AN EXLORATORY STUDY ON THE USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING LISTENING SKILLS AT HUONG SON HIGH SCHOOL

i MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYEN TIEN DUNG AN EXLORATORY STUDY ON THE USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING LISTENING SKILLS AT HUONG SON HIGH SCHOOL Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Code: 60.14.01.11 MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: Tran Ba Tien, Ph.D Nghe An, 2017 i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby certify that this thesis entitled “An exploratory study on the use of information technology in teaching English listening skills at Huong Son high school” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts at Vinh University No material in this thesis has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university and neither does this thesis use and contain previously published material or written by another person Author Nguyen Tien Dung ii ACKOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Dr Tran Ba Tien, my supervisor, for his invaluable guidance, comments, correction, and most of all his kind encouragement throughout the work I also would like to express my sincere thanks to teachers of Foreign Language Department for their kind encouragement and suggestions I am appreciative of all my teachers and my students at Huong Son High School where I have gathered information for my study Without their help, this study could not have been successful I am indebted to my family members whose support and encouragements greatly contributed to the completion of my study Vinh, July 2017 Nguyen Tien Dung iii ABSTRACT Information Technology (IT) is an important element in the education scenario in order to prepare the citizens for the future The quality of teaching is often related to the use of IT in teaching and learning Hence, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has implemented various programs to promote the use of IT pin teaching and learning The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the use of IT in teaching English listening skills at Huong Son high school To achieve the aims, in this study the researcher used qualitative and quantitative research method, including the use of survey questionnaires and interview The study was conducted with ten teachers and two hundred students at Huong Son high school, Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province, Vietnam The data from survey questionnaires, information collected from interviews was discussed and interpreted statistically The findings reveal that although teachers were quite positive attitudes about IT integration, there were several challenges that were still holding them back from fully utilizing the ITs Issues such as inadequate infrastructure, lack of knowledge and skills on how to integrate IT tools, their own attitudes and beliefs, were challenges that the teachers seemed to point out as major impediments to the smooth integration of IT Considering the data gathered, it is hoped that this thesis will be useful for teachers in using IT in teaching English listening skills at Huong Son high school in particular and at other high schools in general iv APPENDICES Appendix A: Teacher questionnaire Appendix B: Student questionnaire Appendix C: Teacher interview Appendix D: Student interview v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS IT : Information Technology CALL : Computer Assisted Language Learning EFL : English as Foreign Language CLT : Communicative Language Teaching ALM : Audio Lingual Method TPR : Total Physical Response vi TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i Vinh, July 2017 ii Nguyen Tien Dung ii vii LIST OF TABLE AND CHART Table 1: Distribution of respondents by genderError: Reference source not found Table 2: Distribution of respondents by age Error: Reference source not found Table 3: Distribution of respondents by teaching experiences Error: Reference source not found Table 4: The degree held by the participants .Error: Reference source not found Table 5: IT Ownership Error: Reference source not found Table 6: Teachers and students' attitude towards using IT in listening lessons Error: Reference source not found Table 9: Administrators’ frequency in encouraging teachers to use IT Error: Reference source not found Table 10: Colleagues’ frequency in appreciating the value of using IT Error: Reference source not found Table 11: Teachers’ frequency in using computers to design English listening lessons .Error: Reference source not found Table 12: The most preferable type of IT tools technologies in teaching Error: Reference source not found Table 13: Teachers’ and students’ assessment on the effectiveness of your English listening lessons with the help of IT Error: Reference source not found Table 15: Teachers’ and students’ perceptions toward the benefits of using IT in teaching English listening skill Error: Reference source not found viii Table 16: Difficulties confronted by the teachers in using IT in their teaching .Error: Reference source not found Table 17: Difficulties confronted by the students in learning listening skill with technology .Error: Reference source not found Table 18: Teachers' suggestions to enhance the effectiveness of using computers in teaching English listening skills Error: Reference source not found Chapter INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale English has been considered as one of the compulsory subjects in secondary and high school in Vietnam New English textbooks from grade six to twelve, which are born with the aims to require students standard level of English as well as to meet, demand of social development focuses on the four skills: reading, speaking, listening, and writing Listening is considered very difficult but important one, the basic for others However, teaching and learning English listening skill at schools in general and high schools in particular still exist some limitations The reasons are the learners lack of motivation to listen, limited level of English, noise and lack of instrument for listening And an important reason is from the teachers’ methodology They may still be familiar to the old method of teaching, or they get difficult to find a suitable method, so they cannot motivate their students to learn English listening skill better In many recent years, the idea of applying IT in teaching in general and English especially listening skill is being carried out in schools in Vietnam to help the English lessons effectively Nowadays, IT is a concept that is not too strange with many people With a computer and Internet technologies, people can now have access to more information more quickly and easier IT definitely plays an important role in educational success The impact of the use of IT on education has been investigated by many researchers in different settings in Vietnam and in the world These studies shared a very common finding that is related the effectiveness of the use of IT in teaching in general and in teaching English in particular Lam & Lawrence (2002) also stated that technology not only gives learners the opportunity to control their own learning process, but also provide them with ready access to a vast amount of information over which teachers 74 thesis is of no exception - Due to the limitation of time, the researcher could only investigate the use of using IT in teaching English listening skill but not others English skills in particular such as reading, writing, speaking - This study involved a small number of English teachers in a high school Results not necessarily to using IT in teaching at all of the schools Some findings may be useful for future research or as a starting point for planning using IT in teaching English at other schools 5.4 Suggestions for further research The findings and limitations of the study indicate some suggestions for further research - The study considered the use of IT in teaching English listening skill at Huong Son high school only The future research which looks at respondents at different high schools with a bigger sample would be helpful - The present research aims at investigating the use of IT in teaching English listening only, future studies should investigate the use of IT in teaching the other English skills such as speaking, writing, reading skill or grammar in order to deeply evaluate the effectiveness of the approach for each skill of English - The present research aims at investigating the teachers' use of IT in teaching English listening skill, future studies should investigate more about students' use of IT in learning English as well - The future studies should investigate the effectiveness of each IT tool to the teachers’ lesson such as the effectiveness of using PowerPoint or language software in teaching English Although this study has made some contribution, the topic needs to be examined further to investigate the effectiveness in teaching English listening skill It is hoped that this study and subsequent research will result in 75 encouraging teachers to use IT more to promote English language teaching and learning REFERENCES • 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Please tick  or complete the spaces where appropriate For questions 6, 7, 10, and 11 you may choose more than one option Your gender: Male Female How long have you been teaching English? years 81 Do you have a computer or smart phone with internet access at home? Yes No How long have you been using computers? _ year(s) Do you like using information technology in teaching English listening skills? Yes No How you rate your internet/IT skills? Very good Good Normal Bad How often you use computers in English listening lessons? Frequently Sometimes Seldom Never How often does your principal encourage you to use information technology in teaching English listening skills? Frequently Sometimes Seldom Never How often your colleagues appreciate the value of using information technology in your teaching English listening skills? Frequently Sometimes Seldom Never Which stages you use computers to design English listening lessons? Pre-listening While-listening Post-listening Which tools you usually use to assist your English teaching? Overhead projectors PowerPoint projector CD/DVD player/ Cassette Internet Language labs Microsoft Office TV Language teaching/learning player software Others? 