VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

______________________________

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

A STUDY ON PROBLEMS
IN THE CARRYING OUT OF ROLE-PLAY
IN SPEAKING CLASS FOR
FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS

Name: Nguyễn Thị Hoàng Hà

Class: 09E14
Supervisor: Ms. Nguyễn Thị Kim Phượng

Hanoi, 03/2010
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Abstract i

List of figures and tables ii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1. Rationale 1

2. Aims of the study and research questions 2

3. Scope of the study 2

4. Methodology 2

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 3

1. Nature of role-play 3

1.1. Defini
tions 3

1.2. Princi
ples for effective role-play activity 4

2. Advantages of role-play activity 6

3. Common problems in speaking activities 7

4. Factors that cause problems in speaking class 8

4.1. Lack
of motivation 8

4.2. Lack
of self-confidence 8

4.3. Fear
of making mistakes 9

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 10
1. Participants 10

2. Data instruments 10

3. Procedures 11

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 12

1. The results 12

2. Findings 19

2.1. Positive findings 19

2.2. Problems existed 20

CHAPTER 5: SUGGESTIONS 21

1. Vocabulary introduction 21

2. Encouraging students to overcome nervousness 22

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION 23

APPENDIX: QUESTIONNAIRE 24

REFERENCES 27
 ABSTRACT

The study aims to find out the problems that prevent the success of role-play in
speaking class for first year students at ULIS. In order to find out what the problems
are, the survey method is used. Questionnaires were administered to 30 students to
search for data.

The collected data reveals some problems in the carrying out of role-play. They are
the students’ lack of vocabulary and grammar, students’ nervousness and their
neglect of the task assigned. Based on the findings, several ways are suggested to
improve the effectiveness of this activity.

It is hoped that the study will provide useful information for those who want to
enhance the application of role-play in speaking class for first-year students.
 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

• Tables Page

Table 1: Students’ understanding about advantages of role-play 14

Table 2: Students’ understanding about difficulties in role-play 15

• Charts

Chart 1: Students’ general attitude towards role-play 12

Chart 2: The proportion of students who only use English and

who do not use English all the time 16

Chart 3: Students’ feeling during their performances 17

Chart 4: Degrees of students’ feeling when they make mistakes

in front of their class 18

 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 – Introduction – provides the rationale of the study, the aims, research
questions and the scope of the study.

1. Rationale

Nowadays English has become an international language with users increasing

rapidly. Therefore, language learning as well as teaching has been paid more and
more attention. In “A course in language teaching”, Ur (1996) states that this skill
seems the most important of the four basic skills (listening, speaking, reading and
writing) because:

“… People who know a language are referred to as ‘speakers’ of that language, as if

speaking included all other kinds of knowing; and many if not most foreign language
learners are primarily interested in learning to speak”

In recent years language teachers and researchers have witnessed a number of

changes in language teaching. There is a variety of in-class tasks with the aim of
bringing effectiveness towards the process of improving the language skills. Among
them, role-play is one of the most popular activities, mainly because of its
advantages. It helps students to have more experience in using English, provides
chances to practice speaking in a variety of situations as well as creates comfortable
atmosphere in class. Therefore, role-play is considered an effective way to enhance
speaking skills.

However, to what extent role-play activity brings good effectiveness to students

depends mostly on teachers understanding about this activity and the appropriate
application to students. It is said that some problems are still existed in the
application of role-play.

The study is aimed to investigate the problems that first year students in Faculty of
English Teacher Education, ULIS, VNUH may have to cope with in this activity.
2. Aims of the study and research questions

The study is carried out to provide in-depth knowledge about role-play activity and
encourage the use of role-play in English class for first year students. In addition,
some suggestions of application to students are provide in order to make the best
use of this kind of practicing activity.

To be specific, the research project aims at answering the following questions:

1. What are problems in the carrying out of role-play for first year
students in English Department, University of Languages and International
Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi?

2. In what ways could teachers and students improve the effectiveness of

the activity?

