Techniques for organizing communicative activities in pải work and group work for the 1st year students at tourism faculty thanh hoa university of culture sports and tourism

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

------

TÀO THỊ THU THẢO

TECHNIQUES FOR ORGANIZING COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES
IN PAIR WORK AND GROUP WORK FOR THE 1ST YEAR STUDENTS AT
TOURISM FACULTY, THANH HOA UNIVERSITY
OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM

(Những thủ thuật tổ chức các hoạt động giao tiếp theo cặp, nhóm

cho sinh viên năm thứ nhất khoa Du Lịch,
trường Đại học Văn hoá, Thể thao, Du lịch Thanh Hoá )

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology
Code:

60 14 10

Hanoi, 2013


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

------

TÀO THỊ THU THẢO

TECHNIQUES FOR ORGANIZING COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES
IN PAIR WORK AND GROUP WORK FOR THE 1ST YEAR STUDENTS AT
TOURISM FACULTY, THANH HOA UNIVERSITY
OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM

(Những thủ thuật tổ chức các hoạt động giao tiếp theo cặp, nhóm

cho sinh viên năm thứ nhất khoa Du Lịch,
trường Đại học Văn hoá, Thể thao, Du lịch Thanh Hoá )

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology
Code:
60 14 10
Supervisor: M.A Nguyễn Thị Minh Tâm

Hanoi, 2013


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Candidate’s statement.....................................................................................................

i

Acknowledgements...........................................................................................................

ii

Abstract...........................................................................................................................

iii

List of abbreviations........................................................................................................

iv

List of tables and charts...................................................................................................

iv

Table of contents...............................................................................................................

v

PART A: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................

1

I. Rationale .....................................................................................................................

1

II. Aims of the study........................................................................................................

2

III. Scope of the study.....................................................................................................

2

IV. Research questions.....................................................................................................

2

V. Methods of the study..................................................................................................

3

VI. Significance of the study...........................................................................................

3

VII. Design of the study .................................................................................................

3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT ........................................................................................

4

Chapter I: Theoretical Background........................................................................

4

I.1. Communicative language teaching ....................................................................

4

I.2. Communicative activities....................................................................................

5

I.2.1. Definition of Communicative activities.....................................................

5

I.2.2. Types of Communicative activities...........................................................

6

I.3. Interactions in speaking classes..........................................................................

7

I.3.1. Definition of Classroom Interaction.........................................................

7

I.3.2. Speaking skill in language teaching and learning...................

7

I.3.3. Types of interactions in speaking class......................................................

8

I.4. Pair work and group work in speaking classes...................................................

9

I.4.1. Definition of pair work..............................................................................

9

I.4.2. Definition of group work..........................................................................

9

I.4.3. Advantages of pair work and group work..................................................

9

v


I.4.4. Some common activities for pair work and group work............................

10

I.5. Review of previous studies.................................................................................

12

I.6. Summary.............................................................................................................

12

Chapter II: Methodology...........................................................................................

14

II.1. Background of the study....................................................................................

14

II.1.1. An overview of the research site..............................................................

14

II.1.2. Descriptions of English teachers, teaching method and teaching material
in TUCST.........................................................................................

14

II.1.3. Descriptions of students at TUCST......................................................

15

II.1.4. Descriptions of teaching and learning of English speaking skills for the
first year students at Tourism Faculty through organizing pair work and group
work.....................................................................................................................

15

II.2. Methodology......................................................................................................

15

II.2.1. Participants...............................................................................................

15

II.2.2. Research instruments................................................................................

16

II.2.3. Data analysis.............................................................................................

17

II.3. Presentation of statistical results........................................................................

17

II.3.1. The result of language learning survey questionnaires and direct
interview..............................................................................................................

17

II.3.1.1. Students’ opinions on speaking skill.................................................

17

II.3.1.2. Students’ opinions on the use of pair work, group work in speaking

class .....................................................................................................

18

II.3.1.3. Students’ recommendation for the success of pair and group
work.....................................................................................................................

19

II.3.1.4. Students’ appreciation on how useful pair work and group work are
to improve their learning speaking English after the 1st semester.................

21

II.3.2. The result of language teaching survey questionnaires and direct
interview..............................................................................................................

23

II.3.2.1. Teachers’ opinions on speaking skill................................................

23

II.3.2.2. Teachers’ appreciation of using pair work, group work ..................

24

II.3.2.3. Teachers’ implemention of pair work, group work in current
speaking classes..................................................................................................

25

II.3.2.4. Teacher’s appreciation on how useful pair work and group work are

vi

27


to improve student’s learning speaking English after the 1st semester ........
II.4. Summary...........................................................................................................

28

Chapter III: Finding and Discussion........................................................................

29

III.1. Research questions restated............................................................................

29

III.2. How pair work and group work are used in English speaking classes of the 1 st
year students at Tourism Faculty, TUCST?...............................................................