82 In your opinion, the use of information technology in teaching English listening skill is Very important Important Unimportant Not important at all How can you assess the effectiveness of computers in assisting your English listening skill lessons compared with traditional teaching method? Very effectively Quite effectively Effectively Not very effectively Not effectively at all 10 What benefits you have when you use information technology in teaching English listening skill lessons? Making the lessons more Making the teacher easier to control interesting and attractive Making the lessons more diverse the lessons in the classroom Making students more active in Helping the students understand learning Drawing the students' attention in the lesson better the lesson Others? 11 What are the obstacles of using information technology in your teaching English listening skill lessons? Taking a lot of time to prepare the Making the students more lesson Wasting more time to operate neglectful of the lesson Lack of the care from the board of computer principal Making the students noisier Lack of supporting facilities Lack of skill in using computer Lack of teacher training workshops Others? 83 12 Do you have any suggestions for the use of computers in teaching English to make the lessons more effective? To the administrators (or your school): To the teachers: To the students: APPENDIX B CÂU HỎI KHẢO SÁT (Dành cho học sinh) Bản câu hỏi điều tra thiết kế cho nghiên cứu luận văn thạc sĩ việc ứng dụng công nghệ thông tin việc giảng dạy kỹ nghe hiểu Tiếng Anh trường THPT Hương Sơn Chúng cám ơn bạn hỗ trợ hồn thành khảo sát Tất thơng tin bạn cung cấp cho mục đích nghiên cứu cam kết bảo mật thông tin cá nhân Chân thành cảm ơn hợp tác giúp đỡ bạn! Giới tính: Nam Nữ Tuổi:…… Lớp:…… Bạn học Tiếng Anh bao lâu? …… năm Bạn sử dụng thiết bị, dụng cụ CNTT bao lâu? …… năm Bạn có sở hữu máy tính điện thoại thơng minh khơng? Máy tính: Có Điện thoại thơng minh: Khơng Có Khơng 84 Bạn đánh dấu vào phương án mà bạn lựa chọn Đối với câu hỏi 5, 8, bạn đưa nhiều lựa chọn Bạn có thích học tiết học kỹ nghe Tiếng Anh có sử dụng trang thiết bị CNTT hỗ trợ khơng? Có Khơng Bạn đánh giá kỹ sử dụng máy tính Internet nào? Rất tốt Khá tốt Bình thường Tồi Giáo viên bạn có thường ứng dụng CNTT vào tiết dạy kỹ nghe hiểu không? Thường xuyên Thỉnh thoảng Hiếm Khơng Bạn có thường sử dụng trang thiết bị CNTT vào việc học kỹ nghe hiểu khơng? Thường xun Thỉnh thoảng Hiếm Không Những thiết bị CNTT thường giáo viên bạn sử dụng tiết học kỹ nghe hiểu Tiếng Anh? Máy chiếu Máy chiếu power point Đài nghe đĩa CD/DVD Mạng internet Phòng máy học ngoại ngữ Phần mềm soạn thảo, trình chiếu văn Phần mềm dạy/ học ngơn ngữ Ti vi Thiết bị khác? Theo ý kiến bạn việc ứng dụng CNTT vào giảng dạy kỹ nghe hiểu có vai trị nào? Rất quan trọng Quan trọng Không quan trọng 85 Không quan trọng chút Bạn đánh việc ứng dụng CNTT vào việc giảng dạy kỹ nghe hiểu Tiếng Anh so với phương pháp giảng dạy truyền thống? Rất hiệu Hiệu Hiệu Kém hiệu Theo bạn ứng dụng CNTT vào giảng dạy kỹ nghe hiểu tiếng anh có lợi ích gì? Giúp người học hiểu tốt Giúp người học giao tiếp tốt với giáo viên học Giúp người học giao tiếp, hợp tác làm việc tốt với bạn lớp Hiệu tốt từ phản hồi nhanh chóng từ giáo viên nhờ có CNTT Giúp người học kiểm sốt tốt hoạt động học tập Giúp cho học trở nên thú vị Giúp người học hứng thú với học nghe hiểu Tiếng Anh Giúp người học cải thiện kỹ nghe hiểu thân Theo bạn trình dạy học kỹ nghe hiểu Tiếng Anh có ứng dụng CNTT gặp phải khó khăn gì? Nó địi hỏi tơi phải có nhiều kỹ sử dụng thiết bị CNTT, mạng Internet Lớp học trở nên xáo trộn, ồn thiếu tập trung Chi phí sử dụng thiết bị CNTT cao, đặc biệt sử dụng mạng Internet Rất khó để hoạt động nhóm bên ngồi lớp học Ý kiến khác: 10 Bạn nêu chiến lược, giải pháp để việc ứng dụng CNTT vào giảng dạy kỹ nghe hiểu Tiếng Anh đem lại hiệu tốt hơn? Đối với ban giám hiệu 86 Đối với thầy cô Đối với học sinh 87 APPENDIX C INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS Why you not like use IT tools in your listening lessons? What are the major reasons limiting school teachers in using technology in their classrooms? What are your perspectives about using IT in teaching English listening skill at your school? What recommendations you have to improve English listening lessons at your school? 88 APPENDIX D CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN CHO HỌC SINH Tại bạn lại khơng thích học tiết học kỹ nghe có ứng dụng thiết bị CNTT? Những lợi ích mà bạn có học tiết học kỹ nghe Tiếng Anh có sử dụng thiết bị CNTT gì? Bạn phải đối mặt với khó khăn học kỹ nghe Tiếng Anh có hỗ trợ CNTT? Bạn có muốn tiếp tục học tiết học nghe Tiếng Anh có hỗ trợ CNTT khơng? Vì sao? ... recommendations, and conclusions provided in the study were based on the data analysis 1.5 Scope of the study - The study limits itself to investigating the use of information technology in teaching. .. STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby certify that this thesis entitled ? ?An exploratory study on the use of information technology in teaching English listening skills at Huong Son high school? ?? is the. .. IT in teaching English listening skills at Huong Son high school - Second, to investigate the teachers’ and students’ perception towards the use of IT in teaching and learning English listening