NGUYỄN THỊ THU HIỀN USING TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING TO
INCREASE STUDENTS’ PARTICIPATION IN SPEAKING
LESSONS: AN ACTION RESEARCH AT ĐỨC THIỆN
VOCATIONAL SCHOOL
(SỬ DỤNG PHƢƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC GIAO NHIỆM VỤ ĐỂ TĂNG
CƢỜNG SỰ THAM GIA CỦA HỌC SINH TRONG CÁC GIỜ HỌC NÓI:
NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG TẠI TRƢỜNG TRUNG CẤP ĐỨC THIỆN)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English language teaching methodology
Code: 60 14 10 HANOI – 2013

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES


FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Declaration i
Acknowledgements ii
Abstract iii
Table of contents iv
List of abbreviations vii
List of tables and charts viii
PART A: INTRODUCTION 1
1. Rationale of the study 1
2. Aim and objectives of the study 2
3. Research questions 2
4. Scope of the study 2
5. Methods of the study 2
6. Significance of the study 3
7. Design of the study 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT 4
Chapter 1: Literature review 4
1.1. Speaking skill 4
1.1.1. What is speaking? 4
1.1.2. The importance of speaking skill in learning language 4
1.2. Student participation 5
1.2.1. What is student participation? 5
1.2.2. Factors affecting student participation in speaking class 6
1.2.2.1. Students‟ learning styles 6
1.2.2.2. Students‟ motivation 6

3.1.6. Teacher‟s teaching methods in speaking class 27
3.1.7. Students‟ preferences and suggestions to increase their participation in
speaking lessons 28
3.2. Analysis of observation 29
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3.2.1. Number of students participating in speaking lessons 30
3.2.2. Students‟ speaking turns 31
3.2.3. Students‟ quality of participation 31
3.2.3.1. Data from Observation sheet 1 32
3.2.3.2. Data from Observation sheet 2 33
3.3. Analysis of interview 35
3.3.1. Students‟ attitudes towards applied tasks and TBLT 35
3.3.2. Students‟ difficulties in task-based speaking lessons. 36
3.3.3. Students‟ suggestions for better implementing task-based lessons 36
3.4. Discussion of the research questions 36
3.5. Summary 39
PART C: CONCLUSION 40
1. Conclusions 40
2. Limitations of the study 41
3. Suggestions for further research 41
PART D: REFERENCES 42
APPENDICES I
Appendix 1 I
Appendix 2 IV
Appendix 3 VI
Appendix 4 VIII
Appendix 5 IX
Appendix 6 XII
Appendix 7 XV viii

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

TABLES
Table 1: Students‟ motivations on learning speaking skill
Table 2: Students‟ learning styles
Table 3: Students‟ difficulties in learning speaking skill
Table 4: Students‟ opinions on speaking activities in the textbook
Table 5: Students‟ comments on their previous teachers‟ teaching speaking skill
Table 6: Students‟ preferences in working in speaking lessons
Table 7: Students‟ recommendation for the things the teacher should do

CHARTS
Chart 1: Students‟ attitude towards importance of speaking skill
Chart 2: Students‟ attitude towards interestingness of speaking skill
Chart 3: Students‟ participation in speaking lessons
Chart 4: Students on-task behavior
Chart 5: Students‟ speaking turns


