Through Vocaroo, students and teachers can
record their voice and create voice files of any length. Students can share
their voice files with others by creating and sharing a link or embed code on
their respective websites. Vocaroo is a free web based application and does
not demand any registration. It works on any web browser. Through this
application, students can be asked to record their assignments and upload
them into the common website created by the teacher, for sharing and
evaluation purpose.
Fotobabble ( Fotobabble is a simple photosharing platform where photos can be shared along with audio recording.
This application useful in doing activities where students have to see a
picture and describe it or else tell a story based on it. Students can record

their voice and save in an embed code to share with others. Audioboo
( Audioboo lets users to easily record and share
podcasts with others. Audioboo is available free of cost but one has to get
registration to use it. Other registered users can listen to and comment on
the recordings posted. Duration of recordings on this application can be five
minutes only. This app has accessibility on both computer and mobile
phones. Its feed has subscription facility in iTunes similar to any podcasts.
Further, sharing of the recordings on social networking sites is very easy.
Voki (): It is a free application where teachers and students
can create their own customised animated avatar which delivers the
message. Students can create recording up to a minute in Voki. The audio
recordings in Voki can be embedded into personal blogs or wikispace.
10


Skype: It is a well-known video chat and messaging app used by many. The
students can register free in this application by using their email id or
phone number. Students can video chat with one another while performing
tasks in pairs or groups. They can also interact with native speakers to
improve
their
skills
under
teacher’s
guidance.
WhatsApp
( WhatsApp is a free messenger used by over
1 billion users in 180 countries around the world. Meanwhile, “ICT based
language learning allows for widespread classrooms that provide
qualitative, quantitative, and economical advantages” (Thamarana 2015,

p.232). Apart from sending text messages and sharing photos this
application also has features of free calling, video chat and record and share
audio messages. The registration for this app has to be done through
personalised phone numbers. Students can do tasks by creating WhatsApp
group from where they can take instructions and share their work. This
application can be used on both mobiles and computers. The audio files can
be created for any duration. These audio files are saved in form of MP3
audio clips, which can be uploaded to any websites.
Teams Microsoft
Teams allows communities, groups, or teams to join through a specific URL
or invitation sent by a team administrator or owner. Teams for Education
allows admins and teachers to set up specific teams for classes, professional
learning communities staff members, and everyone.
Within a team, members can set up channels. Channels are topics of
conversation that allow team members to communicate without the use of
email or group SMS (texting). Users can reply to posts with text as well as
images, GIFs and custom made memes.
Direct messages allow users to send private messages to a specific user
rather than a group of people. Meetings can be scheduled or created ad-hoc
and users visiting the channel will be able to see that a meeting is currently
in progress. Teams also has a plugin for Microsoft Outlook to invite others
into a Teams meeting. This supports thousands of students that can connect
via a meeting link created by T.
Microsoft Teams allows teachers to distribute, provide feedback, and grade
student assignments turned-in via Teams using the Assignments tab,
available to Office 365 for Education subscribers. Quizzes can also be
assigned to students through an integration with Office Forms.
Think of below problems when you decide to start teaching online.

11

Checklist for online teaching: Make sure you are familiar with the online
platform you are using
• Have you tested your microphone and camera in the platform to make
sure they work with it? A headset with a mic is usually better than a device’s
in-built speakers and mic.
• Do the learners need a URL or code to join the class? Do they all have this?
• Do you know how to share what is on your computer screen so that the
learners can see it?
• Do you know how to mute the learners’ microphones if you need to?
• Do you know how to use the ‘breakout rooms’ if the platform has this
facility? Is this enabled? • Does the platform have a ‘raise hand’ button that
the learners can use to indicate they want to speak? You can also use this
function to get them to indicate if they can hear you or see what you’re
showing on the screen, or to hold a quick vote!
• Do you know what the platform looks like from a learner’s perspective? It
may look different or have slightly different functions compared to the
teacher’s view. If you use screenshots to explain to learners where to click
on something, make sure they’re taken from a learner’s perspective.
• Do you know how to troubleshoot some of the technical issues that you or
your learners might experience with the platform? Does it make a difference
if they are accessing the platform from a mobile device or a certain
browser?
• Have you considered safeguarding and child protection issues? For
example, you may wish to insist that learners do not record the lessons.
• Most online platforms have support videos or tutorials available online.
Have you looked at these?
2.4.2. Technology requirements
As a teacher, you’ll need to administer your course, create materials,

broadcast your class, interact with your students and grade their work. For
efficiency, you’ll need a laptop, a desktop computer or a professional tablet.

