Sáng kiến kinh nghiệm THPT: Some suggested activities to hold English -Speaking clubs for the 10th and 11th Grade students at Quynh Luu 1 high school

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The topic is carried out in order to: State the real situation of teaching and learning English speaking skill at Quynh Luu 1 high school; Conduct a survey about how students improve their English - speaking skill. Instruct teachers and students how to carry out some exciting activities for English clubs.

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Nội dung Text: Sáng kiến kinh nghiệm THPT: Some suggested activities to hold English -Speaking clubs for the 10th and 11th Grade students at Quynh Luu 1 high school

NGHE AN DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING QUYNH LUU 1 HIGH SCHOOL TEACHING EXPERIENCE SOME SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES TO HOLD ENGLISH-SPEAKING CLUBS FOR THE 10TH AND 11TH GRADE STUDENTS AT QUYNH LUU 1 HIGH SCHOOL Field: English
TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1 1. Reasons for Choosing the topic............................................................................. 1 2. Aims of the topic ................................................................................................... 1 PART II: DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................. 2 CHAPTER 1: THEORERICAL BACKGROUND ............................................. 2 1. Factors that Cause Speaking difficulties to Language Learners ........................... 2 2. Theoretical Solutions to the Problems .................................................................. 3 3. Definition of English Clubs .................................................................................. 3 4. Benefits of English Clubs...................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 2: PRACTICAL BACKGROUND.................................................... 4 1. The Real Situation of teaching and learning English Speaking Skill at Quynh Luu 1 high school ...................................................................................................... 4 2. The Survey and its Results. ................................................................................... 4 2.1. Description of the Survey: ................................................................................. 4 2.2. Results of the Survey: ........................................................................................ 5 CHAPTER 3: FINDING THE SOLUTIONS..................................................... 10 1. Several recommendations for preparing an English Speaking Club .................. 10 2. Some Suggested Activities to hold English-Speaking clubs for high school students .................................................................................................................... 10 2.1. English - Speaking clubs based on Holidays or Festivals................................ 10 2.1.1. Sample activity 1: Cosplay (Halloween/ Christmas/Mid-Autumn festival….) ................................................................................................................................. 10 2.1.2. Sample activity 2: Story-telling (Tet holiday, Halloween…) ...................... 12 2.1.3. Sample activity 3: Picture description and drawing (Mid-autumn festival, Tet holiday…)................................................................................................................ 13 2.2. English clubs based on some specific topics of the lessons: ........................... 15 2.2.1. Sample activity 1: Unit 2: Humans and The environment (English 10- Global success) ........................................................................................................ 15 2.2.2. Sample activity 2: Unit 3: Music (English 10- Global success ) .................. 17 2.2.3. Sample activity 3: Unit 9- Protecting the Environment (English 10 Global success).................................................................................................................... 19
2.2.4. Sample activity 4: Unit 2: Relationships (English 11).................................. 20 2.2.5. Sample Activity 4: Unit 4- Caring for those in need (English 11) ............... 25 CHAPTER 4: SURVEY ON THE URGENCY AND FEASIBILITY OF THE SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES TO HOLD ENGLISH-SPEAKING CLUBS .... 28 1. Aim of the survey ................................................................................................ 28 2. Description of the Survey on the Urgency and Feasibility of the Teaching Experience ............................................................................................................... 28 3. Results of the Survey and Assessment Scale ...................................................... 28 3.1. Results of the Survey: ...................................................................................... 28 3.1.1. Results of the Survey collected from googleform ........................................ 28 3.1.2. Assessment Scale .......................................................................................... 30 3.2. Several Comments based on the Results of the Survey ................................... 32 PART III: CONCLUSION .................................................................................. 33 1. The Results of Applying the Teaching Experience ............................................ 33 2. Some Recommendations for Using These Activities to Teach English Lessons 35 3. Suggestions for Further Studies .......................................................................... 35 REFERENCE & APPENDIX .............................................................................. 36
PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Reasons for Choosing the topic English is one of the most difficult subjects for the majority of students. In recent years, English text books have changed the contents of teaching with new methods which focus on four skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. However, due to the limited time per period, teachers and students spend only forty – five minutes teaching and learning Speaking skill. This clearly shows that the time for learning such an important skill is not long enough for students. As a result, they lack chances to communicate with others in English. Therefore, being a teacher of English, the author has chosen the topic Some suggested activities to hold English -Speaking clubs for the 10th and 11th Grade students at Quynh Luu 1 high school for the following reasons: Firstly, Speaking skill is very important. It partly decides the quality of learning other skills of students. If students cannot speak the language fluently, they will not be able to communicate when necessary because using a foreign language well will give students many opportunities to achieve their wish and ambition. Therefore, improving their ability of speaking English is raising more chances for them to have a better future. Secondly, a large number of students are unable to speak English fluently although they can remember a lot of new words and they are also very good at English grammar. This is partly because they are not given many chances to speak English. Last but not least, if teachers can motivate their students to practise speaking English as much as possible, it will help them overcome their shyness and become more enthusiastic language learners. Obviously, English - Speaking clubs are one of the most exciting and effective activities that students should be encouraged to take part in. They offer students more opportunities not only to speak English but also to develop their teamwork and interpersonal skills as well. 2. Aims of the topic The topic is carried out in order to: - State the real situation of teaching and learning English speaking skill at Quynh Luu 1 high school. - Conduct a survey about how students improve their English - speaking skill. - Instruct teachers and students how to carry out some exciting activities for English clubs. - Report the results after this teaching experience has been applied at Quynh Luu 1 high school. 1
PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1. Factors that Cause Speaking difficulties to Language Learners It can not be denied that speaking is a highly complex and dynamic skill that involves the use of several simultaneous processes - cognitive, physical and socio- cultural - and a speaker’s knowledge and skills have to be activated rapidly in real- time. In practice, a large number of students find it difficult to communicate with others especially native speakers. This results from many factors, one of which is the lack of chances to use what they have learnt in reality. Undoubtedly, speaking remains the most difficult skill to master for the majority of English learners, and they are still incompetent in communicating orally in English. Theoretically, According to Ur (1996), there are many factors that cause difficulty in speaking, and they area as follows: 1. Inhibition: Students are worried about making mistakes, fearful of criticism, or simply shy. 2. Nothing to say: Students have no motive to express themselves. 3. Low or uneven participation: Only one participant can talk at a time because of large classes and the tendency of some learners to dominate, while others speak very little or not at all. 4. Mother-tongue use: Learners who share the same mother tongue tend to use it because it is easier and because learners feel less exposed if they are speaking their mother tongue (Samira Al Hosni -TEFL Supervisor and Instructor Ministry of Education) In practice, it is very important to understand what others are saying because when we are having a conversation, we are only talking about 50% of the time – the other 50% is spent listening to the other person speak. If we don’t understand what the other person is saying, it is difficult to reply. However, many English leaners have difficulty in listening so they can not have a successful conversation as expected. Furthermore, when we’re speaking English, we have a sentence in mind, but we are missing two or three important vocabulary words – and then it becomes difficult to say what we’re thinking. This is very popular among students because they often forget the words they have learnt even the easy ones. Therefore, when they take part in a talk, they have to spend a lot of time remembering the words or asking for teachers and friends’ help. Besides, a large number of English words can be difficult to pronounce – and when speaking English, we have to consider not only the pronunciation of the individual words, but also the connection between the words in the sentence. There’s also the “rhythm” and intonation of the sentence to consider – 2
