(SKKN 2022) APPLY SOME TECHNIQUES TO TEACH LISTENING SO AS TO IMPROVE GRADE 12 STUDENTS’ ENGLISH LISTENING SKILL

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING NGUYEN MONG TUAN HIGH SCHOOL INNOVATION IN TEACHING APPLY SOME TECHNIQUES TO TEACH LISTENING SO AS TO IMPROVE GRADE 12 STUDENTS’ ENGLISH LISTENING SKILL The writer: Nguyen Thi Thuy The post: Teacher School: Nguyen Mong Tuan High School Innovation of subject: English THANH HOA, 2022 PART I INTRODUCTION I REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE RESEARCH Objective reasons: Studying English nowadays has become an essential demand for everyone Learning English is important It is simple as English is one of the most popular international languages and it is most not only all over the world but also in all aspects of society Therefore, learning and mastering it would greatly give advantages to the person concerned Especially, since Vietnam became the 150 th member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), it has been required that we have to build the labour force who are skillful at work and use English well as an effective tool of communication Although many Vietnamese students get excellent certain qualifications, their ability of communicating in English is limited As a result, they must give up their dream jobs There is no doubt about that English is the optimum standard for applicants into foreign and state- owned companies On account of the above demands, English is compulsory not only at school but also in examinations at certain stages of the school education system According to the national curriculum, English is built with the aim of communicating Creating the ability of communication in English for students is the most important target in the process of teaching Being able to listen well is an important part of communication for everyone For our students, guided practice by teachers is one of the best ways to improve this skill A student with good listening comprehensions will be able to participate in well communicative situations Nevertheless, in the recent years, teaching English in Vietnam has faced up with many difficulties such as the lack of teaching aids, teachers’ poor qualifications, students’ weak study motivation, ineffective methods of teaching A large number of teachers only focus on teaching grammar, reading and writing skill In the process of evaluating students’study result, they concentrate too much on paper-tests Therefore, It is clear that listening is often seen as the least important of the four basic language skills and it is neglected altogether or give minimal This leads to real situations that many students become inactive and poor listeners They find it very hard to improve listening comprehension in listening classes at school From reasons stated above, it is necessary to modernize the method of teaching English in general and listening skill in particular and apply them in listening teaching Subjective reasons: After having been teaching English at Nguyen Mong Tuan High School for a long time, I realize that most of the students who are afraid of listening classes have tendency to neglect tasks for listening comprehension After graduating high school, they are not able to communicate in English even at the easy level In addition, the percent of students at Nguyen Mong Tuan High School suppose that English is compulsory for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) so they only learn grammar, reading and writing skill How to encourage students to take part in listening classes enthusiastically? How to motivate students to become eager participants in mini- listening tests? How to raise students’ awareness of listening as a skill that requires active engagements and to help them develop both the ability and the confidence to handle communicative situations they may encounter beyond the classroom? I am really interested in these questions and always try to find out feasible solutions in my own process of teaching at Nguyen mong Tuan High School I have studied a variety of methods of teaching listening comprehension and chosen the most appreciate ways in my teaching Specifically, I have applied some techniques to teach listening so as to improve Grade 12 students’ listening skill at Nguyen Mong Tuan High School After implementing these solutions, I have got achievements in listening teaching and learning Students have become active listeners in listening classes They feel more excited to deal with listening exercises As a result, they have positive behavior to listening skill and consider it an integral part of the language They are given the foundation for communicative competence in the new language The most significant thing they have gained is that they can be able to communicate with each other in English at the simple level – the final target in the language teaching and learning II AIMS OF THE RESEARCH On the basis of surveying students’ ability of listening English at Nguyen Mong Tuan High School, I have given feasible solutions including innovating methods of teaching listening skill and ways of evaluating students’ listening comprehension with the aim of helping them get communicative target of learning a language III SCOPES OF THE RESEARCH Researching innovative techniques used in listening teaching and learning, and methods of assessing students’ study result of listening comprehension at Nguyen mong Tuan High School IV OBJECT OF THE RESEARCH This subject is concerned with using listening techniques effectively and judging students’ listening ability V RESEARCHING METHODS - The method of collecting and analyzing material for the research: research for material concerning about the subject, analyze