SKKN Implementing extracurricular activities to enhance students’ speaking skill at Cua Lo High School

n hall has been completed, with Le Dynasty-style 
architecture, the frame structure is completely made of ironwood with 6 rows of 
columns, because of the stack of gongs; decorative patterns on the surface of 
wooden structures in the shape of dragons, mascots, clouds, flowers, embossed, 
carved in some layers. 
Huyen Tran: When tourists come to here, they all have a chance to visit a well-
known historic relic related to the life and career of King Le Thai To Le Loi, 
who was the founder of the Later Le Dynasty, and the uprising of the Lam Son 
troops in the 15th century. His birthday was August 6, 1385 and he ascended to 
the throne on April 15, 1428. Le Loi has been on the throne for nearly 6 years. 
He died at the age of 49 on August 22, leap year 1433 in Thang Long, Hanoi. 
And on October 23 of the same year, the king's body was brought here for burial, 
changed mausoleum and made a stele. Located next to the tomb of King Le Thai 
To, the laughing guava tree, if someone scratches the root or the trunk, especially 
the intersections between trunk and branches, the foliage will vibrate as if it is 
laughing. And another thing is if travelers hold branches and close their eyes to 
meditate for a while, they will have a feeling of relief and serenity. The story 
about the guava tree that can laugh has been passed on by locals over many 
years. 
Duc Tuan: Some places besides the temple of King Le Loi that we also need to 
pay attention to are elephants made of stone and cement, shrines of kings and 
queens, high officials in the court... We are also known for the pots planted long 
ago with large pristine rocks. 
Khanh Huyen: In short, after the trip to Lam Kinh relic site, I and everyone had 
new experiences. Through the trip, it helps us to reduce the stress in studying and 
bring everyone in the class together. We also know more interesting and useful 
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knowledge in life. I feel very fortunate to be able to set foot in this land - the 
hometown of King Le Thai To. 
* Some outstanding pictures from the extracurricular activity “A- day excursion 
to Lam Kinh Ancient Capital and Phu Quy Flower Valley” 
 (See APPENDIX 4) 
2.4. Findings and evaluation 
2.4.1. Achieved results 
We have applied this study for quite a long time in teaching and we have out 
found that extracurricular activities have made it more effective and interesting. 
After holdning any outdoor activity, we have gained many useful experiences and 
some lessons have been learned. Our students have more chances to get to know 
themselves and their environment through all their senses. They improve their 
speaking’s skill through the proccess of exchanging information, expressing their 
feelings and making their own decisions, which make them more successful in their 
real lives. 
In comparison with the survey we have conducted before applying 
extracurricular activities, the result changed according to the progressive direction, 
they have frequently used English to each other and they have been more confident 
in English speaking and we also realized clearly the efficiency of the students who 
have active learning awareness. W e are very pleased to see that the number of the 
students who like learning English has increased significantly, which we will show 
the results as follows 
Statements Like very 
much 
like Like a little Donot like 
Percentage (%) 30 25 40 5 
Statements Very interesting Interesting Boring 
Percentage (%) 50 40 10 
This result demonstrates that the measures which we have carried out improve 
the efficiency of teaching for students. After the outside classes, our students always 
feel relaxed and look forward to having a chance to take part in another activity. 
Weaker students are no longer under pressure when they discuss something in 
English. Our students are not only able to speak English more confidently but also 
feel excited to participate in exploring the problems and challenges in the real life. 
2.4.2. Recommendation 
After analyzing some extracurricular activities with the aim of promoting the 
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speaking ability among students, several recommendations should be given as follows: 
- All teachers should apply suitable extracurricular activities and carry out 
regular extracurricular activities so that students will have more opportunities to 
practise English speaking skill as a daily routine. Gradually, they are able to 
communicate more and more naturally and fluently. 
- Though seemingly difficult at first sight, outdoor activities are nowhere near 
as complicated as expected once they have been carefully imlemented. I thus suggest 
that we apply those not merely to good students but also to all students at average 
and low levels so that they can make full use of these useful patterns in their study. 
For language teachers, if we habitually use them, it will certainly be much easier for 
us to be with them in our English teaching career. 
2.4.3. Survey of emergency and featibility of proposed solutions 
1. Purpose of the survey 
The purpose of the survey is to verify the urgency and feasibility of the topic 
2. Survey content and methods 
2.1. Survey content 
The survey focused on two main issues: 
1) Are the proposed solutions really urgent for the current research problem? 
2) Are the proposed solutions feasible for the current research problem? 