and sometimes our mouth gets confused! If we do not practice speaking very often, we will not be able to speak fluently. Additionally, if we feel nervous and are afraid of making a mistake while speaking English, then our problem is confidence. This is because we often worry too much about grammar. We are afraid of using a wrong grammar structure so we have to think very carefully before speaking something. Last but not least, a large number of Vietnamese students can not succeed in using this skill because they do not pay much attention to it. Instead, they focus on grammar and vocabulary to prepare for their tests and exams. This leads to a consequence that they can not use the language in daily communication when necessary. 2. Theoretical Solutions to the Problems It is said that “ Rome was not built in a day”. This means no achievements can be gained easily without our efforts. To be able to speak English as fluently as possible, we have to try to practise it regularly and properly. It is true that the way we learn to master this skill is almost similar to the way we used to learn how to speak our mother tongue when we were small. We had to learn every word, remember every simple sentence so that we can speak our native language today. In other words, English is quite the same, which means that we have to learn as many new words as possible and try to use it often so as not to forget them. We should practice with simple sentences at the beginning. Moreover, it is necessary for learners to listen to the native speakers talking so that we can immitate their pronunciation and intonation. We also take advantage of all chances to talk to a native speaker. Regular practice will help us become more confident. 3. Definition of English Clubs It is common knowledge that an English Club is a place for language learners to use English in a casual setting. Practising your skills in the classroom is important, but it is not like real life. To be more specific, in the classroom, you often focus on one skill and one item (for example: grammar - future tense). After learning the rules your teacher gives you time to practise using the item. You have your papers in front of you and the rules are fresh in your mind. However, in an English Club, you get a chance to practise many different skills in a setting that is more like real life. Though your English teacher understands your English, your English Club friends will require you to speak more clearly and listen more carefully. In terms of scientific terminology, according to Kathleen F.Malu and Bryce Smedley, they are informal gatherings of individuals who meet regularly and often voluntarily and who come from different parts of a community, town, or village for the express purpose of practicing English. Members may be professionals or students at secondary and university levels. Members commit to speaking in English during meetings as they engage in activities that support and encourage them to use the language. 3
4. Benefits of English Clubs It is undeniable that English clubs provide a wide range of benefits for language learners. First, English clubs give students a chance to practise English in a relaxed, informal environment, and to meet new people. Students are capable of improving and developing their speaking ablitity by joining various types of activities. They also take advantage of English clubs to enhance and broaden their vocabulary, grammar structures and knowledge. In addition, participating in an English Club is a great way to make new lasting friendships. It is important to have good ESL friends you will feel more comfortable using English around people you trust and have fun with. Lastly, co-working with other students with the shared interest will definitely help them to increase their desire to practise Speaking skill. CHAPTER 2. PRACTICAL BACKGROUND 1. The Real Situation of teaching and learning English Speaking Skill at Quynh Luu 1 high school According to many teachers of English who took part in the survey, although a lot of students can read and write well, they are poor at speaking. Below are some common problems that teachers face when teaching this skill: Firstly, many students are too shy to speak English in class. In other words, they lack confidence. This is mainly due to their introvert personality and lack of chances to practice. Secondly, some sound very “bookish” when they speak – it’s as if they are reading from a book. One possible explanation for this is that they do not get used to communicating in English naturally. What’s more, some others love to speak, but they make a lot of grammatical mistakes. This is caused by problems related to students’ cognitive skills and their individual traits (Mayer,2002). Mistakes may also be caused by language teaching strategies used by a teacher. (Thornbury,1999). Besides, many of them are too nervous when speaking, which leads to the fact that they can not remmember the structures exactly. These kinds of observations are quite popular, as learning to speak in another language is a challenging undertaking. It is important, therefore, that speaking should be taught in a more creative way and students be given more opportunities to practise speaking English in more open contexts. 2. The Survey and Its Results. 2.1. Description of the Survey: So as to find out more about the real situation of teaching and learning this skill, a survey has been done at Quynh Luu 1 high school with the participation of 12 4
