The effectiveness of learnenglish podcasts app on listening comprehension for students at go vap high school

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY - - DUONG HO MY NGAN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF “LEARNENGLISH PODCASTS” APP ON LISTENING COMPREHENSION FOR STUDENTS AT GO VAP HIGH SCHOOL MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL Ho Chi Minh City, 2021 -***** - MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AN D TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY DUONG HO MY NGAN Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Major code: 140 111 MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Ngoc Vu Ho Chi Minh City, 2021 STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY I certify that this thesis entitled “The Effectiveness Of “Learnenglish Podcasts” App On Listening Comprehension For Students At Go Vap High School” is my work Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not contain material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis This thesis has not been submitted for the award or any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution Ho Chi Minh City, 2021 DUONG HO MY NGAN i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My thesis would not have been completed without the support of many people I would like to express my deep gratitude to them in my thesis First and foremost I am extremely grateful to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Ngoc Vu, for his useful advice and continuous support of my study He read my numerous revisions and offered guidance and support His comments and instructions enriched and improved my study effectively Second, I am thankful to my colleagues at Go Vap high school, who supported me enthusiastically and gave me a great deal of time to conduct my research and complete my work Third, I appreciate all of my students at Go Vap high school, who took part in my study eagerly Thanks to the participation of my students, I could make statistics and data collection related to my thesis topic Last but not least, I would also like to send my best wishes to all teachers at the graduate faculty’s office and all the lecturers on the MA course at Ho Chi Minh City Open University as well as my friends who helped me while I was doing this work and endured this long process with me ii ABSTRACT Listening is a significant skill when studying conversational English A large number of students discover listening hard to learn due to their limited vocabulary, length of the talk, inability to comprehend the speaker's intonation, and the speaker's discourse rate The most important thing for students is to improve their listening comprehension With the development of technology, each student has their own smartphones, which helps them in learning English in general and listening in particular Programmers have written many applications on phones to help learners improve their English listening skills Apps are made for people of various ages Learners can practise their listening skills with games, podcasts, movies, and quizzes Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine how the effectiveness of “LearnEnglish podcasts” app on listening comprehension for students at Go Vap high school and their attitudes towards the use of “LearnEnglish podcasts” app in listening comprehension skills The research was conducted at Go Vap high school with the participation of 80 students coming from grade 11 at the age of 16 with 41 females and 39 males (N=40 for each class) in 11 weeks from February 22nd to May 6th, 2021 This research would adopt a quasi-experimental design, in combination with a mixed method This is a combination of quantitative research (test data) and qualitative research (questionnaire) There were two classes chosen based on the placement test, and the students had the same level of English, one for the control class with the traditional method and one for the experimental class with “LearnEnglish podcasts” app on their smartphones The pre-test was applied to two classes before the treatment Afterward, students in the experimental class were conducted the post-test to measure the learners' listening comprehension ability after the treatment through “LearnEnglish Podcast” app Data would be collected from a pre-test and post-test, a questionnaire, then analyzed with version 26 of the SPSS software In the questionnaire, students were asked to choose options concerning attitudes and iii effectiveness of using “LearnEnglish podcasts” app in learning listening comprehension There were five options for them to choose from “strongly disagree”, “disagree” to “neutral”, “agree” and “strongly agree” respectively The findings showed that the mean score of the experimental class was higher than that of the control class in the post-test This indicated that students had positive attitudes towards the effectiveness of “LearnEnglish podcasts” app in learning listening comprehension and “LearnEnglish podcasts” app was effective in improving the students’ listening comprehension They strongly agreed that using “LearnEnglish podcasts” app regularly helped them improve their listening comprehension Based on the research findings, some recommendations were suggested to English teachers, students learning to promote their English listening comprehension, and researchers having an interest in the topic Keywords: effectiveness, attitudes, listening comprehension, “LearnEnglish podcasts” app iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF FIGURES viii LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .1 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Statement of the problem 1.3 Significances of the study .5 1.4 The aim and objective of the study 1.5 Research Questions 1.6 Definitions of key terms 