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

NGUYỄN THỊ THANH HÀ APPLYING PROBLEM-SOLVING ACTIVITIES TO TEACH
SPEAKING SKILLS TO THE SECOND YEAR ENGLISH-MAJOR
STUDENTS AT VIETNAM UNIVERSITY OF COMMERCE

ÁP DỤNG CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG GIẢI QUYẾT VẤN ĐỀ TRONG
DẠY NÓI CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI CHUYÊN ANH
TẠI ĐẠI HỌC THƯƠNG MẠI

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS
Field : English Teaching Methodology
Code : 60.14.10

HANOI, 2014
HANOI, 2014

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DECLARATION

I hereby certify that the minor thesis entitled: “Applying Problem-Solving
Activities in Teaching Speaking Skills for the Second-year English-Major Students
at Vietnam University of Commerce” is the result of my own research to fulfill the
MA Degree at Post-Graduate Department, University of Languages and
International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. The substance of this
thesis has not, wholly or partially, been submitted for degree to any other university
or institution.

Signature

Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha


research questions (1) To what extent does the application of problem-solving
activities improve students‟ speaking skills? and (2) What are the effects of
problem-solving activities on students‟ motivation?, four speaking lessons were
conducted in the form of problem-solving activities. The main findings highlighted
the students‟ improvement in speaking skills after the treatment. This was shown by
the students‟ journals and comparisons of results of oral pre-test and post-test,
which have the same format and criteria for assessing. The analyses of the post-
intervention questionnaire and observation sheet also indicated that the students are
more interested and involved in speaking lessons. Thus, it is expected that the
results of this study could benefit English teachers in general and English teachers
in VUC in particular to enhance their speaking lessons.
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 1: Procedures of the Study 25
Table 2: Results of Question 1 in the Questionnaire Before the Intervention 27
Table 3: Results of Question 2 in the Questionnaire Before the Intervention 27
Table 4: Results of Question 3 in the Questionnaire Before the Intervention 28
Table 5: Results of Question 4 in the Questionnaire Before the Intervention 28
Table 6: Results of Question 5 in the Questionnaire Before the Intervention 29
Table 7: Means and Standard Deviations of the Scores of the Pre-test and Post-test

1.1.1.1. Some Concepts of Speaking 5
1.1.1.2. The Roles of Speaking Skills in Language Teaching 6
1.1.1.3. Principles of Teaching Speaking 7
1.1.1.4. Classroom Speaking Activities 7
1.1.2. Problem-Solving Activities 8
1.1.2.1. Definitions of Problem Solving 8
1.1.2.2. Kinds of Problem-Solving activities 10
1.1.2.3. Advantages of the Application of Problem-Solving Activities in
Teaching Speaking 11
1.1.3. Procedures of Conducting Problem-Solving Activities in a Group 13
1.2. Review of Related Works 14

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1.3. Justification for the Study 15
1.4. Summary 16
CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODS 17
2.1. The Setting 17
2.2. Subjects 18
2.3. Research Approach 18
2.4. Data Collection Instruments 19
2.4.1. Speaking Pre-test and Post-test 19
2.4.2. Questionnaires 20
2.4.3. Observation Sheet 20
2.4.4. Students’Journals 21
2.5. Intervention: The Application of Problem-Solving Activities 21
2.6. Data Collection Procedures 24
2.7. Data Analysis 25
2.8. Summary 26
CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 27
3.1. Preliminary Investigation 27

method is still applied at present although there have been a large number of
changes about teaching materials and supplementary activities. Students do not feel
elated and enthusiastic when participating in speaking lessons. Their lack of
confidence as well as uninteresting speaking activities leads to demotivate them to
join in. In addition, other problems such as lack of vocabulary, involvement or
enjoyment have great impacts on their participation in speaking lessons.
To solve these problems, more effective speaking activities need to be exploited
so as to enhance learners‟ communicative competence and help them get more
involved in speaking lessons, so current teachers need to actively engage students in
speaking activities that are enjoyable and are based on a more communicative
approach. One of them is problem-solving activities, which received many supports
from scholars and teachers. Using problem-solving activities is regarded as an
effective way to practise communication skills in which students work with each
other to find out appropriate solutions to a specific problem. Therefore, this is a
good chance for them to interact with teachers or other students, which encourage
them to be more cheerful and inspired. Moreover, their discussion will help them
share information, create new ideas and boost their self-confidence. Thus, their
speaking skill will also be improved. Students use target language as a means to
solve a problem, which also increases their motivation, participation and critical
thinking.

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The above mentioned situation has urged the researcher to conduct a study of
“Applying Problem-solving Activities in Teaching Speaking Skills to the Second-
year English-Major Students at Vietnam University of Commerce”. This study is
intended to make a contribution to helping students at Vietnam University of
Commerce improve their speaking skills.

