Creating extra curricular activities to promote students spirit and motivation for studying english at nhu xuan high school

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
I. RATIONALE
Nowadays when the era of science, technology and information boom
develop, the trend of globalization and integration among countries also poses a
very important task for our education sector.The most vital aspect, language
differences are a heavy barrier to the cooperation and absorption of scientific,
technical and cultural advances between nations and peoples. Many countries
around the world are using English as the national language, English has been
chosen as the international language. Therefore, the Ministry of Education and
Training has introduced English into Vietnam's education program right from the
primary schools. However, the ability of Vietnamese students to comunicate in
English has not yet been proficient, not be commensurate with the level
compared to other subjects. Especially, Nhu Xuan High school is located in a
mountainous district, 90km far from Thanh Hoa city. All students do not have
many opportunities to practice the amount of English knowledge what they
have learned. From my own perspective, to create a communication
environment for students to practice is a necessary method to improve their
ability for learning foreign languages. However, class time is limited with a lot
of knowledge content and a large number of students, so conducting
extracurricular sessions both enhances the spirit of love of the subject and
reinforces the amount of knowledge in the classroom. while creating a
comfortable atmosphere for communication is extremely helpful to overcome
the above difficulties. In order to improve the effectiveness of English teaching
in Nhu Xuan high school and practice communication skills for students, I
chose the topic for my Experiences: “ Creating Extra-curricular activities to
promote students' spirit and motivation for studying English at Nhu Xuan
High School"
II. AIMS OF THE STUDY
The major aims of the study are:
- To improve the quality of the lessons
- To help students be interested in studying English

- To help students understand themes and memorize new words,
structures, lessons more easily.
- To encourage Ss to speak in English smoothly when they communicate.
- To contribute a small part to the improvement of teaching and learning at
Nhu Xuan high school


III. RESEARCH SUBJECTS
This subject will help students interested in accessing to new words,
structures, lessons to improve their little skills now.
IV. METHOD OF STUDY
- Research in the teaching of English at Nhu Xuan High School.
- School year 2019 - 2021
- Grade 10B2, 11A3
- Using some types of extra- curricular activities to promote students’
skills.
- Using comparison in percent before and after studying to assess the
quality of teaching and study
V. PARTICIPANTS
The subjects chosen for the research include students in class 10B2, 11A3
of Nhu Xuan High School with some types of extra- curricular activities , and
6 teachers who are currently teaching English. Their experience of teaching
English varied from 10 years to 20 years. The research was carried out during
the first term of the academic year 2019 – 2020 at Nhu Xuan High School.
PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT
I. AN OVERVIEW
1. Research history:
1.1.Research situation and organization of "Extracurricular
activities" in the world:
Every year, of more than 30,000 student applications submitted to each of

the top universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Yale, UCLA, nearly half of them
have achieved excellent TOEFL, SAT, and academic grade points. So how does
the admissions committee select the most deserving students?
After scores are checked, the admissions committee will read students'
essays, interviews, and extracurricular activities. With either of the two required
essays, students must write about the meaning and influence of their personality
and dreams. If the scores were predictable due to the fact that each school
publishes its average student admissions, these essays and extracurricular
activities are considered to be the "hardest" to predict. But to really put weight
on these activities in essays and interviews, the following factors need to be
achieved:
- Students' enthusiasm and passion
-The maturity and character development of students through each


challenging stage of the activity
- Leadership quality, dynamic, brave to promote your own ideas and
teamwork.
- The long-term, persistent commitment of students to grow and
contribute to each activity
Talking about holistic education, Rabowle (1494-1533) Renaissance
thinker and educator once emphasized “Education must include educational,
moral, physical, aesthetic contents ... In addition to studying at home, there are
also visits to the workshops, shops, contact with writers, parliamentarians,
especially once a month teachers and students return to live in the countryside
for a day.
Makarenco - the famous Russian teacher of the early twentieth century,
also said: “I persistently say that the problems of education, the method of
education that cannot be limited to the problems of teaching, are even more
impossible. so that the educational process is only done in the classroom that

