Using Handheld Radio Transceivers to Help Shy and Reticent Students to Confront Their Fear of Talking

USING HANDHELD RADIO TRANSCEIVERS TO HELP SHY AND RETICENT

STUDENTS TO CONFRONT THEIR FEAR OF TALKING

DURING LISTENING AND SPEAKING CLASSES

BY

DUNSTAN PILANG ANAK RAPAIL

SK LUBOK PELAIE

96000 SIBU, SARAWAK

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND LANGUAGES

OPEN UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

KUALA LUMPUR

2015

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

Table of Content 2Acknowledgement 3Abstract 4

1.0 Introduction1.1 Reflections on Past Teaching and Learning 51.2 Issues of concern and Research Focus 61.3 Research Objective 61.4 Research Questions 6

2.0 Review of Related Literature 7

3.0 Methodology3.1 Target Group 83.2 Description of Research Context 83.3 Data Collection 8

4.0 Implementation of Action4.1 Overview 94.2 The Benefits of Using a Handheld Radio Transceiver 94.3 Limitation of Using a Handheld Radio Transceiver 104.4 Technique Implementation 10

4.2.1 Lesson 1 (Traditional Method) 114.2.2 Lesson 2 (The Handheld Radio Transceiver Method) 12

5.0 Analysis of Findings5.1 Questionaire 13-165.2 Interview 16

6.0 Recommendation for Future Research 17

7.0 Conclusion 17

Bibliography 18-19Appendices 20-22

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

An Action Research is never successfully completed in isolation. I received help,

encouragement, critique, consolation and from many people who deserve acknowledgement. I

wish to thank and express my greatest attitude to Mr. Adam Prakash for his professional effort,

encouragement and many perceptive comments through out the course of the research. My

thanks also go to the Ministry of Education, the headmaster and English language teachers of the

target school in Sibu for their cooperation. My thanks and appreciation also go to all the lecturers

and tutors of Open University Malaysia for the knowledge and experience that I gained

throughout my study in the university. Last but not least, my heartfelt thanks and deepest

gratitude go to my beloved wife, parents and my son for their prayer, support, love and

guidance, patience and words of encouragement throughout my years of studying in Open

University Malaysia.

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ABSTRACT

USING HANDHELD RADIO TRANSCEIVERS TO HELP SHY AND RETICENT

STUDENTS TO CONFRONT THEIR FEAR OF TALKING

DURING LISTENING AND SPEAKING CLASSES

Dunstan Pilang Anak Rapail Ampi

This is an action research about the usage of handheld radio transceiver or more commonly

known as walkie talkie as a facilitating tool to encourage speaking among shy and reticent

students. The focus for my action research was to see whether the usage of handheld radio

transceiver incorporated in agame, could be a tool to assist and encourage shy and reticent

student to speak during an English lesson class. I am the researcher with 6 students in the class,

of which 5 were female and 1 were male. They are Year 5 students and this class is the largest

class in a rural SKM (Sekolah Kurang Murid) school. They have been learning English in school

for at least 5 years. I used 2 data sources to analyse the findings: questionaires and interview.

In this action research, the questionaires were distributed twice, once after the first traditional

face-to-face lesson and once more after the second lesson, in which the teacher uses a handheld

radio transciever (walkie talkies) to communicate with the students. I learnt that the students like

it more when they were able to use the handheld radios and they were able to give out more

input. An extension of this research would be to use a bigger sample of students and see whether

this technique can be use to help shy and reticent students to speak up during a lesson.

Keywords: listening and speaking, shy, reticent, handheld radio transceiver, walkie talkie

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Reflections on Past Teaching and Learning

I have been teaching English for almost 12 years and one thing that I find hard to do is getting rid

of student’s shyness to speak in English during Listening and Speaking classes. However, this

does not affect all students but still, I feel that I can help those who were shy to break free and

start speaking up in English. My students have no problem during listening activities but only

seem problematic during speaking activities. All of my students are Iban and fortunately I am

Iban too so I took the opportunity to ask them in L1 a lot in order to ascertain what problem are

they facing during my Listening and Speaking classes. In other words, are they shy when using

their native language or does this shyness only occur when the students are trying to speak in

English?

Most of them said that they are only shy when they try to speak in English. Many of my students

spent a lot of time studying and practising English at home, outside the classroom. However, the

majority of the time spent was more on receptive activities such as reading and listening, rather

than speaking. According to Tuttle, most students speaking in the modern-language class focuses

on textbook grammar vocabulary exercises, not on conversing in the language. Students also

tend to spent more focus on private activities which did not require face-to-face contact. Many

students are unable to utter a spontaneous word whenever confronted one-to-one. Many of them

said that one-to-one sessions are quite intimidating and most of them would try to avoid being

looked in the eye when speaking. They feel they are expected to speak at length and answer

numerous questions and if they are unable to do so, they feel inadequate. The natural response to

this feeling is to be reticent and, in some cases, to react negatively and pretend it’s the teacher’s

fault.

