using project – based learning method in speaking lessons english 12 to enhance students speaking skill at ethnic boarding high school

PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1. The reason for choosing the topic
Project-based teaching is a student-centered teaching model that, through open
tasks, encourages students to explore knowledge during implementing and creating
our own products. In teaching English, this method is considered effective because
through the implementation of a project, students grasp language skills and use
foreign languages in communication activities by their own competencies. In the
pilot English textbook, the Project part is included in the program as the main
content accompanying the main grammar and skills of a lesson. However, for the
old English textbooks that are still being applied in most high schools in rural and
mountainous areas of Nghe An province, this Project part does not exist. For 12th
graders, they focus on learning grammar to focus on graduation exams, but almost
ignore learning skills such as listening and speaking. Without experience in using
the language, students may tend to be nervous about trying to say things.
Especially in our school, the teacher’s duty is twice as hard as others because my
students always have to learn under difficult conditions and very little opportunity
to meet native English speakers and not access to modern up-to- date materials. In
fact, my school’s students come from mountainous areas where their learning
condition and facilities are remarkably limited and they lack English basic
knowledge from lower grades. This makes students have more obstacles in
studying and mastering it. To overcome these difficulties, it is high time for me
and colleagues to join hands to create a language environment and innovate
teaching methods that develop English students’ competence so that their English
skills, especially speaking skill will be better and better in the future. Via having
taught English at high school for years and having applied new methodologies in
my numerous classes recently, I boldly gave the initiative "USING PROJECT –
BASED LEARNING METHOD IN SPEAKING LESSONS - ENGLISH 12
TO ENHANCE STUDENTS' SPEAKING SKILL AT ETHNIC BOARDING
HIGH SCHOOL". With the analysis of the benefits of the Project-based teaching
method as well as experimenting with the method in some speaking lessons for
12th grade students, I hope to give students more excitement.

2. The new point of the topic
The topic revolves around analyzing the benefits of the Project-based learning
method studied by educational experts and using this teaching method in some
specific speaking periods of the grade 12 English textbook. The project-based
learning approach can, at its maximum, stimulate a student's active participation in
the learning process; develop students' learning skills, problem solving, assessment
skills, communication skills such as listening, speaking, presenting as well as
group work skills. Also, it increases students’ ability to think independently,
creatively and adjust students' perceptions, behaviors, and skills. Thus, this
pedagogical method can promote democracy and dynamism to achieve the goal of
teaching foreign languages. In recent times, there have been many research topics
on innovative teaching methods. The project-based learning method is a fairly new
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project. In fact, there are a number of teachers who research on project-based
learning method, but mainly apply it to the pilot textbook or selected class’s
students with high proficiency, not yet broadly applied to students with low
English proficiency as in my Ethnic boarding high school. More specifically, the
method of asking students to carry out a project to fulfill the requirements of a
lesson is a relatively new method and this is a part that has not been officially
applied in the old program English textbook. Using project-based learning method
that attracts excitement, the student's initiative in speaking lessons for 12th graders
is the teaching method that I have used the most effectively in the school year.
3. The aim of the study.
This study is carried out to meet the following aims:
1. To experiment the applicability of project- based learning in developing
grade 12 students’ speaking skills.
2. To measure the impact of project- based learning on grade 12 students’
speaking skills.

4. The methods of the study
This section presents the research design as well as research method, data
collection and data analysis. The research context with an overview of ethnic
boarding high school, the syllabus, the current teaching and learning situation are
mentioned. The research approach and method of data analysis are presented later
on to provide how to deal with the research questions and reach the solutions.
5. The scope of the study
Although there are many different ways to motivate students to learn English, all
these issues cannot be fully covered in this paper. Due to the limited time and the
length of the thesis, I focus on exploiting students’ attitudes toward the use of PBL
and its effectiveness in teaching the oral presentation skill. The subjects of the
study include thirty three 12th graders at ethnic boarding high school.
6. Questionnaires for students
6.1. Pre-task questionnaire
This pre - task questionnaire was designed with three parts with 6 questions
Part 1 was about the students’ personal information
Part 2 was designed to elicit the students’ opinions of their motivation and attitude
in learning speaking English
Part 3 collected some information relating to factors affecting their working time
in English speaking class
6.2. Post-task questionnaire
The post-task questionnaire consists of 5 questions which are divided into 2 parts:
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Part 1 was about the students’ personal information
Part 2 was about the students’ motivation changes after applying new projectbased learning in speaking English.
PART II: MAIN CONTENT
1. Theoretical and practical background methods
1.1.

Theoretical background

1.1.1. Project-based learning method
1.1.1.1. Definition
Many definitions of project-based learning have been proposed by various authors.
Moss and Van Duzer define it as an instructional approach that contextualizes
learning by presenting learners with problems to solve or products to develop. As
is discussed in J.W. Thomas, a review of Research on Project- Based Learning, is a
model that organizes learning around the projects which are complex tasks, based
on challenging questions or problems, involving students in design, problemsolving, decision making, or investigative activities, giving students the
opportunity to work relatively autonomously over extended period of time and
culminating in realistic products or presentations. According to W.H Kilpatrick, “
A project is a whole-hearted purposeful activity proceeding in a social
environment”. According to Ballord, “ A project is a bit of real life that have been
imparted into school”. According to Thomas and Long, “ It is a voluntary
undertaking which involves constructive effort or thought and eventuates into
objective results”.
Each definition points to an aspect that the author wants to address. However,
project-based teaching can also be considered as a complex form of teaching or
teaching method in which, under the guidance of teachers, learners acquire
knowledge and develop skills through solving a case study, following the
curriculum, combining theory with practice and creating specific products. Each
scholar has a different definition of project-based teaching, but they all draw the
common features of this direction as follows: Project-based teaching must be part
of the curriculum; Project-based teaching must focus on the questions and
problems raised in order to be in the knowledge and skills of the subject; Projectbased teaching enables students to see their own progress in implementing and
completing projects; Project-based teaching must be done by students; Projectbased teaching must be practical, not just book-based theory.
To implement this empirical initiative, I myself have based on the theoretical
framework that the above scholars give because these are theories that have been

