Teaching speaking skill for non-Major MA students at VNUH

teachers can help them. If students lack words to express themselves, what teachers should do is providing related words when introducing topics through listening or reading as pre-speaking activities. Besides, teacher should pay attention to students when they are speaking so as to guess their ideas to support them in case they cannot find exact words to express themselves. What is more, teachers should not expect perfection from students in the use of unfamiliar or difficult words, but rather should develop a supportive environment and group rapport that encourage students to experiment with unfamiliar words. Teachers need to explain that words represent thoughts so students should not attempt to use unusual syntax, outlandish phrases, or “big words” but try to find direct and meaningful ways of making themselves understood. It seems to be problematic to change students’ habit of “listening without speaking” in speaking lessons. If students are not accustomed to speaking in English class, alternative ways need to be applied. One way is to have everyone stand up and either ask a question or answer a question to sit down. This way helps when teachers make it fun or else the students will feel uncomfortable. Teachers can make it a game, and the losing team has to write more homework or something little like that. Another way is to have students answer in groups, as a lot of them do not want to be the only one to talk. Alternatively, students can be spilt up into pairs and given an interesting dialogue to read before reading the dialogue out loud. All these ways to make students get accustomed to speaking in class cannot go without deciding factors such as teachers’ patience, support and enthusiasm. All in all, there is hardly any single measure that can deal with all problems raised in the process of teaching and learning a language in general and speaking skill in particular. Applying the following strategies can hopefully help teachers deal with most of difficulties they encounter in their teaching speaking skill. Yet whether a speaking class succeeds depends almost on the active role of teachers in their teaching as well as that of students in their learning. Do interesting topics or make topics interesting. Teachers can formally ask students (in a needs analysis) what topics they are interested in. If teachers tackle topics that students are not interested in, they will lose the students’ desire to participate at the very beginning of the lesson. In case students appear to be bored with topics in the course book, easy and interesting ideas for discussion can be introduced to make the topics less boring and more familiar to students. Be enthusiastic about what you are teaching. This is the timeless one. Any students can spot a bored teacher at twenty paces. If you do not feel enthusiastic about your teaching, the students will tend to follow your lead, reflecting your lack of enthusiasm and surely you will be helpless about getting already-tired students involve in speaking lessons. Connect with your students. It does not make any sense; no matter how evolved and refined your methodology is, if you do not connect with your class. Teachers have to tune in to the different language abilities and the different personalities of their students. This involves focusing more on what the students are saying and less on what teachers are saying. Teach “use”, not only ‘usage”. When students are using the target language (for example, in a role play), they feel empowered. They can feel the benefits of the lesson in a very tangible way. In contrast, learning rules about the target language is likely to result in the rapid onset of boredom. For example, it is better to set up an information gap, in which students are trying to arrange a meeting than to give a lecture on the form and meaning of the present continuous for the future. III.3 Suggested activities for motivating students and improving their speaking ability Here are some ideas teachers should keep in mind when planning speaking activities. Content As much as possible, the content should be practical and usable in real-life situations. Too much new vocabulary or grammar should be avoided. Correcting Errors Teachers need to provide appropriate feedback and correction, but don’t interrupt the flow of communication. Take notes while pairs or groups are talking and address problems to the class after the activity to avoid embarrassing the student who made the error. Teachers can write the error on the board and ask who can correct it. Quantity versus Quality Address both interactive fluency and accuracy, striving foremost for communication. Get to know each student’s personality and encourage the quieter ones to take more risks. Conversation Strategies Encourage strategies like asking for clarification, paraphrasing, gestures, and initiating (‘hey,’ ‘so,’ ‘by the way’). Teacher Intervention If a speaking activity loses steam, teachers may need to jump into a role-play, ask more discussion questions, clarify your instructions, or stop an activity that is too difficult or boring. Below are some activities and games that can add interest to each lesson and serve different learning styles. Teachers can find sample games and activities in this part for getting their students more involved in speaking in class and can feel free to change their content or degree of difficulty to suit their needs, or use them as a springboard to create specific activities. These activities can be made more challenging by increasing the complexity of the language and adding elements of risk, or made less challenging by simplifying the language and providing more guidance to reduce the risk of making errors. Teachers can consult table 8 for ease of accessing activities suitable for the unit being taught. Unit 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Suggested activities 1,3,4, 5, 7 1,3,4, 5,6,7, 8, 14 1,3, 4, 5 1,3, 4,5, 13 1,3, 4,5, 12 1,3, 4,5,7, 11,13 1,2, 3,4,5, 9 1,3, 4, 5, 10 1,3, 4, 5 1,3, 4, 5 Table 8: Activities suitable for each unit in the course book ‘English for Graduate Students’  For