The application of scaffolding method into promoting english learners autonomy at an international school in hanoi – an action research project

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF
LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYEN THI THAO PHUONG

THE APPLICATION OF “SCAFFOLDING METHOD” INTO
PROMOTING ENGLISH LEARNERS' AUTONOMY AT AN
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL IN HANOI – AN ACTION RESEARCH
PROJECT
(Áp dụng “Phương pháp giàn giáo” vào việc nâng cao tính tự chủ trong việc học
Tiếng Anh cho học sinh tại một trường quốc tế tại Hà Nội – Nghiên cứu hành động)

MINOR MASTER THESIS

Major: Language Teaching Methodology
Code: 8140231.01

HANOI 2019


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF
LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYEN THI THAO PHUONG

THE APPLICATION OF “SCAFFOLDING METHOD” INTO
PROMOTING ENGLISH LEARNERS' AUTONOMY AT AN
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL IN HANOI – AN ACTION RESEARCH
PROJECT
(Áp dụng “Phương pháp giàn giáo” vào việc nâng cao tính tự chủ trong việc học
Tiếng Anh cho học sinh tại một trường quốc tế tại Hà Nội – Nghiên cứu hành động)

MINOR MASTER THESIS

Major:

Language Teaching Methodology
(Lý luận và phương pháp giảng dạy tiếng anh)

Code:

8140231.01

Supervisor: Dr. Pham Lan Anh

HANOI 2019


DECLARATION
I certify that the thesis entitled ―The application of ‗Scaffolding method‘
into promoting English learners' autonomy at an International School in Hanoi –An
action research project‖ is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of
Arts at University of Languages and International Studies, Viet Nam National
University, and that this thesis has not been submitted for any other degrees.

Signature:

Supervisor

Researcher

Pham Lan Anh

Nguyen Thi Thao Phuong

Date: 3/2019

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Dr.
Pham Lan Anh for her critical feedback and valuable guidance throughout the
process of this research.
I would also like to thank lecturers and staff of the Postgraduate Department of
University of Languages and International Studies - Vietnam National University for
their interesting lectures, precious support, guidance, and constant encouragement.

My sincere thanks also go to my colleagues of English Group, in Global
International School, who as my good friends, were always willing to help and give
me their best suggestions.
A special thank -would also go to all the students in Global School who took
part in the research. Without their participation and cooperation I would not be able
to complete this research paper.
Last but not least, my deep appreciation and gratitude to my beloved family,
especially my parents and my husband for their encouragement, inspiration and
unconditional love, which enormously helped me towards the completion of my
research.

ii

ABSTRACT
Learner autonomy, a recurrent topic in language teaching over the last three
decades, has been advocated from a pedagogical point of view and from the
perspective of philosophy. Learner autonomy is one of the most important factors
leading to the success in second language learning as well as life-long learning. In
view of the necessity of learner autonomy in the context of the foreign language
classrooms, the aim of this study is to foster autonomy of EFL learners in speaking
skill by encouraging them to take the responsibility in the learning process. This is
an action research conducted with 28 grade 10 English gifted students from class
10D at Global International School. The goal was achieved by raising their
awareness, training them the necessary strategies, and applying proposed activities.
After twelve lessons of implementing the action plan, questionnaire and was
administered to discover the difference in the level of autonomy among the subjects.
Other data collection instruments like follow-up interviews and classroom
observations were also exploited to validate the results. The findings analyzed
against a set of given criteria revealed that after having worked with this action
plan, these learners were able to improve their autonomy as well as their spoken
English. They became more aware of how certain aspects of language work and
they were able to develop their self-confidence and stimulate their motivation to
continue learning in class. This suggests a way of gauging students‘ responsibility
for their own learning and that learner autonomy, as a life-long mode of learning,
can only be achieved with the efforts of both the teacher and the learner.

iii


TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ........................................................................................................

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES .......................................................................
PART A: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................
1.Rationale for the study ......................................................................................
2.Aims and objectives of the study ......................................................................
3.

Methods of study .......................................................

4.Scope of the study .............................................................................................
5.Structure of the study ........................................................................................
PART B. DEVELOPMENT .....................................................................................