proven through research and have been recognized at prestigious seminars in the
world. At the same time, I have also selected highly practical theoretical
frameworks that can be best applied in 12th grade speaking lessons.
1.1.1.2. Characteristics of Project-Based Learning
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A project - based lesson is based on project-based learning, an approach
where learners carry out project such as solving a problem or planning an activity.
The language learnt comes out of the linguistic demands of the activity. Kolb
(Kolb, 1984, cited in Tsiplakides, 2009) provided that a project - based lesson is
structured around the need that arises during the performance of a given project. In
the classroom, various elements of the project -based approach are applicable to
activities in other methodologies. For example, learners can see a model of the
activity they are to do first, prepare a report on how they complete a project, and
the teacher can record this report and analyze it for further work. The followings
are the characteristics of project- based lesson that are emphasized by Tsiplakides
(2009)
1. Project-based learning is potentially powerful and widely applicable.
2. Suitable for learners of all ages and backgrounds.
3. Addressing the crucial problem-directly by using active and real project as
learning activities.
4. Ability to perform the instructional project is equivalent to the ability to use
the language, so a functional ability should be a natural outcome of the
instructional experience.
5. Project-based learning can be very effective when the learners are engaged
in relatively similar out-of-class activities (social or academic).
6. Project-based learning can be especially useful for learners who are not
accustomed to a more traditional type of classroom learning or who need to learn
cognitive, cultural, and life skills along with the language.

1.1.1.3. Main Principles of the Project Method
a. The Principle of Purpose
Purpose motivates learning. The Interest cannot be aroused by aimless and
meaningless activities. The child must have an ideal. "Why is he doing certain
things?".
b. The Principle of Activity
Activity is a significant feature of this method. Children select, plan, execute and
evaluate their project themselves
c. The Principle of Experience
Experience is the best teacher. What is real must be experienced. The children
learn new facts and information through experience.
The project is selected from social life situations and every project should be a
social experience for the children
d. The Principle of Reality
The project cannot be motivating and interesting for the learners unless it is
natural and real from the learner’s point of view
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e. The Principle of Freedom
The desire for an activity must be spontaneous and not forced by the teacher.
The child should be free from imposition, restrictions or obstruction so that he may
express himself fully and freely.
He must be given freedom to choose an activity, to do an activity according to
his interests, needs and capacities.
f. The principle of motivation
The selected project should be purposeful and therefore motivating for the
learners. Purpose and goal make the project meaningful and significant.
g. The Principle of Utility
Knowledge will be worthwhile when it is useful and practical the project

method develops various attitudes and values which are of great significance from
the practical point of view.
h. Principle of Democratic Procedures
In project method each member of the group has equal rights, duties and
responsibilities. The procedures adopted for carrying out the project are
democratic.
1.1.1.4. Project-based learning in foreign language education
Learning a language requires a student to communicate with the other people
using the same language. Thus, they take part in various real situations such as
designing investigations, making explanations, modeling, and presenting their
ideas to others when they conduct a project. One of the benefits of project-based
learning is that students can more easily see the value and the meaning of the tasks
and activities they perform.
Either way, it’s hard for them to see the meaning in what they are doing. But
when they are involved in a investigation designed to answer a question that is
important to them because they have a chance to practise language naturally, they
can see how a language can be spoken to solve important problems. Clearly,
Project-Based learning can meet this need when it is applied to a speaking lesson.
(Krajcik, 1998).
1.1.1.5. The structure of project-based teaching
Learner
The learner is the center of project teaching, learners do not work independently
but work in groups, act as people from different fields, tasked to fulfill their roles
according to the set objectives. out. When performing the assigned task, learners
decide for themselves how to approach the problem and the activities to be taken to
solve the problem. In project-based teaching, learners need to complete projects
with specific products that have certain meanings and values for themselves and
the society.
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Teacher
During the teaching process, the teacher's role is to direct, organize, advise,
supervise, help, and facilitate learners to implement the project and thereby
develop the competencies of yourself. Teachers create conditions for learners to
choose and demonstrate roles in accordance with the learning topics; assist the
learner in fulfilling that role.

Diagram 1: Teacher and Student Roles in PBL
Teaching content
Teaching content is absorbed by learners during project implementation.
Teaching content should follow the curriculum and have a constant range of
knowledge. When designing projects, it is necessary to choose teaching contents
that are related to the environmental life outside the classroom, towards real-world
problems.
Teaching methods
In project teaching, the organizer can coordinate many different teaching
methods: presentations, conversations, research, problem-raising, group work ...
Learning in a project is learning in action. Therefore, the learner is not passively
absorbing information, but is actively gaining knowledge. Thus, each lesson is
really attractive to learners because they are real life problems. Teaching facilities
Teaching facilities in project teaching are textbooks, reference documents,
computers, internet, media ... Students should be facilitated to use information
technology when producing a publication, When presenting the problem ...
Project environment and time
Projects may be confined to class sizes and span in minutes throughout the
lesson, or may extend beyond classroom and span throughout the school year.