29

III.3. What are useful techniques of pair work and group work to the 1 st year
students in learning speaking English?........................................................................

31

III.3.1. The useful techniques of pair work and group work to the 1 st year
students in learning speaking English.....................................................................

31

III.3.2. The use of suggested activities at TUOCST ..............................................

33

III.3.3. Sample lesson plan ................................................................................

34

PART C: CONCLUSION ............................................................................................

38

I. Conclusions..................................................................................................

38

II. Limitations of the study..............................................................................................

39

III. Suggestions for further research.......................................................................

39

REFERENCES................................................................................................................ 40
Appendix 1: Questionnaires for students
Appendix 2: Questionnaires for teachers
Appendix 3: Interview questions for students
Appendix 4: Interview questions for teachers

vii


PART A: INTRODUCTION
I. Rationale
In Vietnam, English is taught not only at all colleges and universities, but also almost
every high school and it is considered as a compulsory subject at secondary school. To meet
the demand of learners, the teaching English in Vietnam has been changing. By applying
various new approaches, methods, and techniques, English teaching has shift from the
traditional grammar translation approach to the communicative approach. According to
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), the purpose of language teaching and learning is
to develop communicative competence in the target language. In the view of this approach,
the learner is considered the center of the leaning process; the teacher serves as a facilitator,
allowing students to be in change of their own learning.
In learner-centered approach, the choice of teaching methods are often more
complicated than the construction of many teaching objectives. Some authors suggest that
this type of work can carry out in two periods. In the first period, teachers need to find the
student's experience and learning methods they prefer, and with their existing experience,
teachers can select appropriate teaching methods. In the second stage, teachers need to
engage the active participation of students in planning their academic programs. This work
can be done by encouraging students to think, to engage in learning activities organized by
teachers in a positive, proactive and creative way. Therefore, the organization of learning
activities for students have a special role and it’s very important for teachers to pay attention

in setting teaching program. Two common forms of class organization are working in pairs
(Pair work) and working in group (Group work).
In the context of Thanh Hoa University of Culture, Sports and Tourism, English is
taught as a compulsory subject for the 1st year students of Tourism Faculty. These students
are future tour guides who learn English in order to be able to communicate well in their
future job. All the teachers here have been trying their best to help their students in learning
communicative skills well. Both of them are aware of the importance and benefits of using
pair work, group work to help improve the communicative skills of the first year students in
Tourism Faculty. However, they have faced many challenges in organizing these techniques
during lessons, such as large classes; noises; lazy and passive students, etc.

1


For all the above mentioned reasons, I have decided to carry out a research work in:
“Techniques for organizing communicative activities in pair work and group work for the 1st
year students at Tourism Faculty, Thanh Hoa University of Culture, Sports, and Tourism”.
This study is intended to make a small contribution on how to use the pair work, group work
effectively and successfully in English teaching and learning practice in Viet Nam.
II. Aims of the study:
This study is aimed at:
- finding out the use of pair work and group work in English speaking classes of the
1st year students at Tourism Faculty, TUCST
- suggesting the useful techniques of pair work and group work to the 1st year students
at Tourism Faculty in learning speaking English.
III. Scope of the study:
To improve communicative skills for students at TUCST, the teachers can make use
of various techniques and a number of things should be done. However, within the
framework of a minor thesis, the researcher only intends to draw a brief overview of how are
the pair work and group work used at TUCST.

Among for language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing, pair work
and group work are used frequently in the speaking lessons. Therefore, this research tends to
find out the useful pair work and group work techniques in speaking classes.
Also, due to the time constraints, this study only involves a small number of English
teachers and students in their first academic year of Tourism Faculty, TUCST.
IV. Research question:
This study was aimed to answer the following research questions:
1. How pair work and group work are used in English speaking classes of the 1st year
students at Tourism Faculty, TUCST?
2. What are useful techniques of pair work and group work to the 1 st year students at
Tourism Faculty in learning speaking English?

2


V. Methods of the study:
In order to find out the answers to the research questions, both quantitative and
qualitative methods were employed to carry out the study. The data were collected by means
of questionnaires and interviews for English teachers and the first year students of Tourism
Faculty at TUCST.
Besides that, reviewing the related documents from many published books written by
different authors and collecting information from others previous studies are methods to
establish the theoretical background of the study.
VI. Significance of the study:
This study is hoped to be used to both teachers and students of Tourism Faculty at
TUCST. This study has been able to contribute to teachers’ knowledge of communicative
language teaching, communicative activities in general and pair work, group work in
particular. Besides that, from the finding of the study, teachers can be provided with
important information which may be valuable for their future lesson planning. On the other
hand, the teachers’ transformation in pair work and group work implementation will be

beneficial to the students.
VII. Design of the study:
This study consists of three parts: Introduction, Development, and Conclusion
The development part comprises four chapters:
+ Chapter I: Theoretical Background
+ Chapter II: Methodology
+ Chapter III: Finding and Discussion

