1
Vietnam National University, HANOI
UNIVERSITY oF languages AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY of Post- graduate studies
***

NGUYỄN THUÝ NHUNG
The exploitation of cooperative activities for
teaching speaking skill to the 12
th
form non-
specialized english students at bac ninh
specialized high school.
( Sử dụng hoạt động hợp tác trong việc dạy kỹ năng nói cho học
sinh lớp 12 không chuyên tiếng Anh tại Trường Trung học Phổ
thông Chuyên Bắc Ninh ) M.A. Minor Programme Thesis
Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60 14 10
HANOI, 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration i
Acknowledgements ii
Abstract iii
Table of contents .… iv
List of abbreviations and tables .… vi

PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale 1
2. Aims of the study 2
3. Research question 2
4. Methods of the study 2
5. Scope of the study 2
6. Design of the study 3

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 4
1.1. The teaching and learning of the speaking skill 4
1.1.1. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) 4
1.1.1.2. The nature of CLT 5
1.1.1.2. Features of CLT 6
1.1.2. The role of speaking in foreign language teaching 7
1.2. Cooperative learning and its activities 8
1.2.1. What is cooperative learning? 8
1.2.2. Essential components of cooperative learning and activities 9
1.2.3. Cooperative learning techniques and activities in a speaking lesson .11
1.2.4.

The role of cooperative activities in teaching speaking skill 13

8

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND TABLES

1. Abbreviations
CLT: Communicative Language Teaching
BNSHS: Bac Ninh Specialized High School
EFL: English as a Foreign Language

2. Tables
Table 1: Data collected from teachers
Table 2: Data collected from students
Table 3: Description of classes observed
meaning and to interact meaningfully are required.

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All the reasons mentioned above encouraged the researcher to carry out the study "The
exploitation of cooperative activities for teaching speaking skill to the 12
th
form non-
specialized English students at Bac Ninh Specialized High School.” with the hope to
contribute her small part to improving the teaching and learning of the speaking skill for the
12
th
form non - specialized English students at her school.
2. Aims of the study
The study aims at:
 investigating the current situation of teaching and learning speaking skill
for the 12
th
form non - specialized English students at BNSHS
 evaluating the use of cooperative activities in speaking lessons
 offering some suggestions on using cooperative activities in speaking
lessons to promote students‟ speaking ability
3. Research question
For the purpose of investigating the current situation of using cooperative activities in
speaking lessons, the researcher set up the following research question to guide her in doing
this research:
“To what extent do the teachers at Bac Ninh Specialized High School exploit cooperative
activities in speaking lessons for the 12
th
form non - specialized English students?”
4. Methods of the study

Chapter four, Recommendations, focuses on some suggestions on using cooperative
activities in speaking lessons.
The last part, “Conclusion”, presents the summary of the major findings; points out
some shortcomings revealed during the process of completing this research paper and suggests
further studies. 12
PART 2: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

To begin with the study, in this chapter, the researcher will present some theoretical
background based on which the study will be carried out. The first section overviews the
teaching and learning of the speaking skill. Then cooperative learning and its activities are
discussed in the second section.

1.1. The teaching and learning of the speaking skill
A glance through the past century or so of language teaching will give an interesting

forms and communicative function is developed. Their view of communicative competence
consists of four areas of knowledge and skills.  Grammatical competence: Ability to use correct grammar, vocabulary and
pronunciation
 Sociolinguistic competence: Ability to use appropriate language in different contexts
and settings
 Discourse competence: Ability to combine language elements to show cohesion in
form and coherence in thought
Grammatical competence
Strategic competence
Sociolinguistic competence
Discourse competence
Communicative competence
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 Strategic competence: Ability to use verbal and non-verbal communication strategies
It is concluded that using language well is not simply a question of its grammar but its
overall appropriateness and acceptability. CLT is the approach which recognizes
communicative competence as its aim. These four components of communicative competence
have several practical implications for EFL teachers. Since communicative competence is a
multifaceted construct, it is important for teachers to understand the difficulties learners face
when they are speaking English.


classroom that is cooperative and therefore not competitive – usually involves the above
learner-centered characteristics. As students work together in pairs and groups, they share
information and come to each other‟s aid. They are a “team” whose players must work
together in order to achieve goals successfully.
These characteristics will be the principles for teachers to choose appropriate
techniques as well as activities in class to improve the students‟ communicative competence.
All learning activities should be selected according to how well they engage the students in
meaningful and authentic language use rather than only mechanical practice of language
patterns to achieve accuracy in language forms.

