SKKN using project based teaching method to help students study culture in tieng anh 10 effectively

Using project-based teaching method to help students study culture in Tieng Anh 10
effectively.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1.

The rationale for the study

1

1.2.

Objectives of the study

2

1.3.

The scope of the study

2

1.4.

Methods of the study

3

1.5.

Significance of the study

3

CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.1

An overview of Dien Chau 2 High school.

4

2.2

Orientation of Vietnamsese education on teaching methods.

5

2.3

Positive teaching methodology

5

2.4

Project based teaching method

6

2.5

Culture

8

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

10

CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION

19

Appendix 1: Rubric for oral presentation
Appendix 2: Some videos of students’ projects
Appendix 3: The video’s written transcripts
Appendix 4: Quick survey questions
References


Using project-based teaching method to help students study culture in Tieng Anh 10
effectively.

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 The rationale for the study
In the past English was often regarded as the property of “native-speakers of
English” and of countries where it has the status of a mother tongue or first language
for the majority of the population. Nowadays, English is no longer viewed as the
property of the English-speaking world but is an international commodity. To meet the
demand of integration, Vietnam has chosen English to teach and learn at schools

and universities. Teaching English is supposed not only to equip the students with
the language skills but also to provide them with world cultural knowledge.
As we all know, “Language is a part of the culture, they can not be separated
from each other.” Therefore, it is necessary to understand the cultural background
knowledge. In modern high schools, the teachers mainly cultivate ability in listening,
speaking, reading and writing, and their ultimate aim is to train students to use English
to communicate with each other. In fact, the four aspects are inseparable from the
cultural background knowledge. Without language, culture would not be possible.
Language is influenced and shaped by culture; it reflects culture. Some people say that
“listening” is an important aspect of communicative competence. However, listening
ability, reading ability, the listener’s language skill, cultural background knowledge,
thinking skill are closely related. If the language capability of the listener is relatively
strong, but he knows little cultural background knowledge, it is difficult to understand
the meaning of the listening materials, he even makes a mistake in understanding.
Obviously, culture plays an important role in English teaching. Speaking is not merely
concerned with pronunciation and intonation. Students can only improve their oral
English and reach the aim of communication by means of enormous reading,
mastering rich language material and acquaintance of Western culture.
Another principal reason for the inclusion of culture in the second language
curriculum is cross-cultural understanding. International understanding is seen as one
of the basic goals of language education. It is equally important to understand the
differences among the various subcultures within which people of different races,
religions, and political beliefs live together peacefully. Peace and progress in a world
of diverse elements no doubt depend upon understanding, tolerance, exchange and
cooperation. Foreign language study is one of the core educational components for
achieving this widely recognized aim. Whether or not the foreign language learning
and teaching are successful counts on how much cultural and linguistic information
the students can get.
Our view of the role of culture in language teaching and learning has changed
considerably in recent years. As can be seen, Tieng Anh 10, which follows the

systematic, cyclical and theme-based curriculum approved by the Minister of Education
and Training on 23rd November 2012, contains a variety of cultural features of Viet
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Using project-based teaching method to help students study culture in Tieng Anh 10
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Nam and English-speaking countries through different lessons. Moreover, Tieng Anh
10 is designed with a culture subsection in the lesson ‘Communication and Culture’,
demonstrating that culture is highly appreciated in teaching and learning English. At the
same time, studying Vietnamese culture through English lessons can help to stimulate
the love for students’ motherland, promote solidarity and amity with people in
other countries. Students are also hoped to be the transmitter of Vietnamese culture
into the world.
However, learners’ aim of learning English today is usually to pass the tests
and important exams. In reality, students do not have to take a test of culture so
students scarcely pay due attention to the cultural features mentioned in the textbook.
It is not difficult to find that numerous young Vietnamese learners also ignore the longstanding traditions of their country and the world. Besides, culture, appearing as only a
small part in a lesson, provides students with short reading passages and mainly
answering question tasks. This causes a limitation in apprehending cultural aspects,
and even some teachers choose to neglect culture or spend insufficient time to
emphasize the culture section. Students’ knowledge of the basic aspects of target culture
tends to be inexplicit and incomprehensive if they have not been provided with
systematic knowledge in schools. Language teachers have to admit that many students
are not gaining a basic familiarity with the English culture, even though language and
culture go hand in hand in a classroom.
Today, learners are no longer passive in learning; they have become the

