APPLYING PROJECT BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS FOR THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS AT NHU XUAN II HIGH SCHOOL

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

NHU XUAN II HIGH SCHOOL

EXPERIENTAL INITIATIVE

APPLYING PROJECT - BASED LEARNING TO
IMPROVE ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS FOR THE
TENTH GRADE STUDENTS AT NHU XUAN II HIGH
SCHOOL

Author: Pham Thi Lien
Position: Teacher
Field (Subject): English

THANH HOA, 2021


TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I. INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
2. Aims of the study.
3. Objects of the study.
4. Methods of the study
PART II. CONTENTS
1.Theoretical background
2. Practical background
3.The method “Applying Project – Based Learning to improve
English speaking skills for the tenth grade students at Nhu Xuan II
high school”.
3.1. PBL in speaking skills.

3.2. Steps for effective implementation of PBL.
3.3. Teacher’s and students’ roles in PBL.
3.4. Some examples about applying PBL in teaching speaking skills
for the tenth grade students with English textbook, Education
Publishing House.
3.4.1. Unit 5: Technology and you – Part B: Speaking
3.4.2. Unit 7: The mass media – Part B: Speaking
3.4.3. Unit 5: Music – Part B: Speaking
3.4.4. Unit 5: Historical places – Part B: Speaking
4. Results of applying the method
PART III. CONCLUSION, SUGGESTIONS.
1. Conclusion
2. Suggestions
LIST OF RECOGNIZED EXPERENTIAL INITIATIVES
REFERENCES
Appendix 1: Some videos in Speaking Lesson of Unit 5
Appendix 2: One group’s presentation in Speaking Lesson of Unit 12

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PART I. INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale.
In today’s trend of international integration, English is considered as a
means for learners to have fastest access to the world’s cultures and knowledge.
The teaching and learning of English need to be renewed in accordance with
positive learning methods to be more suitable and meet the needs of society.
The core content of English teaching and learning helps students build and
develop communication skills through practicing listening, speaking, reading,
writing and linguistic skills. It is clear that to communicate effectively in one
language, English speaking skills should be developed along with the other
skills so that these integrated skills will enhance communication achievement.
Methodology used in teaching second language has experienced manychanges
for decades; however there is no single best method, and no one method that is
best for a particular classroom. Among the numerous methods based on
communicative language teaching, Project-Based Learning (PBL) has been
considered to be an effective teaching method in enhancing learners’ motivation.
This method lets students explore actively, creates authentic language and uses
language in real life situations. The method also encourages student-centered

classes that focus on developing skills for lifelong learning and collaboration
among students working on their small groups or a class.
At Nhu Xuan II high school – a small school in a low living standard
mountainous commune, the teaching and learning English meet remarkable
difficulties, such as: no integration of the four skills in teaching and learning,
insufficient pratice time allowes, students’ poor pratice skills and low confidence
or inadequate teaching equipment and facilities, and ect. Hence, it is vital to
apply a new and effective technique to improve students’ English learning,
particularly enhance their speaking skills.
Based on the explanation above, I have made a great effort to conduct an
experimental research entitled: “Applying Project – Based Learning to
improve English speaking skills for the tenth grade students at Nhu Xuan II
high school.”. With the thesis I hope that I will contribute my little experience
to help my students be more confident and improve their speaking skills in the
next courses.
2. Aims of the study.
The aim of the research is to help improve English speaking skills for the
tenth grade students at Nhu Xuan II high school by applying Project-Based
Learning.
To achieve the above aim, the present research attempts to set the
following objectives:
- To learn about the tenth grade students’attitudes and interest towards the
application of Project-Based Learning in their English speaking lessons.
- To find out the effectiveness of applying PBL in teaching speaking skills
for the tenth grade students.
3. Objects of the study.
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This study mainly focuses on the influence of PBL on speaking skillsfor

the tenth grade students and some typical skills used in PBL which could help
improve the students’ speaking ability and help them feel confident in
communication within the context of teaching and learning at Nhu Xuan II high
school.
This research is carried out in English-specialized class with 36 tenth
grade sutudents in class 10A at Nhu Xuan II high school in the two terms of the
school year 2020-2021.
4. Methods of the study.
The method employed in the study is action research, in which ProjectBased Learning would be used directly in the classes that I am teaching so that I
can have the clearest class observation. Besides, both comparison and analysis
methods are applied into this research.
These methods are cooperative to each other to see students’ general
attitudes towards PBL, their perception on the effectiveness of PBL on their
speaking levels as well as speaking skills and the effects of PBL on their
speaking scores.