more activities, see appendix 4 Activity 1: Word Routes This activity can make students feel more relaxed about expressing their opinion among their own peer groups. It generates a lot of talking as students are free to express whatever ideas/opinions they have about topic. It allows freedom and flexibility so students develop confidence in their speaking and fluency skills as they examine the twists and turns that different conversations can take on the same subject. Aims Express opinions about a subject and refer to events freely Ask questions and seek opinions Class time 15-20 minutes Preparation time 30 minutes Resources List of interesting topics Procedure Prepare a list of topics that interest students (e.g. fashion, love, marriage, holiday). Divide the class into several groups of five or six students. Have students choose one member of the group to take notes. Give all the groups the same topic for free discussion. (This means students are free to discuss the topic and to develop and carry on their conversation within the time limits of the activity.) While students are discussing the topic, have the note-taker keep track of the progression or “word route” of the conversation (e.g. from toothpastes, to teeth, to dentists, diet, to clothes). At the end of the time period (5-10 minutes), check the group’s progress and have the note-taker of each group present the word route they have recorded. Compare the different groups’ development of their conversation as the whole-class activity. Activity 2: Two-minute Conversations: If I were … This activity gives the students the opportunity to get to know each other better and therefore helps to create a non-threatening environment for speaking and sharing ideas. It also encourages students to think creatively because they must share a personal characteristic in an abstract way. Students practice initiating, continuing, and closing a conversation; using the conditional; communicating personal information; and developing vocabulary. Aims Get to know classmates Practice the conditional Class time Variable Preparation time 15 minutes Resources movable desks; handout with 15 or more categories (see Appendix below). Procedure Arrange half of the desks in a large outer circle facing in, and the other half in an inner circle facing out so that when seated, every student has a partner. Give the students two minutes to discuss the topics listed on the handout. There is a different topic for each conversation but every conversation starts with the phrase, “If I were a _______, I would be (a) _______ because _______.” (E.g. If the topic were Body of Water, they could say, “If I were a body of water, I would be an ocean because an ocean can be very calm, deep and mysterious, but in a moment it can be dangerous. That’s what I am, very moody, but never dull. How about you? What would you be?”. When the time is up, ask the students in the inner circle to stand up and move one seat to the right to begin another 2-minute conversation with a new partner. Appendix Possible categories are color, days of the week, kinds of weather, musical instruments, months, countries, cities, articles of clothing, songs, kinds of fruit, flowers, pieces of furniture, food, toys, etc. Activity 3 Toss and Tell Us This activity accesses linguistic knowledge from memory in an oral mode and provides students with practice in reading short sentences aloud to the class. This practice is achieved through understanding and speaking in response to short directives covering a variety of subjects. Students who are not participating have an opportunity to learn information – for example, the answers to the short directives – so that when their turns come they will be able to answer fluently. Aims Answer content questions about the real world Generate feedback on peers’ performance Class time Variable Preparation time None Resources pair of dice, roll of dice sheet Procedure Select a student at random to roll the dice. Have that student roll the dice to obtain a number from the Roll of the Dice sheet. Then ask the student to choose a classmate, select answers A, B, or C from the Roll of the Dice sheet, and read it to the selected classmate. The selected student responds. If the student cannot respond, have the first student read another one of the three items. If the student again cannot respond, read the third choice. Should the student still not be able to respond, that student loses this turn. Have the first student roll again and select a new student to answer. Have the student who rolled the dice pass them to the student who responded, who then selects another student at random and the activity continues. Appendix Roll of Dice Sheet Roll the dice to obtain a number from 2 to 12. After the number has been determined, select answer A, B, or C and read to the student selected in a voice loud enough for all of the class to hear. Roll of 2 Tell us who you think are two most important people in the world today and explain why you think so. Tell us what your two favorite subjects in school are and explain why you like them. Tell us two things you like to do in your spare time. Roll of 3 Tell us the name of the last movie you saw and if you liked it, tell why. Tell us what country you would like to visit and why. Tell us, in detail, what you had for dinner last night. Roll of 4 Tell us four things you like about yourself. Tell us one thing you don’t like about yourself. Tell us the name of one item of clothing you would buy if someone gave you enough money to buy it and explain why. Roll of 5 Tell us who is the tallest boy in the class. Prove your answer. Tell us what the weather is like today. Tell us your dog’s name if you have one. If you don’t have a dog, what would you name one if you did? Roll of 6 Tell us the names of four grains that people eat. Tell us the names of four diseases. Tell us what size shoes you wear. Roll of 7 Tell us what you have in your right front pants pocket if you are wearing trousers. If not, tell us what brand of toothpaste you use. Tell us what you think is the most serious problem facing the world today. Tell us how to get to the university parking place. Roll