VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL

STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
----------o0o----------

LÊ THÙY DƢƠNG

USING GROUP WORK TO IMPROVE

SPEAKING SKILLS OF THE SECOND-YEAR
STUDENTS AT NATIONAL ECONOMICS
UNIVERSITY: AN ACTION RESEARCH
SỬ DỤNG HOẠT ĐỘNG NHÓM ĐỂ CẢI THIỆN KĨ
NĂNG NÓI CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI ĐẠI HỌC
KINH TẾ QUỐC DÂN: NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60140111

HANOI – 2014
 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL
STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
----------o0o----------

LÊ THÙY DƢƠNG

USING GROUP WORK TO IMPROVE

SPEAKING SKILLS OF THE SECOND-YEAR
STUDENTS AT NATIONAL ECONOMICS
UNIVERSITY: AN ACTION RESEARCH

SỬ DỤNG HOẠT ĐỘNG NHÓM ĐỂ CẢI THIỆN KĨ

NĂNG NÓI CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI ĐẠI HỌC
KINH TẾ QUỐC DÂN: NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60140111
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyêñ Xuân Thơm

HANOI – 2014
 DECLARATION

I truly certify that this thesis is the result of my personal study in the
fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree Master of Arts and this thesis has
not been published or summitted for a degree to any other university or
institution wholly or partially.

Hanoi, 2014

Lê ThuỳDương

i
 ABSTRACT

Speaking is of great importance to all learners of English and Vietnamese

students also encounter great obstacles when they learn this skill, especially
the ones who do not major in languages. Therefore, finding the solution for this
problem becomes urgent. This study is to identify the difficulties faced by
teachers and students at National Economics University (NEU) in teaching and
learning speaking and the effects of using group work as an activity to improve
the NEU second-year students’ speaking skills. The results reveal that both
teachers and students face with a lot of difficulties in teaching and learning
speaking skills. In addition, using group work has some certain positive effects
on improving students’ speaking skills. However, there are some limitations
and recommendations teachers need to take into consideration when
implementing group work, which are also presented in the study

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to acknowledge and extend my great thanks to many people

who have made the completion of this study possible:
First and foremost, I would like to offer the deepest appreciation to my
supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyeễ n Xuaâ n Thơm, who has supported me
throughout my thesis with his knowledge and enthusiasm.
Then, I am extremely grateful to all the lecturers of the Post Graduate
Department of University of Languages and International Studies - Vietnam
National University, Hanoi for their awesome lectures that have helped to
increase my interest in English language and teaching.
Another special thank goes to my colleagues and students at National
Economics University. They would be very enthusiastic about taking part in my
questionnaires and interviews, which provided me with the facts and figures to
complete my research.
Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the members of my
family who gave me the best personal conditions to complete my research.

Hanoi, 2014

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................1
1. Rationale of the study.............................................................................................................. 1
2. The scope and significance of the study........................................................................... 2
3. The objectives of the study.................................................................................................... 2
4. The research questions........................................................................................................... 2
5. The methods of the study....................................................................................................... 3
6. The design.................................................................................................................................... 3
DEVELOPMENT....................................................................................................................4
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................... 4
1. Speaking........................................................................................................................................ 4
1.1. Nature of speaking.................................................................................................................. 4
1.2. Different aspects of speaking............................................................................................. 7
1.3. Differentiation between speaking skill and reading skill....................................... 8
1.4. Communicative Language Teaching............................................................................ 10
1.5. Problems of teaching and learning speaking........................................................... 13
2. Group work................................................................................................................................ 14
2.1. Definition of group work................................................................................................... 14
2.2. Types of group work............................................................................................................ 15
2.3. The advantages of group work....................................................................................... 15
2.4. Some problems and suggestions in using group work.......................................... 16
2.5. Teacher and students’ interaction in group work................................................... 18
CHAPTER 2: THE RESEARCH.........................................................................................19
1. The methodology.................................................................................................................... 19
1.1. Action research...................................................................................................................... 19
1.2. Data collection....................................................................................................................... 22
1.3. Data analysis and reflection............................................................................................ 24
2. The context................................................................................................................................ 26

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 2.1. The participants.................................................................................................................... 26
2.2. The textbook........................................................................................................................... 27
2.3. The context of teaching...................................................................................................... 28
3. Action research process....................................................................................................... 28
3.1. Diagnosing............................................................................................................................... 28
3.2. Action planning..................................................................................................................... 28
3.3. Taking action.......................................................................................................................... 28
3.4. Evaluating................................................................................................................................ 29
3.5. Specifying learning.............................................................................................................. 29
CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION................................................................. 30
1. Students’ performance and speaking skills.................................................................. 30
1.1. Students’ opinion on speaking skills............................................................................. 30
1.2. Difficulties faced by students when learning speaking......................................... 31
1.3. Student’s opinion on using group work to practice speaking skills................32
1.4. Students’ appreciation of group work for the improvement in speaking
skills.................................................................................................................................................... 34
2. Teachers’ opinions and assessment on teaching speaking skills and the
effectiveness of using group work........................................................................................ 35
2.1. Teachers’ difficulties when teaching speaking skills.............................................. 35
2.2. Teachers’ assessment on the effects of group work on improving students’
speaking skills................................................................................................................................. 36
2.3. Difficulties faced by teachers when using group work......................................... 37
2.4. Teachers’ suggestions for using group work............................................................. 38
3. Material assessment.............................................................................................................. 39
3.1. Strengths.................................................................................................................................. 39
3.2. Weaknesses.............................................................................................................................. 40
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................41
1. Summary of the findings...................................................................................................... 41
2. Limitations................................................................................................................................. 43

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 3. Recommendations for further study............................................................................... 43
REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................44
I. Books and articles.................................................................................................................... 44
II. Websites..................................................................................................................................... 45
APPENDIX 1............................................................................................................................I
APPENDIX 2..........................................................................................................................II
APPENDIX 3.........................................................................................................................IV
APPENDIX 4..........................................................................................................................V

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 INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale of the study

In today‟s world, it cannot be denied that English plays a vital role in every field of
social life since it is the most common language used in communication among
people who come from different countries and regions. English may not be the most
spoken language in the world, but it is the official language in a large number of
countries. In many places all over the world, people use English in parallel with
their mother tongue. A majority of books, cultural or business documents are
published in English. Therefore, learning English becomes more and more essential
in the context of globalization. Using English proficiently not only allows people to
adapt to global work place but provides the access to the treasure of knowledge and
cultural understanding all over the world today as well.
As a result, it is better to consider mastering English beside the mother tongue in
order to open the wealthiest treasure of knowledge and culture and be able to
succeed in the working environment. Vietnamese people are not an exception,
especially when Vietnam is a developing country on the way of integration. To
master English (or any languages), speaking is one of the most important and
essential skills that must be practiced to communicate well. People who have ability
in speaking will be better in sending and receiving information. The mastery of
speaking skill is a priority for many second and foreign language learners. Learners
often evaluate their success in language learning of English on the basis how they
are good at speaking.
Having been teaching English for several years at a university where students do not
specialize in languages (particularly English), I have drawn the conclusion that most
of my students are not good at English, especially speaking. Being afraid of making
mistakes, the shortage of vocabulary, mispronouncing a lot of sounds and the lack of
practice time are the main reasons for that weakness. In some cases, I do not
understand what my students are talking about and I have to ask them to repeat or
explain in English and Vietnamese as well. Not being able to express their own

1
ideas in English would be a great barrier for them in the context of integration and
globalization. How to improve speaking skills for students becomes my biggest
consideration.
For all the aforementioned reasons, I decided to carry out aresearch on using group
work to improve speaking skills of the second-year students at National Economics
University. I do hope that my study, to some extent, would be helpful for teachers
and learners of English at National Economics University in particular and other
universities in general in understanding and using that international language.
2. The scope and significance of the study
Due to the limitation of time, it is rather difficult for the author to do on-going
cycles in an action research. Therefore, I would present what have been found in
one cycle. Moreover, because there are a variety of group work activities, I could
not cover all of them in such a small scale of a minor thesis. As a result, I could only
focus on two typical ones.
Undertaking the study in a specific context, I do hope that the result, to some extent,
would help me improve my students‟ speaking skills and somehow the current
situation of teaching and learning English at National Economics University.
3. The objectives of the study
The author sets two aims when conducting the research:
- To study the advantages and disadvantages of the use of group work in
developing speaking skills
- To find the effects on students‟ learning when using group work as an
activity in teaching speaking skills.
4. The research questions
- Q1: What are the advantages and disadvantages of group work in teaching
speaking skills in the context of large classes?
- Q2: What are the effects on students‟ learning when using group work as an
activity in teaching speaking skills?
+ Accuracy

2
 + Fluency
+ Vocabulary and pronunciation
5. The methods of the study
Because the research is to identify the problems faced by teacher and students in
teaching and learning speaking skills and the effects of group work on the
improvement, both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed to best meet
its target. Surveys, interviews and observation are mainly used. Two sets of
questionnaires were designed to find out the difficulties students faced with when
learning speaking and teachers encountered when teaching speaking as well as to
collect the information about teachers‟ opinions on the effectiveness of using group
work to improve students‟ speaking skills. Interview questions are to search for
students‟ opinion on working in groups to practice speaking. The teacher uses her
own observation to evaluate the improvement of students‟ speaking ability when
applying group work in speaking time.
6. The design
The study is divided into three main parts: introduction, development, and
conclusion. Part one, the introduction, presents the rationale, scope, significance,
objectives, the research questions, methods and design of the study.
Part two consists of three smaller parts: literature review, the research, findings and
discussion.
In literature review, I would like to review some key concepts in the study:
speaking, group work and action research.
The research gives the methodology the context of the study, and the action
research process.
Findings and discussion part presents the results of the research.
The conclusion summarizes what have been done so far in the study, the limitation
of the study and the suggestions for further researches in this area.
The study is completed by a bibliography of reference books, articles and websites,
and appendixes.

