ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to express my special thanks to M.A Tran
Thi Van, my supervisor, who has given me great help with this graduation
paper. Without her experienced guidance, valuable suggestions and dutiful
supervision, my research would be far from finished.
I would also like to express my thankfulness to teachers and students at
Tay Thuy Anh upper-secondary school for their help in completing my survey
questionnaires as well as their willingness to share their ideas on the
accomplishment of the study.
I take this opportunity to thank the teachers in Department of Foreign
Languages, Taybac University for their help and care for me during the time I
do this study.
I am also indebted to all my friends who have kindly given me assistance
and encouragement, without whom, the study would have no such great
motivation.
Last but not least, the support extended to me by members of my family
has been immeasurable. I would like to express my sincere thanks to them for
their support and encouragement throughout my study.
Son La, 30th April, 2015

Le Thi Kim Thoa

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ABSTRACT

This study was carried out at Tay Thuy Anh upper- secondary school
with 100 tenth grade students and 8 teachers. The purpose of the study is to
investigate the current situation of teachers’ giving feedback and its impacts on

Chart 4: The aspects for teachers’ feedback ....................................................... 29
Chart 5: Year of learning English ....................................................................... 32
Chart 6: Students’ opinions of learning speaking skill ....................................... 33
Chart 7: Status of giving feedback in speaking skill........................................... 34
Chart 8: Students’ opinions of teachers’ feedback.............................................. 35
Chart 9: The effects of teachers’ feedback towards students’ learning .............. 36
Chart 10: The aspects of teachers’ feedback ....................................................... 37
Chart 11: Students’ frequency of receiving feedback ......................................... 38

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................. i
ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... ii
LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………….iii
LIST OF CHARTS……………………………………………………….……iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………..…..v
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... 1
1.1. Rationale......................................................................................................... 1
1.2. Purposes of the study

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1.3. Scope of the study .......................................................................................... 2
1.4. Research questions ......................................................................................... 2
1.5. Methods of the study ...................................................................................... 3
1.6. Overview of the study .................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW......................................................... 4
2.1. Theoretical background of speaking .............................................................. 4

3.1.2.3. Teachers and teaching conditions .......................................................... 19
3.2. Research instruments.................................................................................... 20
3.2.1. Survey questionnaires ............................................................................... 20
3.2.1.1. The questionnaire for the teachers ......................................................... 20
3.2.1.2. The questionnaire for the students ......................................................... 21
3.2.2. Class observation....................................................................................... 21
3.2.3. Interview.................................................................................................... 21
3.2.3.1. Students’ interview................................................................................. 22
3.2.3.2. Teachers’ interview ................................................................................ 22
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3.3. Procedure ...................................................................................................... 22
3.4. Summary ...................................................................................................... 22
CHAPTER IV: DATA ANALYSIS ................................................................. 24
4.1. Introduction .................................................................................................. 24
4.2. Data analysis ................................................................................................ 24
4.2.1. Data analysis of the survey questionnaire ................................................. 24
4.2.1.1. Data analysis of the survey questionnaire for the teachers .................... 24
4.2.1.1.1. Teachers’ background and their teaching conditions.......................... 24
4.2.1.1.2. Teachers’ attitude towards teaching speaking skill ............................ 25
4.2.1.1.3. Status of giving feedback in speaking English lessons ....................... 25
4.2.1.1.4. Reasons for giving no feedback in teaching speaking English skill ... 26
4.2.1.1.5. Teachers’ purposes in giving feedback for teaching speaking skill ... 27
4.2.1.1.6. The appropriate time for teachers giving feedback in speaking lesson
............................................................................................................................. 28
4.2.1.1.7. The aspects for teachers giving feedback ........................................... 29
4.2.1.1.8. Teachers’ frequency of using some types of feedback ....................... 30
4.2.1.1.9. Teachers’ opinions about types of feedback ....................................... 31
4.2.1.1.10. Teachers’ difficulties when giving feedback .................................... 31

