IMPROVING ENILISH LISTENING SKILL FOR ENGLISH MAJORED FRESHMEN AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY GRADUATION PAPER TOPIC IMPROVING ENILISH LISTENING SKILL FOR ENGLISH MAJORED FRESHMEN AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY BÀN VỀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP THÚC ĐẨY KHẢ NĂNG NGHE CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM NHẤT ĐẠI HỌC THƯƠNG MẠI

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY - - GRADUATION PAPER TOPIC: IMPROVING ENILISH LISTENING SKILL FOR ENGLISH MAJORED FRESHMEN AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY Supervisor: Student: Pham Thi Phuong M.A Vuong Khai Yen Class: K54N5 Student Code: 18D170246 HANOI - 2021 Table of content ABSTRACT iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Previous studies 1.2.1 International studies 1.2.2 Domestic studies 1.3 Aim of the study 1.4 Research subjects 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Research methodology 1.6.1 Data collection instruments 1.6.2 Data analysis 1.7 Organization CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Overview of listening skill 2.1.1 Definition of listening skill 2.1.2 The importance of listening skill in improving English competence 2.2 Previous studies on Difficulties in improving English listening as discussed in previous studies 10 2.2.1 Difficulties from related to the speakers 10 2.2.2 Difficulties from related to the content 12 2.2.3 Difficulties from related to the learners 14 i 2.2.4 2.3 Difficulties from physical setting 15 Chapter summary 16 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH FINDINGS 17 3.1 Population and participant’s selection methods 17 3.1.1 Population 17 3.1.2 Sampling methods 18 3.2 Data collection methods 19 3.2.1 Survey questionnaires 19 3.2.2 Semi- structured interviews 21 3.3 Data analysis 23 3.3.1 Step 1: Cleaning the data 23 3.3.2 Step 2: Classifying the data 24 3.3.3 Step 3: Deciding variables 24 3.3.4 Step 4: Doing the analysis 24 3.3.5 Step 5: Making tables 24 3.3.6 Step 6: Interpreting the results and draw conclusions 24 3.4 Research question 1: What are some main listening difficulties perceived by TMU first year English-majored students 25 3.4.1 Listening problems related to the speakers 27 3.4.2 Listening problems related to the learners 30 3.4.3 Listening problems related to the materials 32 3.4.4 Listening problems related to the physical setting 34 3.5 Research question 2: What are the listening strategies applied by the students? 35 3.6 Chapter summary 40 ii CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 41 4.1 Summary of the study 41 4.1.1 The difficulties faced by students 41 4.1.2 The strategies applied by students 41 4.2 Pedagogical implications from the findings 42 4.2.1 Implication for the teachers 42 4.2.2 Implications for the students 43 4.3 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies 43 CONCLUSION 45 REFERENCES 46 APPENDICES 51 APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONARES 51 APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: 57 iii ABSTRACT The English now plays an effect on all aspects of our daily lives As a direct consequence, there is a high demand for improving English not only in Vietnam but around the world for a variety of purposes Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing are the four main skills in English And, as a child, listening is the first and most important step that serves as the foundation for learning other aspects of a language Furthermore, listening comprehension is important in both daily communication and the educational process Despite its importance, the state of teaching and learning listening has long been overlooked, particularly in rural Vietnam When entering university, a large number of students from the countryside experience serious disruptions in their ability to learn to listen Most students at Thuongmai University, particularly freshmen, understand the importance of English listening After four years of university study, the researcher decided on the research topic: "Improving English listening skill for English-majored freshmen at Thuongmai University," with the goal of investigating problems and causes associated with students' listening ability Furthermore, the researcher makes practical suggestions in the hope of assisting students in improving their English listening skills With the hope of improving students’ listening competence, the author has tried my best to this thesis based on my own experiences and knowledge in English methodology iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation represents the end of a long journey I could not have begun this journey without the help of many people First and foremost, I would really like to thank my supervisor, Mrs Pham Thi Phuong, for her invaluable assistance, guidance, and encouragement, without which my scientific research would not have been possible For all of the lectures I have given at TMU, I'd like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the teachers who have taught me so much I am grateful to first-year students for the cooperation of 150 K57N participants Their collaboration and complementarity made