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 DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1. Speaking
1.1. Nature of speaking
Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing,
receiving and processing information. Its form and meaning are depending on the
context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their experiences,
the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking. It is often spontaneous,
open-ended, and evolving. However, speech is not always unpredictable. Speaking
requires that learners not only know how to produce specific points of language
such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary ("linguistic competence"), but also
that they understand when, why, and in what ways to produce language
("sociolinguistic competence") (Nunan,1999:216)
The learning of language involves acquiring the ability to compose correct
sentences and it involves an understanding of which sentences or parts of sentences
are appropriate for a particular context (Widdowson, 1978:2). We do speaking in
order to communicate with each other. Better communication means better
understanding of others. Communication is a continuous process of expression,
interpretation, and negotiation. The opportunities for communications are infinite
and include systems of signs and symbols (Savignon, 1982:8). Communication
requires a sender, a receiver and a medium. It can be said that both hearers and
speakers do interactions by giving responds to what they have heard and listened to.
Generally, people who encounter others through this oral communication have a
certain goal that they want to achieve, the goal that underlies people to do the
communication.
Spoken language is a primary phenomenon. People speak a lot more than they write,
that is the reason why language should be taught initially through speech. Spoken
language is essential to any language learning. Learning to speak a foreign

4
language is a learning that requires knowledge of the language and its application.
In mastering the speaking skill, the teacher must train and equip the learners with a
certain degree of accuracy and fluency in understanding, responding and in
expressing themselves in the language in speech.
Language functions (or patterns) that tend to recur in certain discourse
situations,such as declining an invitation or requesting time off from work, can be
identified and charted (Burns &Joyce, 1997). For example, when a salesperson asks
"May I help you?" the expected discourse sequence includes a statement of need,
response to the need, offer of appreciation, acknowledgement of the appreciation,
and a leave-taking exchange.
Language could be seen as having two functions: transactional and interactional.
Transactional function is the one that serves to express the content of what we say
or speak. People use language to convey information from one person to another. A
man lost the way in the streets might need help to get out of the situation. To ask for
help, he needs to provide the information of what he wants to go. Similarly, the
person wants to help him must give the instruction to that place. Language in such
situations is „message-oriented‟ and it is very important for the message to be
understood properly.Moreover, language is also used to convey personal attitudes or
establish social relations. At the bus, when a man said “It‟s cold, isn‟t it?”, he does
not simply want to give the information about the weather. Instead, the utterance is
designed mainly to get the other to talk. Thus, it is easily to see that spoken
language is primarily interactional while written language is for transactional
purposes.
In short, a lot of well-known authors agree that speaking involves producing correct
sentences in an appropriate context (the combination of linguistic competence and
sociolinguistic competence). With the purpose of improving speaking skills for
students, I totally agree with this point of view and would take it as the lodestar in
teaching speaking.

5
Audio-lingual and communicative language teaching are two main methods where
speaking is given primary attention.
Audio-lingual is a method of foreign language teaching which emphasizes the
teaching of listening and speaking rather than reading and writing (oxford advanced
learners‟ dictionary). It uses dialogues as the main form of language presentation
and drills as the main training techniques. Foreign language learning is basically a
process of mechanical habit formation. Language skills are learned more effectively
if the items to be learned in the target language are presented in spoken form before
they are seen in written form. Analogy provides a better foundation for language
learning than analysis. The meanings that the words of a language have for the
native speaker can learned only in a linguistic and cultural context and not in
isolation.In audio-lingual method, the teacher plays the role of an “orchestra leader”
who directs and controls the language behavior of the students and a good model for
imitation. Students are imitators of the teacher‟s model and follow the teacher‟s
directions and respond to them. In brief, students „gradually learned how to speak
this language as well as to understand much of its basic grammar‟ (Richards, J.C et
al., 1987)
Communicative language teaching is an approach to the teaching of second and
foreign languages that emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate
goal of learning a language (Wikipedia). Communicative language teaching
includes (1) an emphasis on learning how to communicate through interaction in the
target language; (2) the introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation; (3)
the provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also on
the learning management process; (4) an enhancement of the learner‟s own personal
experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning; (5) an
attempt to link classroom language learning with language activities outside the
classroom. (Nunan, 1991)

6
In regard to my students‟ characteristics, I prefer the second approach, the
communicative language teaching, because it suits to my teaching context in which
I would like to develop my students‟ speaking skills through interaction.
1.2. Different aspects of speaking
2.2.1. Accuracy
Gower, et al. (1995, p.99-100) give two main aspects of speaking skill. They are
accuracy and fluency. „Accuracy involves the correct use of vocabulary, grammar
and pronunciation. In controlled and guided activities the focus is usually on
accuracy and the teacher makes it clear from feedback that accuracy is important‟.
In speaking accuracy is very important and teachers should encourage students for
the correct use of language. However, teachers should not be too focused on
accuracy because if they pay too much attention to produce language from the
beginning, they could not speak fluently. Gower suggested that on particular
activity, teachers should make it clear to students in which areas accuracy is
expected and to what extent.
McDonough and Shaw (2003) stated that the teaching of pronunciation is carried
out in different ways and for different reasons. Sometimes whole lessons may be
devoted to it; sometimes teachers deal with it simply as it arises. Some teachers like
to „drill‟ correct pronunciation habits, others are more concerned that their students
develop comprehensibility within fluency (p.136).
The process of teaching pronunciation totally depends on the teacher because, there
is nouniversal rule for teaching pronunciation. Some teachers use „bottom up‟
where students deal with both forming and hearing sounds as „correctly‟ as
possible. On the other hand, in „Topdown‟ learners‟ pronunciation is considered as
a part of a broader communicative approach (McDonough & Shaw, 2003, p.136).
Choosing correct vocabulary is also important for good speaking. According to
Richards (1976, p. 88), „the goals of vocabulary teaching must be more than simply
covering a certain number of words on a word list. Then teachers must look into
how teaching techniques can help realize the concept of what it means to know a

7
word. Vocabulary had for some time been one area of the syllabus where this link
between approach, method and technique has been neglected‟. When teachers deal
with primary level students they need to teach some common words to the students
because, the kids would need those words in their speaking. Otherwise, while
speaking, the students will struggle to find suitable words. For that reason, accuracy
and fluency of their speaking might be hampered.
2.2.2. Fluency
„Fluency is the ability to keep going when speaking spontaneously‟ (Gower, et al.
(1995, p.99-100).In Richards et all (1993, p141-142), fluency refers to the level of
communication proficiency which „includes (a) the ability to produce written and/
or spoken language with ease; (b) the ability to speak with good but not necessarily
perfect command of intonation, vocabulary and grammar; (c) the ability to produce
continuous speech without causing comprehension difficulties or a breakdown of
communication.‟ Beside the ability to convey the message, students need to know
different strategies such as the use of common expression, the use of natural-
sounding „incomplete‟ sentences; clarification or useful structures when starting or
finishing a conversation.
1.3. Differentiation between speaking skill and reading skill
In language teaching, four skills are described in terms of their direction. Language
directed at people (in reading or listening) is called receptive. People receive the
language and decode the meaning to understand the message. Language generated
by people (in speaking or writing) is considered as productive.People use the
language they have acquired and produce a message through speech or written text
that they want others to understand (Harmer, 2007).
In linguistics, cognitive linguistics (CL) refers to the branch of linguistics that
interprets language in terms of the concepts, sometimes universal, sometimes
specific to a particular tongue, which underlie its forms. It is thus closely associated
with semantics but is distinct from psycholinguistics, which draws upon empirical
findings from cognitive psychology in order to explain the mental processes that