12


Your students will also need a laptop or computer if they want to fully
participate in your classes. However, smartphones or tablets with an
internet connection can be used when there’s no alternative.
General tips before starting a lesson
• Make sure you have explained to your learners (and ideally a parent or
another adult if they can be around during lessons) about how to use the
basic functions of the platform, how to troubleshoot issues and how to
check their settings. This could be done in an initial lesson where you
practise using the different buttons and teach them the things to try if there
are technical or connection issues. This is also a good opportunity to teach
them the language connected with the platform, such as ‘mute’, ‘breakout
room’, ‘refresh’, etc., which they will need each lesson in order to follow your
instructions.
• Make sure you have explained to your learners the rules and the
behaviour you expect during lessons, such as patience, respect for each
other, writing only relevant things in the chat, etc.
• Always check your microphone and camera before each lesson and check
with each learner at the start that you can hear and see each other, and that
they can see what you share on the screen.
• Make sure all the learners know they must arrive on time and what they
must bring, such as their notebook and pencil case. Many online learning
platforms have a virtual waiting room. It’s a good idea to tell your learners
to join the class at least five minutes before it begins to avoid disruption.
2.4.3. Privacy and safety online

When delivering any kind of class online, you needa to take safety and
privacy seriously. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ruling in
Europe means teachers (and their schools) have the responsibility to treat
their students’ data carefully, safely and with respect. GDPR may also affect
educators who work outside of Europe if their students live abroad.
The regulations provide sensible guidance for managing personal data so
are well worth reading up on. Our article covering What you need to know
about security when teaching learners online also has some really useful
advice on safety.
2.4.4. Training
13


Dedicate a portion of your first class to helping your students get to grips
with the technology. Even if you spend half of the first session doing so, it
will save you time explaining things to individuals over and over again.
Many online teaching and conferencing platforms also have guides and
video explainers to help you get started.
You can even use these introductory videos as listening activities and play
games on the whiteboard to try out functionality.
2.4.5. Space and resources
Where possible, set aside a dedicated area in your home or office to teach
from. Make sure you have all the visual aids and materials you need to hand.
This will help you feel you are in a classroom and will help you be more
spontaneous and creative during your lessons. This is especially important
in young learner classes, where you might need to change the pace of the
class using flashcards, puppets or even costumes!
Encourage your learners to do the same and set up a designated study area.
If your students are very young, ask their parents to help. This will help
them get in the right frame of mind to focus on learning.

Additionally, ensure that nothing in view of the camera can identify your
home address, any sensitive information like bank details, any book titles
you wouldn’t want to be associated with, any information about your
children, etc. If this information is accidentally (or purposefully) shared
online it can be a security risk.
2.4.6. Learning objectives
It can be difficult for students to adjust to online learning, especially when
they’re joining your class from their homes. Bring them into your lessons by
starting all your classes with learning objectives.
Use your chat box or interactive whiteboard to share what you will cover
during the class and explain what you expect from your students. This will
help students focus and feel like they are in a regular classroom. At the end
of the class, you can reflect on what you’ve done together and whether you
have achieved what you set out to do.
2.4.7. Create a routine

