VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES
*****************
BÁ THỊ HIỀN
STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS LEARNING TO
SPEAK ENGLISH AT LY THAI TO HIGH SCHOOL,
BAC NINH

(Nghiên cứu thái độ học nói Tiếng Anh của học sinh
trường
THPT Lý Thái Tổ, Bắc Ninh) M.A. Minor Programme Thesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 601410
Hanoi, 2012
iv
4
2.1 Attitudes in language learning
4
2.1.1 Definition of “attitude”
4
2.1.2 Roles of learners‟ attitudes in language learning
4
2.2 Speaking
5
2.2.1 Concepts of speaking in foreign languages
5
2.2.2 The role of speaking in foreign language teaching and learning
6
2.2.3 Characteristics of a successful speaking lesson
7
2.2.4 Approaches to teaching and learning speaking skills
8
2.2.5 Factors affecting students‟ participation in speaking activities
11
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
15
3.1 The setting
15
3.2 The textbook
15
v

3.3 The participants
15
3.4 The data collecting instruments

40
5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further studies
42
5.4 Conclusion
43
REREFENCES
44
APPENDICES
I
Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire for students
I
Appendix 2: Classroom observation sheet
XI
Appendix 3: The observed lesson plan 1
XII
Appendix 4: The observed lesson plan 2
XIV
Appendix 5: Interview questions for teachers and transcription
XVII
Appendix 6: A sample lesson plan
XX

vi TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Students‟ general attitudes towards learning English
19
Figure 2: Students‟ favorite English lessons in the classroom
20
1

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Rationale of the study
Among the four language skills known as listening, speaking, reading and
writing, speaking skill is considered the most significant one that most learners of
foreign languages need to achieve because it shows learners‟ proficiency in that
language . Pattison (1992) also shows that when people mention knowing or
learning a language, they mean being able to speak the language. Being an English
teacher, the researcher thinks that speaking should be paid much attention to in the
process of teaching and learning. However, the fact at the researcher‟s school is that
students have poor ability to speak English although they have been learning
English since they were in grade 3 or 4. They speak English badly even in English
speaking lessons. They often feel unconfident and confused when their teachers ask
them to speak English. They regularly find it difficult expressing their ideas in
English and even some students cannot speak anything except “sorry, I don‟t
know”. This problem is also mentioned by the researcher‟s colleagues when they
usually tell her that in their speaking lessons students are very lazy and do not
participate much in speaking activities. Therefore, this problem needs improving to
help students in her school have better English speaking ability.
For such reasons, the researcher conducted this study to investigate the
students‟ attitudes towards learning to speak English and the reasons why they had
these attitudes. By doing the study, she can know more about her students‟
expectations for learning English speaking skills at her school so that she could give
some suggestions which might be useful for teachers and students at Ly Thai To

providing some useful suggestions for teachers to develop speaking skills for
their students.
1.6 Significance of the study
The study is conducted with the expectation that its results will be useful for
students and teachers of English at Ly Thai To high school. The study will help
3

teachers understand more about their students‟ attitudes towards and expectations for
their learning to speak English. Based on the findings, some suggestions are given to
the teachers to help them improve their students‟ speaking skills. Hence, it could be
a considerable contribution to teaching and learning English speaking effectively
and enjoyably at Ly Thai To high school.

1.7 Design of the study
This thesis consists of five main chapters:
Chapter one is the INTRODUCTION including the rationales, the aims, the
research questions, the scope, the methods, the significant, and the design of the
study. It shows the reason why the author decided to choose this study and the
methods for the fulfillment of the study.
Chapter two is the LITERATURE REVIEW. It is aimed at exploring the
theoretical background for the thesis. It will focus on two main points: attitudes and
speaking.
Chapter three is the METHODOLOGY. Chapter three starts with the
description of the setting and the participants. It also presents how data was
collected through the research methods and research procedures.
Chapter four is the DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION, in which the
detailed description of data analysis and discussion on the findings of the study are
explained.
Chapter five is the CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. This
chapter presents a summary of the findings and draws out some suggestions that are

2.1.2 Role of learners‟ attitudes in language learning
5

In language instruction, students‟ attitudes towards learning the language are
regarded as “an important predictor of success” since “students who consider the
learning of English as a positive and rewarding experience are less likely to suffer
from foreign language anxiety” (Tsiplakides & Keramida, 2010).
Chambert (1999) asserts that learning occurs more easily, when the learner has
a positive attitude towards the language and learning. Positive attitudes on the part
of the language learners can enhance an integrative motivation, and attitudes upon
success in language learning is widely acknowledged. Also, Holmes (1992) states
that if people feel positive towards those who use the language, they would be more
highly motivated towards learning it.
Unquestionably, good learners are those that have a positive attitude towards
their subject. The overall findings show that positive attitudes have a strong impact
on the success of language learning. Most of the researches have claimed that
students‟ attitude is an integral part of learning and that it should, therefore, become
an essential component of second language pedagogy.
Some factors that influence students‟ attitudes towards their foreign language
learning are identified by Tsiplakides & Keramida, (2010): a) teacher-student
relationships, b) the general classroom atmosphere, and c) the use of authentic
teaching materials and activities. These authors also suggest a number of principles
to foster positive attitudes in ESL/ EFL classes: (1) Developing Teacher-student
Relationship; (2) Fostering a Positive Psychological Classroom Atmosphere; (3)
Creating an Attractive Physical Classroom Environment; (4) Supplementing the
Teaching Material with Authentic Texts and Tasks.
In short, students‟ attitudes play a very crucial role in language learning as
they would appear to influence students‟ success or failure in their learning.