2.2. Survey method and rating scale 
The method used for the survey is Exchange by Questionnaire; with a 4-level 
rating scale (corresponding to a score from 1 to 4): 
Level 
Not urgent Less urgent Urgent Very Urgent 
Impossible Less feasible Feasible Very Doable 
Grade 1 2 3 4 
Calculate the average score X 
By the software Google Forms 
3. Survey object 
Summary of survey subjects 
Order Object Quantity 
1 Students 145 
2 Teachers 55 
  200 
 43 
4. Survey results on the urgency and feasibility of the proposed solutions 
 (See APENDIX 7) 
4.1. The urgency of the proposed solutions 
Assess the urgency of the proposed solutions 
Order 
Solutions 
Parameters 
X 
Level 
1 
Improving the speaking skill through 
extracurricular activities at Cua Lo high school. 
49% 4- Very 
Urgent 
46.5% 3- Urgent 
3.5% 2- Less 
urgent 
2% 1- Not 
urgent 
2 
Organizing extracurricular activities annually to 
have the chance to use English skill outside and 
enhance other skills such as: planning, cooperation 
and problem solving for students. 
39% 4- Very 
Urgent 
54.5% 3- Urgent 
5% 2- Less 
urgent 
1.5% 1- Not 
urgent 
3 
Cooperating with Youth Union and Parent 
Assiociation to organize outdoor activities going to 
beauty spots, historical sites and orphanages in 
order to motivate students to speak English. 
43% 4- Very 
Urgent 
49% 3- Urgent 
6.5% 2- Less 
urgent 
1.5% 1- Not 
urgent 
4 
Guiding students extracurricular activities by 
themselves, English club to practice independence, 
38.5% 4- Very 
Urgent 
 44 
initiative as well as confidence. 57% 3- Urgent 
2.5% 2- Less 
urgent 
2% 1- Not 
urgent 
5 
Extracurricular activities always motivate, elicit the 
passion for English in real situations, thus 
accomplishing, improving the English speaking 
skill for students. 
47.5% 4- Very 
Urgent 
50.5% 3- Urgent 
1% 2- Less 
urgent 
1% 1- Not 
urgent 
Total 
43,5% 4- Very 
Urgent 
51.5% 3- Urgent 
3.5% 2- Less 
urgent 
1.5% 1- Not 
urgent 
From the data obtained in the table above, we can draw that nearly half of the 
people surveyed agreed that the topic was very urgent (43.5%), more than half 
confirmed that the topic was urgent (51.5%), almost no people thought that the topic 
was not urgent (1.5 %) or less urgent (3.5%). 
4.2. Feasibility of the proposed solutions 
Evaluate the feasibility of the proposed solutions 
Order Solutions 
Parameters 
X 
Level 
1 
Improving the speaking skill through extracurricular 
activities at Cua Lo high school. 
39.5% 
4- Very 
Doable 
52% 3- Feasible 
6% 2- Less 
 45 
feasible 
2.5% 
1- 
Impossible 
2 
Organizing extracurricular activities annually to 
have the chance to use English skill outside and 
enhance other skills such as: planning, cooperation 
and problem solving for the students. 
36.5% 
4- Very 
Doable 
56.5% 3- Feasible 
6.5% 
2- Less 
feasible 
1.5% 
1- 
Impossible 
3 
Cooperating with Youth Union and Parent 
Assiociation to organize outdoor activities going to 
beauty spots, historical sites and orphanages in order 
to motivate students to speak English. 
41% 
4- Very 
Doable 
48% 3- Feasible 
6% 
2- Less 
feasible 
2% 
1- 
Impossible 
4 
Guiding students extracurricular activities by 
themselves, English club to practice independence, 
initiative as well as confidence. 
36.5% 
4- Very 
Doable 
55.5% 3- Feasible 
5.5% 
2- Less 
feasible 
2.5% 
1- 
Impossible 
5 
Extracurricular activities always motivate, elicit the 
passion for English in real situations, thus 
accomplishing, improving the English speaking skill 
for students. 
40.5% 
4- Very 
Doable 
54% 3- Feasible 
3.5% 
2- Less 
feasible 
2% 
1- 
Impossible 
 39% 4- Very 
 46 
Total 
Doable 
53.5% 3- Feasible 
5.5% 
2- Less 
feasible 
2% 
1- 
Impossible 
From the data obtained in the table above, we can draw that nearly half of the 
people surveyed agreed that the topic was doable (39%), more than half confirmed 
that the topic was feasible (53.5%), few people thought that the topic was impossible 
(1.5 %) or less feasible (5.5%). 
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PART III: CONCLUSION 
In conclusion, after trying to apply extracurricular activities in teaching 
process at Cua Lo high school, we have found that all the students have been 
stimulated at their study process as extracurricular activities has proved its 
trimendous advantages: being carried out in a natural setting thus making learning 
realistic; enhancing students' social skills such as co-operation, problem solving, 
crictical thinking, high-tech utilization, dynamism, creativity, self-reliance, social 
interaction, etc.; raising students' responsibilities with community. Students have 
had a lot of opportunities to experience their learning activities in the real life and 
raised the wish to improve themselves and community as well. 
