VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES VŨ THỊ THƢƠNG TEACHERS’ USE OF CLASSROOM-MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
TO INVOLVE THE STUDENTS IN ENGLISH-SPEAKING LESSONS
AT THỤY HƢƠNG HIGH SCHOOL, HẢI PHÒNG CITY
VIỆC SỬ DỤNG CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG QUẢN LÝ LỚP HỌC CỦA GIÁO
VIÊN NHẰM THU HÚT HỌC SINH THAM GIA VÀO TIẾT HỌC NÓI
TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƢỜNG THPT THỤY HƢƠNG, HẢI PHÒNG

M.A. Minor Thesis

Field: English Methodology
Code: 60.140.111
HANOI – 2013

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES VŨ THỊ THƢƠNG

Vũ Thị Thƣơng

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am indeed thankful to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Trần Xuân Điệp, whose
sympathetic guidance has been the source of inspiration and knowledge for my
research. I am also grateful to other teachers of the Department of Post-Graduate
Studies for their encouragement and valuable advice.
I have profound regards for the teaching staff of Thụy Hƣơng High School in Hải
Phòng and for all the students who spent their precious time on completing my
survey questionnaire. Without their enthusiastic cooperation, my thesis would not
have been completed.
My great thanks are also given to my family and my friends who have encouraged
me a lot during the process of my study.
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LIST OF FUGURES
Figure 1.1: Types of students‟ participation
Figure 1.2: Strategies to cope with chaos in large classes
Figure 3.1: Teachers‟ frequency of using certain activities before the students‟
practice
Figure 3.2: Teachers‟ frequency of using certain activities during the students‟
practice
Figure 3.3: Students‟ attitudes towards their English-speaking lessons
Figure 3.5: Students‟ remark on their teachers‟ classroom-management activities
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pages
Declaration i

2.3.2. Survey questionnaire for students 17
2.3.3. Classroom observation 18
2.3. Research procedures 18
CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 20
3.1. Data collected from survey questionnaire 20
3.1.1. Survey questionnaire for teachers 20
3.1.1.1. Teachers‟ opinions of a successful English-speaking lesson 20
3.1.1.2. Teachers‟ assessment of their students‟ level of English-speaking
proficiency and participation 20
3.1.1.3. Teacher‟s opinions of the most effective activities to raise the level of
students‟ participation in English-speaking lessons 21
3.1.1.4. Teachers‟ frequency of using certain classroom management
activities 22
3.1.2. Survey questionnaire for students 26
3.1.2.1. Students‟ attitudes towards their English-speaking lessons and the
related issues 26
3.1.2.2. Students‟ remark on their teachers‟ classroom-management activities26
3.2. Data collected from classroom observation sheets 31
3.2.1. Teachers‟ classroom-management activities in the observed English-
speaking lessons 31
3.2.2. Students‟ participation in observed English-speaking lessons 33
3.3. Summary of the major findings 34
3.3.1. Answer for research question 1 34
3.3.2. Answer for research question 2 34

PART C: CONCLUSION 36
1. Recapitulation 36
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2. Limitations of the study 37

2007; Hằng, 2008; Linh, 2008; Tuyết, 2009; Uyên, 2009; Oyinloye, 2010;
Mustapha et al., 2010; Xoan, 2010). Then, of all the factors that have affected the
students‟ participation in English-speaking tasks, the teachers‟ classroom
management has been proved to be one of the major factors.
The researcher, from her own teaching experience, is in favor of the remark from
many previously mentioned studies that teachers‟ use of classroom management
activities affects the level of students‟ participation in English-speaking lessons.
Then,
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this study is to investigate the dialectical relationship between the teachers‟
classroom management and the students‟ participation.
Thuy Huong High School in Haiphong City was selected to be the place where the
researcher conducted her study since the researcher and the teachers who have been
teaching English at this school often have discussions on the current issues in
teaching English, especially the issue of students‟ low participation in English-
speaking lessons.
2. Objectives of the study
This study aims at investigating the relationship between the teachers‟ classroom-
management activities and the students‟ participation in English-speaking lessons at
Thuy Huong high school in Haiphong. To achieve this aim, the study concentrates
on:
(1) Investigating the teachers‟ classroom management activities to involve their
students in English-speaking lessons;
(2) Identifying the students‟ attitudes towards their teachers‟ classroom
management activities in English-speaking lessons;
(3) Giving some implications to help the teachers to improve the students‟
participation in English-speaking lessons.
The result of this study is expected to be useful for the teachers of English at Thuy
Huong high school in particular and other teachers who have the same concern with