1.1.2. The role of speaking in foreign language teaching
It is known that language has been divided into different skill areas based on the
purpose of analysis and instruction. In view of language teaching there are mainly four macro-
skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. It has been accepted for many years that
communication is the proper aim for language teaching. That means we learn a language so as
to communicate well in that language.
For that reason, speaking skill plays an important role in foreign language teaching
because effective speaking ability helps learners not only to acquire the language better but
also to communicate successfully.
According to Ur (1996:120), speaking seems intuitively the most important of all four
skills. Speaking is regarded as the first step to confirm who knows or does not know a
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language. Ur (1996) indicates that people who know a language are referred to as “speakers”
of that language, as if speaking included all other kinds of knowing; and many if not most
foreign language learners are primarily interested in learning to speak.
Hence, having dealt with the importance of oral skills in language teaching and
learning it is essential that language teachers should pay much attention to teaching speaking
skill. In fact, the current teaching and learning of the speaking skill at Vietnam‟s upper
secondary schools has been taken into consideration since the new textbooks were introduced.
Lessons are arranged according to topics which are true to life and familiar with students. Like

In second language teaching, cooperative learning has been embraced as a way of
promoting communicative interaction in the classroom and is seen as an extension of the
principles of CLT. It is viewed as a learner - centered approach to teaching held to offer
advantages over teacher - fronted classroom methods.
The word “cooperative” in Cooperative Learning emphasizes: it seeks to develop
classrooms that foster cooperation rather than competition in learning. In other words, within
cooperative learning, students benefit from sharing ideas rather than working alone and they
help one another to achieve the learning goals as a group. This is in contrast with the
traditional method where students work individually or competitively and are generally
concerned with improving their own grade or reaching their own goals only.
To sum up, cooperative learning is a pedagogical technique in which students work
together in small and mixed groups on a structured learning task with the aim of maximizing
their own and each other's learning. This learning strategy has been applied to a wide variety
of content areas at all levels so it becomes one of the most widespread and fruitful areas of
theory, research, and practice in education.

1.2.2. Essential components of cooperative learning and activities
Cooperative learning is distinguished from whole class instruction, individualized
instruction and traditional forms of group work. According to Johnson and Johnson (1999a)
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the key elements that must be present in order for a small group learning activity to be
cooperative include:
 Positive Interdependence
Positive interdependence is defined as having specific roles for each participant that are
necessary for the group to work toward the goal(s) set by the teacher, i.e., each student have a
particular role within the group. No single student is fully capable of performing all the tasks
required by a particular assignment or project (Ransdell , 2003: 5).
Ghaith (2002: 7) states that positive interdependence is a feeling among group
members that if one fails, all fail, if one succeeds, everybody succeeds. Group members
realize that each member‟s efforts benefit not only himself-herself, but all other group

each member with a turn to speak or to add particular information that they need to contribute
to the group.
 Group processing
It is a vital aspect of cooperative learning. Ghaith (2002: 8) asserts that group
processing allows team members to address how well the group is functioning and to maintain
the effectiveness of the group. Group processing takes place when students analyze and
discuss how well their group is working together and how their group might function better in
the future. Thus, group processing increases learning dramatically and builds a sense of
responsibility as well as helps groups work more effectively.
In short, when these components are incorporated into small groups work, the activities
become cooperative ones and can make a difference in the student‟s academic and social skills
development.

1.2.3. Cooperative learning techniques and activities in a speaking lesson
As mentioned above, cooperation is working together to accomplish shared goals.
Within cooperative activities individuals seek outcomes that are beneficial to themselves and
to all other group members. Class members are organized into small groups after receiving
instructions from the teacher. Then they work through the assignment until all group members
successfully understand and complete it. Hence, in order to implement cooperative learning,
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the teacher must decide whether cooperative activities will help meet the goals of the class.
And he must also decide which type of cooperative activity to use according to his own
students and teaching context so as to give all students the best chance of learning to speak
English.
It is said that numerous descriptions exist of activity types that can be used with
cooperative learning. Here are some examples of cooperative learning activities which are
described by Coelho (1992b:132); Olsen and Kagan (1992:88):
 Jigsaw
Each group member receives a different piece of information. Students regroup in topic
groups (expert ones) composed of people with the same piece to master the material and then

recorder writes down the answers of the group members. The person next to the recorder starts
and each person in the group in order gives an answer until time is called.
 Solve – Pair – Share
Teacher poses a problem (a low - consensus or high - consensus item that may be
resolved with different strategies). Students then work out solutions individually. Afterwards
students explain how they solved the problem in Interview or Round Robin structures.
Clearly, pair work and group work are the ways teachers organize the class to carry out
many activities in learning language skills, especially in speaking skill. In fact, group work is a
co-operative activity. Here, students share aims and responsibilities. They have chances for
greater independence as they take some of their own learning decisions without the teacher
controlling every move, and they can work without the pressure of the whole class listening to
what they are doing. They learn to negotiate, to listen to different opinions and points of view.
They participate more equally and in most cases, they feel free to experiment and use the
language. Moreover, cooperative learning activities provide meaningful, realistic practice
combined with useful developmental feedback. Students are encouraged to view learning as a
dynamic process over which they have individual responsibility and group control. 22
1.2.4. The role of cooperative activities in teaching speaking skill
Advancements in psychology, pedagogy and language teaching theories affirmed that
students at all levels must play an active role in their learning. They must take up knowledge
by themselves and, at the same time, develop language competence through speaking
activities. The practice of teaching English at schools has proved that language acquisition
cannot be successful just through learning by heart or repetition.
In recent years, since the application of student-centered teaching more time has been
spent on students‟ speaking. As far as we can see, the traditional classroom is teacher-
centered, with the teacher as information giver whereas the cooperative classroom is student-
centered, with the teacher as facilitator and the students as information seekers.
As stated before, the main goal of the communicative approach to second language