8
underlie the acquisition, storage, production and understanding of speech and
writing. Cognitive linguistics is characterized by adherence to three central
positions. First, it denies that there is an autonomous linguistic faculty in the mind;
second, it understands grammar in terms of conceptualization; and third, it claims
that knowledge of language arises out of language use. (Wikipedia)
In terms of cognitive linguistics, reading is in written form and speaking is an oral
form. People can study words independently, memorizing the definitions, the word
forms, the collocations and different uses of the words in context. By this way, the
receptive vocabulary can grow and when people see a list of words to study in class,
they might recognize some of them already. However, when they use these words
correctly to speak or write, they have moved into productive vocabulary. People will
see many new words in reading texts or hear some in listening exercises but the
words they study are ones that they should try to use when they write or speak.
Gray, Philip A. said that the relationships that exist among the skills of reading,
writing, speaking, and listening suggest a need for greater attention to oral
communication processes in the formal instructional program. Oral language
competency is the basis for success in reading, and students with an adequate
facility in spoken language are less likely to suffer reading and writing difficulties.
He also added that reading and talking are interrelated skills: enhancement of one
contributes to the development of the other.
According to Kayi (2006) speaking refers to the gap between linguistic expertise
and teaching methodology. Linguistic expertise concerns with language structure
and language content. Teaching speaking is not like listening, reading, and writing.
It needs habit formation because it is a real communication and speaking is a
productive skill, so it needs practicing as often as possible.
In conclusion, speaking and reading differ from each other in terms of
direction(productive versus receptive) however, there is stillreciprocity between
reading and oral language. It means that as skills in some aspect of oral language
increase, they help development in reading, and as a person improves his reading

9
skills, that improvement seems to enhance further improvement in the spoken
language. Extensive exposure to receptive skills leads to the productive one.
Wilkins (1984: 1 00) maintains that „the transfer of linguistic knowledge from
receptive to productive is probably a relatively slow process, but it does take place,
as the study of language acquisition shows.‟
1.4. Communicative Language Teaching
1.4.1. What is communicative language teaching?
A lot of linguistics and EFL teachers agree that students learn to speak in the foreign
language by "interacting". Communicative language teaching and collaborative
learning are the best ways to serve this aim. Communicative language teaching is
based on real-life situations that require communication. By using this method in
EFL classes, students will have the opportunity to communicate with each other in
the target language. In brief, EFL teachers should create a classroom environment
where students have real-life communication, authentic activities, and meaningful
tasks that promote oral language. This can occur when students collaborate in
groups to achieve a goal or to complete a task. (Kayi, 2006)
Nunan (2003) stated that teaching speaking is to teach ESL learners to produce the
English speech sounds and sounds patterns, to use words and sentence stress,
intonation patterns and the rhythm of the second language, to select appropriate
words and sentences according to the proper social setting, audience, situation and
subject matter, to organize their thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence, to
use language as a means of expressing values and judgments and to use the
language quickly and confidently with few natural pauses, which is called as
fluency.
According to Richards, the goal of CLT is „the teaching of communicative
competence‟. He said that although grammatical competence (the knowledge of a
language which allows us to build blocks of sentences, such as parts of speech,
tenses, phases, etc.) is important, one who can master the sentence formation in a

10
language still not very successful in being able to use the language for meaningful
communication.
Communicative competence includes the following aspects of language knowledge:
Knowing how to use language for a range of different purposes and functions
Knowing how to vary our use of language according to the setting and the
participants (e.g., knowing when to use formal and informal speech or when to use
language appropriately for written as opposed to spoken communication)
Knowing how to produce and understand different types of texts (e.g., narratives,
reports, interviews, conversations)
Knowing how to maintain communication despite having limitations in one‟s
language knowledge (e.g., through using different kind of communication
strategies)
Richards (2006)
Brown (1994a, p.227) believes that „communicative competence is the aspect of our
competence that enables us to convey and interpret messages and to negotiate
meanings interpersonally within specific contexts‟.
Communicative competence is also described in terms of four dimensions:
grammatical competence (grammatical and lexical capacity), sociolinguistic
competence (the ability to understand and produce appropriate language in a
specific social context), discourse competence (the ability to employ communicative
strategies to initiate and redirect communication), and strategic competence (the
speaker‟s ability to adapt their use of verbal and nonverbal language to compensate
for communication problems caused by the speaker‟s lack of understanding of
proper grammar use and/or insufficient knowledge of social behavioral and
communication norms or to keep communication going when there is a
communication breakdown or to enhance the effectiveness of the communication in
other words (Canale & Swain, 1983).
These four components are related to speaking and in my opinion they are all
important in communication. However, to gain all of them is quite difficult for

11
students at low level of English and it is a long process which could not be
accelerated.
1.4.2. Communicative activities
Harmer (1991), states that communicative activities are those that give students who
are somehow involved in both the desire to communicate and a purpose involving
them in a varied use of language. Harmer identifies oral communicative activities in
to eight categories: reaching consensus, discussion, relaying instructions,
communication games, problem solving, talking about you, simulation, and role-
play. In other words, communicative activities are varied and the value of each may
not be alike.
When using communicative activities in speaking class, Brown (1994b, p.23)
reminds language teachers of „the eventual success that learners attain in a task is
at least partially a factor of their belief that they indeed are fully capable of
accomplishing the task‟. Therefore, communicative activities should be applied
from easy to difficult ones. Lawtie (2004, p.1) also emphasizes the important role of
the right activities in speaking lesson when saying that „if the right activities are
taught in the right way, speaking in class can be a lot of fun, raising general learner
motivation and making the English language classroom a fun and dynamic place to
be‟. Indeed, students need to be provided with activities that they are interested in
solving and they are most likely to solve them in a supportive, non-threatening
environment (Sadow, 1982). By this way, they have opportunities to express
themselves and learn a lot.
According to Ur (1996, p.120), there are some necessary features of communicative
activities. First, „learners talk a lot‟. It means that in speaking lesson, most of the time
is spent for students to talk, discuss and exchange ideas. Second, „participation is
even‟. In other words, classroom discussion is not dominated by a minority of talkative
students and all have equal chance to speak. Third, „motivation is high‟ when learners
are motivated and eager to speak because they are interested and want to say something
about that or contribute to complete a task, not because it is

12
forced by their teacher. Finally, „language is of an acceptable level‟, which can be
understood that learners express themselves in utterances that are relevant, easily
comprehensible to each other and of an acceptable level of language proficiency.
In brief, communicative activities are very important when learning a language,
especially speaking skills. They create motivating and interesting environment for
students to learn to speak.
1.5. Problems of teaching and learning speaking
One of the problems is students feel really shy about talking in front of other
students, they suffer from a fear of making mistakes and therefore “losing face” in
front of their teacher and their peers. Speaking in front of other people needs
courage, motivation from inside, and outside such as joyful atmosphere in the
conversation and interesting topics. Furthermore, there are students who dominate
and almost intimidate. Another reason for students‟ silence may be that the
classroom activities are boring or pitched at the wrong level. Many people have a
good ability in English language skills but when they should communicate with
English, they fail in expressing their ideas. They are afraid and anxious of saying
something wrong or incomprehensible. (Febriyanti, 2011)
That students prefer to use their mother tongue is also an obstacle. When all or a
number of students share the same mother tongue, they tend to use it to
communicate because it is much easier to speak to each in this language. Learners
may feel less exposed if they are speaking their mother tongue. Lawtie (2003, p.2)
also says that the problem would happen if the task or activity is not „pitched at the
right level for the students. If the language is pitched two high, they may revert to
their first language, likewise, if the task is too easy they may get bored and revert to
the first language, too.
Nunan (1991) wrote in Lawtie (1999) „success is measured in terms of the ability to
carry out a conversation in the (target) language‟. Therefore, if students do not
learn how to speak or do not get any opportunity to speak in the language classroom
they may soon get de-motivated and lose interest in learning. Nevertheless, if the

13
right activities are taught in the right way, speaking classroom can be a lot of fun,
raise learner motivation and make the English language classroom a fun and
dynamic place to study English. Their motivation is more likely to increase if the
students can see how their process of classroom learning achieves the objective, and
helps them to accomplish the success. The development of communicative skills
can only take place if learners have motivation and opportunity to express their own
identity and to relate with the people around them (Littlewood, 1981:93).
Students may find the topics or the situations uneasy to talk about. Smith (1983) in
Freeman (1999) has explained that people do not learn if they are confused or bored.
When school topics do not relate to students‟ lives, they may find themselves
confused or bored. Moreover, when students cannot understand the language
instruction they may become frustrated. On the other hand, when students receive
comprehensible input and when they can link school subjects with their life
experiences, they learn (Krashen, 1982).
Another problem comes from the number of students in a class. If the classroom is
big, for example 30 or 40 students in a class, it is clearly that the students hardly got
a chance to practice the language and difficult for them to ask and receive
individual attention they need. It is hard for the teacher to make contact with
students at the back, to keep good discipline, to organize dynamic and creative
teaching and learning sessions (Febriyanti, 2011).
2. Group work
2.1. Definition of group work
According to Adrian Doff (1988: 137), group work is a process in which „the
teacher divides the class into small groups to work together (usually four or five
students in each group) as in pair work, all the groups work at the same time‟.
Rod Killen (2004) also indicate that „group work occurs when you ask two or more
students to work together‟. In other words, when more than two people work
together to complete a task or carry out a project, we have group work.

