STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I, Bui Thi Nga hereby certify that this thesis, entitled “A study on effects of
storytelling on speaking performance among students of English at the University
of Transport and communications – campus 2”, is my own work.
Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contain material
published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have
qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.
No other person‟s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main
text of the thesis.
This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any
other tertiary institution.
Ho Chi Minh, 2016

BUI THI NGA

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my deep gratitude to all those concerned in my thesis.
The deepest gratitude I would like to send is to my supervisor, Le Hoang Dung,
PhD, who gave me great care, thoughtful and insightful comments in the thesis. He
also provided me with invaluable support in the preparation and completion this
thesis as well as a wholehearted supervisor. Without his enthusiastic guidance and
constructive critical questions, I could not have finished my study.
I specially thank my colleagues at the UTC2 for helping me with the assessment as
well as sharing the happiness and difficulties with me during the study.
I am also grateful to my TESOL7 classmates, who helped and supported me with
the willingness and encouragement.
Last but not least, my special thanks go to my family and my husband, Nguyen The
Hung. I could never overcome the difficulties facing my life without their endless

Table of contents ...................................................................................................... iv
List of tables and diagrams .................................................................................. viii
List of abbreviations ................................................................................................. x

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background of the study..................................................................................... 1
1.2 Statement of problem ......................................................................................... 4
1.2.1 Aims of the study ..........................................................................................4
1.2.2 Research questions ........................................................................................4
1.2.3 Research hypotheses .....................................................................................4
1.3 Significance of the study .................................................................................... 5
1.4 Scope of the study .............................................................................................. 5
1.5 Organization of the thesis ................................................................................... 5
Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................... 7
2.1 The nature of speaking ....................................................................................... 7
2.1.1 Definition of speaking ..................................................................................7
2.1.2 Components of speaking ...............................................................................8
2.2 Effective ways of teaching speaking .................................................................. 8
2.2.1 Considerable factors in teaching speaking....................................................8
2.2.1.1 Fluency .....................................................................................................9
2.2.1.2 Knowledge of language............................................................................9
2.2.1.2.1 Grammar ..............................................................................................9
2.2.1.2.2 Vocabulary ........................................................................................10
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2.2.1.3 Self-confidence ......................................................................................11
2.2.1.4. Motivation .............................................................................................11
2.2.2 Principles of teaching speaking ..................................................................12
2.2.3 Criteria of assessment for speaking performance .......................................14

3.5 Data collection procedure ................................................................................. 48
3.6 Chapter summary.............................................................................................. 50
Chapter 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ............................................. 51
4.1 Non-parametric analysis of Experimental Group in Pre test and Post test ...... 51
4.2 Questionnaire data analysis .............................................................................. 56
4.2.1 Students‟ background information..............................................................56
4.2.2 Students‟ interest towards using storytelling in learning oral performance
..............................................................................................................................57
4.2.3 Students‟ stimulation of imagination of storytelling ..................................59
4.2.4 Students‟ encouragement of emotional development .................................60
4.2.5 Students‟ enrichment of linguistic knowledge ...........................................61
4.2.6 Students‟ motivation and confidence ..........................................................63
4.2.7 Students‟ reflection upon stories‟ meanings ...............................................65
4.2.8 Students‟ improvement of memory ............................................................66
4.2.9 Balance between English and Vietnamese .................................................67
4.3.0 Suitability of story.......................................................................................68
4.3.1 Students‟ suggestions of using storytelling in the class ..............................68
4.3 Analysis of interview answers .......................................................................... 70
4.4 Discussion of results ......................................................................................... 71
4.4.1 Students‟ speaking performance improvement ..........................................71
4.4.2 Students‟ attitudes towards learning speaking English with storytelling ...72
4.5 Summary of findings ........................................................................................ 74
4.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 80
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION ................................................................................ 81
5.1 Main conclusions of the study .......................................................................... 81
5.2 Suggestions for teachers ................................................................................... 83
5.3 Limitations of the study .................................................................................... 85
5.4 Recommendations for the study ....................................................................... 85