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1. 1.1.6. Applying techniques and activities of project-based learning
Some techniques for developing speaking skill:
- Encouraging students to work in pairs, groups and work individually
- Combining textbooks with relevant materials
- Giving feedback regularly by marking and giving comments on students’
speaking
- Creating co-operative atmosphere
- Varying communicative activities
- Encouraging the students to speak by suggested questions
1.1.1.7. Advantages and disadvantages of project method of teaching
a. Advantages
English has been taught as a foreign language in Vietnam for a long time.
However, there has been little application of the project-based learning in teaching.
In fact, the project-based learning has several benefits in the second and foreign
language settings.
Connecting academic situations to the real world is one of the largest benefits
of the project-based learning. Students with the same approach they will eventually
use in their hobbies, passions and careers. This increases the possibility of success
in whatever they do once their education has completed.
Another benefit of the project-based learning is its affect on students’
interpersonal skills. Because projects are often large and complex, students are
grouped together to work, which fosters communication skills and encourages
even students with diverse and possibly conflicting personalities to find a common
ground or at the very least a way to work together without constant tension.
Adopting the Project-based learning in the classroom helps reinforce social
relationships among team members. Project-based learning enhances collaboration
among learners, between learners and other community members as well. Thus the
project-based learning provides learners with opportunities to learn collaborative
skills, such as relying on the work of peers and providing thoughtful feedback to

peers. Making students perform concrete tasks in pairs and groups is common for
foreign language training; this practice stimulates cooperation and knowledge
exchange amongst students and it encourages individual students to talk more.
Problem-solving and higher order critical thinking skills are formed when
students approach this method. These skills are very important because they are
life-long, transferable skills to settings outside the classroom. In this method
knowledge and skills are learned by students through practical handling of problem
in their natural setting. This method is an ideal way of promoting creativity,
arousing curiosity and including the spirit inquiry among students. Thus, it
provides opportunities for students to develop their confidence and independence.
The students demonstrate increased self-esteem, and positive attitudes toward
learning. It also help to enhance students’ autonomy especially when they are
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actively engaged in project planning. Autonomous learning is promoted when the
students become more responsible for their own learning.
Overall, the project-based learning encourages students to develop a balanced,
diverse approach to solving real-world problems, both on their own and a team.
Project-based learning prepares students for success in the real world like no other
teaching style can. Project-Based Learning is very beneficial to students in general
and those of English in particular.
b. Disadvantages
Despite all these advantages, project-based learning has inherent limitations and
disadvantages that cannot be overlooked. Well-prepared and effective projectbased Learning requires significant amount of time and work. It requires constant
monitoring and noting down the student throughout the process. This is a bit time
consuming in nature since most of the questions asked are usually open-ended and
it takes time to collect materials and information about it.
All not teachers can be a good advisors, for project-based learning they need
dedicated, hardworking and trained facilitators. The instructors have to change

their traditional teaching methodologies in order to incorporate problem-based
learning. Their task is to question students' knowledge, beliefs, give only hints to
correct their mistakes and guide the students in their research. All these features of
problem-based learning may be foreign to some instructors; hence they find it
difficult to alter their past habits.
Moreover, good project-based learning trainers are satisfying to work with and
are self-motivation for the students and fellow teachers.
Assessing a certain student within a team is always tough for the coordinator.
They have to consider different aspects such as the output obtained as a whole for
the team, the level of enthusiasm shown by each individual, the activeness shown
by a certain students. A clear assessment criterion or a standard for making
students in a group is always important.
Project-based learning is also difficult for the institution because they have to
change the course depending upon the lecturers. Since the whole project-based
learning curriculum is an image of their ideals and how they should train the
students. Project-Based Learning requires more staff and more contact hours for
preparation, discussion and comparision of answers. Students and advisors
supposed to do timely and reasonable meeting once in a while.
1.1.1.8. Ability of using Project-Based Learning method in English at high
schools.
Many benefits of incorporating project work in second and foreign language
settings have been suggested. First, the process leading to the end-product of
project-work provides opportunities for students to develop their confidence and
independence. In addition, students demonstrate increased self-esteem, and
positive attitudes toward learning. Students’ autonomy is enhanced, especially
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when they are actively engaged in project planning. A further frequently
mentioned benefit relates to students’ increased social, cooperative skills, and

group cohesiveness.
Another reported benefit is improved language skills. Because 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 authentic language use. Authentic activities
refer to activities designed to develop students’ thinking and problem solving skills
which are important in out-of-schools contexts, and to foster learning to learn.
While activities are “anything students are expected to do, beyond getting input
through reading or listening, in order to learn, practice, apply, evaluate, or in any
other way respond to curricular content, authentic activities are tasks with real
world relevance and utility” “that integrate across the curriculum, that provide
appropriate levels of complexity, and that allow students to select appropriate
levels of difficulty or involvement” (as quoted in Herrington et al, 2003) Among
other characteristics, authentic activities have real-world relevance, provide the
opportunity for students to examine the task from different perspectives, enhance
collaboration and reflection, and allow competing solutions and diversity of
outcome. In addition, project-based learning provides opportunities for “the natural
integration of language skills”.
A further benefit is that because project work progresses according to the
specific context and students’ interests, students have enhanced motivation,
engagement and enjoyment. From a motivational perspective, projects being
authentic tasks, are more meaningful to students, increase interest, motivation to
participate and can promote learning. Enjoyment and motivation also stem from
the fact that classroom language is not predetermined, but depends on the nature of
the project.
“A foreign language can often seem remote and unreal thing. If learners are going
to become real language users, they must learn that English is not only used for
talking about things British and American, but we can be used to talk about their
own world ” (Huchinson 1992). Project-Based Learning gives students an
opportunity to solve problems without any prior knowledge, and they can find the

answers through the exploration of several options provided by the questions.
During the project the students should naturally keep in mind the goal of the
project and relate their learning to this final goal. Their learning includes new
language as well as developing interpersonal skills.
According to knowledge standard, English program at high school is divided into
16 units with each relating topic. It is easy to use project based learning method to
perform teaching tasks. And because students are still so shy at speaking in public,
using this method can help students express their ideas more confidently. Hence,
the results in learning and teaching can be better.