14
In my study, Doff‟s definition works best as I divided the class into groups of three
or four to discuss an issue or exchange ideas on a situation.
2.2. Types of group work
According to Davis (1993), there are three types of group work: formal learning
groups, informal learning groups and study teams.
Formal learning groups are established to complete a specific task or carry out a
project. Formal learning groups may happen in a single class session or several
weeks depending on the work which has been done.
Informal learning groups are temporary clustering of the students with a single class
session. This type of groups can be formed by asking some students to quickly
gather and spend some minutes discussing an issue or finding the answer for the
question which has been raised. Informal learning groups take place quite often in
classes where teachers do not have a particular period for students to practice
speaking.
Study teams are long-term groups (usually existing during the course of a semester)
with stable membership whose primary responsibility is to provide members with
support, encouragement, and assistance in completing course requirements and
assignments. Study teams also inform their members about lectures and assignments
when someone has missed a session. The larger the class, the more complex the
subject matter, the more valuable study teams can be.
2.3. The advantages of group work
There are a lot of benefits that group work brings about to instructors or students. In
my study, I would like to draw attention to the advantages of group work in
developing speaking skills for students.Group work has been proven by researcher
and practitioners alike to be an effective way of promoting learning motivation,
enhancing performance and lessening learners‟ language learning anxiety (Dumas,
2002; Kahle, 1993; Stahl, 1994). It seems to be an effective way to offer an
interactive environment, which is essential to communicative language learning.

15
According to Harmer (1999:116), group work can increase students‟ talking time.
In fact, class time is not enough for all students to have a chance to speak out,
therefore, dividing the class into smaller groups allows teachers to save
time.Moreover, when assigning speaking tasks to students as homework, members
of the group can easily arrange the time and place to work together at their
convenience. That is the best way that speaking competence can be gained.
Secondly, working in groups helps students to produce greater output. Thanks to the
number of students in each group, they have different points of view, knowledge
and experience which can be shared among groups. Thus, doing their task becomes
much easier.
Thirdly, students‟ group work can free teachers from their traditional role of „an
expert who always lectures‟. It means that the teacher now is a facilitator, who goes
round to guide, to encourage students and answer their related questions.
Besides, group work makes a great contribution to increase learners‟ autonomy.
„Group work provides more opportunities for learners to initiate and control the
interaction, to produce a much larger variety of speech acts and to engage in the
negotiation to meaning‟ and that „being responsible for their peers‟ learning in a
group makes students more active‟ (Tsui, 2001 and Lee, 1999).
Last but not least, group work creates a sense of security. Students are afraid of
making mistakes, which turns them to be silly in front of the class although they
have the desire to improve their English competence. Nimmannit (1998) indicates
that „they [individual students] will not be the only ones to shoulder the blame or to
lose face if they answer incorrectly‟. Moreover, „it is generally easier to show that
you do not know, or do not understand something, in a smaller group than in a
large one‟ (Norman, Levihn and Hedenquist, 1986:8).
To sum up, group work offers a lot of benefits to teachers and students in improving
speaking skills.
2.4. Some problems and suggestions in using group work

16
Simon Haines claims that „being forced to speak a second language to someone
who shares your first language is artificial‟(Haines, 1995:57). It means that one of
the greatest problems of group work is the use of the mother tongue. When
studentsget excited at working in groups they sometimes use their mother tongue to
express what they are not able to express in a foreign language. Such a situation is
normal because they want to communicate. It is the teacher's responsibility to plan
activities at the level of the students and to encouragethem to use the little of the
language they know as best as they can because speaking their own language during
an oral activity is a waste of time. If the teacher sets certain standards, addressesthe
pupils in English only and insists on them using the language it may become quite
natural.
Another big problem of using group work comes from the control of students‟
participation in groups or at home. In a mixed-level group, better students are
sometimes dominant. They have a tendency to do more work than the others while
passive and lazy students do less. It is quite difficult for the teacher to take control
of all students‟ talking. This problem can be solved by appointing a group leader
(he may or may not be the dominant) to ensure that every member makes a good
contribution to the work or has an equal chance to speak.
Some teachers are reluctant to group work because of the noise made by the too
excited groups which can distract the others. It can be regarded as a positive aspect
in the position of outstanding groups, however, it has bad influence on the rest of
the class. In this case, the teacher‟s flexibility is necessary to control the students‟
excitement.
In addition, working in groups is a relatively slow process, in comparison with
working individually or in pairs. It requires students to come to a place at a certain
time to complete their task. In class, teachers need more time to organize groups
and instruct students on what to do. It is really time-consuming for both teachers
and students.
(Harmer, 1999:116)

17
To conclude, in spite of some disadvantages of group work, its advantages still
outweighs. It is still one of the most effective ways to help improving speaking skill
for language learners.

2.5. Teacher and students’ interaction in group work

In traditional language classes, teachers are centered and dominant. Teachers
lecture, explain grammar points, conduct drills, and at best lead whole-class
discussions in which each student might get a few seconds of a class period to talk.
Group work is one pedagogical strategy that promotes participation and interaction.
According to Harmer (1999:116), group work can free teachers from being „an
expert who always lectures‟. Therefore, in group work, teachers are no longer the
leader or the controller. He or she plays a role of a facilitator who goes round and
facilitates, encourages and answers students‟ related questions. In groups, students
are quite independent from teachers, therefore, they are quite free to talk about the
topic and do not feel shy or anxious about making mistakes which are often
considered easy for teachers to see. In other words, group work increases students‟
talking and promotes their responsibility and autonomy. However, they still receive
teachers‟ help and comments on what have been done.

18
 CHAPTER 2: THE RESEARCH

1. The methodology
1.1. Action research
1.1.1. Definition and the characteristics of action research
Action research is one of the most popular methods for teachers to develop their
professions. It provides a practical way for them to discover some of the
complexities of the teaching process and thereby to improve the quality of their
students‟ learning.
Koshy (2005) defines action research as „an enquiry undertaken with rigour and
understanding so as to constantly refine practice; the emerging evidence-based
outcomes will then contribute to the researching practitioner‟s continuing
professional development‟. He also believes that „action research creates new
knowledge based on enquiries conducted within specific and often practical
contexts‟.
According to Bassey (1998, p.93), action research is „an inquiry which is carried
out in order to understand, to evaluate and then to change, in order to improve
some educational practice‟. Hopkins (200: 41) shares the same view that „action
research combines a substantive act with a research procedure; it is action
disciplined by enquiry, a personal attempt at understanding while engaged in a
process of improvement and reform‟.
Feldman (2007) offers another definition „action research happens when people are
involved in researching their own practice in order to improve it and to come to a
better understanding of their practice situations. It is action because they act within
the systems that they are trying to improve and understand. It is research because it
is systematic, critical inquiry made public‟.
After thorough reading of well-known authors on the characteristics of action
research, I see that there are four distinguish features which make action research
differ from other types of research. The first is that it is conducted by practitioners

19
(classroom teachers) rather than researchers. They see the problem in their real
teaching, then draw up a plan to solve it, implement and evaluate the effects of their
solutions on their students‟ learning. The second is that action research is an on-
going cycle, which means after the evaluation, the process can be repeated with the
revised plan. Thirdly, it is collaborative. Teachers doing action research participate
and collaborate, examine their knowledge and the ways they interpret themselves
and their actions. They do research on themselves andcollect data about how they
teach. They invite students to study their own learning and to comment on the
teaching, curriculum and organization of their learning. Last but not least, action
research aims at changing things (cited in Nunan, 1992, p.17)
1.1.2. Phases of an action research

Figure 1: Action Research Spiral

Adapted from Kemmis (1983), the figure outlines the four steps in action, the
movement from one critical phase to another, and the way in which progress may be

20
made through the system. It can be seen clearly that in an action research, the
researcher does not stop after getting the result from his actions. He must evaluate
the effectiveness of his actions as well as the limitations of the methods. After that,
he should revise the plan, make some changes and implement it again to get better
results. These stages are not separate but are embedded within action and reflection.

Figure 2 presents detailed action research model, according to Susman (1983). The
five steps in this model can be described as follows:
- Diagnosing: the researcher needs to identify the problem by observing the context
or collecting information about the problem.
- Action planning: the researcher proposes different ways or methods which can be
used to solve the problem.
- Taking action: after considering the advantages and disadvantages of different
solutions,the researcher chooses one course of actions to apply in the study context.

21
- Evaluating: the researcher analyzes the data to find out the consequences of a
taken action.
- Specifying learning: the researcher presents the general findings, what can be
solved and what remains problematic, from which he adjusts the plan to act again.
Another cycle in an action research begins.