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Table 7 Questionnaire items......................................................................................44
Table 8 The brief summary of study procedure ........................................................48
Table 9 Descriptive statistics for Experimental Group in Pre test and Post test.......51
Table 10 Descriptive statistics of aspects in Pre test and Post test ...........................52
Table 11 Pre test and Post test of Normality .............................................................52
Table 12 Means of Paired Samples Statistics ...........................................................52
Table 13 Paired Samples Correlations ......................................................................53
Table 14 Paired Difference .......................................................................................53
Table 15 Pre test and Post test aspects of Normality ................................................54
Table 16 Ranks of Pre test and Post test aspects.......................................................54
Table 17 Test Statisticsa ............................................................................................55
Table 18 Participants‟ gender....................................................................................57
Table 19 Participants‟ age .........................................................................................57
Table 20 Participants‟ English learning time ...........................................................57
Table 21 Students‟ interest towards using storytelling in learning oral performance
...................................................................................................................................58
Table 22 Students‟ response to the stimulation of imagination of storytelling ........59
Table 23 Students‟ response to the encouragement of emotional development .......60
Table 24 Students‟ response to the enrichment of linguistic knowledge..................61
Table 25 Students‟ response to the motivation and confidence ................................64
Table 26 Students‟ reflection upon stories‟ meanings ..............................................65

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Table 27 Students‟ improvement of memory ...........................................................66
Table 28 Balance between English and Vietnamese ................................................67
Table 29 Suitability of story......................................................................................68
Table 30 Students‟ response to their suggestions .....................................................69
Table 31 General and comprehensive view of findings ............................................75

a compulsory subject in all schools and universities to “provide students with a new
tool of communication to absorb scientific knowledge, advanced technology and
diversified cultures in the world for the world facilitation of the globalization” (Le,
2008). In the case, it is really essential for learners to develop four skills, namely
listening, speaking, reading and writing. However, in Vietnamese educational
context, the reality of teaching and learning English is problematic. According to
Tran (2005) in the article “Factors affecting teaching and learning English in
Vietnamese universities” published by Vietnam National University – Hanoi, she
defined several problems affecting English language teaching and learning in
Vietnam in terms of too large class size, lack of authentic context for language
study, traditional form-focused instruction rather than interactive teaching
approaches and low English levels of the majority students when entering
university. Because of such reasons, the ability of communicating in English of
students is very low, even in simple English sentences. According to Nunan et al
(2003) (cited in the article in Tran 2005), the proficiency of English of the majority
of university students is currently disappointing although there have been great
efforts of universities in terms of increasing the qualifications of teachers of
English, applying new teaching methods as well as supporting from foreigners.
The fact leading to students‟ difficulty in learning to speak English is that
English is rarely used outside the classroom. In addition, in Vietnam, teaching
English communicatively has been ignored mostly in their real-world classrooms.
Instead, they spend most of their lesson time explaining abstract grammar rules and

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guiding their students in choral readings (Le, 2002). In the article by Anh (2012),
she mentioned one of the causes of the problem was teaching and learning English
in Vietnam which emphasized traditional pedagogy, the acquisition of grammar,
vocabulary rather than communicative competence”. Apart from the positive factors

addition, the author has not applied storytelling technique in her teaching before.
Hopefully, she decided to explore effects of storytelling in enhancing students‟
speaking in order to fullfill her aims as well as her hypothesis which will be set up
as follows.
Moreover, teaching English non-majored students for the second semester
for two different classes for the academic year 2015 at the University of Transport
and Communications – Campus 2 (UTC2) as well as the observations in other
teachers‟ classes, the author recognized that almost all teachers spent most of their
time explaining about the language, translating word by word in the textbook,
giving written tasks, and asking the students to look for the meaning of new words.
Most teachers used the traditional methods in teaching the students how to speak
English at UTC2 in general. In addition, midterm test which connects to grammar
use and vocabulary has been essential so far. The material in use named “General
English” was compiled by experienced teachers of English at UTC2. The students
had one year for general English and one semester for English for Specific Purpose
(ESP). The students, however, could not speak English well as they expressed that
they did not like the teaching method that the teachers used to teach them how to
speak English.
However, those studies on storytelling were mostly applied for the young
learners at primary or secondary schools. The author wondered if storytelling could
be successfully applied to teach speaking skills for the elementary students, was it
likely to be used to improve the first-year English non-majored students‟ English
speaking performance at university level or not? This is the reason why she chose
storytelling as a technique to be used to improve the speaking performance of the
first-year English non-majored students at UTC2.