teachers of English group and more than one hundred students from two grades at our school. The first aim of doing this survey is to check students’ ability of learning speaking skill and find out the main problems or difficulties they have when learning this skill. The second aim is to know what can motivate them into speaking lessons: interesting activities, new topics or a good English speaking environment. The third but the most important reason of doing this survey is to give some suggestions to motivate students in speaking lessons better based on its results. The survey has been conducted with a questionnaire which consists of 13 questions including both open and closed ones so as to check students’ speaking ability and their interest in this skill. It was given to 118 students of three classes: 10D01, 11N and 11A1. All of the students in the survey learned English at an early age. They are good students of English who have been chosen to learn in the classes of English of the whole school. Among those, the students of class 11N are the best ones, many of whom are preparing for the upcoming IELTS exam. Thus, these students definitely regard English as a very important subject and they are also the ones who pay the most attention to it. The survey was conducted twice. One was at the beginning of the schoolyear and the other was in April (after these activities have been applied). The tables and charts below show the result of the survey for the first time. 2.2. Results of the Survey: The following pie chart presents the percentages of students who are interested in learning English Speaking skill: 30% yes 70% no Figure 2.1. Students’ interest in Speaking skill. According to the chart, although these students are from the good classes of English of the school, only 70% of them are interested in learning this skill while the rest do not like learning it at all (30%). Thus, how difficult is speaking skill in their opinion? The bar chart below shows us students’ opinions about the speaking skill according to four degrees of difficulty: 5
60 50 40 very difficult difficult 30 rather difficult 20 not difficult at all 10 0 Figure 2.2 Students’ opinions about degrees of difficulty of Speaking skill. Another question is why do so many students find speaking skill very difficult whereas only some of them do not meet any trouble with it? The bar chart below shows us some information about three main factors that make speaking difficult to students: 50 nothing to say 40 30 lack of confidence 20 boring speaking activites 10 0 Figure 2.3. Factors affecting students’ Speaking skill For students, speaking skill is so difficult and they can be affected by some of those main factors, so do they try to improve their speaking ability? How much time do they spend on this skill per week on average? The result in the following figure will answer this question: Number of Questions Answers Percentage (%) students a. less than 1 hour per week 24 20.3 4 b. about 1 hour per week 60 50.8 c. more than 1 hour per week 34 28.9 Figure 2.4 Students’ amount of time spent on practising Speaking skill per week Additionally, the willingness of taking part in speaking activities held both in the classroom and in the clubs plays a quite important role in improving their skill. The following table shows us some information about students’ willingness: 6
Question Answers Number of students % a.willing 44 37.3 b. reluctant 40 33.9 5 c.obligatory 24 20.3 d. indifferent 10 8.5 Figure 2.5. Students’ willingness of joining in Speaking activities Truthfully, knowing nothing to say is a very popular problem for students. The table below indicates whether students often face this problem or not: Question Answers Number of students % a.always 40 33.9 b.often 37 31.4 6 c.sometimes 20 17 d.never 21 17.7 Figure 2.6. Students’ frequency of knowing nothing to say Another point mentioned here is whether the types of Speaking activities affect students’ interest in speaking English or not. The following pie chart presents the information about their effect: very much 6% 24% much 42% 28% not very much little Figure 2.7. Influence of types of activities on students’ interest 7
The next point which will be mentioned here is how students find speaking topics and tasks in the textbooks? Do they like them? The following is the table listing some opinions of students about these: Questions Answers Number of students % a.all of them are interesting 20 17.5 b.some of them are 76.3 8 90 interesting c.all of them are boring 8 6.2 a.too difficult 9 7.6 b.difficult 60 50.8 9 c.rather difficult 40 33.9 d.not difficult at all 9 7.7 Figure 2.8 Students’ opinions about Speaking topics and activities Hence, what kind of speaking activities in the text books do they like most? The following chart describes students’ interest in doing three main types of speaking activities in three text books of three grades: conversation 36% practice 42% making a 22% presentation free discussion Figure 2.9. Students’ interest in some types of Speaking activities Those are some opinions of students about some main types of speaking tasks in the text books, what about extra speaking activities given by their teachers? Do they attract a lot of students to participate in? Below is the figure about the students’ frequency of being involved in the teachers’ extra speaking tasks in the school and students’ opinion about those tasks. 8
Questions Answers Number of students % a.always 65 55.1 b.often 35 29.7 11 c.sometimes 10 8.5 d.never 8 6,7 a.difficult 50 42.4 b.easy 30 25.4 12 c.interesting 25 21.2 d.boring 13 11 Figure 2.10 Students’ attention and opinions about extra Speaking activities Thus, what factors can motivate students to speak English most? The following chart illustrates the percentages of students who choose the factors of motivation of three main factors: interesting speaking topics, interesting activities, exciting English-speaking environment. 50.00% 40.00% Interesting topics 30.00% Interesting activities 20.00% Exciting speaking 10.00% environment 0.00% Figure 2.11 Motivating factors Thus, the interesting speaking activities are definitely essential so as to encourage students to speak English. 9
