Action Research : Use of group discussion for speaking skill

 

An Action Research Report

on

Use of Group Discussion and Presentation in the Same Group for an Active participation in Speaking Activities

 

Researcher

Prakash Mani Ghimire

Secondary Level English Teacher

Sarbajanik Secondary School

Chhatradev-5, Chhatragunj, Arghakhanchi

 

Unit-1

Introduction

Speaking skill is one of the productive skills and it is one of the important skills which help the learners to master target language. When students take an active participation in speaking activities they can develop the base for communicative competence. Speakers of English need to have various communication strategies and they can be developed only from taking active participation in various speaking activities.

In some of the cases it will be very easy to make students speak in the classroom, but in some cases students do not take part in speaking activities. If the students' proficiency level is high, the content of speaking is easy, interesting and useful for daily life, the students speak very easily or at least they try to speak.

1.1.        Statement of the Problem

Speaking of a second or foreign language is a skillful and a difficult task. Speaking is used for various purposes and it involves different skills. We speak for communication, to express our views to someone about something, sometimes we speak to give instruction, to clarify information and so on. To fulfill the purposes of speaking the speaker needs knowledge of rules, confidence and fluency in expressions.

In my case, I am teaching English for the students of secondary level for few years. Most of my students do not take part in speaking activities. They like to write the things instead of speaking it.

One of the goals of recent secondary level English curriculum is communicative competence. If students feel hesitation to take part in speaking activities, it is difficult to fulfill the goal. As speaking is one of the extensively used means of communication, proper planning is needed for the success.

1.2.        Effects of the Problem

All the four skills of language, i.e. listening, speaking, reading, and writing are important to master English language. If students learn to speak appropriately in the given context with proper accuracy and fluency they can develop communicative competence. Shy students and the students without sufficient content knowledge hesitate to take parts in speaking activities.

If students do not take part in speaking activities they cannot communicate properly. If students' speaking skill is not developed they cannot do well on other skills too. Students cannot achieve proper knowledge needed to communication and they cannot communicate in contexts. Short term effects are: students do not take part in the activities, students feel bored, classroom activities cannot be made live, learning hinders, and so on.

1.3.        Causes of the Problem

Students so not take part in speaking activities because of various reasons. Some of them are listed below:

v Lack of vocabulary and grammar knowledge,

v Being afraid of making mistakes,

v Fear of criticisms and loosing face,

v Poor pronunciation skill,

v Being nervous to speak,

v Being confused on how to use appropriate words,

v Lack of knowledge of discourse fillers and colloquial language,

v Hindrance from mother tongue,

v Lack of motivation,

v Be not used to talking in class, and so on.

Speaking skills do not stand alone but they are supported by the mastery of vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. So the main cause of the problems is that the students are not well in sub-skills of speaking skill. 

1.4.        Objectives of the Study

The objectives of the study are as follows:

v to find out the effective way to increase students' participation in the speaking activities,

v to increase students' participation in speaking activities.

 

 

Unit-2

Methodology

2.1.        Review of Literature

Speaking is one of the easier and useful tools of communication. Speaking is one of the basic skills to master a particular language. Unless students speak properly they cannot master the language. All of the students of a class do not take active participation in speaking activities because of various reasons. A priority should be given for speaking skill to make the learner able to communicate properly and to develop such skill a number of activities can be implemented in the classroom.

Some students are active participants in the speaking activity where as some are reluctant. Reluctant students need extra support to take part in speaking activities. Students are often reluctant to speak because of their shyness, lack of confidence, and lack of content knowledge.

Ur (2005) suggests the following points to make students participate in speaking activities:

v Use of group work

v Base the activity on easy language

v Make careful choice of topic and task to stimulate interest

v Give explicit instruction and training in discussion skills

v Keep students speaking in the target language

Similarly, Harmer (2007) suggests the following things we can do to help reluctant students:

v Preparation

v The value of repetition

v Big groups, small groups

v Mandatory participation

Teacher should allow some time to students to be prepared themselves before taking part in speaking activities. A teacher can do different things to make his/her students speak. Drill or repetition skills are useful. Repetition helps in memorization. Students master the language structure from drill exercises. Harmer (2007) states that a major reason for the reluctance of some students to take part in speaking activities is that they find themselves having to talk in front of the big group. Group size also matters students' participation in speaking activities.