become more active and participate in speaking lessons better, it is really a big
question for me and my colleagues.
In some recent years, many modern approaches have been applied. Task-based
language teaching has been preferably applied in teaching languages with the hope
to achieve the expected communicative results. Thanks to lectures on English
language teaching methodology delivered in my master course, I understand about
and really felt interested in TBLT. Richards and Rodgers (2001:228) asserted that
“Tasks are believed to foster process of negotiation, modification, rephrasing, and
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experiment that are heart of second language learning”. Besides, Nunan (2005)
argues that “task-based teaching does provide a flexible, functionally compatible
and contextually sensitive approach for many teachers, as well as learners”.
Therefore, the research “Using task-based language teaching to increase
students’ participation in speaking lessons: An action research at Đức Thiện
Vocational School” was conducted in the hope of solving the problem in my
school‟s teaching context.
2. Aim and objectives of the study
The study is designed with an aim to increase students‟ participation in speaking
lessons at DTVS by using task-based language teaching. Specifically, it has three
objectives:
- To find possible explanations for the poor participation of the students.
- To justify the effect of task-based language teaching on students‟ participation.
3. Research questions
1. What are possible reasons that lead to students‟ participation in speaking lessons?
2. To what extent does task-based language teaching help increase students‟
participation in speaking lessons?
4. Scope of the study
The study concentrates on communicative tasks that students are assigned in
English speaking lessons, which result in increasing the participation of first-year
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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter is concerned with the theoretical background of the study which
includes an overview of speaking skill, students‟ participation, task-based language
teaching, and previous studies relating to applying TBLT in teaching speaking skill.
1.1. Speaking skill
1.1.1. What is speaking?
Linguists and educators define speaking in various ways:
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Current English (2004), speaking is “the
action of conveying information or expressing ones‟thoughts and feelings in spoken
languages.” Chaney (1998:13), however, considered speaking “the process of
building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal or non-verbal symbols in a
variety of contexts”. Sharing the same viewpoint, Florez (1999:1) added that
speaking is an “interactive” process, which consists of three main stages
“producing, receiving and processing information.” In language teaching and
learning, speaking is considered a skill to practise. In this light, Nunan (2003:48)
put it that “speaking is the productive oral skill. It consists of producing systematic

The interaction between students and their teacher includes care, contact, co-
operation between them in the class. Participation not only means attending the
class regularly and on time but also taking part in the lesson actively or showing
desire or be active. Students become self- centered in the class activities.
The interaction between students and students is set up through their discussion
in small groups. They work together, help each other, and learn from each other. A
good interaction involves their co-operation and contribution to the task given.
Students feel pleasant and comfortable when they work together, then they will do
their best to complete the task.
Student participation also includes the interaction between students and
material. Good and interesting materials can get students involved in the lesson.
Students will find it difficult to participate in the class activities if they don‟t
understand the tasks or feel bored with them. (Ellis, 1994:178)
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1.2. Factors affecting student participation in speaking class
1.2.1. Students’ learning styles
Learning style shows how students achieve the target language. Willing (1985)
classifies learning styles into four types as follows:
Concrete learners: they prefer learning by games, pictures, films, videos,
talking in pairs and learning through the use of cassettes.
Communicative learners: they like to learn by observing and listening to native
speakers, talking to friends in English and learning English wherever possible.
Analytical learners: they like to study grammar, find their own mistakes, and
learn through reading newspapers.
Authority oriented learners: they want their teacher to explain everything and
they prefer writing everything in their notebooks, learning to read, studying
grammar, and learning English words by seeing them.
1.2.2. Students’ motivation
Motivation is a key factor leading students‟ success in learning in general, and

but an adaptable approach to language teaching. As Ellis notes, „there is no single
way of doing TBLT‟ (2009: 224)
Long (1985) and Prahu (1987) take the view that TBLT is an approach to
language education in which students are given functional tasks that encourage
them to focus primarily on meaning exchange and to use language for real world,
non-linguistics purposes.
According to Nunan (1991), as cited in Lê Văn Canh (2004), a task-based
language teaching approach is characterized by:
a) An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target
language.
b) The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.
c) The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language,
but also on the learning process itself.
d) An enhancement of the learner's own personal experiences as important
contributing elements to classroom learning.
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e) An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation
outside the classroom (p.103).
Richards and Rogers (2001) define TBLT as „an approach based on the use of
tasks as the core unit of planning and instruction in language teaching‟. „In other
words, students are given a task to perform‟ (Harmer, 1998:41).
In their definitions, Richards and Rogers and Harmer mention the term „task‟. Tasks
have been used in classes for years by teachers and practitioners around the world.
Because tasks are basic units of a TBLT framework, it is crucial to clarify explicitly
the definitions of task.
1.3.2. What is task within TBLT?
In literature, there are many different definitions of tasks given by different
second language researchers and linguists.
According to Long (1985, 89), task is “a piece of work undertaken for oneself or