center of the classroom activities. Meanwhile, with students’ activeness in class,
the teacher now works as a facilitator, an encourager, an organizer and guide.
Therefore, students should be given opportunities to discover cultural aspects by
themselves, which encourages students to learn intensively. Project-based approach is
one of the effective ways to engage students in active learning. That is the reason why I
choose the topic “Using project- based teaching method to help students learn culture
in Tieng Anh 10 effectively”. It is hoped that doing projects can motivate students to
expand and absorb the knowledge on culture actively and deeply.
1.2

Objectives of the study

With the presented rationale, the specific aim of the study, accordingly, is to
motivate students to broaden students' background knowledge about the world and
deepen their knowledge about the culture of Vietnam. Besides, the researcher also
desires to join hands with other teachers to create a better learning English
atmosphere at schools.
1.3 The scope of the study
The concentration of this study is encouraging students to explore the
culture of Vietnam and English – speaking countries through projects. The research
was applied to teach culture in the textbook Tieng Anh 10, approved by the Minister
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of Education and Training on 23rd November 2012, in the school year 2020/2021 in

Dien Chau 2 High school, Dien Chau 3 High School and Dien Chau 4 High school.
1.4 Methods of the study
This research is a classroom action research with the intention of making
contribution to the improvement of teaching and learning culture - inseparable with
learning language, by giving students projects in some culture sections of certain
units.
1.5 Significance of the study
The main goal of study is how to make students explore culture and
perform in the classroom, by preparing activities where they will develop their
positive learning. It is believed that project - based teaching method is more
appropriate for students than other types. As a result, I will focus on the use and
effectiveness of the project - based teaching method in teaching culture in Tieng
Anh 10, and help facilitate the students’ oral presentation skill. Oral presentation
can be an enjoyable activity for them since it gives a break away from textbooks.
Therefore, it is hoped that participants in the study (the teachers and learners at
Dien Chau 2 High School) can benefit immediately from my experience.

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CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.1 AN OVERVIEW OF DIEN CHAU 2 HIGH SCHOOL.
2.1.1 Teachers
A larger proportion of English teachers have a passion for the teaching
profession and are active as well as enthusiastics about the work. Most of the

teachers agree that in order to apply language skills fruitfully and effectively,
cultural knowledge is essential. Furthermore, changing teaching methods toward
positive ways are being applied dramatically. Teachers always make efforts to selfstudy, learn from others, explore, be creative so as to widen their knowledge and
meet the demand of teaching in the new age.
Although teachers have tried to renew their teaching, it is evaluated not to
bring as many effects as expected. Some educationalists do not pay much attention
to teaching culture, learners, as a consequence, will not get enough motivation to
explore cultural knowledge.
2.1.2 Students
In fact, most of the students in Dien Chau 2 High school have desires to study
English well. However, their goal in learning English is having good points in the
tests or passing their exams and they think that learning cultures seems not to be
related to their tests or exams. Also, students may not understand that there is a
connection between languages and culture, and the relationship between language
learning and culture is not sufficiently explored. As a result, their knowledge on
culture seems to be inexplicit. Moreover, in culture lessons, learners just stop at
doing simple tasks such as reading and answering questions, filling in the table
again and again, which makes the lesson quite boring. Learners need coorperation,
sharing and something challenging enough. Even with the globalisation that is
affecting most corners of the planet, there is still culture that is specific to each
country and area. Without an appreciation of that, learning a language can be more
difficult.
After graduating from High School students may go abroad for further
studying or working . It can be an amazing experience for those who are willing to
settle down in a new place, but there is one potential problem they should know:
culture shock. Moreover, in the international integration, visitors arrive in VietNam
everyday. It is the students who will transmit their country’s culture to the world.
From above facts, the researcher finds that she should make a positively
active and creative task to actuate students in studying culture as well as learning
English. It can not be denied that when students participate in a lesson, they need

