Encouraging Students to Communicate in English

Parshu Ram Shrestha

(parshushrestha31@gmail.com)

Introduction

I have been teaching English at SOS Hermann Gmeiner Secondary School Itahari, Itahari, Sunsari, for the last 10 years. I teach students, 8 to 17 years, with different backgrounds and abilities. There are three types of students in my school: those who are adopted and grown up in SOS Children’s Village, those who are from highbrow families in the town, and those who are from the local backward communities. They are all mixed up in one class as a big challenge for a teacher, but I enjoy this challenge and always search for an appropriate approach to deal with this situation.

 Background

The problem I wanted to study was: why my students hesitated communicating in English with each other. My school is reputed for being an English medium school since its establishment, but recently I have experienced the growing trend, among the students, of using Nepali more than English though the textbooks used (except Nepali) in all subjects are in English. Students could be found speaking Nepali here and there. Only in rare cases or in front of teachers, the students spoke English but it was not compulsory for them. Even in English class, they sometimes tried to speak Nepali. This situation encouraged me, a teacher of English, to diagnose the problem.

For this, I decided to conduct Exploratory Action Research as I was convinced that it would be helpful in my kind of problem. Its growing worldwide popularity among the teacher researchers for its scientific data collection and data analysis methods attracted me. Moreover, my regular class schedule would not be affected. Nor would I add extra load on it.

Introduction to exploratory action research

Exploratory action research is “one of the best approaches for addressing classroom problems/issues/challenges” (Negi, 2005, p. 5) since it helps a teacher cope with difficult circumstances in an effective way. It has been much popular among the ESL/EFL teachers in Nepal since it was introduced by Richard Smith in 2013 during a joint British Council-Ministry of Education project in Chile. It is already a much tested approach in teaching English to the secondary students and has been “a way to explore, understand and improve” (Smith & Robelledo, 2018, p.20) teachers’ practices with “better understanding” and development of “more appropriate ways of teaching without waiting for solutions from outside” (ibid., p. 4). 

The whole process of exploratory action research is observed through two stages: a. Exploratory research, and b. Action research. Exploratory research includes planning (thinking of preparing questions and collecting data), exploring (gathering data), and analysing and reflecting upon the data. Action research stage is conducted with planning for intervention, implementing the plan, observing the effects of intervention, and reflecting upon the changes that occurred due to intervention (ibid., p. 25). In this paper, I will discuss how I applied the different stages of Exploratory Action Research in the context of my classroom. 

My research questions:

In search of solution to the problem I noticed among my students that they cannot, or do not like to, speak English, I set the following questions for my study:

1. What are the difficulties/problems of my students in speaking English in the classroom/school premises?
2. How do my students feel if I encourage them to communicate with each other in English only?
3. What strategies can help my students mitigate their hesitation and speak English?
4. How much do my students participate in English speaking?

 How did I explore my research issue?

I conducted a mini research to estimate the overall situation of the school and the students in the context of English speaking. To find out why most of the students were reluctant in using English for communication with each other, I applied two methods:

1. Interview with some selected students
2. Notes from informal talk with students and colleagues

First, I prepared two sets of questions separately for teachers/colleagues and students (See Appendices 1 & 1.1). Then, I chose two students from class 9 and two others from class 10. I called the students for interview and asked them some questions one by one separately. I started the talk informally and used some other questions, too, rather than only the prepared ones. Finally, I asked them all the questions I had already set and noted down their answers in my diary. Similarly, I had a round table talk with my two other English teaching colleagues and discussed the issue with them. I jotted down the points they mentioned related to my questions. Lastly, I interviewed one Math teacher, one Science teacher, and one Accountancy teacher separately. I wrote the main points of their opinion in my diary.