14


Do your best to develop a routine in the classroom. This will help your
students feel they’re in a safe learning environment and makes giving
instructions faster and more efficient.
For example, you can start with a warmer activity that involves all the
students (for example, a game, a review or a few student-centred discussion
questions), then go into your class objectives and review homework or
project work. Also, make sure you mix study with energising games or minibreaks and have students share their ideas.
2.4.8. Delivering instructions
Online teaching lets you deliver instructions to all your students verbally
and in written format. You can also ask students to confirm their
understanding in chat boxes and speak to individuals if they are unclear

about what to do. Unlike in a physical class, every student can do this at the
same time – so you can check everyone is on track.
Depending on which platform you use, there’s a good chance you’ll also be
able to share your materials, documents and presentation slides, and
display and use other activities like online quizzes and games with the class,
which will help them follow along with ease.
2.4.9. Classroom management
Online classrooms can be easier to manage than physical ones. It’s unlikely
that you’ll be interrupted by students whispering at the back of the class,
passing notes or running around. However, you might be interrupted if
students have their microphones on while you’re speaking – and they can
talk to each other via chat box and get distracted with irrelevant online
content.
It’s a good idea to have students mute their microphones while you are
delivering input and have them close all other windows on their computers,
so they are only focused on your class. Some platforms will allow you to
mute participants’ microphones too. This can be a good idea – it ensures the
lesson runs smoothly and avoids unnecessary distractions and background
noises. But be sure to let your students know why you are doing this, so
they don’t feel like they are being forcibly silenced. Tell students they can
ask you questions in the chat box – either publicly or privately – so they feel
comfortable and supported throughout the lesson. Read more of our top
tips on keeping students’ attention when teaching English online.
2.4.10. Student engagement
15


It’s harder to engage with your students when teaching over a webcam
connection. It pays to be a little larger than life on camera. Exaggerate your
expressions and tone of voice slightly so they stay alert and interested in

what you have to stay (just don’t overdo it).
You can also keep them on their toes by having every single student in the
class respond to your questions by typing in the chat box. That will ensure
they
pay
attention.
Incorporating
fun
digital
tools
such
as Quizlet or Quizizz will help keep learners engaged too.
You could also use a spinner to nominate students for tasks and questions to
build a sense of fun and suspense – or get students to nominate each other!
Remember, just because they’re quiet doesn’t mean they’re not learning.
2.4.11. In-class group work
Mix up your activities to keep things interesting. Just because you’re online,
it doesn’t mean students can’t collaborate. Many platforms allow you to put
students in pairs or groups to work together in designated chat rooms. As a
teacher, you can drop in and out of these rooms to monitor how things are
going, and give feedback just as you would in a regular class.
Google Docs, Etherpad (which requires a download and may be more
suitable for older learners) and Dropbox Paper allow your students to work
on collaborative writing.
You can also make use of your students’ webcams. Flipgrid, for example, lets
students record and share their own videos, which is great for making
online presentations.
2.4.12. Grading and progress tests
Just as in any regular classroom, you’ll need to track your students’ progress
– both during class and throughout their course.

Have students present their own ideas to the class using their webcams, and
offer them progress tests through online forms and writing assignments
2.5. Applying suggetions
I myself have applied these suggestions in teaching speaking skill on
the internet since social distancing. I chose familiar topics and interesting to
my sts to motivate them in the lesson. Below is one of my lessons in which I
have applied some ways to bring better outcome for teaching speaking in
16


distance. I have used Team microsoft to hold my class meeting and make a
weekly schedule so that students can know exactly when to join the class. I
choose real-life situations and familiar topics to motivate my sts such as
hobbies, holidays and holidays activities, friends, food and drinks, going
shopping...... Below is one of my lesson plan for teaching speaking skill
online for my sts at Yd2ss
Holidays and holiday activities
I/ Aims
• To review and learn vocabulary for talking about holidays and holiday
activities
• To practise speaking and listening skills
• To introduce and contextualise past simple forms
• To enhance motivation and interest by sharing a meaningful object
• To encourage the use of past simple forms in a personalised context
II/ Time: 45–60 minutes or longer
III/ Materials
• The teacher will need the accompanying PowerPoint, some holiday realia
and a souvenir from a holiday
• The learners will need a pen or pencil and paper or a notebook.
Before the lesson • Prior to the lesson, decide which types of holiday you

are going to cover. Then choose one and prepare some
realia you can use to elicit it in stage 1, e.g. sunglasses, a
reading book, sun cream, flip flops, etc., for a seaside
holiday
• Before the lesson, or for the previous lesson’s
homework, ask sts to play the following game on
LearnEnglish Kids. This word game has audio for each
language item and you can encourage sts to listen to the
audio as well so that they are also exposed to the
pronunciation
of
the
word.
(don’t mind when you use
kids’speaking lessons for secondary school sts as long as
they can motivate your sts to speak as much as possible)
- Test the microphone and camera to make sure they
17


At the start of
the lesson

1. Warmer –
introducing the
topic
(5
minutes)

2.

