MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
VINH UNIVERSITY
ĐẶNG THỊ ANH PHƯƠNG
A STUDY ON THE ADAPTATION OF SPEAKING
ACTIVITIES IN “TIENG ANH 11” AT NGHI XUAN
HIGH SCHOOL

MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION
NGHỆ AN - 2014
2
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
VINH UNIVERSITY
ĐẶNG THỊ ANH PHƯƠNG
A STUDY ON THE ADAPTATION OF SPEAKING
ACTIVITIES IN “TIENG ANH 11” AT NGHI XUAN
HIGH SCHOOL

Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
Code: 60.14.01.11
MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION
Supervisor: NGÔ ĐÌNH PHƯƠNG, Assoc. Prof., Dr.
NGHỆ AN - 2014
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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I hereby acknowledge that this study is my own work. The data and findings
discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission, and have not been published
elsewhere.
Author
Đặng Thị Anh Phương
i
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

11” at Nghi Xuan high school.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENT
CONTENT PAGE
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS II
ABSTRACT III
TABLE OF CONTENTS IV
LISTS OF ABBREVIATION VII
LISTS OF TABLES VIII
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1
1.1. Rationale 1
1.2. Aims and Objectives of the Study 2
1.3. Scope of the Study 2
1.4. Research Questions 2
1.5. Organization of the study 3
CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 4
2.1. Previous Studies Related to the Topic 4
2.2. Theoretical Background 6
2.2.1. Communicative Language Teaching 6
2.2.2. Material Adaptation 10
2.2.2.1. Definition of Adaptation 10
2.2.2.2. The purpose of Adaptation 11
2.2.2.3. Techniques of Adaptation 12
2.2.2.4. Levels of Adaptation 14
2.2.3. Background of Speaking 15
iv
2.2.3.1. Concept of Speaking 15
2.2.3.2. The Importance of Teaching English Speaking 16
2.2.3.3. Characteristics of a Successful English Speaking activity 17

REFERENCE 68
APPENDICES
vi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CLT: Communicative Language Teaching
E.g: Exempli gratia (for example)
EFL: English as Foreign Language
ESL: English as Second Language
Etc: et cetera
MOET: Ministry of Education and Training
No: Number
STT: Student Talking Time
TTT: Teacher Talking Time
%: Percent
vii
LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Page
Table 1: Students' Background Information 28
Table 4.1: STT and TTT in control and experimental group before
the experiment. 33
Table 4.2: Students’ reasons for learning English 35
Table 4.3: Factors prevent students from participating in speaking in 37
the class.
Table 4.4: Students’ learning styles in both groups 37
Table 4.5: Students’ opinions towards the speaking tasks of the textbook 42
Table 4.6: Students’ opinion about the teachers’ way of teaching speaking 43
Table 4.7: Students’ evaluation on their teacher’s adaptation. 43
Table 4.8: Students’ assessment of their currents speaking lessons 44
Table 4.9: STT and TTT in the control group before the experiment 52
Table 4.10: Students’ participation in experimental and control group in

traditional approach-grammar translation method to communicative approach.
Among the four skills known as listening, speaking, reading and writing, it can
be said that speaking seems to be the most challenging skill for most of the
students at Nghi Xuan high school. Almost students only focus on learning the
grammar without developing speaking skill while the goal of learning English is
to communicate in it. Consequently, the students become accustomed to sitting
and listening quietly rather than presenting orally. After 5 school years
teaching the new textbook “Tiếng Anh 11” at Nghi Xuan high school, I find that
there are some problems with some activities in the textbook . Some are too
difficult for my students, some are not real communicative, some are too long
… All these reasons greatly contribute to the demotivation of students from in
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the lessons at Nghi Xuan high school. In this case, it is necessary for teachers to
adapt some activities to make it suitable and interesting for learners. There are
many things that teachers can do to improve the unit such as looking for
interesting extra materials from different sources, designing activities which can
motivate learners in oral presentation
The above mentioned reasons have inspired the writer to conduct a research
titled “A Study on the Adaptation of Speaking Activities in “Tieng Anh 11” at
Nghi Xuan High School.”
1.2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
Aims: The present study is carried out with the aims to investigate the
current situation of teaching and learning spoken English as well as how
Students’ Oral presentation is improved in speaking lessons teachers at Nghi
Xuan high school.
Objectives: Firstly, the present study focuses on investigating the reasons
why teachers at Nghi Xuan upper-secondary should adapt speaking activities in
“Tieng Anh 11”. Secondly, it points out what speaking activities in “Tieng Anh
11” should be adapted. Finally, it determines the effects of the adapted activites
in improving students’oral presentation in speaking lessons at Nghi Xuan high