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................
1.1.
Learner autonomy ......................................................
1.1.1. Definition of learner autonomy .........................................................................
1.1.2. Roles of learner autonomy ................................................................................
1.1.3. Characteristics of learner autonomy ................................................................
1.1.4. Teacher’s roles in learner autonomy ................................................................
1.2.

Speaking skill ...........................................................

1.2.1.

The nature of speaking and characteristics of an eff

1.2.2.

Autonomy in speaking skill ......................................

1.3.

Scaffolding method ...................................................

1.3.1.

More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) .........................

1.3.2.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) .....................

1.3.3.

Basic scaffolding strategies for English language le

1.3.4.

The application of scaffolding theory in oral Englis

1.4.

Review of previous studies on autonomy .................

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY .........................................................................
2.1.

Research question ........................................................................

2.2.

Subjects of the thesis ...................................................................

2.3.

Setting ........................................................................................

2.4.

Research design ...........................................................................

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CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS............................................ 38
PART C. CONCLUSION...................................................................................... 52
1.

Recapitulations.............................................................................................. 52

2.

Recommendations.......................................................................................... 53

3.

Limitations..................................................................................................... 54

4.

Suggestions for further study......................................................................... 55

REFERENCES...................................................................................................... 56
APPENDICES.......................................................................................................... I
APPENDIX 1............................................................................................................. I
APPENDIX 2...........................................................................................................V
APPENDIX 3..........................................................................................................VI
APPENDIX 4......................................................................................................... VII
APPENDIX 5..........................................................................................................XI
APPENDIX 6....................................................................................................... XIV
APPENDIX 7......................................................................................................XVII
APPENDIX 8....................................................................................................XVIII
APPENDIX 9....................................................................................................... XIX

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Table 1: Characteristics of independent learning
Table 2: Students‘ attitudes and performance during the project
Table 3: The benefits of the projects to the students
Table 4: Students‘ self-evaluation of their speaking skill
Figure 1: The Learner Independence Continuum
Figure 2: Students‘ opinions on the continuity of a similar project
Figure 3: Level of students‘ involvement during the project
Figure 4: Students‘ changes in their perception of learner autonomy

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PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale for the study
Learner autonomy, a concept promoted by Holec (1981) and others in the context of
European language education, has become a favorite topic for analysis for the last
twenty years. In fact, people pay more attention to the process of acquiring than the
product of learner autonomy. Over the history, many great thinkers such as Galileo,
Rousseau, Dewey, Kilpatrick, Marcel, Jacotot, Payne and Quick have mentioned
about the importance of autonomy by proposing their ideas on education in different
times (Balcikanli, 2008).
Students who depend on themselves in learning speaking are more able to succeed
academically and more motivated than those who do not have effective strategies in
learning by themselves (Holec,1981).Despite being discussed worldwide, learner
autonomy remains an unfamiliar concept in Vietnam. Whether or to what extent
learner autonomy is developed and practiced in Vietnamese schools is still open to
question. Due to very limited time spent on teaching and learning pronunciation in
the classroom, it has become increasingly essential to provide them with useful
learning strategies so that they can employ in their self-study time. In this case, the
success of learning English speaking depends very much on how effectively and
autonomously the students practice self-study.
For all the reasons above, I have decided to undertake a study on students‘
autonomy in learning English speaking at Global International School (GIS), Hanoi.
Despite the effort made to implant learner autonomy, it is still at a low level in upper
secondary school setting in Vietnam, and the students in GIS are of no exception.
Even the students who are gifted at English exhibit low responsibility in their
English - learning process. When asked to work in pairs and groups in speaking
lessons, they start to write down their own ideas as a long presentation or some key
points and revise their own work individually, and ready to communicate only when

they are perfectly sure of their part and their ideas. Furthermore, they are generally
reluctant to question the teacher or give their opinions.