to understand how to achieve knowledge surrounding in reality which requires
them to use diverse skills – such as researching, writing, interviewing,
collaborating, or public speaking – to produce various work products. Project –
based learning can be seen as an outstanding example, and it is capable of meeting
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the challenges of preparing students to solve the real world problems rather than
essays- and exam-based traditional classroom learning. With this kind of teaching
method, students while learning will focus on developing personal perspective,
which can enhance their confidence and ‘brainstorming’.
2.2. Orientation of Vietnamsese education on teaching methods.
The educational programs for high schools of our nation were issued with
the decision number 16/2006/QĐ – BGDĐT on June 5th,, 2006 by the minister of
education says that we must promote students positive, self-conscious and active
creativity to be appropriate with the features of each subject, the characteristics of
the object – students, conditions of every classroom; foster them the ways of sellearning, the ability of cooperation; train them the skills to apply theoretical
knowledge in practice; impact on their emotion; bring them happiness, interests
and responsibilities in learning.
Strong renewal and innovation in education is the modern tendency of the
world in the twentieth century, in order to continuously improve the quality of
human resources. In Viet Nam, this quality is still in the low level, and not yet
satisfied the requirements from the need for developing the country in the age of
international integration .
To address this problem, the 9th Central Committee of the Communist Party

of VietNam, at the 8th plenum, issued the resolution 29 – NQ/TW 04/11/2013 about
essential and comprehensive innovating the education of Viet Nam. One important
solution in this resolution is that it firmly determines “continuously, strongly,
profoundly innovate and synchronize the fundamental elements of the education
following the direction of developing the virtue and ability of students”.
Nowadays, The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) requires that all
levels of education utilize positive teaching methods. Positive teaching is a concept
that has numerous labels such as student-centered learning, learner-centered
pedagogy, and teacher-as-tutor but all mean that an instructor revolves lessons
around the students and ensures that students take a participatory role in the
learning process, known as active learning.
2.3. POSITIVE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
2.3.1. Concept
Positive teaching methodology is a short terminology, used to indicate
methodologies that appreciates self-consciousness, positivity and independent
awareness of students under the guides and directions from teachers. In other
words, in positive teaching methodology a teacher is just a facilitator creating the
lesson as well as the structure for learning, but the students are inspired to
voluntarily participate in practical activities, so that they discover by themselves
new knowledge, new abilities.
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2.3.2. Specific indications of positive teaching methodology
The indications of positive teaching methodology include:

First, teaching mainly through students’ activities
During lessons students are the main subjects to explore knowledge,
whereas teachers must find ways to suggest problems at a certain level that will
affect learners’ thinking, encouraging them to explore and discuss the matter.
Second, focusing on self-studying methods
Students are focused on how to practice and self-study, and find out the best
learning methods by themselves to be able to grasp new knowledge. New
knowledge, certainly will be verified by teachers to make sure it is standard
knowledge. Hand-pointing, reading – copying ways, etc... are eliminated.
Third, prioritizing learning in groups
Teachers must know how to divide classes into teams, groups and help
students work together to find the best learning method.
2.3.3. Positive teaching methodology classification
The positive teaching methodology classification is shown in the table below:
Indication

Positive teaching methodologies

Strategy level

Problem solving teaching, theoretical problem teaching, ...

Acquiring
knowledge level

Practical approach, model approach, reasoning
approach,...

Teaching organizing
level

By project, by group, by pair, by individual,...

Positivizing student
activities

Talk, seminar, discussion, mind map, puzzle,...

2.4. PROJECT BASED TEACHING METHOD
Nowadays together with the development of modern technology, creating an
English-learning environment, in which learners are not only highly engaged but
also makes lessons memorable and enjoyable, seem to be easier for teachers. One
of the methods is using project-based learning when teaching English.
2.4.1: Definition
Project- based teaching is a teaching model which focuses on teaching by
engaging students in investigation. This method is learner-centered. Learners are
given freedom to go about solving problems or sharing information in the way they
see fit. The teacher’s role is monitor and facilitator, setting up frameworks for
communication, providing access to information and helping with language where
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necessary, and giving students opportunities to produce a final product or
presentation. With project-based approach, the teacher monitors interaction but
does not interrupt, dealing with language problems at another moment.