My solution to this problem is to find a way for them to practice listening and speaking in

English in a fun and not intimidating way. This means I have to find a way for them to listen and

speak in English, without directly confronting them to encourage synchronous interaction in L2.

Once their confidence level builds up, it will be definitely easier for them to converse in English,

without being shy. This research will examine my Year 5 student’s shyness to speak using

English, using interviews and tests.

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1.2 Issues of concern and Research Focus

The focus of this research is to see whether the use of handheld radio transceiver can aid student

to get rid of their reticence when speaking in L2 (English). Most of the Year 5 students are

average students and are able to read and write in English. It is also important to note that the

handheld radio transceiver has a short range (3 to 5 kilometer) and the teacher and students using

it cannot go further than that. Hopefully, by helping the students talk using the radio in a

controlled environment, it will help to increase their confidence and eventually makes them less

shy when speaking in English.

1.3 Research Objective

The research aims to

i. To increase the knowledge of students in English

ii. To help students to conquer their fear of speaking in English

1.4 Research Questions

1. How can I use handheld radio transceiver in my Listening and Speaking lesson?

2. How is the use of handheld radio transceiver effective in encouraging shy and reticent

students to speak?

3. What are the learning points from this research?

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2.0 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Recent studies has found that many second language or foreign language students, especially

Asian learners, are passive in language classrooms and choose not to use the target language

most of the time, especially when responding orally to teachers (Cortazzi & Jin, 1996; Jackson,

1999, 2001, 2002; Li, 1998; Sato, 1990; Tsui, 1996; Zou, 2004).

Hilleson (1996) investigated 5 young international students attending a college in Singapore in

way of diaries, interviews, observations, and questionnaires. He found that speaking was

frequently mentioned as an anxiety-provoking event. Some students felt very self-conscious

about their pronunciation when speaking English; some found it frustrating to “jump into” a

discussion. Apparently, foreign language anxiety existed and interfered the students’ learning and

affected reactions, although it might motivate some students to work harder sometimes.

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3.0 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Target Group

This research will involve 6 Iban students (5 female and 1 male students) from Year 5.

3.2 Description of Research Context

This research is conducted at a rural SKM (Sekolah Kurang Murid) school at Sibu and I choose

the class which has the most number of students in the whole school, which is Year 5. After

getting the approval from my headmaster, I approached my students and told them that I need

their help to participate in my action research. All of them agreed and gave their permission. I

explained the rationale for my action research: I wanted to find out whether shy and reticent

student can be assisted to speak up more freely, by using a handheld radio transceiver, instead of

using the regular method of asking them in front of them.

3.3 Data Collection

In this research, I used two data sources:

i. Questionaire

ii. Interview

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4.0 Implementation of Action

4.1 Overview

The method that I am proposing is the use of cheap handheld radio transceiver, also known as

walkie talkies. It can be use to simulate a telephone call, normal daily conversation, an interview

and much more. This approach is also like killing 2 birds with one stone, since I have the

opportunity to teach English to my students and at the same time, trying to spark their interest in

ICT and the latest technology, by using a modern approach to teach English. It uses the handheld

radio transceivers to deliver materials that the learner could interact with rather than just receive

passively. This research will be divided into 2 lessons. In the first lesson, the “Guess My

Occupation” game will be conducted in a normal way, where the teacher will ask the students

and answer the students face-to-face. In the second lesson, the teacher uses a handheld radio

transceiver to ask and answer students.

4.2 The Benefits of Using a Radio Transceiver

First, a handheld radio transceiver does not require a connection to a telecommunication tower in

order to work, it can and it will work anywhere, whether at a town school or schools that is

located far in the depth of the jungle. These far rural schools usually have no coverage from any

telecommunication towers, and this renders normal telecommunication devices such as

telephone, smart phones and tabs, useless.

Second, the usage of handheld radio transceiver is free of charge, unlike normal telephone which

the user has to pay per usage. Just charge the batteries full and that single battery charge can be

use for up till 8 hours of talk time. As thus, students can feel free to communicate with each other

in English or ask questions from their teacher without worrying about the cost.

Third, ease of access to this handheld radio transceiver. If the teacher can't acquire a set of this

transceiver, the teacher can always borrow the school owned ones. Every school in Malaysia

right now are already supplied with a set of handheld radio transceiver for the school security

usage and school sports events. The teacher can discuss with the headmaster about borrowing

these radios for a while to be use during their listening and speaking lesson. Furthermore, in

recent years, the price of these radios has been dramatically decreased to an affordable price

range. A pair of this handheld radio transceiver can be acquired as cheap as RM100 and it can be

ordered online on the internet or any telecommunication shop that sells these radios.