Chapter 5 – Conclusions summarises the study, implications , limitations
and suggestions for further study.
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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Previous Studies Related to the Topic
Speaking is a crucial part of second language learning and teaching. Today’s
world requires that the goal of teaching speaking should improve students’
communicative skills, because, only in that way, learners can express themselves
and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules appropriate in each
communicative circumstance. Because of its important roles, speaking has received
a lot of attention from experts as well as methodologists in the world and in
VietNam.
One of the major early books on materials development, Harold S. Madson
and Donald J. Bowen, did, focused on adaptation in language teaching, republished
in Newbury House publisher in 1978. It made the important point that good teachers
are always adapting the materials they are using to the context in which they are
using them in order to achieve the optimal congruence between materials,
methodology, learners, objectives, the target language and the teacher’s personality
and teaching style. In this book, the authors said that it was not necessary to teach
every drill, every section and every grammar point. Madson and Bowen set out and
analyzed ways in which the language teachers can complement the textbook with
his own ideas and modify the content to suit his own teaching style, the needs of his
learners or the constraints and advantages of the circumstances. Concentrating on
the practical aspects of language teaching, the author drew upon their considerable
experience with the mainstream of foreign language teaching, both in United States
and abroad. They covered the principles and techniques of adaptation exceptionally
well. According to them, adaptation took three forms-individualizing, modifying
and compensating- and utilized any of a wide variety of techniques: supplementing,
editing, expanding, personalizing, simplifying, ect.

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English textbook for grade 10 at Xuan Hoa high school, Vinh Phuc province. She
mentioned the difficulties from teachers such as teachers’ insufficient
communicative competence, teachers’ lack of training and difficulties from students
were learners’ level of English, learners’ traditional features. She also suggested
some solutions to those problems.
Mai Thị Lan (2013) carried out a research on how to motivate the 10 grade
students in speaking skill at Hoa Lu A high school in Ninh Binh province. An
action research was planned and implemented with such data collection instruments
as classroom observation, questionnaire and document analysis. This study set out
to investigate the types of motivation possessed by students in speaking lessons at
Hoa Lu A high school. It also focused and evaluated motivational techniques used
by teachers at this school, students’ expectations of speaking teaching. Then, it
suggested some recommendations for teachers to motivate students in speaking
skill.
In summary, it can be seen from the above review that researchers focused
on adapting speaking activities to increase students’ participation and motivation in
speaking class. However, not many researchers have conducted research on
adaptation of "Tieng Anh 11" yet. Therefore, the author has decided to conduct the
research with the aim of adapting some difficult speaking activities in “Tieng Anh
11” to increase students’ participation in speaking lessons and help improve
teaching and learning English at Nghi Xuan high school.
2.2. Theoretical Background
2.2.1. Communicative Language Teaching
It is known that the history of language teaching has shown the change on
methods, which have reflected recognition of changes in the sort of proficiency
learners needs. What has changed in a second language teaching is not the way we
teach but in the aim of language teaching and learning (Le, 2004). According
Mackey (1965) most teaching methods still exist both advantages and
disadvantages, and it is difficult to say which method is the most appropriate