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale
It is undoubted that nowadays English has become an international
language that takes an important role in the social life of the world. It helps to
narrow the gap between people and people, country and country, continent and
continent. Moreover, it is the golden key to open human treasure of knowledge
particularly in science and technology. Therefore, teaching and learning English
have been received a great amount of focus from every country all over the
world.
In Vietnam, learning English has become necessary to everybody. This
demand in language learning has brought about a great amount of positive
changes in language teaching. Language teachers have looked for and tried
different methods and techniques in teaching and learning in order to find the
effective ones. The effectiveness of a teaching method or technique is reflected
in the learners’ language competence that is their abilities to perform the four
skills. Among which speaking skill appears to be the most important one for
both teachers and students, Barry Sesnan (1997). Moreover, there is the fact that
the question of teaching speaking effectively and attractively has been the
concern of many teachers of English. Therefore, it is essential for the teachers to
find out effective teaching approaches to make the lesson more interesting so
that she can attract students’ attention and help improve their speaking
proficiency as well.
In practice, however, many learners feel frustrated as they find that
speaking in a foreign language is a complex matter. It is because speaking
involves many factors. The ability to speak fluently presupposes not only
knowledge of language features, but also the ability to process information and
language “on the spot” (Harmer, 2001). In learning speaking skill, the students
often find some problems. The common problem is that their native language
causes them difficult to use the foreign language. Other reason is because of
motivation lack to practice the second language in daily conversation. They are

1. How do the teachers give feedback to the 10th form students in English
speaking skills?

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2. What are the impacts of teachers’ feedback on students in English
speaking lessons?
1.5. Methods of the study
In order to collect sufficient data for analysis, the following methods were
employed. Theoretically, the researcher spent time reading books and materials
available on teaching and learning speaking to get knowledge of the subject.
Moreover, in order to find out the effective ways to give feedback on
speaking English lesson, two questionnaires were conducted. One was designed
for teachers and the other was for students.
The research also interviewed students and teachers about giving feedback
in speaking lessons to get information from participants.
Observation was another method of the study. The research observed the
way teachers gave feedback and the impacts to students in speaking skill.
1.6. Overview of the study
The study consists of six chapters:
Chapter I (Introduction) states the rationale, purpose of the study, the
research question, the methods, and the scope of the study.
Chapter II (Literature review) presents the literature review of the study
including theoretical background of speaking, teaching speaking and giving
feedback.
Chapter III (Methodology) describes the research method in this study,
consists information of the setting, the participant, data collection instrument
and procedure.
Chapter IV (Data analysis) analyses data collected from the survey

express oneself opinions”. Hedge (2000) said that “speaking is oral expression,
the use of the sounds in the patterns of rhythm and intonation”. While another
expert, Huebner (1960:5) believed “Language is essentially speech, and speech
is basically communication by sounds”. And 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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From the above definitions, it can be inferred that speaking is expressing
ideas, opinions, or feelings to other by using words or sounds of articulation in
order to inform, to persuade, and to entertain that can be learnt by using some
teaching and learning methodologies.
2.1.2. Position of speaking skill in English Language Teaching
Different linguists and methodologists have recognized the essential role
of speaking skill in English Language Teaching for various reasons.
In the first place, it is the speaking skill which helps the learners have
communication which, as for Richard. A (1991), is the proper aim of language
teaching. Once the learner communicates well, he can get information from
others about anything he would like to know. For example, a Vietnamese
student in Australia can use his speaking activity to ask native student about the
institution, and thus can have all the information concerned. Also, as Larson
(1996) believes, effective communication can bring people a more productive,
satisfactory, and meaningful life. In other words, being able to communicate
successfully in a foreign language helps people to take it easy and be confident
to express themselves. Therefore, conflicts threats and nervousness can be
avoided and a better relationship will come to them.

and English language teacher have continued to teach speaking just as a
repetition of drills or memorization of dialogues. However, today’s world
requires that the goal of teaching speaking should improve students’
communicative skills, because, only in that way, students can express
themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules appropriate in
each communicative circumstance.
According to Nunan (2003), teaching speaking is to:
 Produce the English speech sounds and sounds patterns.
 Use a word and sentence stress, intonation patterns and the rhythm of
the second language.
 Select appropriate words and sentences according to the proper social
setting, audience, situation and subject matter.
 Organize their thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence.
 Use language as a means of expressing values and judgments.