3


PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
In this chapter, a brief description of the theoretical knowledge relating to the study
was provided. It includes some concepts of CLT, communicative activities, interaction in the
speaking class, pair work, group work.
I.1. Communicative language teaching (CLT)
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is the most influential language teaching
methodology in the world. Since the introduction of communicative language teaching in the
late 1970s, there have been a variety of definitions and ideas about CLT:
- “CLT views language as a system for the expression of meaning. Activities involve
oral communication, carrying out meaningful tasks, and using language, which is
meaningful to the learners. Objectives reflect the needs of the learners; they include
functional skills as well as linguistic objectives. The learner‟s role is as a negotiator
and an integrator. The teacher‟s role is as a facilitator of the communication process.
Materials promote communicative language use; they are task based and authentic”.
(Nunan 1989:194)
Richards and Rodgers (1986) consider CLT as an approach rather than a method
which comprises two sets of theories: assumption of what to teach, and assumption of how to
teach. In the first assumption, the purpose of language teaching is to develop "communicative

competence" - a basic concept in CLT. Hymes (1972) defines “communicative competence”
as “what a speaker needs to know in order to be communicatively competent in a speech
community”. According to this, CLT has two following main aims pointed out by Richards
and Rogers (1986:64):
1. To make communicative competence the goal of language teaching.
2. To develop procedures for the teaching of the four language skills that acknowledge
the interdependence of language and communication.
The second assumption shows another point about CLT, that is: “its learner-centered
and experience based view of second language teaching. Students in this approach are seen
to be able to play a more active and participatory part than in traditional approaches. And
therefore, the roles of teacher will be re-defined with the change of activity organization
because each leaner is thought to have unique learning styles, needs and goals, which should
be reflected in the design of the method of instruction.” (Richards and Rodgers, 2001:67).

4


To sum up, CLT is best considered an approach rather than a method. It is most often
defined as a list of general principles or characteristics. One of the most recognized of these
lists is David Nunan's (1991: 279) five characteristics of CLT:
- An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language.
- The introduction of authentic texts in to the learning situation
- The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also
on the learning process itself.
- An enhancement of the learner‟s own personal experiences as important
contributing elements to classroom learning.
- An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside the
classroom.
These characteristics will be the principles for teachers to choose to improve their
students’ participation in communicative activities in a language classroom. Some ideas

about communicative activities will be discussed in the next section.
I.2. Communicative activities
I.2.1. Definition of Communicative activities:
Communicative activities, defined by Littlewood (1981), are those that provide whole
task practice, improve students’ motivation, allow natural learning and create a context
supporting learning as well. “In communicative activities the teacher creates a situation and
sets an activity in notion, but it is the learners themselves who are responsible for conducting
the interaction to its conclusion” (Littlewood, 1981: 18)
Nolasco and Athur (1993) characterized communicative activities as follows:
- They involve using language for a purpose.
- They create a desire to communicate. This means there must be some kind of “gap”
which may be information, opinion, or reason that students seek to bridge.
- They encourage students to be creative and contribute their ideas.
- They focus on the message and students concentrate on “what” they are saying rather
than “how” they are saying it.
- The students work independently off the teacher.
- The students determine what they want to write and say. The activity is not designed
to control what the students will.
(Nolasco and Athur 1993: 58)

5


According to Harmer (1991), communicative activities are those that give students
involved desire and a purpose to communicate. Such activities are very beneficial for students
because they can do their best to use the target language and arrive at the degree of
proficiency in the end.
I.2.2. Types of Communicative activities:
Harmer (1991) also divides communicative activities into oral and written ones. Oral
activities include such categories as communication games, problem-solving, reaching a

consensus, discussion, replaying instructions, role-play, etc. Written communicative activities
consist of writing reports and advertisements; co-operative writing, exchanging letters,
writing journals and so on.
In addition, according to Littlewood (1981), there are two main types of communicative
activities which he calls: “functional communication activities and social interaction
activities”. These two types of activities aim to prepare students for their first contact with
authentic spoken English.
Functional communication activities primarily require students to use their knowledge
of language to solve problems through information–gap and reasoning–gap activities.
Communicative interaction that encourages cooperative relationships among students is
achieved by a series of tasks: learners comparing sets of pictures and noting similarities and
differences; picture strip stories predicting a likely sequence of events; discovering missing
features in a map or on pictures; one learner communicating from behind a screen to another
learner and giving instructions on how to draw a picture or shape, or how to complete a map;
following directions; and solving problems from shared clues. These activities provide the
learner with immediate feedback from the listeners on whether or not he or she has
successfully communicated.
Social interaction activities require the learner to focus on the context and the roles of
the people involved. Role play and simulation are vital examples of this type of activities.
Role play gives students an opportunity to practice communication while playing different
roles. Examples of role play are socio-drama, sketches, story dramatization, mock interviews,
business meetings and even debates. Simulation activities require learners to enact an
imaginary situation keeping their own identities. These two types of activities, role play and
simulation provide students with the opportunity to practice communicating in different
social roles and in different social contexts. Therefore, students learn how to use language
forms appropriately and realize how context is essential in giving meaning to the utterances.
Moreover, they learn grammar and vocabulary through function, situational context and the