1. What did I find?

The close observation through the interview with my students and colleagues revealed some shocking problems that discouraged my students from speaking English. Peer pressure was the most striking issue of all. When a student tries to speak English, then s/he is teased/humiliated/segregated by the others. My students lacked the tendency to learn from each other. On the one hand, they lacked proper vocabulary and grammar for day-to-day English conversation; therefore, they never felt confident while speaking English, especially on casual occasions. On the other hand, they heard teachers talking in Nepali with each other even when they had to speak English, and some even expressed their anger over it. Moreover, they have unanimously felt that English was not compulsory for speaking in school except with the English teachers.  Hence, the ones who wanted to learn to speak English were not so motivated. Most students’ environment at home was contradictory to their zeal for speaking English.  As Burns (2016) says that the development of speaking in learners “requires intervention and guidance on the part of the teacher,” I finally decided to find a way out for helping my students come out of the peer pressure and other hurdles related to speaking English.

What were my plans for actions?

First, I talked with my Principal and, with his consent, I prepared a stepwise plan of intervention to encourage my students to use more English. I declared in the assembly the ten-point strategies for promoting English speaking in school (See Appendix 2). It was a plan to form a powerful English Speaking Monitoring Committee in the coordination of the Vice-Principal, with English teachers, Pastoral Head and Primary Coordinator as members. The committee, under the patronage of the Principal, would mobilize the Students’ Prefect Council to regulate the situation of English speaking in classrooms and in the school premises. The committee would hear the complaints of the students’ issues related to speaking English and would deal with them: providing counselling or taking other necessary steps. As per the declaration, the committee would also reward two students from each class every term as the best English speakers.

• Implementation of my plans and the outcomes:

For about a week after the declaration, the situation seemed improving. Most students were heard using English for communication with each other, both in classrooms and outside. The teachers also talked in English with each other and with the students. But unfortunately, this situation did not remain for long and gradually the English Speaking Monitoring Committee could not be as effective as I had expected it to be. It could hold only one meeting during three months after the declaration. The strategy to pick up and reward the best speakers from each class every term could not be materialized and the Students’ Prefect Council could not be regulated for speaking English. As a result, students were not interested in speaking English unless they were compelled to in some situations. To some extent, they seemed rebellious as they were often heard saying ‘Speak English!’ to each other in front of teachers, and laughing or running away in the school premises.

In such a situation, I realized that, as a subject teacher, I could not bring any change at such a broad level as I had to combat many limitations. Personally dealing with the problems like peer pressure outside the classroom was impossible for me. Therefore, I decided to redefine my research field for the EAR and limit myself to only in my classroom. I chose Class 9B for this purpose. I prepared a questionnaire (See Appendix 3) and re-collected data from the students so that it would be easy for me to plan for future strategies in helping them speak more English in the classroom.

When I analysed the data collected through the questionnaire, I found that most students, despite their interest in speaking English, spoke the language only less than half their time in class because they felt uncomfortable or lacked confidence. The students who wanted to speak English were either teased or laughed at by their friends or afraid of making mistakes in grammar and pronunciation. Their habit of speaking Nepali had also played a crucial role in this.

Outside the classroom, the students did not speak English so much with their friends because it was uncomfortable for them. Their lack of knowledge in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation and the peer humiliation were big hindrances for them. However, most of the students spoke English with their teachers because they thought they could improve their English or build up their confidence by doing so. Nevertheless, the number of students who felt nervous, shy or uncomfortable to speak English with the teachers was also impressive.

With this new finding, I planned that I would provide maximum time of the class to students to speak English through various student centered activities: pair/group discussions, role play, brainstorming, storytelling, interviews, story completion, reporting, picture narrating, and picture describing (Kayi, 2006). I would involve each student in every speaking activity, and I would reduce my speaking time in class while increasing theirs. I hoped that these activities would help my students increase their practice of speaking English.

Group work and group mingling. As Harmer says that group work “dramatically increases” (Harmer, 2007, p.166) the amount of students’ talking time, I thought of using it as frequently as possible for the maximum benefit of my students.