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PART II. CONTENTS
1. Theoretical background.
PBL is a pedagogic framework to teach and learn through a project.
Thomas (2000) stated that PBL is a kind of a student-centered pedagogy
in which students learn about the target language through the experience of
prolem-solving and then, produce the outcomes that might be in form of
presentation, exhibition, publication, etc.
The implementation of PBL in the foreign language classroom brings
students alot of benefits.
- First, while working in a project, students engage in purposeful
communication to complete authentic activities, they have the opportunity to use

language in a relatively natural context and participate in meaningful activities
which require practical language use.
- Second, students develop metacognitive skills because a project is an
activity that “involves a variety of individual or cooperative tasks such as
developing a research plan and questions, and implementing the plan through
empirical or document research that includes collecting, analyzing, and
reporting data orally and/or writing” (Beckett, 2002, p.54).
- Third, as students work together to achieve their end product they
develop confidence and independence (Fried-Booth, 2002). Project work
incorporates collaborative team work, problem solving, negotiating and other
interpersonal skills, which have been identified by learners as important for
living successful life.
It is clear that PBL enables students to achieve the three factors which are
interaction, transaction and performance when taking part in speaking activities.
Furthermore, students are well equipped with the essential basic life skills and
become more interested as well as energetic in their learning. This results in the
enjoyment and purposefulness in their learning.
2. Practical background.
During the two terms of the academic year 2020-2021, I was in charge of
teaching English for 36 students in class 10A. After several weeks of teaching
speaking lessons, I found the students were relatively passive and showed low
motivation in learning. They just did the things they were told to do. They
seemed to be unable to manage their own learning.
For the purpose of enhancing my students’ engagement and motivation, I
thought of PBL and implemented this medthod in my English teaching pratice,
especially in teaching English speaking lessons. I tried to make speaking
activities various and moderate which are not too difficult or too easy and
realistic so that my students will be excited and eager to do them. And it is more
important that through these activities, they feel more interested in speaking
lessons and they can improve their English speaking skills day by day.

3. The method “Applying PBL to improve English speaking skills for the
tenth grade students at Nhu Xuan II high school”.
3.1. PBL in teaching speaking skills.
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Project – Based Learning is a learning model that provides an opportunity
for students to participate actively in making a project with the group or
individual work to improve English language skills, particularly in speaking
skill.
The main aim of project learning is an active connection of pupils to
educational process. This process is characteristic of their openess. Problem
situations and questions are created by lecturers. These situations and questions
caused thinking at pupils about topic.
PBL helps students develop skills for living in a knowledge-based and
highly technological society. Solving highly complex problems requires students
to have both fundamental skills and digital age skills. With this combination of
skills, students become directors and mangers of their learning, guided and
mentored by a skilled lecturer. Therefore, PBL is important and effective to
speaking skills for several reasons, they are:
- PBL and the use of technology bring a new relevance to the learning at
hand.
- PBL lends itself to authentic assessment.
- PBL promotes lifelong learning.
- PBL accommodates students with varying learning styles and
differences.
There are four major characteristics of PBL namely:
- Self-responsibility for thinking and learning;
- Awareness of social responsibility;
- Thinking and acting from the scientific perspective but in a pratice.

Likewise, John Thomas highlights five important criteria of PBL:
- PBL projects are central, not perpheral to the curriculum;
- PBL projects are focused on questions or problems that drive students to
encounter and struggle with the central concepts and principles of a discipline;
- Projects involve students in a constructivist investigation;
- Projects are students-driven to some significant degree; and
- Projects are realistic, not school-like.
3.2. Steps for effective implementation of PBL.
The process of PBL can be varied, depending on the real situation in
terms of students’ ability and the content of each lesson. According to the major
characteristics and important criteria of PBL, if we examine PBL in the most
general way, we can break it down into the following nine steps. (Of course,
teachers should modify the steps accordingly to suit the task and the students).
- Step 1: The teacher-coach sets the stage for students with real-life
samples of the projects they will be doing.
- Step 2: Students take on the role of project designers, possibly establishing
a forum for display or competition.
- Step 3: Students discuss and accumulate the background information
needed for their designs.
- Step 4: The teacher-coach and students negotiate the criteria for
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evaluating the projects.
- Step 5: Students accumulate the materials necessary for the project.
- Step 6: Students create their projects.
- Step 7: Students prepare to present their projects.
- Step 8: Students present their projects.
- Step 9: Students reflect on the process and evaluate the projects based on
the criteria established in Step 4.

