What are the best communicative activities for junior high school students?
Graduation Thesis
Presented to
the Faculty of the Department of
English Language and Literature
Notre Dame Seishin University
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirement for the Degree
Bachelor of Arts
by
Yuho Mori
2012
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Contents
Abstract
Chapter One: Introduction
1.1 Introduction
1.2 The situation in junior high school
1.2.1 The Course of Study for Foreign Languages
1.2.2 Situation of students and teachers
1.3 Approaches to Foreign Language Teaching
1.3.1 Difference between approach, method and technique
1.3.2 Types of approach
1.4 Communicative Competence
1.5 The Balanced Curriculum
1.6 Communicative activity types
1.6.1 Basic type of activities
1.6.2 Ten communicative activity types
1.7 Research Questions
1.8 Conclusion
Chapter Two: The Questionnaire
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The questionnaire
2.2.1 Introduction to the questionnaire
2.2.2 Method
1) Subjects
2) Test design—the questionnaire
3) Procedure
2.2.3 Results
1) Students’ opinions about activities
2) Students’ opinions from five points of view
3) Teachers’ opinions about activities
4) Teachers’ opinions from five points of view
2.3 Summary
Chapter Three: Discussion
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Summary of the results
3.3 Discussion of the results
3.3.1 Q1 What is the best communicative activity for junior high school
students?
3.3.2 Q2 Are there any differences between students’ and teachers’
thoughts?
3.4 Implications
3.5 Limitations of the Experiments
3.6 Further research
3.7 Conclusion
References
Appendices
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Abstract
Today, English is a major language in the world. All students study it in junior high
school and many of them study it in high school and even in university. Recently, even
students in elementary school have a class to be accustomed to English. Students have more
time to study English. English is the biggest language spoken as an official language and 40
millions of people use English as a second language. This number shows that it is important to
study English. The purpose of learning English should be to be able to communicate in the
language. Through this thesis, the author tried to find out what kind of communicative
activities are best for junior high school students and if there are any differences between
students’ and teachers’ opinions about those activities.
A questionnaire was given to 89 subjects. 84 junior high school students and five
English teachers answered the questionnaire. The questionnaire was about different types of
communicative activities and the subjects looked at each activity from five points of view,
which are easiness, satisfaction, effectiveness, interest and fun.
In Chapter One, the situation in junior high school, how the foreign language,
English is taught and communicative activity types were looked at. In Chapter Two, we
looked at the results of the questionnaire. From the questionnaire, we could find out the best
activity from five points of view. And also, we could find out that there were some differences
between students’ and teachers’ opinions about activities. In Chapter Three, we analyzed the
results of the questionnaire. We could find out the best activities from the five points of view,
though subjects did not have strong opinions about activities, so we could not really say that
there was one best activity for all of them. Also, there were differences between students’ and
teachers’ thoughts, so that teachers should be aware that students may not think the activity
teachers prepared is effective or interesting.
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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction
English is a major language in the world. In Japan, all the students study it in junior
high school and many of them study it in high school and even in university. Recently,
students in elementary school have a class to be accustomed to English. Students have more
time to study English, but what is the purpose of studying English and how do they study it at
school? Nowadays, more people go abroad to study or for business, but what is necessary to
learn English, especially to be able to speak it? This thesis focuses on communicative
activities that students can do in English class. It is interesting to look at what kind of
communicative activities there are to find out what are the best communicative activities for
junior high school students.
1.2 The situation in junior high school
1.2.1 The Course of Study for Foreign Languages
All the students in junior high school study English, but what do they study it for?
According to the course of study (Monbukagakusho 2011), the overall objectives are: to
develop students’ basic communication abilities such as listening, speaking, reading and
writing, deepening their understanding of language and culture and fostering a positive
attitude toward communication through foreign languages.
The objectives are:
1. to enable students to understand the speaker’s intentions when listening to
English
2. to enable students to talk about their own thoughts using English
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3. to accustom and familiarize students with reading English
4. to enable them to understand the writer’s intentions when reading English
5. to accustom and familiarize students with writing in English
6. to enable them to write about their own thoughts using English.
In junior high school, the number of English class has increased from 105 classes to
140 classes per year, so that students are able to have more chances to communicate. The
number of words which are taught in junior high school has increased as well, from about 900
words to 1200 words.
1.2.2 Situation of students and teachers
Only 26.6% of all English teachers at junior high school have more than Eiken Pre 1st
or more than 730 points on TOEIC, and only 50.6% of the teachers at high school have
attained this level.
Only 33.7% of third grade junior high school students have Eiken 3rd and only 27.8%
of third grade senior high school students have Eiken Pre 2nd. We cannot say that many of the
teachers are very skillful and also, not many students have high level of English skill.
In Japan, there are many vocabulary questions, grammar questions and reading parts
in tests but usually, there are not any speaking tests on mid-term tests or final tests so the
students tend to study grammar and words only for tests. Most of the time, students tend to
translate the text written in English into Japanese or do the opposite and they do not have
much time to speak English or listen to someone speaking English. Therefore, more time
should be given to students to practice communication.
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1.3 Approaches to Foreign Language Teaching
1.3.1 Difference between approach, method and technique
English is one of major subjects and students now have more time to study it at
school, but how is it taught? One way to do this is to look at types of approaches to foreign
language teaching. But before listing the features of approaches to foreign language teaching,
the differences between approach, method and techniques need to be mentioned.
An approach to language teaching is something that reflects a certain model or
research paradigm which is a theory. This term is the broadest of the three. A method, on the
other hand, is a set of procedures, in other words, a system that spells out rather precisely how
to teach a second or foreign language. It is more specific than an approach but less specific
than a technique. Methods are typically compatible with one (or sometimes two) approaches.
A technique is a classroom device or activity and thus represents the narrowest of the three
concepts. Some techniques are widely used and found in many methods, for example,
dictation, imitation, and repetition. However, some techniques are specific to or characteristic
of a given method.
1.3.2 Types of approach
According to (Celce-Murcia, 2001), there are nine approaches to foreign language
teaching. Here are the features of each.
The Grammar-Translation Approach—Instruction is given in the native language of
the students, there is little use of the target language for communication, and the focus is on
grammar, and a typical exercise is to translate sentences from the target language into the
mother tongue. The teacher does not have to be able to speak the target language.
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The Direct Approach—No use of the mother tongue is permitted, lessons begin with
dialogues and anecdotes in modern conversational style, actions and pictures are used to make
meanings clear. Grammar is learned inductively. The teacher should be a native speaker or
have native-like proficiency in the target language.
The Reading Approach—Only the grammar useful for reading comprehension is
taught. Vocabulary is controlled at first and then expanded. Reading comprehension is the
only language skill emphasized. The teacher does not need to have good goal oral proficiency
in the target language.
Audiolinguaism—Lessons begin with dialogues. Mimicry and memorization are
used. Pronunciation is important. Vocabulary is limited and great effort is made to prevent
errors. The teacher must be proficient only in the structures, vocabulary since learning
activities and materials are carefully controlled.
The Oral-Situational Approach—The spoken language is primary. All language
material is practiced orally before being presented in written form. Only the target language
should be used in the classroom. Grammatical structures are graded from simple to complex.
The Cognitive Approach—Language learning is viewed as rule acquisition.
Instruction is often individualized. Pronunciation is de-emphasized. Vocabulary instruction is
important, especially at intermediate and advanced levels. Errors are viewed as inevitable.
The teacher is expected to have good general proficiency in the target language.
The Affective-Humanistic Approach—Communication that is meaningful to the
learner is emphasized. The class atmosphere is viewed as more important than materials or
methods. Peer support and interaction are viewed as necessary for learning. Translation may
be used heavily in the initial stages to help students feel at ease.
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The Comprehension-Based Approach—Listening comprehension is very important.
Under this method, learners should not speak until they feel ready to do so. Error correction is
seen as unnecessary and even counterproductive; the important thing is that the learners can
understand and can make themselves understood.
The Communicative Approach—The goal of language teaching is to help learners to
communicate in the target language. Students regularly work in groups or pairs. Classroom
materials and activities are often authentic to reflect real-life situations and demands. The
teacher should be able to use the target language fluently and appropriately.
