Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale
English has become an international communicative language in the world. It has
been used widely in many different fields such as economics, politics, culture, science,
technology, education and tourism. It can’t be denied that English is one of the most
important means of communication. Therefore, teaching and learning English is more
and more essensial.
In Vietnam, English has become a compulsory subject in the syllabus of many
schools, colleges and universities. It has been taught and learnt throughout the country.
However, the fact is that the speaking English skill has not been effective yet, especially
oral presentation. Students graduating from high school or even from university are
unable to “speak” English, because we have not given them enough practice in speaking
English. Most of the students do not find speaking a rewarding task. We cannot learn
speaking by observation. Speaking is the most difficult in the four skills. Reading,
listening and writing can be learning with a teacher or on one’s own, with books.
However, speaking requires immediate comprehension and real time reaction. I think that
the way of teaching by oral presentation will motivate student and encourage them to
practice English in the classroom.
At Doluong 3 high school, many students are not interested in speaking lessons as
well as they can not speak English well after leaving school even though they have learnt
English for a long time. Moreover, the teachers of English find it difficult to encourage
their students to make oral presentation in the process of teaching speaking skill.
To meet the demand of learners of English, teachers of English in Do luong 3 have
been trying to find out the most suitable and effective method of teaching English. They
have always tried to catch up with the world’s latest frameworks of English Language
Teaching. As in other schools, teachers of English in Do luong 3 are now approaching
project based learning to teach English to students. They hope to provide students with a
means of communication, namely English which is vital for them to be successful in their
job and to fulfill their social demands in the time of globalization.
Therefore, it is really essential to know whether the project based learning has the

teaching with a view to better their students’ speaking skill.
Our objective is to show how project based leaning can help students enough
practice to develop oral presentation skill in speaking English language.
1.3. Scope of the study
Although there are many different ways to motivate students to learn English, all
these issues cannot be fully covered in this paper. Due to the limited time and the length
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of the thesis, I focus on exploiting students’ attitudes toward the use of PBL and its
effectiveness in teaching the oral presentation skill. The subjects of the study include
forty 11th graders at Do Luong 3 high school.
1.4. Significance of the study
The main goal of study is how to make student perform well in classroom, by
preparing activities where they will speak as much as possible. We will focus on the use
and effectiveness of the project based learning during the courses, and how will facilitate
the students’ oral presentation skill.
This study is important to give the teacher some ideas for how to deal with
students who do not want to practice in classroom. The use of oral presentation can help
students of English language for being able to speak it, because in our universities we
rarely learn how to speak. Oral presentation in EFL classes give students a confidence to
speak in public and help them in enhancing their proficiency. Moreover, this study is
important for both teachers and students’. Oral presentation can be an enjoyable activity
for them. It gives a break away from textbooks.
1.5. Research Questions
This study attempts to answer the following questions:
1. What are the attitudes of 11th graders towards the use of Project-Based Learning?
2. Does Project-Based Learning help 11th graders to develop their oral presentation
skill ? If so, to what extent?
1.6. Design of the study

LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Oral presentation
2.1.1. Definition of oral presentation
Oral presentation is an extension of oral communication skill. It is where the
presenter shows their knowledge on a particular subject. The participant might choose the
title or the teachers give it to them. In order to talk about it to their classmate after this the
participant makes a small research to get more information about this topic. The presenter
is giving the most important information first, leaving the details for last. According to
Baker (2000, p. 115) oral presentation is like a formal conversation, speaking to group as
a natural activity. Most of people spending hours of their daytime, speaking to others,
however making an oral presentation that is a formal conversation, it is difficult task for
them. Oral presentation is part of spoken language. The purpose of this practice is to
communicate. It is design to inform or persuade. Oral presentation occurs in
organizational setting and with limitation in time. The audience is likely to be more
specialized than those attending a typical speech event.” There are different between
normal speech and oral presentation. The later is a type of speech, but the former is more
nature than oral presentation.
2.1.2 Types of oral presentation
2.1.2.1. Informative oral presentation
This type of presentation has a primary goal, which is to make the audience
learning something new. The speakers use in this type of presentation an informative
speech. The aim of informative presentation is to be communicating with the audiences
and giving them much information in a limited time. (Chivers, Shoolbred, 2007, p. 5).
Moreover, in this type of presentation the speakers use an informative speech to
explain a concept, instruct the audience, demonstrate a process, or describe an event in an
academic setting. In addition, speakers may be choosing the topic by themselves.
(Chivers and Shoolbred (2007, p. 5)
In sum, the speaker’s aim of this presentation is to give the result of their research
in informative way.
2.1.2.2. Persuasive oral presentation

