VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
University of Languages and international Studies
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION
Graduation paperTHE USE OF FORUM TO DEVELOP SPEAKING SKILLS
FOR SECOND-YEAR FAST TRACK STUDENTS AT
FELTE, ULIS, VNU
supervisor: VŨ TƯỜNG VI, M.A
student: TRẦN HOÀNG ANH
year of enrolment: QH2009
Ha Noi, May 2013
ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH
KHOÁ LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP
NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC SỬ DỤNG HÌNH THỨC DIỄN
ĐÀN ĐỂ TĂNG CƯỜNG KỸ NĂNG NÓI CHO SINH
VIÊN CLC NĂM 2 TẠI KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH,
ĐHNN, ĐHQGHN
Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Th.S VŨ TƯỜNG VI
Sinh viên: TRẦN HOÀNG ANH
Khoá: QH 2009

HÀ NỘI – NĂM 2013
ACCEPTANCE
I hereby state that I: Trần Hoàng Anh class QH2009.F.1.E.1, being a
candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of
the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper
deposited in the library.

speaking lesson for second year Fast track students. With a lot of advantages, Forum is
considered as an effective activity helping promote students’ speaking skills.
Firstly, background of the study, consisting of definitions and descriptions of
key concepts and related studies was given. Afterward, in order to achieve its purpose,
quantitative and qualitative methods were employed in this study. In the first place,
survey questionnaires were exploited to study 75 students in the Fast track group.
After that, 8 participants were interviewed with the purpose of elaborating on students’
responses in the questionnaires and probing for more details from the students.
Correspondingly, 2 teachers from Fast track group, who were in charge of teaching
Speaking skills for second-year Fast track students this academic year, were selected
as participants for both survey and interview. The description of the methodology
employed in this study was followed by the findings and discussions presented in the
fourth chapter. Finally, it is teachers’ pedagogical suggestions to minimize the
difficulties, together with the researcher’s pedagogical implications.
The most remarkable finding of this research is that the aspects of Interacting
with others and Sociolinguistic knowledge are most developed through Forum.
Moreover, based on these findings, implications were made for teachers and classroom
teaching. It is suggested that teachers should comment on both preparation and
complementation stages of Forum.
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CLT Communicative Language Teaching
FELTE Faculty of English Language Teacher Education
L2 Second language
ULIS University of Language and International Studies
VNU Vietnam National University
LIST OF FIGURES& DIAGRAMS
LIST OF FIGURES PAGE
FIGURE 1
Students' attitude towards the importance of

that in order to deliver most of ideas or thoughts, learners need to be able to speak or
communicate confidently. For this reason, speaking and the teaching of speaking are
worth paying attention to. With the hope of serving the need for better communication,
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has been applied to English language
teaching since the late 1960s. CLT 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. It is also referred to “communicative approach to the teaching
of foreign languages” or simply the “communicative approach”. Hence, this method’s
goal is teaching “communicative competence” including not only grammatical
competence but also sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic competence (Canale &
Swan 1980). In the light of this approach, English is looked on as an international
means of communicating.
Globally, in terms of L2 teaching and learning context, especially in CLT,
various activities which can promote speaking are provided in communicative method
like role play, forum, simulations, information gap, storytelling, interviews, story
completion, reporting and playing cards, etc. (Hadi 2011) Among them, yet, forum is
infrequently used. It is commonly known that Forum is used as method helping aid
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teaching and learning by providing a virtual space to share ideas, opinions related to
the subjects in class. In the West, according to Garrison (1993), Gilbert (1995) and
Gangel (2010), Forum is an ideal teaching method which enhances and extends the
benefits of other information—transmitting approaches to learning. On the contrary,
this method has not been paid too much attention in the Asia; there have been hardly
any studies found on this topic.
In Vietnam, it appears to have no difference from the Asian picture. Being one
of the leading institutions in Vietnam in language education, the University of
Languages and International Studies has been well aware of this issue. Forum activity
has been included in speaking lesson for students in Fast track group right in the
second year as a compulsory assignment. Moreover, this activity is designed with the
aim of developing students’ speaking proficiency. Though Forum has been

