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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I declare that my thesis entitles: “Applying role-play in increasing student’
interest in learning speaking to grade 11 students at Lai Vung 2 high school” is the
result of my own work, submitted in the fulfillment for the requirements of the B.A
degree. Except where the reference is indicated, no others person's work has been used
without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis.

The author
Le Dinh Mai Thao

Le Dinh Mai Thao

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ABSTRACT
Using role-play activity is an effective way that helps to increase students'
interest in learning speaking. When applying role-play, students are set into an
interesting talking environment, therefore, they can be activated to talk as more as
possible .The study about applying role-play in increasing students' interest in learning
speaking is carried out to identify how students interest in learning speaking as well as
role-play activity. Data used for analysis in this study is mainly collected through
survey questionnaires, through observation of two classes whose teachers have applied
this activity and through direct interviewing. One of the prominent results from data
analysis is that students at Lai Vung 2 High school really interest in learning speaking
whenever applying role-play. The usefulness and difficulties of applying this activity

1.3. Research methods 2
1.4. Scope of the study 2
1.5. Significance of the study 2
1.6. Previous related studies 2
1.7. Organization of the study 3
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 4
2.1 Teaching and learning English speaking skill 4
2.1.1 Communicative language teaching approach – an effective language teaching
method 4
2.1.1.1 Definition of communicative language teaching approach 4
2.1.1.2 The goal of communicative language teaching approach 4
2.1.2 The way of learning English speaking effectively 5
2.2 Role-play in teaching speaking 6
2.2.1 Definition of role-play 6
2.2.2 The steps for role-play activity 7
2.2.3 The significance of role-play in teaching speaking 10
2.2.4. The teacher‟role in this activity. 10
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 12
3.1 Research questions: 12
3.2. Research participants 12
3.2.1. The researcher 12

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3.2.2. The subjects 12
3.3. Research procedure 12
3.4. Data collection instruments 12
3.4.1. Survey questionnaires 13
3.4.2. Observations 13
3.4.3. Interview 14
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 16

APPENDIX 1 III
QUESTIONNAIRE III
APPENDIX 2 V
BẢNG CÂU HỎI V
APPENDIX 3 IX
OBSERVATION SHEET IX vii
LIST OF TABLES
Tables of students'questionnaire analysis
Table 1: Students' attitude about speaking English 16

Figures of students' questionnaire analysis
Figure 1:Students' attitude about speaking English 16
Figure 2:Students' thought about learning speaking 17
Figure 3: Students' speaking ability 18
Figure 4: The frequencies of teachers' applying role-play 19
Figure 5: Students' thought about the way that teachers apply role-play 20
Figure 6: Students' thought about role-play activities 21
Figure 7: Students' opinion about the profit of participating in role-play 22
Figure 8: Students' benefits when participating in role-play activities 23
Figure 9: Students' interest in their role 24
Figure 10: Students' advantages when participating in role-play activities 25
Figure 11: Student's difficulties when participating in role-play activities 26
Figure 12: The students' preferences about the topics of role-play activities 27
Figure 13: Students' opinions about their teacher's instruction 28
Figure 14: The increasing of students' interest in learning speaking 29
Figure 15: The improvement of students' speaking ability 30
Figures of teachers' questionnaire analysis
Figure 1: Teachers' opinion about their students' attitude about learning speaking 31
Figure 2: Teachers‟ opinion about their students' speaking ability 32
Figure 3: Teachers have applied role-play activities 33
Figure 4: Teachers‟ opinion about applying role-play in increasing students' interest in
learning speaking 34
Figure 5: The usefulness of role-play activities 35
Figure 6: Teachers' frequency of applying role-play activities 36
Figure 7: Teachers' opinion about whether applying role-play is difficult or not 37
Figure 8: Teachers' difficulties when applying role-play activities 38
Figure 9:Teachers' thought about the increasing of their students' interest in learning
speaking 39
Figure 10: Teachers' opinion about their students' speaking ability improvement 40



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teachers realize the usefulness of role-play activity as well as suggest some solutions to
increase the effectiveness of this activity in speaking class.
1.2. Aims of the study
The thesis aims to identify how students interest in learning speaking. The thesis, in
addition, aims to find out the effect of using role-play in speaking classes. Also, it is
intended to find out difficulties from using role-play activities so that the researcher
can suggest some solutions to these difficulties.
1.3. Research methods
During studying process, there are three research methods which are going to
collect valuable data and information: questionnaires, observation and interview.
Firstly, the questionnaires are employed. In order to collect the data, two types of
questionnaires are designed: one in English and the other in Vietnamese. The English
questionnaire is delivered to four teachers, who teach in grade 11 and the Vietnamese
one is used for students. Collected data will be analyzed to realize how role-play is
applied and the effect of using role-play in class. Next, personal observations are also
carried out in some classes, which role-play is applied to observe teachers and students'
role-play activities. Furthermore, interview is use to find out teachers and students
difficulties from using role-play.
1.4. Scope of the study
The scope of study is about applying role-play in increasing students' interest in
learning speaking to grade 11 students at Lai Vung 2 high school.
1.5. Significance of the study
Hopefully, the findings of the study may make a contribution to increase interest in
learning speaking English for student toward applying role-play activities. The thesis
also may help to find out what are the difficulties when teacher applying role-play.
Furthermore, it may not only help to find out the difficulties when teacher applying
role-play but also will give some suggestions to help teachers over come these
difficulties.