of 8 Tell us whether most blood flows to the heart or from the heart. Tell us where your food goes after you swallow it. Tell us which you like better, cats or dogs, and give us your reasons. Roll of 9 Tell us who you would invite to go on a date with you if you could invite anybody in the world. Tell us what ice cream is made of. Tell us what the longest river in the world is. Roll of 10 Tell us approximately how many people live in China. Tell us three qualities you like in a person. Tell us what your favorite dessert is and what is it made of. Roll of 11 Tell us what state in the United States has the most people. Tell us the names of five different pieces of furniture. Tell us the name of the largest mammal that lives in the ocean. Roll of 12 Tell us the name of one famous poet. Tell us at what temperature water freezes in both Centigrade and Fahrenheit measurements. Tell us which animal(s) provide(s) us with wool. Activity 4 Agreeing and Disagreeing A lively and relaxed classroom atmosphere helps students learn a language. This activity encourages the students to exchange opinions in a non-threatening situation. The activity also centers around topics that are familiar and of interest to the students. Students are free to express their views, and they are also required to clarify or support their opinions. Genuine communication as well as learning can thus take place in a relaxed classroom setting. Aims Practice giving and responding to opinions Class time 30 minutes Preparation time 5 minutes Resources White board and marker; ball (optional) Procedure Explain the task to the students. The students will be paired up and they will take turns giving opinions about each other and responding to each other’s opinions. Write on the board the different expressions students can use in expressing and responding to an opinion. The list may include I think, I feel, as I see it, in expressing an opinion; and that’s right, correct, exactly, in agreeing; and I’m afraid not, not quite, in disagreeing. Pair off the students randomly. Explain the task. Students should take turns giving an opinion about the partner’s beliefs, likes, dislikes, hobbies, interests, abilities and skills. Their partner should then respond, by either agreeing or disagreeing. Each student should give at least three opinions. The response has to be given immediately after each opinion. Encourage of the students to use a different expression each. Examples might include: Opinion: I think you like eating fast food a lot as I have seen you at least twice at McDonald’s. Response: Well, you’re quite right. I especially like the French fries there. Opinion: I guess you enjoy listening to pop music. Response: Actually, I don’t. I prefer classical music to pop music. Opinion: In my opinion, you are very shy since I seldom hear you speak in class. Response: Mm, in fact, I don’t think I’m shy. I seldom speak in class since I think it is not very polite. Activity 5 Letting Students Ask the Questions We all know that people want to talk about what interests them. This activity makes the most of that premise by requiring students’ participation throughout every step: from allowing the students to choose the topics to be discussed to having the students be responsible for leading the group discussions. Aims Speak and learn about an interesting topic Take responsibility for learning Class time 15-30 minutes Preparation time 20 minutes Procedure give students a questionnaire asking them to list at least five topics they would like to discuss. type the list of topics on a handout for students and have them choose (as a class) a topic to discuss in the next lesson. have students write down three interesting and relevant questions about the topic they would like to ask other students. for the next lesson: type the questions and number them on a handout. cut out as many slips of paper as there are questions and number them corresponding to the questions on the handout. Include vocabulary items on the handout that may be useful for the upcoming discussion. on the discussion day, give the students the handout and distribute the slips of paper at random so that each student has a few slips. have students ask the question that corresponds to the number on their slip of paper, beginning with question 1. Each student asking a question should actively elicit responses from the other students and make sure everyone has a chance to speak. Continue the same process until all the questions have been asked and discussed. Activity 6 The Year That Was Nearly everyone has access to media news and may discuss the news in their L1. As language teachers, we can capitalize on this real-life activity outside the classroom and encourage students to express their opinions about the news in a classroom activity. Aims Discuss important events that occurred in the previous year Practice arguing, agreeing, disagreeing, and justifying Class time 30 minutes Preparation time 30 minutes Resources Copy magazines that summarize the past years' events in photos Procedures Choose, cut out, and paste onto separate sheets of paper, 10 pictures about news stories from a previous year out of an end-of-the-year magazine. (Do not leave any captions or text on the pictures.) Number the pictures from 1 to 10 in random order. You may need to make several sets of pictures, depending on the size of the class. Have students use a clean sheet of paper and write Topic at the top of the left-hand side, and Comment at the top of the right-hand side. Also have them number from 1 to 10, at equal intervals, down the left-hand side of the paper. Tell students you will distribute 10 pictures. They should look at them and write the topic of the story (if they know it) next to the corresponding number on the Topic side of their page. Students should not discuss the pictures with you or other classmates during this part of the activity. Organize the class into groups of five and have students compare their topic lists. Once you and the students are satisfied with the lists, elicit the topics from students as a class activity and write them on the chalkboard so that eventually, everyone has a similar