and get certain knowledge from previous researches, finally give the foundation to the research - The method of talking to students: through talking to students, I have got to know real situation of students’ listening learning in language classes at Nguyen mong Tuan High School - The method of surveying through answer sheets PART II: DEVELOPMENT I REAL SITUATIONS I have carried out the survey of real situations of teaching and listening skill in class 11A5 and 11A6 (the school year: 2020- 2021) and I got the following result: Real situations of teaching and learning listening skill in language classes at Nguyen mong Tuan High School Innovative listening techniques are used in listening classes The number of students are active listeners in listening classes Students can be able to communicate in English at the simple level Students take part in listening tests enthusiastically The rate (%) Often Sometimes Rarely 5% 8% 20% 67% 2% 7% 15% 76% 3% 5% 15% 77% 4% 10% 20% 66% Very often From the above survey, it points out that teaching and learning listening skill in foreign classes at Nguyen mong Tuan High School are ineffective and rather limited Students are not fond of listening lessons They cannot be able to communicate in English They are still passive learners in listening lessons Therefore, it is extremely necessary to modernize the methods of teaching listening comprehension, especially innovative listening techniques need applying well and flexibly, at the same time use various forms of testing which motivate students to become better listeners II SOLUTIONS AND ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTING To deal with the problems stated previously, I have given the following solutions: Apply innovative techniques to teach listening skill I have applied listening techniques and tools of teaching aids in listening classes at Nguyen mong Tuan High School They make listening lessons more lively and motivate students to participate in these lessons positively, gradually improve their listening comprehension and gain the language target- the communicative skill Choosing suitable techniques for listening classes bases on the content of each certain listening lesson, the language level of students Effective, modern methods of teaching listening skill encompass everything from interactive exercises to multimedia resources Listening skills are best learned through simple, engaging activities that focus more on the learning process than on the final product I have applied the following modern methods in my own listening teaching at Nguyen mong Tuan High School: English songs Language learners love to listen to English songs with rhymes This makes them become familiar with the words, their pronunciation and intonation Songs can also be used but must be chosen based on student levels In class, songs are played and students are asked to listen During the activity, they may be required to listen out for words This will help the teacher know how many words the student has identified After the sound clip, teachers may ask students to draw conclusions on the meaning or intention of the song based on the words they have listed This is learning vocabulary and inference through listening I often use English songs in the part: ‘Warm – up’ or ‘Pre- listening’ Audio and Video I also teach listening skills through audio and video segments of radio programs, online podcasts, instructional lectures and other audio messages I model this interactive listening process in class with my students, and then instruct them to repeat the exercise on their own First, instruct students to prepare for listening by considering anything that they will want to learn from the content of the audio segment Once they have written down or shared these ideas, then play the audio segment, allowing the students to take notes if helpful Once they have gained confidence and experience, repeat this activity but instruct students to not take notes until the completion of the audio segment You can use shorter or longer audio segments, and you can choose more accessible or more challenging material for this type of exercise Games Games are a valuable activity for language learning Students enjoy games and thus participate without anxiety Games can motivate students greatly and they are activities which are usually familiar to them as regards structure, rules etc Games are mostly inclusive activities in that they involve all the children and they can cater to different learning styles and different personalities They are also activities which are naturally repetitive, thus maximising input, frequency of target items without boring the students A simple guessing game can be played numerous times with children despite possibly limited language The students will happily repeat the structure without getting bored as it is part of a game and has a real communicative function In the process of my own listening English teaching at Nguyen Mong Tuan High School, I have used a large number of different games based on each listening task’s certain objectives such as Flashcard games (these games are played with a set of flashcards which may be purchased from bookshops or prepared by me and my students), Ball games (ball games require a soft ball which you can use in class without worrying about breaking windows or hurting students), Action games (action games require movement They might excite a class so I choose carefully when to use them Listening comprehension tasks’ simplification Some listening comprehension tasks in English textbook are too difficult for r rural students at Nguyen Mong Tuan High School, therefore I often simplify them to help students deal with them easily For example, with