1.1.3. The reasons for choosing action research

As stated earlier, action research is „an inquiry which is carried out in order to
understand, to evaluate and then to change, in order to improve some educational
practice‟ (Bassey, 1998, p.93). In my opinion, action research is the best method to
use in this case because it is a process or an inquiry carried out by teachers to
improve the current state of education. Teachers are the people who best understand
their educational environment, students and curriculum. Therefore, they know the
problems clearly and would find out the solutions. In addition, they have the best
conditions to put them in practice, make changes and record the result. The feature
of on-going cycle allows teachers to revise their plan and act again to have a better
result. Finally, action research aims at changing things, which meets the need of
teachers to change their situation of teaching and students‟ learning.
1.2. Data collection
The data for the study were collected by three techniques: teacher‟s observations,
questionnaires for teachers and students, and interviews with students.
1.2.1. Questionnaires
The author used survey questionnaire as the main source because it is one of the
most effective instruments for collecting data in researches. According to Gillham
(2000) using questionnaire has some advantages, such as less pressure on
respondents, not under pressure of interview bias and analysis of answers is
straightforward. Two sets of questionnaires were designed to collect the information
about teachers and students‟ opinion on the effectiveness of using group work to
improve students‟ speaking skills.

22
The first set for students was to find out students opinion on speaking (question
1,2); the reasons for learning speaking skills (question 3); the habit of using English
(question 4,5) and the troubles of using English (question 6). The second set is for
teachers.
Question 1: teachers‟ opinion about speaking skill
Question 2: teacher‟s difficulties when teaching speaking skills
Question 3 to 6: teachers‟ opinion on the use of group work to teach speaking skills
Question 7, 8: difficulties the teacher has experienced when applying group work in
speaking time
Question 9: teachers‟ solutions to overcome their difficulties

1.2.2. Interviews
Interviews with students were to identify:
Question 1: students‟ opinion about working in groups to practice speaking
Question 2,3: students‟ judgement of their following the teacher‟s instruction
Question 4,5: students‟ preference for the members of groups
Question 6: students‟ judgement on the importance of the group leader
Question 7: students‟ assessment on their participation in group work
Question 8: students‟ assessment on the benefit of practicing speaking in
groups 1.2.3. Teacher‟s observation
In addition, the author also uses class observation as one source of data. During the
time of speaking, she goes round and facilitates to make sure that all students
involve in the activities and they should use English frequently. After each lesson,
she would take notes the participation of students, obstacles and offered solutions.
1.2.4. Group leaders‟ notes
The group leaders are assigned to make sure that the group work well at home.
Their notes are used to see whether students work together outside class or not and
how they enjoy the group activities.

23
1.3. Data analysis and reflection
1.3.1. The teacher‟s observation
Through my observation, I could realize the changes in my class‟s atmosphere and
my students‟ participation after I divided the class into groups and asked them to
discuss the issue. There was much more noise in each group rather than pair work.
Once a student began to speak, the others also wanted to raise their voice, share
their ideas and thoughts.
When I came to each group, I tried to listen and encouraged quiet students with
some provoking questions. It took much time of mine, however, I felt quite satisfied
because the reserved students could break the ice and became more active and
enthusiastic. Even when I drew my students‟ attention because the time is up, they
were still attentively and continuously discussed the issue.
At the end of the semester, I could see the improvement in students‟ speaking skills,
especially in terms of fluency. Most of the students could speak more fluently and
confidently. They knew how to open and end the discussions and conversations
naturally or to use some common structures to express their feelings or some
strategies to keep the conversations going on. Some hard-working students were
also better at producing more grammatically correct sentences.
To conclude, from my point of view, group work greatly contributes to improve my
students‟ speaking skills.
1.3.2. The questionnaires
1.3.2.1. The questionnaire for students
Most of students agreed that speaking skills were very important for different
reasons, mainly because it was necessary for their future jobs. However, they faced
with a lot of difficulties when trying to improve English speaking skills. Some of
them were being afraid of making mistakes, the lack of vocabulary and the troubles
with topics and situations in the course book.
1.3.2.2. The questionnaire for teachers

24
All of the teachers taking part in the survey thought that speaking was of great
importance to students and teaching that skill was not easy. They preferred using
group work to help students improve it. However, when utilizing group work, they
got into some troubles, such as the shortage of time, the number of students in a
class, the control of students‟ participation and the students‟ characteristics and
psychological problems. They offered some solutions like assigning a group leader
to help controlling the work, awarding good performance and punishing bad one.
1.3.3. The follow-up interviews
* Students‟ attitudes to group work
Most of my students said that they liked working in groups in speaking lesson.
Working in groups helped them be more confident and more active in speaking.
They felt more relaxed in comparison with speaking in front of the teacher and the
class. They agreed that group work created positive atmosphere for students in
speaking time. Moreover, they still got more ideas and views rather than working in
pairs.
* The effectiveness of group work
All of my students said that they followed the teacher‟s instruction seriously when
working inside class. All the members in groups had the chance to speak. In sub-
teams (groups worked at home), some of them said that they sometimes broke the
rules and talked about everything they liked, not the situations in their books.
Most of the students liked working in groups whose members were assigned by
teachers and at different levels. They added that in mixed-level groups, they learned
a lot from the members who were better at English and had the chance to correct
mistakes for students at lower levels than them. Both of the ways helped them to
improve their speaking skills. Moreover, working with students assigned by
teachers made them focus more on completing the task rather than gossiping.
Most of them saw the importance of the leader. They were also favor of appointing
a group leader to control the participation of the whole group. He or she worked
actively to keep control of all members‟ participation and speaking target language.

25
Their notes had a very good effect on others‟ learning behavior. However, some
argued that their group leaders did not do anything and all the members reminded
each other instead.
On the other hand, my students also complained that they often lacked time when
working in groups in class where there was a limit on time. With the homework,
they were much freer to talk, therefore, the improvement took place obviously.
Some students said that they did not listen to others because they had to think about
what they were going to talk when their turns came.
In summary, the positive view of group work has been found through the interviews
with students. However, there existed some problems that the teacher should draw
attention to. She should revise the plan and make changes in order to overcome
these difficulties as well.
1.3.4. The group leaders‟ notes
The leaders were assigned to make sure that all the members of the group work
effectively. I required that all have an equal chance to speak or they should not use
their mother tongue in their discussions or conversations. From these notes, I could
see that the first aim was achieved while there were some students who used their
mother tongue.

2. The context
2.1. The participants
2.1.1. Preliminary assessment of students‟ speaking abilities
All the students taking part in the study were admitted to the university after the
entrance exam to university. All of them studied English at high school as a
compulsory subject and had to take an English test in recognition of being
graduates.However, they were not at the same level of English. When they entered
university, they also had to take a placement test to classify their level of English
proficiency. The participants all got that test‟s results from 7.0 to 7.9 (Level B). All
of them have studied English in two semesters at university with the course book
Intelligent Business – Pre-intermediate. Term 1 strongly focused on reading, and

26
speaking skills, term 2 focused on writing and listening skill, and term 3 on reading,
writing and speaking skills. To continue the next semester of English, they had to
pass the end-of-term tests (CEFR oriented). Therefore, they already knew some
structures and vocabulary related to business. Furthermore, they were also tested
speaking skill in semester one as a mid-term test. As a result, most of them would be
expected to be active in speaking time. However, there existed some students who
were passive and remained silent in English lesson due to different reasons.
2.1.2. Cultural characteristics of students
There were 46 students taking part in the study. They came from different provinces
in Vietnam, from rural areas to developed cities.Students in developed cities might
have better access to authentic sources of language than those in the rural. Some of
them were very active in speaking part while the others were shy and afraid of
speaking both within groups and in front of the class.
2.2. The textbook
The course book is Intelligent Business – Intermediate by the authors Tonya Trappe
and Graham Tullis, published by Pearson Longman Press. It consists of fifteen units
and five reviews. Each unit includes five parts: Reading, Language, Vocabulary,
Career Skills, Dilemma and Decision. However, we only deal with the first six units
in the third semester (the last English semester of the second-year students), exclude
Dilemma and Decision. We have to cover six units and two reviews in ten weeks,
with forty-five periods, fifty minutes for each period. There is also a supplementary
bookfor students to study further at home (designed by teachers of English at
National Economics University). Although the course book does not have a
particular speaking part, speaking skill is still focused by a small discussion at the
beginning of each unit and the dialogues using specific structures in Career skills. In
addition, one supplementary unit has two situations for students to practice at home
and for teachers to check and comment in class so that students can learn from their
classmates‟ experience. Speaking does not have its own lesson, however, students
need to practice speaking each lesson and work harder at home.