list. Have the groups discuss the topics for 15-20 minutes and have them make notes under the Comment section of their paper. Choose members from each group to explain to the class what 10 news items are about. Make brief notes from this discussion on the board. Ask groups to discuss the importance of each item and rank them in order of importance. Again, choose members from each group to tell the class the order of importance they have determined, and encourage class discuss to decide the "best order". Activity 7 Get It Done This class activity encourages learners to gain confidence in control over one of the many uses of the verb get. Get It Done encourages students to avoid dependency on written English for oral work, contextualize grammar and pronunciation in genuine communication, and keep the eyes up when they speak. Aims Practice causative get or have Review regular and irregular past participles and pronunciation of –ed endings Understand English spoken at normal, conversational speed Class time 20-25 minutes Preparation time None Procedures Put two or three examples of causative get or have sentences on the chalkboard. For example, Joseph gets his hair cut every three weeks. She got her teeth checked at the dentist. New students will get their registration verified soon. Elicit from the class the meaning of causative get by asking such questions as Does Joseph cut his own hair? Who probably cuts his hair? Have the class articulate a rule for using causative get Activity 8 A Day in Life Aims Asking about events, practicing simple past tense Class time 15-20 minutes Preparation time None Procedure The class is divided into groups. One member of each group leaves the room. The remaining group members decide how the person who is outside spent the previous day. They draw up an exact time schedule from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and describe where the person was, what he did, who he talked to. So as not to make the guessing too difficult, the ‘victim’s’ day should not be divided into more than six two-hour periods. The people who waited outside during step 2 are called in and return to their groups. There they try and find out – by asking only yes/no questions – how the group thinks they spent the previous day. (Optional) when each ‘victim’ has guessed his fictitious day, the group tries to find out what he really did. Activity 9 What Would Happen If …? Aims If – clauses, making conjectures, asking for confirmation Class time 10-15 minutes Preparation time 30 minutes Resources About twice as many slips of paper with an event/situation written on them as there are students Procedure Every student receives one or two slips of paper with sentences like these on them: ‘What would happen if a shop gave away its goods free every Wednesday?’ ‘What would you do if you won a trip for two to a city of your choice?’ One student starts by reading out his question and then asks another student to answer it. The second student continues by answering or asking a third student to answer the first student’s question. If he has answered the question he may then read out his own question for somebody else to answer. The activity is finished when all the questions have been read out and answered. The student can prepare their own questions. Here are some more suggestions: What would happen if every body who told a lie turned green? people could get a driving lesson at 14? girls had to do military service? men were not allowed to become doctors or pilots? children over 10 were allowed to vote? men can live up to 200 years old? gold was found in your area? a film was made in your school/ place of work? headmasters had to be elected by teachers and pupils? smoking was not forbidden in public places? men are allowed to have more than one wife? What would you do if you were invited to the President’s house? you were invited to be an actor/actress by a famous film director? a photo graph of yours won first prize at an exhibition? your little sister aged 14 told you she were pregnant? you saw your teacher pass red light? you saw somebody hit a small child very hard? a salesman called at your house and tried to sell you something you do not need? your horoscope warned you against traveling when you want to go on holiday? it rained every day of your holiday? if you got a love letter from somebody you did not know? you saw a snake in your bed? you lost your walk in the woods? you found 200,000 dong in a library book? you forgot you had asked four people to lunch and didn’t have any food in the house when they arrived? a young man/girl told you that he/she cannot live without you? your lover told you he/she fell in love with another person? you could not sleep at night? you noticed that you didn’t bring any money with you when the seller gave you the shoes you decided to take? Activity 10 Personalities Aims Giving reasons, making comparisons Class time 10-15 minutes Preparation time None Procedure the teacher writes a list of 10-15 famous names on the board. She asks the students to select the six personalities they would like to invite to their classroom to give a talk and rank them in order of preference. They write their choices in order on a piece of paper. All the papers are collected. When the final list for the whole class has been compiled, students who selected the most popular personalities are asked to explain their choice. The activity could be continued with the students writing our interview questions they would like to ask the person of their choice. Remarks The teacher will be far more successful in devising a list which is geared towards her students’ knowledge and interests. Activity 11 Job prestige Aims Asking for and giving reasons, agreeing and disagreeing Class time 15-20 minutes Preparation time None Procedure The teacher outlines the task. “You are going to be given a list of 14 occupations. You have to rank them according to two criteria. First arrange them in the order which these jobs are regarded and paid for in our society. Secondly make a list in which you show how important you think each job should be.” dentist taxi driver secretary schoolteacher policeman