the task of filling in missing words which is rather difficult for students at Nguyen Mong Tuan High School, I often simplify it by showing given words This helps students to be easy to identify them while listening Short listening tests Listening tests play an important part of evaluating students’ language study results They encourage students to learn listening skill harder and raise their awareness of the importance of this skill At the same time, with listening tests and their scores, as a result of this, students will concentrate more on listening classes In my English listening teaching at Nguyen Mong tuan high school, I have used different types of listening tests (five- minute or fifteen- minute test) at the various points of time (at the beginning or at the end of the listening lesson) The demand of these tests should be simple and easy to motivate students Interpersonal Activities One effective way for students to develop stronger listening skill is through interpersonal activities, such as interviews and storytelling Assign the students to small groups of two or three, and then give them a particular listening activity to accomplish For example, I have one student interview another for a job with a company or for an article in a newspaper Even a storytelling activity, such as one that answers the question "What was your favorite movie from last year?" can give students the opportunity to ask one another questions and then to practice active listening skills Group Activities Larger group activities also serve as a useful method for teaching listening skills to students I often begin with a simple group activity For the first part, divide students into groups of five or larger and instruct them to learn one hobby or interest of at least two other group members Encourage them to ask clarifying questions during the activity, and may allow them to take notes if helpful However, as time passes and their skills grow, you should limit students to only writing notes after completing the first part of the group activity For the second part, have the students sit in a large circle, and then have each individual student share the name and the hobby or interest of the group members that she or he met This second part of the group activity can also lend itself to additional listening exercises For example, I ask students to name a number of the hobbies and interests identified during the sharing session In short, whatever method I use for teaching listening, keep a few key instructional tips in mind that will help both me and my students navigate the learning process First, keep my expectations simple, as even the most experienced listener would be unable to completely and accurately recall the entirety of a message Second, keep your directions accessible and build in opportunities for students not only to ask clarifying questions, but also to make mistakes Third, help students navigate their communication anxiety by developing activities appropriate to their skill and confidence level, and then strengthen their confidence by celebrating the ways in which they improve Implementing the process of each listening English lesson including three steps: Pre- listening, While- listening and Post- listening When teaching listening skills, I have followed the above steps, and with each specific step, I have to identify detail aims The most important thing is that I always give specific objective for each activity Besides principles and techniques for teaching listening comprehension, I have got my own experience in teaching this skill: Pre –listening: Tell your students they should not worry that they have to understand every word they hear Not every word is important Where possible, make sure students know that what they are listening for before you start listening Explain that they should focus only the information they need Give two or three general questions to check student’s comprehension of the basic details If possible, check any words that your students may not know Preteach these so they not interfere with understanding While-listening: As a general principle, try to play the recording once for overall comprehension Then play the recording again for specific details - Divide students into groups and give each group a different listening task Then swap their answers and have students listen again and check their classmates’ answers Post- listening: Tell students to compare their notes and discuss what they understood in pairs or small groups Encourage students to respond to what they hear For example, where possible ask questions like: Do you agree? And encourage them to debate Tell pairs to write a summary of the main points They have them compare their summary I always remember that it is important to give students a lot of variety in what they listen to Try to use as many different sources of listening material as you can: advertisements, new programs, poetry, songs, plays, speeches, telephone conversations… the more varied and authentic the listening practice you offer them, the more fun you will all have! Apply the above techniques to teach a specific listening lesson (grade 12) The 84th period Grade 12 Unit 14: International Organizations Part C: Listening Time: 45 minutes I Objectives: Knowledge: - General knowledge: Students will know more information about United Nations - New words: Words related to United Nations Skills: - Listening skill - Speaking skill II.PREPARATIONS: Teacher: Teacher’s books , textbooks , cassette, tape, picture, video, projector, board, chalks, handout 2.Students: Students ‘book , Students ‘workbook, III.PROCEDURES New lesson: Teacher’s activities Students’ activities Notes Warm-up: (5 minutes) Play the game: (The aim of this activity is that the game will motivate students to take part in the listening class without any anxiety and get some information about some international organizations) - Divide the class into teams: team A, B, C, D - Each team chooses one presenter to give their work on the board after discussing in groups - Ask them to look at the screen of the projector and match the symbols with equivalent names - The winner will receive applauses from other teams Symbols Picture - Listen to the teacher - Work in groups and look at the picture and match - Write their answer on the board Picture2 Picture Picture Picture Names Key: Picture 1: UN WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Picture 2: WHO RED CROSS Picture 3: WWF UNICEF (United Nations Picture 4: UNICEF International Children’s Emergency Picture 5: RED Fund) CROSS UN (United Nations) WHO (World Health Organization) 10 - If you want to know more details about UN organization we will go to Unit 14- part C Listening Pre-listening: (10 minutes) Activity 1: Vocabulary ( minutes) (The aim of this activity is that students will be familiar with some vocabulary, make them better at listening comprehension) - Vocabulary: Destruction (n) ( explanation) Organization (n) (translation) Independence (n) ( synonym) International (n) (translation) - Read aloud - Ask students to repeat loudly the words - Listen and check pronunciation - Give an example: United nations is one of the international organizations Activity Listen to a English song (6 minutes) (The aim of the activity is that through the song students are able to know some information and typical activities about United Nations, the humanitarian message of the UN’ meaningful activities are sent through the song?) - Show the video and the words of this song on the screen of the projector - Ask students to listen to the song named I was here (United Nations World Humanitarian Day) performed by Beyonce and observe the video The song - Listen to the teacher and open textbooks - Look at the books - Listen to the teacher - Repeat loudly the words and try to remember them - Write down - observe the video and listen to the song The words of the song: I Was Here I wanna leave my footprints on the sands of time Know there was something that, and something that I left behind When I leave this world, I'll leave no regrets Leave 11 I Was Here - Beyonce [MP4 MV 360p].mp4 something to remember, so they won't forget I was here I lived, I loved I was here I did, I've done, everything that I wanted And it was more than I thought it would be I will leave my mark so everyone will know I was here I want to say I lived each day, until I died I know that I had something in, somebody's life The hearts I have touched, will be the proof that I leave That I made a difference, and this world will see I was here I lived, I loved I was here I did, I've done, everything that I wanted And it was more than I thought it would be I will leave my mark so everyone will know I was here I was here - Do the task Key: T 12 T F - Keep book open - Listen carefully and choose the best answer - After listening and observing, ask them to the true/ false statement: UN work for the world peace UN protect human rights UN have few useful activities Check their answer While-listening: (20 minutes) Activity (10 minutes) (The aim of this activity is that students listen to the tape and get detail information to the listening task) - Ask students to listen to the first part of the passage and circle the best answer to the following questions - Let them read through these sentences - Read loudly or turn on the typescript three times - Help them if necessary Task 1: Choose the best answer: When was the UN established? A In 1954 B In 1459 C In 1945 D In 1594 What was not mentioned as one of the world situations when the UN was established? A World War II ended B Millions of people died C Destructions were found everywhere D Many people became homeless How many main goals were set by the UN? A B C D Activity 2: (10 minutes) ((The aim of this activity is that students listen to the tape and get detail information to the Key: C D C - Keep book open and listen to the teacher - Read the sentences in task and try to understand them - Listen to the typescript again and fill in the missing words Key: 1.solve international problems 2,the UN 3,in its goals 4,at war 13 fill- gap task) - Ask students to look through the sentences in task - Ask students to listen to the tapescript again and fill in the missing words - To simplify this task, missing words are given: independence ; solve international problems; in its goals; the UN; at war Task 2: Fill in missing words Today almost every country in the world is a member of the UN Each country has signed an agreement that says: • All members are equal • All members promise to (1)…… ….… in a peaceful way • No member will use force against another member • All members will help (2)……… in its actions • The UN will not try to solve problems within countries except to enforce international peace Obviously, the United Nations has not been completely successful (3)…………… There have been several wars since 1945 However, the organization has helped bring peace to some countries that were (4)………… It has helped people who left their countries because of wars It has helped bring (5)………… to colonies 5.independece After-listening: (9 minutes) Activity 1: (4 minutes) (The aim of this activity is that students get further information about UN and improve speaking skill) - Ask students to look at the pictures shown on the screen of the projector complete the sentences with given words and speak aloud - Let them work in pairs - Walk round and help students - Ask