A research on linguistic factors affecting the performances of the freshmen who are non major english students on toeic listening test at iuh graduation thesis faculty of foreign languages

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - - GRADUATION THESIS A RESEARCH ON LINGUISTIC FACTORS AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCES OF THE FRESHMEN WHO ARE NON-MAJOR ENGLISH STUDENTS ON TOEIC LISTENING TEST AT IUH STUDENT NAME : NGUYỄN THỊ QUỲNH NHƯ ID NUMBER : 17032981 CLASS CODE : DHAV13B COHORT : 2017-2021 SUPERVISOR NAME : ĐINH THỊ HOA, M.A HCMC, 06/2021 MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - - GRADUATION THESIS A RESEARCH ON LINGUISTIC FACTORS AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCES OF THE FRESHMEN WHO ARE NON-MAJOR ENGLISH STUDENTS ON TOEIC LISTENING TEST AT IUH STUDENT NAME : NGUYỄN THỊ QUỲNH NHƯ ID NUMBER : 17032981 CLASS CODE : DHAV13B COHORT : 2017-2021 SUPERVISOR NAME : ĐINH THỊ HOA, M.A HCMC, 06/2021 Submitted by: Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh Như ID number: 17032981 MINISTRY OF INDUSTRIAL AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES  Student’s name: NGUYỄN THỊ QUỲNH NHƯ Student’s ID: 17032981 Class: DHAV13B Supervisor: ĐINH THỊ HOA, M.A Student’s declaration: I declare that this graduation report is entirely my own works and does not involve in plagiarism or collusion It also has not been accepted as part of a submission to another purpose elsewhere I accept heavy penalty for any cheating or plagiarism Date submitted: June 20th, 2021 Signed: Word length: 7284 words Supervisor: Đinh Thị Hoa, M.A Submitted by: Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh Như ID number: 17032981 Title: A RESEARCH ON LINGUISTIC FACTORS AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCES OF THE FRESHMEN WHO ARE NON-MAJOR ENGLISH STUDENTS ON TOEIC LISTENING TEST AT IUH Supervisor: Đinh Thị Hoa, M.A Submitted by: Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh Như ID number: 17032981 ABSTRACT In the process of learning a foreign language in general, and the TOEIC learning test in particular, listening ability, especially listening comprehension is plays an extremely important role In recent years, research into learning and teaching English listening skills has piqued Vietnamese interest However, there is still a lack of study on the key factors influencing the TOEIC listening test of non-major English students at IUH As a result, the aim of this research is to look into the linguistic factors that influence the performance of the freshmen who are non-major in English at IUH Questionnaires are used as main instrument to collect data Based on the findings, the researcher proposes some recommendations for teachers and students to help students develop listening skills and eventually improve TOEIC listening test scores as well as to help learners to overcome their listening problems Keywords: Listening, Listening TOEIC test, Linguistic factors Supervisor: Đinh Thị Hoa, M.A Submitted by: Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh Như ID number: 17032981 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to express thanks to the School Board of the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City and the Faculty of Foreign Languages for generating chances me to know how to work on the final proposal Secondly, I would like to express my endless thanks and gratefulness to my supervisor Mrs Dinh Thi Hoa Her kind-hearted support and continuous advice went through the process of completion of my graduation report Her encouragement and comments had significantly enriched and improved my graduation report The graduation report would have been impossible to complete without her enthusiasm and instructions With deepest gratitude, allowing me to express my gratitude for their co-operation during the time I collected data and information for my research Furthermore, I would like to thank my group members and especially are Tang Thi Kha Phuong who often shared my feelings and gave me timely advice during the internship And she is also help me overcome all the difficulties to finish this internship report In short, I really thank to all people helping me to finish this graduation thesis I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the teacher's guidance, my colleagues, and my family for their unwavering help and encouragement over the past four years as I prepared for life Supervisor: Đinh Thị Hoa, M.A Submitted by: Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh Như ID number: 17032981 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Research Objectives 1.3 Research question 1.4 Scope of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definitions of key term/concepts 2.1.1 Listening 2.1.2 Listening comprehension 2.1.3 Listening TOEIC test 2.1.4 Linguistic factors 2.2 Results of previous studies 2.2.1 Listening Support in a Variety of Forms Reduces Listening Test Anxiety 2.1.2 A study of the major factors influencing