2.2 Speaking

different purposes.
7

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 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. In addition to that, Nunan (1991) points out “success is measured
in terms of ability to carry out a conversation in the (target) language”
Because of the importance of speaking skills in language teaching and
learning it is essential that language teachers should pay much attention to teaching
speaking skill. They should identify their students‟ attitudes towards and
expectations for learning speaking to make interesting learning atmosphere. They
should play a positive role in helping students get involved in speaking activities in
the classroom. Rather than leading students to pure memorization, the teacher can
provide a rich environment where students have real communication, authentic
materials and meaningful tasks that promote oral language. Gradually, students will
know how to use their target language correctly and communicatively in everyday
conversations.
2.2.3 Characteristics of a successful speaking lesson
Pertaining to characteristics of an effective speaking lesson, Ur (1996) has a
comprehensive look at the issue. In her viewpoint, there are four characteristics to
determine whether the speaking lesson is fruitful or not as follows:
 Learners keep talking in most of the time allowed for the activity in which
the learners are the centre of the activity and the interference by the teacher is
little.
 Participation is evenly distributed among learners.
 All group members are motivated in the activities thanks to an interesting
topic or their desire to achieve the task objective.

as:
9

 Grammar-translation method
 The Direct method
 The Audio-lingual method
 The Audio-visual method
 Communicative Language Teaching.
However, in the recent decades, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
is considered one of the most effective approaches to teach learners to communicate
in a language they learnt as it helps to develop the learners‟ communicative
language ability.
According to Nunan (1989:194), “CLT views language as a system for the
expression of meaning. Activities involve oral communication, carrying out
meaning tasks and using language, which is meaningful to the learners. Objectives
reflect the needs of the learners; they include functional skills as well as linguistic
objectives. The learner‟s role is as a negotiator and integrator. The teacher‟s role is
as a facilitator of the communication process. Materials promote communicative
language use; they are task-based and authentic”.
The definition above represents a particular view of understanding and
explaining language acquisition. It is socially constructed and must be seen as a
product of social, cultural, economic, and political forces.
CLT is usually characterized as a broad approach to teaching, rather than as a
teaching method with a clearly defined set of classroom practices. As such, it is
most often defined as a list of general principles or features. One of the most
recognized of these lists are David Nunan‟s (1991a: 279, cited in Bang, N & Ngoc,
N.B) five features of CLT:
 An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target
language.
 The introduction of authentic texts into learning situation

but not others, there is then the question of how to create a varied program of
activities which gives a range of opportunities for speaking practice.

11

2.2.5 Factors affecting students‟ participation in speaking activities.
There are a lot of factors affecting students‟ participation in classroom oral
activities. In the following sections, some of the major factors will be discussed
Students‟ motivation
According to Gardner (1985: 10), motivation is known as “a key consideration in
determining the preparedness of learners to communicate, while Harmer (2001)
defines motivation simply as “some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to
do things in order to achieve something”
Motivation can be classified in different ways. In some studies, motivation
is categorized into two types: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Harmer (2001)
states that extrinsic motivation is caused by such outside factors as the need to pass
an exam, the hope of possibility for future travel, etc. In contrast, intrinsic
motivation is caused by inside factors like the enjoyment of the learning process
itself or by a desire to make themselves feel better.
Motivation has great importance in foreign language learning as in Brown‟
opinion (2000: 160), “it is easy in second language learning to claim that a learner
will be successful with the proper motivation”. Therefore, in order to be successful,
language learners really need motivation to continue their learning.
Students‟ attitude
As mentioned above, attitude is also a very important factor which has an
influence on the language learning. Gardner and Lambert (1972) defined attitude as
the persistence that a learner has to follow an object. Language learning attitude has
a relationship to motivation. Language learners who have extrinsic or intrinsic
motivation will have the more positive attitude than those without motivation or
who consider language learning a compulsory subject.