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CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Teaching and learning English speaking skill
2.1.1 Communicative language teaching approach – an effective language
teaching method.
2.1.1.1 Definition of communicative language teaching approach
"Communicative language teaching (CLT), or the communicative approach, is
an approach to language teaching that emphasizes interaction as both the means and the
ultimate goal of study." (www.wikipedia.org)
Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate
communication. The teacher sets up a situation that students are likely to encounter in
real life. Unlike the audio-lingual method of language teaching, which relies on
repetition and drills, the communicative approach can leave students in suspense as to
the outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their reactions and
responses. The real-life simulations change from day to day. Students' motivation to
learn comes from their desire to communicate in meaningful ways about meaningful
topics.
Margie S. Berns, an expert in the field of communicative language teaching,
writes in explaining Firth's view that "language is interaction; it is interpersonal activity
and has a clear relationship with society. In this light, language study has to look at the
use (function) of language in context, both its linguistic context (what is uttered before
and after a given piece of discourse) and its social, or situational, context (who is
speaking, what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak)" (Berns,

improving spoken English. It is not necessary to have an extensively detailed
knowledge of grammar for speaking fluent English. In fact, speaking in absolutely
correct grammar may sometimes lead to awkwardness in casual and informal
meetings or talks. So, learners just have a basic knowledge of grammar would be
enough to get learners started.
The other step is to be able to convey what they want to express in a confident and
easy manner. For this, learners need to believe in themselves. Also, do not hesitate to
ask the other persons for clarification if learners do not understand them or they
themselves are stuck on a word or two in the middle, and need some help.

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Last but not the least, keep practicing.– Speaking English themselves as much as
they can and trying to understand the different accents of native English speakers are
two things that would take learners a long way in retaining what they learnt as well as
improving their spoken English skills. Watch English movies, news channels, etc. to
hear crisp English diction and absorb the different styles of pronunciations.
2.2 Role-play in teaching speaking
2.2.1 Definition of role-play
According to Paul Procter in Cambridge International Dictionary of English, role
defined as the person whom an actor represents in film or play, while role play is a
method of acting out particular way of behaving or pretending to be other people who
deal with new situations. It is used in training courses language learning and
psychotherapy.
In Role Play: Resources Book for Teacher Series, Gillian Porter Ladusse illustrated
that when students assume a "Role", they play a part (either their own or somebody
else's) in specific situation. "Play" means that is taken on in a safe environment in
which students are as an inventive and playful as possible.
Another definition is stated by Joanna Budden in British Council Teaching English
on her article with the title "Role Play" . She said that role-play is any speaking activity
when you either put yourself into somebody else's shoes, or when you stay in your own

Step 1- A situation for a role- play
To begin with, choose a situation for a role play, keeping in mind students' needs
and interests (Livingstone, 1983). Teachers should select role plays that will give the
students an opportunity to practice what they have learned. At the same time, role play
need to interest students. One way to make sure role play is interesting is to let the
students choose the situation themselves. They might either suggest themes that
intrigue them or select a topic from a list of given situations. Teachers might make up
an effective role play based on cultural differences.
Step 2 - Role Play Design
After choosing a context for a role play, the next step is to come up with ideas on
how this situation may develop. Students' level of language proficiency should be
taken into consideration (Livingstone, 1983). If teachers feel that the role play requires
more profound linguistic competence than the students possess, it would probably be

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better to simplify it or to leave it until appropriate. On low intermediate and more
advanced levels, role plays with problems or conflicts in them work very well because
they motivate the characters to talk (Shaw, Corsini, Blake & Mouton, 1980; Horner &
McGinley, 1990). To build in these problems let the standard script go wrong. This will
generate tension and make the role play more interesting. For example, in a role play
situation at the market the participants have conflicting role information. One or two
students have their lists of things to buy while another two or three students are
salespeople who don't have anything the first group needs, but can offer slightly or
absolutely different things.
Step 3 - Linguistic Preparation
At the beginning level, the language needed is almost completely predictable. The
higher the level of students the more difficult it is to prefigure accurately what
language students will need, but some prediction is possible anyway (Livingstone,
1983). It is recommended to introduce any new vocabulary before the role play
(Sciartilli, 1983).At the beginning level, teachers might want to elicit the development