By my own experience in learning and teaching English, instead of
teaching speaking lessons traditionally, I have forcefully and successfully
applied PBL in teaching speaking skills for the tenth grade students with English
textbook, Education Publishing House at Nhu Xuan II high school in the
following stages:
Stage 1: Discovering real situation related to the content of the lesson
Many students find schoolwork meaningless because they do not perceive
“a need to know” what they are being taught. They are unmotivated when told
they will need it later in life or simply beacause “it’s going to be on the test”.
With a compelling student project, the reason for learning relevant material
becomes clear: I need to know this to meet the challenge I have accepted.
In this stage, I could powerfully activate my students’ need to know
content by launching a unit in a way that engages interest and initiates
questioning. This could take the form of a lively discussion.
Stage 2: Negotiating the Criteria for Evaluation
I and my students decided that the projects should be assessed by fullfiing
the questions in rubrics including seft assessment rubric and checklist.
Once the criteria were clearly defined, the students realized that they might have
to be modified in the future.
Stage 3: Deploying the projects
- Explaining the project
I explained the project to students apparently. It deals with the purpose of the
project, the preparation that the students should make, the material and media
used and the assessment for each project.
- Deviding groups
Most of the activities in speaking class are in the form of group work. I
decided my class into groups and appointed the leader of each group. The
number of group members belongs to the content and the topic of the lesson.
- Assigning tasks
The group’s leaders assigned the task for each member. In term of making a

project feel more meaningful to students, the more voive and choice, the better.
The leaders should assign the tasks depending on each member’s ability. On one
end of the scale, groups’ members should also discuss on how to design, create,
and present products. In the middle, I might provide a limited menu of options
for creative products to prevent students from becoming overwhemed by
choices. On the other end of the scale, students could decide what products they
will create, what resources they will use, and how they will structure their time.
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Stage 4: Conducting the project
A project should give students opportunities to build such 21 st century
skills as collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and the use of
technology, which will serve them well in the workplace and life.
Being given the Guidelines for poster layout, the students in each group
worked on preliminary sketches until they decided on the final design. Besides,
students gathered information from many resourses such as websites,
newspapers and their real lives. They then compiled information, deciding on
what pictures and information to paste on the posters. Finally, they decided on
how and where to put information and pictures on the posters.
Stage 5: Presenting the project
In this stage, students became aware of the ways their presentations meet
the criteria of assessment. The teacher-coach using teacher’s assessment,
observed how engaged they were in presenting their projects. Each group in my
class showcased its poster to the class and presented the content, the core value
of the project.
Stage 6: Reflecting on the Process and Evaluating the Process
In this simulation, the students discussed what they enjoyed about
working in their groups. They discussed what they liked about the materials and
what they found to be frustrating. Students shares their reflections to note what

they had in common and what was special to each group or to teach individual
personality. They reviewed the criteria of assessment and discussed how well
they met them.
The teacher assessed students’ posters basing on the criteria dicussed
before. I used my assessment rubric, combining with students’ self assessment
rubric and peer assessment rubric to evaluate students’ work, gave them
comments as well as compliment.
3.3. Teacher’s and students’ roles in PBL.
To maximize the benefits of PBL in foreign language classrooms in
general and in English speaking lessons in particular, both the teacher and the
students should do certain things.
+ The teacher’s role in PBL:
The teacher has the essential role during the implantation of PBL. The
teacher identifies the project that is interesting enough to excite students to
inquire about it, do research on it and draw reasonable multiple solution on the
project. The project should be linked to cource content and relevant to potential
future use in work environment.
- Identify a project that is appropriate for the course and student population. The
project should help students new skills they will use for a project that would be
too difficult for them to complete on their own. State the project in a narrative
format that includes details about its background but do not provide too much
information that the students could find on their own as they search for a
solution.
- Organize students in groups that represent different skill levels and diversity in
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an effort to achieve more successful team dynamics and outcomes.
Find ways to engage students collaboratively in teams. This can be achieved by
having students identify their strengths and weaknesses which will assist them