6

roles of interlocutors. Further activities are opinion-gap activities such as conversations,
discussion sessions and debates (Richards and Rodgers, 2001).
I.3. Interactions in speaking classes
I.3.1. Definition of Classroom Interaction
As mentioned above, the communicative approach is mainly based on the theory of
communicative competence. In the communicative approach, most researchers agree on the
need for the communicative competence to support learning and make the classroom
interaction successful. The communicative process involves interaction between at least two
people who share a list of signs and semiotic rules. The concept of interaction is defined as
“reciprocal events that require at least two objects and two actions. Interaction occurs when
these objects and events naturally influence one another” (Wagner, 1994:8). Therefore,
interactions do not occur only from one side, there must be mutual influence through giving
and receiving messages in order to achieve communication. Thurmond & Wamback (2004)
defines interaction as “The learners‟ engagement with the course content, other learners, the
instructor and the technological medium used in the course. True interactions with other
learners, the instructor and technology results in a reciprocal exchange of information. The
exchange of information intended to enhance knowledge development in the learning
environment.”
Classroom interaction involves two main aspects, which are the negotiation of
meaning and feedback, if these two elements are not available in the classroom, then we
cannot speak of a successful learning through interaction. Ellis and Foto (1999:09) say,
“Interaction contributes to acquisition through the provision of negative evidence and
through opportunities for modified output.” Interaction then is rich of meaning negotiation
where the learners can receive feedback from their interlocutors.
I.3.2. Speaking skills in language teaching and learning:
Among the four skills in learning English, speaking and writing are the productive
skills. However, speaking is regarded as very important for language teaching and learning.
Speaking is a bridge to reach other skills. Speaking helps learners to read better, to listen
more effectively and write more accurately. Speaking is surely the most effective means of

communication. (Ur, 1996)
Speaking is a basic skill that language learners should master with the other language
skills. It is defined as a complex process of sending and receiving messages through the use
of verbal expressions, but it also involves non verbal symbols such as gestures and facial
expressions. Hedge (2000: 261) defines speaking as “a skill by which they [people] are

7


judged while first impressions are being formed.” That is to say speaking is an important skill
which deserves more attention in both first and second language because it reflects people’s
thoughts and personalities.
In language teaching and learning, speaking has an important part to play. It is a
medium through which much language is learnt, and which is particularly useful for learning.
According to Kayi, (2006), the ability to communicate in a second language clearly and
efficiently contributes to the success of the learner in school and success later in every phase
of life. Bygate (1987), who holds the same view, claims that our learners need to have ability
to speak confidently to carry out their most basic transactions. More than this, speaking is
regarded as the first step to confirm who knows or does not know a language. Ur, P. (1996)
indicated that people who know a language are referred to as “speakers” of that language as
if speaking included all other kinds of knowing. Consequently, a lot of foreign language
learners are primarily interested in learning to speak.
Therefore, having dealt with the importance of oral skills in language teaching and
learning it is essential that language teachers should pay great attention to teaching speaking
skills rather than leading students to pure memorization. In order to carry out many of the
most basic transactions, it is necessary for learners to speak with confidence.
I.3.3. Types of interaction in speaking class:
As stated in 1.3.1, it’s obvious that there are four types of interaction: learner - course
content interaction, learner - learner interaction, learner - teacher interaction and learner technology interaction. In speaking classes, we shall focus in this research work only on the
learner – learner interaction.

Learner-learner interaction occurs among learners. In this form of interaction, the
teacher plays a role as a monitor and learners are the main participants. Learner-learner
interaction occurs in groups called learner-learner interaction, in pairs called peer interaction.
Student-student: the instructional activities give students the opportunity to collaborate with
their classmates by exchanging and building information together. There are many types of
instructional activities that encourage student collaboration. As the rubric states examples of
student-to-student interactions may include self-introductions, group discussion postings,
small-group projects, peer critiques, etc.