should be per square meter of our country ... That is, under any circumstances, it
is not conceived that education work can only be conducted in the classroom. "
1.2. Research situation and organization of "Extracurricular
activities" in Vietnam:
HUNA - Extracurricular classes help improve children's thinking and
creativity. Extracurricular activities - surely not an unfamiliar phrase to
Vietnamese schools, parents and students. However, in order for extracurricular
activities to really promote effectiveness in improving the quality of teaching
and learning is still a problem. In developed countries around the world, the
building of collaborative research networks and capacity building to implement
extracurricular educational activities is an issue. In the traditional classrooms
that are very popular in Vietnam, teachers are considered as informants,
knowledge is only transferred one way from teacher to student has also caused a
boredom. bored. New teaching methods need to combine both elements of play
and learning, which will help children be more excited to participate in learning
and also appreciate the child's initiative. Those who directly teach at high
schools are very interested in how to promote the creative initiative of students,
arousing passion for extracurricular learning in the current situation.
Extracurricular activities in the school not only help students work
happily and healthy, but also create a friendly learning environment between
students, between classroom and classroom, and between students. with the


teacher. Extracurricular activities depending on each school can be done in
different forms. Some schools set up clubs of culture, arts and sports to
encourage students to participate. Some schools organize extracurricular
activities on holidays, New Year, traditional school day. Extracurricular subjects
can be mentioned such as: Swimming, volleyball, badminton, cooking ...
II. Theoretical basis of the topic
1. Learning Extracurricular activities.

In order to improve the teaching quality of the subject, recently, on
research forums, conferences, seminars, people have discussed a lot about the
issue of innovative teaching methods. The pressing concern for those who
directly teach at high schools is how to promote students' creative initiative,
improve the effectiveness of aesthetic education, and arouse passion and
excitement. learning subjects in the present situation. To deal with the above
situation, it is necessary to combine innovative teaching methods in both formal
and extracurricular activities, but first of all, there must be a correct concept of
the importance and meaning of extracurricular activities.
Extracurricular activities under the concept of innovative teaching
methods is a form of active, useful and effective self-study, connecting the
podium with real life, expanding, extending the school of thinking - evaluation.
about lessons for students; promote the activeness and creativity of learners, recheck the quality of teaching in regular hours. Extracurricular activities,
therefore, are both educational and aesthetic activities, "Contributing to creating
a cultural lifestyle and the ability to enjoy cultural arts for students. Through
extracurricular activities, students are developed intellectually, morally,
physically and sensitively ".
2. Effects of extracurricular activities.
Through outdoor games and group discussions, students will practice
leadership skills, including vision and goal skills, team motivation, project
planning, and intentions. Patience to overcome challenges. More importantly,
the sharing sessions of the siblings about how to pursue and create
extracurricular activities will help students after the shaping program start their
own activities from.
Therefore, while a parent or student may find extracurricular activities, if
the above factors are not met, it will be difficult for the student to be special to
his or her abilities.


Following up the process of renewing teaching methods in high schools in

recent years, the innovative content often focuses on regular hours, while the
extra-curricular form is less focused on implementation. Is the student's afterschool activities unimportant, and does not play a role in improving the quality
of teaching and learning the subject? It is time to redefine the position and role
of extracurricular activities, highly promote creativity, dynamism and interest of
students.
3. Theoretical basis:
To create a new atmosphere, a new space, we must change the space and
time for them, so that they have the opportunity to think freely, out of the
pressure of learning. That's why I have boldly created some extra-curricular
lessons in one semester.Extracurricular lessons will be taken the initiative in
time and space for students by teachers , depending on the convenient location
of the school. Furthermore, when participating in the extracurricular course, it
will help them to be more active and brave. Just doing it 2-3 times per semester
also helps students enjoy learning English, giving them a chance to apply what
they have gained in class. Therefore, when teaching foreign languages, in
addition to general tips that apply to receptive skills, teachers also need to have
specific tips for students' extracurricular activities. To have a quality
extracurricular activity, teachers need to implement the following basic teaching
tips:


3.1. Clearly defined for students to understand
English
extracurricular learning.
Why is learning English so difficult?
When students learn, teachers impart knowledge, they are used to just
learning grammar to do homework. In addition, teachers also emphasize
expressing language through exercises, so forming a habit that can be difficult to
change in language learning. Therefore, learning a foreign language becomes
more difficult.