Some activities such as the Grammar-Translation Approach and the Reading
Approach do not focus on communication. They focus more on grammar acquisition and
reading comprehension, so the teachers do not need to be able to speak the target language.
They do not focus on all four skills and they do not suit the course of study’s overall objective,
which is to develop the students’ basic communication abilities such as listening, speaking,
reading and writing. On the other hand, communicative approach focuses on communication
and it gives students time to practice speaking. Additionally, it focuses on all four skills and it
suits the course of study’s overall objective. In Japan, the Communicative Approach is not
done to practice speaking for communication although Monbukagakusho says the objective of
studying English is to develop communication abilities. If English is taught by the
Communicative Approach, students can learn communicative competence from the class.
1.4 Communicative Competence
It is said that the ability to communicate in a language comprises four dimensions.
All four dimensions are important because people cannot communicate by only having the
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grammar knowledge or vocabulary. Students need to be taught communicative competence to
be able to communicate well. Now we will look at what communicative competence is.
Communicative competence comprises four competences, which are grammar
competence, socio-linguistic competence, discourse competence and strategic competence.
Grammatical Competence is the ability to use the forms of the language such as sounds,
words, and sentence structure. It is the primary focus of study in most academic language
courses in Japan. It is to understand, for example, the difference between present tense and
past tense. Socio-linguistic Competence is the ability to use language appropriately in
different contexts. It is to distinguish, for example, when talking to family or friends and
when talking to professors. Discourse Competence is the ability to understand and create
forms of the language that are longer than sentences, such as stories, conversations, or
business letters. It is to make a plan or order to say something. Strategic Competence is the
ability to compensate for lack of ability in any of the other areas. For example, when people
want to say something but they do not know the word, they can explain or they can do
gestures.
As mentioned above, communicative competence is important for students to be able
to communicate well. And these can be acquired by practicing speaking and doing
communicative activities.
1.5 The Balanced Curriculum
The Balanced Curriculum (Waring and Jamall, 2004) provides a framework for
teachers and students to easily see the kinds of focus which are needed in order to learn a
language. It has two main elements, which are input and output. These are also divided into
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language-focused and fluency-focused elements, so there are four elements in the Balanced
Curriculum (see Figure 1) and they need to be balanced when a language is taught or studied.
Figure 1: The Balanced Curriculum
Output
(Receptive)
(Productive)
1
Language
Focus
Input
Building
knowledge
2
about
language
Awareness raising
3
Fluency
Focus
the
Linking knowledge
Accuracy focus
4
Networking knowledge
Comprehending input fluently
Experimenting with language
Developing fluency
Figure 1: The aims of the various aspects of The Balanced Curriculum
Language-focused input is for building knowledge about the language and raising
awareness. Explicit teaching, dictionary lookups, studying from a grammar book, intensive
reading, language awareness activities and conscious word learning can be activities for this.
Language-focused output is for linking knowledge and focusing on accuracy.
Controlled language production activities, language and pronunciation drills, gap fill exercises,
memorized dialogs, sentence completion tasks and tests can be activities for this.
Fluency-focused input is for networking knowledge and comprehending input
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fluency. Extensive reading, extensive listening, watching movies, browsing the Internet and
listening to the radio or music can be activities for this.
Fluency-focused output is for experimenting with language and developing fluency.
Free language production activities, casual conversations, debates and discussions, email and
online chat, diary writing and essays can be activities for this.
Figure 2 highlights some typical activities which may be done in each box.
Figure 2: Some typical activities for each box in The Balanced Curriculum
Input
Output
(Receptive)
(Productive)
Box 1 - The Formal Learning Box
Box 2 - The “Getting Control” Box
 Explicit teaching

Controlled language production activities.
Language
 Dictionary lookups

Language and pronunciation drills
Focus
 Studying from a grammar book

Gap fill exercises
 Intensive reading

Memorized dialogs
 Language awareness activities

Sentence completion tasks
 Conscious word learning

Tests
Box 3 - The Fluency Input Box
Fluency
Focus
Box 4 - The Fluency Output Box
 Extensive reading

‘Free’ language production
 Extensive listening

activities.
 Watching movies

Casual conversations
 Browsing the Internet

Debates and discussions
 Listening to the radio or music

Email, and online chat

Diary writing

Essays
Those activities are all important and they need to be balanced though it is almost
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impossible for beginner level of students to do activities of Fluency-focused output. They
should do more of controlled activities than free activities. On the other hand, advanced level
of students do not need to do many controlled activities because they can do more
semi-controlled activities or free activities. Teachers need to choose activities which suit their
students’ level.
1.6 Communicative activity types
1.6.1 Basic type of activities
In this chapter, we have looked at the purpose of studying English, how English was
taught, and what was necessary to learn English, especially to be able to speak it. While
listening, reading and writing in meaningful contexts are vital parts of learning a language,
this thesis primarily focuses on communicative activities for students to practice speaking
communicatively, so the communicative activity types looked at here are for controlled or
semi-controlled spoken production (i.e. Boxes 2 and 4 in The Balanced Curriculum).
According to Nolasco and Arthur (1987), there are four basic types of activities.
Controlled activities are to give students confidence and support. Awareness activities are to
increase sensitivity in students to what they are aiming at. Fluency activities to give students
the practice they need to use English for communication. Feedback tasks allow students to
reflect on their own performance so that they become aware of areas in which they have to
improve. They say that conversational competence can only come from fluency activities or
natural language interaction outside the classroom, however, all the activities are important
and any one lesson does not need to consist entirely of one type of activity. They also say that
it may be necessary to introduce fluency activities gradually because students who are used to
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highly controlled patterns of interaction may find that fluency activities pose a considerable
threat since they are not used to the freedom involved. Also, different types of activities
should be used in different proportions according to the level. For example, advanced students
will need relatively few controlled activities and the narrow focus of these tasks would be
replaced by awareness tasks, but controlled activities are better for beginners.
1.6.2 Ten communicative activity types
There are very many activities that teachers and students can try in class. For
communication practice, ten kinds of activities will be shown here, which are discussion,
information gap, interview, listening and drawing, reading aloud, prepared speech, unprepared
speech, board game, and cross-examination. The reason these activities were chosen was there
were some differences between the activities, for example, some activities are prepared while
others are unprepared, some are information-given and others are not, some are done by pairs
or small groups and others are done by one person. Some of them are highly controlled and
others less so.
Discussion is a kind of activity which is done by two or more people. Students will
be given a topic and they will think about the good points and limitations (bad points) of the
topic in groups or with partners. Then they will discuss their idea with other groups. The topic
would be something like sports, traveling and studying. The aim is to prepare their opinions
and share their ideas with others.
Information gap is a kind of activity which is done by two or more people. It happens
when each person has information about something the other cannot see. The aim is to work
together to share information and complete the task. For example, one person gets a card
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which tells a famous person and other people have to guess who that is by asking “Are you a
movie star?” or “Do you play sports?” etc.
Reading aloud is a kind of activity which is done by one person or two or more
people. Students will read aloud, for example, a conversation between a boy and a girl about
their weekend. The aim is to memorize what they have studied from the text and to practice
pronunciation and patterns of sentences in controlled ways.
Role play is a kind of activity which is done by two or more people. Students
memorize a conversation in a particular situation and act it with the partner. For example, they
memorize a conversation at a restaurant between a waiter and a customer and play it with the
partner. The difference between role play and reading aloud is that people move and do
gestures or do facial expression. The aim is to practice a conversation which reflects real life.
Interview is a kind of activity which is done by two or more people or it can be done
by whole class. A teacher gives students a piece of paper with many questions on it such as
“What’s your hobby?” and students ask many people these questions and write down their
answers. This can be categorized as an information gap since one person has information and
the other does not. The aim is to work together and share their opinions and complete the task.
Listening and drawing is a kind of activity which is done by two or more people.
This can be categorized as an information gap, too. For example, one person is given a picture
and has to explain the things in the picture to the partner. Then the partner will draw the
picture without looking at their partner’s. In the end, students compare the pictures to see if
they are the same. The aim is to transfer the information correctly.
