Áp dụng kĩ thuật Vòng tròn văn học vào hoạt động nhóm nhằm thúc đẩy việc học tập hợp tác trong giờ học Nói tiếng Anh lớp 10 tại trường THPT Lương Thế Vinh, tỉnh Quảng Ninh

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

VU THI THU HIEN

APPLYING LITERATURE CIRCLE TECHNIQUE

TO GROUP-WORK ACTIVITIES

TO ENHANCE COOPERATIVE LEARNING

IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS AT GRADE 10

IN LUONG THE VINH UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL

QUANG NINH PROVINCE

(Áp dụng kĩ thuật Vòng tròn văn học vào hoạt động nhóm nhằm

thúc đẩy việc học tập hợp tác trong giờ học Nói tiếng Anh

lớp 10 tại trường THPT Lương Thế Vinh, tỉnh Quảng Ninh)

M.A. THESIS

Field: English Linguistics

Code: 8220201

THAI NGUYEN – 2019

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

VU THI THU HIEN

APPLYING LITERATURE CIRCLE TECHNIQUE

TO GROUP-WORK ACTIVITIES

TO ENHANCE COOPERATIVE LEARNING

IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS AT GRADE 10

IN LUONG THE VINH UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL

QUANG NINH PROVINCE

(Áp dụng kĩ thuật Vòng tròn văn học vào hoạt động nhóm nhằm

thúc đẩy việc học tập hợp tác trong giờ học Nói tiếng Anh

lớp 10 tại trường THPT Lương Thế Vinh, tỉnh Quảng Ninh)

M.A. THESIS

(APPLICATION ORIENTATION)

Field: English Linguistics

Code: 8220201

Supervisor: Dr. Đặng Thị Thu Hương

THAI NGUYEN – 2019

i

THE CANDIDATE'S STATEMENTS

I hereby declare that the minor thesis entitled “Applying literature circle

technique to group-work activities to enhance cooperative learning in English

speaking lessons at grade 10 in Luong The Vinh Upper Secondary School, Quang

Ninh province” is my own work. To the best of my knowledge, it contains no

materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial

proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree

or diploma at SFL or any other educational institutions. The thesis has not been

submitted to any other examining body and has not been published. Any contribution

made to the research by others is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis.

The candidate

Vu Thi Thu Hien

Approved by

SUPERVISOR

Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To complete this study, I am indebted to many people for their thoughtful help.

I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong,

for supporting me from the proposal stage to the completion of my thesis. She helped

me begin my project and provided guidance and suggestions throughout all of my

drafts. She spent a great deal of time working with me to help me through the multi￾step research process by emails or in person. She tirelessly edited my thesis proposals,

drafts and final thesis.

I would also like to acknowledge a particular debt to Dr. Nguyen Trong Du for

his valuable advice and patient guidance though he is not my supervisor.

I would also like to thank the staff and students at my school, Luong The Vinh

Upper Secondary School, Quang Ninh province, for their support. They assisted my

goals by being flexible, lending resources and engaging in informal discussions about

my challenges over the course of the project.

Most importantly, I wish to acknowledge my family, who has patiently allowed

me the time to work on my thesis. They were invaluable to the success of this paper

and I thank them for believing in my accomplishments.

Thai Nguyen, June 2019

Vu Thi Thu Hien

iii

ABSTRACT

Cooperative learning is undeniably helpful to students, especially to those who

are studying a foreign language. Practice of speaking is considered as one of the most

important factors for the acquisition of languages. This study is conducted to examine

the effectiveness of literature circle technique on cooperative activities inside the

classroom in English speaking lessons for students grade 10, Luong The Vinh Upper

Secondary School, Quang Ninh province. Particularly, the researcher aims at

collecting factual evidences about difficulties that teachers face while applying the

cooperative learning technique (what difficulties do teachers face in typical

Vietnamese classrooms while applying the cooperative learning technique?). An

action research has been carried out experimenting the application of modified

literature circle technique in that context (does the adapted literature circle technique

help enhance cooperative learning in Vietnamese classrooms?). The findings indicate

a significantly positive effect of literature circle technique which helps enhance

cooperative learning considerably in English lessons. Practical exercises and lessons

learnt from the study suggest the use of literature circle technique in other places in

Vietnam.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................ii

ABSTRACT ..........................................................................................................iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ..............................................................................vii

LIST OF TABLES ..............................................................................................viii

LIST OF CHARTS................................................................................................ix

PART A: INTRODUCTION.................................................................................. 1

1. Rationale..................................................................................................... 1

2. Aims of the study and research questions .................................................. 1

3. Scope of the study ...................................................................................... 2

4. Significance of the study ............................................................................ 2

5. Method of the study.................................................................................... 2

6. Organization of the study ........................................................................... 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT................................................................................... 4

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE

REVIEW............................................................................................................. 4

1.1. Cooperative Learning .............................................................................. 4

1.1.1. Definition.......................................................................................... 4

1.1.2. Characteristics of a cooperative learning group. ............................ 5

1.1.3. The roles of cooperative learning in language education................ 5

1.1.4. Challenges in applying cooperative learning group work............... 6

1.2. Literature circle technique....................................................................... 6

1.2.1. Definition.......................................................................................... 6

1.2.2. The use of literature circle techniques for cooperative learning

group work in improving speaking skills ................................................... 7

1.2.3. Limitation of using literature circle in real classrooms and the

adapted model ............................................................................................ 8

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.............................................. 10

2.1. Research context.................................................................................... 10

v

2.2. Research questions ................................................................................ 11

2.3. Research approach................................................................................. 11

2.3.1. An overview of action research ...................................................... 11

2.3.2. Rationale for the use of an action research ................................... 12

2.4. Description of the research.................................................................... 12

2.4.1. Population ...................................................................................... 12

2.4.2. Data collection instrument ............................................................. 13

2.4.3. The action procedures.................................................................... 13

2.4.4. Data collection procedures ............................................................ 15

2.4.5. Data analysis procedure................................................................. 16

2.5. Summary................................................................................................ 17

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.............................................. 19

3.1. Research question 1............................................................................... 19

3.1.1. Pre-questionnaire for teachers....................................................... 19

3.1.2. Pre-questionnaire for students....................................................... 24

3.2. Research question 2............................................................................... 30

3.2.1. Observation .................................................................................... 30

3.2.2. Post-questionnaire for students...................................................... 33

3.2.3. KII with teachers ............................................................................ 36

PART C: CONCLUSION .................................................................................... 39

1. Conclusion................................................................................................ 39

2. Implications.............................................................................................. 40

3. Limitations of the study............................................................................ 40

4. Suggestions for further research............................................................... 41

REFERENCES ..................................................................................................... 42

APPENDIX I: Pre-questionnaire for teachers.........................................................I

APPENDIX II: Pre-questionnaire for students ..................................................... V

APPENDIX III: Post-questionnaire for students.................................................VII

APPENDIX IV: Questions for KII with teachers ................................................IX