13

and teachers brings the teachers to learn about each student as unique from others,
and also enables them to understand the diversity of all the students
In order to have a good relationship with students, teachers should make close
the gap between them and students by being friendly, helpful, tolerant, smiling
instead of shouting at them and never creating stressful atmosphere in the
classroom. Remembering students' names, is also of great importance when teachers
wish to make good impression on students.
Teacher‟s good knowledge
Teacher‟s knowledge plays a really important role in language teaching
especially in teaching speaking. Knowledge here is understood not only the
knowledge of the target languages itself but also the knowledge of many other fields
such as society, culture, art, policy and so on. Having a good knowledge of a wide
variety of fields will help teachers become more active in teaching speaking lessons
since students can ask a lot of questions related and unrelated to the given topics.
When teachers are always willing to explain to students any problem they have, it is
a big motivation for students to learn English as they think that the knowledge of
their teacher absolutely makes them satisfied. Therefore, teachers should always
pay attention to improve their knowledge.
Teacher‟s teaching methods
For each teacher, the good choice of teaching methods as well as techniques
is very important to increase students‟ participation in every lesson. When deciding
what teaching method to use, a teacher needs to consider students' background
knowledge, environment, learning goals, learning time and material resources. We
also know that different teachers exploit different methods and techniques in their
teaching. As a result, different degrees of student‟s participation are created by
different teachers. However, in speaking lessons teachers often prefer CLT method
because it brings them various techniques that motivate students in participating in
speaking activities.


15

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.1 The setting
To get the aims for this study, the author chose Ly Thai To high school to
carry out the investigation.
Located in Bac Ninh, Ly Thai To high school has been known as one of
the leading choice of parents and students when the students finish the secondary
school. The school has 42 classes with 100 teachers of different subjects and 2,000
students. Each grade has 12 classes. On the average, there are about 45 to 50
students in a class. Most of the students come from the nearby villages.
In the 10
th
grade, there are 600 students. They are now 16-17 years of
age. They have learned English as a foreign language for 7-8 years but their English
proficiency is not good. At school they have three English classes a week.
3.2 The textbook
The main English textbooks used in teaching English at this school
are TiengAnh 10, TiengAnh 11, and TiengAnh 12 (basic stream). In TiengAnh
10, there are 16 units with different topics related to a wide variety of fields such
as a day in the life of…, school talks, people’s background and so on. After
every three units there is a Test Yourself to evaluate students‟ knowledge of
what they have learnt in these three units. The speaking skill is one of the five
sections in each unit: (reading, speaking, listening, writing, and language focus).
It is often taught and learned within one 45-minute period.
3.3 The participants
There are two groups of subjects in this study, the 10
th
-form students

with B.A degree and two of them have M.A degree.

3.4 The data collecting instruments
In order to fulfill the tasks mentioned above, the three instruments are
employed. They are a survey questionnaire for students, classroom observations and
interviews for teachers.
Questionnaire: (Appendix 1): In order to collect reliable and
comprehensive data, a questionnaire was designed for the 10
th
-form students. It had
both open-ended and close-ended questions. It consisted of 12 questions including
the following categories:
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 Students‟ general attitudes towards learning English Q1)
 Students‟ attitudes towards learning to speak English (Q2, Q3, Q4,Q5, Q6,
Q7, Q8, Q9)
 Students‟ opinions about factors affecting them in learning to speak English
(Q10)
 Students‟ attitudes towards teacher‟s teaching method in the speaking
lessons (Q11)
 Students‟ expectations for learning to speak English (Q12)
Classroom observations: (Appendix 2) The classroom observations were
carried out later to reaffirm the information collected from the questionnaire and
add some more useful and realistic information to this study: in what way the
teachers conducted speaking lessons, the teachers‟ variety of activities, the teachers‟
knowledge, the interaction between teachers and students, what atmosphere there
was in the class, what students‟ attitudes were like and what interactions students
had during the lessons. The researcher observed two classes, 10A4 and 10A6,
taught by two different teachers of English who had different abilities. The data was

of data analysis and procedure of the study.
19

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Data analysis of students‟ questionnaire
4.1.1 General attitudes towards learning English (Q1)
Question one in the questionnaire is designed to explore students‟ attitudes
towards learning English. The result of 200 respondents is shown as follows:

Figure 1: Students‟ general attitudes towards learning English

As can be seen in the figure 1, remarkably, 65.5% of the respondents have positive
attitudes towards learning English. They liked learning English because of some
reasons they shared truthfully as below:
- “I like learning English because English is necessary and useful for my
future job.”
- English can help me understand more about people, countries, cultures and
many other fields in the world.”

very necessary.
Listening lesson ranks second (25%). Some of the students choosing listening
lessons as their favorite ones said, “I like to listen to the native speakers, which
make me improve my English a lot.”, “I enjoy listening to international music so I
find listening lesson interesting”, “Listening is the key to develop other skills.”
Reading (17.5%) stands the third that students enjoy learning. The reasons
why students like reading are various, some of them are:
- “Reading helps me not only enrich my vocabulary but also get a wide variety
of information about nature, society, culture and so on”
- “Reading can broaden our knowledge”
- “I find it easier to learn”
Writing lesson attracted only twenty-eight students (14%) among two hundred
ones, but it was still loved more than speaking lesson. Only 11% of the respondents
chose speaking lesson as their favorite one, which means they had negative attitudes
towards speaking lessons. This result really makes thee researcher disappointed but
it reflects honestly the reality of learning speaking in her school.

Figure 3: Students‟ awareness about the importance of English speaking