A prepared speech is a kind of activity which students will write a speech about a
topic interesting to them and give the speech in front of their classmates or in their group. The
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aim is to share their opinions and to listen to others’ opinions.
Unprepared speech is a kind of activity which students will be given a topic, for
example, about their favorite place in the world and they have to think for one minute and
give speech about this in front of their classmates or in their group. The aim is same as a
prepared speech, but a different aim is to tell what they think immediately.
A board game is a kind of activity which is done in groups. Students play an English
board game with their partners. The board has many questions in English on it. They will
throw a die and go forward and answer the question on the board and try to get to the goal.
The aim is to understand what it is written and answer the questions.
Cross-Examination is a kind of activity which is done in groups. One person says a
sentence and others ask questions which relate the sentence. For example, one person says “I
had a very good time last night.” And then other people ask questions like “Where did you
go?” or “Who did you go with?” The aim is to ask questions immediately because questions
are not given by teachers and for practicing keeping the conversation alive.
Those ten activities have differences mentioned above, for example, some activities
are prepared while others are unprepared and some are done by pairs of groups and others are
done by one person. So, we can use those activities to find out what kind of communicative
activity is the best.
The following section summarizes the relative control the task has over the
production.
Highly controlled
Information gap, reading aloud, role play, interviews, board game, listen and
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draw activity
Semi-controlled
Discussion, information gap, role play, interview, prepared speech,
unprepared speech, listen and draw activity, discussion, cross-examination
Free production
Discussion, prepared speech, unprepared speech, cross-examination
1.7 Research Questions
We have seen some types of approach to foreign language and activity types that
students can do for communicative spoken practice in class. Although Monbukagakusho says
that the objective of studying English is to develop communication ability, the
Communicative Approach is not done at school, which does not give students much chance to
practice communication or do communicative activities. We need to look at what students and
teachers think about communicative activities to find out what activities are best for students
to develop communication ability, especially speaking. So the research questions of this thesis
are:
1. What are the best spoken communicative activities for junior high school students?
2. Are there any differences between students’ opinions and teachers’ opinions?
1.8 Conclusion
The objective of studying English is to develop communication ability, however,
students do not have enough communicative activities to practice speaking in class. There are
many kinds of communicative activities students can do in class, but there are differences
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between the activities. In the next chapter, we will find out the best communicative activities
for junior high school students. Also, we will look at students’ opinions and teachers’ opinions
about each activity and see if there are differences between them.
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Chapter 2: The Questionnaire
2.1 Introduction
In Chapter One, we looked at many kinds of activities for communication practice
that students can do in class. But there are differences between each activity. In Chapter Two,
we will look at the students’ and teachers’ opinions about each activity using a questionnaire.
We will discover what kind of activities are best for junior high school students and see if
there are differences between students’ thoughts and teachers’ thoughts about each activity.
2.2 The questionnaire
2.2.1 Introduction to the questionnaire
The aim of this questionnaire was to find what kind of speaking activities junior high
school students and junior high school English teachers think are best. The word “best” here
has five meanings which are easiness, satisfaction, effectiveness, interest, and fun. This
questionnaire asked about the ten speaking activities in Chapter One and each activity would
be looked at from the five points of view.
The questionnaire was given to 84 junior high school students and five junior high
school English teachers at Seishin Junior High School, so that we could see if there are some
differences between students’ and teachers’ thoughts.
2.2.2 Method
1) Subjects
The subjects who answered this questionnaire were junior high school students who
study English, and junior high school English teachers. 84 students who were 13 and 14 years
old answered the questionnaire and all of them were female. 30% of them had studied English
for one to two years, 21% had studied for three to six years and 49% had studied for more
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than seven years. The average of the length that students had studied English was about six
years. 34 subjects’ said they were learning English for exams, the purpose of 34 subjects was
to be able to speak English, the purpose of seven subjects was because they like English and
the purposes of 15 subjects were different from these three such as because they have to study
English at school or cram school, English can be useful in the future, they want to get an
international job and so on. The teachers who were age 24 to 40 answered the questionnaire
and they were all female. A total of 89 subjects answered the two questionnaires.
2) Test design—the questionnaire
The aim of this questionnaire was to find out what kinds of speaking activities were
best for junior high school students. In order to find that out, we need to know what kind of
speaking activities students think are best, but we also need to know what teachers think are
best as well, so by surveying both students and teachers we can see the gaps between students’
and teachers’ thoughts.
The questionnaire has ten different speaking activities. Each activity will be looked at
from five points of view which are easiness, satisfaction, effectiveness, interest and fun.
Additionally, subjects graded each point of view on a scale of one to four, where one (1) is the
worst and four (4) is the best. By looking at each speaking activity’s results we can identify
the five best speaking activities of the total ten.
Easiness refers to whether the students or teachers thought each activity was difficult
or easy to understand and do. Satisfaction refers to whether the students or teachers thought
whether they were satisfied with each activity or not. Effectiveness refers to whether students
or teachers found one activity more beneficial compared to others. Interest refers to whether
students or teachers thought each activity was interesting or not. Lastly, fun refers to whether
students or teachers thought they enjoyed each activity or not. Following are examples of the
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questionnaire. The full English version is in Appendices 1 and the full Japanese version is in
Appendix 2.
Example activities:
1. Discussion: (groups of three) You will be given a topic card which is about a
topic such as sports, traveling, studying… and you will think about the good
points and limitation (bad points) with your partners. Then you will discuss
your ideas with the other groups.
2. Information Gap: (group of four) One person get a card which tells you a
famous person and other three people have to guess who you are by asking
“Are you a movie star?” or “Do you play sports?” etc.
3. Reading aloud: (pairs) You will read a conversation between a boy and a girl
about their weekend aloud.
3) Procedure
The questionnaire had ten questions for both junior high school students and junior
high school English teachers. The subjects were to answer the questions by choosing the
number on the scale of one (1) to four (4). The subjects graded each point of view on a scale
of one to four, where one (1) is the worst and four (4) is the best. One (1) and two (2) are
shown as low and three (3) and four (4) are shown as high in tables below. For Interest, for
example, one (1) means not interesting at all and four (4) means very interesting. The subjects
did not need to write reasons. The questionnaire also includes a section to supply their sex,
age, the purpose of learning English and how long they have studied English. The
questionnaire was given to subjects and they were allowed to answer questions without time
limitation.
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2.2.3 Results
1) Students’ opinions about activities
The following tables show students’ opinions about each activity.
Table 1: Students’ opinions about Discussion activities
Low
High
Easiness
15%
27%
27%
30%
Satisfaction
8%
39%
42%
11%
Effectiveness
2%
29%
50%
19%
Interest
21%
21%
39%
18%
Fun
18%
23%
43%
17%
More than half of the subjects thought that a discussion was easy. They had a
tendency to prefer it rather than dislike it, however, the feeling was not strong. The same thing
happened with satisfaction, interest and fun.
Table 2: Students’ opinions about Information Gap activities
Low
High
Easiness
10%
32%
Satisfaction
6%
27%
Effectiveness
2%
25%
Interest
7%
10%
Fun
6%
13%
2
3
High
36%
23%
44%
23%
51%
21%
42%
42%
38%
43%
Most of the subjects thought that information gap was interesting and fun. More than
half of the subjects thought it was easy, satisfying and effective. They had tendency to prefer it
rather than dislike it but the feeling was not strong.
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Table 3: Students’ opinions about Reading Aloud activities
Low
High
Easiness
7%
19%
Satisfaction
21%
35%
Effectiveness
11%
19%
Interest
25%
39%
Fun
21%
37%
2
3
4
33%
40%
25%
19%
46%
24%
24%
12%
29%
13%
Most of the subjects thought that reading aloud was easy and effective though they
also thought it was not interesting. From other point of view, they had tendency to dislike it
rather than prefer it however the feeling was not strong.