8


From the theory on speaking activities above, teachers should know how to adopt
appropriate speaking activities which can help learners develop speaking skill. Pair work and
group work are the useful ways that the teacher can help students practice what they have
learnt, find ways to achieve communicative objectives.
I.4. Pair work and group work in speaking classes
I.4.1. Definition of pair work
According to Adrian Doff (1988 :137), the whole class is divided in to pairs by the
teacher. Every students works with his or her partner in pairs and all the pairs work at the
same time (It is sometimes called simultaneous pair work). This is not the same as „public‟ or
„open‟, pair work, with pairs of students speaking in turn in front of the class. In fact, a pair
work consists of two students working together at the same time.
There are two main types of pair work: fixed pairs and flexible pairs, given by Byrne
(1983). In the former, students work with the same partner to practice the target language. In
the later, students keep changing their partners they like. This may make the activity more
interesting but the class noisier.
It can be seen that pair work can get students to practice the target language more and
increase students’ talking time in the class.
I.4.2. Definition of group work

Doff (1988: 137) also defines group work as a process that “the teacher divides the
class into small groups to work together usually four or five students in each group, as in
pair work, all the groups work at the same time”.
Like pair work, group work also gives students more opportunities to practice the
target language in the whole class. In addition, students can work independently and freely
under the teacher’s control without the pressure of the whole class watching what they are
doing.
I.4.3. Advantages of pair work and group work
Pair work and group work gives the students far more chances to speak English in the
classroom. Students participate in the lesson much more actively because they are involved in
talking to their friends exchanging opinions, practicing new structures more than listening to
their teacher talking. This is important in our schools when English lessons usually take place
three times a week, teachers have to practice, develop all the language skills and it happens
that there is no time left for speaking. So if a teacher has ten minutes left during the lesson it

9


is better to divide the class into groups to give the learners opportunity to really use the
language to communicate with each other.
According to Michael Long and his colleagues (1985) who investigated differences in
the quantity and quality of student language in group work versus teacher centered activities
the language produced by students working in groups is more varied and greater in quantity.
Learners take the initiative to express themselves, they are more spontaneous. Asking
questions and responding they use more language functions. (Lightbown and Spada, 1993:85)
By dividing the class into groups students get more opportunities to talk than in full
class organization and each student can say something. Penny Ur recommends that teachers
working with large classes should divide them into five groups which is the most effective
organization for practicing speaking. (Ur, 1996:232)
In the long run group work develops learners' independence. At first preparing a

group presentation may be time consuming and requires more effort from the student.
However, using this technique regularly students become more efficient and skilled at
practicing the language. They become more confident, their motivation also increases and
they can manage without regular teacher's supervision. Students learn how to learn and
gradually take responsibility for their own learning.
Working in pairs and groups is less stressful and more effective for students,
especially introverts who needn't perform in the front of the whole class. They feel more
confident working with the friend they like and are more likely to accept his/her correction or
criticism. There are always more and less gifted pupils in the process of language learning
and these methods prevent them from not being laughed at by the whole class if they say
something wrong. "It is generally easier to show that you do not know, or do not understand
something, in a smaller group than in a large one”. (Norman, Levihn and Hedenquist,
1986:8)
I.4.4. Some common activities for pair work and group work
There are a variety of activities which can be applied in communicative English
classes through the use of pair work and group work. Some common activities are:
- Game: A game could be any activities that formalize a technique into units that can
be score in some way. Guessing games are common language classroom activities. For
example, twenty questions are easy adapted to a small group. One member secretly decides
that he or she is some famous person; the rest of the group has to find out who, within twenty

10


yes/ no questions, with each member of the group taking turns asking questions. The person
who is “it” rotates around the group and points are scored.
- Role-play: Role-play minimally involves giving a role to one or more members of a
group and assigning an objective or purpose that participants must accomplish. A group roleplay might involve a discussion of a political issue, with each person assigned to represent a
particular political point of view.
- Drama: Drama is a more formalized form of role-play and simulation, with a preplanned story line and script. Sometimes small groups may prepare their own short

dramatization of some event, writing the script and rehearsing the scene as a group. But they
are time consuming and rarely can form part of a typical school curriculum.
- Projects: Mainly for young learners who can greatly benefit from hands-on
approaches to language, certain projects can be rewarding indeed.
- Interview: A popular activity for pair work, but also suitable for group work,
interviews are useful at all level of proficiency.
- Information gap: This technique is one of the easiest and most interesting forms of
communicative activity in the speaking lesson. Information-gap activities include a
tremendous variety of techniques in which the objectives is to convey or to request
information. The two main characteristics of information-gap techniques are their primary
attention to information and not to language forms and the necessity of communicative
interaction in order to reach the objective. The information that students must seek can range
from very simple to complex.
- Problem solving and decision making: Problem-solving techniques focus on the
group’s solution of a specified problem. The problem might be relatively simple (such as
giving directions on a map), moderately complex (such as working out an itinerary from
train, plane, and bus schedules), or quite complex (such as solving a mystery in a “crime
story” or dealing with a political or moral dilemma).
Decision-making techniques are simply one kind of problem-solving where the ultimate goal
is for students to make a decision.
- Opinion exchange: Opinion exchange is a difficult technique for students to deal
with at the beginning levels of proficiency, but by the intermediate level, certain techniques
can effectively include the exchange of various opinions. Sometimes, opinions are
appropriate; sometimes they are not. In opinion exchanges, the teacher must assure all
students in the class that, while there may be disagreement on issues, all opinions are to be
valued, not scorned, and respected, not ridiculed.

