169 interviews helped researchers gain better insights into participants’ reflections on the current activities and fill in any gaps left by the quantitative data analysis.
The materials for 12 meetings were developed by the researchers based on the conceptual framework. Each meeting focused on one particular topic such as greetings, family, friends, university life, etc. which served as a support for participants to initiate and sustain conversations.
The materials used supported language use and contents as the aim was to provide students with lexical items necessary to sustain the conversation. The research follows the action research design and is illustrated in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2. Phases in action research for self-confidence in verbal communication
Results and discussion
The students’ attitudes towards EC’s confidence-centered activities
For this research question the main data source is the Likert-scale questionnaire and the author’s journal.
Planning
Conceptual framework, lesson plans
Action
12 meetings, pre/post-questionnaire
Observation
Journal
Reflection
Results, implications
170
Table 1: Attitude cluster’s statistics
N Max. Min. Mean SD
Before 12 EC meetings 45 2.74 4.47 3.82 0.34
After 12 EC meetings 45 3.21 4.53 3.96 0.33
It is noticeable from Table 1. that the average self-evaluating points for the attitude of the participants are somewhat high, both before and after 12 EC meetings. This question cluster is the one which gained the highest average score amongst five clusters. The highest point is 4.53, which is 1.1 higher in comparison with the lowest one. Despite being the lowest mean score, 3.21 is still above average. These results indicate that, with the collaborative attitude of the participants at the beginning, it was easier for EC to support them.
Table 2: Attitude mean scores for each activity
Activity Mean (Before EC) Mean (After EC)
Board games 4.11 4.22
Active games 4.24 4.31
Discussions 4.22 4.25
Short presentations 3.84 4.11
English songs 4.38 4.53
English videos 3.98 4.13
Role-plays/ drama 3.98 4.07
The researchers analyzed mean preference score for each type of confidence-based activity separately (Table 2). In terms of music-related activities, after 12 meetings, the participants expressed an increasing preference after 12 meetings (4.53 and 4.53 respectively). Interestingly, although the “short presentation” activities were among the least favoured, it increased most significantly in the mean score, with a 0.27 difference.
The researchers also conducted a paired sample t-test between two attitude mean scores for all activities listed in Table 2, before and after participating in EC. There was a statistically significant difference in the scores before (M=4.12, SD=0.19) and after (M=4.23, SD=0.16) conditions; t(6)=-4.26, p = 0.005. These results suggest that there is a significant increase in how positively participants perceive the activities.
171 The efficiency of EC as a confidence booster
Table 3: Mean scores of the questionnaire
N Min. Max. Mean SD
Before EC 45 2.61 3.95 3.45 .27
After EC 45 2.84 4.27 3.59 .34
Students coming to EC are diverse in terms of confidence level when communicating in English.
After joining EC, the one with the lowest mean score obtained 2.84 and that with the highest got 4.27, which are all above average. The mean score increases, from 3.45 to 3.59 after 12 meetings.
A paired sample t-test also indicates that there is a statistically significant difference between the figures for before joining EC (M=3.45, SD=0.27) and after (M=3.59, SD=0.34) with t(44)=-2.16, p = 0.037.
Table 4: Before coming to EC
Cluster N Min. Max. Mean SD
Attitude 45 2.74 4.47 3.82 0.34
Vocabulary and content 45 2.25 4.00 3.33 0.42
Body language 45 2.57 5.00 3.63 0.67
Response 45 1.00 4.00 2.36 0.93
Habitual behaviors 45 2.14 3.71 2.88 0.38
Table 5: After coming to EC
Cluster N Min. Max Mean SD
Attitude 45 3.21 4.53 3.96 0.29
Vocabulary and content 45 2.63 4.13 3.42 0.36
Body language 45 2.29 5.00 3.79 0.58
Response 45 1.00 5.00 2.70 0.97
Habitual behaviors 45 2.00 3.86 2.95 0.46
For response and habit clusters, the lowest points are 1.00 and 2.00 (after 12 meetings) respectively, which are considerably below average. However, there are some participants who self-evaluated with the highest points in terms of response (5.00), together with the body language.
It can be inferred that the confidence aspects of the participants are not the same and there is an improvement in the mean scores of all clusters after 12 meetings. Results show that most participants still faced the burden of making quick responses which affects their level of confidence in English communication (Table 4 & Table 5).
172 From the journal that recorded observations the researchers found that the participants made significant progress in their willingness to initiate a conversation and to volunteer to perform speaking tasks in front of the whole club. The interviews conducted after the post-questionnaire confirmed the importance of EC in contributing positively to the interviewees English communicative confidence and encouraged the researchers to develop this practice as a sustainable English community.
Conclusions and recommendations
From the quantitative and qualitative data, it is apparent that by using the new systematic approach based on the researchers’ conceptual framework instead of free talk, EC managed to improve participants’ verbal confidence when conversing in English. The attitude towards all activities is also positive both before and after trying them. The indicators of confidence were all improved after 12 meetings of EC according to researchers’ observation and the interviews. In conclusion, EC helps the students improve their confidence in verbal English communication.
It is noteworthy that not all aspects of communicative confidence are easily improved. Therefore, some could be further developed into another action research cycle, e.g. body language, language use and contents, etc.
The findings have also suggested that more emphasis should be placed on music-related and quick response activities. CTU Youth Union may use this particular study to gain deeper insights into how to create replicas in other Schools and Colleges of CTU.
The findings of this particular study contribute to the body of literature about English clubs in Vietnam in particular and Vietnamese learning communities in general, shedding light on the potential of English clubs as an alternative to classroom activities to boost students’ confidence.
Firstly, it offers concrete documentation and evidence for educators to sustain the English club model for upcoming years as a powerful tool to alleviate students’ diffidence.
Secondly, it responds to the question of whether to replicate this pilot model on a larger scale, as a response to the thirst for innovative English teaching and learning methods. Last but not least, within the scope of this research, some indications for how to structure activities will also be a reliable resource for EC administrators to consider.
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