SPEECH COMPETENCE

Developing Speaking Competence of Primary Students through Drama Activities

By

Developing Speaking Competence of Primary Students through Drama Activitiesi

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Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background2

Table 1: Activities Utilised For Teaching English by a Majority of the Teachers7

Problem Statement8

Purpose Statement9

Significance of Study9

Nature of the Study10

Hypothesis11

Research Questions11

Conceptual or Theoretical Framework12

Competence12

Figure 1: Communication Grid13

Learning and Speech Competence13

Models of Learning14

Jarvis' Model of Learning14

Figure 2: Jarvis' Model of Learning15

Focus on Teaching Strategies15

Fisher's Triangular Model of Learning Processes15

Figure 3: Fisher's Model of Learning16

Significance of the Theoretical Constructs16

Definitions18

Competency18

Learning18

Speaking Competence19

Drama Activities19

Current Condition of English Language Teaching in Vietnam20

Assumptions21

Scope of the Study21

Limitations and Delimitations22

Chapter Summary22

References24

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

This dissertation concerns with an important issue in the educational setting that is the development of speech competency in children, focusing especially on the teaching of English as a second language in the Vietnamese schools. Every child comes with biological dispositions for various communication patterns and styles of speaking. As is the case with every kind of learning, the environment plays its contribution in enhancing and significantly improving the speech competence in children. Learning English as a second language is a problem in most of the Asian countries but this dissertation explores the concept and delves into the aspects of developing and enhancing these competencies in Vietnamese children through various activities carried out in schools. Drama has long since been accepted and recognized as part of mainstream curricula in many schools across the countries. The ground-breaking works of Heathcote in 1984 has been one of the primary reasons for the evolution of drama as a source of effective learning of language. With the increased number of researches and studies which have played a part in the development of drama as an important scholastic subject, it has been widely recognised that drama is as much the source of personal growth as it is for the learning of language (Heathcote, Jonson & Cecily, 1984, p. 1). Due to the inclusion of drama activities in the curricula of numerous schools throughout the world and the recognised importance of such activities in learning the language, the teachers teaching English as a foreign language are benefiting from it by implementing such activities in schools. As according to Hiiyrad (2010, p. 4), drama activities imply learning the language by practise not only merely learning to speak it; drama activities are a significant source of ingraining the child with learning. Vietnam, along with various other states has also become an integral part of the global business and affairs. For the purposes of entering the global market and its allied trades or affairs, English skills are necessary to learn (Lantolf, 2000, p., 120). These skills are increasingly being taught through deferment effective and influential methods for making the learning of students better and fruitful. Hence, primary schools and children of Vietnam are the focus of this dissertation along with attention on the competency development in English language of these children. Various activities of drama impact the speech competency of the students.

Background

European education system is one of major focus of professionals and experts of ...