When studying, students face the following challenges:
- Can't control the amount of language themselves.
- Improve literacy skills to participate in exams.
- The lesson has many new words, lazy to study.
- Do not pay attention to pronunciation, intonation, tone.
- Students who do not listen and speak often will not recognize words
they has known.
So how to help children expand the scope of learning foreign languages,
so that an English lesson is less stressful and more enjoyable. That is what a lot
of teachers are thinking about?
Does the student feel confused when he speaks English? Is he afraid of
the bad pronunciation? Or even make many grammatical mistakes when
speaking?
Have you had a hard time to understand what native speakers speak? Or
feel defeated because you don't understand the language of the characters easily?
Will our students never learn English well? Are you sad because you have
learned English for many years and still cannot speak English easily?
To improve the situation and answer the above questions, it is the duty of
our teachers.
All high schools want to create a diverse and rich environment, they also
value learning outside the classroom (from the environment and the surrounding
community) as learning in the classroom. As a result, they need students with a
variety of extracurricular interests and activities to contribute to hundreds of
school clubs and programs. On the other hand, it is these well-rounded students
who will make best use of college opportunities to mature not only academically
but also socially, culturally and personality.
Extracurricular activities are activities outside of the formal curriculum,
often of a voluntary rather than compulsory nature. You can participate in

extracurricular activities in class / school or in society with many different
options: Sports, Culture, Art, Volunteering, Organization ... Extracurricular
activities play an important role. in adding your skills and life experiences to
help you become a more inclusive and enjoyable person. Extracurricular
activities of the English subject are not easy, teachers must prepare many visual
tools to help stimulate students' curiosity and interest in this subject.
3.2. Measures to create an effective English extra-curricular activity:
- Let students choose the topic or content that is limited by the teacher.
This brings the students attention to the topic and interests the students about the
lesson
- Introduce topics, contexts, situations, and related content in the session:
explore what students already know and don't know about the topic's content,
elicit curiosity, create excitement the article is about to discuss
- Explain some necessary words and structures: however, it is not
necessary to introduce all new words, so let students guess the meaning of words
in context. If the student does not understand the meaning of the word, I will
explain it by definition or by example.
- Prepare the specific requirements, tasks and roles of each extracurricular
activity.
- When conducting activities, using visual aids, pictures, illustrations,
movies, music or playing the character of a story. attached will support very well
for clarifying context, suggesting discussion content. Pictures are a means of
testing students' understanding.
- Conduct in three phases: before, during and after the extracurricular
activities. Divide the process into steps: for example, to watch a video clip
depending on the topic, I divided the process into three parts
+ Discuss main ideas, answer instructional questions, compare
predictions.
+ See details of that video.
+ Discuss as per my request about the clip just about.

- Elicit the differences in answers of pairs and groups and compare the
results and discuss after responses.
- Ensuring the quality of the meeting.
+ Radio tapes, projectors with good quality images
+ Teachers operate with average speed, correct pronunciation, and
detailed instructions.


3.3. Types of extracurricular activities.

Type 1: Game activities:
You can participate in a traffic safety game, one team proceeds to follow
the instructions of the other team (in English) … It is not necessary to have an
achievement or a certificate. So you can arrange a non-stressful practice time
that fits your study schedule.
Type 2: Singing activities:
You have a talent for singing, playing an instrument or break dance,
classical dance and have performed in front of school or at proms… Cultural
activities are often very rich and do not require you to have any extraordinary
talent. often. For example, participating in singing in cultural programs does not
require you to have the singer's golden voice, as long as you have the confidence
to go on stage. Or break dance performances don't have to be on a professional
level, practice with your friends to perform or just to practice.
Type 3: Leadership activities:
You are class moniter, class vice –moniter , school union secretary, class
secretary…. Those are convincing personal titles for your leadership ability.
However, it is not necessary to have a "title" for you to be an active person, a
leader. You can participate in school union work, organize proms, exchange
programs between classes, pre-school, etc. These organizing activities teach you
how to work with a plan, responsibility and ability to work in teams. So don't

just be partygoers, be fun makers.