Table 4: Students opinions about Role Play activities
Low
High
Easiness
38%
32%
Satisfaction
12%
20%
Effectiveness
10%
11%
Interest
26%
35%
Fun
30%
30%
2
3
4
15%
14%
31%
37%
45%
35%
31%
8%
33%
7%
Most of the subjects thought that role play was difficult, satisfying and effective. At
interest and fun, they did not have strong opinions whether it was interesting or fun, however,
they had tendency to dislike it rather than prefer it.
Most of the subjects thought that interview was easy. However, they did not have
strong opinions whether it was satisfying, effective, interesting and fun, though they had
tendency to dislike it rather than prefer it. (See Table 5)
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Table 5: Students opinions about Interview activities
Low
High
Easiness
6%
13%
Satisfaction
20%
31%
Effectiveness
13%
25%
Interest
21%
33%
Fun
20%
31%
2
3
4
30%
51%
38%
11%
51%
11%
32%
13%
33%
15%
Table 6: Students’ opinions about Listening and drawing activities
Low
High
Easiness
30%
36%
Satisfaction
10%
18%
Effectiveness
7%
19%
Interest
8%
19%
Fun
11%
15%
2
3
4
25%
10%
38%
35%
40%
33%
38%
35%
35%
39%
Most of the subjects thought that the listen and draw activity was satisfying,
effective, interesting and fun. They had a tendency to prefer it rather than dislike it though
they thought it was difficult.
Table 7: Students’ opinions about prepared speech activities
Low
High
Easiness
52%
33%
Satisfaction
14%
13%
Effectiveness
7%
20%
Interest
38%
27%
Fun
35%
27%
21
2
3
4
8%
6%
35%
38%
24%
49%
25%
10%
27%
11%
Most of the subjects thought that prepared speech was satisfying and effective, however, they
thought it was difficult, not interesting and not fun. (See Table 7)
Table 8: Students’ opinions about unprepared speech activities
Low
High
Easiness
62%
27%
Satisfaction
17%
17%
Effectiveness
14%
24%
Interest
32%
39%
Fun
36%
37%
2
3
4
5%
6%
31%
36%
21%
40%
23%
6%
23%
5%
Most of the subjects thought unprepared speech was satisfying and effective though
they thought it was very difficult and not interesting and not fun.
Table 9: Students’ opinions about Board Game activities
Low
High
Easiness
7%
19%
Satisfaction
12%
21%
Effectiveness
7%
19%
Interest
8%
11%
Fun
5%
12%
2
3
4
29%
45%
42%
25%
56%
18%
33%
48%
33%
50%
Most of the subjects thought it was easy, satisfying, interesting and fun. They had
tendency to prefer it rather than dislike it though they did not have strong opinion about its
effectiveness.
22
Table 10: Students’ opinions about Cross-Examination activities
Low
High
Easiness
19%
30%
Satisfaction
13%
24%
Effectiveness
8%
17%
Interest
24%
27%
Fun
25%
27%
2
3
4
29%
23%
38%
25%
42%
33%
36%
13%
33%
14%
Most of the subjects thought cross-examination was satisfying and effective. More
than half of the subjects thought it was not interesting and not fun though they did not have
strong opinions about easiness, interest and fun.
2) Students’ opinions from the five points of view
Now, we will look each activity from a different point of view. The following
tables show overall opinions by category for each activity.
The subjects thought that the easiest activity was the interview. They also thought
discussion, reading aloud and board game were easy. The most difficult activity the subjects
thought was an unprepared speech and they also thought that role play, the listen and draw
activity, and prepared speech were difficult. They did not have strong feelings toward other
activities. (See Table 11)
23
Table 11: The Easiness of each activity
Low
High
Discussion
15%
27%
Information Gap
10%
32%
Reading aloud
7%
19%
2
3
27%
30%
36%
23%
33%
40%
15%
14%
30%
51%
Role Play
38%
32%
Interview
6%
13%
Listening and drawing
30%
36%
25%
10%
Prepared speech
52%
33%
8%
6%
Unprepared speech
62%
27%
5%
6%
Board game
7%
19%
29%
45%
Cross-examination
19%
30%
29%
23%
4
Table 12: The Satisfaction of each activity
Low
High
Discussion
8%
39%
42%
11%
Information Gap
6%
27%
44%
23%
Reading aloud
21%
35%
25%
19%
Role Play
12%
20%
31%
37%
Interview
20%
31%
38%
11%
Listening and drawing
10%
18%
38%
35%
Prepared speech
14%
13%
35%
38%
Unprepared speech
17%
17%
31%
36%
Board game
12%
21%
42%
25%
Cross-examination
13%
24%
38%
25%
2
3
4
The subjects thought that the most satisfying activities were the listen and draw
activity and prepared speech. They also thought role play, unprepared speech, board games
24
and cross-examination were satisfying. They did not have strong feelings toward other
activities.
Table 13: The Effectiveness of each activity
Low
High
Discussion
2%
29%
Information Gap
2%
25%
Reading aloud
11%
19%
2
3
50%
19%
51%
21%
46%
24%
45%
35%
51%
11%
Role Play
10%
11%
Interview
13%
25%
Listening and drawing
7%
19%
40%
33%
Prepared speech
7%
20%
24%
49%
Unprepared speech
14%
24%
21%
40%
Board game
7%
19%
56%
18%
Cross-examination
8%
17%
42%
33%
4
The subjects thought that the most effective activity was role play. They thought
reading aloud, the listen and draw activity, prepared speech, unprepared speech and
cross-examination were effective too though they did not have strong feelings toward other
activities.
The subjects thought that the most interesting activity was information gap. They
also thought that the listen and draw activity and board game were interesting. They thought
that the most uninteresting activity was unprepared speech. They also thought that reading
aloud and prepared speech were not interesting. They did not have strong feelings toward
other activities. (See Table 14)
25
Table 14: The Interest of each activity
Low
High
Discussion
21%
21%
Information Gap
7%
10%
Reading aloud
25%
39%
2
3
39%
18%
42%
42%
24%
12%
31%
8%
32%
13%
Role Play
26%
35%
Interview
21%
33%
Listening and drawing
8%
19%
38%
35%
Prepared speech
38%
27%
25%
10%
Unprepared speech
32%
39%
23%
6%
Board game
8%
11%
33%
48%
Cross-examination
24%
27%
36%
13%
4
Table 15: The Fun of each activity
Low
High
Discussion
18%
23%
43%
17%
Information Gap
6%
13%
38%
43%
Reading aloud
21%
37%
29%
13%
Role Play
30%
30%
33%
7%
Interview
20%
31%
33%
15%
Listening and drawing
11%
15%
35%
39%
Prepared speech
35%
27%
27%
11%
Unprepared speech
36%
37%
23%
5%
Board game
5%
12%
33%
50%
Cross-examination
25%
27%
33%
14%
2
3
4
The subjects thought that the most fun activity was the board game. They also
thought information gap and the listen and draw activity were fun. They thought that the most
26
boring activity was unprepared speech. They did not have strong feeling toward other
activities.
3) Teachers’ opinions about the activities
The following tables show the teachers’ opinions about each activity.
Table 16: Teachers’ opinions about Discussion
Low
High
Easiness
0%
0%
Satisfaction
0%
0%
Effectiveness
0%
0%
Interest
0%
0%
Fun
0%
0%
2
3
4
80%
20%
20%
80%
40%
60%
40%
60%
40%
60%
Almost all the subjects thought that discussion was very satisfying and more than
half of the subjects thought the activity was very effective, very interesting and a lot of fun.
None of them thought it was difficult, unsatisfying, ineffective, not interesting or not fun.
Table 17: Teachers’ opinions about Information Gap
Low
High
Easiness
0%
0%
Satisfaction
0%
20%
Effectiveness
0%
20%
Interest
0%
0%
Fun
0%
0%
27
2
3
4
20%
80%
40%
40%
20%
60%
60%
40%
60%
40%
Almost all the subjects thought that information gap was very easy. All the subjects
thought it was easy, interesting and fun, but a few of them thought it was not very satisfying
and not very effective. (See Table 17)
Table18: Teachers’ opinions about Reading aloud
Low
High
Easiness
0%
0%
Satisfaction
0%
60%
Effectiveness
0%
20%
Interest
0%
80%
Fun
20%
60%
2
3
4
0%
100%
20%
20%
60%
20%
20%
0%
20%
0%
All the subjects thought that reading aloud was very easy and more than half of
them thought it was effective. However, they did not have strong feeling towards other point
of view.
