Factors fostering communication in English classroons: A study on English language majors at tertiary level = Các yếu tố thúc đẩy giao tiếp trong lớp học tiếng Anh: Nghiên cứu về các chuyên ngành tiếng Anh ở cấp bậc đại học

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

QUY NHON UNIVERSITY

VO THANH TU

FACTORS FOSTERING COMMUNICATION IN

ENGLISH CLASSROOMS: A STUDY ON ENGLISH

LANGUAGE MAJORS AT TERTIARY LEVEL

Field: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching

Code: 8140111

Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, Assoc.Prof.Dr

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN

VÕ THANH TÚ

CÁC YẾU TỐ THÚC ĐẨY GIAO TIẾP TRONG

LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH: NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC

CHUYÊN NGÀNH TIẾNG ANH

Ở CẤP BẬC ĐẠI HỌC

Chuyên ngành: Lý Luận và Phƣơng Pháp dạy học bộ môn Tiếng Anh

Mã số: 8140111

Ngƣời hƣớng dẫn: PGS.TS. Nguyễn Thị Thu Hiền

i

DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP

The thesis entitled ―Factors Fostering Communication in English Classrooms:

A Study On English Language Majors at Tertiary Level‖ is conducted under

the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, a lecturer working

at Quy Nhon University. I declare that the information reported in this study

is the result of my own work and effort, except where due reference is made.

The thesis has not been accepted for any degree and is not simultaneously

submitted to any candidature for any degree or diploma.

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Without the support, encouragement, and contributions from Assoc.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, colleagues, friends and family, the successful

completion of this study work would not have been possible. I take this

chance to appreciate them for their useful advice and invaluable comments,

and time. They have always been by my side and helped me enrich my

knowledge and made my master thesis graduate journey a memorable chapter

in my life.

First and foremost, I am grateful to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr.

Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, for her amazing supervision. Her knowledge and

profession teaching-related expertise inspired me greatly during my studying

at Quy Nhon University, and she opened new horizons for me in every field. I

profoundly appreciate her accommodating guidelines and suggestions, great

patience, and strong management skills in helping me resolve the obstacles

whenever I had difficulties in my thesis. I am very lucky to have had her

support for my work.

This study was made achievable by the presence of the enthusiastic

students at Quy Nhon University in Quy Nhon City, who devoted their time

taking part in this study. I was also thankful to my colleagues for their

fascinating assistance, encouragement and management during this phase. I

feel fortunate to know all of them. Last, but not least, I am grateful to all the

support that I received from my beloved parents throughout my thesis

education.

iii

ABSTRACT

In this modern world, communication skills play a vital role and one

must have mastery over these skills to get success in their respective fields.

So, speaking is the most important skill among all the four language skills in

order to communicate well in this global world. However, it is a fact that there

are some challenges for EFL learners when they deal with speaking skills.

This study aims at identifying some factors that help students foster their

communication skills. This was done by quantitative and qualitative methods

with two instruments, namely questionnaire and interview. Moreover, the

study also applied observation as another method to identify what activities

were popularly used to enhance the learners‘ speaking abilities. Results

showed four factors that got strong agreement from participants. They are

Teaching activities, Team work, Classroom environment and Intrinsic

motivation. Moreover, Role-play and Group work are two activities which got

positive responses. The results of this study can help instructors and

researchers take into account the speaking requirements of their language

students in the context of English language teaching and learning.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP............................................................... i