Type 4: talent activities:
You are good at designing, you learn to draw from a little boy, you study
vocals, you play musical instruments (guitar, piano, violin…) very well, etc.
These special talents distinguish you from other “applicants”. With these talents,
it will be very easy for you to “contribute to the campus” of your school in the
future

III. Illustration lesson
(Stages of an extracurricular session)
I. Aim:
- Practise listening skills to get key information
- Practise life skills
- Practise practical application skills
- Students watch a video about the talent competition and complete the
teacher's requests.
II. Stages of teaching:
1) Before watching the video:
- Teacher introduces the topic: We will watch a video about talent
competitions in the UK. On that basis, teachers let students guess the meaning of
some important words.
- The teacher can make guessing questions while watching the video:
The teacher asks a few discussion questions in English or Vietnamese
depending on the level of the question and the student's level of learning to help
students have some vocabulary while watching the clip. For example: This is a
talent competition, so what talent do you think they will compete about “What
talent will everyone compete? " How many judges are there? "How many are

there the judges?", Who will take part in the competition? )…If you don't have
the vocabulary, your teacher will provide them in questions and answers.

+ Teacher asks students to work in pairs and guess the answer.
+ The teacher writes the students' answers on the board.
2) While watching:
The first time: Students watch the movie, check the prediction
Ask students: Can you name the category of the contest? “Can you name
kind of competition?”
The teacher asks the students to watch the clip and notice how the
contestant communicates with the judges. This is an information-led function.
Information-led function (information-led function)
- Asking for information / garthering information: To ask for unknown
information, we use different types of questions to collect different information,
so the answer is different.
Do you like this programe?
What do you feel like in this talent’s competiton?
=> Yes, I like it very much
Everyone can take part in this programe
Checking information:
Common speech acts in social relations include: greeting and introducing
(Greeting and introducing), leaving and saying goodbye (Leaving and saying
goodbye), complimenting and congratulating (complimenting and
congratulating). thanking, apologizing, and expressing sympathy.
The dialogue 1:
The Judge: Hello.


Boy: Hello.

The Judge: Welcome to Britain’s got talent. What’s your name?
Boy: Robin
The Judge: Robin, how old are you?
Boy: Seven
The Judge: And, do you go here to get competiton?
Boy: Yes
The Judge: Oh, good
Boy: Louis, My aunt is looking for a boyfriend
Teacher asks students to practice exchanging information with you.
Example: What does Robin say about his Aunt?
He wants to look for a boyfriend for his aunt.
The teacher asked the children to report the results after watching the
movie.
- The Second time: Teacher asks students to carefully read the given
information in the table and then listen to the tape to fill in the missing
information (listen twice).
+ Teacher asks students to compare their answers with you.
+ Ask students to present their results.
- The third time: Teacher asks students to review and check answers.
After watching the teacher hand out some questions to the groups, do their own
research and answer. Then present to the class
3) After watching:
- Have students summarize the content they have gathered during the
practice of the previous exercises.
- Ask students to work in groups to summarize the content of the lesson.
Some images from my extracurricular activities lessons

Leadership activities images

Game activities images

Talent activities images
IV: RESEARCH RESULTS
After a period of conducting extra-curricular activities according to the
method described above, I see the following advantages:
- Students have conditions to practice in pairs of "pairwork" and in groups
"groupwork".
- By watching audio images a few times, students can grasp the main
information of the lesson and develop other secondary skills such as: listening,
inferring and guessing the meaning of words, applying practical use in
communication, after study can be used immediately.