 They provide students with realistic language tasks.
 They have value outside the language classroom.
 They improve students’ motivation.
One of the main benefits of using presentations in the classroom is that oral
presentations are student-centered. When students are asked to give an oral presentation it
is one of the few times in the language classroom that the students themselves have direct
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control of both the content and the flow of the classroom (Apple & Kikuchi, 2007). A
properly scaffolded presentation can result in multiple opportunities for students to
improve their English in a context in which the students themselves are acting as both
teachers and learners Interactions between the presenters and the audience provide both
sets of participants with numerous opportunities to practice their English abilities with
other students in an authentic manner.
Oral presentations also provide students with a process-driven activity that
requires them to use English, not just while they are giving the presentation itself, but
also while they are preparing to present.
Another benefit of oral presentations is that they require students to use all four
language skills; writing, reading, speaking, and listening. Most teachers recognize the
spoken component of presenting, as students are required to speak when giving their
presentations. If these students are given a simple task to do during the presentation, or
are expected to use the knowledge disseminated through the presentation for a specific
purpose, this will allow practicing their listening skills and confirm their understanding
by asking questions and interacting with the presenters. (Thornbury, 2005, p. 91).
The final benefit of using oral presentations in the language classroom is that they
can provide students with additional motivation to study English. One of the joys of
teaching a presentation class is seeing students gain confidence, self-esteem, and
autonomy while they are working independently, or as a small group, to produce and give
an effective presentation.

Pronunciation is the most significant skill in foreign language learning since it
helps EFL learner to be more competent in communication. Furthermore, the level of
pronunciation proficiency represents the main criteria that EFL students can be judged on
and assessed. Hence, they must practice the correct pronunciation forms and be aware of
the various rules of sounds as stress, intonation …etc. Morley (1991, p. 488) emphasizes
the importance of pronunciation in speaking proficiency: “intelligible pronunciation is an
essential component of communication competence ˮ.
Therefore, mispronunciation is a serious problem to overcome that non-native
English speakers face when they try to reach a high level of fluency. So, pronunciation
mistakes are one of the main factors that hinder the students’ freedom in classroom
interaction.
2.1.4.1.3. Grammar mistakes:
Grammar is an essential element of a language, According to Harmer (2001, p. 12)
grammar is defined as: The grammar of a language is the description of the ways in
which words can change their forms and can be combined into sentences in that language
if grammar rules are too carelessly violated, communication may suffer […,] creating a
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good grammar rule is extremely difficult. Linguists investigating Native-speaker speech
…, over the years, devised various different systems to describe how the language works.
One of the most important aspects of being skillful in oral production is possessing
grammar knowledge; Therefore, inappropriate grammar leads to misunderstanding in
communication.
Moreover, EFL learners often prefer to keep silent rather than producing
ungrammatical structures because they are afraid of being ridiculed in front their teachers
and classmates.
Therefore, a grammatical mistake is one of the linguistic obstacles that prevent
EFL learners’ participation.
2.1.4.1.4. The use of the mother tongue