lawyer journalist university professor actor nurse shop-assistant librarian engineer farmer “Work with your neighbor. You should – as far as it is possible – reach agreement in both rankings. Where you cannot agree, mark the difference of opinion on your list.” The results are presented by the students and noted on the board. The first list will probably be very similar in each case, with clusters of high prestige and low prestige job emerging clearly. The ranking of the jobs according to the importance allotted to them by individual students may differ wildly and should stimulate a discussion on the criteria for “upgrading” or “downgrading” certain occupations. Activity 12 Twenty things I’d like to do Aims Expressing likes and dislikes Analyzing one’s likes Class time 20-30 minutes Preparation time None Procedure The students are asked to write a list of 20 things they would like to do. These can be ordinary activities like eating a lot of ice-cream or more exotic dreams like going for a trip in a balloon. They should jot sown anything that comes to mind, writing the activities one under the other. These lists will remain private. the students are asked to code their lists by putting one or more of the following symbols in front of them: £ if the activity is expensive WF if the activity involves other people (WF = with friends) A if they would do this on their own (A = alone) M or F if they think their mother (M) of father (F) would enjoy this, too X if the activity is at all physically or mentally harmful (e.g. smoking) now the students should think about the distribution stem sentences: I have learnt from this exercise that ... I am surprised that I am pleased that ... I am worried that ... I don’t mind that ... The completed sentences are collected by the teacher and individual ones read out, provided they contain a stimulus for discussion. Variations Students may want to make suggestions for other ways of coding. The lists are made up of things the students would not like to do. Activity 13 Consequences Aims Practicing future tense, conditional Thinking creatively Class time 10-20 minutes Preparation As many cards with an action on as there are groups Procedure The teacher divides the class into groups. She gives each group an action card. Examples: A 25-hour working week is introduced. A lorry driver empties a tank full of poisonous waste into the river near a town. Animal merchants catch the last animals of a dying species and sell them to zoos in Vietnam. Men can get maternity leave (paternity leave) like women. Robots that can do housework are built. Scientists discover that cancer is caused by pollution. A group of boys always use the bus or tram without paying. Each group now has to think of all the possible long-term and short-term consequences this action may have. The group secretary writes down all the consequences. When the group cannot think of any more consequences they exchange cards with another group. With each new card a different group member becomes secretary. The consequences of each action are shared and discussed with the whole class. Variations Each student can work out consequences on his own before working in a group. Remarks It should be stressed that there is rarely a chain of events triggered by one action alone. This technique is slightly misleading as it does not take complex situations and reasons for actions into account. Nevertheless it may help students realize that simple actions have far-reaching consequences. For some classes it can be helpful to give the students a handout to be filled in, like the one that follows. Action CONSEQUENCES Next few days Next year Next 20 years Activity 14 Chain story Aims Practicing simple past Class time 15-20 minutes Preparation Small slips of paper with one noun/ verb/ adjective on each of them, as many pieces of paper as there are students. Procedure Each student receives a word slip. The teacher starts the story by giving the first sentence, e.g. “It was s stormy night in November.” A student (either a volunteer or the person sitting nearest to the teacher) continues the story. He may say up to three sentences and must include the word on his slip of paper. The next student goes on. Variations Each student is also given a number. The numbers determine the sequence in which the students have to contribute to the story. PART THREE: CONCLUSION 1. Summary of the study The current teaching and learning situation has been figured out in the study through questionnaires and follow-up interviews with 100 students of law, economics, information technology, education and business administration and 12 teachers of English at VNUH. Due to various reasons such as variety in students’ level of language proficiency, lack of interesting topics, prior experience in learning speaking, and fear of losing face, more than two-thirds of the students remain reluctant to respond to the teacher and keep quiet until they are singled out to answer questions. Moreover, many of them seem to be helpless about being reticent when the teacher asks a question and expects a respond. The study has introduced some measures to help students become more willing and active to converse with others in the target language in class. It also includes activities for teachers to make use of in motivating their students to reduce reticence and be more confident in English speaking classes. To meet the needs of multi-level classes, teachers need to make use of various methods. In order to help reduce students’ reticence, teachers themselves should be aware of the existence of reticence among students and try to give more chances and encouragement to the more quiet ones by asking them more questions. As three quarters of them go to class after a working day, they are sometimes too tired to learn so lessons should be made with a lot of fun and comfort with interesting and motivating activities or games. Besides, as suggested by the students’ informants, teachers should prepare more topics which are not only interesting but also related to students’ life so that students have the interest in and ability to talk about them in English. In addition, teachers should try to establish a friendly, supportive, and non-threatening learning environment, as well as introducing activities that motivate students to speak. It is important for teachers to be friendly rather than strict and critical in class, in order to make students feel easy to speak English. 