Table 19: Teachers’ opinions about Role Play
Low
High
Easiness
0%
40%
Satisfaction
0%
20%
Effectiveness
0%
0%
Interest
0%
0%
Fun
0%
0%
2
3
4
20%
40%
60%
20%
60%
40%
80%
20%
60%
40%
All the subjects thought that role play was effective, interesting and fun and most of
them thought it was easy and satisfying though some of them thought it was a little difficult
and unsatisfying.
28
Table 20: Teachers’ opinions about Interview
Low
High
Easiness
0%
0%
Satisfaction
20%
0%
Effectiveness
0%
20%
Interest
20%
0%
Fun
20%
20%
2
3
4
0%
100%
60%
20%
60%
20%
60%
20%
40%
20%
All the subjects thought that interview was easy. More than half of the subjects
thought it was satisfying, effective and interesting, however a few of them thought it was
unsatisfying, ineffective, not interesting and not fun.
Table 21: Teachers’ opinions about Listening and drawing
Low
High
Easiness
20%
20%
Satisfaction
0%
0%
Effectiveness
0%
0%
Interest
0%
0%
Fun
0%
0%
2
3
4
40%
20%
40%
60%
60%
40%
20%
80%
20%
80%
All the subjects thought that the listen and draw activity was satisfying, effective,
interesting and fun. More than half of the subjects thought it was easy though some of them
thought it was difficult or very difficult.
All the subjects thought that prepared speech was satisfying, effective, and interesting
thought some of them thought it was not a lot of fun and more than half of the subjects
thought it was difficult or very difficult. (See Table 22)
29
Table 22: Teachers’ opinions about Prepared Speech
Low
High
Easiness
40%
20%
Satisfaction
0%
0%
Effectiveness
0%
0%
Interest
0%
0%
Fun
0%
20%
2
3
4
40%
0%
40%
60%
0%
100%
40%
60%
40%
40%
Table 23: Teachers’ opinions about Unprepared Speech
Low
High
Easiness
40%
40%
Satisfaction
0%
0%
Effectiveness
0%
0%
Interest
0%
0%
Fun
0%
20%
2
3
4
20%
0%
40%
60%
20%
80%
60%
40%
40%
40%
All the subjects thought that an unprepared speech was satisfying, effective and
interesting. Most of them thought it was fun as well, though they thought it was difficult or
very difficult.
Table 24: Teachers’ opinions about Board Game
Low
High
Easiness
0%
0%
Satisfaction
0%
0%
Effectiveness
0%
0%
Interest
0%
0%
Fun
0%
0%
30
2
3
4
60%
40%
60%
40%
40%
60%
0%
100%
0%
100%
All the subjects thought that board game was easy, satisfying, effective, interesting
and fun. All of them thought it was very interesting and a lot of fun. None of them thought it
was difficult, unsatisfying, ineffective, not interesting or not fun. (See Table 24)
Table 25: Teachers’ opinions about Cross-Examination
Low
High
Easiness
0%
40%
Satisfaction
0%
20%
Effectiveness
0%
0%
Interest
0%
20%
Fun
0%
20%
2
3
4
20%
40%
60%
20%
40%
60%
60%
20%
40%
40%
All the subjects thought that cross-examination was effective. Also, more than half
of the subjects thought that it was easy, satisfying, interesting and fun, so the subjects had a
tendency to prefer the activity rather than dislike it but the feeling was not strong.
4) Teachers’ opinions from five points of view
Now, we will look each activity from a different point of view. The following
tables show the outcome of each activity’s aspects which are easiness, satisfaction,
effectiveness, interest, and fun.
All the subjects thought that reading aloud and interviews were the easiest activities.
They also thought that discussion, information gap and board game were very easy or at least
easy enough. More than half of the subjects thought that role play and listening and drawing
and cross-examination were easy. More than half of the subjects thought a prepared speech
31
was difficult and most of the subjects thought that an unprepared speech was difficult too. (See
Table 26)
Table 26: The Easiness of each activity
Low
High
Discussion
0%
0%
80%
20%
Information Gap
0%
0%
80%
20%
Reading aloud
0%
0%
0%
100%
Role Play
0%
40%
20%
40%
Interview
0%
0%
0%
100%
Listening and drawing
20%
20%
40%
20%
Prepared speech
40%
20%
40%
0%
Unprepared speech
40%
40%
20%
0%
Board game
0%
0%
60%
40%
Cross-examination
0%
40%
20%
40%
2
3
4
Table 27: The Satisfaction of each activity
Low
High
Discussion
0%
0%
Information Gap
0%
20%
Reading aloud
0%
60%
2
3
20%
80%
40%
40%
20%
20%
60%
20%
60%
20%
Role Play
0%
20%
Interview
20%
0%
Listening and drawing
0%
0%
40%
60%
Prepared speech
0%
0%
40%
60%
Unprepared speech
0%
0%
40%
60%
Board game
0%
0%
60%
40%
Cross-examination
0%
20%
60%
20%
32
4
All the subjects thought that the most satisfying activities were discussion, the listen
and draw activity, prepared speech unprepared speech and board game. Most of the subjects
thought that information gap, role play, interview and cross-examination were satisfying.
More than half of the subjects thought that reading aloud was not very satisfying. (See Table
27)
Table 28: The Effectiveness of each activity
Low
High
Discussion
0%
0%
40%
60%
Information Gap
0%
20%
20%
60%
Reading aloud
0%
20%
60%
20%
Role Play
0%
0%
60%
40%
Interview
0%
20%
60%
20%
Listening and drawing
0%
0%
60%
40%
Prepared speech
0%
0%
0%
100%
Unprepared speech
0%
0%
20%
80%
Board game
0%
0%
40%
60%
Cross-examination
0%
0%
40%
60%
2
3
4
All the subjects thought that discussion, role play, the listen and draw activity,
prepared speech, unprepared speech, board game and cross-examination were the most
effective activities. A few of the subjects thought that information gap, reading aloud and
interview were not very effective.
All the subjects thought that board game was the most interesting activity. They also
thought that discussion, information gap, role play, the listen and draw activity, prepared
speech, unprepared speech were interesting. Most of the subjects thought that the interview
33
and cross-examination were interesting though they also thought that reading aloud was not
very interesting. A few of them thought interviews and cross-examination was not interesting.
(See Table 29)
Table 29: The Interest of each activity
Low
High
Discussion
0%
0%
40%
60%
Information Gap
0%
0%
60%
40%
Reading aloud
0%
80%
20%
0%
Role Play
0%
0%
80%
20%
Interview
20%
0%
60%
20%
Listening and drawing
0%
0%
20%
80%
Prepared speech
0%
0%
40%
60%
Unprepared speech
0%
0%
60%
40%
Board game
0%
0%
0%
100%
Cross-examination
0%
20%
60%
20%
2
3
4
All the subjects thought that the board game was the most fun activities. They also
thought discussion, information gap, role play, the listen and draw activity were fun and most
of the subjects thought that prepared speech, unprepared speech and cross-examination were
fun. More than half of the subjects thought that interview was fun though they also thought
that reading aloud was not fun. A few of them thought interview, prepared speech, unprepared
speech and cross-examination were not fun. (See Table 30)
34
Table 30: The Fun at each activity
Low
High
Discussion
0%
0%
Information Gap
0%
0%
Reading aloud
20%
60%
2
3
40%
60%
60%
40%
20%
0%
60%
40%
40%
20%
Role Play
0%
0%
Interview
20%
20%
Listening and drawing
0%
0%
20%
80%
Prepared speech
0%
20%
40%
40%
Unprepared speech
0%
20%
40%
40%
Board game
0%
0%
0%
100%
Cross-examination
0%
20%
40%
40%
4
2.3 Summary
In this chapter, the subjects answered the questionnaire to find out which
communicative activities are best for junior high school students. Now we can see the aspects
of each activity, for example, some activities are easy but not very interesting. We will discuss
the results in Chapter Three and clarify what the results mean. When we clarify the results, we
will be able to answer the questions posed in Chapter One. Moreover, we will be able to give
some suggestions for people who are to become English teachers.