CHAPTER 3: FINDING THE SOLUTIONS 1. Several recommendations for preparing an English Speaking Club It is obvious that many speaking activities used in textbooks are not interesting enough to motivate students in learning this skill. As a result, many speaking lessons have become very boring and even some students seem to ignore these lessons completely. They only spend time chatting with their friends in Vietnamese. In reality, although many students can speak English quite fluently, they are too shy to speak out because they do not have many chances to practise this skill. If students are supported with a better speaking environment, they will definitely develop their speaking skill. Therefore, in order to change students’ attitudes towards learning this skill and help them show off their ability, As a teacher of English, the author would like to introduce some of the activities that can be used to hold an English Speaking Club. To be able to hold these speaking activities, teachers should follow three main stages: Stage 1: Choose familiar and interesting Speaking topics: They can either base on the specific events or festivals that happen during the year such as Halloween, Christmas….or the topics of the lessons provided in English textbooks.) Stage 2: Select the specific types of Speaking activities. There is a wide range of activities that teachers can choose such as role-play, storytelling, interview, conversation, presentation and so on. Stage 3: Instruct students to take part in the activities by giving them clear instructions to prepare for their upcoming clubs. To be more specific, teachers divide the students into small groups and provide them with clear explanations. To make sure that the students will be able to perform their task efficiently, teachers had better choose some student to be “ group leaders”. Below are some specific activities that are recommended to use in an English- Speaking club: (All the suggested activities are to be prepared in advance depending on the date when the English club will be held.) 2. Some Suggested Activities to hold English-Speaking clubs for high school students 2.1. English - Speaking clubs based on Holidays or Festivals 2.1.1. Sample activity 1: Cosplay (Halloween/ Christmas/Mid-Autumn festival….) Aim: help students to develop their teamwork skills and creativity. Type of activity: Group work Time allowed: 4- 5 minutes Procedure: 10
- Divide the class into 8 groups (about 5 members per group) - Ask them to choose some famous characters like Frankeinstein (for Halloween festival), The Earth God (for Mid-Autumn Festival)…. - Suggest some ways to disguise themselves like the characters chosen (teachers should recommend them to use recycled materials to make their costumes) - Ask one or two members to work as the MC to introduce about their characters. They should explain why they have chosen that character and what they have done to prepare for their performance. Rule: The members who have been disguised as the characters have to say something or do something so as to look like the characters they are pretending to be. These are some photos illustrating this activity : 11
2.1.2. Sample activity 2: Story-telling (Tet holiday, Halloween…) Aim: help students improve their accent and pronunciation Type of activity: Group work Time allowed: 2-3 minutes Procedure: - Divide the class into 6 groups. - Ask them to choose a story they like and try to narrate it (it would be much better if they could write their own story). For example: Vietnamese Fairy Tale - The legend of the Neu pole. Horror story: The Ghost Bride 12
This picture illustrates this activity: (the photo taken in class 11N 2.1.3. Sample activity 3: Picture description and drawing (Mid-autumn festival, Tet holiday…) Aim: Help students to improve their Listening and Speaking skills at the same time. Type of activity: Pair work Time allowed: 1 minute Procedure: - Ask students to work in pairs. - Ask one member to look at the picture and try to describe whatever they see so that the partner can draw the picture in one minute. (The picture can be about a symbol, a feature, an activity or a famous character of a festival) These pictures were drawn by a few students from class 11A1 illustrating the Earth God and Chu Cuoi (Vietnamese fairy tales) 13
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2.2. English clubs based on some specific topics of the lessons: 2.2.1. Sample activity 1: Unit 2: Humans and The environment (English 10- Global success) Aim: Help students to develop their creativity as well as improve their presentation skill. Activity: Who is the best recyclist? Type of activity: Group work Time allowed: 2 minutes Procedure: - Divide the class into groups of 3 members. -Ask students to prepare a costume/ a recycled product in advance. * Rule of the game: They have to use recycled materials to make the costume or the product. If there is something bought, that team will be eliminated. - Call two members to explain how they make their costume or product and its meaning. (one member can wear that costume and act as a model). Below are some products made by the students from class 10D01: 15
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2.2.2. Sample activity 2: Unit 3: Music (English 10- Global success ) Aim: help students to develop their creativity and show off their ability to write the lyrics for a specific piece of music as well as sing it. Activity: Talented composers Type of activity: Group work Time allowed: 2 minutes to write the lyrics and 2 minutes to perform their own song. Procedure: - Divide the class into groups of 5. - Play a specific piece of music without lyrics. - Ask students to create the lyrics for that piece of music. - Call all the members to sing their song. (Each group can perform their song either in a pair or in a group depending on their choice) 17