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1.2. Practical background
1.2.1. The reality of using project-based teaching methods in 12th grade
speaking lessons at the ethnic boarding high school.
Nghe An Ethnic boarding high school is the home of more than six hundred
students who are ethnic minorities . Although there is a lot of difficulties in life,
many of English teachers at my school have put great efforts in innovating old
teaching methods to improve the quality in teaching English. However, both
teachers and students at my high school still face a number of difficulties and
challenges in being familiar with the implementation of project-based learning.
This is due to teachers do not thoroughly understand the principles and the
procedure of a project-based lesson so they could not successfully perform this
type of approach. Besides, the English 12 textbook being used does not include
project teaching as an official part of the lessons, so it is difficult for most teachers
to design specific instructional activities for projects to gain desired outcomes
according to the standards. Teachers themselves feel confused in teaching project
lessons. Many teachers do not know how to guide students to carry out their
projects and present their final work in English to meet the requirements.

Organizing PBL matching a limited period of time in the classroom is also a major
challenge for English teachers. Many teachers also said that it is too hard for them
to conduct the project , especially in big classes. The other problem that affects the
application of project-based learning methods is the fact that the target is 12thgrade students. These students are mostly interested in learning grammar and
vocabulary for the purpose of graduation exam instead of learning communication
skills, or other soft skills. Some children are still afraid to listen and speak in
English, even fear that making mistakes will be laughed at by others. Besides, the
group homework can affect the time to study other subjects at school as well as
some students take advantage of the time doing projects to hang out, or do other
jobs. In addition, it is not easy to apply a new method to an old program that has
been compiled and used for many years.
1.2.2. Survey and the results
In the school year 2020-2021, I have carried out the survey containing 10
questions for 33 students from class12C1. The survey was done twice. One was at
the first semester of the twelfth form (before teaching Project-Based Learning
method) and the other was at the end of the mid - second semester (after using this
method). Following is the treatment of all data collected from the survey
questionnaires The analysis of the data is presented in two parts: The first and the
second parts are the results of the pre-treatment and post-treatment questionnaire
for students. Along with the information via survey questionnaires and information
gained through some small talks , class observations were added to these main
parts to assist the results.
1.2.2.1. Results from students’ pre-task questionnaire
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a. Students’ motivation and opinions of learning to speak English
Question 1: Why do you want to learn to speak English?
Table 1: Types of motivation

Reasons

Students Percentage

It is a compulsory skill in learning English at high
school

18/33

54,5%

You think it is necessary for your future job

29/33

87,9%

To know more about the world

13/33

39%

To communicate with foreigners

24/33

73%

To be able to study abroad

6/33

18%

Table 1 reveals that English is necessary for the students’ future jobs and the
main reason for students’ studying English speaking. The highest percentage
(87,9%) of the students wanted to learn English because they thought that they
would need it to find a job and it would help them much in their future jobs. To
communicate with foreigners was also the thing that most students (73%) are
concerned. About 54,5% of the respondents answered that it is a compulsory skill
in learning English at high school. The others (39%) wanted to learn English
because they would like to know more about the world. Clearly, most of the
students knew the role of English in modern life when foreign language was
considered the main means of communication and work in most of the countries in
the world. The lowest percentage of the students affirmed they wanted to study
abroad in the future though so far they had not known whether they could achieve
their wishes or not; and that was the reason they tried to learn English.
Question 2: How much are you interested in learning to speak English?
The figure 1 reveals that the majority of the students (26%) were quite
interested in learning speaking. 8 out of 33 students (24,2%) answered that their
interest was normal. This figure was a little higher than those with the high
interested (20%). For them, they learnt English because of the pressure from
outside such as requirement of the teachers and parents, the need for the exam...not
because of their willingness. 18% of the students was very interested. The lowest
percentage of the respondents (12%) affirmed their interest was very low. They
were the students who had no interest in learning to speak English.
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Not at all

very interested

12%

18 %
normal

high

interested

24,2 %

20%

little interested 26%
Figure 1: Students’ interest in learning English
Question 3: How often do you speak English in English class time?
The frequency of speaking English in class time also shows how much
effort students wanted to master it. Figure 2 represents that only 18% of the
respondents spoke English willingly, only 6 out of 33 students were always willing
to speak English and 12% of the participants said that they usually spoke English
in class; whereas 33% rarely spoke it and 15% never spoke English in class except
for the teacher’s requests. Also, 21% of the students affirmed they liked speaking
but sometimes, they were not accustomed to speaking in class because of their
shyness or worry about making mistakes. In some small talks , some students
stated that they wanted to speak English in class because it was the class time that
they could train themselves and expressed their opinions in English. Except that,

no environment was available for them. In general, the time to speak English in
class was unequal among the students. Therefore, what the teachers should do was
how to use suitable methods to stimulate learners’ interest, how to create a
communicative environment for the students to participate in speaking lesson.
Never

always

15 %

18 %

usually
rarely

12 %

33 %

sometimes 21%
Figure 2: Students’ frequency of speaking English in class time
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b. Factors making students unwilling to speak English in class
Question 4: What factors make you unwilling to speak in class?
Table 2: Factors making students unwilling to speak English in class
Factors

