Thạc Sĩ recommendations to improve speaking skills for the fourth year students of english

[h=1]TABLE OF CONTENTS[/h]
Recommendations to improve speaking skills for the fourth-year students at Faculty of English (FOE), Hanoi Open University (HOU).

PART A: INTRODUCTION . 1
1. Rationale 1
2. Aims of the study . 2
3. Scope of the study . 2
4. Research questions . 3
5. Methods of the study 3
6. Design of the study . 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 5
1.1 Definitions of speaking . 5
1.2 Speaking English as a skill . 6
1.3 Importance of speaking 6
1.3.1 The role of speaking inside and outside class . 8
1.3.2 The relationship between speaking and other skills 9
1.4 Types of speaking skills . 10
1.4.1 Interactive . 10
1.4.2 Partially interactive . 10
1.4.3 Non-interactive . 10
1.5 Process of speaking 10
1.5.1 Breathing stage . 11
1.5.2 Phonation stage 11
1.5.3 Resonation stage . 12
1.5.4 Articulation stage 13
1.6 Factors affect the process of speaking 13
1.6.1 Grammar accuracy 13
1.6.2 Fluency . 14
1.6.3 Pronunciation . 14
1.6.4 Vocabulary . 15
1.7 Summary 16
CHAPTER II: PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY THE FOURTH-YEAR STUDENTS OF ENGLISH IN LEARNING SPEAKING SKILLS . 17
2.1 Data collection 17
2.1.1 Survey questionnaires . 17
2.1.2 Class observation . 18
2.1.3 Subject and setting 19
2.2 Data analysis 19
2.3 Stress 27
2.4 Rhythm in English 27
2.5 Intonation . 28
2.6 The problems and limitations of the fourth-year students in Speaking English 29
2.6.1 The lack of vocabulary . 29
2.6.2 The confusion of pronouncing and using grammar . 30
2.6.3 The lack of self-confidence 31
2.6.4 The lack of background knowledge and culture 31
2.7 Summary 32
CHAPTER III: SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILLS 33
3.1 Background knowledge 33
3.2 Developing english style . 33
3.2.1 Good eye contact 33
3.2.2 Positive face-saving strategies . 35
3.2.3 Good personal appearance . 38
3.3 Improving self-confidence . 41
3.3.1 Joining the English - speaking clubs . 41
3.3.2 Speaking to native people . 42
3.3.3. Well preparing for the topic . 42
3.4 Group work 43
3.4.1. Working in pairs 43
3.4.2. Working in groups . 46
3.5 Warm-up activities in speaking 48
3.5.2 Telling stories . 49
3.5.3 Playing games . 49
3.5.4 Word games 50
3.6 Individual work 51
3.6.1 Improving grammar 51
3.6.2 Improving pronunciation 52
3.6.3 Vocabulary enlargement . 52
3.6.4 Improving speaking through reading 53
3.6.5 Improving speaking through listening 54
3.7 Self-consciousness of improving the speaking skills 54
3.8 Improving speaking through Internet 55
3.9 Summary of the chapter . 57
PART C: CONCLUSION 58
REFERENCES 60
APPENDIX



[h=1]PART A: INTRODUCTION[/h][h=2]1. Rationale[/h]Language is the tool of communication, while speaking is the most important part of language communication and it is the basic path to understand others. Listening is the activity of paying attention to and trying to get meaning from something we hear. To speak successfully to spoken language, we need to be able to work out what speakers mean when they use particular words in particular ways on particular occasions and not simply to understand the words themselves. Many students of English in Vietnam in general and ones at Faculty of English, HOU in particular do badly in this field, they find it difficult to get good marks in English speaking comprehension, especially in understanding the implied meaning of conversation.
Communication is likely the most important skill people possess. Scholars have repeatedly linked effective communication skills with work effectiveness and life satisfaction. Communication is the process of transmitting ideas and information orally in a variety of situations. Effective oral communication involves generating messages and delivering them in Standard American English with attention to vocal variety, articulation, and nonverbal signals.” Students will become familiar with speechmaking as an ongoing process, the ethics of speaking, and a variety of speech types that will aid in personal relationships and career choices. Thus, successful completion of this course will enhance students’ work and personal lives by making them stronger communicators
Speaking is a classic communication skill and one of the most important features of a democratic society. Speaking is also a keystone of western civilization and can be traced back to the ancient Greeks who practiced speaking or rhetoric. Rhetoric is part of our greatest philosophical discussions and represents nearly all ways in which human beings communicate in a public forum. Speaking is a type of rhetoric and the focus of this course. When we think of speaking as rhetoric then we can treat it as more than just a technique or technical skill. We want to study then why speaking is so vital to our democratic way of life and learn to become competent, ethical speakers in practice.
This course is designed to build observable skill development demonstrative of competent communication in public, group, classroom, interpersonal contexts. While traditional methods of teaching will be employed (such as exams, research projects, lectures, etc.) much more time will be spent on skill development than in other, more traditional courses. Your success as a speaker and effective communicator depends on having many in-class opportunities to improve your skill level as you apply the content of this course to your existing communication repertory.
[h=2]2. Aims of the study[/h]The purpose of this study is to improve the speaking skills for the fourth year student at Faculty of English - Hanoi Open University. As a result, the main aims of this thesis are:
- Giving a brief overview of the previous materials relating to speaking skills.
- Raising some problems encountered by the fourth-year students English when practice speaking.
- Proposing recommendations for developing the skills.
[h=2]3. Scope of the study[/h]Due to time limitation and the length of the paper, I want to focus my knowledge on speaking skills, the common errors and make a few suggestions to solve problem on speaking skills. This is why I have chosen recommendations to improve speaking skills fourth-year students of English at hanoi Open University as the subject for the graduation paper.
[h=2]4. Research questions[/h]These objective could be summarized into some research questions as follows:
· What is the speaking?
· What are the problems of the fourth-year students in speaking English?
· What have the fourth-year students done to improve speaking skills in English?
[h=2]5. Methods of the study[/h]At the study involves in finding out problems faced by the fourth-year students of English and to aid them develop speaking skills, the data collection mainly focuses on:
Ø Survey questionnaire.
Ø Classroom observations.
Then the data will be synthesized and analyzed to help find out students’ problems and the tips for improving their weakness.
[h=2]6. Design of the study[/h] The graduation paper is divided into three parts and three chapters.
v Part A: Introduction
This part includes rational, aims, scope, research questions, methods and design of the study.
v Part B: Development
This part contains three main parts:
Ø Chapter I : Literature review
Ø Chapter II : Problems encountered by the fourth-year students of English in speaking English.
Ø Chapter III : Suggestions to improve speaking skills.
v Part C: Conclusion
This final part is to summarize or restate main points of the graduation paper.