VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
VŨ THỊ QUYÊN
A STUDY OF USING AUTHENTIC SUPPLEMENTARY
TASKS IN TEACHING SPEAKING TO 10 GRADE
STUDENTS AT DOAN THUONG UPPER-SECONDARY
SCHOOL, HAI DUONG PROVINCE

NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC SỬ DỤNG NHIỆM VỤ BỔ TRỢ XÁC
THỰC ĐỂ DẠY KỸ NĂNG NÓI CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10
TRƯỜNG THPT ĐOÀN THƯỢNG, HẢI DƯƠNG

M.A. MINOR THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE: 601410

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE: 601410
SUPERVISOR: ĐỖ BÁ QUÝ, M.Ed.

HANOI, 2012

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

page
Declaration
i
Acknowledgements
ii
Abstract
iii
Table of contents
iv
List of abbreviations

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1.4. Authentic tasks in speaking
11
1.4.1. Definition of authentic tasks
11
1.4.2. Levels of authentic tasks
12
1.4.3. The means of achieving authenticity
14
1.5. Overview of related studies
15

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1.6. Summary of the chapter
16
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
17
2.1. Participants
17
2.1.1. Overview of Doan Thuong Upper-secondary School
17
2.1.2. The context of teaching and learning English speaking skill in DTUS
17
2.1.3. The teacher informants
18
2.1.4. The student informants
18
2.2. Data collection instruments
18

APPENDICES
I
Appendix 1 : Survey Questionnaire for Teachers
I
Appendix 2 : Survey Questionnaire for Students
V
Appendix 3 : Classroom Observation Checklists
VII

vi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

- AST : Authentic Supplementary Tasks
- CLT : Communicative Language Teaching
- DTUS : Doan Thuong Upper-secondary School
- TEFL : Teaching English as a Foreign Language
vii

LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS AND FIGURES Page
List of tables

Table 1 : Task components‟ classifications
Table 2 : Task components according to Nunan (2004)

Chart 1: Teachers‟ perceptions of the importance of authentic tasks in
TEFL
24
Chart 2: Teachers‟ identifying of authentic and pedagogical tasks
25
Chart 3: Teachers‟ attitudes towards authentic tasks‟ advantages
28
Chart 4: Teachers‟ attitudes towards authentic tasks‟ disadvantages
29
Chart 5: Teacher‟s frequency of using authentic tasks
29
Chart 6: Students‟ responses as perceived by the teachers
31

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Chart 7: Teachers‟ difficulties in exploiting AST
Chart 8: Students‟ attitudes towards AST‟s effects
Chart 9: Students‟ opinions towards teachers‟ applied AST
31
32
34
Figure 1: A frame work for Task-based Language Teaching
8
Figure 2: The relation among four language skills
Figure 3: Comparison between Brown and Menasche‟s levels of
authentic tasks and Nunan‟s classification of tasks
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independently, be self-confident in communication and learning, work in an
environment of integration, multi-language and multi-culture; making foreign
languages (mainly English) become the strength of Vietnamese people and
contributing to the industrialization and modernization of the country”. The long–
term plan set up an urgent requirement for foreign language teachers, in general,
and English teachers, in particular to innovate and “learn the newest and best
methods of teaching” (Hiệp, 2005, p. 3). Another aims are to teach learners a
working command of English to satisfy various communicative needs in their life
and to build a friendly school with students‟ active learning (Hiệp, 2005).
Fortunately, according to Hiệp (2005), since the early 1990s, Communicative
Language Teaching (CLT) has widely spread out for the fact that, in comparison
with traditional pedagogy -which is based on language study (grammar, literature)
and written exercises (translation) rather than real life communication and speech, it
meets the requirements of English learning in an era of integration and
globalization. However, in the context of Vietnam education, it is lack of
motivation from learning environment or even from the textbook that actuates
Vietnamese learners to communicate successfully in English. Therefore, it is
necessary for English teachers to not only adapt the textbook but also apply
authentic materials. These, with appropriate selection and implementation, can be

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reliable sources for designing tasks in which formulaic language learning can be
avoided, and can provide a bridge between the linguistic skills of learners and their
ability to take part in native-like real world activity (Valeriu, 2000).
Recognizing the gap, many researchers, both worldwide and in Vietnam,
have analyzed the term “authenticity” in teaching Reading, Writing and Listening.
However, the number of researched Speaking Authenticity ones is still limited
while, thirty-five percent of our daily communication time is spent on speaking
(Burely-Allen, 1995). Therefore, the exploitation of authentic speaking tasks should

Initially, the study only covers the tenth form teachers and students at DTUS.
With a large number of participants as well as the variety of students‟ level, these
samples can be considered an appropriate reflection of DTUS‟ teachers and
students‟ language competence.
Secondly, “the authentic speaking tasks” term of the study belongs to the
supplementary term which does not contain the designed tasks in the textbook.
Therefore, the evaluation of the textbook in terms of authenticity is not included in
the study. Only the teachers and students‟ beliefs and attitudes towards the term are
presented.
Finally, the “speaking tasks” mentioned in the thesis only means the
activities that teachers and students carry out in the speaking periods (according to
the course distribution). Any further tasks, for examples, in reading or listening
lessons, are beyond the scope of this study.
4. Methods of the study
To reach the aims of the study, both qualitative and quantitative approaches
are made used of. Data are collected from questionnaires and classroom
observation. The quantitative data collected from survey questionnaire were then
analyzed statistically, while qualitative data were obtained from classroom
observation. Hopefully, with the combination of these methods, the study would
yield reliable and valid findings.
5. Design of the study
The thesis consists of three main parts:

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The Introduction presents an overview of the study including the rationale,
aims, research questions, scope, methods and design of the study.
The Development is the backbone of the thesis which includes three
chapters. Chapter one supplies readers with the explanation of key conceptual
terms, the definitions, the contrasting views and debates as well as the critical

communicative way, as the means of mastering target language. Another worth-
mentioning one is defined by Long (1985, p.89): “A task is a piece of work
undertaken for oneself or for others, freely or for some reward. In other words, by
“task” is meant the hundred and one things people do in everyday life, at work, at
play and in between.”
Compared with Willis‟s definition, Long‟s one is distinctly different. It, in
short, is “non-technical and non-linguistic” (Nunan, 2004, p.2), in which language
uses can be omitted (helping someone across without talking). Thus, it requires
drawing a distinction between the “uses of language in the world beyond the
classroom” and “those that occur in the classroom”, which is named “real-world
tasks/ target tasks” and “pedagogical tasks” (Nunan, 2004, p.1). For the fact that the
transformation from a target task to a pedagogical one happens naturally and

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simultaneously with its movement from real world into the classroom, pedagogical
tasks appears to be the only focus of this study.
It, then, comes the definition of Nunan which, from my limited personal
viewpoint, can deal with almost ambiguity in defining “task”, shorten other above-
mentioned definitions‟ shortcomings, set up the criteria of a pedagogical task,
particularize learners‟ duties in exploiting the target language and appreciate the
role of meaning in language learning. Therefore, whenever the term “task” is
mentioned in this paper, it refers to Nunan‟s definition.
“A task is a piece of classroom work that involves learners in
comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target
language while their attention is focused on mobilizing their grammatical
knowledge in order to express meaning, and in which the intention is to
convey meaning rather than to manipulate form. “
(Nunan, 2004, p.4)
1.1.2. Task components

 Input
 Roles
 Settings
 Actions
 Monitoring
 Outcomes
 Feedback

Shavelson and Stern (1981)
6 elements
 Content
 Materials
 Activities
 Goals
 Students
 Social community
Table 1: Task components’ classifications
From the above table, although different ways were given to sub-divide tasks,
they share something in common. To some extents, the author‟s way of division
overlaps, covers or concretizes others‟ theories. Nevertheless, within the scope of
this study, I follow the task structure of Nunan, which is closely related to other key
concepts of my study as well as probably further the working of the study. It is,
consequently, important to bring out the definition of each component.
TASK
GOALS
The vague general intentions behind any given learning
task in which teacher might find the answer for the
question: “Why did you get learners to engage in Task X?”
INPUT
The data that form the point of departure for the task

 Real-world or target task: A communicative act we achieve through
language in the world outside the classroom.
 Pedagogical tasks: A piece of classroom work which involves learners in
comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the language while their
attention is principally focused on meaning rather than forms. They have a non-
linguistic outcome, and can be divided into rehearsal tasks or activation tasks.
 Rehearsal task: A piece of classroom work in which learners rehearse, in
class, a communicative act they will carry out outside the class.
 Activation task: A piece of classroom work involving communicative
interaction, but NOT one in which learners will be rehearsing for some out-of-class
communication. Rather they are designed to activate the acquisition process.
 Enabling skills: Mastery of language systems grammar, pronunciation,
vocabulary, etc. which ENABLE learners to take part in communicative tasks.
 Language exercise: A piece of classroom work focusing learners on, and
involving learners in manipulating some aspect of the linguistic system
Pedagogical tasks
Real world/ target tasks
Rehearsal
tasks
Activation
tasks
Communicative
activities
Language
exercises
Enabling skills

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 Communication activity: A piece of classroom work involving a focus on a


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1. 3. Speaking skill
When talking about language and language teaching, people cannot help
mentioning the four skills: Reading, Listening (Understanding), Speaking and
Writing as well as the relation among them. Speaking skill, along with writing skill,
is considered as productive skills. The other two are receptive skills.

Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing Figure 2: The relation among four language skills
According to Byrne (1976, p.8), speaking is “a two-way process between
speaker and listener, involving the productive skill of speaking and receptive skill of
understanding”. Both listener and speaker have a positive function to perform: the
speaker has to encode the message to be conveyed in appropriate language, while
the listener has to decode the message.
Hương & Minh (2008) also explain speaking as the act “to utter words with
the ordinary voice/talk, to express or communicate ideas, options by talking”. As a
result, there are numbers of abilities underlying speaking proficiency: lexical and
grammar, compensating language, connected speech, language processing,
expressive devices and social linguistic knowledge. Hương & Minh (2008, p.170)
 Lexis and grammar: the use of a number of common lexical, especially to
perform certain language functions such as greeting, disagreeing, approval, etc.
 Connected speech: common phenomenon in spoken interaction in which sounds
are modified, omitted, added or weakened. Effective speakers thus need to be able