DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING LISTENING SKILLS a CASE STUDY OF ENGLISH MAJORED FRESHMEN AT FFL IN INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - - GRADUATIONTHESIS DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING LISTENING SKILLS: A CASE STUDY OF ENGLISH MAJORED FRESHMEN AT FFL IN INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY STUDENT: NGUYEN THI DUY ANH ID NUMBER : 18045141 CLASS : DHAV14D COHORT: 2018-2022 SUPERVISOR : NGUYEN THI THOANG, MA HCMC, 05/2021 MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - - GRADUATIONTHESIS DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING LISTENING SKILLS: A CASE STUDY OF ENGLISH MAJORED FRESHMEN AT FFL IN INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY STUDENT: NGUYEN THI DUY ANH ID NUMBER : 18045141 CLASS : DHAV14D COHORT: 2018-2022 SUPERVISOR : NGUYEN THI THOANG, MA HCMC, 05/2022 MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - - Student name : Nguyen Thi Duy Anh ID Number : 18045141 Class Code : DHAV14D Cohort : 2018-2022 Supervisor Name : Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A Student’s declaration: I declare that this graduation report is entirely my own work and does not involve in plagiarism or collusion It also has not been accepted as part of a submission to another purpose else where I accept heavy penalty for any cheating or plagiarism Date submitted : 29/05/2022 Signed : ……………………… Word count : 7407 words ABSTRACT The research “A study on the difficulties in learning listening skills perceived by English-majored freshmen at the Industrial University of HCM City." aims to figure out some major factors causing difficulties for students in listening to English The research is carried out within 12 weeks Participants in this study are 100 English-majored freshmen from the Industrial University of HCM City, chosen at random Participants are given questionnaires to show their ideas during the research period The questionnaire is the main instrument used in this study to gather information about students' listening problems As a result, the study will analyze some difficulties in the listening of English majored first-year students at the Industrial University of HCM City that are related to linguistics such as vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, accents and intonation, background knowledge and unfamiliar topics, psychological barriers, and the length and speed rate of speech Keywords: Difficulties in listening, English-majored freshmen, listening to English ACKNOWLEDGEMENT It brings me great joy and pleasure to express my gratitude to the college of the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the Industrial University of Chi Chi Minh City for putting together the most straightforward conditions for me to complete my research successfully Throughout the course of the investigation, I received several passionate facilitations and support, encouraging and inspiring me to overcome all obstacles and bring this difficult but worthwhile period to a close First and foremost, I am grateful to the School Board of the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City (IUH) and the Faculty of Foreign Languages (FFL) for facilitating my research Second, I want to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Ms Nguyễ n Thị Thoang, Ph.s., who provided me with valuable guidance and recommendations that enabled me to complete my study successfully Finally, I'd want to express my gratitude to one of my research team members, Nguyen Thị Thoang, who consistently shared my emotions and provided me with timely advice during the investigation Last but not least, I am thankful to the one hundred FFL students who assisted me in completing this project; they played a crucial part in my study To summarize, I am grateful to everyone who assisted me in completing this research from the bottom of my heart TABLE OF CONTENT CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1Rationale 1.2Research objectives 1.3Research questions 1.4Scope of the study CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1Definition of key/concepts 2.1.1Definition of listening 2.1.2Definition of listening skills 2.2Results of previous studies 2.2.1The importance of listening skills 2.2.2The common barriers in learning liste 2.2.2.1 Vocabulary 2.2.2.2 Grammar 2.2.2.3 Pronunciation and accents 2.2.2.4 Cultural differences and unfamiliar topics 2.2.2.5 Other factors a) Psychological obstacle b) Quality of recorded material c) Length and speed of the listening 2.2.3How to enhance listening skills 2.2.3.1 Cognitive Strategies 2.2.3.2 Metacognitive Strategies 2.2.3.3 Socio-affective Strategies CHAPTER III: RESEARCH DESIGN 3.1Research site 3.2Participants 3.3 Research methodology and research methods 3.3.1Research methodology 3.3.2Research methods 3.4 Procedures 17 3.5 Data analysis 18 CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 19 4.1 Finding 20 4.2 Discussion 31 4.2.1 Perspectives on Listening Comprehension Issues 31 4.2.2 Recommendations for Resolving Listening Comprehension Issues .32 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS 33 5.1 Conclusions 34 5.2 Recommendations 34 REFERENCES 36 APPENDICES 40 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1: The accessed amount of time when the first-year students have been learning English Figure 4.2: The participants' opinions about learning listening skills Figure 4.3: The barriers students encounter in listening skills Figure 4.4: The percentage of students that have difficulties Figure 4.5: The percentage of barriers Figure 4.5.1: Problems from the listening material Figure 4.5.2: Problems from the listeners Figure 4.5.3: Problems result from physical settings Figure 4.6: The percentage of respondents who confirmed that their teachers taught them skills for practicing English listening Figure 4.7: The techniques used by freshmen in the listening process Figure 4.8: The freshmen students often chose for practice listening Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh ID Number: 18045141 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh ID Number: 18045141 Finally, background and environmental noises can both interrupt listening Listening was also hampered by inadequate equipment According to Yagang (1994), the presence of noise, visual cues, and poor quality equipment are all factors in the development of listening comprehension problems According to this study, the listener is also a factor that causes listening problems On the first listen, some respondents not understand the text Aside from that, poor equality equipment reduced listening comprehension 4.2.2 Recommendations for Resolving Listening Comprehension Issues Participants suggested ways to improve their listening abilities To enhance their listening skills, students would watch movies or listen to music, play ESL listening games online, and communicate with foreigners Furthermore, they have used a number of strategies to learn to listen effectively As a result of listening, the students will become familiar with the accent and vocabulary It may help them understand the story better Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A 32 Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh ID Number: 18045141 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A 33 Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh ID Number: 18045141 5.1 Conclusions To conclude, listening is vital not only in language learning but also in daily communication However, the students have problems with listening Here are the most common problems collected from the learners: unfamiliar topic and vocabulary, lack of background information, speed and rate, different accents, noises, poor equipment, and many linguistic problems that make learners difficult to listen On the other hand, the inappropriate strategies of learners would be a hindrance to their listening comprehension The problems are also caused by the listening material and physical settings To acquire an acceptable listening skill, students themselves should have much more exposure to a variety of listening In addition, the learners should spend more time practicing their listening skills In particular, they should learn the tips or strategies through each of their own learning experiences Moreover, teachers play an important role in teaching learners' strategies and how to apply them to the listening task These are suggestions to solve the problems as well as to upgrade the listening skills of students at the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City As a result, the study stresses learners' problems and how to enhance their listening skills It was found out that learners did not practice enough They had to have the right perspective about listening, which made them have more motivation to practice listening and understand the messages 5.2 Recommendations This study has finished finding the common barriers that the English majored freshmen have to encounter in listening comprehension Based on the fact and figures, a number of strategies are also suggested to help them with better listening Students should spend much more time practicing They should listen to a variety of topics and accents in order to get familiar with them Hence, the background knowledge will be enriched as well as the skill In addition, the students Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A 34 Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh ID Number: 18045141 should know to apply suitable strategies to each kind of listening text in order to get the best result However, teachers also play a crucial role in giving them effective techniques to improve their skills In each lesson, the teachers show their students the ways in each stage of listening comprehension and build up their listening skills In short, this research not only does not focus on how teachers carry out their lessons but also is a chance to understand more about the student’s perspectives on listening skills Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A 35 Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh ID Number: 18045141 REFERENCES Underwood, M (1989) Teaching listening New York: Longman Rost, M (2009) Teacher Development Interactive: Listening White Plains NY: Pearson Longman Michael, P and Deborah B (1997) Listening in language learning London: Longman Vishwanath Bite, Listening : An Important Skill and Its Various Aspects ( The Criterion : An International Journal in English, 2013), Talat Aytan, The Effect of a Listening Education Course on the Listening Behaviors of Prospective Turkish Teachers ( Sciedu Press : Department of Turkish Education, College of Education, Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey, 2016), 254 Herbert J Walberg, Teaching speaking, listening and writing (IAE Educational Practices Series, 2004), 14 Kim, J S (2014) Miracle Pop Song Hunminglish, pp.27-33 Edubox, Seoul, South Korea Barket, L (1971) Listening Behavior Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Rost, M (2009) Teacher Development Interactive: Listening White Plains NY: Pearson Longman Barbara, Dominick The Art of Listening Spring field: Charles C Thomas Publishers, 1958 Montgomery, Robert Listening Made Easy New York: Amacom, 1981 Chastain, K (1988) Developing Second LanguageSkills: theory and practice (3rded.).New York: Harcourt Brace Javanovich, Inc Wilkins, D (1972) Linguistics in language teaching London: Arnold Richards J.C and Renandya W.A (2002) Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice Cambridge University Press, New York Grabe, W (2004) Research on teaching reading Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 44-69 Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A 36 Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh ID Number: 18045141 Anderson, J R (2009) Cognitive psychology and its implications seventh edition NY: Worth Publishers Mecartty, F H (2000) Lexical and grammatical knowledge in reading and listening comprehension by foreign language learners of Spanish Applied Language