27
2.3. The context of teaching
Because the text book is considered quite difficult in comparison with the level of
students in general and the time for study is so short, it is impossible for the teacher
to cover all the sessions in class. Some simple and minor parts are left at home,
including exercises in Supplementary book. Students also do not have many
opportunities to speak in class with the teacher‟s facilitation and supervision. They
have to practice a lot more at home, and then present what they have done in class
for the teacher to comment. They would be expected to improve next time.
3. Action research process
3.1. Diagnosing
In speaking time, I found that students were quite passive in their practicing. Some
students actively took part in the speaking activities. Some students only raised their
voice when the teacher came and/ or encouraged them. Some students found hard to
express their ideas or even utter a sentence. It was clear that most of students were
not good at speaking as expected.
3.2. Action planning
To solve the problems, I considered several alternative courses of action which
could be applied in this context to improve my students‟ speaking ability. Because
of the limited class time and a large number of students in the class, I decided to
choose group work as the major method. In groups, they themselves would arrange
the time to practice together and the leader would help me to control the
participation of the members. Moreover, it would be much easier for me to
comment in groups than individuals or pairs with such a large quantity of students.
3.3. Taking action
3.3.1. Informal learning groups
Students were required to quickly form groups of three or four and discuss the issue
in text book.
They would discuss the issue in five or ten minutes (depending on the content and
the number of the questions). When they worked in groups, I would go round and

28
facilitate to make sure that all students talked about the topic in English and to help
if any one needed. In fact, in such short time, it was not easy for me to come to all
the groups and listen to them, however, I would try my best to help as much as
possible. In case there were some groups that I could not help anything, I would
come to them first in the next speaking time.
After that, I would call on some students to present what they have discussed in
groups. The presenter was picked up randomly, not always the leader. Finally I
would draw the conclusion from discussions and correct my students‟ serious
mistakes.
3.3.2. Study teams
After each lesson, there would be two situations for students to practice. Because of
the shortage of class time, I often assigned these two situations to students to work
at home. I divided the class into groups of four and required them to work together
to (1) discuss the situation, find out and add more information if necessary; (2)
make conversations, change the role and carry on again. I would check what they
did in the next lesson. Students would work stably together in these teams during
the semester.
3.4. Evaluating
The author used questionnaires, observation, interviews to evaluate the
consequences of the actions. The result revealed that group work had certain
positive effects on students‟ speaking skills in spite of some disadvantages.
3.5. Specifying learning
After being collected, the data would be analyzed to find out the results and the
findings would be interpreted in the light of how successful the action was.

29
 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

1. Students’ performance and speaking skills

1.1. Students’ opinion on speaking skills
All of the surveyed students agreed that speaking is a very important skill that they
needed to improve and they wanted to speak English fluently. However, the reasons
for improving speaking skills were different.

The reasons for improving speaking skills

95%

57%
33%
20%
10%

It is You want to It is You want to You are

compulsory pass the oral necessary for use English interested in
at university test your future to speaking
job communicate English
with others

Chart 1: The reasons for improving speaking skills

It could be seen from the chart that most of the students learn speaking skills
because it was important and necessary for their future job (95%). More than a half
of students were interested in the skill with 57%. A small number of students (20%)
would like to use English to communicate with others. Some other students learnt
speaking skills because they want to pass the oral test (33%) and/ or it was
compulsory at university (10%). Thus, it could be concluded that most of the
studentswere aware of the importance of speaking skills.

30
1.2. Difficulties faced by students when learning speaking
Difficulties faced by students when learning speaking

90
80
70
60
50 89
40 78
30
45
20
10 8
0
Being afraid of Being shy The lack of Topics are
making vocabulary difficult and/
mistakes or unfamiliar

Chart 2: Difficulties faced by students when learning speaking

Most of the students thought that the greatest obstacles weretheir scare of making
mistakes (89%) andtheir lack of vocabulary (78%). It could be inferred that students
did not involve in speaking mainly because of their characteristics and low level of
English proficiency. Most of them learnt English at high school but they were only
taught and examined grammar whereas speaking is a process which needs practicing
every day and minor mistakes can be tolerant. Students can learn from their
mistakes and make progress gradually. Moreover, at high school they learnt a wide
range of vocabulary for social life, not for business; therefore, they did not have
enough necessary words to express their own ideas. I realized that there would be a
way to help students overcome the fear of making mistakes and they needed to be
equipped with more words before they spoke.
Another big problem, resulted from students‟ low level of proficiency, was the
topics and situations in the course book. 45 percent of the students said that they
were difficult. The knowledge and vocabulary they obtained in the two previous
terms helped them a little when dealing with the topics or situations at intermediate

31
level. Teachers should help making speaking tasks easier by mapping out the ideas
or providing students with some of the vocabulary they need.
1.3. Student’s opinion on using group work to practice speaking skills
* Group work activities

The reasons why students like working in groups to practice Percent

speaking
They can support each other 93
They can learn from each other 80
They overcome psychological problems 54
They have more ideas 47
They have more time to speak (in study teams) 32
Table1: The reasons why students like working in groups to practice speaking

All of the students asked said that they liked working in groups to practice speaking.
It could be seen from the table that 93 percent of the students said they liked group
work because they can support each other.They learnt from their peers (80%) by
correcting mistakes for each other. They could discuss to find the best answer for
the teacher‟s questions and more ideas for the situations in the book. 32 percent of
students stated that they preferred the model of practice at home(study teams)
because they had more chance to speak. In class they had less time and they could
not speak much in such short time due to the shortage of ideas, structures and
vocabulary. They also added that group work was the most appropriate way to
improve speaking skills in comparison with other skills (then came writing, reading
and listening).
From the students‟ point of view, group work is useful to improve speaking skills
because it helps them not only to overcome their fear of making mistakes but
support each other and have more ideas which make their speech or conversation
more informative and interesting.

32
* Group members

Group members’ features

100

80.5

19.5

Working with Working with Working with Working with

students students they students at the students at the
assigned by like different levels same level
the teacher

Chart 3: Students’ preference for the group members’ features

Chart 3 showed the students‟ preference for the characteristics of group members.
37 out of 46 students (account for 80.5 percent) said that they wanted to practice
with students who were assigned by teachers. 19.5 percent of the students preferred
working with students they liked.
All of the students answered they preferred working with students at different levels
to working with students at the same level because they can support each other.
* Group leaders
All of the students highly appreciated the role of group leaders in controlling the
activities and members of the group. They said that it was necessary to assign a
group leader to make sure that the group worked well. Below were some of their
answers:
“A group leader is very important in managing and coordinating all the members
in the group. The better the leader is, the more effectively the group works.”
“It is necessary to assign a group leader who can support other
students.” “Yes. A leader will make the group work effectively.”

33
“Yes, leader puts everything on the right track, it helps group be more effective and
share the same goal.”
“Yes, of course. Any group needs a person who will be responsible for all the
members‟ tasks. The leader will give requirements to individual member then check
the members‟ working whether the group is working well or not. He (she) is also a
person who connects all people to be one and encourages everyone to try their
best.”
However, some students complained that their group leaders did not work
effectively. He or she was sometimes lazy and did not urge others to work, which
reduced the effectiveness of the entire group.
1.4. Students’ appreciation of group work for the improvement in speaking skills
Not at all A bit(%) Much
Students’ answers
(%) (%)
Be more confident 100
Have more chance to speak 8.6 91.4
Speak more fluently 100
Correct mistakes for each other 17 83
Exchange more ideas 22 78
Table 2: Students’ appreciation of group work for the improvement in speaking
skills
All of the students taking part in the interview said that their speaking ability
improved in terms of confidence and fluency at the end of the semester the teacher
required students to practice in groups. They could speak more fluently and no
longer be afraid of making mistakes. They understood that the more they spoke, the
more fluently their speaking was. They knew that mistakes were tolerant in spoken
language and if they were scared of mistakes, they would never speak well.
42 out of 46 students (accounted for 91.4%) said that in groups they had more
chance to speak, while the others (8.6%) had little chance to speak. They also added
that it was because of their shortage of vocabulary.

34
83% of the students stated that they could correct mistakes for each other, by which
they gradually made fewer common mistakes in the next speaking time. However, 8
out of 46 students (accounted for 17%) thought they could not improve much in
terms of accuracy. These students believed that they were quite good at grammar,
therefore, they made fewer mistakes than the others when speaking and sometimes
other members could not find mistakes in their speech.
78% of the students found group work beneficial to exchange ideas with each other
while 22% thought that it was a bit beneficial.
In summary, practice in groups had positive effects on improving students speaking
ability in students‟ points of view.
2. Teachers’ opinions and assessment on teaching speaking skills and the
effectiveness of using group work
The survey for teachers was fulfilled by 10 teachers who have been teaching the
second-year students at NEU.
2.1. Teachers’ difficulties when teaching speaking skills
Difficulties faced by teachers when teaching speaking skills Percentage
The control of students‟ participation 40
The shortage of time 80
The number of students in a class 80
Students‟ psychological problems 10
Students‟ characteristics 20
The frequency of students‟ using their mother tongue 80
Classroom conditions 40
Too difficult topics or situations 30
Topics are sometimes not really interesting, up-to-date and suitable 10
Table 3:Difficulties faced by teachers when teaching speaking skills

As can be seen from the table, when teaching speaking skills, 8 out of 10 teachers
(80%) faced with the shortage of time, the number of students in a class and the
frequency of students‟ using their mother tongue. 40 percent of the teachers found it

35
hard to control students‟ participation in speaking section. The same number
thought that classroom conditions were also a problem. Some teachers believed that
the difficulties came from students‟ characteristics (20%) and psychological
problems (10%). Topics or situations too difficult or sometimes not really
interesting, up-to-date and suitable were also teachers‟ concern with 30 and 10
percent respectively. In conclusion, it could be said that the biggest obstacles of
teachers fell in the time, the number of the students in a class and the students‟
using mother tongue out of their control.
2.2. Teachers’ assessment on the effects of group work on improving students’
speaking skills

The importance of group work in teaching speaking skills

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Very Quite Little Not important
important important important at all

Chart 4: The importance of group work in teaching speaking skills

Eight out of ten teachers (accounted for 90%) thought that group work was very
important to help students improve speaking skills. The other said that it was quite
important because she also used pair work and it was as good as group work.