11

I.5. Review of previous studies:
The use of pair and group work in speaking lesson is not a totally new area to
researchers. Many of researchers invested the effectiveness of using pair and group work in
language teaching and learning. McDonough (2004) reports that learner-learner interaction
through group work activities was useful for practicing oral communication skills. The
studies mentioned above have firmly asserted the important roles of group work activities in
improving learners’ speaking skill. Phuong (2008) reports that pair and group work helped to
increase students’ participation in communicative activities in large classes. Phuong (2008)
found out the students’ interest in discussion when applying group work activities in speaking
lesson. According to Duong (2006), group work helped students to realize that they could
work independently of the teachers and they could learn from other students and helped each
other. In addition, group work created a good atmosphere in the speaking class and it also
helped to build rapport among class members. Most of these studies explored mainly on the
benefits of the techniques, they have not made clear what process teachers and learners went
through when implementing pair and group work.
There have now been a few researches on the process of implementing group work in
speaking lessons. Rob Watkins (2005) suggested that the effectiveness of group work
depends on the types of motivation the teacher use in the class and the way they design group
work activity. Duong (2006) investigated the current situations of teaching and learning
English through pair and group work of the first-year students at Hanoi Open University –
Faculty of Tourism. According to her, the steps of implementing are: setting up (organizing
the pairs and group/ giving instructions), monitoring (listening to the pairs/ groups during the
activity and guiding / giving support/ making notes) and winding down (bring the activity to
a close and providing feedback). Phuong (2008) show that the success of communicative
pairs and group work activities is often determined by the work the teacher does before the
students begins the activities itself. These studies have focused on the process of group work
implementation in speaking lesson of non-major English students. Understanding of the pair
and group work organizing processes would enable teachers to better facilitate learners in
communicative activities.
I.6. Summary

In summary, the previous studies mentioned above considered the use of pair and
group work in language teaching according to the product approach and the process
approach. In this study, both of benefit and implementing of using pair and group work in
speaking classes are concerned. However, the researcher mainly focuses on the pair and

12


group work implementation. The researcher wants to investigate the activities of pair and
group work are used in speaking class in hope of finding out the useful ones for both teachers
and the 1st year students at Tourism Faculty, TUCST.

13


CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY
This chapter starts by describing the situation where the study is conducted. It
includes an overview of TUOCST, the teachers of English, the students, the textbooks, the
current teaching and learning situation. The subjects and the method of data collection are
also discussed in details. The analysis of the data collected from the survey questionnaires
and interviews is at the end of the part.
II.1. Background of the study
II.1.1. An overview of the research site
Thanh Hoa University of Culture, Sports and Tourism is newly established on basis of
upgrading Thanh Hoa College of Culture and Arts. When the school was the college, its duty
was to train in the fields of Art, Music, Culture Management, Informatics Library, Tour
Guide. English serves as a mean that provides students with basic knowledge about grammar
and vocabulary.
Since upgrading to the University, every year our university admits about 1,000 newly
enrolled students for a course of 4 years study. There are numerous of students in the Faculty

of Culture, and Faculty of Tourism in which train future culture managements and tour
guides. Therefore, English is considered as the compulsory subject in the course syllabus
with the purpose of helping the students to develop their English communicative skills to
meet the demand for their future employment. So General English is chosen for providing
basic knowledge and skills to the first year students.
II.1.2. Descriptions of English teachers, teaching method and teaching material in
TUCST
Our university has got 8 teachers of English aged from between 25 to 40. Almost of
them have Master Degree and at least four years of teaching experience. Both of them love
and enthusiasm with teaching English.
In terms of language teaching, teachers are always aware of the importance of the new
trend in teaching method nowadays: learner- centered approach, communicative approach
when teaching English to the students. They try to give their students independence in
studying by asking them to work through the text or discussing subject matters in groups,
giving them some instructions before asking them to make presentation or role play in front
of the class, students at the time play the key role in the lesson. However, only one or two
teachers can sometimes do these and the amount of time spent on such activities is not much.