the TOEIC listening test scores of freshmen who are not majoring in English 2.1.3 Factors affecting listening in L2 learning CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN 11 3.1 Research site/context 12 3.2 Participants/Objects 12 3.3 Research methodology and research methods 12 3.4 Procedures 13 3.5 Data analysis 14 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 15 Supervisor: Đinh Thị Hoa, M.A Submitted by: Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh Như ID number: 17032981 4.1 Findings 16 4.1.1 The current state of students' listening abilities 16 4.1.2 How are IUH freshmen’s attitudes towards TOEIC listening test .16 4.1.3 The linguistic factors affecting IUH freshmen’s performance on TOEIC listening test 20 4.1.4 Improve TOEIC listening results for IUH freshmen .23 4.2 Discussion .28 4.2.1 How are IUH freshmen’s attitudes towards TOEIC listening test 28 4.2.2 The linguistic factors affecting IUH freshmen’s performance on TOEIC listening test 28 4.2.3 How to improve Toeic listening result for IUH freshmen 28 4.3 Recommendations 29 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION .30 5.1 Summary of the research .31 5.2 Solutions to solving the cause of IUH's first-year students' who are nonmajor English difficulty listening to listening skills 31 5.3 Limitation of the study 33 5.4 Further study 33 REFERENCES APPENDENCIES Supervisor: Đinh Thị Hoa, M.A Submitted by: Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh Như ID number: 17032981 TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 4.1: The years that students have learned English 16 Figure 4.2: Student's opinion on the TOEIC 17 Figure 4.3: Student's opinion about the TOEIC listening test 17 Figure 4.4: Students' emotions when taking the Toeic listening exam 18 Figure 4.5: Students spend time practicing their listening skills on a daily basis 19 Figure 4.6: The most boring and difficult part of the TOEIC listening test 19 Figure 4.7: The factors that affected listening skills 21 Figure 4.8: Some activities students usually to improve listening skills 23 Figure 4.9: Student's opinion the importance of need to have the strategies for listening test 24 Figure 4.10: Some activities students usually before doing the TOEIC listening test 25 Figure 4.11: Activities students usually while doing listening TOEIC test .26 Figure 4.12: Student's opinion about activities students usually when they can not listen to the test 27 Supervisor: Đinh Thị Hoa, M.A Submitted by: Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh Như ID number: 17032981 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Supervisor: Đinh Thị Hoa, M.A Page INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES SUPERVISOR’S EVALUATION FORM Student’s name: NGUYỄN THỊ QUỲNH NHƯ Student Code: 17032981 Supervisor’s name: ĐINH THỊ HOA, M.A CRITERIA Oral Presentation (10) SCORE CLO Content (3) CLO Performance (3) (10) Time management (10 minutes) (2) Questions response (2) Format (3) CLO Format and Coherence and Organization (4) (10) Language Use Grammar mistakes (3) Introduction Research topic and research goals (5) CLO Research questions (5) (20) Literature Theoretical framework (5) Written Review Review of previous studies (5) Graduation Methodology Research Methodology (10) CLO Thesis Research Collecting and analyzing data (5) (25) (70) Findings Relevance between research findings and goals (5) Evaluating and discussing the findings (5) Conclusion Conclusion & recommendation (10) CLO (10) Referencing (5) CLO (5) Supervisor’s Appraisal on Group Decision &Planning teamwork (05) Roles & Distribution CLO Establish Goals (10) Meeting Minutes Peer evaluation on teamwork Contribution to the team project (05) Taking responsibility Working with others Supervisor’s Appraisal (10) Communication skill (2) CLO Punctuality (2) (10) Continuous improvement (6) Other comments: TOTAL SCORES …… /100 Date: …………………………….…………… Supervisor’s Signature Đinh Thị Hoa, M.A INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY EXAMINER’S EVALUATION FORM Student’s name: NGUYỄN THỊ QUỲNH NHƯ Student Code: 17032981 Examiner’s name: CRITERIA Oral Presentation (10) SCORE CLO Content (6) CLO Performance (6) (20) Time management (10 minutes) (4) Questions response (4) Format (3) CLO Format and Coherence and Organization (4) (10) Language Use Grammar mistakes (3) Introduction Research topic and research goals (5) CLO Research questions (5) (25) Literature Theoretical framework (5) Written Review Review of previous studies (10) Graduation Methodology Research Methodology (10) CLO Thesis Research Collecting and analyzing data (5) (30) (70) Findings Relevance between research findings and objectives (5) Evaluating and discussing the findings (10) Conclusion Conclusion & recommendation (10) CLO (10) Referencing (5) CLO (5) Other comments: TOTAL SCORES ………./100 Date: Examiner’s Signature ……………………………… Rubrics for Written Graduation Thesis (70%) Item/ Weight Format (3) 10 Coherence and Organization (4) Grammar mistakes (3) Research topic and objectives of research (5) Introduc tion 10 Research questions (5) Unsatisfactory There are consistent mistakes in the required format The development of paper is vague; no apparent logical order of presentation There are consistent spelling and grammar mistakes in the paper The research topic area is unclearly described Little evidence shows the significance and objectives of the research topic Research questions are not successfully defined Developing There are several mistakes in the required format Satisfactory There are minor mistakes in the required format Exemplary 10 There are hardly any mistakes in the required format The paper is presented with connected concept and ideas, clear transitions The paper is presented in logical sequence and well organized The paper is clearly stated, well-developed and well organized There are several spelling and grammar mistakes in the paper There are minor spelling and grammar mistakes in the paper There are hardly any spelling and grammar mistakes in the paper The research topic is introduced in a coherent and interesting manner The significance and objectives of the paper is well justified Research questions are scientifically meaningful and challenging The research topic is presented, and the significance and objectives of the paper is justified Research questions are defined The research topic is adequately defined The significance and objectives of the paper is well justified Research questions are coherently and clearly defined 15 10 Literature Review (5) The literature is defined in an unclear manner Definition of key concepts is insufficient The literature is linked with the research topic Key concepts are recognized The literature is linked with research topic The key concepts related to the research topic are defined Review of previous studies (5) (10) The previous studies are inadequately relevant with the research topic and inappropriately summarized The previous studies are relevant with the research topic and summarized The previous studies are quite relevant with the research topic and appropriately summarized Research Methodology (10) The author displays such a low level of research methodology that it can be regarded as unacceptable The author correctly presents the research methods and shows good organization and application of research methodology The author justifies his/her choice of analysis methods and demonstrates effective application of relevant research methodology The literature is intricately linked with the research topic and appropriately explained The key concepts related to the research topic are also clearly defined The previous studies are adequately relevant with the research topic and appropriately summarized The author justifies his/ her choice of research methods systematically and demonstrates a deep understanding in the application of relevant research methodology Collecting and analyzing data (5) The author describes the data collecting and analyzing stages, but the description does not form a coherent and logical whole The analysis methods are mainly chosen to answer the research questions, but the author has an insufficient command of the methods The author correctly presents the data collecting and analyzing stages and outlines the analysis The analysis demonstrates a good command and reliable use of the method The author presents the data collecting and analyzing stages clearly The author makes good use of the data in the analysis The author chooses the methods sensibly to summarize the information provided by the data The author presents the data collecting and analyzing stages correctly and clearly The author makes great use of the data in the analysis The author chooses the relevant methods to best summarize the information provided by the data Relevance between research findings and objectives (5) The author demonstrates a poor level of understanding in the analysis of the research findings The research findings are inadequate in meeting objectives of study The author demonstrates satisfactory understanding in the analysis of the research findings The research findings may be adequate but not as described The author demonstrates adequate levels of understanding in the analysis of the research findings The research findings are adequate relevant to the objectives of the study The author demonstrates advanced levels of understanding in the analysis of the research findings The research findings are relevant to the objectives of the study Evaluating and discussing the findings (5) (10) The thesis fails in making contribution to the knowledge base of the discipline and field of study The research findings make a minor contribution to the knowledge base of the discipline and field of study The research findings make a good contribution to the knowledge base of the discipline and field of study The research findings make a significant contribution to the knowledge base of the discipline and Research findings 15 field of study 10 Conclusions & recommenda tion (10) Referencing (5) No logical conclusions are reached Answers to research questions studied and discussion about them is almost entirely missing or it is unconnected from the perspective of the research The final summary in no way communicates the purpose and findings of the study The author demonstrates inadequate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of his/her own research References are of poor quality The format and layout are inconsistent and not in line with APA style The conclusions are partially logical The link between the conclusions and research questions is left somewhat unclear The final summary only partially communicates the purpose and findings of the study The author demonstrates quite adequate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of his/her own research The conclusions are presented logically and answers to research questions are explained in a good manner The final summary communicates the purpose and findings of the study The author demonstrates adequate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of his/her own research The conclusions are presented logically and answers to research questions are explained in a coherent manner The final summary is relevant and communicates the objectives and findings of the study The author demonstrates good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of his/her own research The referencing is in a proper manner, but the layout of the bibliography is consistent with APA style There are, however, a few inconsistencies The referencing is in a proper manner and the layout of the bibliography is largely in line with APA style The referencing is in a proper and extensive manner The format and layout of the bibliography are correct and in line with APA style Item/ Weight Rubrics for Oral Presentation (10%) Unsatisfactory Developing Satisfactory Organizational structure present but unclear with underdeveloped introduction, body and conclusion Transitions are awkward Organizational structure present clearly with introduction, body and conclusion A few transitions Appropriate organizational pattern used and easy to follow with developed introduction, understandable body part and satisfying conclusion Main points are smoothly connected with transitions Performance (3) Very little gestures or eye contact Monotone voice or insufficient volume Reading of notes only Speech is often unintelligible Adequate use of gestures, eye contact, language, and voice Limited oral fillers and nonverbal distractions Uses a wide range of pronunciation features Time management (10minutes) (2) No regard for time constraints six or seven minutes above or below the allotted time Little gestures or eye contact Monotone voice or insufficient volume Little poise Heavy reliance on notes Abundant oral fillers and nonverbal distractions Mispronunciatio ns are frequent and cause some difficulty for the listener Presentation given within four or five minutes above or below the allotted time Content (3) Presentation given within two or three minutes above or below the allotted time Exemplary 10 Organizational pattern is compelling and moves audience through speech with ease Introduction draws in the audience and conclusion is satisfying Main points are clearly made and smoothly connected with transitions Effective use of gestures, eye contact, vivid language, and voice to add interest to speech Poised with use of notes for reference only No oral fillers and nonverbal distractions Clear pronunciation Presentation given within time constraints (from 9-11 minutes) Questions response (2) Unable to respond many questions Most questions are responded competently Nearly all questions are responded knowledgably and respectively All questions are responded knowledgably and respectively Rubrics for Supervisor’s Appraisal (10%) Item/ Unsatisfactory Developing Satisfactory Exemplary Weight 10 Communic Students show a weak Students show an Students show Students show a ation skill communication skill in adequate a good very good (2) meetings with the communication skill communication communication supervisor and group in meetings with the skill in members supervisor and group meetings with with the members the supervisor supervisor and and group group members skill in meetings members Punctuality Students are always late Students are Students are Students are (2) in meetings with the sometimes late in usually always punctual supervisor meetings with the punctual in in meetings with supervisor meetings with the supervisor the supervisor Continuous Students show an Students show a Students show Students show a improveme unwilling attitude positive attitude a positive willing attitude nt towards assigned work, towards assigned attitude towards assigned (6) complete work late often work, complete towards work, complete and make no reference work late sometimes assigned work, work on time or from the supervisor and can make a complete work make alternative relevant reference on time