Generating
vocabulary (10
minutes)
platform
whiteboard or
blank document

3.
Speaking
practice (10–15
minutes)

work. - Make sure that you have the accompanying
PowerPoint open and shared.
• Welcome the learners as they arrive: - Check that T can
all hear and see each other. - Check that they can see the
first slide. T may need to write this in the chat facility if
they cannot hear T
I often a short task for the learners to do until they have
all arrived. For example,I could have a poll set up or a
simple activity where they write in the chat, such as to
say what they’ve done that week. I also like muting
learners’ microphones after greeting them to avoid
having too much background noise when you get started.
• Generate interest by showing the learners T’holiday
realia and eliciting what T has e.g. sunglasses, a reading
book, sun cream, flip flops, etc., if you have prepared for
a seaside holiday. Ask them what they think T is going to
do (go on holiday) and elicit specifically what type of
holiday (e.g. seaside holiday). • Ask the learners if

they’ve ever been on a seaside holiday and brainstorm
other types of holidays T can have, for example camping,
skiing, adventure, sightseeing, staycation, cruise, theme
park, etc.
• Elicit from the learners different activities T can do on
holiday, such as those they will have met in the word
game they did before the lesson, but making sure you
have examples of activities from each of the holiday
types that were brainstormed. • Write the activities on
the whiteboard (if the platform has one) or on a blank
document that you screen share. Elicit a physical action
to represent each activity. • Play a game of Simon says
with the activities and actions. After a few rounds, ask
some of the learners to take the lead role and give the
instructions. • Now ask learners to identify any activities
which can be done on more than one type of holiday, for
example have a picnic could be both a seaside holiday
and a camping holiday activity
• Play a guessing game. Ask learners to decide what type
of holiday they like best (or would most like to try) and
to keep it secret. The other learners ask yes/no
questions to work out what it is, such as Can you go
swimming? Do you stay in a hotel? Do you need sun
cream? Is it cold? You can decide how many questions
18


they are allowed to ask before making their guess as to
what it is. You could play this game in breakout rooms, if
the platform you’re using has this function, and your

learners are comfortable and responsible when working
in breakout rooms, or as a whole class with the learners
in teams. Either way, demonstrate the game first with
your own favourite type of holiday and getting the
learners to ask T questions. • If T choose to use breakout
rooms: - One learner is nominated to be the first to be
asked questions. After the set number of questions has
been asked, the other learners write their idea on a piece
of paper and all show the camera at the same time. The
initial learner then says if anyone is correct. Repeat with
the other learners. - Monitor the learners during the
activity by regularly moving between breakout rooms. If
T’s platform has the function, turn your camera off while
you monitor so as to disturb the learners less when you
enter a room. - Before T bring learners back to the main
room, visit each breakout room briefly and announce
that they have two more minutes before you will bring
them back. After two minutes, bring all the learners
back. • If T choose to play as a whole class with the
learners in teams: - Ask all the learners to message you
privately in the chat what their favourite type of holiday
is, and make teams accordingly, e.g. all the learners who
say ‘seaside holiday’ are a team. - The other teams take
turns to ask questions. Make sure that when it’s a team’s
turn again, a different learner from that team gets to ask
a question. All the members of the first team get to say
yes or no to each question. - After the set number of
questions has been asked, all the learners write their
idea on a piece of paper and all show the camera at the
same time. The first team then say if anyone is correct. If

you wish to award points, then each team can receive
points according to how many members guessed
correctly. Then play again with the next team. • Slide 3
shows some language you could display to support the
learners during the task although you may wish to
provide different or extra examples
4.
• Now tell the learners that T wants to tell them about
Contextualising
his last holiday. What type of holiday do they think it
the
structure was? What do they think you did? Ask the learners to
19