3. Scope of the study

The study concerns with 30 first year students in Faculty of Language Teacher
Education, ULIS, VNUH. The students are chosen randomly from over 600 first
year students in the department.

4. Methodology

Participants

The main participants, as mentioned above, are the first year students of Faculty of
Language Teacher Education, ULIS, VNUH. This study hopes to involve 30 out of
over 600 students in the Division 1.

Data instruments: questionnaire

Questionnaire is going to be carried out among 30 students. Their problems during

role-play activity will be found out in the survey result.
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

Chapter 2 – Literature review – presents the review of relevant literature:

definitions, principles for an effective role-play activity and advantages of this
activity. In addition, this chapter presents some common problems in speaking
classes and factors affecting the success of speaking activities.

1. Nature of role-play

1.1. Definitions

In recent years language teachers and researchers have witnessed a number of

changes in language teaching. The new developments have helped learners
participate in learning activities in the most active way, with emphasis on “learner’s
ability and willingness to use the target language appropriately and accurately for
the purposes of effective communication” (Sheils, 1993). These activities,
considered an important part of communicative language teaching (or CLT), aim to
motivate learners in learning the language and to interest them through their
involvement in “a range of meaningful, realistic, worthwhile and attainable tasks”
(Sheils, 1993).

Among the most commonly-used activities, role-play is highly appreciated in

speaking classes. The definitions of role-play have been mentioned by several
researchers such as Ladousse (1987), Doff (1988) and Gangel (2005).

According to Ladousse (1987), role-play is the activity in which students “play a

part (either their own or somebody else’s) in a specific situation”. He also defines
clearly that “in the roles, students are creating their own reality and, by doing so, are
experimenting with their knowledge of the real world and developing their ability to
interact with other people” (Ladousse: 1987). Whereas in “Teach English – A
training course for teachers”, Doff (1988) states that “role-play is a way of bringing
situations from real life into the classroom” and the main task of students is
improvising. He also emphasizes that role play is totally different from reading a
dialogue aloud. When doing role-play, students are asked to “imagine” either a role
or a situation or both of them (Doff: 1988).

Gangel (2005), however, defines “role” as “the way one behaves in a given position
and situation”. He continues with the idea about this activity: “role playing as a
teaching methodology is the conscious acting out and discussion of the role in
group. In the classroom a problem situation is briefly acted out so that the individual
student can identify with the characters”.

To understand role-play thoroughly, Gangel (2005) distinguishes two terms that

many teachers and students confuse: role-play and drama. Although they are both
popular in-class activities and quite similar, they are “very distinct in style”
(Gangel: 2005). In addition, he gives detailed explanation to this issue:

Perhaps the most strategic point of difference is the handling of the subject matter:
genuine drama usually requires a script, whereas role playing retains the element of
spontaneous or at least extemporaneous reaction.

Although these researchers use different words to define the term “role-play”, in
general they all agree that this in-class activity is aimed at developing students
speaking skills through practicing situations in real life.

1.2. Principles for effective role-play activity

Role-play is aimed at developing students’ speaking skills. Therefore, the activity

will only bring effectiveness to students if it is carried out in the way that all
principles for effective role playing are achieved. In “Teaching through role
playing”, Gangel (2005) points out the characteristics of a good role-play activity.

First, role-play, as a teacher technique, is “based on the philosophy that meanings

are in people, not in words or symbols”. It means that the procedures of this activity
are sharing information, clarifying our understandings of others’ information and
changing our meanings (if necessary). Therefore, in order to carry out an effective
role-play activity, it is important that a “distinct organizational pattern” be prepared
thoroughly. Gangel (2005) suggests one helpful structure for the activity:

1. Preparation a. Define the problem

b. Create a readiness for the role(s)

c. Cast the characters

d. Establish the situation

e. Brief and warm up

f. Consider the training

2. Playing g. Acting

h. Stopping

i. Involving the audience

j. Analyzing the discussion

k. Evaluating

Second, Gangel (2005) emphasizes that the situation must be identified clearly. The
work includes public introduction about the task and making sure that all students
understand their roles.