3. Significance of the study
Once completed, the research would be beneficial to teachers, 2
nd
-year Fast
track students and other scientists who share the same interest in this topic.
In the first place, it is hoped to serve as an investigation into the use as well as
the effects of using Forum for 2
nd
-year Fast track students in speaking lessons. To be
more specific, this research would be a useful source for lecturers of the Fast track
group to consult about students’ attitudes towards Forum activity as it would provide
them with a closer look at the conduct of the activity by their students. Hence, the
researcher hopes that this study can draw teachers’ and the policy-makers’ attention to
students’ difficulties in conducting Forum activity. As a result, Forum activity could
be implemented not only within Fast track community but also in mainstream classes
at FELTE, ULIS
Secondly, students would be benefit more from Forum activity as well as
speaking lessons while studying accordingly.
Thirdly, this is the first research studying on the use of Forum as a method to
enhance Speaking skill for students at Fast rack group, FELTE, ULIS, VNU, it is
hoped to help enrich the literature on this topic.
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Last but not least, as for researchers who are also interested in the same topic
can refer to this paper as a source of updated and reliable information.
4. Scope of the study
To the researcher’s knowledge and perception, Forum is one of the most
effective activities in speaking classroom. However, due to the limitation of time and
human resources, this paper only attempts to research on a small group of
participation, namely 2
nd

(5) An overview of the rest of the paper
Generally, these elaborations have not only justified the major contents and structure
of the study but also worked as the guidelines for the rest of the paper.
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PART II. DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter, as its name suggested, provides a brief review of the literature
related, specifically the background and a number of studies related to the research
topic. Initially, key terms such as Communicative Language Teaching method (CLT)
and communicative competence or speaking skills and forum will be defined together
with their sub-related issues.
1.1. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) method
1.1.1. An overview of CLT
It is believed that communicative approach started developing in Great Britain
when British applied linguists began to question the assumptions underscoring
Audiolingualism and Situational Language Teaching (Basta 2011). The origins of CLT
were found in the changes in the British language teaching from the late 1960s
(Richards and Rogders 2001, p. 153). At that time, there was a reaction towards
traditional language teaching approaches beginning and soon spreading around the
world as those older methods. However, the old methods somehow fell out of fashion
as the focus of grammar in language teaching and learning was questioned. Showing
this trend’s point of view, Richards and Rodgers (2001) state that though grammatical
competence plays an important role in learning a languages and it is can be mastered
by learners, it is the fact that it does not cover all dimensions of a language. It can be
easily seen a learner, who can master language grammar, is still incapable of using the
language for a meaningful communication. The authors further claim that more
attention has been paid to other aspects of language appropriately for different
communicative purposes such as making requests, giving advice, making suggestions,
describing wishes and need, etc. besides grammatical competence. What was needed
in order to use language communicatively was communicative competence (Richards

available definitions, the one given by Nunan (1989) seem to be the most widely-
accepted and the most favorable one. According to him, in CLT, language is the core
element or resource to create meaningful communication. It is, hence, CLT needs
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activities involving oral communication, carrying out meaning tasks and using
language, which is meaningful to the learners. Moreover, since the learners’ needs
include functional skills and linguistic skills, the objectives of CLT lessons would
reflect these needs.
In this view of CLT, the roles of learner and teacher in class differ from theirs
in traditional classroom. According to Richard and Rodgers (2001), learners in CLT
classroom need to be more active and cooperative as they are required to participate in
more pair works and group works and then, communicate with others to complete the
task, which cannot be done individually. In comparison with the traditional classroom,
learners just passively listen to teachers’ lecture. As a result, teachers, in CLT class,
need to assume themselves as a facilitator and monitor rather than being a model for
correcting speech and writing.
1.1.3. Communicative competence
The term “communicative competence” has been in circulation for about forty
years and has been used extensively in justifications and explications of
communicative language teaching (Celce-Murcia There have been a lot of definitions
for Communicative competence in the light of communicative approach.
This term is coined by the anthropological linguist Dell Hymes (1967, 1972);
he put forward this notion in response to the theories of the formal linguist Noam
Chomsky, who focuses on linguistic competence and claims that any consideration of
social factors was outside the domain of linguistics. Chomsky (1965) claims that an
ideal speaker-hearer in a wholly homogeneous speech community is the main concern
of linguistic theory. It can be understood that an ideal conversation only takes place
when listener or speaker can successfully deliver their speech without any difficulties
coming from “grammatical irrelevant conditions as memory limitation, distractions,
shifts of attention and interest and errors in applying his knowledge of the language in