and
categorisation
(10–15 minutes)
platform
whiteboard or
blank document

5. Past simple
forms language
practice (5–10
minutes)
platform
whiteboard or
blank document

6. Task set up –
finding an item
(5 minutes)

guess. • Write a few sentences about what you did on the
whiteboard (if the platform has one) or on a blank
document that you screen share. Underline the past
simple forms. Ask learners why they’re different, e.g.
why you wrote went instead of go and elicit it’s because
you’re talking about the past. • Slide 4 has a selection of
infinitive forms and the corresponding past simple
forms, although you may wish to prepare your own. Ask
learners to try and match them up. If your platform has
an annotate function, learners could draw lines to match.
Otherwise they could write the words in their notebooks
• As T checks and confirms the answers, drill the past
simple form for pronunciation. • Finally, ask learners to
help you categorise the past simple forms into two
groups, but don’t tell them how. Ask for ideas about how
they could divide them. Any method they suggest is valid
but you can also encourage them to group according to
those ending in -ed and those that do not, for example by
asking them to think about the spelling. Slide 5 has the
same selection of past simple forms
• Play a team game to help practise the past simple
forms, for example noughts and crosses. Draw a noughts
and crosses grid on the whiteboard (if the platform has
one) or on a blank document that you screen share and
put learners into two teams. For reference write the
names of who is in each team on the

whiteboard/document. • Each team takes a turn to
choose a square. Ask the team whose turn it is to unmute
their microphones, while the other team mutes. Say Last
holiday I … and mime a holiday activity. The team must
complete the sentence. Encourage the team to discuss
and confirm amongst themselves that they all agree
before giving their answer. If they’re correct, they win
the square. Continue with the teams taking turns.
• Depending on the format of your classes, this activity
can be set for the learners to do in the break time or as
homework for before the next class. • Ask learners how
we can remember a holiday and elicit ideas such as with
photos, postcards or souvenirs. Ask them what kind of
things they like to get as souvenirs, they can be shopbought or things T find or keep, like seashells, tickets,
etc. • Tell learners to find a souvenir from their last or
20


7.
Personalisation
and
language
expansion (10–
15 minutes)
8. Speaking and
listening practice
(20–25 minutes)

favourite holiday and to find out what it’s called in
English so that they can show everyone after the break

or in the next lesson.
Ask the learners to get the souvenir they found ready.
Each learner then shows and tells the class about their
own souvenir. Feed in any language they need, eliciting
what T can from the other learners first, and write the
language as well as the words for the souvenirs on the
whiteboard (if the platform has one) or on a blank
document that T screen share.
• Now T asks the learners to think about the holiday
where they got the souvenir. They need to write some
sentences about the holiday, e.g. where they went, what
they saw, what they did, what they ate, etc. Each learner
should write a minimum of three sentences. Fast
finishers can write more or T can ask them to draw
pictures to illustrate each of their sentences. • Ask each
learner to show you via the camera each sentence after
they complete it for feedback, rather than showing you
them all when they’ve finished, in order to help stagger
the checking and feedback process.
Tell the learners that they need to find other learners
who have the same sentences as them, but it should be a
different learner for each sentence. To do this, they need
to read their sentences to each other and say when
something is the same as them. For example, if one
learner says I went to Turkey, I took photos and I ate ice
cream, and another learner also wrote I took photos as
one of their sentences, then they can say Me, too! or I
took photos too! Then the two learners can write the
other’s name next to that sentence. • To create the sense
of a mingle for the activity, explain to learners that T is

going to put them in breakout rooms in small groups of
three or four, but every few minutes you’re going to
change the learners’ rooms, so they need to speak and
listen as much as they can each time. • T could do this in
an organised way, T could randomise the occupants of
the rooms each time. In this way, T can change the rooms
fairly quickly each time to keep the pace of the activity
up and create a sense of immediacy, and if all learners
have not said their sentences each time there is a good
chance they will meet some or all of their current
21