Third, it is important that all players and audience understand the play and involve
in the play actively. The audience may contribute their ideas towards the situations
and their opinions must be discussed publically.

Next, in terms of evaluation, he recommends that “evaluation should proceed on

both group and personal levels, raising questions concerning the validity of the
original purpose.
Finally, about problem dealing, a successful activity is not an activity without any
problems but an activity in which certain problems are dealing properly.

To sum up, a good role-play should own these above characteristics. These features
are important and useful for both teacher and students when it comes to carrying out
the activity.

2. Advantages of role-play activity.

In “Role play” (1987), Ladousse states six special reasons for using this kind of task
in speaking classes. They are also the prominent advantages of this kind of in-class
activity.

First, role-play gives us the possibility to bring “a very wide variety of experience”
into the classroom. That means students’ speaking skills are taught and improved in
any situation.

Second, the situations used in role-play require students to use and develop
vocabulary and structures for specific purposes, which are often neglected by our
language teaching syllabuses. The special of this activity is that it is possible to
build up the social skills from a very low level.

Third, this kind of activity is useful to people who learn English to prepare for
specific roles in their lives. Practice makes perfect; therefore, role-play provides
these students with a chance to try out and experiment with the language they will
require “in the friendly and safe environment of a classroom”. “It enables them not
just to acquire set phrases, but to learn how interaction might take place in a variety
of situations”.

Forth, role-play helps many shy students by providing them with a mask, and then
they will no longer feel that their own personality is implicated or exposed.

Fifth, this activity is fun. It is perhaps the most important thing. Although there does
not appear to be any specific evidence that enjoyment automatically leads to better
learning, most language teachers world probably agree that in the case of the vast
majority of normal people this is surely so.

Finally, role-play is perhaps the most flexible technique and teachers who have it at
their finger-tips are able to meet an infinite variety of needs with suitable and
effective role-play exercises.

3. Common problems in speaking activities

In “A course in language teaching”, Ur (1996) points out some common problems

in speaking classes. They are inhibition; nothing to say; low or uneven
participation and mother-tongue use.

The first is inhibition. Inhibition is a common problem in language learning. In

speaking classes, it is considered a serious matter and has to be taken seriously.

In order to explain the concept more specifically, he states that “learners are often
inhibited about trying to say things in a foreign language in the classroom”. He also
shows us some reasons that cause inhibition to students – mainly psychological
reasons: “worried about making mistakes, fearful of criticism or losing face, or
simply shy of the attention that their speech attracts”.

Besides inhibition, “nothing to say” is another matter that prevents the success of a
speaking lesson. Ur (1996) says that “you often hear learners complain that they
cannot think of anything to say” and gives the explanation “they have no motive to
express themselves beyond the guilty feeling that they should be speaking”.

The third is “low or uneven participation”. It means that only a few students talk for
a long period, while others “speak very little or not at all”. Therefore, the
effectiveness only comes to some students and the others who are silent are not
likely to improve their speaking skills.

Finally, the problem of mother-tongue use is raised. Ur points out the reasons that
cause this problem:
 “… because it is easier, because it feels unnatural to speak to one another in a foreign
language, and because they feel less “exposed” if they are speaking their mother
tongue”.

These four problems are commonly seen in speaking classes and have to be dealt
with properly.

4. Factors that cause problems in speaking classes

The above part lists some common problems in speaking classes. These problems
may be caused by students’ lack of motivation, self-confidence and fear of making
mistakes.

4.1. Lack of motivation

As pointed out by many researchers such as Brown (1994) and Spolsky (1992),
motivation plays an important role in language learning. Students’ lack of
motivation can destroy teachers’ efforts in organizing role-play.

Students’ lack of motivation can cause some problems to the carrying out of the
activity. Because of their lack of motivation, students might do nothing or other
things in the activities while they are expected to be involved. Some other
unmotivated students might participate in the activities, but not actively. They may
hesitate to raise their opinions or do not put their mind in the task, which leads to
the problems that the play they are in charge of is likely to be too boring. This may
result in the situation that other students lose their interest in the activity; therefore
the lesson tends to be boring to them.