Following Harmer (2007), mandatory participation is very useful way. In mandatory participation, for example, in each groups of four the students are asked to assign a number from 1 to 4 to each member, without telling the teacher who has which number. At the end of an activity, the teacher indicates a group and a number (1-4) and asks that student to report. Neither the teacher nor the students know who will be called. So they all become ready for the presentation.

Speaking skill consists of various sub skills. Students should have proper knowledge of pronunciation, stress and intonation pattern. Fluency is also one of the important components of speaking. Students should have a skill of turn taking, making facial expressions and discourse fillers too.

A teacher needs to play different roles during different speaking activities. Harmer (2007) states such roles as:

v A prompter,

v A Participant, and

v A feedback provider. 

2.2.        Possible Intervention Activities

To increase the active participation of students in speaking activities, the following activities can be done:

v Group work and pair work,

v Discussion on instruction and content,

v Giving opportunity to present the task in small group,

v Arrangement of the classroom in a different way that encourages active engagement,

v Providing clear instructions,

v Pre-teaching vocabulary and pronunciation,

v Giving responsibility to students,

v Using a variety of methods,

v Giving students an opportunity to ask,

v Using verbal and non-verbal clues,

v Giving students time to think before they speak,

v Providing varied responses, and so on.

2.3.        Intervention Activity Selected for the First Phase

Among the various possible intervention activities, I have planned to use 'group discussion and presentation in the same group'. I have done this because students felt it easy to discuss in the group about what to speak and how to speak, to be familiar with the structure and content.

2.4.        Collection of Data

First I have observed the students participation in speaking activity. I had given a speaking task which is related to jobs. Students have to ask and answer about different jobs being based on the given structure. Students are asked to complete the task in pairs. In the class on there were a total of 24 pairs.

After giving task I asked the pairs to present the task in the classroom. Only six of the pairs presented their task. Most of the pairs reported that they could not select proper vocabulary item and they were afraid of making mistakes.

After observing the situation I had planned the intervention, implemented it and observed again. 

2.4.1.Sources of Data

     Primary source of data was the observation of the students' participation in speaking         activities in the classroom. Moreover, different journals, books and websites were             used to explore the various aspects of listening skill.

    2.4.2. Data Analysis and Interpretation

Analysis and interpretation of data is made on the basis of observation of students' participation before and after using intervention activity.

 

Unit-3

Action Cycle

3.1.  Action Plan

For the systematic study I have planned the activities as follows:

SN	What?	When?	How?
1.	Preparation of proposal	1st week of Bhadra, 2076	Reading various books and web pages related to the topic.
2.	Pre-observation	2nd week of Bhadra, 2076	Giving a speaking task to the students and observing their response and keeping record.
3.	Implementation of intervention activity	2nd week of Bhadra, 2076	Implementing in the real classroom.
4.	Observation	2nd week of Bhadra, 2076	Observing students performance.
5.	Preparation of report	3rd week of Bhadra, 2076	Being based on observation.
6.	Dissemination	3rd week of Bhadra, 2076	Staff meeting.

 

3.2. Performed Action

After planning for activity students had given a speaking task. Students were divided into six groups with eight students in every group. The task was set and the students were asked to discuss in the group. Students were allowed to discuss about the structure to be used, needed vocabulary items, and pronunciation of particular words. Students were given freedom for the discussion but later they had to work in pairs to present the task. Students were monitored by the teacher frequently. Students discussed in the group and later they were asked to present the task to the same group only. 

3.3. Observed Facts

Students felt easy to work in the groups. Students learnt from each other. As there were many students in the groups, one student became support to another. Students found it easy to find the proper structure. As students were given sufficient time for the discussion they didn't seem to be afraid of making errors.

Every student in the group was actively participated in the group and they were learning to speak because later they had to present in the pairs.

After giving instruction about the task and sufficient time for preparation, the students were asked to take part in speaking activity. Students' participation and performance was observed. In the six groups there were 24 pairs of students, and 21 pairs of students presented the task.

3.4. Reflection of Action

The selected intervention activity worked. Students were seemed to be happy and satisfied. Although their performance was not perfect, they took active participation in speaking activity. The use of group discussion and the presentation in the same group motivated students to take part in the activity. Students felt it easy to work with their friends and to present their task to the same friends, which was their collective work.

3.5. Conclusion

Group discussion before pair presentation helps students to speak better. It encourages students for the active participation in speaking activities. Reluctant students feel it easy to be exposed to a small group instead of the whole class. Proper planning, clear instructions, and continuous support helps to develop English speaking skill of the students.

Reference:

Harmer, J.(2007). The Practice of English Language Teaching. Pearson. England.