1


An open discussion in Vietnamese with the students explicates that their low
autonomy has resulted from psychological, social and personal grounds. Their
misleading beliefs, minute confidence, restricted knowledge as well as the previous
learning experience are agreed upon as the primary causes of their passive learning
style. The beliefs and attitudes learners hold have a strong influence on their
learning behaviors. It is, therefore, essential to assist students in moving towards
greater autonomy, especially in learning speaking.
This situation urges the conduction of this research to aid students in their second
language learning and life-long learning. This is basically no easy task since
autonomy does not blossom automatically. Due to the highly complex nature of
language and language learning, augmenting autonomy in language learners often
proves to be a doubly difficult objective. Although few research have been done in
Vietnam to boost students‘ active engagement in speaking, a large number of studies
in other countries have reported favorable results in developing their students‘
autonomy. Most of them use awareness-raising activities, portfolio, self-assessment,
homework and assignment in their studies. Regarding all these practices, the present
paper is an attempt to search the current research then build an appropriate project
of actions for the English gifted students in English, GIS who have average level of
learning autonomy. The expectation is to help learners generate a sense of autonomy
in language learning, elevate the students speaking skill as well as render effective
speaking lessons.
2.

Aims and objectives of

the study This research aims at:
identifying the current grade 10 (GIS) English gifted students‘ autonomy
in
-

speaking skill
-

working out the appropriate scheme of actions to improve the situation

-

finding out the effectiveness of the selected activities in the action plan

In particular, it is conducted to ascertain the following objectives:

2


 What scaffolding strategies can be used to develop students’ autonomy in
speaking lessons?
 What are the attitudes of the students towards autonomy in learning
English speaking?
 How do the students improve throughout the application of scaffolding in
teaching speaking?
3. Methods of the study
As mentioned above, this is an action research to solve the problem of low level of
learner autonomy in grade 10 English gifted students, GIS. To reach the goal, an
intervention was launched into the classroom environment. It was divided into two

stages. The former consists of selected awareness-raising activities such as contract
signing, and essential speaking-strategies training activities to raise students’
awareness of the problem as well as equip them with necessary skills to acquire
more confidence in speaking skills. The latter pertains the practice of such skills in
doing their home assignments and in-class activities to habituate their speaking
practice and active engagement. After the intervention, questionnaires, interviews
and classroom observations were conducted to get the feedback. The data aims at
getting the students evaluation on the activities and more remarkably, to examine
whether they become more autonomous.
4. Scope of the study
Learner autonomy is undoubtedly vast issue in the second language learning.
It borders different aspects. However, this study touches upon only one researchable
aspect of autonomy, i.e., developing autonomy in speaking skill. In the literature,
there is a range of actions to ensure students self-directed learning; however, several
pertinent activities are adopted in consideration of the context of GIS and the small
scale of this research for the sake of limited time and students‘ low level.
Furthermore, the subjects of this study are the grade 10 students who are gifted in
English as these students often exhibit the least autonomy in learning.

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5. Structure of the study
This paper is organized into three main parts as follows:
Part A: Introduction
This part presents the rationale, the aim, scope, method and design of the study.
Part B: Development
This part is divided into different chapters. Chapter 1 serves as the theoretical
background for the study, presenting the concepts and relevant theories. Chapter 2
gives an overview of teaching and learning situation at English group, GIS. Chapter

3 deals with the actual procedures of the study: methodology, subjects and data
collection procedures. Chapter 4 presents the finding and analysis of the data
collected.
Part C: Conclusion
This last part of the study recaps the main content of the study and deals with some
suggestions for improving students‘ autonomy in studying speaking skill. In
addition, it also poses several directions for future research.

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PART B. DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter addresses a review of the literature related to learner autonomy and
pronunciation learning and teaching. In each section, the definition or explanation
of the key terms is presented together with the studies worldwide.
1.1.

Learner autonomy

1.1.1. Definition of learner autonomy
The term ―learner autonomy‖ was first introduced formally by Henri Holec in 1981
when he wrote Autonomy and foreign language learning - his contribution to the
Council of Europe‘s work in adult education. The so-called ―father‖ of learner
autonomy, provides a broad definition which considers learner autonomy ―the
ability to take charge of one‘s own learning". Scharie and Szabo (2000), turning
attention to the aspect of attitudes, seemed to share the same interest with Holec
(1981) when they presented a persuasive analysis of the interrelationship between
autonomy and responsibility. According to the authors, autonomy is defined as
―the freedom and ability to manage one‘s own affairs, which entails the right to