Some classifications of tasks are general, and others are specific, which can
change with the insights of different linguists and researchers.
Richards (2001:162) distinguishes tasks into two types: pedagogical tasks and
real world tasks. “Pedagogical task are based on second language acquisition theory
and are designed to trigger second language learning process and strategies”. The
task itself is not something one would normally encounter in the real word.
However the interactional processes it requires provides useful input to language
development. According to Richards, real world tasks “are designed to practice or
rehearse those activities that are found to be important in a needs analysis and turn
out to be important and useful in the real world”.
The present study has adopted Willis‟s (1996: 149) typology of pedagogical
tasks to enhance students‟ participation in learning speaking skill.
1. Listing: listing tasks tend to generate a lot of talk as learners explain their
ideas. The processes involved are brainstorming and fact-finding. The outcome can
yield completed lists or mind maps.
2. Ordering and sorting: these tasks involve four main processes: sequencing,
ranking, categorizing and classifying items.
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3. Comparing: the process involves matching to identify specific points and
relating them to each other, finding similarities and things in common, and finding
differences.
4. Problem solving: real-life problems may involve expressing hypotheses,
describing experiences, comparing alternatives, evaluating and agreeing to a solution.
5. Sharing personal experiences: these tasks encourage learners to talk more
freely about themselves and share their experiences with others.
6. Creative tasks: these can involve combinations of task types: listing,
ordering and sorting, comparing and problem solving. Organizational skills and
team-work are important in getting the task done. The outcome can often be
appreciated by a wider audience than the learners who produced it.

Teaching English as a foreign language by using task-based learning has been
proven by researchers at various levels; from basic to advance over the past twenty
years. In this section, the researcher mainly mentions the studies relating to using
TBLT in teaching speaking skill that help increase students‟ participation.
Willis (1996: 35-6), whose numerous studies in TBLT, states that TBLT help
“give learners confidence in trying out whatever language they know; give learners
chances for negotiating turns to speak; engage learners in using language
purposefully and cooperatively; make learners participate in a complete interaction,
not just one-off sentences”
Nunan (2005) believes one of TBLT‟s advantages is “increasing student
participation when task teaching is well planned and implementing sensitive to
learners‟ learning styles, learning and communicative strategies, personalities,
multiple intelligences and the overall local context, for example.”
Lochana and Deb's (2006) project in a school run by the Basaveshwara
Education Society in India developed an experiment in which non-task-based
textbook activities were converted into task-based ones in order to test two
hypotheses: (1) “Task-based teaching enhances the language proficiency of the
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learners” and (2) “Tasks encourage learners to participate more in the learning
processes”. Their findings suggest that TBL is beneficial to learners not only in
terms of proficiency enhancement but also in terms of motivation.
In Vietnam, there have been some studies relating to using TBLT in teaching
speaking skill. Khanh (2010) observed task-based speaking classes of first-year
non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry. After conducting a
survey questionnaire with these students, she concludes that TBLT “activates
learning speaking among students and fosters students‟ independence and autonomy
in learning and develop team work skill”.
In her survey research, Ngan (2009) claims that after task-based project her first
year non-major students of English at National Economics University “regarded