Students

Percentage

Limitation of communicative environment

16/33

48,5%

Being afraid of losing faces

19/33

57,5%

Unfamiliar topics

18/33

54,5%

Boring teaching ways

18/33

54,5%

Lack of vocabulary and structures

23/33

70%

There are learners’ factors, teachers’ factors, teaching, and learning conditions
that make learners unwilling to speak. Here I only mention two factors: learners’
factors and teachers’ factors. For students in the survey, the most influential factor
was the lack of vocabulary and structures. 23 out of 33 students (70%) blamed
their fear of speaking for lack of vocabulary and structures. In the small talk with
the researcher, some of the students stated: “I like speaking English. But I can’t
find words and structures to express my ideas”. Another complained: “My English
is not very good. That is why I am not willing to speak in class”. The second factor
was being afraid of losing faces. 57,5% of the respondents affirmed that they
wanted to speak in class, but they were always afraid of making mistakes and
losing faces. The next one (54,5%) was boring teaching ways. In fact, some of the
teaching ways applied by the teachers at high schools were thought to be too
boring and less interesting to the students. In this case, the role of the teachers is
to modify and bring to the class some other more interesting teaching methods
and help bring inspiration to the students. These students stated that teacher’s clear
instruction, logical teaching steps as well as teacher’s good behaviors with sense of
humor; enthusiasm or tolerance...in each lesson would encourage them to speak
more. Moreover, some students claimed teacher’s bad pronunciation and poor
background knowledge decreased their desire of speaking English. Others put the
blame on teacher’s behavior and attitude that decided whether they were willing to
speak or not. In addition, unfamiliar topics were an important factor. 54,5% of the
students showed that unfamiliar topics in the text book made it impossible for
them to feel interested in taking part in the speaking lessons. The smaller number
of the students (48,5%) mentioned had the limitation of communicative
environment in the class rooms. Clearly, students sometimes did not speak up in
class not because they lacked new vocabulary, expressions and structures but they
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had the habit of preferring listening to speaking. Some others thought they had
better master the grammatical rules, remember as many structures as possible and
have richer vocabulary. Therefore, they could do well in the exam and get good
marks.
In short, there are a variety of factors that the students had to face . These
factors came from students as well as teachers. In order to be better in English
speaking activities in class, the changes need to be done between both teachers and
students. Teachers change teaching methods and students change the way they
learn .
c. Factors increasing students’ motivation in speaking English
Question 5: Which of the following factors stimulates you in speaking English
in the classroom?
Table 3: Factors stimulating students to speak English
Factors

Students

Percentage (%)

Teacher’s teaching method

17/33

51,5

Opportunity for all students to speak out

11/33

33,3

Interesting topics in the textbook

16/33

48,5

Good-natured classroom

12/33

36,3

Various speaking activities

12/33

36,3

It was interesting that the most influential factors in the students’ motivation
were the teachers’ teaching methods, which occupied 51,5% of the respondents.
The keys to a successful speaking lesson were that all students participated in the
activities of the lesson; they could give their ideas to discuss with their classmates,
ask and answer their own questions with the help from the teacher and better
students. Teachers, as the guide , should avoid adopting a teacher-centered
authoritarian posture. She/he should keep asking questions, having students
enthusiastically find out the answers and take part in the task completion. Ranking
second was interesting topics in the textbook that held 48,5% of the respondents’

ideas. If the teachers appointed the students to talk about a boring topic, it would
lead to boredom among students. Teachers, therefore, should select interesting
topics in the textbook according to how well they engage the students in
meaningful and effective lessons rather than in the reluctant speaking practice.
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Interesting topics could be chosen based on not only the textbook but also the
students’ interest. Next, 36,2% perceived that various speaking activities highly
affected their motivation and related to the inside and outside activities of the class
such as pair work, group work, games, interviews, role play and so on. Equally
important, a good-natured classroom also highly motivated students (36,2%).The
class in which classmates helped each other; both weaker and better students
shared ideas, vocabulary and structures; both teacher and students together
discussed and solved the problems was the best environment for the students to
practise speaking.
The opportunity for all students to speak out was the influential factor, too.
The teacher could use new teaching methods to create an environment for all
students to feel comfortable and self- confident to speak out their opinions.
Students were willing to discuss and express their ideas with classmates and their
teacher.
d. Activities used by teachers and students’ preference
Question 6: What do you think the teachers should do to motivate you to take
part in speaking activities?
Table 4: What teachers do to motivate students to take part in
speaking activities
Teachers’ techniques

Students Percentage
(%)

Have clear instructions.

15/33

45,5

Be enthusiastic, friendly and helpful

14/33

42,4

Encourage you with nice compliments and a good
feedback

17/33

51,5

Give interesting topics, games and activities in
speaking skill.