make decisions as well‖ whereas responsibility is understood as ―being in charge
of something, but with the implication that one has to deal with the consequences of
one‘s own actions.‖ (Scharie&Szabo, 2000: 4). They argue that autonomy and
responsibility are interrelated and both require learners‘ active involvement.
Benson (2001: 47), however, stated that it is preferable to define autonomy as the
capacity to take control of one‘s own learning, largely because the construct of
―control‖ appears to be more open to investigation than the constructs of ―charge‖
or ―responsibility.‖ In his definition, he indicated three levels of control that a
learner should take in order to develop his/her learning autonomy: ―An adequate
description of autonomy in language learning should at least recognize the
importance of three levels at which learner control may be exercised: learning
management, cognitive processes and learning content‖ (Benson, 2001: 50).

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I am in favor of Henri Holec‘s definition of learner autonomy as learners‘ ―ability
to take charge of their own learning‖. This general but concise definition, from the
researcher‘s view, really touches upon the spirit of autonomy. It is obvious from
Holec‘s definition that an autonomous learner not only possesses a sense of
responsibility for his learning but he/she is also self-conscious of that responsibility.
All in all, in second language learning, learner autonomy is a stimulating,
multifaceted concept which can be interpreted from different viewpoints. Learners‘
autonomy encompasses not only their attitudes but also their behaviors. It is both a
process and a goal in language learning, in education and in living; therefore, to
develop learner autonomy, it is important to find a way to help students to be aware
of what they have done and further reflect on it so that they could achieve personal
awareness, process and situational awareness, and task awareness.
1.1.2. Roles of learner autonomy
Learner autonomy can be regarded as an offspring of learner-centered

approach, which is an innovative and effective one in the literature of second
language learning. The benefits of cultivating autonomy in learners have been
disclosed by a variety of researchers and practitioners. Learner autonomy can lead
to increase in motivation and cooperation as well as responsibilities in their studying
process, which means more effective learning (Deci, 1995, p.2). Furthermore, the
concept of autonomy is not restricted in school aspect. Once students acquire
autonomy in learning in the school curriculum, they slip easily into autonomy for
other activities outside class. In other words, autonomous learners evolve life-long
learning and hereby they are capable of authoring the world in which they live.
1.1.3. Characteristics of learner autonomy
Many scholars agree on the hypothesis that learner autonomy entails reflective
involvement in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating learning.
However, different scholars may contribute additional attributes of learner
autonomy to these core features.

6


According to Scharle and Szabo (2000), an autonomous student must have built
four blocks, such as: motivation and self-confidence, monitoring and evaluation,
learning strategies, and cooperation and group cohesion. While motivation and selfconfidence refer to the intrinsic motivation and willingness to take responsibility in
learning, cooperation and group cohesion indicates that learners should liaise with
each other in the learning process. The second and third factors cover the same
notion as the core features. Monitoring skills emphasize the need to focus on the
process of learning rather than the product. This step is followed by self-evaluation,
which means learners judge their own works as objectively as they can,
acknowledging their level of proficiency, their strong and weak points.
1.1.4. Teacher’s roles in learner autonomy
Autonomous learning must be the characteristic expected to nurture in
students with the aids from teachers. Teachers take responsibility for managing and

consulting during the process. It is not leaving students to fend by themselves or
sitting students in front of computers and hoping they will learn.
First and foremost, teachers become less of a knowledge transmitter and more
of a facilitator. Relinquishing teacher‘s control is parallel with providing sufficient
guidance to smooth learners‘ way into autonomous learning, and into developing
purposefulness and creativity in doing so (Dickinson, 1995). Teachers supervise
students in their own learning- preference discovery and create opportunities for
their experience.
Autonomous learning magnitude necessarily entails difficulties in many
aspects, and different students may have problems in different ways. To that end,
teachers are also the counselors helping students with individual obstacles. Both
facilitators and counselors provide psychology-social and technical supports, the
difference between the two is that while the former mainly works with groups, the
latter in one-to-one situations (Voller, 1997). According to Riley (1988), counseling
involves a great deal of work such as eliciting information about aims, needs and