In a typical group work activity, I divided the whole class into two broad groups and assigned each group a task. The first group would discuss and analyse the textbook they read in the previous class. The second group would discuss and analyse the textbook they had at present in class 9. First, I helped them make some opinion in their mind about the topics through brainstorming of the size, colour, topics discussed in the textbooks, pictures or diagrams, etc. as it would work as a catalyst to stretch their imagination, leading them to be creative and cooperative in group activities to become better learners (Cullen, 1998). After ten minutes, I called the first group to the front of the class and further divided them into two groups. I handed each group with a piece of paper and told them to write the notes while discussing their topic. Each group sat separately in the class and started their discussion. Then I called the second group to the front of the class and broke them into two groups. I handed them, too, with pieces of paper and told them to jot down the points in it. Now there were four groups of students altogether. Each group had 6 or 7 students.

I told all groups that they had 10 minutes for the discussion. I told them that it would be a competition between the two groups discussing the same question. Then, they took part in the group discussion even more seriously. I observed their discussion and group participation and actually gave them more than the pre-fixed time because I saw they were actively participating. My aim was to create an environment for them to speak English and interact with each other. After a while, I called the two groups of students who were discussing the same question separately to the front of the class.  I let them mingle with each other and participate in the discussion. I provided the other two groups the same opportunity. As the bell rang, I had to stop them. I told them that it would be continued in the next class.

The next day, as I entered the class, I called the names of all students in the groups A, B, C and D and told them to sit in their groups.  Then, I gave them five minutes to recall what they had discussed before. They took 10 minutes to discuss their issues which they already knew.

While my students were getting engaged in discussion, I wrote five criteria on the whiteboard for the judgment of each group so that it would be impartial and transparent. They were:

1. Equal participation- 5 marks

2. Knowledge of the subject- 5 marks

3. Confidence level- 5 marks

4. Loud voice- 5 marks

5. Presentation style- 5 marks

In total, there would be 25 marks.

I called the group, A, and they presented findings of their group discussion standing at the front of the class. After their presentation, I announced each point and marks to be allocated turn by turn and counted the votes on the basis of audiences’  hands raised in the air. In this way, I got the result of all the groups. The presenters themselves would turn into the panel of judges for other groups. I remained just as a facilitator.

Thus, I used peer pressure, which had always been a hindrance for my students in learning speaking English, for the positive outcome putting even the most silent students under pressure to speak loudly to get as many points as possible for their group while all the members of the particular group would be encouraging each other for speaking better than their competitors. Moreover, I limited my role as a facilitator and let the students do each other’s judgment so that they would not feel any partiality from me. All the students showed their vigorous participation in group discussions and presentations; they were so excited and focused throughout the class.

Thus, I observed my students continuously for more than one month with varieties of methods and techniques used in class and saw some positive changes taking place in them. They started opening up more and asking more questions to me. They were always ready to take part in any classroom activity I assigned them. They were more friendly and supportive to me.

 Reassessing the situation. I thought of reassessing the situation of the class via a questionnaire (See Appendix 4), and found that an overwhelming number of students of Class 9B now thought that their English speaking had improved since they had recently started to speak English more. More than 70 per cent students in the class said they spoke English more than half their time in class in presence of their English teacher. However, the number of students who spoke English in the classroom without my presence was still low. Most students felt happy or enjoyed speaking English because they thought I had given them sufficient opportunity to do so, and they felt encouraged or happy in class. Yet, most of them did not speak English outside their classroom because they felt nervous or uncomfortable as other students would tease them.

• Conclusion

There are many factors in a school which discourage students from speaking English though they may be practising other skills a lot: reading, writing, and listening. Some of the problems are big for a subject teacher to solve, but a little more attention to planning a lesson can solve most of the problems at the classroom level. Exploratory action research is a good tool for a teacher not only to find out the problems and challenges in the classroom but also to plan for appropriate intervention. A teacher can include many student-centred activities in his or her lesson plans to engage and encourage the students to speak English more. When a teacher is serious in his efforts and can make his students understand that he really wants their progress, they help him/her and obey him/her. A teacher must behave friendly with the students and create opportunities for them to learn by doing themselves.