as they assume different roles during the PBL.
- Provide instructional support to assist the students in building their
understanding of new content and the project-solving process. Support should be
provided from the time you present the project to when the teams present their
solutions. Key here is support your role will be facilitator, coach and mentor to
guide and move students from what they already know to a deep understanding
of new material.
+ Students’ role in the implementation of PBL:
During PBL, students collaborate in small teams to explore the presented
problem situation. What follows is a method that summarizes the steps students
take to solve the problem situation.
- Explore the issues related to the problem.
Read, dicuss and analyze the problem and identify its significant parts
- List what the team knows about the problem.
The students should discuss in their team members’ current knowledge
and experiences that relate to the problem. Identify the strengs and capabilities
each team member can offer as they explore solutions to the problem.
Brainstorm possible solutions and accept everyone’s contributions.
- Develop and write out the problem statement in their own words.
This description should be based on what they know about the problem
and what they need to know to solve the problem do the following:
Get consensus from the team on the new written statement.
Write the problem statement.
Get feedback from the teacher (for confirmation that you are on the right track).
Be willing to change/ modify the problem statement as they gather.
- List all possible solutions to the problem.
List ideas, speculations, and hypotheses about the problem-what are its
causes and in what ways might the problem be solved? Order the possible
solutions from the most likely to the least and choose the one your team feels is
mostly to succeed.

- List actions to be taken with a timeline.
What do they have to know and do to solve the problem?
How do they rank these actions?
How do these actions relate to their list of possible solutions?
Do they agree on these actions and if not, how do they reach consensus?
- List what the team needs to know to solve the problem.
Discuss possible resources needed to solve the problem such as the internet,
textbooks, interviews, the instructor.
Assign and schedule research tasks to each team member.
Set deadlines for all tasks.
- Write the team’s report with the solution to the the problem that includes
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supporting documents.
This step can act as a preliminary step that involves a draft report or can
be the final report.
- Presenting and defending the conclusions.
An important goal in PBL is to present not only their team’s conclusions
but also the foundation upon which they are drawn.
- Review and reflect on the individual and team’s performance.
This reflection is an important step that will help validate what they
learned and how they could improve on the process. The key component of PBL
is the act of reflection in which students are asked to apply what they have
learned in other situations, how they will apply what they have learned in their
personal lives and how they will apply what they have learned in another
course-related projects.
3.4. Some examples about applying PBL in teaching speaking skills for the
tenth grade students with English textbook, Education Publishing House at
Nhu Xuan II high school.

3.4.1. UNIT 5: TECHNOLOGY AND YOU – PART B: SPEAKING
Activity 1: The drama: “Chi Pheo – Thi No” (See Appendix 1)
Watch the drama “Chi Pheo – Thi No” (performed by two students in the class)
then answer the two questions below:
1. How did Pheo and No contact to each other in the drama?
2. What did No want Pheo to buy for her?
The drama: Chi Pheo – Thi No
Music: Prelude music
No: (go around on the stage)
Narrator: Who are you?
No: Lở....
Narrator: What is your name?
No: Lở, Nở. I am Nở. Nguyễn Thị Nở
Narrator: Where do you live?
No: I live in Vu Dai village, Ly Nhan District, Ha Nam Province, Vietnam
Narrator: Who is your father?
No: My father is Nam Cao.
Narrator: Oh, I know you. Your lover is Chi Pheo.
No: Yes, my lover is Chi Pheo
Narrator: You are very beautiful.
No: (laugh: Hà hà hà.......). Yes, you are right. I’m very beautiful (deep voice),
beautiful from feet to head. (shake the body while speaking).
Narrator: Where are you going now?
No: I’m going to the supermarket to buy some flowers, some fruits and some
ticky rice to make Banh Chung.
Narrator: Oh, where is Chi Pheo?
No: Phèo, Phèo, Phèo (with annoying voice), Phèo bờ lèo tèo.
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( The phone is ringing...)
No: (laugh) hì hì hì. Here is my phone. hì hì hì.
Pheo: wow, Thi No. My love. I’m thinking of you.
No: Whey, Pheo. Where are you now? (with sharp voice)
Pheo: I’m here, in Vu Dai village, Ly Nhan District, Ha Nam Province,
Vietnam.
No: Ok. I’m waiting for you. (walk around and sigh to wait) say: Hey. When
Pheo comes in, No expresses her miff.
Pheo: (walk like a drunker)
Nở, Nở, sorry, sorry, I am sorry.
No: Sorry, sorry. You’re always sorry. You always tell a lie. You always let me
alone. I don’t believe you. Goodbye my love forever ( with loud voice and whirl
away)
Pheo: sing “Unbreak my heart”
No: (laugh) hà há ha then ask: Do you want to show your love to me?
Pheo: Yes, of course.
No: Could you buy me some gifts?
Pheo: Yes, what do you need?
No: (laugh) hì hì hì. I need an iphone to selfie with you. I need an electric
cooker and a gas to cook good meals for you.
Pheo: (Sing Cai Luong)
Do you know I love you and need you so much. No No tonight I can not sleep
so well. You don’t believe me because of money. I know I can not buy these
things for you. I just love you by my heart, my soul. I don’t know what to do.
No car, no job, no money, no home. I will die very soon. Why do you say
goodbye to my life.
No: You don’t love me any more. You only love drinking . Goodbye.
Pheo: No no, I love you but I can’t buy everything you’ve said. I’m too poor.
You understand?
No: Ha ha ha. I understand. I love you too.