or arrangement and from the supervisor make make a good alternative reference from arrangement the supervisor and make a good reference from the supervisor Rubrics for Teamwork (10%) Rubrics for Supervisor’s Appraisal (5%) Rubrics for Peer Evaluation (5%) Rubrics for Supervisor’s Appraisal (5%) Student’s name: NGUYỄN THỊ QUỲNH NHƯ Student code: 17032981 Item/ Weight Unsatisfactory Group Planning & Decision There is no planning & decision-making process, decisions are made by individuals Satisfactory A procedure for planning & making decisions is established by the group, but it is not clear and/or it focuses on individuals The group establishes informal roles for each member The workload could be distributed more equally Scheduled meetings minutes Scheduled meetings are often recorded, minutes are rarely and the recorded, and the contribution of efforts are each team scattered members are NOT identified The group does not establish roles for each member Roles & and/or the Distribution workload is unequally distributed Meeting Minutes Developing A clear procedure for planning & making decisions in research work is informally established by all members of the group Exemplary 10 A clear procedure for planning & making decisions in research work is formally established by all members of the group The group establishes clear and formal roles for each member and distributes the workload equally The group establishes and documents clear and formal roles for each member and distributes the workload equally Scheduled meetings minutes are usually recorded and the contribution of each team members are identified Scheduled meetings minutes are always recorded and the contribution of each team members are identified Rubrics for Teamwork (10%) Rubrics for Peer Evaluation (5%) Name of member: NGUYỄN THỊ QUỲNH NHƯ Item/ Weight Unsatisfactory Does not collect any relevant Contribution information; no to the team useful suggestions project to address team's needs; Does not perform assigned tasks; often misses meetings and, when present, Taking does not have responsibility anything constructive to say; relies on others to the work; Rarely listens to, shares with, and the Working with supports efforts of others; others often uses inappropriate language; often is not a good team member Developing Collects information when prodded; tries to offer some ideas, but not well developed, and not clearly expressed, to meet team's needs; Performs assigned tasks but needs many reminders; attends meetings regularly but generally does not say anything constructive; sometimes expects others to his/her work Usually listens to others but sometimes does not pay much attention when others talk, and assumes their ideas will not work; Final score: 10 Evaluator's name: Tăng Thị Khã Phương Date of evaluation: June 18th, 2021 Satisfactory Collects basic, useful information related to the research, occasionally offers useful ideas to meet the team's needs; Exemplary 10 Collects and presents to the team a great deal of relevant information; offers well-developed and clearly expressed ideas directly related to the group's topic Performs all assigned tasks; attends meetings regularly and usually participates effectively; Performs all tasks very effectively; attends all meetings and participates enthusiastically; Generally, listens to others' points of view; always uses appropriate and respectful language; tries to make a definite effort to understand others' ideas; Almost always listens to others and their ideas; helps them develop their ideas while giving them full credit INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY PROGRESS FORM GRADUATION THESIS Research title: A research on linguistic factors affecting the performances of the freshmen who are non-major English students on TOEIC listening test at IUH Student name: NGUYỄN THỊ QUỲNH NHƯ Student ID no: 17032981 Supervisor name: ĐINH THỊ HOA, M.A Week Date 16/11/2020 24/01/2021 02/04/2021 08/04/2021 Content - Teacher give documents related to Graduation Thesis (examiner’s evaluation form, supervisor’s evaluation form, rubrics for Written Graduation Thesis) - Discussion about chooseTopic - Answer teacher’s question (What is quatitative research, qualitative reasearch, ) - Find 10 documents related to topic - Check Topic - Submit chapter and (offline) - Teacher check and give idea - Dicussion chapter and - Teacher check again (chapter and ) - Dicussion chapter and Supervisor’s comments & Signature 04/05/2021 03/06/2021 09/06/2021 16/06/2021 - Teacher give idea about survey question - Check the survey question again - Submit chapter and (online ) - Submit full chapter 1,2, 3, (online) - Submit full Graduation Thesis (online) The supervisor’s approval of the students’ submission (Yes/ No): ……………………………… Date: …………………………… Supervisor (Signature & Full name) Đinh Thị Hoa, M.A Updated in July 2018 Prepared by: Le Thi Thuy, M.A Head of the Division: Tran Kieu My An, Ph.D August 29, 2020 Second Revision Vice Dean: Phan Thi Tuyet Nga, Ph.D