14


Our current material of teaching General English is the course-book Lifelines –
Elementary written by Tom Hutchinson. This course-book is divided into fourteen units, each
of them has been divided into four parts in which “listening and speaking” part aims at
providing students the different topics and structures through listening and requires them to
practice speaking skills. After every two units there is an “extension” section accompanied
with two class cassettes. The total time of learning is 135 periods within 16 weeks of two
semesters of the first year. Each units lasts for 8 periods. So in each semester, students have
to learn English in 6-8 periods per week. All of teachers agree to spend 2-3 periods each unit
to teach speaking. Some teachers teach speaking with others skills, but most of teacher teach

speaking as separated periods.
II.1.3. Descriptions of students at TUCST
Most of students at TUCST are those who are low-based knowledge of English and
most of them come from rural areas. They are beginners at English when entering the first
year of university and of different language proficiency levels. Some of them have learned
English for 7 years at secondary and high school some have only learned English for 3 years
and some others have never learned English before, so it is very difficult for the teachers
apply new approaches in teaching them.
II.1.4. Descriptions of teaching and learning of English speaking skills for the first year
students at Tourism Faculty through organizing pair work and group work
It can be seen that communication is the goal of English language learning. Its
purpose is to help students develop their communicative competence. This makes teaching
and learning to improve students’ speaking skills to be an important part in any English
course. Like in many other universities in Vietnam, English teachers at TUCST find out the
benefits of using pair and group work and spend much time to apply these techniques to
develop students’ speaking skills. However, we have some problems such as: large classes;
noises; lazy and passive students. The major concerns of this research are find out the useful
techniques for organizing pair work and group work to help teachers and students in teaching
and learning speaking English.
II.2. Methodology
II.2.1. Participants
The subjects of the study are 6 teachers of English who teach General English for
students of Tourism Faculty at TUCST. They range from 25 to 40 years of age. Of the 6
teachers, four teachers have more than five years experience in teaching and the other two

15


have teaching experience ranging from 2 to 5 years. All teachers have Master Degree and
experience pair and group work activity when they were students.

The first year, 110 students were randomly chosen from 122 students of 2 classes.
Their age varied between 19 and 21 so they belonged to the same psychological age group.
Because of entering in Tourism Faculty, most of them have low English background. Their
length of English learning at school (before entering our university) was different. Some of
them who live in the city have learned English for 7 years, others who live in the countryside
have learnt English for 3 years.
II.2.2. Research instruments
The instruments used to collect data was questionnaire and interview for the teachers
and the first year students to get information about using pair work, group work in speaking
classes. Two sets of questionnaires were designed to investigate the teachers’ and students’
opinion about the use of pair work and group work in the speaking classes of the 1 st year
students of Tourism Department, TUCST.
The first are the questionnaires for the students including 10 questions written in
Vietnamese, was administered to 110 students. This is divided into 4 parts:
Part 1: Students’ opinions on speaking skill (Question 1, 2, 3)
Part 2: Students’ opinions on the use of pair work, group work in speaking class
(Question 4, 5)
Part 3: Students’ recommendation for organizing of pair and group work (Question 6,
7, 8, 9)
Part 4: Students’ appreciation the improvement of their learning speaking English
after the 1st semester of using pair work and group work. (Question 10, 11)
The second are the questionnaires for the teachers including 10 questions written in
English, was administered to 6 English teachers of Tourism Faculty. This is divided into 4
parts:
Part 1: Teachers’ opinions on teaching speaking skill (Question 1, 2,3)
Part 2: Teachers’ appreciation of pair, group work in speaking class (Question 4, 5)
Part 3: The teachers’ implemention of pair work, group work in their current speaking
class (Question 6, 7, 8)

16

Part 4: Teacher’s appreciation the improvement of students’ learning speaking
English after the 1st semester of using pair work and group work (Question 9,10)
In order to test the validity of the information obtained from the questionnaires, two
interviews with both the teachers and students were carried out. Three teachers and five
students chosen at random from two classes were invited to the interviews. The questions in
the interview were basically based on those in the questionnaire, but they were extended to
cover more open-ended questions to get through understanding of the reasons behind each
choice. And the main aim of the interview was to appreciate the improvement of students’
speaking skill after the 1st semester learning speaking at our university.
II.2.3. Data analysis
The data of the study was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. As for
quantitative analysis, we used descriptive statistics to quantify the data in form of charts and
figures. The qualitative data were obtained from the interview.
II.3. Presentation of statistical results:
II.3.1. The result of language learning survey questionnaires and direct interview:
II.3.1.1. Students’ opinions on speaking skill
Table 1: Students’ opinions on speaking skill
Numbers of
students

Percent
%

a. It’s a compulsory subject in the curriculum

16

14,5

b. Learning speaking English is to pass the oral
tests
c. Speaking English is necessary fot your future job

56

68,2

90

81,8

d. Learning speaking English is your interest

20

18,2

Questions

1

Options/

a. very interested
19
17,3
81
73,6

b. interested
2
10
9,1
c. not very interested
d. no interested
0
0
The statistics in table 1 shows the students’ opinions on speaking skill. It can clearly
[

be seen that most of the students asked (81,8 %) say that speaking is necessary for their future
job and 73,6 % of them are interested in speaking skill while little of them (14,5 %) says they
learn Speaking skill because English is compulsory at their university. Some students find
English really interesting while there are 56 out of 110 students (62,8 %) who want to learn