The lack of motivation is a factor that prevents effective role-play activity. And the
situation will get worse if students also lack self-confidence, which will be
presented in the next section.

4.2. Lack of self-confidence

The success in organizing role-play activity can be affected by students’ lack of
self-confidence.

According to Byrne (1987) and Harmer (1991), the lack of self-confidence of some
weak students can leads to the thought that they consider themselves as inferior to
the “best” students. They may hesitate to speak out their opinions or to contribute
their ideas to the assigned tasks or activities. As a result, their participation in the
activity is limited and the activity does not bring effectiveness to them.

4.3. Fear of making mistakes

Together with students’ lack of motivation and self-confidence, the fear of making
mistakes is also one main factor that decides the success of role-play activity.

Fear of making mistakes “prevents learners from being receptive and responsive”
(Hoque: 2008). This means that students are prevented from actively using the
language in the activity, which results in the un-accomplishment of the task. They
may not feel like arguing with friends or giving out their opinions. Therefore,
students’ progress may be restricted in their learning in general and in their
speaking skill in particular.

These above factors are commonly seen in foreign language classes and must be
taken seriously in the application of role-play activity.
 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

Chapter 3 – Methodology – is the description of the methodology used in the study,

data collection instruments and procedures.

1. Participants

The study aims to investigate problems in the application of role-play for first year
students. Therefore, it is concerns with 30 freshmen of Faculty of Language Teacher
Education, University of Languages and International Studies, VNUH. The
participants are chosen randomly from over 600 first-year students of the faculty.

2. Data instruments: Questionnaire

In order to get information about students’ difficulties when carrying out role-play,
a questionnaire had been worked out (see Appendix). It contained questions about
problems that students can have during role-play and some advantages and
difficulties of this kind of activity.

Question 1 aims to get information about students’ general attitude towards role-
play.

Question 2 aims to investigate more specifically students’ opinions about the

advantages of this task.

Question 3 looks for the difficulties that students have to face with during the
application of role-play.

Question 4 wants to find out the frequency of using English when role-play is
carried out in class.

Question 5 aims to get information about students’ feeling when performing their
play in front of the class.
 Question 6, 7 and 8 intend to find out about students’ attitude in terms of making
mistakes and having their mistakes corrected by others.

3. Procedures

After 4 weeks of searching for related materials, a questionnaire was designed in

order to collect data for the study. 30 copies were administered randomly to 30 first
year students of Faculty of Language Teacher Education. Then the questionnaires
were collected and the data were analyzed.
CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

Chapter 4 – Data Analysis and Discussion – analyzes and discusses the collected
data and lists the major findings of the study.

1. The results

In terms of students’ general attitude towards role-play, only 6.7% of the informants
(2 out of 30) say that they really love role-play. Meanwhile up to 36.6% of them (11
out of 30) like the activity. Half of them (15 out of 30) consider role-play as a
normal activity – they do not extremely like it, yet do not hate it. Only 2 of them
(6.7%) say that they do not like it very much. None of the informants show a strong
feeling of dislike to the activity.

Chart 1: Students' general attitude towards role-play

%
100

80

60 50
36.6
40

20
6.7 6.7
0
0
Really love Like Normal Do not like Hate
very much
Really love Like Normal Do not like very much Hate
As can be seen from chart 1, the number of informants who have the neutral attitude
is the greatest number. The second largest group of informants is the group who
like the activity. And the number of those who really love role-play and who do not
like it very much are equal to each other.

When it comes to more specific attitudes, students showed different opinions

towards the advantages of role-play and difficulties they have to cope with.

The result of question 2, which ask students about the advantages of role-play,
shows that all of the informants see the good points role-play can bring to them.
Most of them admit that role-play can help them to have more chances to practice
speaking English (21 out of 30 – 70%), bring them good time of working together
(20 out of 30 – 66.7%) and provide them with the ability to carry out the task freely
(19 out of 30 – 63.3%). A little fewer students (18 out of 30 – 60%) view role-play
as such an activity that can help them to learn from their friends. More than half of
the informants (56.7%) agree that they can learn more phrases which can be used in
specific situation. There are 13 students who think that role-play gives them
opportunities to speak English in front of the class, which accounts for 43.3%. 11
informants out of 30 (36.7%) agree that one advantage of role-play is the ability of
mutual mistake correction. Only 4 of them consider pronunciation improvement as
an advantage of this activity.