2. Suggestions for further study In further study, with greater time and effort, surveys should be conducted with a larger sample population and wider sources of activities and if it is possible, activities suitable for different majors need to be added. Suggested activities should consider students’ different majors one of the factors raising students’ willingness to involve in classroom speaking activities. Further studies on changing the form of speaking test to have a more challenging one is also suggested as an effort to motivate students in their learning speaking skill in English class at SGS – VNUH. REFERENCES Baley, K.M., & Savage, L. (1994) New Way in Teaching Speaking: TESOL. Bax, S. (2003). The end of CLT: a context approach to language teaching ELT J (pp.278-287). Brown, G., & Yule, G. (1983). Teaching the Spoken Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Brown, H.D. (1994). Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents. Burns, A., & Joyce, H. (1997). Focus on speaking. Sydney: National Center for English Language Teaching and Research. Bygate, M. (2001). Speaking. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Byrne, D. (1988). Focus on the Classroom. Hong Kong: Modern English Publications. Cohen, A. (1996). Developing the ability to perform speech acts. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 18, (pp.253–267). Ellis, R. (1990). Instructed second language acquisition. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Hadfield, J. (1984). Advanced Communication Games: Nelson. Hadfield, J. (1984). Elementary Communication Games: Nelson. Hammerly, H. (1991). Fluency and accuracy: Toward balance in language teaching and learning. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters. Kay, S. (1995). Reward Pre-Intermediate Communicative Activities for Students of English: Mcmillan. Klippel, F. (1991). Keep talking. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Lazaraton, A. (2001). Teaching oral skills. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.) Teaching English as a second or foreign language (3rd ed., pp. 103–115). Boston: Heinle & Heinle. Major, R. C. (2001). Foreign accent: The ontogeny and phylogeny of second language phonology. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Nunan, D. (1989). Designing tasks for the communicative classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nunan, D. (1991). Language teaching methodology: A textbook for teachers. New York: Prentice Hall. O.M. & Spada, N. (1999). How Languages are Learned. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. (1986). Approaches and methods in language teaching: A descriptive analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ur, P. (1996). A Course in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ur, P. (1991). Discussions that Work. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Van Duzer, C. (1997). Improving ESL learners' listening skills: At the workplace and beyond. Van Lier, L. (1995). Introducing language awareness. London: Penguin English. Wallwork, A. (1997). Discussions A-Z Intermediate – A Resource Book of Speaking Activities: Cambridge. Washington, DC: Project in Adult Immigrant Education and National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education. Wallwork, A. (1997). Discussions A-Z Intermediate – A Resource Book of Speaking Activities: Cambridge. APPENDIX Appendix 1 Questionnaire for students QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS The following questionnaire aims at figuring out problems encountered by non-major MA students of English at VNUH in learning English speaking skill to suggest ways to improve their ability in speaking English. Please fill out by checking the box(es) which best describe(s) your ideas or specifying your answer. Your responses are more than of beneficial values. Thank you very much for your cooperation! Question 1 I’m interested in speaking English in class because … Topics are interesting/familiar. □ My teacher always encourages me to speak, even I make a lot of mistakes in speaking. □ My teacher pays attention to me because I speak English better than other students in the class. □ I can express my ideas easily in English. □ I feel confident in speaking English in front of others. □ I like speaking activities and games. □ I’m accustomed to practicing speaking in class. □ Others (please specify) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Question 2 I’m not willing to speak English in class because … Topics are boring/unfamiliar. □ My teacher often stops me and corrects my mistakes when I’m speaking. □ I’m afraid that my classmates will laugh at me if I make mistakes. □ I can’t find exact words to express my ideas. □ My teacher hardly ever pays attention to me. □ My teacher and other students speak almost all the time. □ I’m not accustomed to speaking English in class (It’s my habit to sit in class and listen quietly to teachers until I’m asked to speak). □ It’s ok if I don’t speak. The teacher never complains about that. □ I’m tired after a working day. □ Others (please specify) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Question 3 Does your teacher often use activities for you to practice speaking English in classrooms? Yes, very often. I like the activities. □ Yes, very often. But the activities are not interesting and varied enough. □ Yes, sometimes. I like the activities. □ Yes, sometimes. But the activities are not interesting and varied enough. □ Occasionally. I like the activities. □ Occasionally. And the activities are not interesting. □ Never. □ Others (please specify) ……………………………………………………………… Appendix 2 Questionnaire for teachers QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS The following questionnaire aims at figuring out difficulties that teachers have in teaching English speaking skill for non-major English MA students