35
Chapter 3: Discussion
3.1 Introduction
In Chapter One, we saw what the object of studying English and what kind of
speaking activities there were. In Chapter Two, we looked at what kind of activities junior
high school students think are easy, satisfying, effective, interesting and fun by asking 84
junior high school students and five English teachers to discover which activity is best for
junior high school students.
In this chapter we will discuss the result of the questionnaire,
and give some implications for people who are to become English teachers.
3.2 Summary of the results
In Chapter Two, we looked at the results from the questionnaire about what both
students and teachers think about each activity and which activities they think are best from
five points of view, easiness, satisfaction, effectiveness, interest, and fun. We also looked at
the difference between the students’ and the teachers’ opinions about these activities.
3.3 Discussion of the results
In this section, we will look at each question in detail and discuss it.
3.3.1 Q1 What are the best communicative activities for junior high school
students?
The word “best” here has five meanings which are easiness, satisfaction,
effectiveness, interest, and fun. Here are the results of the students’ questionnaire.
36
Table 31: Easiest and most difficult activities
Very difficult/difficult
Very easy/easy
Interview
19%
81%
Unprepared speech
89%
11%
81% of the students thought that interviews were very easy or easy, and it is the
easiest activity of all the ten activities. On the other hand, 89% of the students thought that
unprepared speech was difficult, and it is the most difficult of the ten activities.
Table 32: Most satisfying and most unsatisfying activities
Very unsatisfying/unsatisfying
Very satisfying/satisfying
Listening and drawing
28%
73%
Prepared speech
27%
73%
Reading aloud
56%
44%
73% of the students thought that listen and draw activities and prepared speeches
were very satisfying or satisfying, and they are the most satisfying of the ten activities. On the
other hand, 56% of the students thought that reading aloud was unsatisfying, and it is the most
unsatisfying of the ten activities.
Table 33: Most effective and most ineffective activities
Very ineffective/ineffective
Very effective/effective
Role play
21%
80%
Interview
38%
62%
Unprepared speech
38%
61%
80% of the students thought that role play was very effective or effective, and it is the
37
most effective of all the ten activities. On the other hand, 38% of the students thought that
interview and unprepared speech were ineffective, and they are the most ineffective. However,
more than half of the students thought the two activities were very effective or effective, so we
cannot really see what the most ineffective activity is.
Table 34: Most interesting and most uninteresting activities
Very uninteresting/uninteresting
Very interesting/interesting
Information gap
17%
84%
Unprepared
71%
29%
speech
84% of the students thought that information gaps were very interesting or
interesting, and it is the most interesting of all the ten activities. On the other hand, 71% of the
students thought that unprepared speech was uninteresting, and it is the most uninteresting of
the ten activities.
Table 35: Most fun and most boring activities
Very boring/boring
A lot of fun/fun
Board game
17%
83%
Unprepared speech
73%
28%
83% of the students thought that board game was a lot of fun or fun, and it is the
most fun of all the ten activities. On the other hand, 73% of the students thought that
unprepared speech was boring, and it is the most boring of the ten activities.
The students think that the best activity at easiness is interview, satisfaction are
listening and drawing and prepared speech, effectiveness is role play, interest is information
38
gap and fun is board game. However, they did not have strong opinions about the activities.
Here are the results of the teachers’ questionnaire.
Table 36: Easiest and most difficult activities
Very difficult/difficult
Very easy/easy
Reading aloud
0%
100%
Interview
0%
100%
Unprepared speech
80%
20%
100% of the teachers thought that reading aloud and interview were very easy, and
they are the easiest of ten activities. On the other hand, 80% of the teachers thought that
unprepared speech was difficult, and it is the most difficult of the ten activities.
Table 37: Most satisfying and most unsatisfying activities
Very unsatisfying/unsatisfying
Very satisfying/satisfying
Discussion
0%
100%
Reading aloud
60%
40%
100% of the teachers thought that discussion was very satisfying or satisfying, and it
is the most satisfying of the ten activities. On the other hand, 60% of the teachers thought that
reading aloud was unsatisfying, and it is the most satisfying of the ten activities.
39
Table 38: Most effective and most ineffective activities
Very ineffective/ineffective
Very effective/effective
Prepared speech
0%
100%
Information gap
20%
80%
Reading aloud
20%
80%
Interview
20%
80%
100% of the teachers thought that prepared speeches were very effective, and are the
most effective of the ten activities. On the other hand, 20% of the teachers thought that
information gap, reading aloud and interview were ineffective, and it is the most ineffective of
the ten activities. However, more than half of the teachers thought the three activities were
very effective or effective, so we cannot really see what the most ineffective activity is.
Table 39: Most interesting and most uninteresting activities
Very uninteresting/uninteresting
Very interesting/interesting
Board game
0%
100%
Reading aloud
80%
20%
100% of the teachers thought that board game was very interesting and it is the most
interesting the ten activities. On the other hand, 80% of the teachers thought that reading
aloud was uninteresting, and it is the most uninteresting of the ten activities.
100% of the teachers thought that board game was a lot of fun, and it is the most fun
activity of the ten activities. On the other hand, 80% of the teachers thought that reading aloud
was not fun, and it is the most boring of the ten activities. (See Table 40)
40
Table 40: Most fun and most boring activities
Very boring/boring
A lot of fun/fun
Board game
0%
100%
Reading aloud
80%
20%
The teachers think that the best activity at easiness is interview, satisfaction is
discussion, effectiveness is prepared speech, interest is board game and fun is board game.
However, they did not have strong opinions about the activities at some point of view. Now,
we found out the best activities both students and teachers thoughts.
3.3.2 Q2 Are there any differences between the students’ and the teachers’
opinions?
We looked at what the best activities from five points of view. Now we will find out
if there are any differences between the students’ and the teachers’ answers.
Here are the results of best activities according to the result of students and teachers
answers to the questionnaire.
Table 41: The best activities from the five points of view
Students
Teachers
Interview
Interview
Satisfaction
Listening and drawing, Prepared speech
Discussion
Effectiveness
Role play
Prepared speech
Interest
Information gap
Board game
Fun
Board game
Prepared speech
Board game
Easiness
From the students’ answers to the questionnaire, interviews rate highly for easiness,
41
the listen and draw activity and prepared speech rate highly for satisfaction, role play rates
highly for effectiveness, information gap rates highly for interest and board game rates highly
for fun.
From teachers’ answers to the questionnaire, interviews rate highly for easiness,
discussion rates highly for satisfaction, prepared speech rates highly for effectiveness, and
board game rates highly for interest and fun.
From these results, we can see that both the students and the teachers think the
easiest activity is the interview and the most fun activity is the board game. However, they did
not have the same thoughts toward the most satisfying activity, the most effective activity and
the most interesting activity. Therefore, we can see there are differences between the students’
thought and the teachers’ opinions.
3.4 Example teaching plan
From the results of the questionnaire, we found out that interview was popular by
both teachers and students. Here is the example teaching plan using interview activity and
reading aloud activity in one class.
I.
Textbook: Lesson 3 Scene 1 “Which do you like better, Washington or New York?”
(Progress in English 21, Book 2)
II. Allotment: 1st period: Scene 1 (pp. 26-27) [today’s lesson]
2nd period: Scene 2 (pp. 28-29)
3rd period: Scene 3 (pp. 32-33)
4th period: Scene 4 (pp. 36)
III. Aims of this class
(a) To help students understand how to use comparative sentences.
(b) To help students understand the general meaning of the text.
42
(c) To encourage students to ask and answer the question to practice speaking.
Procedure
Greetings
Introduction
Extension
(1) New words
Teacher’s Activities
・ Greet
students
Students’ activities
in ・Greet teacher in
Evaluation
・Are they ready
English.
English.
for the class?
・Explain today’s point,
・Listen to the
・Has their
comparative sentences.
explanation and write
knowledge of
down today’s point.
comparative
・Understand new
sentences
grammar.
increased?