data in themes and gives brief summary answer for the two research questions.
Part C – CONCLUSION: summarizes the whole research, gives some teaching
implications, and discusses the limitations of the study as well as suggestions for
further research.
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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1. Definition of major related concepts
1.1.1. Students’ level of participation in English-speaking lessons
According to Tsou (2005:46), students‟ classroom participation „includes many
forms of students actions such as speaking, listening, reading, writing, and body
languages or physical movement‟. However, since „oral participation is the most
observable behavior‟ (Tsou, 2005:46), students‟ participation “usually means
students speaking in class: answer and ask questions, make comments, and join in
discussions‟ (Lee, 2005:2).
Liu (2001) in his multi-case ethnographic study distinguishes four types of students‟
participation: total integration, conditional participation, marginal interaction, and
silent observation. Based on the description of Liu (2001), Sayadi (2007:25)
summarizes the features of these four types in the following table:
Figure 1.1: Types of students’ participation
Patterns of
participation
Characteristics

discussion after class
+ Less adventurous
+ Thinking carefully and internal rehearsal
before attempting to participate

Silent observation
+ The least active
+ Seem to accept whatever discussed in class
+ Use various sorts of compensation strategies to
help digest and confirm what has been
communicated in class
(Sayadi, 2007:25)
As can be seen from the table, the students who actively verbally participate in
classroom discussions are ranked as „total integration‟ with the highest level of
involvement whilst the students who rarely or never raise their voices in class are of
„marginal interaction‟ and „silent observation‟ with the poor level of participation.
To a second or foreign language learning class, the students‟ participation is
required to be at high level because a successful language learning class is believed
to be the place where „learners talk a lot; participation is even; motivation is high
and language is of an acceptable level‟ (Ur, 1996:120). This means that the
participation patterns in English-speaking lessons should be „total integration‟ and
„conditional participation‟.
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For years, the positive impact of the students‟ level of participation in classroom
activities on their academic results has been identified by a significant number of
studies (e.g. Busch, 1982; Day, 1984; Elly, 1986; Zhou, 1991; Lim, 1992; Wudong,
1994; Gomez et al., 1995; Faizah & Liew, 2007). These studies confirm that
students who show their higher level of participation in the classroom activities
would achieve greater academic results. Thus, English learners who do not actively

the University of Maryland appear to cover a large scope of effective management.
These strategies include: (1) make a class feel small, (2) encourage question, (3) be
available, (4) try to learn students‟ name, (5) relate lectures and discussions to
students‟ experiences, (6) pay attention to individual students, (7) consider self-
presentation, and (8) give personalized feedback.
Initially, teachers can „make a large class feel small‟ by performing various
activities such as walking around the classroom, moving toward the student asking a
question, distributing handouts. The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
supports the view that instructors should move into the aisles and around the room
by stating that if the teachers do that frequently, they are able to not only make the
class smaller but also promote the students‟ level of involvement. Another way to
set a small-class atmosphere in a large-class setting is letting students work in small
groups. Theberge (1994:34) states that small groups can „afford different
participation structures than the one-at-a-time talk of the whole class, and turns are
often distributed more equitably in these small groups than in whole-class
discussion‟. Thus, using group
work discussions will let students chance to work in a smaller environment so that
they could actually engage in classroom activities.
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Encouraging questions is also an effective technique assisting teachers to make the
classroom atmosphere smaller and warmer. Responding in ways that appeals more
questions from students such as "I'm glad you asked that" or "That's a good
question", mentioning the names of the students who have asked questions and
using nonverbal responses such as smiling or nodding are strategies to cope with
students‟ reluctance of raising voices in classroom. When performing asking-and-
answering activities, teachers are advised to notice the „teacher wait time‟ – the
amount of time a teacher waits before he answers his own questions. Fritscher
(2000, as cited in Mustapha et al., 2010) finds that students rarely asked questions
or make comments to instructors who wait „no more than a few second‟.

„comment on a different group of exams or papers each time‟ so that students could
get individualized comments from their teachers at least once during the semester.
1.1.2.2. Getting students’ attention
Certain strategies that can assist the teacher to show their interest in students are
using body gestures and facial expressions, using interesting topics and audio-visual
aids, and asking for students‟ volunteer.
Lewis and Hill (1992, as cited in Lan, 2007) states that when the teacher takes his
eyes off students, his students seem to lose their concentration on his talks. Thus,
keep moving eyes around the class, students will feel engaged.
One of the most natural and effective ways to hold the notice of all students is
making the lesson interesting to students. Using teaching materials such as audio or
visual
aids can, on the one hand, also provide students with authentic teaching materials
and on the other hand, make the lesson interesting thank to the diversity of the
teaching aids.
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Another common way to appeal students‟ attention is asking for volunteer. This
strategy makes students feel more responsible to participate in the classroom
interaction. This also provides dynamic students opportunities to model the
performance in front of the classes. It is clear that in a speaking lesson, the more
students are actively involved in the discussions, the more successful that lesson is.
1.1.2.3. Developing a good discipline
Discipline is a crucial factor in the teaching and learning procedure (Azhar,
2004:98). Also, amongst all the school-related factors, discipline has the greatest
impact upon students‟ responsibility (Ingersoll, 1996:164). Thus, developing a good
discipline is a major task of all teachers.
Initially, it is of great importance to raise the deep awareness about a good
discipline. There remains a common thought that discipline relates to strict rules or
heavy punishments which make students sit quietly in their seats. In fact, if this