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 Use the language quickly and confidently with few unnatural pauses,
which are called fluency.
As mentioned above, teaching speaking is an important work that needs
all educators takes many interests to get the best results for effective teaching. In
addition, the qualification of learning is also improved better.
2.2.2. The principles for teaching speaking
In order to help students have “communicative competence” it is actually
essential for teachers of English to be aware of the principles for teaching
speaking.
David Nunan (2005) gave some principles for teaching speaking to
beginning learners:
 Provide something for learners to talk about.



Their principles are actually very useful and sufficient for teachers of
English in teaching speaking. If teachers of English follow all these principles
and know how to adapt them in speaking lesson, they will be successful in
developing the students’ speaking activity.
But many teachers of English find it very difficult to apply these
principles at most Vietnamese high schools where both teachers and learners are
mainly focusing on linguistic competence. Therefore, in the process of acquiring
English, students try their best to practice vocabulary, grammar and do exercises
related to these patterns. They seem to neglect the cultural differences as well as
communication purposes. So, the difficulties when teachers apply these
principles are unavoidable. In order to get students speak accurately and
fluently, it is very necessary for teachers to create flexible speaking activities
and know how to exploit the students’ capacity in each activity in order to obtain
the goal of language teaching and learning
2.2.3. The importance of the teaching speaking
According to David Nunan (2005) said that language teaching was seen to
as helping learners develop “linguistic competence” – that is, helping students
master the sounds, words, and grammar patterns of English. The idea was that
by studying the bits and pieces of a language, students could eventually put them
all together and communicate.
In “Teaching English to Children” Brumfit (1991), Moon and Tongue say:
“It is not surprising to note that a child’s concentration span increases as he/ she
grows older. Children cannot concentrate on one thing for a long period and
therefore the authors recommend that lesson should be divided into a series of
activities lasting no longer than five or ten minutes. This is because children are
bombarded with new experiences and information. Teachers should introduce a
reasonable number of new language items and present and practice them in a
number of different ways.

Person X
Barry Sesnan’s picture 1997

In other words, when person X wants to communicate he can use writing
or speech. His message can therefore either be heard or read person Y. We can
also say that writing and reading both use the written or printed media, whereas
speaking and listening use the air as medium.
Speech definitely came first both in our own lives and in the development
of the human race. We must always remember this and give oral English the
priority it deserves.
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2.2.4.1. The relationship between speaking and listening
Most people define oral communication narrowly, focusing on speaking
and listening skills separately. Traditionally, when people describe speaking
skills, they do so in a context of public speaking. Recently, however, definitions
of speaking have been expanded to include school plays, dramatic recitals and
group activities. Even when the majority of the class has mastered basic
listening and speaking skills, it is important to keep in mind that not every
student learns effective verbal communication or skillful listening abilities at the
same rate. Those students, who are not “catching on” as quickly as the rest of
the class, are not so much unskilled as they are undisciplined. The skills that can
make difference between minimal and effective communication can be taught,
practiced and improved.
Jared (2001) claimed “speech recognition as a person learning to take
dictation in a language needs to learn the vocabulary and the pronunciation of
the language. Getting good at dictation takes a lot of practice hearing the
language spoken it helps to know what people are likely to talk about, how they
express themselves, and the common construction and idioms”.