7


wishes, helping with planning, suggesting materials and sources, taking part in
interaction, offering alternatives, listening and responding, interpreting information,
giving feedback on self-assessment, and being positive and supportive, etc.
Furthermore, facilitating and counseling learners is not just a matter of pointing
them in the right direction - it is also to do with motivation, behaviors, and practical
and emotional support. Teachers, therefore, should motivate students in acquiring
learning independence as well as language skills. Beside stimulating factors,
autonomy requires a conscious awareness of the learning process, strategies and
styles. Learner strategies are a key to and ―prerequisite‖ for learner autonomy
(Weden, 1998). Learners can take care of their own learning only when he has
become more mature and made use of the pertinent strategies. Thus, teachers have

to expedite learners to know what learning strategy is and how imperative it is in
enhancing autonomous learning.
To sum up, the teacher s function should become less dominant, but not less
important. Instead of absolving themselves of all responsibility teachers, they play
more roles than before as facilitators, counselors, motivators, awareness raisers as
well as resources in this development. This implies the ―reappraisal of teachers and
learners‘ roles' (Lynch 2001, p. 394). Autonomy inevitably involves a change in
power relationships and in both teachers‘ attitudes.
However, this change cannot occur effortlessly. It is a process and it should be
characterized as ―a continuum‖ (Voller, 1997, p. 100). In accordance with this
viewpoint, Sharle and Szabo (2000) illustrate a continuum of teacher attitudes
ranging from traditional to learner autonomy attitude and suggest that teachers
should move toward the right hand side of the continuum (teacher autonomy
attitude). They further denote that this transition should be gradual rather than
abrupt and dramatic to allow time for the involved parties to adapt themselves to the
new practices. It is worth noticing that however difficult and time- consuming the
transformation will be, it is the first priority for the teachers to modify themselves
first if they expect to change their students attitudes.

8


1.1.5. Ways to develop autonomy
As learner autonomy is so crucialin second language acquisition, scholars,
researchers and teachers have long been searching for methods to magnify this
character in learners. It is suggested that this transition must be taken through raising
awareness, changing attitudes, and transferring roles (Scharle&Szabo, 2000).

The starting stage in cultivating autonomy in learners is raising awareness of
pedagogical goals, contents and strategies (Nunan, 1997). This phase functions as

an impetus to initiate learning the second language and ―opening the learner‘s eyes
to new ways of thinking about their learning‖ (Scharle&Szabo, 2000, p. 15). It is
grounded in the belief that even when teachers provide all the necessary
circumstances and input, learning cannot happen if learner is not willing to
contribute. Thus, teachers must initially present new perspective and new
experience to learners and encourage them to think consciously in their inner
learning processes. This is a tightly-teacher-controlled stage on the consumption
that learner are not yet responsible in their learning.
However, only raising students‘ awareness cannot guarantee students‘
selfdirected learning. Once they take on new viewpoints in learning purposes,
processes and the nature of language learning, they should accustom these attitudes
and strategies introduced in the first phase. This can be done by a series of activities
in which students ―consciously practice learning strategies‖, requiring more learner
initiative and higher level of responsibility (Scharle&Szabo, 2000, p. 50).
Accordingly, repeatability in doing these activities are momentous to shape and
consolidate new beliefs and habits.
The last and simultaneously effort-intensive phase is transferring roles as the
result of a considerable change in classroom management. Transferring roles is
decisive in that ‗‗For one, learners can only assume responsibility for their learning
if they have some control over the learning process. For the other, increasing
independence may evoke and reinforce responsibility and autonomous attitudes‖