References

Burns, Anne. (2016). Teaching speaking: Towards a holistic approach, 25^th ETA-ROC Anniversary Conference: Epoch Making in English Language Teaching and Learning, Taipei (Taiwan). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314545785_Teaching_speaking_Towards_a_holistic_approach

Cullen, Brian. (1998). Brainstorming Before Speaking Tasks. The Internet TESL Journal, IV (7). http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Cullen-Brainstorming/

Harmer, Jeremy. (2007). The Practice of English Language Teaching. England: Pearson Education Limited.

Kayi, Hayriye. (2006). Teaching Speaking: Activities to Promote Speaking in a Second language. The Internet TESL Journal, XII (11). http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kayi-TeachingSpeaking.html

Negi, Janak Singh. (Ed.). (2019). Exploring for action, acting for change: stories of exploratory action research in Nepal. Retrieved from https://www.supportsocietynepal.org.np/publication/

Smith, Richard, & Robelledo, Paula. (Eds.). (2018). A Handbook for Exploratory Action Research. Retrieved from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/a-handbook-exploratory-action-researh

Appendix 1: Questions for students (interview)

1. How do you assess the present situation of English speaking in your school?
2. What are the factors that demotivate you in speaking English at school?
3. What do you think can motivate the students to speak English more?

Appendix 1.1: Questions for teachers (colleagues) (interview)

1. On what occasions do students not prefer using English in general? In an English class?
2. On what occasions do students prefer using Nepali in general? In an English class?
3. What factors do motivate students speaking English?
4. Why don’t students participate in English speaking activities?
5. How can we encourage students to speak English?
6. Why are students reluctant to speak English in the school premises?
7. Is it good or bad to make students speak English mandatorily in the school premises?
8. What are the strategies that can be helpful in making the students speak English?

Appendix 2: The assembly declaration

Questions used for exploration:

1. Why are the students not encouraged to speak English in the school premises and classroom?
2. What can be done to encourage them to speak English?

Respondents:

1. A Secondary English teacher
2. A Lower Secondary English teacher
3. A Primary English and Science teacher
4. A Secondary Math teacher
5. A Secondary Accountancy teacher
6. School Head, the Students’ Prefect Council
7. A Senior Prefect of the Students’ Prefect Council
8. A Senior Prefect of the Students’ Prefect Council
9. A Student of Class 10

Problems indicated by the participants:

1. The students can read and write in English, but they cannot speak English to express their opinion in an organized way.
2. English is not the medium in Pre-primary classes. The teachers mostly use Nepali for classroom teaching; hence, the students don’t get as much exposure as needed in their early childhood.
3. Students don’t feel comfortable with English whenever they have to talk in casual situations. They lack confidence and fluency in English.
4. They feel peer humiliation when they speak English. The peers tease or segregate the English speaker.
5. The admin staff do not use English for communicating with the students.
6. Mostly teachers (except English teachers) do not communicate with the students in English. Therefore, the students mostly feel comfortable to talk about their problems or issues with other teachers than the English teachers.
7. The teachers do not talk to each other in English even in the presence of the students.
8. The students do not have a good academic background. Most of the students do not have the opportunity to speak English at home because their parents are not educated or cannot speak English.
9. There is no strict enforcement of English medium in school.

Suggestions from the participants:

1. English must be strictly enforced as the medium of teaching (except Nepali and Moral Education) from the primary level to secondary level.
2. There must be zero tolerance to peer humiliation to those who speak English in the classroom and outside.
3. The teachers and admin staff must be convinced to compulsorily speak English with students.
4. On a periodic basis, reward or prize should be given to some selected students who speak English with classmates and teachers.
5. ‘Speaking English Zone’ boards must be placed at different corners of the school premises.
6. There should be strict monitoring of English speaking among the students. The students must be counselled or taken action as per need.