consider this multi-faced phenomenon.
2.1.4.2.2. Group boredom
Some EFL presenters have problem with memorizing information with English so
they try to get it by heart. By this way, the audience will feel bored when they have to
listen to what the speaker said it is look like that they are reading their information “word
for- word” from what the memorizing (King, 2002, p. 405).
Group boredom also results from listening to memorized speeches. A total
dependence on memorization is the pattern followed by most EFL presenters who usually
have trouble adapting information to spoken English for the audience. The audience feels
bored when they have to listen to a tedious reading or word-for-word memorized speech
from a presenter who reads rapidly and monotonously, losing command of their voice,
tone, and pacing. When the audience cannot follow the presentation, their attention drifts
and they lose interest. This makes the speaker feel less confident.
One can say that, students’ problems with oral presentations should take in
consideration. Find a solution of this problem is the rule of booth teachers and students.
2.1.5. Strategies for teaching oral presentation
Many students do not find oral presentation an enjoyable activity. They are afraid
when teachers ask them to prepare an oral presentation. According to Chivers and
Shoolbred (2007, p. 31), “Many students feel highly nervous about undertaking class
presentation.”
Moreover, students have a fear from give an oral presentation because they have
not experience. In addition, some of them do not have a confidence in their abilities.
(King, 2002, p. 406). When students have been asked about what a good presentation is,
they have related it to a clear speech, correct language and when the audience get the
main idea. Therefore, it is important to teach students how to make an oral presentation
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because most of them have not clear ideas about how to do it.
Oral presentations are become more important part of language teaching,

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thinking skills to the project. They should be willing to subordinate their personal
preferences to the decisions of the team, and be willing to compromise in order to
achieve a group consensus. Students should be trustworthy in terms of their ability to
represent the university to their client, and to keep client information confidential as
needed.
Students also need to begin a project with realistic expectations about the process.
Students must replace their “traditional” course expectations with an awareness of the
characteristics of a project. Real world problems that are inherently ambiguous have no
obvious action plan and no right or wrong answer. Indeed, the opportunity to learn about
the ambiguity of real world projects, and how to deal with it, is a benefit to students of
doing projects.
The author has found that student satisfaction ratings of courses that feature real
world projects are a bimodal distribution. Many students have rated a course with real
world projects highly while many any other students rated it very low: “You either love it
or you hate it”. Dissatisfied students cite a number of factors, including bad experiences
with their team, a bad client, and unhappiness with the project process.
Each student should know in advance that his or her initiative will determine the
success of the project, that one’s performance (and grade) is linked with one’s teammates,
that the project process will be ambiguous, that the project outcome has no right or wrong
answer, and that the project will involve a client who is a potential “wild card” in the
process. Despite the warning, some students will not thrive in a real world project
environment and will give the course a low rating. Students find it difficult to have
realistic expectations about something that they have never experienced, such as a real
world project. Another reason for low ratings is that students knew what to expect, and
didn’t like it, but took the course because it was their only option to earn credit.
In summary, students should have the opportunity to self select, or be selected, to
participate in a real world project based on their aptitudes and preferences. And students

2.2. Project based learning
Project-based learning has been investigated in a great number of studies on the
global scale over the last decade, but the application of this approach to teaching English
as a foreign language in Vietnam is still not popular. Project-based learning is a learning
method which focuses on the learner; the teacher acts mainly as a facilitator and
motivator. PBL emphasizes learning activities that are learner-centered and usually
integrated with real world concerns. With a view to achieving great successes in teaching
and learning under the credit-hour system, training workers of the twenty-first century
standard, PBL is also a beneficial approach to be applied at high school in Vietnam.
Aware of the importance of PBL, I make the best efforts to discuss the definitions and
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benefits of PBL in general and for 11th grade students of English in particular. I also deal
with the application of PBL in teaching oral presentation and suggest several language
learning projects.
This section discusses some of the theoretical basis for the research done in this
study.
2.2.1. Definitions of the project based learning.
Many definitions of project-based learning have been proposed by various authors.
Van Duzer (1995) and Moss (1998) define it as an instructional approach that
contextualizes learning by presenting learners with problems to solve or products to
develop. As discussed, project-based learning (PBL) is a model that organizes learning
around projects which are complex tasks, based on challenging questions or problems,
involving students in design, problem-solving, decision making, or investigative
activities; giving students the opportunity to work relatively autonomously over extended
periods of time; and culminating in realistic products or presentations. In addition, the
students develop confidence and self-direction as they move through both team-based
and independent work.
Project-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy in which students