9


(Scharle&Szabo, 2000, p. 80). Teachers handle over roles that are traditionally held
by themselves. However, these loosely structured activities do not entail teacher‘s
freedom of charge. Furthermore, peer support in this environment is weightier
pushing learners in acquiring ―a capacity and willingness to act independently and
in cooperation with others, as a socially responsible person.‖ (Dam, 1995, p. 1, cited

in Lee, 1998).
Sharle and Szabo (2000) hold that this three-phase process should be seen as a
smooth process where one stage develops into the next. The activities they provide
in their book should be considered as suggestive ones since ―autonomy has to be
adapted to different cultural contexts" (Holec, 1981) and accordance with students‘
level of autonomy at different stages.
Different classroom cultures may entail different teachers‘ responsibilities and
students‘ roles, which means the borderline between the suggested activities in
changing awareness and transferring attitudes are vague. In other words, to cultivate
learner autonomy, learners should first have the right attitude towards learning and
knowledge of strategies in second language learning. Secondly, they must involve in
the learning process themselves as ―language learning depends vitally on language
use‖ (Deci, 1995). Practitioners, researchers have suggested a number of activities
for learners‘ involvement. They have reported on the effectiveness of using
motivating

activities

(Barrett

&Dabom,

2001;

Kavaliauskiene,

2003;

Lucliini&Rosello, 2007); portfolios, assignments, projects and homework (Coombe,
2001; Ali, 2000; Malcolm, 2001; Nakayama, 2000; Kavaliauskiene, 2003), selfevaluation and peer assessment, diary and journal keeping on strengthening their

responsibility and nourish this activities.
In short, there are three phases in culminating learner autonomy, namely raising
awareness, changing attitudes and transferring roles. The activities in each part should
be adapted in line with students‘ level of self-direction and educational milieu. During
the transition, motivation is necessaryas learning is usually most efficient and

10


rapid when the learner is motivated and attentive. A range of current perspectives has
now put motivation on a different footing, integrating psychological considerations
with social conditions. The question is how to make students like what is required. The
answer lies in the students‘ investment in studying. Even when students like the
subject, learning will not happen if they do not invest enough time, money and energy.
―Required motivation‖ is now said to be ―more important to acknowledge the
diversity of motivations and reorient them in a more holistic and richer framework of
SLA‖ (Zuengler& Miller, 2006). Bony Norton Peirce (1995) used the term
‗investment‘ to emphasis on the commitment to target language study, students‘

Whereas other researchers often focus on one of these three steps to promote
students‘ learning responsibility (only raising students‘ awareness of the matter, or
asking students to keep portfolio and assignment, or letting them to self-assess, the
researcher decided to take the first and the second stage, bearing in mind the low
level of autonomy and little speaking lesson experience of her students as well as
the time constraint of the study. As there is not enough time and the students are not
mature enough to reach the other end of the autonomy continuum, the final stage is
left to maybe the next terms.
Consequently, the author of this research decided to adopt selective activities in
the first two stages suggested by Scharle and Szabo (2000) and her tailored assignment
setting for the students to make ensure that they invest adequate time, effort and money

in their learning. Also, students‘ signing a learner contract is used to ascertain their
commitment to what they are required to do. Like other researchers investigating the
realm of learner autonomy, the researcher also uses assignments to boost learner
responsibility, but in other forms to suit her own teaching. As they have never learned
speaking before, they must be well-equipped by having chances to practice functional
language and speaking techniques. Thus, the intervention started first with raising
matter awareness and subject awareness then and regular assignment to implant the
independent learning style in the students.

11


1.2.

Speaking skill

1.2.1. The nature of speaking and characteristics of an effective speaking lesson
Speaking skill has been placed more weight in comparison with other skills as it is
the first step to identify language ability. Knowing a language means being able to
speak the language (Pattison, 1987). It is the vehicle to establish and maintain social
relationships as well as achieve professional advancement. In particular, speaking
has two principal functions: transactional function and interactional function. While
the former is primarily concerned with the transfer of information, the latter
involves the maintenance of social relationships.
Moreover, only by speaking a language can we ever hope to learn it. In order to
acquire the skills, communicative activities must be applied in class to aid students
to obtain not only accuracy but also fluency in their speech.
Regarding characteristics of an effective speaking lesson, Penny Ur (1996) has a
comprehensive look at the issue. In her viewpoint, there are four characteristics to
determine whether the speaking lesson is fruitful or not as follows:

❖

Learners keep talking in most of the time allowed for the activity in which the

learners are the center of the activity and the interference by the teacher is little.
❖

Participation is evenly distributed among learners.

❖

All group members are motivated in the activities thanks to an interesting

topic or their desire to achieve the task objective.
❖

Language use is appropriate, easy to understand and quite accurate.