some students to stand up and go to board to present Keys for the test: A A B Tape script for listening test: The Security Council is the most important organ of the U.N It consists of five permanent members and ten non- - Look at the pictures and work in pairs - Students go to the board and present the information relating to the UN For example: The UN headquarter is located in New York The UN Secretary General now is Ban KiMoon - Listen to the tape and complete the test 14 - Listen and correct mistakes permanent members Britain, France, U.S.A., Russia and China are the five permanent members The duty of the Security Council is to investigate international disputes and to take suitable action in preventing danger to The UN headquarter is located in… international peace ( Paris, New York, London) -Listen to the teacher and write down homework The UN Secretary General now is ( Ban Ki- Moon, Kofi Anna, Obama) Activity 2: Five – minute listening test ( minutes) (The aim of this activity is to evaluate students’ listening comprehension after the lesson with short, simple listening test and help students know about the most important organ of the UN- The Security Council) - Ask students to listen to the tape and complete the test within only five minutes - Questions for tests: What is the most important organ of the UN? A The Security Council B The Economic and Social Council C The trusteeship Council How many permanent members are there 15 in the Security Council? A B 10 C.15 How many non- permanent members are there in the Security Council? A B 10 C.15 - Collect their answer sheet after they finish the test Homework: (1 minute) - Ak students to write a passage about UN - Prepare Part D- Writing at home III RESULT After having applied the above listening techniques in listening lessons, I have got positive results in teaching and learning listening skill at Nguyen Mong Tuan High School First, students participate in listening classes more enthusiastically Students have become more and more active in listening classes Moreover, they are keen on dealing with listening exercises As a result, they have positive behavior to listening skill and consider it an integral part of the language Especially, at the end of the school- year 2021-2022, students in class 12a5 and 12a6 can be able to communicate with together in English at the simple level and it is also the most important aim in the language learning In addition, short listening tests with their scores make them raise awareness of learning listening skill What is more, the most effective thing I have gained is that students not consider English the ‘death language’ as it used to be in the past I mean that they not only concentrate on vocabulary, grammar, writing and reading skill but also focus on two communicative skills- listening and speaking I have got the following detail result through listening tests: Class Before applying innovative listening techniques (According to the figures at the beginning of the school- year 2021 – 2022) After applying innovative listening techniques (According to the figures at the end of the school- year 2021 – 2022) % % % % Excellent Good Fair Poor 12a5 0% 5% 25% 70% % % % % Excellent Good Fair Poor 7% 25% 40% 28% 16 12a6 0% 8% 27% 65% 7% 30% 40% 23% PART III CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION I CONCLUSION Many people think that learning and teaching English are easy work for students and teachers at High School In fact, how to raise students’ awareness of listening speaking as skills that require active engagements and to help them develop both the ability and the confidence to handle communicative situations they may encounter beyond the classroom? This is a difficult question for language teachers to answer Teachers of English always think of modernizing the teaching method and students have to create and develop communicating skills Using innovative techniques in teaching listening is extremely necessary, which help students to be active, creative and enthusiastic in language classes III SUGGESTION It is very necessary to finance more material facilities, tools of teaching aids for English teaching and learning Thanh Hoa, the tenth of July, 2022 I ensure that this is my own work The writer: Nguyen Thi Thuy The Headmaster’s identification: 17 INDEX CONTENT PART I: INTRODUCTION I Reasons for choosing the research II Aims of the research III Scopes of the research IV Objective of the research V Researching methods PART II: DEVELOPMENT I Real situations II Solutions and organizations of implementing Apply innovative techniques to teach listening skill Implementing the process of each listening lesson Apply the above techniques to teach a specific listening lesson III Result PART III: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION Index Inference material PAGE 1-2 1-2 3 3 4 4-18 4- 7-8 8-16 17 18 19 20 18 REFERENCE BOOKS David Cross (1994): Practical handbook of language teaching Penny Ur ( 1998) A course in language teaching - Practical and Theory Cambrige university press Nguyen Hanh Dung Methods of teaching English at Secondary education 19 ... of teaching listening comprehension and chosen the most appreciate ways in my teaching Specifically, I have applied some techniques to teach listening so as to improve Grade 12 students’ listening. .. situations II Solutions and organizations of implementing Apply innovative techniques to teach listening skill Implementing the process of each listening lesson Apply the above techniques to teach a... very hard to improve listening comprehension in listening classes at school From reasons stated above, it is necessary to modernize the method of teaching English in general and listening skill in