・Pronounce new words
・Repeat the words
・Do they repeat
and teach the meaning of
after teacher.
aloud?
the words to students
・Look at the flash
・Do they try to
using flash cards.
cards and read the
memorize the
・Show flash cards
words aloud.
new words?
(Teacher says nothing) and
have students read the
words aloud.
(2) Understand
the text
・Play the CD and have
・Listen to the CD and ・Do they listen to
students listen to it.
underline the
・Read each sentences and comparative sentences.
check its meaning.
CD carefully?
・Do they find
・Tell the meaning of
comparative
the sentences and try to
sentences?
understand the story.
・Do they
understand the
43
meaning of the
text?
(3) Reading
・Play the CD and have
・Repeat after CD or
・Do they read
aloud
students read aloud the
teacher.
aloud?
sentences.
・Do they
・Read aloud with students
pronounce the
several times.
sentences
correctly?
(4) Interview
activity
・Give students a piece of ・Walk around in class
・Do they try to
paper with many questions and use the handout to
use comparative
and have students ask and
sentences?
ask and answer the
answer the questions using questions using
・Do they use
comparative sentences.
comparative
comparative sentences.
sentences
correctly?
Consolidation
・Tell homework to
・Take notes about the
students.
homework.
3.5 Implications
We found out that the best communicative activities for junior high school students
from the results of the questionnaire. Teachers should have their students do more of those
activities in class. As mentioned in Chapter One, activities can be divided into three, which
are highly-controlled activities, semi-controlled activities and free production activities, and
activities should be chosen by the students’ level. If some activities are too difficult for
students, teachers should make the activity easier, so that students can do various activities.
44
We also found out that there were the differences between the students’ thoughts and
teachers’ thoughts toward the activities. Thus, the activity that teachers’ think is the best
cannot always be the best activity for junior high school students. It may be a good idea for
teachers to ask their students what kind of activities they hope to do or to show them why the
activities are good and important for them.
3.6 Limitations of the Experiments
There were four limitations with this questionnaire that we have to be aware of.
Firstly, only five teachers answered the questionnaire while 84 students answered the
questionnaire. If more teachers had answered the questionnaire, the result of the questionnaire
would be different and more real.
Secondly, there were no men who answered the questionnaire. All the students and
teachers who answered the questionnaire were female, so if the questionnaire had been given
to male students and teachers, the results of the questionnaire might have been different.
Thirdly, all of the students who answered the questionnaire were from one junior
high school only and it is a private school, so if students at public junior high school answered
the questionnaire, the results might be different, for example, they might have felt the
activities are less effective or more difficult.
Fourthly, the subjects did not have a clear image of the each activity since they had
only one example activity on the questionnaire. If they have seen more example activities or
even done those activities, their opinions could be different.
3.7 Further research
There are some things that we can research in the future. Firstly, as mentioned before,
there are so many communicative activities that students can do in English class, so the results
45
of the questionnaire may be different by choosing different kind of activities for the
questionnaire especially if more than the ten activities chosen here had been selected.
Secondly, this thesis focused on communicative activities for junior high school
students, so the questionnaire was given to junior high school students, but if high school
students answer the similar kind of questionnaire, the result might be different because they
probably feel the activities are less difficult or more effective and so on.
3.8 Conclusion
Through this research, we found out the best activities from five points of view
which are easiness, satisfaction, effectiveness, interest and fun. From the students’ answers to
the questionnaire, interviews rate highly for easiness, the listen and draw activity and
prepared speech rate highly for satisfaction, role play rates highly for effectiveness,
information gap rates highly for interest and board game rates highly for fun. On the other
hand, from teachers’ answers to the questionnaire, interviews rate highly for easiness,
discussion rates highly for satisfaction, prepared speech rates highly for effectiveness and
board game rates highly for interest and fun. This is the answer to the research question “What
is the best communicative activity for junior high school student?”, but both students and
teachers did not have strong opinions about those activities, and all of them have different
opinions, so we cannot say that one particular activity is best for all the students.
We also found out there were some differences between students’ answers and
teachers’ ones. So, even if a teacher thinks one particular activity is good for students, the
students might not think the same way. Therefore, English teachers should be aware of this
fact when they have students do the communicative activities.
46
References
Celce-Murcia, M, 2001. Teaching English as a Second Foreign Language Third Edition.
Heinle and Heinle: Boston
Nolasco, R, and L, Arthur, 1987. Conversation, Oxford University Press, London Missouri
State University, 2005. What is Language Competence?. Retrieved October 8, from
http://vlc.missouristate.edu/languagelearning/competence.asp
Waring, R and M. Jamall, 2004. The Balanced Curriculum—a post-method approach to
Language learning and teaching. Retrieved October 6, from
http://www.robwaring.org/classes/seminar_class/tbc/tbc.htm
ウィキペディア、『英語 英語人口』 Retrieved November 29, from
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki
ウィキペディア、『英語教育 課題 中学校・高等学校』 Retrieved November 29, from
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/
文部科学省、『新学習指導要領・生きる力 外国語』Retrieved October 6, from
http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/new-cs/youryou/eiyaku/1298356.htm
47
Appendix 1
Name:
Sex:
Age:
What’s your purpose of learning English?
① For exams
② To be able to speak English
③ Because I like English
④ Others (
)
How long have you been studying English?
(
Ex. Memorizing new words: write new words many times and try to memorize them.
1
Very difficult
1
Very unsatisfying
1
Easy
Very easy
3
4
Satisfying
Very satisfying
33
4
A little difficult
22
unsatisfying
44
3
2
2
3
Very ineffective
1
1
Not interesting at all
1
1
Not fun at all
Ineffective
Effective
2
Not very interesting
Very effective
3
Interesting
2
Not a lot of
fun
4
Very interesting
3
4
Fun
A lot of
fun
48
1. Discussion: (groups of three) You will be given a topic card which is about a topic
such as sports, traveling, studying… and you will think about the good points and
limitation (bad points) with your partners. Then you will discuss your idea with
other groups.
Very difficult
1
2
3
4
Very easy
Very unsatisfying
1
2
3
4
Very satisfying
Very ineffective
1
2
3
4
Very effective
Not interesting at all
1
2
3
4
Very interesting
Not fun at all
1
2
3
4
A lot of fun
2. Information Gap: (groups of four) One person get a card which tells you a famous
person and other three people have to guess who you are by asking “Are you a movie
star?” or “Do you play sports?” etc.
Very difficult
1
2
3
4
Very easy
Very unsatisfying
1
2
3
4
Very satisfying
Very ineffective
1
2
3
4
Very effective
Not interesting at all
1
2
3
4
Very interesting
Not fun at all
1
2
3
4
A lot of fun
3. Reading aloud: (pairs) You will read a conversation between a boy and a girl about
their weekend aloud.
Very difficult
1
2
3
4
Very easy
Very unsatisfying
1
2
3
4
Very satisfying
Very ineffective
1
2
3
4
Very effective
Not interesting at all
1
2
3
4
Very interesting
Not fun at all
1
2
3
4
A lot of fun
49
4. Role Play: (pairs) Memorize a conversation at a restaurant between a waiter and a
customer and play it with your partner.
Very difficult
1
2
3
4
Very easy
Very unsatisfying
1
2
3
4
Very satisfying
Very ineffective
1
2
3
4
Very effective
Not interesting at all
1
2
3
4
Very interesting
Not fun at all
1
2
3
4
A lot of fun
5. Interview: (whole class) The teacher gives you a piece of paper with many questions
on it such as “What’s your hobby?” and you ask many people these questions and
write down their answers.
Very difficult
1
2
3
4
Very easy
Very unsatisfying
1
2
3
4
Very satisfying
Very ineffective
1
2
3
4
Very effective
Not interesting at all
1
2
3
4
Very interesting
Not fun at all
1
2
3
4
A lot of fun
6. Listening and drawing: (pairs) One person is given a picture and has to explain the
things in the picture to your partner. For example, if you have a picture of a garden
“There are flowers at the bottom and there are trees at the left side.” The partner
will draw the picture without looking at each others’ paper. At the end you compare
the pictures to see if they are the same.