1.2. Aims of the Study
The study aimed at finding out whether the application of problem-solving

effective use of problem-solving activities in order to enhance speaking skills for
the Second-year English-Major Students at Vietnam University of Commerce.
The findings of the study will provide an insightful understanding of the current
situation of exploiting problem-solving activities in teaching speaking skills to the
Second-year English-Major Students at Vietnam University of Commerce. In other
words, the study also helps revisit the features and principles of problem solving in
education. Moreover, English teachers may find the recommended problem-solving
activities a useful reference to make their speaking lessons more communicative,
meaningful and practical.

1.7. Methodology
An action research was applied in this minor thesis to improve students‟
speaking skills and teaching speaking in the researcher‟s own class. In order to
collect sufficient and relevant data for the study, four instruments were employed:
- Pre-test and post-test to assess student‟s speaking ability.
- Observation sheet to find out students‟ motivation during the intervention.
- Survey questionnaires to investigate students‟ achievement and motivation before
and after the intervention.
- Student‟s journals to investigate students‟ improvement towards this application.

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1.8. Design of the Study
The study consists of three parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion.
The Introduction presents the rationale, aim, objectives, scope, significance and
methodology.
The Development includes three chapters which are as follows:
Chapter One covers an in-depth review of the literature in which a relevant

both hearers and speakers having to react to what they hear and make their
contributions at high speed”. Through the interaction, each participant will try to
achieve his communicative goals and fulfill his ability of interpreting what is said to
him. Expressing message or sharing information through verbal and non-verbal
symbols is actually effective ways in real-life situations which will help people
understand each other without words. Theodore Huebner stated that “language is
essentially speech, and speech is basically communication by sounds”. According to
him, speaking is a skill used by someone in daily life communication whether at
school or outside. The skill is acquired by much repetition; it primarily a
neuromuscular and not an intellectual process. It consists of competence in
sending and receiving messages.

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To sum up, it is obvious that speaking is one of the most important skills for
learners. The ability to speak fluently, appropriately and understandably every time,
everywhere and in every situation is the goal as well as the desire of language
learners. It is not easy for them to master immediately because speaking skills
require learners to practice regularly and patiently. From these reasons, Bygate
(1987, p. 2) considered speaking skills as “a skill which deserves attention every bit
as much as literary skills in both first and second language”.

1.1.1.2. The Roles of Speaking Skills in Language Teaching
Speaking creates motivation in language learning. According to Crook and
Schmidt (1991), motivation is defined as the learner‟s orientation with regard to the
goal of learning a second language. Learning a language is to know to learn how to
use it, as Nunan (1991) stated “success is measured in terms of the ability to carry
out a conversation in the (target) language”. Mastering a language is that learners
can use it flexibly in every situation. If students cannot speak or they do not have a
chance to speak, they will get bored and lose their interest in learning a language.
Therefore, the right activities need using in a right way, which makes speaking in

improving the quality of speaking lessons and promoting students‟ attitudes and
participation in learning a language.
Harmer (2001, p.271-274) proposed some speaking activities. The first one is
acting from a script. In this section, teachers ask students to perform the play based
on the dialogue in the script. Thus, the teacher as a director and the students perform
the dialogue. Communication games are the second one which can make students
relaxed in learning a language. This technique is particularly suitable for the
children in mastering the language. It is designed to provoke communication
between students in order for them to solve a puzzle, draw a picture, put the things
in a right order, and find differences between pictures. Lastly, it is Role Play that is
a stimulated activity in which students pretend that they are in a different situation,
either as themselves or playing the role of someone is quite different. We could ask

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them to be a guest at some parties and go there as different characters. They could,
as themselves, pretend to be at an airport trying to check luggage, or either as
themselves or another character take part in a television program. The students in all
these cases are using language in order to participate in the activity rather than other
way round. Some students find it very comfortable to use language in a simulated
environment, and playing the role of someone else which allows them to experiment
freely to be another people.

1.1.2. Problem-Solving Activities
1.1.2.1. Definitions of Problem Solving
Problem solving is a popular way to stimulate students‟ interest and motivation.
Students work in pairs or groups to share their opinions and feelings about a
specific problem. They work together to discuss, analyze and evaluate the problem,
then reach proper solutions.
A problem is a situation which is experienced by an agent as different from the
situation which the agent ideally would like to be in. A problem is solved by a

There are many kinds of problem-solving activities shown in this book which are
useful for learners to practise speaking skills such as making suggestions, giving
reasons and modifying.
In problem-solving activities, learners have to share their feelings and opinions,
analyze and evaluate the problems to reach a decision together. Shumin (1997)
stated that “problem solving is directed towards the solving of a specific problem
that involves both the formation of responses and the selection among possible
responses”.
Problem solving is one of many communicative interactive techniques for
language teaching that received many attentions from researchers and educators.
Littlewood (1990) proposed that “problem-solving activity is a type of
communicative activities that have been designed to provide opportunities for

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learners to produce a language that they have recently learnt”. The application of
problem-solving activities encourages students to think carefully and talk together
to seek solutions to tasks or problems. Moreover, these activities increase students
„participation and motivation towards speaking skills. In other words, they also
create a fascinating and eventful learning environment to help learners understand
more about the importance and necessity of speaking skills.