at SGS – VNUH so as to suggest ways to help teachers solve the problem. Please fill out by checking the box(es) which best describe(s) your ideas or specifying your answer. Your responses are more than of beneficial values. Thank you very much for your cooperation! Question 1 What are your difficulties in teaching speaking for non major MA students of English at SGS? Students are unwilling to speak. □ Students’ levels of proficiency are varied. □ I don’t have enough time to prepare speaking activities. □ I can’t find suitable and interesting speaking activities. □ Teaching speaking takes time when I have to cover all other contents of the course book. □ Others (please specify) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Question 2 What do you do to motivate students to speak in class? I create interesting games and activities. □ I introduce interesting and familiar topics. □ I let them talk about whatever topic they like. □ I give them many questions. □ I always listen attentively to and appreciate students’ answers. □ I never forget to praise them before pointing out their mistakes in speaking. □ I set funny classroom rules/punishment for those who keep quiet or speak Vietnamese in class. □ I ask the better students to speak first. □ I ask the better students to speak after other students. □ I encourage students to learn by reminding them of the proportion of speaking skill in their end of course test. □ Others (please specify) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Appendix 3 The Contents page of the course book English for Graduate Students Unit 1 Happiness Present states and actions Active and passive Numbers Unit 2 Telling tales Past tenses Active and passive Unit 3 Doing the right things Modal verbs Requests and offers Unit 4 On the move Future forms Traveling around Unit 5 Likes and dislikes Like Verb + V_ing or infinitive Unit 6 The world of work Present perfect Active and passive Unit 7 Imagine Conditionals Time clauses Would Unit 8 Relationship Modal verbs (2) Probability So do I! Neither do I! Unit 9 Obsession Present Perfect Continuous Time expressions Unit 10 Tell me about it Reported questions Questions tags Appendix 4 More suggested activities Warm-up Ideas Warm-ups help students put aside their daily distractions and focus on English. If they have not used English all day, they may take a little time to shift into it. Warm-ups also encourage whole-group participation which can build a sense of community within the group. Brainstorm Give a topic and ask learners to think of anything related to it. Write the responses for all to see, or ask a volunteer to do the writing. Teachers can use this to elicit vocabulary related to the lesson. Question of the Day Ask 1-2 simple questions and give learners some minutes to write their answers. Randomly choose a few people to share their answers with the group. Yesterday Have a student stand in front of the group and make one statement about yesterday, such as "Yesterday I went shopping." Then let everyone else ask questions to learn more information, such as "Who did you go with?" "What did you buy?" "What time did you go?" etc. Try this with 1-2 different students each day. Describe the Picture Show a picture and have learners take turns saying one descriptive thing about it. Lower level students can make simple observations like "three cats" while advanced students can make up a story to go with the picture. They are not allowed to repeat what someone else said, so they need to pay attention when each person speaks. Show & Tell A student brings an item from home and talks about it in front of the group. Give students enough advance notice to prepare and remind them again before their turn. Have a back up plan in case the learner forgets to bring an item. Students of lower level may only be able to share the name of an item and where they got it. Be sure to give them specific instructions about what information they are wanted to tell. Sing a Song Songs can be a lively way to get everyone involved. Mystery Object Bring an item that is so unusual that the learners are not likely to recognize what it is. Spend some time eliciting basic descriptions of the item and guesses what it is and how it is used. If possible, pass the item around. This is an activity in observation and inference, so don't answer questions. Just write down descriptions and guesses until someone figures it out or you reveal the mystery. Ice Breakers Name Crossword Write teacher’s name across or down on the board being sure not to crowd the letters. Students take turns coming to the board, saying their name, and writing it across or down, overlapping one letter that is already on the board. It's usually best if teachers allow students to volunteer to come up rather than calling on them in case a letter in their name is not on the board yet, although the last few students may need encouragement if they are shy. Similarities Give each person one or more colored shapes cut from construction paper. They need to find another person with a similar color, shape, or number of shapes and form pairs. Then they interview each other to find 1-2 similarities they have, such as working for foreign companies or having two children or coming from a certain city or town. They can share their findings with the class if there is enough time. Pair Interviews Pairs interview each other, using specified questions for intermediates and open format for advanced students. Then they take turns to introduce their partner to the whole class. Be sensitive to privacy when asking for personal information. Snowball Fight Give learners a piece of white paper and ask them to write down their name, date of birth, and some trivial fact (such as a favorite fruit). Have everyone wad the pages into 'snowballs' and toss them around for a few minutes. On teacher’s signal, everyone should unwrap a snowball, find the person who wrote it, and ask 1-2 more trivial facts. Write the questions on the board so the students can refer to them. Remember that each student will need to ask one person the questions and be asked questions by a third person, so leave enough time. Students then can