Besides the given advantages in the questionnaire, some other opinions are raised. 2
students think that they can be more confident of public speaking thanks to role-
play. Another student appreciates the value this kind of task in terms of improving
interview skills, which is helpful to any student in the future.

Students’ answers are presented in Table 1 as follows.

 Advantages of role-play Number of %
students

1. I have more chances to practice English 21 70

2. I can speak English in front of the class 13 43.3

3. I can learn from my friend / friends 18 60

4. We can do our task freely 19 63.3

5. My friends can correct my mistakes 11 36.7

6. We have a wonderful time practicing together 20 66.7

7. I can learn more new words and structures 17 56.7

which are used in specific situations

8. My pronunciation is improved 4 13.3

9. Others:

- I can be more confident in front of the crowd. 2 6.7

- Role-play can help me with my interview 1 3.3

skills.

Table 1: Students’ understanding about advantages of role-play

In terms of students’ understanding about difficulties in role-play, the answers from

the informants reveal several problems from the viewpoint of students. The data
show that many informants (17 out of 30 – 56.7%) have difficulty in gathering the
whole group to prepare for the play. A slighter number of students (14 out of 30 –
46.7%) admit that they do not have enough vocabulary for the activity. 8 informants
think that one difficulty in role-play is the ineffective participation of some students.
There are some students who do nothing or talk about something else, rather than
completing their task. Only one student out of 30 (3.3%) do not like the fact that his
group have to wait for other group to perform their play. There is also one informant
who does not agree with the idea of improving knowledge about English phrases
and structures through role-play. Only one student (3.3%) thinks that other games
and activities are more interesting than role-play.

Students’ answers are presented in Table 2 as follows

Difficulties in role-play Number of %

informants

1. I have difficulties in gathering the 17 56.7

whole group to practice our play

2. My pair / group have to wait for others 1 3.3

3. Some students do nothing or talk about 8 26.7

something else, so it is a waste of time

4. I do not have enough vocabulary and 14 46.7

grammar for the activity

5. I cannot learn new words and structures 1 3.3

6. I find other activities more interesting 1 3.3

Table 2: Students’ understanding about difficulties in role-play

In terms of the use of English in classroom, only 12 students out of 30 say that they
just use English in this activity, which accounts for 40%. The majority of
informants admit that they do not use English all the time. The result can be seen
more clearly in Chart 2
 Chart 2: The propotion of students who only use English and
who do not use English all the time

40%

60%

Only use English Do not use English all the time

When it comes to the reasons why students tend to use Vietnamese rather than
English in role-play activity, it was found out from questionnaires that the majority
of informants do not use English all the time because they do not know the English
structures (10 out of 18 – 55.5%). 8 informants use Vietnamese because they are
used to it. There are 5 students who reveal that the reason for Vietnamese usage in
class is the lack of vocabulary. No one chooses the answer of “being afraid of
making mistakes”, which seems to be a good piece of news.

In terms of student’s feeling during their performances, most of them (23 out of 30
– 76.7%) admit that they feel fairly nervous. There are 5 students who feel
confident, which accounts for 16.7%. Only 1 student feels totally confident during
his performances, and there is also 1 student who feels very nervous.

The result is showed in chart 3 as followed.

 Chart 3: Students' feeling during their performances

3.3 3.3
16.7

76.7

Totallyconfident Confident Fairlynervous Nervous

In terms of students’ feeling when making mistakes, only 23.3% of the students (7
out of 30) feel very embarrassed when they make mistakes. The number is much
smaller with those who do not feel embarrassed – only 3.3% (1 out of 30). The
majority of the students (22 out of 30 – 73.3%) feel a little embarrassed.

The result is showed in chart 4 as followed.