Very difficult
1
2
3
4
Very easy
Very unsatisfying
1
2
3
4
Very satisfying
Very ineffective
1
2
3
4
Very effective
Not interesting at all
1
2
3
4
Very interesting
Not fun at all
1
2
3
4
A lot of fun
50
7. Speech: You will write a speech about a topic interesting to you and give the speech
in front of your classmates or in your group.
Very difficult
1
2
3
4
Very easy
Very unsatisfying
1
2
3
4
Very satisfying
Very ineffective
1
2
3
4
Very effective
Not interesting at all
1
2
3
4
Very interesting
Not fun at all
1
2
3
4
A lot of fun
8. You will be given a topic (e.g. about your favorite place in the world). You have to
think for one minute and then a one-minute give speech about this in front of your
classmates or in your group.
Very difficult
1
2
3
4
Very easy
Very unsatisfying
1
2
3
4
Very satisfying
Very ineffective
1
2
3
4
Very effective
Not interesting at all
1
2
3
4
Very interesting
Not fun at all
1
2
3
4
A lot of fun
9. Board Game: (groups of five) You play an English board game with your partners.
The board has many questions in English on it. You will throw a dice and go forward
and answer the question on the board and try to get to the goal.
Very difficult
1
2
3
4
Very easy
Very unsatisfying
1
2
3
4
Very satisfying
Very ineffective
1
2
3
4
Very effective
Not interesting at all
1
2
3
4
Very interesting
Not fun at all
1
2
3
4
A lot of fun
51
10. Cross-Examination: (groups of three) One person says a sentence with “I have…” “I
want…” , for example, “I had a very good time last night.” Then other two people
ask lots of questions like “Where did you go?” “Who did you go with?”
Very difficult
1
2
3
4
Very easy
Very unsatisfying
1
2
3
4
Very satisfying
Very ineffective
1
2
3
4
Very effective
Not interesting at all
1
2
3
4
Very interesting
Not fun at all
1
2
3
4
A lot of fun
52
Appendix 2
英語のコミュニケーション活動についてのアンケート調査
ノートルダム清心女子大学 英語英文学科 森 祐歩
私は現在、どのような英語のコミュニケーション活動が効果的か、について卒業論文制作に取り
かかっています。その中で、皆さんの意見を参考にさせていただきたく、今回アンケート調査を
お願いしたいと思います。このことで、皆さんにご迷惑をおかけすることはございませんので、
お気軽にお答えください。ご協力お願いいたします。
性別：
年齢：
どのくらいの期間、英語を勉強していますか？（
）
英語を勉強する目的は何ですか？
① テスト・試験のため
② 英語を話せるようになりたいから
③ 英語が好きだから
④ その他（
）
（例）単語を覚えること：新出単語を何回も書いて覚える。
1
とても難しい
1
全く達成感がない
Very unsatisfied
1
2
3
44
少し難しい
少し簡単
とても簡単
3
4
22
unsatisfied
あまり達成感がない
少し達成感がある
2
33
とても達成感がある
とても達成感が
ある
4
3
全く効果的でない
Very ineffective
11
全く面白くない
1
1
Not fun at all
全く楽しくない
あまり効果的でない
効果的
2
3
あまり面白くない
面白い
2
3
Not a lot of fun
あまり楽しくない
楽しい
53
とても効果的
4
とても面白い
4
とても楽しい
1. （3 人グループ）スポーツ・旅行・勉強…などのトピックカードをもらって、その
トピックの良いところ（例：健康的だ）と悪いところ（例：時間がかかる）を同じ
グループの人と考える。その後、他のグループと話し合う。
とても難しい
1
2
3
4
とても簡単
全く達成感がない
1
2
3
4
とても達成感がある
全く効果的でない
1
2
3
4
とても効果的
全く面白くない
1
2
3
4
とても面白い
全く楽しくない
1
2
3
4
とても楽しい
2. （4 人グループ）グループのうち一人が有名人の名前が書いてあるトピックカード
をもらい、
他の 3 人は “Are you a movie star?”
（映画俳優ですか？）や “Do you play
sports?” （スポーツをしますか？）などの質問をして、その有名人を当てる。
とても難しい
1
2
3
4
とても簡単
全く達成感がない
1
2
3
4
とても達成感がある
全く効果的でない
1
2
3
4
とても効果的
全く面白くない
1
2
3
4
とても面白い
全く楽しくない
1
2
3
4
とても楽しい
3. （ペア）男の子（A）と女の子（B）の週末についての会話をペアで音読する。
とても難しい
1
2
3
4
とても簡単
全く達成感がない
1
2
3
4
とても達成感がある
全く効果的でない
1
2
3
4
とても効果的
全く面白くない
1
2
3
4
とても面白い
全く楽しくない
1
2
3
4
とても楽しい
4. （ペア）レストランでのウェイターとお客さんの会話を覚え、ペアでする。
とても難しい
1
2
3
4
とても簡単
全く達成感がない
1
2
3
4
とても達成感がある
全く効果的でない
1
2
3
4
とても効果的
全く面白くない
1
2
3
4
とても面白い
全く楽しくない
1
2
3
4
とても楽しい
54
5. （クラス全員）”What’s your hobby?”（趣味は何ですか？） などたくさん質問が書
いてあるプリントをもらい、いろんな人に質問してその答えと回答者の名前を書き
込む。
とても難しい
1
2
3
4
とても簡単
全く達成感がない
1
2
3
4
とても達成感がある
全く効果的でない
1
2
3
4
とても効果的
全く面白くない
1
2
3
4
とても面白い
全く楽しくない
1
2
3
4
とても楽しい
6. （ペア）一人が写真（絵）をもらい、その写真（絵）に何があるのかをもう一人に
説明する。例えば“There are flowers at the bottom and there are trees at the left
side.”（下に花があって、左側に木がある。） 説明を聞いた方は写真（絵）を見ずに
絵を描き、最後にできた絵と説明した写真（絵）を比べる。
とても難しい
1
2
3
4
とても簡単
全く達成感がない
1
2
3
4
とても達成感がある
全く効果的でない
1
2
3
4
とても効果的
全く面白くない
1
2
3
4
とても面白い
全く楽しくない
1
2
3
4
とても楽しい
7. 自分の好きなトピックでスピーチを作ってきて、クラス全員の前またはグループ内
でスピーチする。
とても難しい
1
2
3
4
とても簡単
全く達成感がない
1
2
3
4
とても達成感がある
全く効果的でない
1
2
3
4
とても効果的
全く面白くない
1
2
3
4
とても面白い
全く楽しくない
1
2
3
4
とても楽しい
55
8. トピックを与えられ（例：世界で一番好きな場所について）、その場で 1 分考え、ク
ラス全員の前またはグループ内で 1 分間スピーチする。
とても難しい
1
2
3
4
とても簡単
全く達成感がない
1
2
3
4
とても達成感がある
全く効果的でない
1
2
3
4
とても効果的
全く面白くない
1
2
3
4
とても面白い
全く楽しくない
1
2
3
4
とても楽しい
9. （5 人グループ）英語の質問がたくさん書かれているボードゲーム（すごろくのよ
うなもの）をする。サイコロをふって出た数だけ進み、質問に答えてゴールを目指
す。
とても難しい
1
2
3
4
とても簡単
全く達成感がない
1
2
3
4
とても達成感がある
全く効果的でない
1
2
3
4
とても効果的
全く面白くない
1
2
3
4
とても面白い
全く楽しくない
1
2
3
4
とても楽しい
10. （3 人グループ）”I have…” や “I want…”などを使って一文言う。例えば、”I had a
very good time last night.”（昨夜、とても楽しい時間を過ごした。） 他の二人はそ
の文に対して “Where did you go?”（どこへ行ったの？）や “Who did you go with?”
（誰と行ったの？）などたくさん質問をしていく。
とても難しい
1
2
3
4
とても簡単
全く達成感がない
1
2
3
4
とても達成感がある
全く効果的でない
1
2
3
4
とても効果的
全く面白くない
1
2
3
4
とても面白い
全く楽しくない
1
2
3
4
とても楽しい
ご協力ありがとうございました。
56