take turns to introduce the person they interviewed. Mystery Identities Write the names of famous people or places (or use animals or fruits for a simplified version) onto 3x5cm cards. Attach a card to each student's back. Give them time to mingle and ask each other questions to try to figure out their tagged identities. This is usually limited to yes/no questions, although beginners might be allowed to ask any question they can. Be at least 90% sure that the students have heard of the items on the cards and especially the ones you place on their own backs. ESL Games Some of these can be used as warm-ups. Most of them can be linked to any lesson theme or grammatical form you're working on. These games usually require at least a small group to play, but you may be able to adapt some of them for one-on-one settings. Find Someone Who... Create a list of characteristics such as "likes chocolate," "has two children," or "can swim." There should be 10-15 items, and you can relate them to your lesson if you wish. Then let the learners mingle and get signatures of other learners who fit the descriptions. Make sure they are using appropriate question forms ("likes X" becomes "Do you like X?") and aren't just pointing to the items on the page. This can be made into a Bingo activity by putting the items on a grid. Scavenger Hunt Divide the class into teams and hand out a list of items to be collected (a penny, a stick of gum, a signature, a pine cone, a shoelace). Define the searching range (classroom, house, campus, neighborhood, and building). The first team to return with all the items wins a prize. Twenty Questions Select an object in your mind and let the learners ask up to twenty questions to guess what it is. Trade places with the winner and let that learner select an object for the next round. Storyline Divide into groups of 4-6 people. Give everyone a sheet of paper and ask them to write the first sentence of a story at the top of the page. It may begin "Once upon a time..." if they like. Then they pass the page along to the next person in the group. That person reads the first sentence and adds one more to it to continue the story. Then that person folds the top of the page backwards so only his or her own single sentence is visible and passes the page to the next person. That person writes one more sentence, folds the paper back to hide the previous sentence, and passes it along again. When the pages have passed through the entire group one or two rounds, everyone unfolds the pages and reads the stories. They are often hilarious, and this game usually generates contagious laughter. Telephone Divide the class into two teams and have them stand in single file lines. Whisper a somewhat complex sentence into the ear of the first person in each line. Make sure no one else hears. Give the same sentence to each line. Then each person must whisper it into the ear of the next person until the end of the line. The last person must either say the sentence or write it on a whiteboard. The team whose final sentence most resembles the original one wins. In case of a tie, the fastest team wins. Try giving an easy sentence to start with to build confidence before moving onto a difficult one. Combined Activities These activities generally require more preparation and will also take more class time than warm-ups and games. As always, teachers should be creative and adapt them to their needs. Pre-Written Dialogues The course book includes sample dialogues, or teachers may make up some. They can be useful to break the ice with shy learners, but they are not truly communicative because no original language is produced. Use them to practice self-confidence or to illustrate a grammatical pattern. Make them more communicative by selectively choosing words or phrases which can be blanked out and requiring students to substitute their own ideas in the blanks. Having learners memorize the dialogues can help them gain the confidence to try role plays. Role Plays Role plays are far more communicative than pre-written dialogues, but they are often challenging and may be too difficult for students with low level of proficiency or shy students because they must come up with their own language to fit a particular situation. In its most difficult form, groups of 2-3 learners are given a scenario and asked to act it out on the spot. To make a role-play less intimidating, students may be allowed 5-10 minutes to think it through first. Teachers may allow students to write down their scripts, which is often necessary at lower levels. Writing also gives students a chance to ask questions about the language before they use it in front of their peers. Information Gap Each student has limited information which the other needs. They must ask each other questions to get the information. To be more communicative, the answers should have some degree of ambiguity that needs to be cleared up with more questions. For example, both students receive a drawing of a group of people. Each has the names of half of the people labeled on the picture, and the rest of the names in a list. They describe their pictures and ask questions to match names with the unknown people. "Is Sally holding a coffee cup?" may need to be followed by "Is she tall or short?" if there are two women holding coffee cups. Information gaps can be done with street maps, telling time, daily schedule, job interview, spelling, etc. Look for those that encourage interactive questioning rather than mere reporting of easy information. Make sure the students do not show each other their worksheets to give away the answers. Problem-Solving This works best with small groups. Present a problem (a scenario, possibly) and give groups some time to discuss the best approaches or solutions and come to agreement on a course of action. The problem should require a decision with pros and cons and necessitate creative collaborative effort. It can be something like deciding upon seven items to take along for a week in the wilderness, or choosing between living in a 5-bedroom house in the city or a 1-bedroom cottage by a mountain stream. Press learners to explain why they chose their answers.