This research’s aim is to investigate high school students’ experience and 
perception of extracurricular activities. We would like to emphasize that although 
the results from this study originate from a small school in a coastal area, we do hope 
that the findings make a little contribution to our colleagues’ knowledge about 
students’ experiences of outdoor teaching and learning. 
Once again, we would like to emphasize that the students who try to use 
English outside classroom, for sure, make cosniderable progress in their English 
learrning process. Obviously, motivation is the key here and we also suppose that 
extracurricular activities is a necessary tool for students to be more exposed to 
speaking English. Teachers should create a good environment to help students in 
learning English especially the students in coastal area, they will have chances to 
study and get new knowledge. Our assignment can have some unavoidable mistakes 
for our limited knowledge; therefore, we look forward to receiving constructive 
feedback from other colleagues so that we can complete our work better. 
 REFERENCES 
1. www.wikipedia.org 
2. Margie S. Berns. 1984. Contexts Of Competence. Springer Science + Business 
Media. 
3. Chaney Ann L., Burk, Tamara L. June 1, 1997. Teaching Oral Communication 
in Grades K-8. Prentice Hall Paperback Paperback. 
4. Rhonda Oliver. 1st edition (June 11, 2018). Routledge Publisher. 
5. Diane Larsen-Freeman. Second Edition, 2000. Techniques and Principles in 
Language Teaching. Oxford University Press. 
6. Duc, Hoang Tang. 2016. Project-based Learning. Vinh University. 
7. Vân, Hoàng Văn (1998). Vai trò của người giáo viên ngoại ngữ trong lớp học 
theo đường hướng lấy người học làm trung tâm. Kỉ yếu hội thảo khoa học quốc 
gia các trường đại học sư phạm lần thứ hai. Vinh: ĐHSP Vinh. 
 APPENDICES 
APPENDIX 1 
SOME EVIDENCE OF CONDUCTING THOSE ABOVE 
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES 
(The head of the English teacher group hold a meeting to announce the plan of the 
‘Happy New Year 2023’ programme) 
 ( Co-operation with Ho Chi Minh communist a n d C L E C to advertise the 
competition on social network) 
(Certificate of Recognition) 
 APPENDIX 2 
Some specific work and photos of meaningful moments during the day of 
CLECers in SOS Children's Village in Vinh city 
 APPENDIX 3 
Some impressive moments of the ‘Happy New Year - 2023’ programme 
 APPENDIX 4 
 Some outstanding pictures from the extracurricular activity 
“A- day excursion to Lam Kinh Ancient Capital and Phu Quy Flower Valley” 
 APPENDIX 5 
 STUDENTS' OPINION SURVEY QUESTIONAIRE 
Question 1: What do you think about speaking skill? 
a. very important b. important c. not important d. not important at all 
Question 2: What do you think about extracurricular activities? 
a. very interesting b. interesting c. very boring d. boring 
Question 3: Would you like your teacher apply extracurricular activities in 
teaching English speaking skill? 
a. Yes, very much b. Yes, sometimes c. No, it's very tired d. never 
Question 4: How do you think about extracurricular activities? 
a. Very interesting and effective. It gives me a lot of fun and I can learn many new 
things ouside the textbook. I like working in group, I can improve my technolygy 
knowledge thanks to my friends. 
b. I don't like it very much. 
c. I don't like it, it takes me a lot of time. 
d. It is difficult and not effective. 
Question 5: What are the biggest benefits when you have a chance to take part 
in extracurricular activities? 
a. Nothing 
b. Not much. 
c. I don't know exactly. 
d. Groupwork skill, team spirit, problem solving and a lot of fun. 
Question 6: What will you expect from your teacher in the future? 
Would you like your teacher organise extracurricular activities in teaching English 
speaking skill? 
a. Often. 
b. No, because it takes a lot of time. 
c. Sometimes, in order to give students good chances to practice important skills that 
are very necessary in life later beside speaking skill. 
d. I don't care much about that. 
 APPENDIX 6 
Enclosed links on You tobe 
 APPENDIX 7 
RESULTS OF SURVEYING THE EMERGENCY AND FEELABILITY OF 
PROPOSED SOLUTIONS 
(This survey was sent to 200 teachers and students on the Google Forms platform, 
so we decided to write it in Vietnamese to make sure that the respondents clearly 
understand the content of the survey questions to get answers. the most exactly) 
A. SURVEY RESULTS OF EMERGENCY OF PROPOSED SOLUTIONS 
 B. SURVEY RESULTS OF FEELABILITY OF PROPOSED SOLUTIONS