2.4.2 The benefits of project - based teaching method.
The first good point in the project-based teaching method is to support the
environment of learning for the students to be able to communicate and experience
themselves with their own cognitive process. The second benefit of this
approach is “project -based learning provides opportunities for the natural
integration of language skills” Stoller (2006, as cited in Tsiplakides (2009). The
third gained in the project-based approach has created ‘motivation, engagement
and enjoyment” (Lee, 2002 cited in Tsiplakides (2009) because all of the
students engaged in the project find the realistic study and the interesting findings
during they perform the project. The next is to help the students improve their
skills of solving problems and orderly thinking. Finally, this approach develops
the skill of presenting in front of many people and four skills. Listening and
Speaking are reinforced through the presentation
2.4.3. The weaknesses of project - based teaching method.
Three major disadvantages of project-based teaching method include:
Unfamiliarity with group work; Length of project; and New role of teacher.
Unfamiliarity with group work means that project is divided into the role for
each student to take part in. However, this student may work a lot on his/her part
but the others do not. The length of project is the period of time to perform the
project which usually takes a long time to complete and makes it impossible for
some of the students to feel more dynamic until the end of the project. The new
role of teacher in the project-based learning is considered a monitor, an instructor
who works as a provider of knowledge during the lesson.
2.4.4. Characteristics of project based teaching method:
Project based teaching method involves the following characteristics:
- Practical orientation: The theme of the project come from the situations of social
practice, professional practice as well as real life. The projects’ task should consist
of issues appropriate for the level and ability of learners.
- Having practical social meaning: Projects contribute to linking learning in
schools with real life and society. In ideal cases, the implementation of projects

would be able to cause positive social impacts.
- Complexity: The content of the project has the combination of knowledge in
different fields or subjects in order to solve a complex problem.
- Action orientation: During the implementation of the project, not only is
theoretical research carried out but the application of theory is also used into
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practical activities and practices. As a result, knowledge of theory as well as
practice ation skills, practical experience of learners are checked, strengthened and
expanded totally.
- Collaborative work: Projects are often carried out in groups, including
collaborative work and work assignments among team members. Project-based
teaching requires and practices the readiness and skills of working collaboratively
among participants, between students and teachers as well as with other social
forces involved in the project, which is also called social learning.
- High self-reliance of learners: In project-based teaching, learners need to
participate actively and self-consciously in the stage of the teaching process, which
requires and encourages learners’ accountability and creativity. Teachers mainly
play the role of giving advice, guidance and help. Nevertherless, there should be a
balance between the level of self-reliance and the experience, ability of students as
well as the difficult level of the task
2.5. CULTURE
2.5.1: Definition
Culture is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior and norms found

in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities,
and habits of the individuals in these groups.
2.5.2 The importance of learning culture in Tieng Anh 10
Culture would be difficult to be transmitted from place to place and from
generation to generation if there were no languages, the principal carrier of values
and meanings of a culture. Language would be impossible to be understood
without constant reference to the cultural context, which has produced it. It may,
therefore, be argued that culture and language cannot be treated exclusively of each
other in language teaching programmes. In other words, it is necessary and more
proper to teach both language and culture in an integrated way. It is worthy of
noting here that one of the practices of integrating the two is to use the target
language as the medium of instruction in culture teaching
The culture subsection in Tieng Anh 10 is aimed to provide students with
cultural knowledge of the ASEAN countries and English-speaking countries around the
world. Through reading, students get information about cultural aspects
corresponding to the topic of the unit and have a chance to compare features of
Vietnamese culture with those of other countries. This will boaden students’
background knowledge about the world and deepen their knowledge about the
culture of VietNam. It can be seen that students’ extensive background knowledge
about culture considerably supports them in learning skills – speaking, writing, and
listening. Foreign language teaching should help students lay a solid foundation of
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language, grasp good learning techniques, cultivate their cultural awareness so as

to meet the needs of social development and economic construction.
Overall, English as the foremost medium of international communication at
present, is called upon to mediate a whole range of cultural, cross-cultural concepts
thus make English language teaching a potentially more and more significant role
than ever before and English culture teaching is coming or will come to the
foreground.