a significant contribution to the majority of the study's data My graduation paper would have been impossible to complete without their assistance Finally, I would like to give special thanks to all of my parents and friends who have provided me with invaluable advice and encouragement as the author worked through the challenges of this research v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS TMU Thuongmai University L2 Second Language S1 Student S2 Student ESL English as a Second Language EFL English as a Foreign Language vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table Table 3.1 Participants in the study Table 3.2 Participants’ hometowns Table 3.3 Students’ general perception of listening skills Table 3.4 Listening problems from the speakers Table 3.5 Listening problems from the listeners Table 3.6 Problems from the materials Table 3.7 Listening problems from the physical setting Table 3.8 Listening strategies Chart Chart 3.1 The most difficult skill Chart 3.2 Student’s self-rating of listening proficiency Chart 3.3 The fast speed Chart 3.4 The reduced forms vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Nowadays, it cannot be denied that English has now become the most popular language in the world In the past, learning a foreign language almost means learning the vocabulary and practicing the system of grammar However, in recent years, more absorption has been paid to listening and speaking skills since they played important roles in communication Each region has its own language that it uses to communicate with its people However, as the world's integration became more and more extensive, people from all over the world with a desire to explore and interact with other cultures saw the need for a common language to bring countries together English was chosen as the universal language, also known as the global language As a result, in this day and age, the influence of English cannot be underestimated because it is used in every aspect of today's globalization movement, including economics, education, culture, and society, to name a few Furthermore, both native and non-native English-speaking countries have widely used English as a major language in daily life and at many educational levels around the world Listening comprehension is becoming increasingly important in learning a new language, as is knowledge displayed in lectures and on television It is especially important for most English as a second language learners (ESL) In spite of its importance in learning English listening, the state of teaching and learning listening skills has long been ignored and gives little consideration What is more, the Vietnamese education system focuses more on coaching exams with much attention to grammar, reading and vocabulary As a result, listening is included in course books at many educational levels; however, it is somehow overlooked by teachers during lessons As a result, many Vietnamese students, even those who perform well on grammatical tests, are unable to communicate effectively with foreigners in everyday situations The most serious reason, according to Nguyen (2008), is the inability to understand what native speakers say due to a failure in listening comprehension In addition, in Vietnam, countryside students have no exposure to English language apart from what they receive in the classroom The teacher's voice is the primary means by which students listen to English Furthermore, the low quality of cassettes has a discernible effect on the process of practicing and testing listening, particularly in rural areas where cassette players are either of poor quality or run on batteries Because of the poor quality of the sound, the students have difficulty listening As a result of these factors, the majority of students in rural and mountainous areas experience a terrible shock when learning to listen in university Despite the diversity of literature in this field, there is little attention paid to feasible solutions and practical purposes Furthermore, many studies at Thuongmai University provide detailed descriptions of first-year students' difficulties in improving their listening skills This study is being conducted to raise students' perceptions of the importance of listening in learning English as well as their listening difficulties in order to assist them in improving their listening skills Furthermore, this thesis offers useful insights and pedagogical implications for both teachers and students 1.2 Previous studies There have been numerous studies on how to improve one's listening skills the author quote and comment on some of the following studies: 1.2.1 International studies Nowadays, it cannot be denied that English has now become the most popular language in the world In the past, learning a foreign language almost means learning the vocabulary and practicing the system of grammar However, in recent Second, in order to mitigate the negative effects of incorrect pronunciation, teachers should correct students' pronunciation whenever they make mistakes Furthermore, it is assumed that incorporating pronunciation into the teaching of speaking, reading, or writing is an effective way of mastering this aspect of