 Chart 4: Degrees of students' feeling when they make
mistakes in front of the class

3.3
23.3

73.3

Very embarrassed A little embarrassed Not embarrassed

In terms of mistake correction, all the students want their friends to correct mistakes
for them. The result of the last question is the same – 100% of the students say that
they want their teacher to correct their mistakes.
2. Findings

2.1. Positive findings

From the collected data, it can be seen that role-play has won popularity among
students. Only a minority of them show a negative attitude towards role-play.
Students’ positive attitude towards this activity shows that role-play, in some way,
has successfully created a comfortable atmosphere in class. This may result in the
increasing in students’ motivation to learn the language.

The data also reveal that the activity has brought effectiveness to the students. It
gives them chances to practice English and learn the language actively. Students’
active way of learning means that they work together, learn from each other and
correct each other’s mistakes. From the collected data, we can see that role-play has
met these requirements.

In terms of using English in classroom, 40% of the participants admit that they just
use English in the activity, which is positive information. Students have been aware
that they should use English as much as possible and they have tried to do that. It is
a helpful way of learning English and it may result in students’ improvement.

In terms of students’ feeling when they perform their play, the data show that most
students are slightly unconfident. However, only 3.3% of them are totally lack of
confidence. This result reveals that they are quite relaxed and anxiety is dealt with
quite properly.

In terms of making mistakes and mistakes correction, the results are quite
optimistic. Although students are still embarrassed (to some degree) when they
make mistakes, they all want their friends and their teacher to correct the mistakes
for them. It proves that they have an earnest attitude towards their language
learning. No one admits that he is afraid of making mistakes. This means that
making mistakes does not prevent students from taking part in the activity.
In terms of mistake correction, all the students want their friends, as well as their
teacher, to correct mistakes for them. This is a positive attitude in learning English
in general and learning speaking skill in particular.

2.2. Problems existed

Although there are some positive results, the collected data reveals some existed
problems in the application of role-play. Students have many difficulties when
carrying out this activity. Of all the difficulties, gathering the whole group to
practice performing and lack of vocabulary and grammar are the most common. It
means that students’ teamwork skills are still limited. In addition, students also have
to improve their vocabulary and grammar.

The data also show that not all students work when they are assigned the task. Some
students say that a few friends of theirs do nothing or talk about something else,
rather than completing the task. This is a factor that prevents the effectiveness of
role-play.

In terms of students’ confidence, most of the students admit that they are fairly
nervous. Nervousness may affect the fluency in their speaking; therefore prevent
them from improving their speaking skill.
CHAPTER 5: SUGGESTIONS

Based on the findings in the above section, some suggestions are given in this
chapter with the hope that the application of role-play can become better. The
suggestions include vocabulary introduction before the activity and encouraging
students to overcome nervousness.

1. Vocabulary introduction

One common problem students have to face is the lack of related vocabulary for the
situation. Therefore, it is necessary for teachers to introduce new words and
structures to students.

This activity should take too much time and can be performed in the following
ways.

First, teachers may introduce new words and structures by listing them in tables.
Teachers may design a table in which words or phrases of the same function are in
the same column.

Example: Situation: buying things at the market.

Role Begin the Bargaining process Finish the

conversation conversation

Customer Excuse me. I’d like That much? Thank you.

some milk, please.
Can you give me a
discount?

Assistant Can I help you? I’m afraid prices are Here’s your change.
rising all the time Thank you.

Another way of introducing words is using word maps. Here is an example.

Students are provided with the necessary words and phrases for the situation and
they should be encouraged to use them in their task. In that way, the problem of
lacking necessary words and phrases can be gradually solved.

2. Encouraging students to overcome nervousness

Teachers can encourage students in many ways. They may go around the class and
help students with language problems. If they seem nervous and do not take part in
the activity actively, teachers may join their group and give some ideas for them to
develop. Using compliments is also a helpful way of encouraging. By hearing
“Good job!” or “You can do it!”, students may gradually get rid of the thought that
they are not able to complete the task successfully. Therefore, they may become
more confident and find the lesson more interesting.
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the study has presented the methodology and the results of the
research. The study has found out that role-play activity at Faculty of Language
Teacher Education, ULIS, VNUH has been able to bring effectiveness to students to
some extent. However, there are still problems in the application of role-play. Some
students feel nervous during performing their play. They also have difficulties in
expressing their opinions in English. There are some who do nothing or talk about
something else when the activity is carried out in class. The majority of students
still use Vietnamese in the activity.