Strategies for English only environment in school (both in classroom and the school premises):

1. A pro-active and powerful English Speaking Monitoring Committee will be formed with the following members:

                                                    Principal (Patron)

Vice-Principal (Coordinator)

English Teachers + Pastoral Head + Primary Coordinator (Members)          

2. There will be regular meetings of the committee every 1^st and 3^rd Sundays in break time. The meeting will analyse the situation of English speaking in the school premises and in the classrooms and make necessary future strategies.
3. All the Prefect Council members will be mobilized with full responsibility to regulate English speaking in the school premises and in the classrooms.
4. If there is no Prefect Council member in a class, the Class Monitors will be default English Monitors.
5. All the Prefect Council members will compulsorily speak English in the classroom and the school premises. But they are allowed to speak Nepali in Nepali and Moral Study subject periods and with the subject teachers, in the sports fields and sport events, dance and with parents/guardians.
6. If there is any complaint (oral or written) against any of the Prefect Council members (the School Head, Deputy Head, Senior Prefects, and House Prefect Leaders) for not speaking English in the school premises, the English Speaking Monitoring Committee will invite him/her in the meeting and warn or provide with the counselling. If necessary, the committee will take a decision to remove him/her from the Prefect Council.
7. The English teachers, Pastoral Head, Primary Coordinator, and the School Head will receive complaints for not speaking English in the school premises and the classrooms and put them in the meeting for discussion.
8. If there is any complaint against any student, who is not a Prefect Council member, of not speaking English in the school premises or in the classroom, the Committee meeting will take decision for necessary action or counselling.
9. In each term, two students from each class will be rewarded as English speakers. From each class, each subject teacher will recommend two best English speakers, and the names which are repeated for the most will be chosen for the reward.
10.   The Principal, as the Patron, will monitor the English Speaking Monitoring Committee, admin staff and subject teachers, and will frequently provide counselling to them for speaking English with the students and between each other in the presence of students.

Appendix 3: A Survey of English speaking in students

                                                                                                14 November 2019

1. Do you like to speak English with your friends?
2. Yes- 21 (81%)
3. No- 5 (19%)
4. How much do you speak English with your friends in your classroom?
5. Less than 25%- 10 (39%)
6. 25-50% – 11 (42%)
7. 50-75% – 5 (19%)
8. More than 75% – (0%)
9. How do you feel speaking English with your friends in your classroom? (Please write in points.)

Lack of confidence/ feeling uncomfortable- 15 (58%)

Feeling shy- 4 (15%)

Happy/Enjoy- 4 (15%)

Afraid- 3 (12%)

4. Why do you feel so? (Write any five causes.)

Friends laugh at/ tease me. – 13 (50%)

I am afraid of doing mistakes (grammar, pronunciation, etc.). – 9 (35%)

Habituated in Nepali. – 4 (15%)

5. Outside the class, how much do you speak English with your friends?
6. Less than 25% – 14 (54%)
7. 25-50% – 11 (43%)
8. 50-75% – 1 (3%)
9. More than 75% (0%)
10. How do you feel speaking English with your friends outside the class (while playing or doing something else)? (Please write in points.)

Uncomfortable/ nervous/ shy- 13 (50%)

Easy/ Comfortable- 10 (38%)

Afraid – 2 (8%)

Enjoy- 1 (4%)

7. Why do you think you have the problem/s you have mentioned above? (Write any five causes.)

Friends tease me because they don’t speak English. -15 (58%)

I have problem/s in grammar/ vocabulary/ pronunciation. – 6 (23%)

I feel shy/ uncomfortable. – 3 (11%)

I am habituated in Nepali. – 2 (2%)

8. How much do you speak English with your teachers?
9. Less than 25% – 4 (15%)
10. 25-50% – 9 (35%)
11. 50-75% – 6 (23%)
12. More than 75% – 7 (27%)
13. How do you feel speaking English with your teachers?

