An Action Research in Higher Vocational Oral English Teaching

Li Dongming Alexander Hardin

【Abstract】 An action research in oral English teaching was conducted to improve higher vocational students motivation and engagement. After the course of 4 research phases， student academic performance has been increasingly improved in the oral English classroom.

【Key words】action research; higher vocational students; oral English teaching

【作者簡介】李東明（1987-），男，甘肅天水人，銅仁職業技術學院講師，碩士，研究方向：語用學、英語教學;Alexander Hardin（1993.05-），美國俄亥俄州人，銅仁職業技術學院教師，助教，研究方向：英語教學、國際關系。

【基金項目】2016年貴州省教育科學規劃課題“基于行動研究的貴州高職青年英語教師實踐共同體研究”（2016C 057）階段成果。

1. Introduction

The acquisition of a new language requires dedication， persistent effort， and confidence in learners ability to improve. It is especially true of the acquisition of oral language skills， which learners often find difficult to facilitate through self-study. Recognizing the importance of the educators role in this realm， the researcher suggests， “students do not necessarily enter the course with an integrative drive that carries them through， especially in a [foreign language] setting”. In order to raise student academic performance in the oral English， increasing student motivation and engagement is a necessary element for success. Thus， the present study aims to implement an action research for improving higher vocational students motivation and engagement in oral English teaching.

2. Establishing the Research Question

The paper seeks to address several questions regarding student motivation and the ways in which it can be improved upon. These guiding questions have been：

（1） What are the main factors that cause students to feel a lack of motivation when studying oral English？

（2） How can classroom activities and procedures be adapted to better address these core issues in order to increase engagement among student participants？

（3） How can classroom activities and procedures encourage students to develop their own problem-solving skills when it comes to facing a lack of motivation when learning oral English？

3. Research Plan of Action

According to the dictates of action research， the present study outlined a 16-week research course in coordination with the students course of study. Research was comprised of four main phases. These phases were designed to allow for accurate identification of core issues， implementation of teaching strategies， evaluation of outcomes， and adjustments in response to evaluation results. Data collection was conducted using the most appropriate methods for the respective results， with collection methods including student questionnaires， interviews and assessments. The details of the research plan are outlined below：

Phase 1 （1 week）： Identify most crucial and actionable causes of lack of motivation by in-class lectures. The date will be collected by student questionnaire and interviews.

Phase 2 （7 weeks）： Address obstacles to motivation through targeted activities by phone-based pronunciation recordings and participation-focused activities. The date will be collected by class observations and interviews.

Phase 3 （1 week）： Evaluate levels of student motivation by group presentations. The date will be collected by assessment of student presentation performance.

Phase 4 （7 weeks）： Refine approach in order to better serve students by in-class and out-of-class discussion questions， participation-based activities， and in-class pronunciation activities. The date will be collected by class observations and interviews.

4. Implementing the Research Plan

4.1 Research Phase 1

The first phase of research was concerned primarily with ascertaining which factors most negatively affect student motivation and which are most easily addressed in a classroom setting. These factors were identified in two main ways， through anonymous student questionnaires and through informal interviews with student participants. The questionnaire consisted of 3 questions and students were encouraged to respond in English or Chinese depending on their own preference. The results of the questionnaire indicated that one key factor which students felt to be discouraging when attempting to improve in oral English was difficulty in pronouncing words correctly. Students reported that lack of confidence when trying to emulate the pronunciation of a native English speaker caused them anxiety in a way that hampered their overall ability to speak.

The second method of identifying key obstacles to student motivation， student interviews， yielded similarly fruitful outcomes. In informal one-on-one discussions with students the researcher determined that another core issue plaguing student confidence and motivation was a self-reported inability to use English in a dynamic and expressive way. Students felt that their oral English was only as good as the set phrases they had learned in their textbooks， and this prevented them from improving to the point of being able to engage in natural conversations using English.

4.2 Research Phase 2

The second phase of research progressed on to implementing in and out of class solutions based upon the results of the first phases results. In this phase the researcher designed activities and classroom procedures specifically intended to address those issues students found to be most vexing， namely pronunciation and formation of natural thoughts using English. To this end the researcher introduced several new instruction methods to the class. The first of these was a weekly recording assignment utilizing the phone application MosoTeach. Within this application， students were able to respond to a weekly prompt asking them to articulate a response to a question related to the previous classs topic of study. Through this process students were able to work on improving their own pronunciation in a low-pressure environment. In reviewing the students audio recordings， the researcher was able to observe some improvements in pronunciation accuracy across the course of this phase of research.

4.3 Research Phase 3

The third research phase was characterized by a review of progress to that point and an adjustment of research practices in order to prepare to refine the approach to improving student motivation levels. This phase was positioned so as to be concurrent with students midterm assignments， which consisted of a group presentation designed to incorporate material from the previous weeks and to provide the researcher with the opportunity to assess development toward the goals of increasing student engagement with oral English as a whole. The assignment required students to form groups of three to four and together to create an imaginary country and to introduce that countrys favorite sports， scenic spots， national animal， and environmental protection policies in a group presentation.

4.4 Research Phase 4

The final stage of research consisted of adaptation of instruction methods according to the results of the initial research stages. Depending on the methods being evaluated these changes could range from minor to quite major as compared to the respective methods form in previous phases. In the case of refining the in-class participation-based activities the changes made， while important， did not result in the end activities taking a significantly different shape than they had assumed at the onset of research. In accordance with student responses and instructor evaluation of Phase 2 activities， the activities in this phase were adjusted in order to better suit students perceived needs. The goals of activities， while still maintaining their focus on encouraging students to use English in a spontaneous and natural fashion， moved toward generating interactions more akin to those students may encounter in their day-to-day lives. These included conversations about media， such as music and movies， activities asking students to practice conveying gratitude， and others.

5. Results and Reflection

At the end of research action， several conclusions regarding the impact of the various methods employed throughout the research process became apparent. The first of these conclusions is the impact of involving student input as a core element of developing classroom routines and activities. By incorporating student feedback into the initial design of in-class activities the instructor was able to ensure that the goals of the individual activities matched up with students own goals for learning the language. These observations were corroborated by student interviews， wherein interviewees expressed a greater interest in the class and in English in general after seeing themselves make tangible progress toward their oral English goals.

Another important conclusion regards the need for specificity on the part of the instructor when communicating an activity or assignments desired outcomes. However， because of the lack of a clear pronunciation target many students became frustrated. This frustration was the result of a perceived gap between their own pronunciation and that of a native speaker， combined with the absence of a clear route to obtaining proper pronunciation. Consequently， many students felt less motivated to continue pursuing their goals of improving pronunciation. Though the adjustments were made to represent a step towards resolving this issue， the persistence of student dissatisfaction with their own pronunciation and the resultant impact on student motivation indicates a need for further research.

6. Conclusion

The conclusions indicate potential for further studies regarding the impact of thoroughly student-guided approach to instruction. In light of the positive impacts of student involvement in determining the development of activities further research in this direction could prove fruitful. Combined with a more rigorous framework for soliciting student feedback as well as a more detailed method of tracking student responses and changes in attitudes， future studies could build well on the results of this initial round of research.

References：

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[2]Root， E. Motivation and Learning Strategies in a Foreign Language Setting： A Look at a Learner of Korean （1st ed.）[J]. Minnesota： Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota，1999.