1.6.1 Listening Comprehension 1.6.2 Mobile app CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Listening skills 2.2 The importance of listening skills 2.3 Mobile learning 2.4 The concept of attitudes 10 2.5 “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 11 2.6 Benefits and drawbacks of using mobile applications in learning and teaching listening skill .14 2.7 Related studies 14 2.7.1 Previous studies in the international context .14 2.7.2 Previous studies in the Vietnamese context 17 v 2.8 Research gap 18 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 20 3.1 Research questions 20 3.2 Study design 20 3.3 Research site 22 3.4 Sample and sampling procedures 22 3.5 Research instruments 23 3.5.1 Placement test 23 3.5.2 Pre-test 24 3.5.3 Mini tests .24 3.5.4 Post-test .24 3.5.5 Questionnaire 25 3.5.6 Evaluation of the effect of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 26 3.6 Data collection procedures 28 3.6.1 Experiment 28 3.6.2 The process of doing the treatment: 28 3.6.3 Questionnaire .30 3.7 Data analysis 31 3.7.1 Test result analysis 31 3.7.2 Questionnaire analysis 33 3.8 Reliability and validity 34 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 36 4.1 Results of the study .36 4.1.1 The effects of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app on the students' listening comprehension at Go Vap high school 36 4.1.2 The learners' attitudes towards the use of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app in learning listening skills 44 4.2 Discussion .52 vi CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 56 5.1 Summary of the main findings .56 5.2 Implications 57 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further studies 58 REFERENCES 60 APPENDIX A: Questionnaire 66 APPENDIX B: Pre-test / Post-test/ Mini test 71 APPENDIX C: SYLLABUS 80 APPENDIX D: Item-Total Statistics 86 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Main screen of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app on a mobile phone 12 Figure 2.2 The sample contents of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 13 Figure 22 The illustration of pre-test and post-test Figure 4.1 The participants’ mean scores in listening comprehension 40 Figure 4.2 Comparison of the scores of the mini tests 43 Figure 4.3 Descriptive Statistics of students’ attitudes towards “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 46 Figure 4.4 Descriptive Statistics of students’ attitudes towards the functions of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 48 Figure 4.5 Descriptive Statistics of students’ attitudes towards the effect of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app on improving listening comprehension viii 49 The effectiveness of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 77 14 6pm B (Q6-8 can be in any order) D G B 10 A 11 B 12 C 13 C / E 14 C / E 15 61% / sixty-one per cent 16 (a/an) logo / an exellent logo 17 expensive 18 (very) nutritious 19 humans 20 increasing The effectiveness of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 78 MINI TEST GO VAP HIGH SCHOOL Full name: _ Mark: Class: _ MINI TEST 1: Listen to the whole podcast then read the questions and choose ALL the correct answers What you know about Ravi? A His new flat is very cheap C He's got a new flat Saturday B He's moving to the new flat on Saturday D He's going to make a dinner for Tess on What Megan and Ravi say about David Attenborough? A He's made a lot of programmes about nature and wildlife B He's a television presenter C He's over eighty years old D He's made a lot of TV advertisements How many correct answers Army and Brandon get in the quiz? A B C D What does Bill Steadman say about Christmas in Prague? A They keep the fish in the bath at home C They buy the fish from supermarkets B People eat fish at Christmas D The children give the fish a name Which of these programmes people say are the best thing on TV? A sport B reality TV C films D documentaries What is 'a round'? A a special drink C a snack B a drink for everyone at the table D a table What does Carolina have to drink? Choose the correct answer The effectiveness of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 79 A a Newcastle Brown B a pineapple juice C a mango juice D a lager Why is the man trying to remember the word 'rose'? A He wants to give his wife a rose on a Valentine's Day B Roses are his favourite flowers C Rose is his wife's name D Rose is the name of a good Indian restaurant Commented [A16]: A mini test The effectiveness of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 80 APPENDIX C: SYLLABUS Commented [A17]: Syllabus GO VAP HIGH SCHOOL SYLLABUS FOR THE CONTROL CLASS TEACHER INFORMATION: Name: Ms Duong Ho My Ngan Phone Number: 0908891165 Email Address: ngandhm.178t@ou.edu.vn COURSE INFORMATION: LISTENING COMPREHENSION Class: 11B6 Beginning Date of Session: February 22nd, 2021 May 6th, 2021 Ending Date of Session: COURSE PREREQUISITES: None TEXTBOOK(S) AND REQUIRED MATERIALS: Books: Textbook published The Ministry of Education and Training (in class) Smart Time Special Edition Grade 11 COURSE POLICIES: Student’s Responsibilities Students must complete the exercises in the textbook in class while completing the homework assignments and submitting them on time Attendance Policy: Regular and punctual class attendance and engagement is expected at Go Vap high school COURSE OUTLINE AND CALENDAR: Week 22/2 - Topic  Introduction of the course  Pre-test on listening comprehension Assignment Due date The effectiveness of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 81 26/2 01/3 – 05/3 Unit 10: NATURE IN DANGER Monologue  Deciding on True or False statement 08/3 – 12/3 15/3 – 19/3 Unit 10: NATURE IN DANGER Monologue 22/3 – 26/3 29/3 – 02/4 05/4 – 09/4 HIGH 07/3 TECH Yes/No statements (dialogue) PROGRESS 14/3 CHECK Unit 11: SOURCES OF ENERGY Unit 5: HEALTHY Monologue MIND  Extensive listening: multiple- HEALTHY BODY Talk 21/3 (True/False  Mini test statements) Unit 11: SOURCES OF ENERGY PROGRESS Monologue CHECK 28/3  Gap-filling Unit 12: THE ASIAN GAMES Unit 7: GLOBAL Monologue ISSUE  Extensive listening: multiple- Multiple choice questions 5:  Comprehension questions choice questions Unit 04/4 choice (dialogue) Unit 12: THE ASIAN GAMES PROGRESS Monologue CHECK 11/4  Comprehension questions  Mini test 12/4 – 16/4 Unit 13: HOBBIES Unit 8: CREATIVE Monologue MINDS  Deciding on True or False  Multiple choice statement Note-taking 18/4 The effectiveness of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 82 19/4 – 23/4 10 26/4 – 29/4 Unit 13: HOBBIES PROGRESS Monologue CHECK 25/4  Gap-filling Unit 15: SPACE CONQUEST Unit Monologue SPOTLIGHT  Deciding on True or False  Ann statement  Comprehension questions 9: TEEN anouncement  True/False statements 11 *Post- test on listening comprehension 03/5 – 06/5 ASSESSMENT Attendance: 10% Assignment: 30% Progress check: 30% Pre-test/Post-test: 30% 25/4 The effectiveness of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 83 GO VAP HIGH SCHOOL SYLLABUS FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL CLASS TEACHER INFORMATION: Name: Ms Duong Ho My Ngan Phone Number: 0908891165 Email Address: ngandhm.178t@ou.edu.vn COURSE INFORMATION: LISTENING COMPREHENSION Class: 11B1 Beginning Date of Session: February 22nd, 2021 Ending Date of Session: May 6th, 2021 COURSE PREREQUISITES: Each student has a smartphones TEXTBOOK(S) AND REQUIRED MATERIALS: Title: textbook published The Ministry of Education and Training (in class) App: “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app installed in their smartphones (outside class) COURSE POLICIES: Student’s Responsibilities Students must complete the exercises in the textbook in class while completing the homework assignments and submitting them on time Attendance Policy: Regular and punctual class attendance and engagement is expected at Go Vap high school Attendance in a distance learning course It means that students must actively practise listening comprehension via “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app COURSE OUTLINE AND CALENDAR: Week Topic Assignment Due date The effectiveness of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 84  Introduction of the course 22/2 -  Pre-test on listening 26/2 01/3 – 05/3 comprehension Unit 10: NATURE IN DANGER “LearnEnglish Monologue Hand in podcasts” app: series on 07/3  Deciding on True or False (5 episodes) statement Unit 10: NATURE IN DANGER “LearnEnglish 08/3 – Monologue 12/3 podcasts” app: series on 14/3  Comprehension questions Unit 11: SOURCES (5 episodes) OF “LearnEnglish 15/3 – ENERGY 19/3 Hand in Hand in podcasts” app: series on 21/3 Monologue (10 episodes)  Extensive listening: multiplechoice questions  Mini test Unit 11: SOURCES OF “LearnEnglish 22/3 – ENERGY 26/3 Monologue Hand in podcasts” app: series on 28/3 (10 episodes)  Gap-filling Unit 12: THE ASIAN GAMES 29/3 – Monologue 02/4  Extensive listening: multiple- “LearnEnglish Hand in podcasts” app: series on 04/4 (10 episodes) choice questions Unit 12: THE ASIAN GAMES 05/4 – Monologue 09/4  Comprehension questions  Mini test “LearnEnglish Hand in podcasts” app: series on 11/4 5, (10 episodes) The effectiveness of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 85 Unit 13: HOBBIES “Learn 12/4 – Monologue 16/4 English Hand in podcasts” app: series on 18/4  Deciding on True or False (10 episodes) statement Unit 13: HOBBIES “Learn 19/4 – Monologue 23/4 10 podcasts” app: series on 25/4  Gap-filling (10 episodes) Unit 15: SPACE CONQUEST “LearnEnglish 26/4 – Monologue 29/4  Deciding on True or False  Comprehension questions *Post- test 03/5 – comprehension 06/5 ASSESSMENT Attendance: 10% Assignment: 30% Mini tests: 30% Pre-test/Post-test: 30% Hand in podcasts” app: series on 25/4 statement 11 English Hand in on listening 7, (10 episodes) The effectiveness of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 86 APPENDIX D: Item-Total Statistics Reliability Statistics of 10 items in the questionnare: Table 4.8.1 Students’ attitudes towards “Learning English podcasts” app Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha N of Items 715 10 Reliability Statistics of items in the questionnare: Table 4.8.2 Students’ attitudes towards the functions of “Learning English podcasts” app Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha N of Items 742 Reliability Statistics of items in the questionnare: Table 4.8.3 Students’ attitudes towards the effect of “Learning English podcasts” app Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha N of Items 785 The effectiveness of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 87 Item-Total Statistics: Table 4.8.4 Item-Total Statistics I enjoy using “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app I prefer using “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app I recognize the importance of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app in listening learning According to me, “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app is a good mobile application I feel a sense of satisfaction about this “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app It is easy and simple to use “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app in learning listening skills My classmates can practice “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app proficiently in a short time Scale Mean if Item Deleted 95.32 Scale Variance if Item Deleted 114.533 Corrected Item-Total Correlation 468 Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted 881 95.82 116.763 246 890 95.80 120.113 124 893 95.78 117.051 256 889 95.25 108.346 