linguistic form based on the knowledge of language functions and
knowledge of speech act sets.
(4) Socio-cultural competence refers to speaker’s knowledge of how to express
message appropriately within the overall social and cultural context of
communication.
(5) Strategic competence is defined as knowledge of communication strategies
and how to use them for negotiating and resolving communicative problems
as well as for compensating communicative deficiencies of the other four
competences.
(To et al 2012, p30-31)
Diagram 2. Schematic Representation of Communicative Competence
(Celce-Murcia et al 1995 cited in To et al 2012)
As for the sake of clarity and consistency, this paper will refer to Celce-Murcia
et al’s classification whenever the term “communicative competence” is mentioned.
1.2. Speaking skills in L2 teaching and learning
1.2.1. An overview of speaking skills
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Speaking is the productive skill in the oral mode. It, like the other skills, is more
complicated than it seems at first and involves more than just pronouncing words.
Brown (1994) defines speaking as an interactive process of constructing
meaning involving producing, receiving and processing information. It is understood
that speaking only takes place where there have been the attendance and cooperation
of both speakers and listeners. Sharing their agreement with Brown, Mead & Nancy
(1985) view communication as a process in which each individual alternatively takes
the role of speakers and listeners in order to maintain the conversation. Thus, it is seen
that speakers and listeners need to interact with each other well in order to have a
successful communication. Mead & Nancy further state that communication is used to
achieve a specific purposes such as to inform, to persuade and to solve problems. This
is somehow similar to Mackey (1965)’s definition about oral communication. In
Mackey’s summary of oral expression (cited in Bygate 1987), he claims that oral

English, require the endeavor of both teachers and students to gain the mastery of it.
1.2.3. The communicative approach to teach and learn speaking skills
Richards & Rogers (2001, p.161) offer four characteristics of teaching under
communicative view of language:
• language is a system for the expression of meaning;
• primary function of language is for interaction and communication;
• the structure of language reflects its functional and communicative areas;
and
• the primary units of language are not merely its grammatical and structural
features, but categories of functional and communicative meaning as
exemplified in discourse
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The researcher particularly favors the aspects of speaking proficiency provided
by To et al (2012) basing on the framework of communicative competence under CLT
approach in ESL/EFL Classroom Techniques and Practices as follow:
• Lexis and grammar: it is the use of a number of common lexical, especially to
perform certain language functions such as agreeing, disagreeing, expressing
surprise, approval, etc
• Connected speech: i.e. common phenomenon in spoken interactions in which
sounds are modified (assimilation), omitted (elision), added (linking r) or
weakened (through contractions and stress pattering). Effective speaker thus
need to be able not only produce individual phonemes (as I would have) but
also to use connected speech (I’d gone).
• Expressive devices: native speakers of English change pitch and stress of
particular parts of utterances, or vary volume and speed to convey meanings
beyond their word, especially in face-to-face communication. Students need to
recognize and deploy some of such features and devices in the same way if they
are to be effective communications.
• Compensating language: effective speaking benefits from the language of
negotiation that we use to seek clarification and to show the structure of what

this purpose.
Sharing this definition, Renner (1983) identifies forum as a two-way
communication which can be applied for various group size for teaching purpose. He
then broadened the definition by explaining forum is a lecture followed by open
discussion. There is limited amount of group interaction, but mainly speaker-listener
exchanges. Hence, mainly independent learning takes place.
On the other hand, Lakshmana (2011) defines forum as a teaching method,
which is a Question – answer period that may follow any one of the above methods of
presentation. It consists of question period in which members of the audience may ask
questions or make brief statements. Lakshmana defines Forum a “question-answer
panel” in which the presentation is actually a series of questions by the leader (or
chairman) and answers by the members.
1.3.2. The use of forum in teaching
Recently, Forum has been used as a method helping support teaching and
learning. Forum, in the first place, is commonly known as a virtual place for sharing
opinions, ideas …
Garrison (1993) states that discussion forum online helps provide a platform
that fosters the sharing of ideas. He further explains that it also gives a medium where
learners can critically evaluate each other’s ideas and blend elements to create new
ideas. Stephen, in his study, claims that Forum discussion could help support learners’
collaboration.
Sharing the same idea with Garrion, Gilbert (cited in Akers 1997) argue that
Forum is an ideal opportunity for students share ideas, experiences, solutions among
themselves as well as with their instructors in a “time-of-convenience and place-of-
convenience”. Akers, in his study, implies that through Forum students could have
better communication skills, enhance the ability to interact effectively and especially
critical thinking. It is because, in Forum students need to interact by “interpreting,
evaluating, and critiquing peers' comments and by sharing information.”
Gangel (2010), in his study, approaches Forum as a supplementary method
helping enhance and extend the benefits of other information—transmitting