- Students are more active now, students can participate in many different
activities.
- Teachers can easily help students who are lazy to learn English.
- Students can practice all 4 skills, especially listening and speaking skills.
Reading skills are demonstrated through homework. Writing skills are
demonstrated through writing and presenting the results of exercises.
- With the teaching of an extra-curricular period according to the above
method, the results in the main lessons of the students have also improved
markedly. Clearly see the excitement for this sport.
Compared to the amount of the initial survey
Result before applying extra- curricular to teach
School year: in the first term 2019 - 2020
class
Number of
Average
Weak (%)

Rather (%) Good (%)
students
(%)
10 B2
40
57,5
30
12,5
0
11A3
39
55
40
5
0
Results after applying the research in teaching
School year: in the last term 2019 – 2020
class
Number of
Weak
Average
Rather
Good (%)
students
(%)
(%)
(%)
10 B2
40
20

50
20
10
11A3
39
20
50
22,2
9,8
The above tables disclosed that the good students accounted 0 percent
after applying the research in teaching helps students interested in increased
9,8% to 10%, rather students accounted from 5-12,5 percent increased 20-22,2
percent and bad students decreased rapidly.
PART III: CONCLUSION
I. SUMMARY OF THE MAIN FINDINGS
Each person has own idea, each teacher has a style of promotion.
However, I think no matter the method, it has the common purpose of imparting
to the students to learn the right and enough knowledge, helping them to
understand the lesson and deepen their knowledge as quickly as possible,
helping them to have passion. in his discipline. With this subject, I think, having
a common method in teaching to achieve the highest efficiency is something that
every teacher must explore, but not everyone can easily achieve that.
My thoughts above about "Exciting learning" are just the experiences drawn
from the old and new methods of teaching practice. There may be many


shortcomings, but that is just a personal factor. We hope all levels and branches
pay more attention to this subject.
II. IMPLICATIONS FOR MORE EFFECTIVE
1. To the teachers

Choosing techniques is the day – to – day business of every English
teacher. Extra-curricular may play an important role in lessons because if the
teacher conducts this stage successfully, the classroom atmosphere will change
and also the students’ performance will be much better. Therefore, the teacher
should make sure that the following things are done perfectly.
First of all, preparation is necessary for English teacher with a list in
details of activities prepared with useful language knowledge, good time
management for each activity, effective visual aids usages and clear instructions
giving. One more thing is that the teacher should know how to motivate the
students by changing the activities day by day or take care of the quiet students
in the class by using types of extra-curricular in teaching
2. To the classroom facilities
In Vietnam, it is normal that there are 40 to 50 students in a language
classroom at high school. This makes the teachers meet many difficulties in
conducting a language lesson. However, the situation can not be changed in a
short period of time so the teacher should get over all these difficulties by
making sure that the classroom facilities are comfortable enough before the
lessons
III. LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER
RESEARCH
The study still has some limitations. First of all, this study is very small –
scale, which focuses on only the way students motivate the lessons. Secondly,
the study basically bases on one source of data, questionnaires, which might be
subjective on the side of the informants, so the researcher can not guarantee the
reliability of the information collected.
IV. CONCLUSION
Through the process of applying new teaching methods in the teaching
departments, namely the application of the language in extra-curricular activities
were predecessors in the same field so creative, I draw some lessons.
In the process of applying the extra-curricular activities , need to take

measures to change or modification to suit each lesson and each object to avoid
boredom.


XÁC NHẬN CỦA THỦ TRƯỞNG
ĐƠN VỊ

Thanh Hóa, ngày 10 tháng 5 năm2020
Tơi xin cam đoan đây là SKKN của
mình viết, không sao chép nội dung của
người khác
LÊ THỊ THƯƠNG

REFERENCES
1. Accoding to the opinion of Rabowle (1494-1533)
2. Makarenco Famous Russian teacher of the early twentieth century
3. Phan Trọng luận, Phương pháp dạy học. Nxb Đại học Quốc gia 1996,
Tr. 381


4.Internet sources.
5.Oxford Dictionary.

DANH MỤC CÁC ĐỀ SKKN MÀ TÁC GIẢ ĐÃ ĐƯỢC HỘI ĐỒNG CẤP
GD&ĐT ĐÁNH GIÁ ĐẠT TỪ LOẠI C TRỞ LÊN
STT

TÊN SÁNG KIẾN

XẾP

LOẠI

NĂM CÔNG NHẬN


1

2

3

Using games in teaching warm – up
activities for non – major
English students to improve their
English language
Promoting the effectiveness of pair
or group activities in process of
teaching English
How to teach the stated and
unstated detail questions effectively
in the G.C.S.E test for students at
Nhu Xuan High School

B

2017

C

2019

C

2020