729 874 95.78 116.384 453 882 95.28 115.179 604 879 The effectiveness of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 88 It did not take me much time to know how to use the technique It is very simple for me to download and set up “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 10 I can learn listening skills everywhere with a smartphone connected 11 I clearly understand about functions of the “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 12 “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app includes different topics 13 The organization of each lesson is easy to follow 14 I can choose the topic I want to listen to 15 “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app is suitatble for different listeners with different English levels 16 Each podcast in “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app is neither short nor long 95.32 114.738 427 883 95.28 117.076 445 882 95.20 109.497 746 874 95.37 116.702 438 882 95.10 110.708 730 875 95.20 109.497 746 874 95.23 120.794 223 886 95.40 116.246 369 884 95.57 117.328 463 882 The effectiveness of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 89 17 “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app helps me to be familiar with native voices 18 I can improve their social knowledge when using the “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 19 I find out “Learning English podcasts” app as the most effective app 20 Using this “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app helps my listening comprehension improve day by day 21 The “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app motivates me to learn English listening skills 22 The “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app is good to be used outside the classroom 23 “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app was standard Therefore, my listening comprehension was better 95.55 116.254 551 880 95.28 115.179 604 879 96.07 114.840 353 885 95.28 117.076 445 882 95.10 110.708 730 875 95.68 122.379 105 889 95.28 117.076 445 882 The effectiveness of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 90 24 Using 95.40 “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app allows me to meet my learning goals 25 Using 95.28 “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app helps me understand extended speech about familiar topics 113.733 640 878 115.179 604 879 Mean and Std Deviation: Table 4.8.4 Report: Mean and Std Deviation of each question in the questionnaire Std Deviatio Mean N n I enjoy using “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 4.08 40 917 I prefer using “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 3.57 40 1.196 I recognize the importance of 3.60 40 1.150 “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app in listening learning According to me, “LearnEnglish Podcasts” 3.62 40 1.125 app is a good mobile application I feel a sense of satisfaction about this 4.15 40 1.001 “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app It is easy and simple to use “LearnEnglish 3.63 40 774 Podcasts” app in learning listening skills My classmates can practice “LearnEnglish 4.13 40 686 Podcasts” app proficiently in a short time It did not take me much time to know how 4.07 40 971 to use the technique It is very simple for me to download and 4.13 40 723 set up “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 10 I can learn listening skills everywhere 4.20 40 911 with a smartphone connected 11 I clearly understand about functions of the 4.03 40 768 “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app The effectiveness of “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 91 12 “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app includes different topics 13 The organization of each lesson is easy to follow 14 I can choose the topic I want to listen to 15 “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app is suitatble for different listeners with different English levels 16 Each podcast in “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app is neither short nor long 17 “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app helps me to be familiar with native voices 18 I can improve their social knowledge when using the “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app 19 I find out “Learning English podcasts” app as the most effective app 20 Using this “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app helps my listening comprehension improve day by day 21 The “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app motivates me to learn English listening skills 22 The “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app is good to be used outside the classroom 23 “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app was standard Therefore, my listening comprehension was better 24 Using “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app allows me to meet my learning goals 25 Using “LearnEnglish Podcasts” app helps me understand extended speech about familiar topics 4.30 40 853 4.20 40 911 4.18 4.00 40 40 675 934 3.83 40 675 3.85 40 662 4.13 40 686 3.33 40 1.118 4.13 40 723 4.30 40 853 3.72 40 716 4.13 40 723 4.00 40 751 4.13 40 686 ... for students at Go Vap high school and their attitudes towards the use of ? ?LearnEnglish podcasts? ?? app in listening comprehension skills The research was conducted at Go Vap high school with the. .. from the tests based on “Preparation for IELTS” Therefore, they were checked carefully before the students did these tests  The contents of the listening tasks on the app: at Go Vap high school, ... comprehension at Go Vap high school? What are the students? ?? attitudes towards using ? ?LearnEnglish Podcasts? ?? app in learning listening comprehension at Go Vap high school? 1.6 Definitions of key terms