Therefore, action research achieves both action (change or improve) and research
(understanding).
According to Cohen and Manion (2007), action research is “small-scale
intervention in the functioning of the real world and a close examination of the
effects of such intervention.”
Kemmis and Mc Taggart (1988:6) identify three characteristics of an action
research, which are: “carried out by practitioners”, “collaborative” and “aimed at
changing things”.
Tsui (1993) suggested 5 steps in conducting action research: Identifying
problems; Finding causes of the problem; Designing strategies for improvement
(plan for action) and writing a proposal for action research; Trying out the strategies
(action) and keeping a diary of what happened in the class; and Evaluating the try –
out. Whereas Nunan (1992) defines the framework of a research as consisting of
seven steps as follows:
- Step 1: Initiation (Identify the problem)
- Step 2: Preliminary investigation (Collect data through a variety of means)
- Step 3: Hypothesis (Develop research questions)
- Step 4: Intervention (Devise strategies and innovation to be implemented)
- Step 5: Evaluation (Collect data again and analyze it to work out the findings)
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- Step 6: Dissemination (Report the result by running workshops or issuing a
paper)
- Step 7: Follow-up (Find alternative methods to solve the same problem)
Different from Tsui, Nunan (1992) suggested that teachers should observe and
make notes on what their learners said and did in class, and then, based on these
observations, identified positive ways to bring about this change. In the researcher‟s
teaching context where cassette recorders or camcorders are not available,
observing the class and making notes are feasible for the researcher to implement
her action research.

meets the definition of action research as aiming at changing things for the better.
This is also an action study because it was conducted in the real context
of my classroom, aimed at professional development through changing my
methods of teaching to raise students‟ participation and ability in learning to
speak English.
2.3. Description of the context of the research
2.3.1. The current method of English language teaching at DTVS
Since its establishment in 2007, Đức Thiện Vocational School has performed its
function of training nurses, physicians, druggists and chemists. There are two main
majors: Nursing and Pharmaceutics. The teachers in English Group take
responsibility for teaching English to all the students who are studying at DTVS.
There are 2 categories of English: Basic English for first-year student and English
for Specific Purpose for second-year students.
The current common English teaching approach applied in DTVS is
Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP). This traditional method is teacher-centered
and lecture-oriented. Some efforts of the educational administrators has been made
such as equipping three classrooms with overhead projectors, computers and
speakers and blue board so that it is possible for teachers to bring the advantages of
new technology to language teaching. However, in fact, the teachers find it more
convenient to teach grammar, vocabulary and reading skill rather than speaking
skill. Most of them teach speaking skill depending on the course book – Lifelines
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Elementary. In speaking classes, teachers firstly teach vocabulary and structures and
then ask students to make sentences with them. Teachers show speaking
exercises/activities available in the course book onto a screen and have the students
do them. After some time, they call some students to answer questions or perform
their conversation. The students‟ mistakes were corrected while they are speaking.
Moreover, students are asked to note everything shown on the screen down to their
notebooks. This method does not help students learn speaking skill effectively.

many provinces such as Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ninh Binh…. Most students who
come from city and have had at least 7 years of learning English at high schools show
to be better when practicing speaking the language while the students from
districts reveal to be slow and shy. They seem to keep silent most of the time and
even scared when asked to speak.
Naturally, these students became ideal samples for the research. With the
method of cluster sampling, the research ensures the variety of the students‟
background, which varies from one to another as the group was chosen randomly.
This also enables for a wider range of application to other classes, which, to some
extent, shorten the limitation of an action research.
2.4.2. Data collection instruments
The results of the study were developed on the basis of empirical data collected
through three instruments: a survey questionnaire, observations and interviews.
* Questionnaire
The survey questionnaire (See Appendix 1) was conducted at the first week of the
research with 42 students. All of the questions are written in Vietnamese to make sure
that they could fully understand the questions. The questionnaire aims to investigate
students‟ attitudes towards speaking skill, their learningstyles, the factors from
themselves and from their previous teachers that affect their participation, and their
preferences for classroom speaking activities. The results from the questionnaire, in
cooperation with a lot of friendly talks with students and discussions with other
colleagues could help the researcher identify possible reasons for students‟ poor
participation.
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* Observation
There are two sets of observation form used in the study.
The first one (see Appendix 2) is adapted from Hopkins (1985; 95) and The
Postgraduate Research Handbook by Gina Wisker (2001). This observation sheet
focuses on measuring the frequency and the nature of each student‟s participation in