16/33

48,5

Not pay attention to your mistakes but your strong
side

18/33

54,5

As shown in the table 4, what most students (54,5%) wished was that the
teachers were to encourage them with strong side but not mistakes. Answering
researcher’s questions, one student expressed: “I think the teachers’ comments are
very important. If I do not speak English well, teachers should not pay attention
too much to my mistakes”. The second thing should be done was to encourage
students with nice compliments and a good feedback. Teachers’ comments and
15


feedback in class were paid much attention from the students. In general, most
students hoped the teachers should be more flexible, tolerant, sensitive to make
students confident in speaking lessons. 48,5% students liked the teacher to give
interesting topics, games and activities in speaking skill. Games and various
activities could help students reduce stress, feel funny and become more active in
learning. In some small talks with some of the students; one student said: “In fact,
we are often pressured in speaking lesson. I think communicative games can help.
They help us reduce stress and make it easy to speak out”. Teachers’ clear
instructions were quite important . 45,5% of them complained about teachers’
complicated questions; lengthy instructions and unsatisfactory explanations could
confuse and sometimes made it impossible for them to understand the lesson..
42,4% were concerned with how teachers were in the class. The teachers should be
enthusiastic, friendly and helpful.
In conclusion, what the students wanted the teachers to do for them was to
create a communicative environment, guide them clearly, behave in a friendly and
helpful way, give nice compliments on their speaking and a useful feedback.
1.2.2.2. Results from students’ post-task questionnaire

a. The changes of students’ motivation and attitude towards English speaking
skill.
Question 1: Why do you want to learn to speak English?
Table 5: The changes of students’ motivation
Students
Reasons

Percentage (%)

Pre-task Posttask

It is a compulsory skill in learning
English at high schools

18 /33

You think it is necessary for your
future job

Pre-task Post-task

16 /33

54,5

48,5

29/33

30 /33

87,9

90,9

To know more about the world

13 /33

16 /33

39

48,5

To communicate with foreigners

24/33

26/33

73

78,8

To be able to study abroad

6 /33

10/33

18

30,3

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The majority of the students still confirmed that they learnt English
speaking because it was necessary for their future job and there was also an
increase in the number of students who wanted to communicate with foreigners
(78,8% respectively) because of its necessity for their future job. The number of
the respondents who were quite interested in knowing more about the world
increased from 39% to 48,5%. They felt like learning English speaking because of
their interest in exploring the world. The students who wanted to learn to speak
English for studying abroad considerably increased with 30,3%. This shows that
the motivation of the students has changed in a positive trend after the treatment.
Question 2: How much are you interested in learning to speak English?
There was no doubt that students’ fascination in learning English speaking was
changed considerably. They were highly motivated in taking part in speaking
activities in class. The number of students with very high fascination went up from
18% to 30%. Contrary to this, the number of the respondents with no passion was
down to 6%, a decrease of a half. The students with quite high fascination were of
26% up to 35%, and from 26% down to 17% were of the students who had little
fascination. The researcher’ observation pointed out that students’ passion in
English speaking had been changed. Most of the students were more eager to
speak.
Question 3: How often do you speak English in English class time?
It was clear that the frequency of the participation in speaking English in
class was changed much because of the increase in students’ interest. The students

who were always willing to speak increased from 6 to 15 people, an increase of
28% (from 18% to 46%). The students who never spoke except when being asked
by teachers at that time reduced to 6,6% while the students who usually spoke
increased from 12% to 24%. The changes also happened to the number of students
who rarely spoke in class with a decrease of 26% (from 11 students (33%) down to
7 students (21%). The rest ones (33%) were of the students who sometimes took
part in the tasks. They seemed to be more frequent in speaking English. They
became the students who were of quite high interest and more willing to speak
English.
Question 4: What factors make you unwilling to speak in class?
Table 6: The changes of the factors making students unwilling to speak
Students
Factors

Limitation of communicative
environment

Pre-task

Posttask

16/33

10/33

Percentage
Pre-task
Post(%)
task (%)
48,5%

30 %

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Being afraid of losing faces

19/33

11/33

57,5%

33,3 %

Unfamiliar topics

18/33

11/33

54,5%

33,3 %

Boring teaching ways

18/33

8/33

54,5%

24 %

23/33

14/33

Lack of
structures

vocabulary

and

70%

42, 4%

As we know there are many factors that affect students’ motivation in
speaking English. Factually, both teachers and students did their best to solve the
problems. They made much of their effort to co-operate with one another in
English speaking class. A new method with various techniques and activities were
applied by the teachers in order to make the students more motivated and active in
English speaking class. But there was still one thing we could not deny that how
hard teachers and students tried, there were still students unable to join in
conducting the project lesson. However, the figures shown in table 8 reveal that
the number of reluctant speakers dramatically reduced after the treatment. Before

the treatment, 57,5% of the students felt afraid of losing faces when speaking out.
Only 11out of 33 students thought that after the treatment. And only a few students
felt reluctant because of unfamiliar topics or teachers’ teaching methods.
b. Factors increasing students’ motivation in English speaking skill.
Question 4: What results have you achieved through the recent lessons?

Figure 3: Students’ result after the treatment
A. Learning to speak English well is not too difficult
B. More self-confident and fascinated in speaking English
C. English knowledge has been widened
D. English speaking skill has been improved
E. Willing to speak English in class
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As illustrated in the Figure chart above, the majority of the students (58%)
affirmed their English speaking skill improved much after the treatment. Clearly,
when teacher applied PBL to teaching speaking, teachers created various speaking
activities, used many useful techniques and behaved towards students in friendly
and co-operative ways, making pleasant class atmosphere, emphasizing on fluency
more than accuracy and giving students opportunities to communicate with other
students, therefore, If weaker students had more chances to speak up, they would
exchange information with the better ones, and the practising time for each student
would increase. This was why more students felt interested and self-confident to
speak English in class (40%). They no longer find English so difficult and boring
to learn (30%). And the figure of 46% of the students stated that their English
knowledge was widened a lot. That was why 33% of the students always felt
willing to express their opinion in English speaking class. In fact, most students
seemed more eager to learn and less stressed in speaking lessons. English final
exam was not a burden to most of the students. Students, then, learnt English in a