able to visualize the words as they are saying them and see where these words
would go if they were writing them down.
Considerable research has been done on the relationship between speaking
and writing development in the first language acquisition from different
perspectives, Kantor and Rubin (1981); Cambourne (1981); Gere (1981); Labor
(1963) argued “competence in the spoken language appears to be a necessary
base for competence in writing and predicted it would be relatively difficult for
the students with low proficiency in speaking to master written conventions.
Kroll (1981) stated there was a developmental trend on speaking and writing,
which progressed through different phrases of development. These studies have
provided valuable information for the first language instructors to facilitate their
student language acquisition.
Many beginners shy away from creating language, preferring instead to
concentrate on listening and reading, those aspects which are centered on
understanding other people’s language. But writing and speaking help everyone
to get better at the language and understanding how it works. Not until you have
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put the kills into practice in writing and speaking yourself can you truly
appreciate how language works.
In short, the four areas are important, they are connected, and one leads to
another. Just think in our daily life, we read a newspaper, we talk on the phone,
we listen to a song and we write a mail. When we talk about a second language
is the same. We can be more or less skillful in any of them, but all of the areas
are important.
All in all, four language skills of teaching and learning a foreign language
are closely interrelated. The relationship among language skills motivates
students greatly in their learning.
2.3. Theoretical background of feedback

students.
2.3.2. Types of feedback
Gattullo (2000) and Harmer (2001) decide feedback into corrective,
evaluative and strategic. Corrective feedback focuses on helping learners notice
and correct errors. This type of feedback explains why responses are correct or
wrong. In learning speaking, corrective feedback will primarily concern with
accuracy. Evaluative feedback aims to provide a judgment on the students'
performance. Gattullo (2000) suggests that evaluate feedback is dominant in
second and foreign language classroom. In giving evaluative feedback, teachers
use words and phrases to indicate the extent to which students' performance is
good or not. Finally, strategic feedback usually aims to offer students advice on
what to do to improve their performance. In other word, the teachers try to
suggest ways of helping students to overcome their mistakes.
2.3.3. The impacts of giving feedback on speaking English
2.3.3.1. The advantages of giving feedback
Feedback is an essential part of effective learning. It helps students
understand the subject being studied and gives them clear guidance on how to
improve their learning.
Bellon et al state “academic feedback is more strongly and consistently
related to achievement than any other teaching behavior…this relationship is
consistent regardless of grade, socioeconomic status, race, or school setting”.
Feedback can improve a student’s confidence, self- awareness and enthusiasm
for learning. Providing students engage with feedback, it should enhance
learning and improve assessment performance.

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Feedback on performance is so important that Gibbs and Simpson (2004)
said that feedback to the students on their assignments was the single most


-

correction of misunderstandings

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Reinforcement of what has been done well

 For teachers, effective feedback enables them to evaluate:
-

teaching and learning programs

-

teaching strategies

-

assessment strategies
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-

assessment task design

-


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should be in a high level. A teacher is often the first person who gives children
new information about a foreign language. According to many practical
methodological books, a teacher can change various roles, because individual
stages of the lesson require different approaches to learners. Sometimes only the
teacher’s personality can decide if the children’s attitude towards learning
foreign language is positive or negative.
Moreover, when giving feedback teacher should consider carefully the
selection of feedback. In the first place, appropriateness is necessary. It means
that giving feedback must suitable with students’ English level. Secondly, giving
feedback should concern about the mood of students; only then they have
potential to bring motivation in the language classroom. Thirdly, honest
feedback is very important for students to encourage them to speak English.
2.3.4.2. The students’ role
The younger learner is very significant and all work should be aimed
towards him. “Younger learners respond to language according to what it does
or what they can do with it, rather than treating it as an intellectual game in
abstract system. This has both advantages and disadvantages: on the one hand
they respond to the meaning underlying the language used and do not worry
about individual words or sentences, on the other hand, they do not make the
analytical links that older learners do. Younger learners have the advantage of
being great mimics, are often unselfconscious, and are usually prepared to enjoy
the activities the teacher has prepared for them”, Younger Learners, S. Philips
(1997).
Especially, when students receive feedback from their teacher, literary
quality is not the only the criterion for the selection of feedback. Quite often
“bad” writing proves more useful or stimulating than “good”. Feedback is not
necessarily presented as model of good writing. Students are not required to