The focal point in assessing a speaking lesson is students‘ active participation. It cannot
be a speaking lesson if the students do not speak the target language, let alone
managing effective lesson. Deci (1995) is correct in claiming that autonomy must
include language use. Using language or speaking the language is the prerequisite to
attain the objective. Students‘ involvement is significant but must be equal amongst the
participants. While working in pairs or groups, one student dominating the situation
and speaking most of the time may give rise to the breakdown of the

12


communication and it cannot be an effective lesson. Hence, all of the students

should be motivated to contribute to the activities.
Furthermore, Ur (1996) does have a good balance between accuracy and fluency.
This set of characters reveals that fluency and meaning should be a focal point of
the speaking lesson; however, accuracy should not be disregarded. Accuracy is the
means to ensure the act of getting the message right. Without appropriate correction
and adequate attention to accuracy, students may run the risk of fossilizing the
mistakes, which hinders the process of reaching an advanced level in the target skill.
Grounded in the literature, the following characteristics of an efficient speaking
lesson are drawn out, serving as the criteria for the assessments of my colleges‘
observations in my speaking lesson.
❖

Active and equal participation

❖ Learner-centeredness
❖ Message

oriented communication

❖

Motivation

❖

Cooperation

❖

Acceptable level of accuracy

1.2.2. Autonomy in speaking skill
The principle issues relating learner autonomy and speaking skill have so far been
considered. It is vital to investigate how autonomy is revealed and manifested in
speaking skill. To put it another way, this part deals with the characteristics of
learner autonomy in speaking and the practice to foster their autonomy in this skill.
Thombury (2006, pp. 87-92) puts forward five characteristics of an autonomous
speaker:
❖

Speed: working fast, spontaneously and coping with unpredictability

❖ Economy:

ignoring inessentials and knowing how to carry out tasks with

minimal means.

13


❖

Accuracy: being quick at detecting and rejecting errors

❖

Anticipation: thinking and planning ahead

❖ Reliability:

being versatile, i.e. performing a range of different speaking

tasks range of different topic, and being reliable even adverse conditions
This autonomy is partly due to the increased automaticity of his language
production, what he experienced as ―feeling fluent‖. As we have seen, the ability to
automatize the more mechanical elements of a task so as to free attention for higherlevel activities. The autonomy in speaking increases in proportion to the
automaticity of his language production.
Along similar line, Rubin and Thompson (1994, p. 75) gives several techniques
which autonomous students often use in speaking skill:
 Rehearsal: rehearsing the situation in their heads to make sure they can do
it or rehearsing with another students
 Automatic use: imagining what they would say in the foreign language in
different situations (when they are in a store or restaurant, etc.)
 Paraphrasing: trying to say something in another way
 Topic changing: switching to the topic they know to maintain interaction in
the target language.
In socio-cultural perspective, autonomy is defined as the capacity to self-regulate
performance as a result of gaining control over skills that were formerly otherregulated. In classroom one, this is learners need to be given opportunities to talk
freely about subjects of their own choice. Like autonomy development in other
skills, autonomy development in speaking includes three previously mentioned
phases. Specifically, it commences with awareness-raising activities in which
learners learn features of spoken language. This is followed by appropriate activities
to aid them to gain control of these features, before reaping full autonomy as
independent speakers in a range of different spoken genres.
These activities can be selected from the repertoire of learner autonomy raising

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techniques mentioned in the preceding sections with preference for activities
requiring more speaking practices. For instance, it is beneficial to utilize homework
assignments, tape diaries (learners keep a taped diary by recording themselves
regularly at home on audiotape and submitting this to the teacher for feedback),
audio and video conferencing (these are virtual meetings, in which two or more
people communicate via a live audio or video link over the Internet.), humancomputer interaction (Students use computer program called ―chatterbox‖ to
practice speaking with the computer instead of a person) and oral portfolios
(learners reflect on their out-of-class speaking experiences in oral form.)
To sum up, learner autonomy improving process encompasses three phrases (raising
awareness, changing roles and transferring roles). In any event, it requires students‘
investment in internalizing the target language, and it correlates with students‘
achievement in learning the language skill. Besides, teachers‘ roles are crucial in this
process as awareness raisers, facilitators, counselors, motivators and resources. Rooted
in this literature, it is investment in internalizing the target language, and it correlates
with students‘ achievement in learning the language skill. Besides, teachers‘ roles are
crucial in this process as awareness raisers, facilitators, counselors, motivators and
resources. It is pertinent to carry out the action research as a project which encompasses
two different phases. The first one deals with raising student‘s awareness of autonomy
and nature of second language acquisition. This is succeeded by assignment to form the
habit of learning autonomously for the students.