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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
This research is a Classroom Action Research. Action research is an action
that is done by the teachers to improve the teaching and learning process in their
classes. Before students study lesson “Communication and Culture”, teachers
provide students with the tasks which they have to complete through projects.
When the lessons come, the contents in the textbook are discovered in the whilestage. Then in the post stage, more cultural knowledge formerly prepared in
projects by students is represented. Sometimes the content of the lesson can be
included in the projects, so the while and post stages can be linked together. With
the development of information technology, a variety of information which
students need can be easily found from the Internet. The projects vary from a
report, an interview, a documentary video clip... and their results will be presented
either by a representative or the whole group in front of the class or evaluated
through videos recorded by learners. Learners’s results can be seen in the appendix
2 and 3.
I. STEPS TO CARRY OUT A PROJECT

The following general steps to help students do projects are suggested (T:
teacher, S: student, Ss: students):
Step 1: Introduction
- T creates an essential question (there can be more than one if necessary)
- T divides the class into groups.
- T provides Ss with some suggestions.
- T limits the time for Ss to finish
Step 2: Examination
Quite different from speaking skill, which allows students to express their
thoughts and ideas freely, learning cultures requires precise information.
Consequently, it is necessary for T to examine the information in students’ projects
collected from the Internet before being displayed in front of the class.
Step 3: Presentation
- Ss’ results are presented by a representative or the whole group in the
‘Communication and Culture’ lesson through videos, posters, reports...
- It is advisable that T raises some questions to check if the other Ss listen or not.
T also gets the other Ss to make questions to interact with their friends.
Step 4: Evaluation
Assessing the activities from the students includes the teacher’s evaluation
and the student’s self-evaluation. Teachers should try to be positive in their
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evaluation and avoid criticism of students’ practice that improves by time. In
addition, students need to learn how to do it by experience. Besides, T can conduct

the evaluation for Ss’ products by using rubric for oral presentation. Rubric for oral
presentation can be seen in appendix 1.
II. SAMPLE LESSONS:
Unit 3: MUSIC
Section: Culture
1. Lesson goals.
After completing the project, students will be able to:
- explore some more genres of Vietnamese folk music.
- feel confident to report/ present their experiences in class.
- improve their four language skills especially speaking and listening skills.
- cooperate with other people when working in groups
2. Conducting the project.
- T gives the requirement and some suggestions to Ss and leaves them several days
to complete before they learn the culture section.
- If Ss create videos, the length of each video should be no more than five minutes.
Work in groups: Make a presentation about one kind of Vietnamese folk music.
SUGGESTIONS: Folk music types: Hat Xam; Hat Van; Cheo; Ca tru...
How to perform it

Its origination

When it started

Folk music

If possible, sing it.

kind?

Its features

musical instruments

3. Lesson procedures:
Activity 1: Watching a video ( made by a group of students)
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- Play the video, which is a project result, for the whole class to watch. This video
is included in Appendix 2, and the written transcripts are in Appendix 3.
- Ask Ss to do the following task while watching:
Watch the video and choose which statements are true or false.
1. Quan Ho Singing originated from Bac Ninh Province.
2. Quan Ho singing was recognized by UNESCO in 2008.
3. Quan Ho is performed between two women and a man.
4. Men respond to women with similar melodies, but with different lyrics.
- Give feedback and correct answers:
1 T ; 2. F (in 2009) ; 3. F (two women and two men) ; 4. T
Activity 2: Read the texts and work with partner and complete the table
(Tiếng Anh 10, page 33 and 34)
- Ask Ss to read the two texts about the Quan Ho Singing and Dangdut, popular
music in Indonesia, and fill in the table with the correct information.
- Give feedback and correct answer:
Quan Ho singing