Music: Pheo and No dance with music to end.
Suggested answers:
1. telephone/ mobile phone/ cell phone
2. a smart phone, an electric cooker and a gas
Activity 2: Look at the pictures about modern inventions that are shown on
the computer screen, then:
1. Write the names of these modern inventions on A0 paper in two
minutes then hang on the board for checking.
2. Answer the question: What do these pictures tell you about?
(See Appendix 1)
Suggested answers:
1.
- washing machine
- camera
- TV
- electric cooker
- radio
- electric fan
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- computer
- air - conditioner
2. Modern inventions

- light
- smart phone/mobile phone

Activity 3: Groups’ presentation (4 groups)
- Each group will talk about one kind of modern invention

- Other 3 groups will guess what the modern invention is
Group 1: Talk about the uses of Television

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Group 2: Talk about the uses of Electric cooker

Group 3: Talk about the uses of Fridge

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Group 4: Talk about the uses of Smart phone/ Mobile phone

3.4.2. UNIT 7: THE MASS MEDIA – PART B: SPEAKING
Activity 1: Look at the ten pictures on computer screen and:
1. Write English names of the things in the pictures shown
2. Tick the things which are types of the mass media
Suggested answers:
1. - newspapers
- films
- books
- TV
- the Internet
- plays
- magazines
- radio
- stories
- dictionaries

2. The things which are types of the mass media:
- newspapers
- TV
- the Internet
- magazines
- radio
Activity 2: Groups’ presentation
Group 1: Talk about newspapers:
- their typical features
- some popular types of newspapers in Vietnam
- the advantages of newspapers over other types of the mass media.
Group 2: Talk about Television:
- their typical features
- official national channels in Vietnam
- the advantages and disadvantages of Television
Group 3: Talk about the Internet:
- its typical features
- some popular webs in the world
- its advantages and disadvantages
Group 4:
What type of the mass media do you think is the most popular nowadays? Why?
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Activity 3: Which type of the mass media do you think is the most popular
nowadays? Give at least 2 reasons for your choice.
3.4.3. UNIT 12: MUSIC – PART B: SPEAKING
Activity 1: Listen to 5 songs and write:
- The name of each song
- The name of the singer or band who sang the song

- Kind of music that the song belongs to
Suggested answers:
Song
Singer/band
Kind of music
1. Đường đến ngày vinh quang Trần Lập
Rock
2. Em về kẻo trời mưa
Đàm Vĩnh Hưng
Bolero
3. My love
Westlife
Pop
4. Rainbow
Suboi
Rap – Hip hop
5. Gặp nhau giữa rừng mơ
Trọng Tấn – Anh Thơ Folk
Activity 2: Group’s presentation
Group 1: Talk about the importance of music in our daily life
Group 2: Talk about some popular kinds of music in Vietnam, including:
- At least 4 kinds of music
- Their typical features
- Some famous singers/bands for each kind of music
(See Appendix 2)

Group 3: - Interview your class members to find out:
What kind of music do most of your classmates like to listen to?
What is the most popular reason that they listen to music?
- Report the results to the class.