language., incorporating pronunciation into the teaching of speaking, reading, or writing is presumed to be an effective way of mastering this aspect of language Third, pre-teaching vocabulary, guiding students to underline key words and guess the meanings of new words, can help students familiarize with the topic, activate prior knowledge, and develop student confidence Last but not least, boosting students' awareness of the benefits of taking notes in general and the benefits of its strategies in particular may be beneficial in this regard Interestingly, giving students instructions on how to take notes using a specific strategy is critical 4.2.2 Implications for the students Particularly, in order to achieve a positive result in listening skills, students must have a high degree of autonomy in approaching this skill This means that students should make a plan for listening practice at home Vocabulary expansion is critical because most students struggle with a limited vocabulary As a result, reading English newspapers and magazines, as well as watching English teaching programs on television, are some students' learning strategies Many students can learn more efficiently if they make a habit of checking new words in the English dictionary from the start of their learning process It is recommended that students keep up with the speed of the speakers by guessing new words, underlining key words ahead of time, and taking notes on the main ideas 4.3 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies 43 Even through the researcher's efforts and the supervisor's enthusiastic support, this paper has some flaws For starters, due to time constraints, some other books, documents, and research related to this study could not be covered Second, the number of interviewees is small, which means that the results not apply to the entire population As a result, for future research, the researcher suggests interviewing more students with diverse backgrounds and achievements in order to gain a better understanding of listening techniques Furthermore, the study could be conducted by observing some listening lessons and interviewing some teachers to gain a better understanding of the listening difficulties and strategies 44 CONCLUSION It is important that students at Thuongmai University present a multitude of challenges when it comes to improving their English listening skills One of the most significant issues is that they are unable to understand the meaning of the listening texts, which contain a large number of unfamiliar words Another major issue is that they fail to recognize the role of sentence stress and intonation in interpreting spoken discourse Students have difficulty listening to English because of informal language and fast speakers In addition, tiredness, low self-confidence, and the habit of trying to understand every detail in the listening texts are obstacles for students There are a variety of reasons why students struggle to improve their listening skills in English The main factors are students' lack of vocabulary, students' poor pronunciation, and students' lack of knowledge of spoken language characteristics Students' inexperience in listening, as well as their bad habits in learning to listen, are also major factors that cause difficulties in their listening lessons To improve the situation, teachers should improve their teaching methods to help students learn listening more effectively, particularly by utilizing pre-listening activities to prepare students for actual listening tasks Teachers should also assist students in improving their English proficiency because it significantly contributes to the listening comprehension process More importantly, students should be encouraged to study outside of class in order to improve their listening skills Finally, it is hoped that this study will be of interest to students and teachers of English at Thuongmai University, as well as any other students and teachers who are experiencing similar problems 45 REFERENCES Anderson, A & Lynch, T (1988) Listening Oxford: Oxford University Express Barker, L.L 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Teacher Development: Makingthe RightMoves.Washington, DC: English Language ProgramsDivision, USIA 55 Bui Thi Thu Huong (2018) in ‘Difficulties of learning listening comprehension faced by first-year students of foreign languages department at Hai Phong university’ 56 Le Thi Hong Loan (2012) in ‘Difficulties in learning listening skills experienced by first-year students at Vietnam Maritime University 57 Nguyen, T.T.T (2007) Some hindrances encountered by tenth form students in Hanoi in studying reading comprehension with the new English textbook 10-edition II Hanoi: Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, Hanoi University of Languages and International studies-Vietnam National University, Hanoi 50 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONARES IMPROVING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILL FOR ENGLISH – MAJORED FRESHMEN AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY I am Vuong Khai Yen from class K54N5 I am doing research on Improving English listening skill for English-majored freshmen