Dangdut music

Country

Viet Nam

Indonesia

Kind of music

Folk music

Pop music

Number of
singers

Four

A dangdut band typically consists of a
male or female lead singer

Musical
instruments

Bamboo flute and a
36-stringed musical
instrument

Drums or flutes from a variety of

Asian or Middle East countries and
modern instruments like electric
guitars or organs

Activity 3: Students present their projects
- Ask Ss to show their results of discovering other kinds of folk music in VietNam
in front of the class.
Ss have made video clips for their projects, some of which are included in the
Appendix 2 and the written transcripts in Appendix 3
- Ask students (from the other groups) to answer the questions while watching the
videos:
Question: What do you know about that kind of music?
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Activity 4: Feed back
- Call some Ss at random to report what they have learnt from the presentations in
the videos by answering the above question.
- Elicit peer correction, and then give feedback
Activity 5: Assessment:
- T assesses students’ work by either giving constructive, positive feedback or
using rubric for oral presentation.
- T can ask students to write a paper test: Write a short paragraph about any kind
of folk music in Vietnam that you like.
Unit 4: FOR A BETTER COMMUNITY

Section : Culture
1. Lesson goals.
After completing the project, students will be able to:
- know more about some people contributing to the development of their
community
- feel confident to report/ present their experiences in class.
- improve their four language skills especially speaking and listening skills.
- cooperate with other people when working in groups
2. Carrying out the project
Several days before teaching the culture lesson, T gives the topic to students and
divides the class into groups to work on their project:
Work in groups: Talk about a person who contributed to the development of your
local area/ your country.
 SUGGESTIONS:

His/ her impact to the
community

Name
His / her pitures

His / her famous quotes

birthdate and
birthplace
Educational
background
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His/her contributions to the deveplopment

of your local area / country
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3. Lesson procedures:
Activity 1: Gap filling
- T ask Ss to fill in the blank with the given words or phrases.
lawyer

South Africa

national leader

victorious and non-violent

Mahatma Gandhi was a (1)..............of India and a (2) .............. fighter. After
school, he studied law in England. He was a popular (3) ..................he practiced
law for 3 years in India and 20 years in (4) .........................
Answers: 1. national leader
Africa

2. victorious and non-violent 3. lawyer 4. South

Activity 2: Answer the questions.
- T has Ss work in pairs to read the text in the textbook about Mahatma Gandhi and
answer the questions.
1. What did he do to help coloured people in South Africa? Why?

2. What were his contributions to India?
- T gives feedback on students’ answers
Activity 3: Students present their projects.
- T asks Ss to show their results on the topics given. The results can be presented
through videos or posters.
Some videos which were made by students are shown in Appendix 2 and the
written transcripts are in Appendix 3.
- T calls on some students at random to report what they have learnt about the
people, and then give feedback.
Activity 4: Assessment:
T can assess students’ work by giving constructive, positive feedback or using
rubric for oral presentation
* Samples of students' work (posters)

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UNIT 7: CULTURAL DIVERSITY
Section: Culture
The aim of “Communication and Culture” in unit 7 is to talk about giftgiving customs in the UK and the ideas of success in the USA and in Viet Nam.
The contents of these two sections can be exchanged: In the communication part, I
required students to discuss the ideas of success in The USA and VietNam, while
gift-giving customs are converted into “culture” subsection. A project assignment
is given to students to encourage students to explore deeply about this cultural
feature.

1. Lesson goals.
After completing the project, students will be able to:
- learn about gift giving in the UK and explore gift-giving customs in some other
countries.
- compare and contrast gift giving customs between VietNam and the countries.
- feel confident to report/ present their experiences in class.
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- improve their four language skills especially speaking and listening skills.
- cooperate with other people when working in groups
2. Carrying out the project
- T divides the class into groups and gives Ss the topics which they have to
complete before the arrival of the culture lesson.
Group 1: talk about gift – giving customs in VietNam
Group 2: talk about gift – giving customs in the USA
Group 3: talk about gift – giving customs in the UK
Group 4: talk about gift – giving customs in one of the other Asean countries
- Ss work in groups to discuss their detailed plan of their activity.
- The group leader gives the duty of each member.
- Teacher gives them some suggestions that they should write about.
For example, students have to answer the following questions:
1. What gifts are common and what gifts shouldn’t be presented to the
receiver?
2. On what occasion do people buy gifts?