17


speaking skill just to pass the oral test. About 18,2% of them stated that English is their
interest. It means that speaking English is so important for most of the students.
Table 2: Students’ opinions on the way to learn speaking skill
Numbers of
Percent %
students
1. Individual work
23
20,9
2. Pair work and group work
92

83,6
3
3. whole class
16
14,5
4. answering the teachers’ questions
33
30
5.listening and taking notes
45
40,9
As can be seen from the table 2, (83,6%) of the students asked said that they like

Questions

Options/

working in pairs and groups, whereas they had very little favor for working individually
(20,9%) , only 14,5% of them liked working in whole class. 30% of students enjoyed
answering the teacher’ questions and 40,9% liked listening and taking note . From this, it can
be understood that most of the students see the importance of working in pair and group for
the better speaking skill. This also means that pair work and group work are surely the most
suitable activities for the speaking skill. In the interview, some students revealed:
“ I feel really comfortable when I work with my partners”
“ I like working in pairs and in groups because I feel free and active”
“I‟m afraid of answering the teacher‟s questions as I have just learnt English, so I am not
confident enough”
“My speaking proficiency is not good so I think it‟s good that teacher deliver lecture and I
take note”
II.3.1.2. Students’ opinions on the use of pair work, group work in speaking class

Very often
Often
Not very often

Chart 1: Students’ opinions on the teachers’ frequent use of pair and group work
(Question 4)
Not very surprising information from table is that the students (85 %) affirm that the teachers
in their university often use the pair work and group work in the speaking lesson very often
because it is compulsory that the teachers implement this to follow the book activities

18


planned in the teacher’s book and make the students get used to doing this for any oral test
and may be for the students’ future job. This is of great use in helping the students to
communicate with each other.
Table 3: Students’ opinions on the impact of pair and group work
Questions

Numbers of
students
82

Options

Percent
%
74,5

a. It increases the students’ speaking time.
b. It promotes students’ independence and
80
cooperation.
5
d. Shy and passive students have more
76
chance of expressing themselves
c. It improves students’ motivation.
85
e. Students can learn from each other.
80
It was obvious that almost all the students ( more than 70%) found that

72,7
69
77,3
72,7
pair work and

group work were so beneficial for their speaking skill that they can speak more in English,
they can be much more confident and they also have chance to express themselves, their
independence, cooperation and motivation in speaking were improved. Regarding the benefit
of learning from each other of group work, 72,7% (80 out of 110) the students stated that they
learnt each other so much. Some of them said as follows:
“ I‟m encouraged to speak out with my friends‟ help. I don‟t feel shy to express my opinion
with them. My partners help me a lot with my pronunciation”
“ My friends helps me a lot with my English especially grammar and vocabulary when I work
with them”
“When answering my teacher‟s question I really shy, but I am much more confident as

speaking to my partners in pairs or in groups”
II.3.1.3. Students’ recommendation for the success of pair and group work
Chart 2: Activities students wished teachers to select for pair and group work (Question 6)
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Games

Role-play

Interviewing Information
gap

Drama

Projects

Problem
solving

Discussing

Opinion
exchange

As can be seen in Chart 3, all of the students (100%) chose role-playing, games,

information gap, discussing, interviewing and opinion exchange to be their favorite activities.

19


Problem solving was the choice of 75% of the students. And Drama and projects received
only 10% and 20% of the students respectively.
The reasons to explain students’ high appreciation for these selections were given by students
in interviews, such as:
“I like games and interviewing because these activities often create exciting atmosphere.”
“These activities are also not too difficult and time-consuming for us to prepare and make
presentation”
“I like work in pair with my partner to exchange my opinions, discussing and problem
solving on favorite topics. They make me feel confident and comfortable in speaking
“ I don‟t like drama and project activities because they are actually difficult and need much
efforts to do.
Table 4: Students’ wishes about the partners in pair and group work
Questions

Options/
a. Students of the same English proficiency level.
b.Students of higher English proficiency level
c.Students of lower English proficiency level.

7

Numbers of
students
35
40

10

Percent
%
31,8
36,4
9,1

13

11,8

d. Students sitting next or near to each other.

e. Students of the same interest.
12
10,9
About the students they preferred working with in pairs and in groups, most of the
students wanted to work with the students who were at the same level or higher level of
proficiency. Working with the people they really liked was also preferred by 10,9%. Also,
some of them (11,8%) liked working with the ones at the same table. However, few of them
(9,1%) liked working with the students who were worse at English. In the interview some
students revealed as follows.
“I enjoy working with the students who are better than me as I can learn from them”
“If my partners are good, they can help me”.
“Working with the students at lower level of proficiency often makes me lazier”.
“Discussing with the people I like might be more effective”.
Table 5: Students’ recommendation for the things the teacher should do
Questions

8

Options/
a. Give clear instruction with examples
b. provide necessary vocabulary and
functional language
c. Go round monitoring students’
performance and help if necessary

20

Numbers of
students
110

Percent %
100

45

40,9

34

30,9