at Thuongmai University I would like to ask for your help with the questionnaire to collect the relevant data for my study There is no right or wrong answers All the questions are in the form of close-ended rating scales that we hope will not take much of your time and effort to accomplish The information will surely be kept confidential to avoid disturbing your privacy Thank you in advance Group: …………………………… Your hometown (please write the name of your hom etown): ……………………… Is it a…? (please circle one answer) A City/ town B Rural area C Mountainous area Part A: What are the difficulties in learning listening? Which of these skills you find the most difficult? A Listening B Speaking C Reading D Writing Please circle a number from the to that indicates your perception of the difficulty level of listening skills after one year studying at the university according to the scale below: 51 Very Easy Easy Average Difficult Very difficult Please circle a number from the to that best describes your ability of Listening Skills Very Easy Easy Average Difficult Very difficult The table below includes some problems in your learning listening Please CIRLE a number (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) that describes how frequently you encounter them and then CIRLE how difficult they are in learning to listen Frequency Rarely or never Sometimes Occasionally (50% of the Frequently time Almost all the time Levels of difficulty Very easy Easy Average Difficult Very difficult Listening problems For example: Frequency Difficulty Level Least < - > Most Least < - > Most Frequency Level of difficulty Least < - > Most Least < - > Most 52 Listening problems Frequency Difficulty Level Least < - > Most Least < - > Most A From the Listening problems 5 speakers 5 The strange accents (e.g: Indian 5 5 5 Reduced forms (elision and 5 5 (however, 5 The fast speed or French accents) The number of the speakers (more than speakers Ending sounds (/e, es, ed,k,t/ ) assimilation) Intonation and stress Signal words although, firstly, secondly,…) B.From learners Using colloquial words and 5 Noise and redundancy 5 5 Lack of social and background 5 5 the Lack of vocabulary knowledge Psychological/ physical factors (stress, worry, tiredness,…) Inability to concentrate 5 Bad/ incorrect pronunciation 5 Inability to predict about the 5 5 5 content Ineffective listening habits (e.g try to understand every single words) C.From materials the Many unfamiliar words, jargons and idioms 53 Complex grammatical structures 5 Different types of the recording 5 (monologue, dialogue,…) The long listening 5 Unfamiliar topics 5 Too much information recording 5 5 in the From the Poor quality equipment and physical facilities setting Using audio tapes (not video) 5 Background noises 5 The large classroom 5 The crowded classes 5 Sitting at the back of the class 5 Others: (please specify .) 54 Part B What are the possible solutions for listening problems? The table below describes the strategies in learning listening strategies perceived by students to deal with listening difficulties Please CIRCLE the number that describes how frequently you use them and how usefulness they are Frequency Rarely or never Occasionally Sometimes (50% of the time) Frequently Totally useless A little useful Quite useful Almost all the time Usefulness Learning strategies Frequency Usefulness Least < - > Most Practicing listening everyday Listening to different accents Making prediction about what the speakers will talk about Taking notes of the main ideas and key Underlining key words before listening Broadening vocabulary by reading newspapers and books Skipping the missing points Listening to different topics Improving pronunciation 55 Listening to different kinds of inputs (songs, TV series, films, lectures,…) 56 APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: How much time you spend on your listening per day (at home)? What sources of listening materials you often use for the practice of listening English? (textbook, VOA, BBC news, …) What kinds of topic you often listen? (economics, environment, education or sport, etc.?) What you to enrich your vocabulary? (reading newspapers, reading books or English stories) To what extent, are you pleased with your pronunciation? What you to improve it? When you listen, what you often do? (Listen and answer the questions given, take notes as much as possible? or else? (please specify) ) What you often when you miss one piece of information in listening? (for example: asking your friends, stopping listening or skipping that point and continuing to listen?) 57 ... importance of English listening After four years of university study, the researcher decided on the research topic: "Improving English listening skill for English- majored freshmen at Thuongmai University, "... 2.1.1 Definition of listening skill 2.1.2 The importance of listening skill in improving English competence 2.2 Previous studies on Difficulties in improving English listening as discussed... speakers, the listening materials, and the physical environment The information gathered will be thoroughly examined in the sections that follow 3.4.1 Listening problems related to the speakers Listening