provides opportunities for students to develop their confidence and independence. As
dealt with in Stoller PBL provides opportunities for the natural integration of all four
skills, reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Another advantage discussed is that the students have enhanced motivation,
engagement and enjoyment because project work progresses according to the specific
context and students’ interests. PBL thus enriches the lives and experiences of a learner
as he is required to establish contacts with individuals outside his regular links of
contacts.
In addition, PBL can develop many helpful skills for the students. Coleman
discusses an advantage relating to students’ increased social, cooperative skills, and
group cohesiveness. Adopting PBL projects in the classroom also helps reinforce social
relationships among team members. Thus, PBL provides learners with opportunities to
learn collaborative skills, stimulate cooperation and knowledge exchange amongst
students and it encourages individual students to talk more.
Given sufficient time to complete the PBL project, learners would be given
enough time to plan, revise and reflect on their learning. Assessment is seen as an
ongoing, varied and frequent process involving teacher assessment, peer assessment, selfassessment, and reflection.
According to Fragoulis (2009, p. 92), there are many benefits of implementing the
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project based learning (PBL) technique in teaching speaking, they include the following:
1. PBL provides contextual and meaningful learning for students.
2. PBL can create an optimal environment for practicing speaking English.
3. PBL makes students actively engage in project learning.
4. PBL enhances students’ interests, motivation, engagement, and enjoyment.
5. PBL promotes social learning that can enhance collaborative skills.
6. PBL can give an optimal opportunity to improve students’ language skills.
To put in a nutshell, PBL is very beneficial to students in general and those of
English in particular. The question here is what the teacher and students do to maximize

display, or a stage performance.
(6) bridges the use of English in class and the use of English in a real life context.
More importantly, PBL is both process- and product-oriented (Stoller, 1997). The
implementation of project work differs greatly from one instructional setting to another.
In some settings, fairly non elaborate tasks, confined to a single class session, are labeled
as projects. In other settings, elaborate sets of tasks fill the process for completing the
project and span an entire instructional unit; in settings like these, the benefits of project
work are maximized because students actively engage in information gathering,
processing, and reporting over a period of time, and the outcome increases content
knowledge and language mastery. In applying the PBL technique in the classroom, Marx
(1997) set out problems teachers may have with enactment during the class as below:
(1) Time: projects often take longer than anticipated.
(2) Classroom management.
(3) Control: teachers often feel the need to control the flow of information while at
the same time believing that students' understanding requires that they build their own
understanding;
(4) Support of student learning.
(5) Technology use: teachers may have difficulty incorporating technology into
the classroom, especially as a cognitive tool.
(6) Assessment: teachers may have difficulty designing assessments that require
students to demonstrate their understanding.
Based on the above, the teacher can discuss the end product with her students and
explain what exactly they have to do and how, what they have to practice or learn, what
they can expect and what is expected from them, the choices they have to make and the
rules they have to follow. It is very useful from the start to draw a timetable, a plan and a
check list of objectives for the project work so that the students can follow the stages of
the project