Learning, 11, 323-348 VanPatten, B (1990) Attending to form and content in the input: An experiment in consciousness Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 12, 287-301 Field, J (2008) Bricks or mortar: Which parts of the input does a second language listener rely on? TESOL Quarterly, 42, 411-432 Gilakjani, A P (2012) The significance of pronunciation in English language teaching English Teaching Journal, 5(4), 96-107 Goh, C (1999) Teaching Listening in the Language Classroom Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre Proverb, R (1990) Applying Strategies to the Four Language Skills Language Learning Comprehension Brody, S (2001) Teaching Reading Language, Letters and Thought (2nded) Milford, NH: LARC Publishing Gebhard, J (2000) Teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language: A Teacher Self– development and methodology Guide United States of America: The University of Michigan Press Samuels, S (1984) Factors influencing listening: Inside and outside the head 23(3), 183-189 Retrieved October 18, 2005, from EBSCOhost database Scarcella, Robin C., and Rebecca L Oxford (1992) The Tapestry of Language Learning: The Individual in the Communicative Classroom Boston: Heinle & Heinle Yagang, F (1994) Listening: Problems and solutions In T Kral (ed) Teacher Development: Marking the Right Moves Washington, DC: English Language Programs Division Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A 37 Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh ID Number: 18045141 Azmi, B M., Celik, B., Yidliz, N., & Tugrul, M C (2014) Listening Comprehension Difficulties Encountered by Students in Second language Learning Class Journal of Educational and Instructional Studies in the World, 4(4), 1-6 Underwood, M (1989) Teaching listening New York: Longman Flowerdew, J & Miller, L (1996) Student perceptions, problems and strategies in second language lecture comprehension RELC Journal, 23, 60-80 Azmi, B M., Celik, B., Yidliz, N., & Tugrul, M C (2014) Listening Comprehension Difficulties Encountered by Students in Second language Learning Class Journal of Educational and Instructional Studies in the World, 4(4), 1-6 Derry, S J., & Murphy, D A (1986) Designing Systems That Train Learning Ability: From Theory to Practice Review of Educational Research, 56, 1-39 Abdalhamid, F (2012) Listening Comprehension Strategies of Arabic-Speaking ESL Learners Master’s Dissertation, Department of English, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado Holden, W.R (2004) Facilitating Listening Comprehension: Acquiring Successful Strategies Bulletin of Hokiruku University, 28, 257-266 Nelson, S., & Conner, C (2008) Developing self-directed learners Retrieved January 15, 2008 Rubin, J (1988) Improving Foreign Language Listening Comprehension Washington DC: US Department of Education Wenden, A (1998) Metacognitive Knowledge and Language Learning Applied Linguistics Baker, L., & Brown, A L (1984) Metacognitive Skills and Reading In P David (Ed.), Handbook of reading research (pp 353-394) New York: Longman Abdalhamid, F (2012) Listening Comprehension Strategies of Arabic-Speaking ESL Learners Master’s Dissertation, Department of English, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado Habte-Gabr, E (2006) The Importance of Socio-affective Strategies in Using EFL for Teaching Mainstream Subjects the Journal of Humanizing Language Teaching Vandergrift, L (2003) Orchestrating strategy use: Towards a model of the skilled L2 listener Language learning, 53, 461- 491 Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A 38 Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh ID Number: 18045141 Vandergrift, L (2003) Orchestrating Strategy Use: Towards a Model of the Skilled L2 Listener Language learning, 53, 461-491 Abdalhamid, F (2012) Listening Comprehension Strategies of Arabic-Speaking ESL Learners Master’s Dissertation, Department of English, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado Gardner, R C., & MacIntyre, P D (1992) A Student’s Contributions to Second Language Learning Part I:Cognitive Variables Language Teaching, 22, 211-220 Aneiro, S (1989) The Influence of Receiver Apprehension in Foreign Language Learners on Listening Comprehension among Puerto Rican College Students (Unpublished doctoral dissertation) New York University: New York Wilson, M (2003) Discovery Listening—Improving Perceptual Processing Habte-Gabr, E (2006) The Importance of Socio-affective Strategies in Using EFL for Teaching Mainstream Subjects Journal of Humanizing Language Teaching, 8(5) Vandergrift, L (2003) Orchestrating Strategy Use: Towards a Model of the Skilled L2 Listener Language learning, 53, 461-491 Hasan, A (2000) Learners’ perceptions of listening comprehension problems Language, Culture and Curriculum, 13, 137-153 Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A 39 Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh ID Number: 18045141 APPENDICES Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A 40 Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A ID Number: 18045141 41 Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A ID Number: 18045141 42 Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A ID Number: 18045141 43 Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A ID Number: 18045141 44 Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A ID Number: 18045141 45 Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A ID Number: 18045141 46 ...MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - - GRADUATIONTHESIS DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING LISTENING SKILLS: A CASE STUDY OF ENGLISH. .. Languages of the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City The university has a staff of highly trained professors, slicing facilities, and training quality that meets Southeast Asia accreditation... class at Edi Islamic Boarding School, Salatiga, aiming at seeking students’ difficulties toward listening comprehension The data was acquired using a descriptive design using quantitative data from