3. How should gifts be given ?
3. Lesson procedures:
Activity 1: Asking some questions
- Ask students some questions to lead them into the content of this section. (These
questions are elicited from task 2 in the textbook, page 23)
1. Who do you often buy presents for?
2. On what occasions do you buy presents?
3. What’s the most expensive present you’re given?
4. On what occasions do you receive presents?
5. What presents do you normally get?
Activity 2: Bingo: Giving gift in the UK
- Ask Ss to read some information about gift – giving in the UK ( textbook, page
23) and do the following task:
Read some information about gift-giving in the UK and fill in each blank with
a suitable word.

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Using project-based teaching method to help students study culture in Tieng Anh 10
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1. Christmas Eve: ________ put presents for their ________ in Christmas
_________ in their ________ when they’re_______
2. 18th birthday is when people become ______ Legally. The gift for them is a
_______ ________
3. Easter: from _____ (month) to ______ (month). Children are given ______
_______

4. Mother’s Day is on a ________ .The most common gifts for moms are
__________ and ________
- give feedback to Ss’ answers
Answers:
1. parents – children – stockings – bedrooms - asleep
2. adults – silver – key
3. March – April – chocolate - eggs
4. Sunday – chocolates - flowers
Activity 3 : Students present their projects.
- T asks students to present the topics which they were given several days before.
The students’ projects were shown by oral presentation in front of the class, and
their transcripts are attached in Appendix 3
- Some questions are raised before students present their results, so that the other
students can focus on the information they need to listen:
1. What do you know about gift-giving customs in VietNam/the UK/ the USA/...?
2. What are the similarities and differences of gift-giving customs between
VietNam and other countries?
Activity 4: Give feedback on their performance.
- Call on some students at random to answer the questions
- Elicit peer – correction first and then give feedback
Activity 5: Assessment:
Teacher can apply the following methods to assess the students’ understanding of
the lesson:
- Apart from answering the questions mentioned above, observation, eye contact
are also effective ways.
- Paper test: students write a short paragraph about the similarities and the
differences about gift-giving customs between Viet Nam and the other countries.
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Using project-based teaching method to help students study culture in Tieng Anh 10
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III. THE ACHIEVED RESULTS AFTER THE RESEARCH
The clear effect of my research is that it has created a positive learning
attitude among students. I mean that the final result can answer the two questions
in my quick survey (you can see the survey questions in Appendix 4). “ Are you
interested in learning culture?” and “ Your ignorance in learning culture is due
to....”. 100% students answer “yes” for the first question and “motivation” for
question 2. This information helps educators see clearly the core problems
hindering them from learning culture. Obviously, the traditional way is so familiar
to them that they become bored with it and do not pay due attention to the culture
lesson. When teaching students, I realized that the best way of studying was by
self-studying. It is understandable that once students do by themselves to explore
something, it will go more smoothly into their mind than being taught. Besides, the
feeling of having a deep cultural understanding helps stimulate students’ desire to
explore more about it.
Having applied the project-based teaching method to teach culture in Tieng
Anh 10, I can affirm that it really brings to my lectures much effectiveness. Not
only do the projects add students’ interest but they also help my students improve
speaking, listening and writing skills as well. This is the reason why students study
culture better when project-based approach is applied. The result of these
investigations is counted up with the following table:
Grad
e

Before doing experiments
Interest

in
learning
culture
(%
students)

Effective
of group
work
(%
students)

Presenting
ability
(%
students)

After doing experiments
Interest
in
learning
culture
(%
students)

Effective Presenting
of group
ability
work
(%

(%
students)
students)