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4.3 Limitation of Using a Handheld Radio Transceiver

The limitation of using this device is that it needs a power source to recharge its internal

batteries, prior before usage. This limitation is, however, easy to tackle since most school

nowadays are already equipped with electricity supply, be it in town or rural areas. Solar power

can also be considered as an alternative power to recharge those radios.

4.2 Technique Implementation

This technic will require the teacher to communicate with student by using a pair of handheld

radio transceivers during the “Guess My Occupation” game. The main aim is to give a chance to

reticent students to be able to reply and follow instructions, diverting shy students from face-to-

face exchanges.

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4.2.1 Lesson 1 (Traditional Method)

Pre-game steps

The teacher will start the lesson by asking each of the students their ambition.

Students will take part in a game called “What is my occupation?” The idea is to guess

the occupation by asking them questions about their occupations.

Students are briefed about the rules of the game by the teacher, before the game

starts.

Steps Notes

Students choose one question from the supplied flash cards.

Teacher prepares question cards and places them all on the table.

Students then ask the question to the teacher, face-to-face.The teacher will reply back to the question, face-to-face, with the student asking the question.Students will take turn asking questions to the teacher until they come to a decision and pick one suitable answer from the provided flash cards. Teacher announces the correct answer and congratulates the students.

Table 1: Steps for the first lesson (asking and answering face-to-face during the game)

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4.2.2 Lesson 2 (The Handheld Radio Transceiver Method)

Pre-game steps

The teacher will start the lesson by asking each of the students their ambition.

Students will take part in a game called “What is my occupation?” The idea is to guess

the occupation by asking them questions about their occupations.

Students are briefed about the rules of the game by the teacher, before the game

starts.

Steps Notes

Students choose one question from the supplied flash cards.

Teacher prepares question cards and places them all on the table.

Students then ask the question thru the radio transceiver.

The teacher will reply back thru the radio too.

Please take note that the teacher has to be as far away from the students while this activity is going on, to ensure no face-to-face exchanges takes place. Hiding at the back of the class or outside the class is recommended.

Students will take turn asking questions using the radio transceiver until they come to a decision and pick one suitable answer from the provided flash cards. Teacher announces the correct answer and congratulates the students.

Table 2: Steps for the second lesson (using handheld radio transceivers during the game)

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5.0 Analysis of Findings

5.1 Questionaire

The questions asked were as the following:

Which one of the following choices is true to you? Put "Y" for yes and "N" for no in the bracket before the sentences.

1. I like learning English. ( )

2. Learning English is very important to me. ( )

3. I am not confident speaking using English. ( )

4. I prefer not to have eye contact when I speak using English. ( )

5. I feel uneasy when I am speaking face to face with the teacher. ( )

6. I feel uneasy when I am speaking face to face with other people. ( )

7. I have more confidence to speak English. ( )

8. I can speak using longer sentences. ( )

9. I can talk for a longer time than before. ( )

10. I did not feel uneasy and nervous when the teacher talked to me. ( )

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No Questions Frequency

Yes No

1 I like learning English. 6 0

2 Learning English is very important to me. 6 0

3 I am not confident speaking using English. 6 0

4 I prefer not to have eye contact when I speak using

English.

5 1

5 I feel uneasy when I am speaking face to face with the

teacher.

6 0

6 I feel uneasy when I am speaking face to face with other

people.

0 6

7 I have more confidence to speak English. 2 4

8 I can speak using longer sentences. 1 5

9 I can talk for a longer time than before. 1 5

10 I did not feel uneasy and nervous when the teacher talked

to me.

0 6

Total 33 27

Table 1: Summary of questionnaires completed by the students after the first lesson

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No Questions Frequency

Yes No

1 I like learning English. 6 0

2 Learning English is very important to me. 6 0

3 I am not confident speaking using English. 1 5

4 I prefer not to have eye contact when I speak using

English.

2 4

5 I feel uneasy when I am speaking face to face with the

teacher.

1 5

6 I feel uneasy when I am speaking face to face with other

people.

0 6

7 I have more confidence to speak English. 5 1

8 I can speak using longer sentences. 5 1

9 I can talk for a longer time than before. 6 0

10 I did not feel uneasy and nervous when the teacher talked

to me.

6 0

Total 38 22

Table 2: Summary of questionnaires completed by the students after the second lesson

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Table 3: Comparison after Lesson 1 and Lesson 2

The graph shows that the students were not scared to speak when not asked face-to-face by the

teacher and they were able to use that chance by speaking more. All these implied that the use of

handheld radio transceiver during Lesson 2 has helped the students to build their confidence to

speak up during the game.

5.2 Interview

A set of interview question was asked to all the students. Answers from the students indicated

that they feel more confident speaking in English if the teacher is not in front of them, face-to-

face.