more relaxing and pleasant environment.
In conclusion, the more properly activities and techniques were applied , the
more motivated and active students became in speaking class lessons .
2. Finding solutions
2.1. Process to conduct project-based teaching
From the implication to teach speaking skills, we can modify and apply
suitably with PBL based on the content of the textbook. It is advisable to choose
the lesson with familiar and interesting topics, prepare the important factors to
conduct the projects. This activity is considered a post activity in the lesson.
Teachers should teach students how to perform their products by presenting in
front of the class. In the process of preparing and performing, students can
improve their sub skills in speaking such as discussing, structuring, conveying
main ideas, working in groups, etc.
As mentioned in Tsiplakides (2009) cited Kriwas (1999) as finding that
conducting projects is involved in many activities following the stages that have
been raised in his literature. If a project is conveyed in organism and a
structuralism, it must be easy to conduct. For this reason, the teacher should
practise the stages as a guide to plan a better lesson plan following the project
based approach:
Stage 1: Speculation (Choosing the topic and sensation about it)
The purpose of this phase is to help students identify the theme of a project and
develop an implementation plan. Students choose their friends to create groups
according to their interests, about 5 students per group.Groups meet and draw on
topics and projects to be done.Each group will unify its outline and content
according to the selected topic. At this stage, the teacher also needs to help
students ask specific questions such as:
- What is the problem to be solved in the project, including how many parts?
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- How will the project be conducted?
- Who will take on what responsibility?
- What is the running time for each section?
- What resources will need to be used?
Stage 2: Designing the project activities (formatting of groups, assignment of
roles, methodology, sources of information, activities)
During this stage, students must conduct research and give out specific activities
such as: Problem identification, research area, document search, document reading,
report writing, drawing, drafting on computers, ... In this stage, teachers must
support them in terms of methodology, language, and experience in team work.
The prompts in the classroom will be very helpful for students in the project
exercises they do on their own.
Stage 3: Conducting the project activities (performing the group’s activities
relating to cooperation. If necessary, the teacher’s or the others’ assistance will be
provided)
This stage takes place when the children have completed the project. Your product
needs to submit is a report on the results of the project their team worked on in
Words, a Power point slide that summarizes the project's progress, a video clip of
the group presentations in English. The sharing of the results you research can take
place in the form of presentations between group members or between groups in a
short period of a lesson.
Stage 4: Evaluation (assessing the activities from the students includes the
teacher’s evaluation and the student’s self-evaluation)
Mutual evaluation (in addition to that of the teacher) among members, within
groups or between groups can be based on criteria such as content, layout,
language of expression or presentation. This evaluation process can be for the
purpose of scoring or exchanging knowledge and evaluating the effectiveness of
the project.
2.2. Some ideas for Project based learning method in speaking lessons in the
textbook Tieng Anh 12

* UNIT 1. HOME LIFE
- Project implementation time: 45 minutes
- Project name: Do a survey on family life of your classmates
- How to conduct the project:
Teacher has students work in 5 groups of 8-9 students and do a survey for about 10
minutes with members of other groups in the class (survey about 10 students /
group ) about their home life.
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The research questions were taken from Task 2 and Task 3 page 15 textbooks or I
can design other questions.
1. Could you tell me who works in your family?
2. By the way who in your family does the washing up?
3. What about your brother? Does he share the household chores?
4. What’s your responsibility in the family?
5. What exactly do you have to do?
6. How do you share the household chores?
7. What interests do your family members share together?
8. What do your family members often do together in your free time?
9. Who do you often share your secrets with?
10. Who do you often talk to before making an important decision?
Students will walk around the classroom working on their part of the project by
asking questions and recording survey data. After the survey is finished, the
students will return to the group and present the investigated information on the
prepared supplementary board or A0 paper within 7 minutes.

Partner 1

Partner 2

Who works in the family
Who does the household chores
Your friend’s responsibility in the family
The interest the family members share
closely
The person your friend often shares his/ her
secrets with
The person your friend talks to before
making an important decision

Within 4 minutes each group will present their survey and the remaining
groups will give comments. The teacher makes final conclusions and scores the
groups.

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* UNIT 2. CULTURAL DIVERSITY
- Project implementation time:
Groups will work on the project at home (1 week) and will have classroom
presentation during the Speaking session (45 minutes).
- Project name: Do a research on the similarities and differences between
Vietnamese and American cultures
- How to conduct the project:
Teachers have students work in 5 groups each with 8-9 students.
The groups will explore cultural fields including: Wedding ceremony, Holiday,
Traditional Food and Drink, Likes and dislikes, table manners ... then use
support tools such as books, magazines, the Internet to complete the process.
Product required in this project can be a video, a slide and a presentation time of

about 5 minutes. The remaining groups will give comments as well as subquestions to the presentation group. The teacher makes final conclusions and
scores the groups.
* UNIT 3. WAYS OF SOCIALIZING
- Project implementation time:
Groups that will conduct the project at home (1 week) will have a power
point presentation or video presentation in the while and post section of the
Speaking lesson.
- Project name:
Do a research on the similarities and differences of verbal and nonverbal
communication among some countries in the world.
- How to conduct the project:
Teachers have students work in 4 groups with 10-12 students each. Groups
will use assistive tools such as books, magazines, the Internet, in addition to the
main content already in the text and information that has been included in the
textbook exercise part 1 to implement the project. Based on the similarities and
differences between the educational systems of Vietnam and the UK.
Teachers can guide students to follow the similar and different features in
communicating in the native language of cultures around the world,…. to be able
to complete the project. The requested product in this project can be a video, a
slide, a poster, or even a play ... and has a presentation time of about 5 minutes.
The remaining groups will give comments as well as sub-questions to the
presentation group. The teacher makes final conclusions and scores the groups.
Project video products of groups will be uploaded on youtube.com.
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* UNIT 4. SCHOOL EDUCATION SYSTEM
- Project implementation time: Groups will work on the project at home as part
of the Reading homework and there will be classroom presentation during the
Speaking class.