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However, there have been many problems that should be solved. The facilities at
school are still poor, for example, the library is too small and lack books especially
English books as a reference. Furthermore, the students have few opportunities to
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practise English with native speakers to improve their communication, especially oral
presentation. They often feel shy, nervous … to express their attitides towards any
problem.
3.1.2.The teachers
In Doluong 3 upper secondary school, there are totally 9 teachers of English aged
34 to 50. All of them have got the University Bachelor’s Degree but their time lengths of
teaching English are different. The oldest teacher has nearly 20 years of teaching
experience, and the youngest just has nearly 10 years. As rural teachers, they have few
opportunities to upgrade their teaching and do not have a lot of teaching aids and
materials to help their work. Despite all these disadvantages, they are always eager for
knowledge and willing to adjust to new thinking and apply better ways to improve their
teaching quality. Especially, some of them have been applying project based learning
method in teaching to give learners more chances to practise speaking English, especially
oral presentation. However, they often get into some troubles in the process of
performing it effectively.
3.1.3. The students
At Doluong 3 high school, the fact is that most students have difficulties in
participating in oral presentation activities because of some reasons:
Firstly, they are living in the rural area where people mainly live on agriculture.
Therefore, they hardly have chances to practise speaking outside the classroom or in the
daily life. Instead of that, they are excellent at learning structures and grammar that help
them pass examinations.
Secondly, most of the classroom activities concentrate on teaching and practicing
language structures. Therefore, during the lesson, the learners do most repetition,

using correct language forms and structures.
3.1.5 The current situation of teaching and learning oral presentation skill at
Do luong 3.
At Do luong 3 upper secondary school, both teachers and students are aware of the
importance of learning speaking English, especially oral presentation. However, its
effectiveness is not high although many teachers have taken advantages of using the
benefits of project based learning. This is due to subjective and objectives causes.
The role of the teachers in class is a guide for the students to lead their own study.
They also take great efforts to create good language environment for students to actively
participate in classroom activities by organizing groups work and pairs work in order to
help students to have chance to exchange their ideas with their friends and achieve the
main target of developing not only speaking skills but also other ones. However, there
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still appear problems which partly prevent students from actively taking part in these
activities for speaking. Perhaps, the reason is that they are still affected by the traditional
teaching and learning methods. Therefore, they appear not to have high interest and
motivation to participate in the classroom activities, also show their attitudes in oral
presentation.
In summary, a brief overview of Do Luong 3 where the researcher collected the data
for her research has been presented. Some issues related to students, teachers, learning
requirement, speaking teaching situation have been investigated, which provides the
context for the research to be undertaken. The next part will shed light on the
methodology applied in the study.
3.2. Research design
3.2.1. Research method
Action research was conducted involving five phases in each cycle namely, (i) the
initial reflection phase, (ii) the planning phase, (iii) the implementation phase, (iv) the
observation and analysis phase and (v) reflection and assessment phase.

be involved in determining the projects, and types of data to be collected and data
collection tools in the implementation phase.
The implementation phase involved conducting the action plan, the documentation
process as well as collecting relevant data including teacher's notes about the
effectiveness of the actions, the reactions of students and also the students' work.
Consequently, a number of documentation processes were used such as photos of the
activities, video recording of the activities and records of students' behavior, feelings and
dialogue during the activities.
Following the implementation phase, the results of actions that have been
implemented were analyzed and discussed. Then a reflection on the implementation of
the project and ways to improve the process and a review of the actions taken and the
results of observations were conducted.
The stages of learning projects presented by Fragoulis (2009) were implemented
as follows:
In the speculation stage, students were told to make presentations in class in
groups of four on one of the topics in the course book. They chose the group members at
the first period of the course. The teacher provided a list of topics for them to choose as
follows:
Project 1: Talk about someone daily routines.
Project 2: The pollution.
Project 3: People’s background.
Project 4: Your schoollife.
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Project 5: Volunteer work on summer holiday.
Project 6: Your personal experiences.
Project 7: Talk about the celebration of Tet and other festivals’ activities.
Project 8: Talk about measures for protecting endangered nature.
Project 9: Talk about the advantages and disadvantages of energy sources.

Some oral activities performed indoor and outdoor applying Project based learning

Group works discussing in class before making oral presentations

Group oral presentations indoor applying Project based learning
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Making oral presentation in front of the class
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