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1.2 Statement of problem



the study, the author tried to reject that using storytelling does not help students in
learning speaking English by giving true evidence through an experiment in class.
1.3 Significance of the study
Realizing that speaking English well in the world integration is absolutely
important, especially for civil engineering and economic majoring students. Doing
the experiment on storytelling is to compare its effectiveness to the previous
teaching techniques of speaking English. If the study can be conducted successfully,
it would emphasize the roles of storytelling in learning speaking of UTC2 students
as well as students‟ positive attitudes expressed after the use of storytelling in class.
With its significance as mentioned, teachers of English at UTC2 could apply such
technique to improve students‟ speaking performance more effectively.
1.4 Scope of the study
The University of Transport and Communications – Campus 2 established in
1990 is the one of the biggest universities in District 9, Ho Chi Minh City. The
university is in charge of educating and training students majoring in civil
engineering and economics. All students are expected to learn English as a
compulsory subject. During the study, one class was assigned to the author who is
responsible for teaching. Hence, the class of 38 students accidentally chosen in the
experimental research is first – year students majoring in economics mostly.
1.5 Organization of the thesis
This thesis consists of five chapters, namely (1) Introduction, (2) Literature
review, (3) Research methodology, (4) Data analysis and discussion, and (5)
Conclusion. Chapter 1 focuses on the object of the study which deals with the six
parts of background, research aims, research questions, research hypothesis,
significance of the study, and organization of the thesis. In chapter 2, it is really
important to review the literature relevant to speaking and storytelling. Chapter 3
describes the research design and methodology used for data collection including
the research questions, the research design, the participants, the materials, the

grammar curriculum and then use linguistic knowledge such as speech act
knowledge, discourse knowledge, and knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, and
phonology. Also, Bygate (1991) says that interaction skills involve making
decisions about communication while maintaining desired relations with others.
Furthermore, according to Cohen (1994) defines that speakers have fluency in the
language and can use vocabulary and structure in suitable situations.
In short, speaking is an ability to communicate by sharing information
fluently and accurately, including appropriate selections and use of vocabulary and
structures. However, to be successful in speaking, teachers and students should have
a clear understanding of the various components of speaking.

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2.1.2 Components of speaking
Syakur (1987) reveals that speaking is a complex skill because at least it is
concerned with components of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and fluency as
detailed.
Grammar concerns with how to arrange to correct sentences in conversation.
The utility of grammar is to learn the correct way to gain expertise in a language
both in oral and written form. In the article by Chin (2000), she determined that
“Grammar is the sound, structure, and meaning system of language. All languages
have grammar, and each language has its own grammar” (p.1). As can be seen that
grammar is really connected with vocabulary in order to a sentence can be formed.
So, vocabulary means the appropriate diction which is used in conversation.
Without having a sufficient vocabulary, one cannot communicate effectively. When
speaking a language, a learner needs to notice how to pronounce a word which is an
important component relating to the students‟ way to utter English well and it deals
with phonology. As required in speaking good English, a learner is expected to be
fluent and accurate during a talk which can be defined as the ability to speak

However, it is required for students to understand components of linguistic
knowledge of English and master them so that they are able to be fluent in speaking.
2.2.1.2 Knowledge of language
2.2.1.2.1 Grammar
Grammar is an important part which cannot be ignored in learning English
because it specifies how meanings created in English. “Grammar is the system of
rules governing the conventional arrangement and relationship of words in a
sentence” Brown (2001). Grammar according to Harmer & Jeremy (2001) is the
description of the ways in which words can change their forms and can be
combined into sentences in that language.
From the above definitions, it can be seen that grammar is a rule of the
arrangement of words, clauses, phrases in a particular language. Based on such
findings, it is necessary to define the importance of grammar in speaking. Brown
(2009) assures that grammar has a big fluence in learning language skills in terms of
listening, writing, speaking and reading. In mastering speaking skill, we need to
know how to use grammatical words classes, system, word order, patterns and rules.