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6.0 Recommendation for Future Research

Future studies should try to expand the use of handheld radio transceiver in more Listening and

Speaking activities. A larger number of samples would be an added bonus as more data can be

acquired and analysed.

7.0 Conclusion

This pioneering action research aimed to test the effectiveness of using handheld radio

transceivers or more commonly known as walkie talkies during speaking activities so that shy

and reticent students will be able to speak up without having to go speak face-to-face with their

teacher. Interviews and a questionnaire survey were used. The approach was found to be very

effective in improving response rate from the students and they seem to be more willing to

answer the teachers question or following orders. Even the non-shy and reticent students are also

keen and eager to be able to use the handheld radio to speak to others. This proves that this

technique can be implemented to spark interest among the students to try to speak, even the

weaker students and the slow learners can be saved if only they show some enthusiasm towards

expressing themselves thru speaking. This actionresearch was done at a government secondary

school and it can be extended and replicated to other schools or should include more schools as

well as the participating learners.

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Bibliografi (Bibliography)

Cortazzi, M., & Jin, L. X. (1996). Cultures of learning: Language classrooms in

China. In H. Coleman (Ed.), Society and the Language Classroom (pp. 169-206).

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Jackson, J. (1999). Perceptions of Chinese students in an English-medium case-based

management course. In H. Klein (Ed.), Interactive Teaching and the Multimedia

Revolution: Case Method and Other Techniques (pp. 61-76). Boston: World

Association for Case Method Research and Application.

Jackson, J. (2001). Combating dead air in case discussion. In H. Klein (Ed), Complex

Demands on Teaching Require Innovation: Case Method and Other Techniques (pp.

227-240). Boston: World Association for Case Method Research and Application.

Li, D. F. (1998). “It’s always more difficult than you plan and image”: Teachers’

perceived difficulties in introducing the Communicative Approach in South Korea.

TESOL Quarterly, 32, 677-703.

Sato, C. J. (1990). Ethnic styles in classroom discourse. In R. C. Scarcella, E. S.

Anderson, and S. D. Krashen (Eds.), Developing Communicative Competence in a

Second Language (pp. 107-119). Heinle & Heinle Publishers.

Tsui, A. B. M. (1996). Reticence and anxiety in second language learning. In K. M.

Bailey, and D. Nunan (Eds.), Voices From the Language Classroom (pp. 145-167).

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Zhou, M (2004). EFL learners’ perceptions of in-class relationships and their voluntary

responses. In Y. Gao (Ed.), The Social Psychology of English Learning by Chinese

College Students (pp. 149-167). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and

Research Press.

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Tuttle, H. (2013). Improving Student's Modern Language Speaking Skills Through Mobile

Learning. In Berge, Z. L., & Muilenburg, L. Y. (Eds.). (2013). Handbook of mobile learning.

New York: Routledge.

Hilleson, M. 1996. I want to talk with them, but I don’t want them to hear: An introspective

study of second langue anxiety in an English-medium school. In Liu, M. (2007). Anxiety in oral

English classrooms: a case study in China. ANXIETY, 3(1).

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APPENDIX A

QUESTIONAIRE

Which one of the following choices is true to you? Put "Y" for yes and "N" for no in the bracket before the sentences.

1. I like learning English. ( )

2. Learning English is very important to me. ( )

3. I am not confident speaking using English. ( )

4. I prefer not to have eye contact when I speak using English. ( )

5. I feel uneasy when I am speaking face to face with the teacher. ( )

6. I feel uneasy when I am speaking face to face with other people. ( )

7. I have more confidence to speak English. ( )

8. I can speak using longer sentences. ( )

9. I can talk for a longer time than before. ( )

10. I did not feel uneasy and nervous when the teacher talked to me. ( )

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION

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APPENDIX B

STUDENT INTERVIEW QUESTION

1. Do you like to speak using English?

2. Are you able to speak in English?

3. Do you make a lot of mistake when speaking English?

4. Is there anything that makes you hesitant when speaking English?

5. Do you want to be able to talk with other people in English?

6. How do you feel when you talk face-to-face with your English Teacher?

7. What makes it hard for you to speak when you are talking with someone in English?

8. Do you feel scared or nervous when you speak English with your teacher?

9. Can you talk to your teacher using English if your teacher is in front of you?

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APPENDIX C

LESSON PLAN

English Year

4

1120-1220

Theme World of self, family and friends

Topic Spending wisely

Learning Standard 1.1.4

Lesson Objective By the end of lesson, students:

will try to talk about their ambition with guidance from the

teacher

Activities 1. Teacher starts the class by asking the students their

ambition and the reason behind it.

2. Students learn about various occupations.

3. Worksheet activity.

Teaching Aid TB, AB, blackboard

Reflection __/3 were able to complete the activities given to them

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