36
2.3. Difficulties faced by teachers when using group work
Difficulties faced by teachers when using group work Percentage
Too little time 100
Too many students 100
Lack of academic training in group work 10
Overload group work 70
Multi-level students 0
Students‟ low proficiency in English 50
Students‟ resistance to group participation 20
Less control of students using their mother tongue 90
Less place for groups‟ gathering 10
Table 3: Difficulties faced by teachers when using group work
All of the teachers (100%) agreed that too many students in a class and too little
time for speaking part were major obstacles that they encountered when they used
group work in teaching speaking skills. Besides, 90 percent got problems with
controlling students‟ participation and their using mother tongue when working in
groups. 70 percent of the teachers said that some situations in speaking section were
too difficult for students, therefore, they took a lot of time to instruct students to go
on with the situation. 50 percent of the teachers blamed for the students‟ low
proficiency in English. Two teachers (accounted for 20%) said that some of their
students were resistant to work in groups. Only one teacher (10%)faced with the
lack of training in group work.Most of the teachers believed that group work was a
good method to improve students‟ speaking skills in the context of large class and
less time, they had taken it into their consideration in order to apply in their class.
Thanks to the placement test when students entered university, teachers did not have
many difficulties in teaching classes where students enormously differed from each
other in terms of their English proficiency.

37
2.4. Teachers’ suggestions for using group work
Solutions teachers offered to overcome the difficulties Percentage
Punish lazy and passive students/ groups with bad performance 50
Award students with good performance 100
Propose the administrator to change the learning conditions 20
Try different ways of implementing group work 30
Assign a group leader to help controlling the group 100
Make the speaking tasks easier to students 80
Table 4:Solutions teachers offered to overcome the difficulties

Teachers‟ solutions to cope with difficulties in using group work in teaching

speaking skill were summarized in table. All of the teachers (100 percent) chose to
assign a group leader to help controlling the group and give good marks or bonus to
students with good performance in class. 80 percent said that they would make the
speaking topics or situations become easier to students and 50 percent punished lazy
and passive students or the whole groups with bad performance so that they could
encourage each other to work more effectively. 30 percent tried to implement group
work in different ways. 20% was the respondents who chose to propose the
administrator to change the learning conditions.
In my point of view, assigning group leaders is a really effective way in controlling
the group‟s activities and teachers should do that right after dividing the class into
smaller groups. I also agree to give bonus to students with good performance and
punish lazy students (by subtracting their marks). By this way, students have strong
motivation to do the task well. Finally, I propose a solution that teachers should
make the task easier for students by some ways. For example, teacher could analyze
the situation or topic with the whole class; give them clear instruction on how to
start and end a conversation; provide useful structures or some tips to make the
conversation natural and interesting.
In summary, there are different ways to implement group work and make it more
effective to meet the researchers‟ targets.

38
3. Material assessment
The area of ELT textbook evaluation seems to be under-researched, with a limited
supply of relevant literature (Dendrinos 1992, Sheldon 1988, Lits 2005). ELT
materials evaluation or more precisely textbook evaluation, “involves measuring the
value or (potential value) of a set of learning materials [textbooks] by making
judgments about the effect of the materials [textbook] on the people using them”
(Tomlinson & Masuhara 2004). The work of Cunningsworth has helped to provide a
good brief summary of how a leveled evaluation can be conducted. When applying
the impressionistic method, we take the literal meaning of the method by quickly
looking through the textbook cover to cover, to try and get an overview of the
strengths and weaknesses of the book. An in-depth evaluation will be undertaken
subsequently to provide a detailed evaluation of specific items in teach textbook on
areas such as how the exercises can cater for the syllabus and learners‟ needs
(Cunningsworth 1995, McDonough & Shaw 1993). I would like to take
Cunningsworth‟s point of view when evaluating the course book Intelligent
Business, pre-intermediate, by Tonya Trappe and Graham Tullis.
3.1. Strengths
* Layout and design
The course book layout and design are clear and appealing to the majority of
students. The book contains 15 units and five reviews. Each unit consists of five
parts: Reading, Language, Vocabulary, Carrer skils and Dilemma and Decision.
Besides, it has glossary, glossary test (to test the important vocabulary presented in
the book), grammar reference and audio scripts for listening part. Moreover, the
authors insert pictures into most of the parts of one unit, therefore, they help
students a lot in assessing the task or understanding the text.
* Activities
There is a balance of activities and a substantial amount of aural language input and
a wide variety of communicative activities in the course book. There are activities
for speaking, listening, reading, writing, grammar exercises or vocabulary

39
enrichment. Teachers can easily to organize the task from controlled practice to less
controlled or free practice. Students can work individually or in pairs or in groups.
* Language content
Intelligent Business is a dynamic and flexible book with an integrated range of
components to develop students‟ knowledge of the business world and the skills to
work within it. Each unit exploits a business-related topic. The topic-based activities
provide an accessible introduction to the concepts and language of today‟s business
world. With featuring authentic texts from the well-respected Economist magazine,
the course book material is informative, up-to-date and highly motivating.
* Skills
The book helps students improve all four language skills with speaking, listening,
reading and writing. Furthermore, it has grammar rules and exercises for them to
practice and vocabulary to enhance.
* Language type
The language used in the course book is authentic and realistic because it is taken
from different authentic sources, such as BBC News, The Economist, The Guardian.
The language used in business world is really relevant National Economics
University students‟ needs.
3.2. Weaknesses
Despite a large number of good points, the course book still has some minor
weaknesses. * Layout and design
The cover is not as attractive as the content page. There are only three small images
at the top and then comes the name of the book.
* Skills
The writing skill is not placed strong focus on when there is only one small part
which requires writing in Dilemma and Decision.
* Language type
The language used in the course book is rather difficult for students at low level of
English proficiency, especially ones who are not familiar to the business world.

40
 CONCLUSION
1. Summary of the findings
It is necessary for students to improve their English proficiency, especially speaking
skills. Therefore, how to improve students‟ speaking skills becomes an urgent
problem for educators. This study only focuses on using group work activities as a
strategy to help students improve their speaking ability. The results of the study on
using group work to improve the second-year students‟ speaking skills at NEU can
be summarized as follows:
* Difficulties encountered by teachers and students in teaching and learning
speaking:
Students faced a lot of obstacles in speaking lessons. The greatest ones fell into
their scare of making mistakes (or losing face) and their lack of vocabulary. Another
problem came from the topics and situations in the course book: they were difficult
and unfamiliar with students.
Teachers also met a lot of difficulties in teaching speaking skills. They often lacked
time to implement speaking tasks because besides speaking they had other skills to
help students to improve and other classroom activities to do. The large number of
students in a class was also problematic. As a result, teachers found it difficult to
involve every student in speaking time and to control the frequency of students‟
using of mother tongue.
* The effects on students’ learning when using group work as an activity in
teaching speaking skills:
For students, group work is beneficial because it helps decreasing their anxiety and
increasing their confidence when speaking. It also provides students with more
opportunities to speak in English and to correct mistakes for each other, by which
they can speak more fluently and accurately.
For teachers, the greatest advantage of group work is to deal with teaching speaking
skills in the context of large class and less time. It helps free them from the role of

41
„an expert who always lectures‟. However, they still achieve the objective of
improving students‟ speaking skills in the context of large class and limited time.
* Problems and suggestions when using group work as an activity to improve
students’ speaking skills:
Although group work has certain positive effects on students‟ progress in speaking
skills, there still remain some problems concerning teachers, students and classroom
conditions.
Concerning students, there are a number of passive and lazy students who are
resistant to work in group and their using mother tongue while practice speaking.
Some students are at low English proficiency, which is one of the problems from the
students.
Students must be aware of the importance of acquiring English skills, especially
speaking in the context of integration and globalization. They should enrich their
vocabulary and develop their English by taking part in some English clubs or taking
some courses in English or using mass media to self-study.
Concerning teachers, the biggest problem that they are afraid of when using group
work is the shortage of time, the number of students in a class as well as the control
of students‟ participation. Furthermore, overload group work is also teachers‟
considerable concern.
Classroom conditions are not good because the teachers lack of place for the
groups‟ gathering.
To have better group work, the author offers some recommendations as follows:
 Assigning a group leader to control the participation of the group members
and the frequency of using students‟ mother tongue
 Award students with good performance and punish lazy and passive ones
 Make the speaking tasks easier to students by instructing them carefully
before work

42
2. Limitations
Although the study was conducted to the best of the researcher‟s effort, limitations
were unavoidable. In this study, the researcher did not have enough time to carry out
ongoing cycles of an action research. Therefore, the results would be better if she
revised her plan and acted again. Moreover, because the students taking part in the
study were in one class the researcher taught, not all the second-year students at
National Economics University, their opinion on speaking and the effect of using
group work to improve students‟ speaking ability might not be representatives of all
students at National Economics University.
3. Recommendations for further study
Due to the limitation of time and scale, the researcher could not cover everything in
the field of the study. There exist a lot of interesting issues which needs researching,
such as strategies to organize group work activities in the context of large class, how
to control students‟ talking time and their using mother tongue in groups or how to
help students do group work effectively.