- Project name: Do a research on the similarities and differences between the
school education system in Vietnam and England.
- How to conduct the project:
Teachers have students work in 5 groups each with 8-9 students. Groups will use
assistive tools such as books, magazines, the Internet, in addition to the main
content already in the text and information that has been included in the textbook
exercise part 1 to implement the project. Based on the similarities and differences
between the educational systems of Vietnam and the UK.
Teachers can guide students to follow the outstanding features in the education
systems of two countries such as: semester, grades, main subjects, vacations,
exams, student age at all levels of education…. to be able to complete the project.
The requested product in this project can be a video, a slide, a poster, or even a
play ... and has a presentation time of about 5 minutes. The remaining groups will
give comments as well as sub-questions to the presentation group. The teacher
makes final conclusions and scores the groups.
* UNIT 6. FUTURE JOB
- Project implementation time: one hour and a half (in an afternoon)
- Project name: Do a survey on the job tendency of your class team after
graduating from high school
- How to conduct the project:
Having discussed in the teacher group meeting at the beginning of the
academic year, all the teachers in charging of Grade 12 have planned to organise a
creative experience for the students with the theme CAREER GUIDANCE FOR
GRADE 12 STUDENTS through speaking part of Unit 6. We agreed to choose the
project teaching method during the implementation and obtained unexpected
results. We worked together to make assignments to the students as followed:
The survey questions can be based on the criteria in the textbook.
1. What are the most popular jobs now?
2. Among these, which job would you like to do in the future?
3. What are the advantages and disavantages of the job?

Students will work on their part of the project by discuss in their team and
collect survey data. The product required by students in this part of the project will
23


be a slide that shows the features of career choice of eachteam. The teachers
(judges) observes students' performance present and give evaluation.
* UNIT 8. LIFE IN THE FUTURE
- Project implementation time: Groups will work on the project at home (1 week)
and will have classroom presentation during the Speaking session (45 minutes).
- Project name: Make a short play about the life in the 2080s based on your own
imagination.
- How to conduct the project:
Teachers have students work in 5 groups each with 8-9 students. Teachers instruct
students to learn information about their future life in areas such as health,
education, technology, tourism, transportation, terrorism, disease, and
relationships. family and social ... from the perspective of the optimist and the
pessimist.
Groups can use assistive tools such as books, magazines, the Internet, ... to
complete the project. The product requested in this project is a play and has a
presentation time of approximately 5 minutes. The remaining groups will give
comments as well as sub-questions to the presentation group. The teacher makes
final conclusions and scores the groups.
Project video products: Make a short play about the life in the 2080s based on
your own imagination of groups I uploaded on youtube.com.
* UNIT 10. ENDANGERED SPECIES
- Project implementation time: Groups will work on the project at home (1
week) and will have classroom presentation during the Speaking session (45
minutes).
- Project name: Do a research on the giant panda, tiger, rhino and elephant,

gorilla which are in danger of becoming extinct.
- How to conduct the project:
Teachers have students work in 5 groups each with 8-9 students. Groups will visit
endangered animals including pandas, tigers, rhinoceroses, elephants and gorilla
monkeys to conduct their projects. Teachers instruct students to learn information
about habitat, quantity, height, weight, average life expectancy, causes of
extinction, some solutions to protect species animals at high risk of extinction.
Groups can use assistive tools such as books, magazines, the Internet ... to
complete the project.
Product required in this project can be a video, a slide and a presentation time of
about 5 minutes. The remaining groups will give comments as well as sub24


questions to the presentation group. The teacher makes final conclusions and
scores the groups.
* UNIT 12. WATER SPORT
- Project Time: Groups will conduct the project at home (1 week) and there will
be presentations in class during the Speaking lesson (45 minutes).
- Project name: Do a research on some water sport
- How to conduct the project:
Teachers have students work in 5 groups, each with 8-9 students. The groups will
visit some water sports…. to proceed with your project. Teachers guide students to
learn information about places, vehicles, participants ... Groups can use support
tools such as books, magazines, the Internet ... to be able to complete all the
project.
Product required in this project can be a video, a slide and a presentation time of
about 5 minutes. The remaining groups will give comments as well as subquestions to the presentation group. The teacher makes final conclusions and
scores the groups.
* UNIT 14. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION
- Project implementation time: Groups will work on the project at home (1 week)

and will have classroom presentation during the Speaking session (45 minutes).
- Project name: Do a research on some international organizations
- How to conduct the project:
Teachers have students work in 5 groups each with 8-9 students. Groups will visit
a number of organizations around the world including: UNICEF, WHO, WTO,
WWF…. to proceed with your project.
Teachers guide students to learn information about logo, year of establishment,
headquarters, goals, basic activities ... Groups can use assistive tools such as
books, magazines press, Internet ... to be able to complete the project.
Product required in this project can be 1 video, 1 slide and presentation time of
about 5 minutes. The remaining groups will give comments as well as subquestions to the presentation group. The teacher makes final conclusions and
scores the groups
* UNIT 16. THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATION
- Project implementation time:
Groups will conduct the project at home (1 week) and there will be presentations in
class during the Speaking lesson (45 minutes).
- Project name: Do a research on some of the ASEAN countries.
25