+ plan a filler activity for the groups that finish earlier than
the others
+ plan the lesson with a variety (change the patterns of
interaction: student to student, student to teacher; group to
group)
+ break up longer tasks into shorter sections and handle
these sections differently Setting up
+ stress on silence and attention while teaching
+ stage instructions carefully
+ Train students to form and work in pairs and groups
+ Rehearse the task before the students do it altogether
+ Limit class activities to a set time

During the
activity
+ look interested in each group but from a distance
+ note down common errors of grammar or usage to
explain later on

After the
+ ask Ss feeling about the activity
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activity
+ discuss performance of certain groups
+ ask students‟ comments on the performance of others
(Azhar, 2004)

safe and enjoyable environment. Teachers are also advised to giving informational
instructions following the four guidelines such as „one idea at a time‟, keeping
instruction brief‟, „using key words or phrases‟ and making the instruction
relevant‟. All of these presented rules aim at assisting students to do their work
spontaneously and appropriately after the teachers have finished their instructions.
In addition, teachers also have to pay attention on the way they give feedback to
their students‟ presentation. It is the fact that there is no rule about feedback-giving.
Certain teachers who have a good relationship with their students can deliver
feedback right after the students have made mistakes but is it more suggested by
various researchers that it would be better for the teachers to give feedback after the
students have finished their presentations.
1.2. Review of existing related works
As previously mentioned, this study aims at investigating the relationship between
the teachers‟ classroom- management activities and the students‟ participation in
English-speaking lessons. In fact, a significant number of studies have been
conducted of this issue such as Freiberg et al. (1995), Marzano et al. (2003), Hải
(2005), Lan (2005), Oliver & Reschly (2007), Hằng (2008), Mustapha et al. (2010),
and Huyền (2010). Thus, the result of this study is expected to confirm the remark
of all aforesaid research that the teachers‟ pedagogical methodology has great
impact upon the students‟ oral involvement in English-speaking lessons.
Similarly, a large number of studies have been also conducted to identify the most
valuable pedagogical methods to involve more students in classroom activities (e.g.
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Lim, 1992; Zhao, 1998; Davis, 1999; Bích, 2003; Azhar, 2004; Xuân, 2004; Tsou,
2005; Loan, 2006; Lịch, 2007; Lan, 2007; Ngân, 2008; Mai, 2008; Tuyết, 2009;
Uyên, 2009; Hoài, 2010; Lan, 2010; Quyên, 2010). In brief, these academic
methods vary from single strategies such as using games, task-based teaching or
differentiated instructions to a combination of various strategies such as active
learning activities, classroom-management activities or activities related to students‟

were explored: (1) the teachers‟ classroom management activities to involve their
students in English-speaking tasks and (2) the students‟ attitudes towards their
teachers‟ classroom management activities in English-speaking lessons.
In this survey research, all the teachers of English and the students at Thụy Hƣơng
high school were the population (the entire group of interest) and the sample (the
subset of the entire group) were all the teachers of English (8 teachers) and 330
students (8 classes). The biggest difference between the population and the sample
was the number of involved students. Herein, 8 classes with 330 students were
selected from the population to meet the teachers‟ teaching timetable at school.
However, despite this sampling of convenience, the sample was still adequately
representative of the whole population because the selected students, as confirmed
by all the teachers, shared the similar proficiency in doing their English-speaking
tasks with the rest of the entire group.
2.2. Research subjects
2.2.1. The researcher
The researcher is attending the MA course at the Department of Post-Graduate
Studies, University of Language and International Studies, Vietnam National
University of Hanoi. As trained in English teaching major, the researcher has had
opportunities of attending and teaching English lessons in certain Vietnamese high
schools. Also, the researcher did have chance to conduct certain studies in the field
of English language teaching. This study was another work of the researcher with
the aim of contributing its results to the broad body of research on the same issue.
Herein, the researcher worked as the person who delivered the survey questionnaire,
a classroom observer, a data collector and analyst to complete the study.
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2.2.2. The selected teachers and students
The subjects of the study were 8 teachers of English and 330 students at Thụy
Hƣơng high school in Hải Phòng.
All the teachers are female from 31 to 36 years old. They were trained in English