Based on the problems that have been found out, the study has suggested some
solutions. In the author’s opinion, it is necessary for teachers to introduce new
words and phrases to students before assigning the task. Teachers also need to
encourage students to overcome nervousness and take part in the activity actively.

The study is not without limitation. The problems in terms of making and correcting
mistakes have not been investigated thoroughly. This issue may be discussed more
in the next study.

It is hoped that the findings of the research will provide an in-depth look into the
application of role-play for first year students. The author of the research also hopes
that the results of the study will provide useful information for those who want to
improve the effectiveness of role-play in speaking classes.
 APPENDIX
QUESTIONNAIRE

This questionnaire is aimed to investigate problems in role-play activity (in

speaking skill) of first year students, Faculty of English Teacher Education, ULIS,
VNUH. I am grateful for your cooperation in completing the questions below.

Please answer the following questions by putting X where appropriate. In a

number of questions, more than one option is acceptable. Write your own answers
in the space given if you are not satisfied with any of the given choices or for the
questions without available choices.

1. Do you like role-play activity?

□I really love it

□I like it

□So so

□I don’t like it very much

□I hate it

2. These are some good things about role-play. Tick what you think is right for
you

□I have more chances to practice English

□I can speak English in front of the class

□I can learn from my friend / friends

□We can do our task freely

□My friends can correct my mistakes

□We have a wonderful time practicing together

□I can learn more new words and structures which are used in specific situations

□My pronunciation is improved

Others:
……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………

3. These are some bad things about role-play. Tick what you think is right for
you:

□ I have difficulties in gathering the whole group to practice our play

□ My pair / group have to wait for others

□ Some students do nothing or talk about something else, so it is a waste of time

□ I do not have enough vocabulary and grammar for the activity

□ I cannot learn new words and structures

□ I find other activities more interesting

Others:
……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
4. Do you use English all the time in role-play?

□Yes □ No

If the answer is NO, why?

□Because I don’t know the words in English

□Because I don’t know the phrases and ways of expression in English

□Because I’m afraid of making mistakes

□Because I’m used to Vietnamese.

Others:
……………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………

5. How do you feel when you perform your play in front of the class?

□Totally confident

□Confident

□Fairly nervous

□Nervous

6. How do you feel when you make mistakes in front of the class?

□Very embarrassed □A little embarrassed □Not embarrassed

7. Do you want your friends to correct your mistakes?

□Yes □No

If the answer is NO, why?

……………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………

8. Do you want your teacher to correct your mistakes?

□Yes □No

If the answer is NO, why?

……………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………

Thank you for your cooperation!

 REFERENCES
Brown, H.D. (1994). Principles of language learning and teaching. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall Regents.

Byrne, D. (1987). Techniques for classroom interactions. New York: Longman.

Doff, A. (1988). Teach English – A training course for teachers. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Harmer, J. (1991). The Practice of English Language Teaching. New York:

Longman.

Ladousse, G.P. (1987). Role play. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Sheils, J. (1993). Communication in the modern languages classroom. Strasbourg:

Council of Europe.

Spolsky, B. (1992). Conditions for second language teaching. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

Ur, P. (1996). A course in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press.

Gangel, K.O. (2005). Teaching through role playing. Retrieved January 10th, 2010
from http://borg.sabda.org/node/2567

Hoque, M.E. (2008). Error Correction Preferences in Written Work of Higher

Secondary Students in Bangladesh: an Evaluation. Retrieved February 10th,
2010 from http://www.articlesbase.com/languages-articles/error-correction-
preferences-in-written-work-of-higher-secondary-students-in-bangladesh-an-
evaluation-329528.html