10A

35%

60%

50%

98 %

90%

89%

10D

34%

55%

45%

90%

91%

88%

10M

20%

30%

40%

75%

80%

86%

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Using project-based teaching method to help students study culture in Tieng Anh 10
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CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSIONS
4.1. Conclusions
The collaborative project-based approach ensures that the curriculum used in
the classroom develops: higher order thinking skills, effective communication
skills, knowledge of technology that students will need for 21st-century careers
and the increased globalized environment. However, project-based teaching

method will show its effectiveness when teachers know when to use it and apply it
in suitable lessons. Together with the cultural features in the textbook, teachers
can provide some outside familiar and interesting related topics to the world,
so that students can widen their cultural knowledge background. Also, they can
express their ideas in front of the public. The teachers should understand projectbased teaching method clearly to apply to suitable lessons in the classroom.
4.2. Suggestions.
In order to improve the quality and efficiency of applying project-based
teaching method in teaching culture subsection in Tieng Anh 10, at this initiative, I
would like to propose some of the following recommendations:
On the teacher’s side: There must always be a sense of cultivating knowledge
and creativity in teaching. Teachers should be responsible for encouraging students
to discover the culture of the world and their country properly. To do this
effectively, teachers have to regularly refer to documents, read books and seek
from the Internet resources to enlarge their knowledge on culture so that they can
develop their competence in teaching culture.
On the student’s side: students need to be bold and proactive in the lesson that
project–based teaching techniques are applied. Regularly practice English
communication skills and information techniques which help them to make good
presentations.
On the side of the school: Sometimes the school needs to organise English –
speaking club with the topic about culture, so that students can be more aware of
the importance of culture in learning English.
On the side of Nghe An Department of Education and Training: it is necessary
to open more training and retraining classes on positive teaching methodology in
order to help teachers revise teaching methods and have good opportunities to
learn from many other colleagues.
Above are some of my ideas to get students’ attention and participation to
learning culture. I know that there are many deficiencies in my study. I look
forward to receiving the evaluation from all the readers to help complete my
research.

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Using project-based teaching method to help students study culture in Tieng Anh 10
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1

Organization

Audience cannot
understand
presentation
because there is
no sequence of
information

Audience has
difficulty
following
presentation
because
students jump
around

Student does not
have grasp of

information;
student cannot
answer the
question about
subject

Student is
uncomfortable
with the
information
and is able to
answer
rudimentary
questions
Students
occasionally
use graphics
that rarely
support text
and
Some spelling
errors. Some
grammar
errors. Text is
both copied
and is in
authors’ own
words
Student
occasionally

uses eye
contact, but
still read most
of the report.

Eye contact

Mechanics

Graphics

0.5

Subject knowledge

Appendix1: ORAL PRESENTATION RUBRIC

Student uses
superfluous
graphics or no
graphics

Many spelling
and or grammar
errors. Text is
copied.

Student read all
of report with no
eye contact

Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu 2 School

1.5

2

total

Students
Students
present
present
information in information in
logical
logical,
sequence
interesting
which audience
sequence
can follow
which
audience can
Student is at
Student
ease with
demonstrates
expected
full
answers to all knowledge(m

questions, but
ore than
fail to elaborate required) by
answering all
class
Student’s
Student’s
graphics relate
graphics
to text and
explain and
presentation
reinforce
screen text
and
Some spelling Few spelling
errors. Some
errors. Few
grammar
grammar
errors. Text is errors. Text is
in authors’ own
in authors’
words.
own words.
Students
maintain eye
contact most of
the time but
frequently

turns to notes

Students
maintain eye
contact most
of the time
but seldom
turns to notes

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Using project-based teaching method to help students study culture in Tieng Anh 10
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Total point:

Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu 2 School

.../10

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Using project-based teaching method to help students study culture in Tieng Anh 10
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Appendix 2: Some videos made by students

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Using project-based teaching method to help students study culture in Tieng Anh 10
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Appendix 3: The videos’ written transcripts

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Using project-based teaching method to help students study culture in Tieng Anh 10
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Nguyễn Lê Minh – Diễn Châu 2 School