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Therefore, students learn grammar in order to enable to create infinity of sentences.
When students understand the grammar or system of a language, they can
understand many things themselves in communicating with people. In addition, in
order to produce a correct sentence, it is important for students to be aware of the
grammatical system which regularly shape its nuances of meaning. So, without
knowledge about English grammar, students finds how to speak difficult and
boring.
2.2.1.2.2 Vocabulary
In a language, learning vocabulary becomes an important part and closely
relates to learning English skills. The term “vocabulary” can be defined in a variety

confidence because of being afraid of making mistakes as well as losing their face
in front of other students. Therefore, as a teacher of English, helping students to get
enough language competence and develop their confidence is the best way to arouse
their speaking skill. However, being a confident speaker requires herself to get
motivation in learning speaking.
2.2.1.4. Motivation
According to Lai (2011) motivation which consists of the two kinds of
intrinsic and extrinsic one is defined as a constellation of closely related beliefs,
perceptions, values, interests and actions. Similar to Lai, Harmer (1991) &
Vallerand (1997) stated that motivation connects closely to students‟ effort, desire
as well as their positive attitudes towards learning. As Deci et al. (1999) observe,
“Intrinsic motivation energizes and sustains activities through the spontaneous
satisfactions inherent in effective volitional action. It is manifest in behaviors such
as play, exploration, and challenge seeking that people often do for external
rewards” (p. 658). Therefore, in teaching and learning English, especially in
speaking, it is really important to raise students‟ motivation as well as help them be
aware of necessity of their best efforts. Making students be interested in learning
speaking English is not easy and a teacher must have a good teaching technique by
giving students activities which both are used to play and learn. To sum up, as a
teacher of English, she must consider many factors affecting on speaking. Besides,

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it is important for her to master the numerous principles of teaching speaking as
follows.
2.2.2 Principles of teaching speaking
As stated by Bailey (2005), three main principles for teaching speaking
should be acquired by teachers are:
Firstly, the most important principle in teaching speaking is that the teacher

in designing speaking activities. In order to do this, it is necessary to choose the
suitable methods for students in terms of students‟ level, learning environment, and
even different lessons.
Thirdly, authentic language in meaningful contexts should be encouraged in
use. It means that the teacher should offer students the tasks relating to real-life
situations. In speaking, being familiar with authentic language is not only helpful
for students in specific contexts but raises them motivation.
Fourthly, the teacher should provide appropriate feedback and correction.
The teachers should pay attention to how to correct students‟ mistakes when they
speak. If the teacher is not good at this factor, it may harm and de-motivate students
in doing oral tasks.
Fifthly, the teacher should capitalize on the natural link between speaking
and listening. The speaking and listening skills should be cooperated at the same
time when the teacher asks students to do speaking activities.
Sixthly, giving students opportunities to initiate oral communication is an
important way in speaking. Before performing the tasks, it is necessary for students
to deal with the task in pre speaking stage. They are likely to discuss and prepare
the speaking activities so that they are willing to tackle the tasks successfully.
Last but not at least, the teacher should encourage the development of
speaking strategies. In the case, the teachers as facilitators who help students get
more vocabularies and know the grammar rules as well as the steps to improve
students‟ speaking performance.
In conclusion, in order to help students succeed in speaking performance, it
is important for the teacher to master the above mentioned principles on purpose so

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that she can be aware of what to teach and how to teach appropriately. Moreover,
combining all above mentioned principles orderly and properly while speaking is

Can make him/herself

Can answer questions

Can link groups

patterns with memorised

structures

understood in very

and respond to simple

of words with

phrases, groups of a few

correctly, but still

short utterances, even

statements. Can indicate

simple

words and formulae in

systematically


simple everyday
situations.

Interaction

of his/her own record.

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Coherence


Considering some factors relating to the research context, research
participants as well as KET test, this criteria will not be chosen for evaluating
because of the following reasons. The first reason is that storytelling is assumed as a
tool to maily help students improve their accuracy and fluency. Hence, the aspects
of range, interaction and coherence will be ignored. The test which will be used to
evaluate students after the treatment is KET. In the book “Cambridge Key English
Test 1” by the publisher “Cambridge University Press”, the criteria for KET is also
designed but it is still in general. The marks given for the whole test are awarded on
the basis of the following criteria. It is just required to be successful in limited
resources of grammar and vocabulary to communicate messages rather than range
and accuracy. In addition, the intelligibility of the candidates speech is compusary
in assessing pronunciation. Students at the level A2 are only excepted to have
limited linguistic resources, so the assessor should pay attention to how much
students can act out in their language.
To fullfill all of the requirements as above, the author decided to use the
criteria standardised by Cambridge English Language Assessment at CEFR. Such
criteria gives scores for two parts which are equivelent to KET. In addition, the gaps
between five bands are clearly designed and easy to mark.