Group 4: Make a guessing game for other 3 groups by giving them some cues
about one of the famous musicians in Vietnam and ask them to guess who he/she
is.
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Suggested musician: Van Cao
Activity 3: Complete the handouts about your taste of music, including:
The kind of music you like
……………………………………….
Your favorite singer/band
……………………………………….
Why you listen to music
……………………………………….
When you often listen to music
……………………………………….
3.4.4. UNIT 16: HITORICAL PLACES – PART B: SPEAKING
Activity 1: Look at 8 pictures shown on the computer screen and match the
English name with one appropriate picture:
Pictures
English names
1
Con Dao prison
2
The tunnels of Cu Chi
3
My Son Sanctuary
4
Tan Trao war zone
5

War Remnants Museum
6
Ho Dynasty Citadel
7
Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam
8
Kim Lien relic site
Activity 2: Group’s presentation
Each group talks about one historical place in Vietnam by giving at least 4
features/ characteristics (without giving its name for other groups to guess after
each group’s presentation), including:
- Its location (in which province).
- Its construction time.
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- Its main structure and typical features
- Its main purpose when being built.
Group 1: Talk about President Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum.
Group 2: Talk about Thong Nhat Conference Hall.
Group 3: Talk about Hue Imperial City.
Group 4: Talk about Hoa Lu ancient capital.
Activity 3: List out the songs which relate to historical places/events/
characters in Vietnam.
Note: Teacher can prepare some famous songs about historical places / events/
characters to show to students (by playing the radio) as suggestions for them to
do the task better.
Suggested answers:
Songs
Historical places/ events/characters

Chào sông Mã anh hùng
Ma river (Thanh Hoa province)
Bến nhà Rồng
Nha Rong harbor (Ho Chi Minh city)
Đồng Lộc 10 Bông Hoa Bất tử
Dong Loc junction (Ha Tinh province)
Đường Trường Sơn xe anh qua
Truong Son road
Câu hò bên bờ Hiền Lương
Hien Luong bridge
Biết ơn chị Võ Thị Sáu
Vo Thi Sau heroine
Bế Văn Đàn sống mãi
Be Van Dan hero in the historical
campaign of Dien Bien Phu
Mười chín tháng Tám
The August revolution in 1945
Chiến thắng Điện Biên
The battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954
Giải phóng miền Nam
The end of Vietnamese war in 1975

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4. Results of applying the method
In order to assess the effectiveness of this method in teaching speaking
skills, I carried out a survey to test 36 students’ attitude and results in class 10A
before and after I applied the method. Their attitude and results towards the
implementation of PBL in their speaking lessons were shown as follows:

The positive changes in students’ attitude and interests towards the
application of PBL in their English speaking lessons:
The
36 students in How much they like their speaking lessons
application class 10A
Very much
Not very much
Not at all
of PBL
Before
Number
5
18
13
Percent (%)
13,9
50
36,1
After
Number
14
17
5
Percent (%)
38,9
47,2
13,9
The positive results of students in speaking skills after implementing
PBL in their English speaking lessons:
The

36 students Students’ results in speaking skills
application in
class Pronunciation
Fluency
Confidence
of PBL
10A
good
not good yes
no
yes
no
Before
Number
11
25
8
28
7
29
Percent (%) 30,6
69,4
22,2 77,8 19,4 80,6
After
Number
22
14
19
17
20

16
Percent (%) 61,1
38,9
52,8 47,2 55,6 44,4
As can be seen from the two tables above, the implementation PBL in
teaching speaking skills has brought good effect on students’ learning attitude.
Before using this method, most of my students could traditionally complete all
the tasks in the textbook with the instruction or help from their teacher.
However, they easily forgot the vocabularies, the topic as well as the contents of
the lesson. To a certain extent, after each lesson, students seemed to know the
floating part in an “ice berg”, not really understand the deeply sinked part in the
lesson, in other word, it is the core value of the lesson. Moreover, the
implementation of PBL also helped my students enhance their speaking skills
day by day. After each lesson, they seemed to be more and more confident and
their ability of pronunciation and fluency was improved and became beter and
better.
It is a matter of the fact that when applying PBL in teahing in general and
teaching speaking skills in particular, my students enjoyed working together to
create their groups’ outcomes, they seemed to be very eager for each lesson
because they like dealing new tasks and challenges.