method, represent a particular view of understanding and explaining language
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acquisition. It is socially constructed and must be seen as a product of social,
cultural, economic, and political forces.
Canale and Swain (1980) expanded on the theoretical basis of CLT for both
teaching and testing. In their reaction against an over emphasis on functions and a
lack of emphasis on grammatical complexity, they pointed out that external oriental
communication is not necessarily more essential than other proposes of language
such as "self-expression, verbal thinking, problem solving, and creative writing".
CLT is usually characterized as a broad approach to teaching, rather than as
teaching method with a clearly defined set of classroom practices. As such, it is
most often defined as a list of general principles of features that Nunan (1991)
remarked:
- An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target
language.
- The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.
- The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but
also on the learning management process.
- An enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences as important
contributing elements to classroom learning.
- An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activities outside
the classroom.
2.1.1.2. Characteristics of CLT
Language is not simply a system of rules. It is now generally seen "as a
dynamic resource for the creation of meaning" (Nunan, 1989). This point of view is
really supports CLT.
• CLT is aimed at (a) making communicative competence the goal of language
teaching and (b) developing procedures for the teaching of the four language skills
that acknowledge the interdependence of language and communication (Canh,
2004).

improvement of their learners' proficiency.
For the reasons mentioned above, CLT has served as the dominant approach to
language teaching since the demise of Audio-lingual Method.
To summarize, CLT is characterized as:
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- an emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target
language;
- the introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation;
- the provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language
but also on the learning process itself;
- an enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences as important
contributing elements to classroom learning;
- an attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation
outside the classroom. (Brown 1994 a, p. 78)
CLT is so popular that “no self- respecting teacher, materials designer, or
applied linguist would think of teaching English as anything else.” (Harmer 1982,
p. 164)
2.2.2. Material Adaptation
As Cunningsworth (1984, p.89) has pointed out: no course book will be total
suited to a particular teaching situation. The teacher will have to find his own way
of using it and adapting it if necessary. So we should not be looking for the perfect
course book which meets all our requirement, but rather for the best possible fit
between what the course book offers and what we as teachers and students need.
2.2.2.1. Definition of Adaptation
Naturally, adaptation is the action or process of adapting or fitting or the
stage of being adapted or fitted. Being considered in the points of view of
linguistics and educators, course book adaptation means changing existing course
book in order to make them more suitable for specific learners, teachers, or
situations (Tomlinson, 2000). In addition to this issue, Peacok (1996) states that
adaptation is essentially a process of matching to maximize the appropriacy of

After recognizing a gap (mismatch or non-congruence) between published
teaching materials and the needs and objectives of the classroom, the teacher has to
address the practicalities of adapting the material to meet her class objectives more
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closely. Mc Donough and Shaw (1993) and Cunningsworth (1995) offered lists of
techniques that may be used when adapting materials better to fit a specific class
Adding
The notion of addition is, on its face, a very obvious and straightforward
idea, implying that materials are supplemented by putting more into them, while
taking into account the practical effect on time allocation. We certainly can add in
this simple quantitative way by the technique of "extending". For example, adding a
second passage parallel to the one provided is helpful in reinforcing the key
linguistic features-tenses, sentence structure, vocabulary, cohesive device-of the
first text.
Adding technique by extending is to supply more to the original material. This
means that the techniques are being applied within methodological framework of
the original materials. We can also add in a qualitative way by the technique of
"expanding". Adding technique by expanding is to add to the methodology by
moving outside it and developing it in new directions, for instance by putting a
different language skill or a new component. This can be thought of as a change in
the overall system.
Deleting or omitting
Deletion is clearly the opposite process to addition, and as such needs no
further clarification as a term. However, although material is taken out rather than
supplemented, as a technique it can be thought of as "the other side of the same
coin". The technique is used to omit material or reduce the length of material as
subtracting from it. For instance, the teacher leaves out lengthy and difficult tasks
which are unproductive or inappropriate for a particular group of students.
Addition and deletion often work together, of course. Material may be taken
out and then replaced with something else.