43
 REFERENCES
I. Books and articles
1. Brown, G. & Yule, G. (1989) Teaching the Spoken Language, Cambridge
University Press
2. Burns, A. (1999) Collaborative Action Research for English Language
Teachers, The UK CUP
3. Byrne, D. (1896) Teaching Oral English, Oxford: Longman
4. Burns, A. & Joyce, H. (1997) Focus on Speaking. Syney: National Center for
English Language Teaching and Approach.
5. Emma Rosana Febriyanti, Teaching Speaking of English as a Foreign
Language: Problems and Solutions
6. Gillham, B (2000) Developing a Questionnaire, London and New York,
Continuum
7. Herbert Altrichter, Allan Feldman, Peter Posch and Bridget Somekh,
Teachers Investigate their Work– An introduction to action research across
the professions, Second edition
8. I-Jung, C. (2004, April) Utilizing group work effectively in the English
language classroom, TESL reporter, 37(1), 1-7
9. Jack C. Richard. Communicative Language Teaching Today, Cambridge
University Press
10. Kayi, H. Teaching speaking: Activities to Promote Speaking in a Second
Language, Internet TESL Journal, Vol. XII, No.11, Nov 2006, retrieved from
http://iteslj.org/Articles/Kayi-TeachingSpeaking.html
11. Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000).Techniques and Principles in Language
Teaching. Oxford University Press.
12. Michael H. Long and Patricia A. Porter, Group Work, Interlanguage Talk,
and Second Language Acquisition, TESOL Quarterly, Vol.19, No.2 (Jun
1985) pp. 207-288

44
 13. Nunan, D. (2003) Practical English Language Teaching, New York:
McGraw-Hill
14. Nguyen Hoa, An Introduction to Discourse Analysis, A coursebook for
students at University of Language and International Studies
15. Susan holden, Drama in Language Teaching, Longman, 1981
16. Peter Hubbard [et al], A Training Course for TEFL, Oxford University Press
17. Thuy, Đ. The use of group work activities for improving speaking skills of the
first year students at Thai Nguyen College of Mechanics and Metallurgy,
M.A Minor Thesis
18. Valsa Koshy, Action Research for Improving Practice – A Practical Guide,
Paul Chapman Publishing, 2005
II. Websites
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/
http://www.edu.plymouth.ac.uk/
http://www.prodait.iehosting.co.uk/
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/
http://www.princeton.edu/
http://www.cmu.edu/
http://www.web.ca/
http://libweb.surrey.ac.uk/
http://busyteacher.org/
http://sydney.edu.au/
http://area.dge.mec.pt/
http://celt.ust.hk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
https://www.jstor.org/
http://www.haskins.yale.edu/
http://iteslj.org/
http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/

45
 APPENDIX 1
QUESTIONNAIRE 1 (for students)
This questionnaire is designed for the purpose of study only, therefore, your truthful
answers are very important to the study and also help to improve the current state of
my teaching. Thank you very much for your cooperation! Please circle the answer that
best suitable for you:

1. How important is speaking skill to you?

a. Very important c. Quite important
b. Important d. Not important
2. How much do you consider improving speaking skill?
a. Very much c. Not much
b. Much d. Not at all
3. Why do you want to improve speaking skills? (you can choose more than
one)
a. It is compulsory at university
b. You want to pass the oral test
c. It is necessary for your future job
d. You want to use English to communicate with others
e. You are interested in speaking English
4. How often do you use English in the speaking lesson?
a. Most of the time c. Sometimes
b. Frequently d. Never
5. Do you use English outside class?
a. Yes b. No
6. What are the main troubles when you use English as a means of
communication? (You can choose more than one answer)
a. Being afraid of making mistakes
b. Being shy
c. The lack of vocabulary
d. Topics are difficult and/ or unfamiliar
e. Others (please state clearly)
……………………………………………………………………………
I
 APPENDIX 2
QUESTIONNAIRE 2 (for teachers)
This questionnaire is designed for my study on the effectiveness of using group work to
improve speaking skills of the second-year students at National Economics University.
I am sure that the data are collected for the purpose of study only. Thank you very
much for your time and cooperation!
Please circle the answer that best suitable for you:
1. How much do you like teaching speaking skills?
a. very much b. much c. little d. not at all
2. Which difficulties do you face with when teaching speaking skills?(you can
choose more than one)
a. the control of students‟ participation
b. the shortage of time
c. the number of students in a class
d. students‟ psychological problems
e. students‟ characteristics
f. the frequency of using students‟ mother
tongue g. classroom conditions
h. too difficult topics or situations
i. others (please specify) ……………………………………………………
3. How often do you use group work activities in your speaking lesson?
a. always b. often c. sometimes d. never
4. How important is group work in teaching speaking, in your opinion?
a. very b. quite c. little d. not at all
5. How much does group work help you in teaching speaking skill?
a. very much b. much c. little d. not at all
6. What of the following benefits does group work bring to you?(you can
choose more than one)
a. It increases students‟ talking time
b. It gives students a chance to correct mistakes for each other and learn from others‟
mistakes
c. It allows students to broaden their knowledge

II
d. It increases students‟ autonomy in practice
speaking e. It encourages shy and passive students to
speak out f. It frees the teacher from his/ her duty
g. It decreases teacher‟s speaking time
h. Others (please specify) ……………………………………………………………
7. How often do you get into troubles when using group work?
a. always b. often c. sometimes d. never
8. Which difficulties do you experience when using group work to improve
students’ speaking skill? (you can choose more than one)
a. too little time
b. too many students
c. lack of academic training in group work
d. overload group work
e. multi-level students
f. students‟ low proficiency in English
g. students‟ resistance to group participation
h. less control of students using their mother tongue
i. less place for groups‟ gathering
k. others (please specify) …………………………………………………………
9. What solutions do you offer to overcome these difficulties? (you can choose
more than 1)
a. punish lazy and passive students/ groups with bad performance
b. propose the administrator to change the learning conditions
c. make speaking tasks easier to students
d. try different ways of implementing group work
e. assign a group leader to help control the group
f. others (please specify)……………………………………………………………

III
 APPENDIX 3
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Do you like working in groups to practice speaking? Why (not)?

2. Do you follow the teacher‟s instruction in speaking lesson?

3. Do you follow the teacher‟s instruction on practice speaking at home?

4. Working with the students you like or working in groups whose members are
assigned by the teacher, which one do you prefer?

5. Do you like working in a group where members are at the same level or
different level? Why?

6. Do you think assigning a group leader is necessary? Why (not)?

7. When you work in groups, do all the members equally have a chance to speak?

8. After a semester with the changes in speaking lesson (grouping, requirements,

topics), do you think you make progress in speaking?

IV
 APPENDIX 4
SAMPLE OF SPEAKING SITUATIONS (Unit 2: Leadership)

Situation 1
Candidate A:
You are taking part in an interview for a HR Manager. Introduce yourself, using the
information below:
Name: Lucy Park
Age: 25
Qualification: University Degree
Skills: presentation, communication, computer
Working experience: 2 years working in HR Department
You need to prepare for other questions given by the interviewer.
Candidate B:
You are the general director of a company and interviewing a person for HR
Manager Position. Introduce yourself, using the information given below:
Name: Tom Smith
Position: General Director
Task: ask questions
You need to ask the interviewee about the characteristics of a good manager. You
should prepare to give your opinion on what the interviewee says.
Further questions
1. What are the things you consider most when looking for a job? What is the most
important?
2. What are the characteristics of a “difficult boss”?
3. What should you do if you have a difficult boss?
Situation 2
Two of you (student A and student B) are working for an international IT company
based in Vietnam. Your company plan to recruit a new CEO next month. Who would
you expect him/her to be? You will join in a discussion about management styles and
motivational techniques of the CEO and then make a conclusion about the suitable

V
management style for the staff as well as company and the best way to motivate staff
in this kind of company.
Student A:
- You prefer the way that the leader delegates responsibility to subordinates.
- The best way to motivate staff is non-financial reward (respect, status ….)
Student B:
- You prefer the way that the leader uses his/her authority to control operations
directly.
- The best way to motivate staff is financial reward (pay, bonus…)

VI