I feel good/comfortable/easy. – 14 (54%)

I feel nervous/shy/uncomfortable. – 12 (46%)

10. Why do you think you feel as mentioned above? (Write five reasons.)

Speaking English will build up my confidence. – 11 (43%)

I will have an opportunity to improve my speaking of English. – 8 (31%)

            I think my teacher will tease me when he hears me speaking English. – 3 (11%)

            I feel scared and shy to speak English in front of my teacher. – 3 (11%)

            I want to present myself as a good student by speaking English. – 1 (4%)

Appendix 4: Reassessment of English speaking in class 9B

• 21    January 2020

1. Do you feel your English speaking has improved recently? (You have been better at speaking English now than before.)
2. Yes – 24 (93%)
3. No – 2 (7%)

2. How much do you speak English in your classroom in your English teacher’s presence?
3. Less than 25% – 2 (7%)
4. 25-50% – 6 (23%)
5. 50-75% – 9 (35%)
6. More than 75% – 9 (35%)

• How much do you speak English in your classroom in the absence of your English teacher?
• Less than 25% – 10 (39%)
• 25-50% – 9 (34%)
• 50-75% – 7 (27%)
• More than 75%

• In your classroom, how do you feel while speaking English with your friends?
• I do not have confidence. Or I feel uncomfortable. – 7 (27%)
• I feel shy. – 1 (4%)
• I feel happy. Or, I enjoy it. – 18 (69%)
• I am afraid of speaking English.
• …..

• Why do you feel so?
• Friends laugh at/ tease me. – 2 (4%)
• I am afraid of making mistakes (in grammar, pronunciation, etc.). – 5 (19%)
• I am habituated in Nepali. – 5 (19%)
• My teacher has provided me with more opportunities to speak English in the classroom. – 15 (58%)
• …
• …
• In the classroom, how do you feel speaking English with your English teacher?
• I do not have confidence. Or I feel uncomfortable. – 8 (31%)
• I feel shy.
• I feel happy. Or, I enjoy it. – 8 (31%)
• I am afraid of speaking English.
• I feel encouraged.  – 10 (38%)
• …..
• Why do you feel so?
• Friends laugh at/ tease me. – 3 (11.5%)
• I am afraid of making mistakes. – (in grammar, pronunciation, etc.). – 5 (19%)
• I have the habit of using Nepali language. – 3 (11.5%)
• My teacher has encouraged me to speak English. – 15 (58%)
• …
• …

• Outside the class, how much do you speak English with your friends?
• Less than 25% – 14 (54%)
• 25-50% – 9 (35%)
• 50-75% – 3 (11%)
• More than 75%

• How do you feel speaking English with your friends outside the class (while playing or doing something else)?
• I feel uncomfortable/ nervous/ shy. – 14 (54%)
• I feel easy/ comfortable. – 6 (24%)
• I feel scared. – 2 (8%)
• I enjoy it. – 4 (15%)
• …

1. Why do you feel so?
2. Friends tease me because they don’t speak English themselves. – 9 (35%)
3. I have problem/s in grammar/ vocabulary/ pronunciation. – 6 (23%)
4. I feel shy/ uncomfortable. – 3 (12%)
5. I am habituated in using Nepali.  – 6 (23%)
6. I feel confident in speaking English now. – 8 (31%)
7. …

1. How much do you speak English with other subject teachers?
2. Less than 25% – 4 (15%)
3. 25-50% – 9 (35%)
4. 50-75% – 10 (39%)
5. More than 75% – 3 (11%)

1. How do you feel speaking English with other subject teachers?
2. I feel good/comfortable/easy. – 5 (19%)
3. I feel nervous/shy/uncomfortable. – 5 (19%)
4. If I don’t speak English, they will be angry with me. – 3 (12%)
5. I think it builds up my confidence and improves my English.  – 14 (54%)
6. I want to be a good student. – 2 (8%)

[Published in Exploratory Action Research: Stories of Nepalese EFL Teachers as:

Shrestha, P. R. (2021). Encouraging Students to Communicate in English. In           Gyawali, L., Laudari, S., & Shrestha, S. (Eds), Exploratory Action Research: Stories of Nepalese EFL Teachers (pp. 64-78). Nepal English   Language Teachers’ Association (NELTA) ]