language and the learning of concepts and content. In cooperative learning, students have
opportunities to talk through the material, explain it to each other and look at it in
different ways. Giving and receiving information enhance student performance. Students feel
that they have a chance to succeed, and believe working toward a successful outcome is a
valuable goal. Students‟ social relationships are improved because when students work
together toward a common goal they have a chance to get to know one another as individuals.
* Increasing Students‟ Participation
When groups are used, students receive much more chance to speak. There is an
increase in the percentage of time when students are talking, instead of the teacher. And
during the time for students to talk, many of them are speaking at any time (Lie, 2000: 125).
Cooperative activities provide a context in which students may be more likely to interact than
in a whole class setting. Students participate and interact with each other, thus an environment
for productive learning is created.
* Increasing Motivation and Positive Attitude toward Learning
In a traditional class, only teachers provide encouragement to students. In cooperative
activities, students can encourage and help each other. By providing peer support, student
motivation is increased. As part of a learning team, students can achieve success by working
well with others. The cooperative atmosphere of working in a small group may help develop
"affective bonds" among students and greatly motivate them to work together (Lie, 2000:
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125). Cooperative learning is said to foster positive attitudes toward working with others
and create thinking skills that are necessary to acquire and integrate knowledge.
* Decreasing Anxiety
Students often feel anxious to speak in front of the whole class. In contrast,
there is less anxiety connected with speaking in the smaller group. In addition, when a
student represents the group and reports to the whole class, he/she feels more support because
the answer is not just from one student alone but from the whole group (Lie, 2000: 125).
Therefore, learners may feel less anxious and more confident when interacting with
peers during pair or small group activities than during whole-class discussions.
It is obvious that cooperative learning is an effective strategy for classrooms with

deal easily with class management and organizing group work or pair work activities.
 Equipment
As my school is new, the facility is not so good. It is now being equipped step by step.
Our teaching and learning condition is a little hard. We have only 2 projectors for the whole
school teachers, some computers for the teachers to work on, several cassettes and DVD
players.
2.1.2. The learners
Academic and educational level:
All of the students entering the school are selected through an entrance examination in
which they have to take 4 subjects: Mathematics, English, Literature and the major subject.
The 12
th
form non-specialized English students have experienced in English for at
least six years (4 years at secondary schools and 2 years at BNSHS). Although they are quite
interested in the new way of studying English, their language skills are not very good.
Socio-cultural background:
These non-specialized English students come from different districts in Bac Ninh
province and have different English learning conditions. Moreover, they are likely to be
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motivated or de-motivated easily. This matter of fact should be taken into consideration in
using teaching methods and approaches so as to foster and develop their English efficiently.
2.1.3. The teachers of English group
Number & Age: 11 teachers from age 26 to age 48
Educational & professional background:
- Ten of them graduated from the English department, College of Foreign Languages,
VNU and only one graduated from Thai Nguyen University of Education. Two of them are
taking the M.A course and three completed their M.A course in 2007 and in 2009.
- None of the teachers have ever been to an English speaking country and only two of
them have taken refresher courses to improve their English and their teaching methods. Few of
them have chances to work or contact with native speakers and experts for consultation.


grade were randomly selected from seven classes (158) to answer the questionnaire. All of
them are at the age of 18, so they belong to the same psychological age group. Their time
length of learning English is also the same: they all started learning English at grade 6.
The study was also carried out with 5 teachers of English teaching grade 12 at BNSHS.
2.2.2. Data collection instruments
Data for the study were collected from two different instruments: questionnaire and
classroom observation.
There were two types of survey questionnaires: one for the teachers and the other for
the students. Each questionnaire contains 12 questions to investigate the following issues:
* For teachers:
 Teachers‟ attitude towards the speaking skill
 Teachers‟ exploitation of cooperative activities in teaching speaking skill
 Teachers‟ difficulties in using cooperative activities
 Teachers‟ ideas about the benefits of cooperative activities
 Teachers‟ attitude towards the use of cooperative activities
* For students:
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 Students‟ attitude towards the speaking skill
 Students‟ opinions about teachers‟ techniques used for teaching speaking skill
 Students‟ participation in pair work and group work
 Students‟ ideas about the benefits of cooperative activities
 Students‟ attitude towards the use of cooperative activities
Class observation was carried out later to reaffirm the information collected from these
questionnaires and add some more useful and realistic information for this study: how the
teachers conducted their lessons, what atmosphere there was in the class, what students‟
attitudes were like and what interactions students had during the lessons.
2.2.3. Procedures
The researcher conducted her study from the first semester of the school year 2009-
2010.