9. Homework
(5 minutes)

‘roommates’ again in another room.
• Monitor the learners during the activity by regularly
moving between breakout rooms. Turn T’ camera off
while T monitor so as to disturb the learners less when T
enters a room. • Before T bring learners back to the main
room, visit each breakout room briefly and announce
that they have two more minutes before T will bring
them back. • After two minutes, bring all the learners
back. Ask them to share any sentences they couldn’t find
someone for, and who they thought had a fun or
interesting holiday. • If T doesnt have or choose not to
use breakout rooms: - Learners can take turns to say the
sentences about their holiday. The other learners need to
listen and write in the chat facility I … too! for each

sentence that’s the same as one of theirs. - After all the
learners have spoken, they can read through the chat
and find names to write next to their sentences. - Ask
them to share any sentences they couldn’t find someone
for, and who they thought had a fun or interesting
holiday.
Think about our ideas for our ‘class holiday’ last year
and choose some of them. At the end of the holiday, you
sent a postcard to a friend.. Ask sts to write the postcard!
Say what you did on each day of the holiday.

2.6. Results
This year, I taught 11A1, 11A2, 11A9 in 11th grade. All of these classes
couldn’t do well in speaking skill. (Although students from A1, A2 are
excellent at grammar)
Beside teaching them at traditional crowded classes , I started teaching
them how to speak through online class when our school closed down
because of COVID -19. We have had more time to practise speaking English
for 4 months than ever before. To see their improvements, I asked my sts to
do an oral English test. The result is satisfactory.
Class Time
Exellent Quite
Averag Bad
sts
good sts
e sts
sts
11A before the school closure 2 %
`24 %
70 %

4%
1
11A At the end of second term 3 %
25 %
71 %
1%
1
11A before the school closure 1 %
18 %
70 %
11 %
22


2
11A
2
11A
9
11A
9

At the end of second term

1,5 %

20 %

72,5 %

6%

before the school closure

0%

1%

62 %

37 %

At the end of second term

0%

5%

63 %

32 %

Excellent : 9-10 points
Quite good: 7-8,9 points
Average: 5-6,9 points
Bad: < 5 points
III. CONCLUSION
1. Limitations of the study
Being one of English teachers of at YD2SS, I can see clearly the current
situation of teaching English speaking skill here. Therefore, I have

conducted this with a view to finding out some tips to teach English
speaking skill online effectively. However, to improve the situation is not
easy and it needs a lot of time and T’s patience. As I have mentioned in this
study, only some basic and simple ways are found out to improve the
situation and the limitations are unavoidable. If there is a video of my
teaching English speaking online, the study will be clearer and easier for
teachers to get the suggestions. I expect to receive ideas from my colleges.
2. Suggestions for further research
On the basis of the findings and the limitations of the study, several
suggestions for further research are made.
Because teaching speaking skill in online environment is rather
complex and new to secondary school T, many other researches should be
carried out such as stages in an online teaching , how to use online material
to teach students to speak, how to design an effective speaking lesson on the
internet.

23


XÁC NHẬN CỦA THỦ TRƯỞNG Thanh Hóa, ngày 5 tháng 7 năm
ĐƠN VỊ
2020
Tôi xin cam đoan đây là skkn của
mình viết, không sao chép nội dung
của người khác
Lê Thị Sáu

24

REFERENCE
/> />%20is%20meant%20by%20%22teaching,rhythm%20of%20the
%20second%20language.&text=Use%20the%20language%20quickly
%20and,which%20is%20called%20as%20fluency.
/>from_action=save
/> /> /> />file:///C:/Users/Admin/Desktop/teaching-kids-holidays-online-lessonplan.pdf
/>Anuradha, Y., Murthy, J.V.R. and Krishnaprasad, M.H.M. (2014) Clustering
Based on Correlation Fractal Dimension over an Evolving Data Stream.
Communicated to IJAIT 2014, unpublished.
Alderson, J. C. & Bachman, L. F. (2004). Assessing Speaking. Cambridge:
Cambridge: University
Press.
Bergmann, J. & Sams, A. (2012). Flip Your Classroom: Reach every student in
every class every
day. Arlington, VA: International Society for Technology in Education.

25