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

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

TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................. iv

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

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................. 1

1.1 Rationale .................................................................................................. 1

1.2. Aim and Objectives................................................................................. 4

1.2.1. Aim of the Study ................................................................................ 4

1.2.2. Objectives of the Study...................................................................... 4

1.3. Research Questions................................................................................. 4

1.4. Scope of the Study .................................................................................. 4

1.5. Significance of the Study........................................................................ 5

1.6. Organization of the study........................................................................ 5

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................... 7

2.1. Communicative Competence.................................................................. 7

2.1.1. Oral and Written Communication .................................................... 8

2.1.2. Challenges in Oral Communication ............................................... 10

2.2. Factors affecting oral communication .................................................. 12

2.2.1. Psychological factors...................................................................... 12

2.2.2. Context factors................................................................................ 13

2.2.3. Teacher’s and Learner’s attitudes toward English Speaking ........ 14

2.3. Factors fostering communication in English classrooms..................... 17

2.3.1. Teaching activities.......................................................................... 17

2.3.2. Teamwork........................................................................................ 18

2.3.3. Students – Students’ interaction ..................................................... 20

v

2.3.4. Supportive relationships................................................................. 21

2.3.5. Classroom environment .................................................................. 22

2.3.6. Task instruction............................................................................... 24

2.3.7 Feedback .......................................................................................... 25

2.3.7.1. Positive feedback ...................................................................... 26

2.3.7.2. Negative feedback..................................................................... 27

2.3.8. Intrinsic Motivation ........................................................................ 28

2.4. Speaking activities developing communication in English classrooms29

2.4.1. Role-play ......................................................................................... 30

2.4.2. Group work ..................................................................................... 31

2.4.3. Pair work ........................................................................................ 31

2.4.4. Interviews/ Talk shows.................................................................... 31

2.4.5. Games ............................................................................................. 32

2.4.6. Debate ............................................................................................. 32

2.4.7. Storytelling...................................................................................... 33

2.5. Previous studies on the factors fostering speaking skills ..................... 33

CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY............................................................... 36

3.1. Research design..................................................................................... 36

3.2. The research setting and participants.................................................... 37

3.3. Research Instruments............................................................................ 38

3.3.1. Observation..................................................................................... 39

3.3.2. Questionnaires survey..................................................................... 40

3.3.3. Interview ......................................................................................... 42

3.4. Procedures for data collection............................................................... 43

3.4.1. Observation..................................................................................... 43

3.4.2. Questionnaire.................................................................................. 44

3.4.3. Interview ......................................................................................... 45

3.5. Procedures for data analysis.................................................................. 45

vi

3.6. Ethical considerations........................................................................... 46

CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ......................................... 47

4.1. Factors fostering communication in English classrooms from

Teachers‘ and Students‘ perspectives. ......................................................... 47

4.1.1. Findings from Students’ questionnaire........................................... 47

4.1.1.1. Teaching activities.................................................................... 47

4.1.1.2. Team work ................................................................................ 49

4.1.1.3. Students – Students’ interaction ............................................... 50

4.1.1.4. Supportive relationships........................................................... 51

4.1.1.5. Classroom environment............................................................ 52

4.1.1.6. Task instruction ........................................................................ 53

4.1.1.7. Feed back.................................................................................. 54

4.1.1.8. Intrinsic motivation................................................................... 55

4.1.2. Findings from Teachers’ questionnaire ......................................... 56

4.1.2.1. Teaching activities.................................................................... 56

4.1.2.3. Students – Students’ interaction ............................................... 58

4.1.2.4. Supportive relationships........................................................... 59

4.1.2.5. Classroom environment............................................................ 60

4.1.2.6. Task instruction ........................................................................ 61

4.1.2.7. Feed back.................................................................................. 61

4.1.2.8. Intrinsic motivation................................................................... 62

4.2. Findings from observation .................................................................... 63

4.2.1. The overview of observation........................................................... 63

4.2.2. Results of the observation............................................................... 64

CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS............................ 71

5.1. Conclusion ............................................................................................ 71

5.2. Teaching implications........................................................................... 73

5.3. Limitations of the study ........................................................................ 74

vii

5.4. Suggestion for further research............................................................. 75

REFERENCES.............................................................................................. 76

APPENDICES

viii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1. The Reliability of Students‘ questionnaire .................................... 41

Table 3.2. The Reliability of Teachers‘ questionnaire.................................... 41

Table 4.1. Students‘ perception of Teaching activities................................... 47

Table 4.2. Students‘ perception of Team work............................................... 49

Table 4.3. Students‘ perception of Students – Students‘ interaction.............. 50

Table 4.4. Students‘ perception of Supportive relationships.......................... 51

Table 4.5. Students‘ perception of Classroom environment........................... 52

Table 4.6. Students‘ perception of Task instruction ....................................... 53

Table 4.7. Students‘ perception of Feed back................................................. 54

Table 4.8. Students‘ perception of Intrinsic motivation ............................... 55

Table 4.9. Teachers‘ perception of Teaching activities.................................. 56

Table 4.10. Teachers‘ perception of Teamwork ............................................. 57

Table 4.11. Teachers‘ perception of Students – Students‘ interaction ........... 58

Table 4.12. Teachers‘ perception of Supportive relationship......................... 59

Table 4.13. Teachers‘ perception of Classroom environment........................ 60

Table 4.14. Teachers‘ perception of Task instruction..................................... 61

Table 4.15. Teachers‘ perception of Feed back .............................................. 61

Table 4.16. Teachers‘ perception of Intrinsic motivation............................... 62

Table 4.17. Times using English speaking activities...................................... 64

Table 4.18. Observation checklist of the first online class............................. 64

Table 4.19. Observation checklist of the second online class ........................ 65

Table 4.20. Observation checklist of the third online class............................ 66

Table 4.21. The findings from three classrooms‘ observation ....................... 67