1.3.

Scaffolding method

In the field of education, the term scaffolding refers to a process in which teachers
model or demonstrate how to solve a problem, and then step back, offering support as
needed. Psychologist and instructional designer Jerome Bruner first used the term
'scaffolding' in this context back in the 1960s. The theory is that when students are
given the support they need while learning something new, they stand a better chance

of using that knowledge independently. Bruner recommends positive interaction and
three modes of representation during teaching: actions, images, and language.

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His theories stress the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of
cognition, as he believed strongly that community plays a central role in the process
of making meaning. According to Bruner, social learning tends to come before
development. He believes that young children are curious and actively involved in
their own learning and the discovery and development of new understandings. In
order to develop kids‘ cognition, teachers need to comprehend two of the main
principles of Bruner's work: the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) and the Zone
of Proximal Development (ZPD).
1.3.1. More Knowledgeable Other (MKO)
The more knowledgeable other (MKO) is somewhat self-explanatory; it refers to
someone who has a better understanding or a higher ability level than the learner, with
respect to a particular task, process, or concept. Although the implication is that the
MKO is a teacher or an older adult, this is not necessarily the case. Many times, a
child's peers or an adult's children may be the individuals with more knowledge or
experience.For example, who is more likely to know more about the newest teenage
music groups, how to win at the most recent PlayStation game, or how to correctly
perform the newest dance craze - a child or their parents? In fact, the MKO need not be
a person at all. Some companies, to support employees in their learning process, are
now using electronic performance support systems. Electronic tutors have also been
used in educational settings to facilitate and guide students through the learning
process. The key to MKOs is that they must have (or be programmed with) more
knowledge about the topic being learned than the learner does.

1.3.2. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

The concept of the More Knowledgeable Other is integrally related to the second
important principle of Bruner‘s work, the Zone of Proximal Development. This is an
important concept that relates to the difference between what a child can achieve
independently and what a child can achieve with guidance and encouragement from a
skilled partner (Saul, 2014). For example, the child could not solve the jigsaw puzzle
(in the example above) by itself and would have taken a long time to do so, but was

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able to solve it following interaction with parents, and has developed competence at
this skill that will be applied to future jigsaws. Bruner sees the Zone of Proximal
Development as the area where the most sensitive instruction or guidance should be
given - allowing the child to develop skills they will then use on their own developing higher mental functions. He also views interaction with peers as an
effective way of developing skills and strategies. He suggests that teachers use
cooperative learning exercises where less competent children develop with help
from more skillful peers - within the zone of proximal development.
1.3.3. Basic scaffolding strategies for English language learner
According to Bernice Moro Ph.D, Fordham University, there are six basic
scaffolding strategies for English language learner:
 Demonstrating the requirements that they need to follow
 Establishing a link between students‘ mental structure and new knowledge


Introducing new concepts by creating environments those are familiar to

students
 Helping students see the relationship between different concepts


Checking students‘ understanding of texts by asking them to present the text

in various ways (i.e: presentations, games, conversations)


Encourage students to evaluate and adjust on their own performance, then

plan for future one
1.3.4. The application of scaffolding theory in oral English teaching
Applying scaffolding theory in the teaching activities, teachers should give students a
lot of support and help, and teach them some principles or rules that can be used to
solve some problems when no people can help, so that learners are able to strengthen
the sense of learning independently, build the learning ability of self-control and selfresponsibility. With scaffolding, the teacher transfers the learning task to the students
gradually and finally withdraws it from the learning process. In middle school oral
English teaching process, teachers help students identify their the zone of proximal
development, on the basis of this, teachers should train these students selectively,

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