1.1.2.2. Kinds of Problem-Solving Activities
A number of kinds of problem-solving activities have been used for teaching
language in EFL classrooms. These activities are organized in different ways in
which their main aim is to enhance speaking skills.
Byrne (1986, p. 94) proposed different some problem solving activities which
are as follows:
Linking activities:
Finding connections: Students have to establish connections between two
items (presented to them verbally or in the form of pictures). Two such

Deciding on priorities: Students have to put in order of priority, or they can
also be asked to put in order of importance (such as a school or a social
club)
Planning activities:
Planning a picnic: Students have to decide: when, where and how to go,
what to take and what to do. Similarly, students can be asked to plan a
party.
Planning a park: Students have to decide what facilities they would like
their park to have and also where they would like these sited.

1.1.2.3. Advantages of the Application of Problem-Solving Activities in
Teaching Speaking
It is essential to provide students with a variety of speaking activities so that
they will be able to cope with different situations in a real life. Speaking activities

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make the classroom cheerful and dynamic, and applying problem-solving activities
in teaching speaking brings about some benefits for both teachers and students.
First of all, problem-solving activities increase students’ motivation towards
learning speaking. Concerning the motivation of classroom activities, Littlewood
(1981, p.17) suggested that “Language learners‟ ultimate objective is to take part in
communication with others. Also, most learners‟ prior conception of language is as
a means of communication rather than as a structural system”. Thus, the motivation
of most language learners is to gain a capacity to speak in that language.
Problem-solving activities in speaking lessons will produce a high level of
motivation and participation. In addition, problem-solving activities are considered
a stimulus to elicit speech. Furthermore, problem-solving activities are often
designed in the form of games, which is said to stir and maintain students‟ interest
and motivation. Challenge – an essential element of every game will create a
competition among learners and impulse their eagerness in the learning process.

Stage 1 Forming: In the group, there is some anxiety. There is a great deal of
dependence on the leader (the teacher) and a great deal of behavior directed towards
finding out the nature of the situation and also what behavior is acceptable.
At the same time, group members attempt to find out what the task is, what the rules
are for carrying out the task and the methods that are appropriate
Stage 2 Storming: There is now a conflict between sub-groups and also rebellion
against the leader. Opinions are extreme and there is resistance to group control.
Role relations are not agreed upon. All of this behavior is a resistance to the
demands of the task.
Stage 3 Norming: The group develops cohesion: norms of behavior emerge and
participants begin to accept group control. Conflicts are forgotten and members
begin to support each other. At this stage co-operation is the rule and there is open
exchange of views and feelings about the task and each other.
Stage 4 Performing: All individuals‟ problems are resolved and there is a great deal
of interpersonal activity. Members‟ roles in the group now lose their rigidity and

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become more functional. At this stage solutions to the problems of the task are
found and all efforts are devoted to completing the task.

1.2. Review of Related Works
There are a number of studies on the use of problem-solving activities in
language teaching. Many researchers pointed out that applying problem-solving
activities in language classroom is very useful in creating an attractive learning
environment for learners.
Thanyalak Oradee (2012) did a study of comparing English speaking skills using
three communicative activities: Discussion, Problem solving, and Role playing of
Grade 11 students before and after learning. She pointed out the effects of using
these communicative activities in the language classroom in Thai context. In this
study, a one group pre-test and post-test design was also employed for 49 students

students who are at elementary level. The subjects took part in the 10 week
experimental teaching. The study was conducted as a quantitative study, using pre-
test and post-test along with questionnaires to collect data. After the experimental
teaching, the students showed positive attitudes towards the strategy.
From these related works, it would be worth investigating applying problem-
solving activities in teaching speaking skills at Vietnam University of Commerce.

1.3. Justification for the Study
The mentioned discussion of related studies in the area concerning teaching
language by the application of problem-solving activities demonstrates how the
current study could be fit into the existing literature.
Firstly, a number of studies have just elaborated on the role of communicative
activities in teaching speaking skills in which problem-solving activities are proved
as a technique to increase students „motivation. Therefore, the current study could
play an important role in exploring this issue further to enrich the literature.

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Additionally, the related studies were simply based on the quantitative method.
Accordingly, in those investigations, there might be inevitably potential limitations
of relying on a single approach. The current study which used both qualitative and
quantitative data attempted to address this gap.
In sum, the present study was carried out to motivate students in learning foreign
language, especially in speaking skills. The study is expected to create a cheerful
and eventful atmosphere for learners as well as to become a useful tool for teachers
to improve their performance of English classes at Vietnam University of
Commerce.

1.4. Summary
This chapter has discussed theoretical background with the concepts of the key
terms related to speaking skills. Then, an overview of problem-solving activities in