students, in which one speaks secret thoughts of the other (Shaw, Corsini, Blake &
Mouton, 1980). With several role play groups, when deciding on their composition,
both the abilities and the personalities of the students should be taken into
consideration. For example, a group consisting only of the shyest students will not be a
success. Very often, optimum interaction can be reached by letting the students work in
one group with their friends (Horner & McGinley, 1990).
Whether taking any part in the role play or not, the role of the teacher is to be as
unobtrusive as possible (Livingstone, 1983). He or she is listening for students' errors
making notes. Mistakes noted during the role play will provide the teacher with
feedback for further practice and revision. It is recommended that the instructor avoids
intervening in a role play with error corrections not to discourage the students.
Step 6 - Follow-up
Once the role play is finished, spend some time on debriefing. This does not mean
pointing out and correcting mistakes. After the role play, the students are satisfied with
themselves, they feel that they have used their knowledge of the language for
something concrete and useful. This feeling of satisfaction will disappear if every
mistake is analyzed. It might also make the students less confident and less willing to

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do the other role plays (Livingstone, 1983).Follow-up means asking every student's
opinion about the role play and welcoming their comments (Milroy, 1982; Horner &
McGinley, 1990). The aim is to discuss what has happened in the role play and what
they have learned. In addition to group discussion, an evaluation questionnaire can be
used.
2.2.3 The significance of role-play in teaching speaking
It is easy to realize that role play is very significant in language teaching .It is really a
worthwhile learning experience for both the students and the teacher. Not only can
students have more opportunities to "act" and "interact" with their peers trying to use
the English language, but also students' English speaking, listening, and understanding
will improve. Role play lightens up the atmospheres and brings liveliness in the

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CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
The previous chapter has presented some theoretical background about communicative
language teaching and the way of learning speaking effectively, the applying of role-
play activities in teaching speaking is also have been stated. This chapter focuses on
introducing the methodology of the thesis; it means that the methods of collecting data
for analysis are introduced. This chapter consists of four smaller parts: (1) research
questions, (2) research participants, (3) research procedure, (4) and data collection
instruments.

questionnaire and the Vietnamese one. The first type was used for teachers to find out
the information about teachers' attitude towards teaching English speaking and
applying of role-play activities. The researcher designed the questionnaire consisting of
10 items for them.
- Items 1, 2 are to know teachers' attitude about their students' speaking learning.
- Item 3 is to know whether teachers apply role-play activities in teaching
speaking or not.
- Items 4, 5, 7, 8 are about teachers attitude towards applying role-play activities
in teaching speaking.
- Item 6 is about the frequency of teachers' using role-play.
- Items 9, 10 are about the benefits of role-play activities.
The second questionnaire with 15 items, which was used for students, was designed
in Vietnamese in order to avoid misunderstanding to the respondents.
- Items 1, 2, 3 are to know about students' viewpoints on towards speaking skill.
- Items 4, 5, 13 are about students opinion of their teachers' applying role-play.
- Items 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 are about students' attitude towards role-play
activities.
- Items 14, 15 are to know the effect of using role-play in teaching speaking.
3.4.2. Observations
Classroom observations played an important role in terms of supplement data for the
analysis. Miller stated that observation is the most basic research technique we can
employ in our classroom (Miller, 2004). It was employed to serve the aims of
collecting the information about the really speaking periods which using role-play
activities. The results of the observations will be more objective and reliable.

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Moreover, the researcher can crosscheck the statistics from the questionnaires. To be
easy and convenient for checking, the observations results were recorded on
observation sheets. There were three main parts in this sheet. The first part is about
teacher's management and controlling the class consisting of four smaller items.

but also teachers' difficulties when applying it. English was used in the teachers'
interviews. It is easy to researchers to analyze data because researcher must not
translate information from Vietnamese into English.
- Item 1 is to check whether teachers apply role-play in their teaching or not.
- Item 2 is to know the stage that teachers apply this activity
- Item 3 is to get information about teachers' attitude toward usefulness of role-
play.
- Item 4 is to know about their difficulties when applying it.
 There are three items in students‟ interview questions. To easy for students'
understanding, the questions were designed in Vietnamese. These questions are
aimed to recognize students' attitude toward role-play activities.
- Item 1 is to know whether students like role-play or not.
- Item 2 is to recognize the usefulness of role-play activities.
- Item 3 is to know what students' difficulties are when they participating in this
activities. 16


Figure 1:Students' attitude about speaking English
10%
45%
30%
15%
Like very much
Like
Like a little
Do not like17
As figures 2 in the table 2, a large number of students state that learning speaking are
important (40%) and quite important (35%). Some of them (20%) think it is not
important and a small number of them (5%) think it is very important.
Table 2: Students' thought about learning speaking
Statements
Very
important
Important
Quite important
Not
important
Frequencies
(F)
5
40
35
20