18


PART III. CONCLUSION, SUGGESTIONS.
1. Conclusion:
According to the result of the research, it is determined that the
implementation of PBL is applicable method in the language learning process.
It has been proved that students’ skill in speaking was improved in every cycle.
Based on the research finding, the writer concluded that PBL improves students’

speaking skills, accuracy and fluency on the ten grade students. Hopefully, the
study will contribute into the success of teaching speaking skills at high schools
in general and at Nhu Xuan II high school in particular.
Firstly, after doing this research, I will master the theory, techniques and
have much knowledge after learning other researchers for the field that helps me
know how to motivate my students join in speaking activities and make them
feel confident and excited about speaking tasks by using PBL effectively.
Secondly, hoping with the possitive results of the study, my students will
become eager and interested in speaking lessons. They will have more passions
for English, especially for speaking skills. Then they can improve their English
speaking ability in both study and daily communication.
Last but not least, I hope that the findings in this research can support my
colleagues at Nhu Xuan II high school and other teachers in their teaching. They
can combine the traditional teaching methods and PBL to make speaking
activitives become various and the students have lots of chances to pratice
speaking skills and experience in good speaking environment.
2. Suggestions
In the end of this chapter, there will be several suggestions for the teacher
and the writer. Since the nature of PBL requires a long time for completing the
project, the teacher should manage the speaking session as well so that it will
not disrupt other materials that are being taught. Therfore, the writer suggests
teachers as well as readers to use PBL for increasing students’ speaking since it
is simple, easy to do, enjoyable, and up to date. During PBL, the teacher should
be prepared well with any device or tools that support the project. The teacher
has to handle the schedule well and be on time about the deadline of the project.
The teacher also can use PBL with other technique which support the PBL. The
teacher should be creative in deciding the project to make the activities become
more interesting as well as challenging to the students.
HEADMASTER'S CONFIRMATION

Thanh Hoa, 15th May, 2021
I insist that this initiative
experience be my own
writing, not copy the others'
contents.

Phạm Thị Liên
19


REFERENCES
1. Book: “Những vấn đề chung về đổi mới giáo dục Trung học phổ thông môn
tiếng Anh” ( Bộ Giáo dục và Đào tạo) – NXB Giáo Dục.
2. Textbook: “Tiếng Anh 10” ( Bộ Giáo dục và Đào tạo) – NXB Giáo Dục.
3. Patton, Allec (2012). Work That Matters: The teacher’s guide to Project Based Learning. The Paul Hamlyn Foundation
4. Maulany, D. B (2013). The use of project- based learning in improving the
students speaking skill ( A Classroom Action Research at One of Primary
Schools in Bandung) Journal of English and Education, 1(1), 30-42.
5. Railsback, Jennifer. 2002. Project-Based instruction: Creating Excitement for
Learning. Portland, Oregon: Northwest Regional Education Library
6. Thomas, J. W. 2000. A Review of Research on Project-Based Learning. San
Rafael, California: The Autodesk Foundation
7. Bell, S. (2010). Project-Based Learning for the 21st Century: Skills for the
Future. The Clearing House: A journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and
ideas, 83(2), 39-43.
8. Srikrai, P. (2008). Project Based Learning in an EFL classroom. Journal of
Humanities and Social Sciences, 25, 85-111.
9. www.teachingenglish.com.

DANH MỤC
SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM ĐÃ ĐƯỢC HỘI ĐỒNG SÁNG KIẾN KINH
NGHIỆM NGÀNH GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO HUYỆN, TỈNH VÀ CÁC
CẤP CAO HƠN XẾP LOẠI TỪ C TRỞ LÊN
Họ và tên tác giả: Phạm Thị Liên
Chức vụ:
Giáo viên
Đơn vị công tác: Trường THPT Như Xuân II

TT

Tên đề tài SKKN

Cấp đánh giá
xếp loại
(Ngành GD cấp
huyện/tỉnh;
Tỉnh...)

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

Năm học
đánh giá
xếp loại

Ngành GD cấp

tỉnh

C

20182019

Ngành GD cấp
tỉnh

C

20192020

Some methods for teaching
vocabulary in pre-reading to
1

help the eleventh grade
students be motivated in the
reading lessons
Using mind-mapping
technique in teaching post-

2

reading to help the twelfth
grade students be motivated
and improve their reading
comprehension.