A study on efl 3rd year students awareness of cefr requirements in learning listening at hue university of foreign languages vietnam

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - MAI THI THANH HANG A STUDY ON EFL 3rd YEAR STUDENTS' AWARENESS OF CEFR REQUIREMENTS IN LEARNING LISTENING AT HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, VIETNAM MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING HUE, 2014 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - MAI THI THANH HANG A STUDY ON EFL 3rd YEAR STUDENTS' AWARENESS OF CEFR REQUIREMENTS IN LEARNING LISTENING AT HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, VIETNAM MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.01.11 SUPERVISOR: DR NGUYEN VAN LONG HUE, 2014 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ - MAI THỊ THANH HẰNG NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ NHẬN THỨC CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ BA CHUYÊN NGÀNH TIẾNG ANH VỀ NHỮNG YÊU CẦU CỦA KHUNG TRÌNH ĐỘ CHUNG CHÂU ÂU (CEFR) ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC HỌC KĨ NĂNG NGHE TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ HUẾ, VIỆT NAM LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.14.01.11 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS NGUYỄN VĂN LONG HUẾ, 2014 ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission from associates and have not been published elsewhere Author Mai Thi Thanh Hang iii ABSTRACT The research was carried out to investigate EFL 3rd year students' awareness of CEFR requirements in learning listening at Hue University of foreign languages (HUFL) Specifically, the listening requirements of CEFR at C1 level, the ways to practice listening skill, as well as the difficulties arisen from the learning were considered carefully In addition to this, some suggestions to improve the learning listening skill, which may satisfy CEFR standards at C1 level, were also explored The data collection tools consisted of questionnaires, interviews and observation The data were analyzed through the charts, tables combining with the information from the interviews and observation Data analysis involved interpretative, qualitative and quantitative methods From the participants‟ perspective, CEFR requirements play an important role in learning and being assessed language competence in listening skill The students‟ awareness of CEFR requirements has appeared but they reveal inadequate level From the reality of learning listening skill, some required listening contents, types, forms and materials have been taught at high frequency while some others seldom are inserted in class The reality also reflect the difficulties of students in both learning and being assessed Many students lack of listening materials to practice listening outside class and have negative learning attitude On the other hand, difficulty in follow speech due to vocabulary, grammar and structure, topics beyond students‟ field, unfamiliar accents and being nervous were normal difficulties Solving these problems may help students achieve the defined requirements at their levels Also, thanks to the interviews, others ideas related to student levels, teaching material, classroom facilities and difficulties were specially shared This helped researcher have the completed and deep investigation Some ways, therefore, were suggested to help learners with the problems they met For example, teachers should deliver exactly course requirements, text iv format or use appropriate methods to encourage learners‟ interest Students should widen both background and language knowledge, have appropriate learning attitude or keep practicing listening regularly Based on the findings, implications for students, lecturers, educational administrators and educators, have been suggested in order to help third year EFL students improve their English listening skill to satisfy the new requirements following CEFR standard The research has limitation; it lacks studies on the awareness of CEFR requirements in reading, writing and speaking skill Hence, this could be a new area for further researches v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the process of choosing and conducting the study, I am fortunate enough to receive valuable assistance and support My thanks first go to my supervisor, Dr Nguyen Van Long, his warm support and excellent insights throughout the current study I am really thankful that he has spent a great deal of his valuable time correcting and giving comments to my work Without his experienced guidance, this research would not have been done with a correct direction I respect the support from Assoc Prof Dr Tran Van Phuoc, Dr Ton Nu Nhu Huong and Dr Truong Bach Le for their early suggestion of the topic Moreover, I would like to say thank you the participating of EFL teachers and all third year students at HUFL who completed the questionnaire and the interview with interest and enthusiasm In addition, I would like to express my sincere thank to my friends, Hoang Thi Kim Oanh and Phan Thi Thanh Thuy, who helped me a lot to collect information and count the data from questionnaires Finally, I would like to show my deep gratitude to my beloved family, my parents, my younger brother, my sister in law and my friends who are always by my side, give me mental support and most importantly, more inspirations to finish the thesis after a lot of difficulties vi vi TABLE OF CONTENT SUB COVER PAGE i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP iii ABSTRACT iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi TABLE OF CONTENT vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix LIST OF CHARTS xi LIST OF DIAGRAMS xii LIST OF TABLES xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Research significance 1.3 Research aims 1.4 Research scope 1.5 Research questions 1.6 Research structure: CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Overview of listening 2.2.1 Definition 2.2.2 The importance of listening 2.2.3 Listening process 2.3 Implement of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) under National Foreign Languages (NFL) 2020 project in Vietnam 2.4 The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) 2.4.1 The purpose of Common European Framework of Reference for Languages 2.4.2 CEFR’s levels 2.4.3 CEFR requirements in listening at C1 level 12 2.4.3.1 Overall listening comprehension 12 2.4.3.2 Understanding conversation between native speakers 16 vii 2.4.3.3 Listening as a member of a live audience 17 2.4.3.4 Listening to audio media and recordings 18 2.4.3.5 Listening to announcements and instructions 19 2.4.3.6 Assessment by others/self-assessment 19 2.5 Awareness 21 2.6 Factors influence EFL students‟ awareness about CEFR requirements 22 2.6.1 Presage factors 22 2.6.2 Process factors 22 2.6.3 Product factors 23 2.7 Previous research 24 2.8 Chapter summary 26 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 27 3.1 Introduction 27 3.2 Research approach 27 3.3 Participants 28 3.4 Research methods 28 3.4.1 The questionnaire 28 3.4.2 The interviews 29 3.5 Data analysis 30 3.6 Chapter summary 30 CHAPTER4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 31 4.1 Introduction 31 4.2 Illustrating and analyzing results from the questionnaires and interviews 31 4.2.1 Students‟/ Teachers‟ awareness of CEFR requirements in learning listening skill at C1 level (Cluster 1) 31 4.2.1.1 The CEFR level in English that students need to achieve for their graduation (sub-cluster 1.1) 31 4.2.1.2 The CEFR requirements in overall listening comprehension at C1 level (sub-cluster 1.2) 34 4.2.1.3 The CEFR requirements for particular situations (sub-cluster 1.3) 35 4.2.1.3.1 The CEFR requirements in understanding conversation between native speakers at C1 level 35 4.2.1.3.2 The CEFR requirements in listening as a member of a live audience at C1 level 37 4.2.1.3.3 The CEFR requirements in listening to audio media and recordings at C1 level 38 4.2.1.3.4 The CEFR requirements in listening to announcements and instructions at C1 level 39 viii 4.2.2 Factors influence EFL students‟ awareness about CEFR requirements in learning listening skill at C1 level (Cluster 2) 41 4.2.2 1.Presage factors (Sub- cluster 2.1) 41 4.2.2.1.1 Personal characteristics 41 4.2.2.1.2 Situational characteristics 43 4.2.2 2.Process factors (Sub- cluster 2.2) 52 4.2.2 3.Product factors (Sub- cluster 2.3) 54 4.2.3 Suggestions for learning listening skill (Cluster 3) 55 4.3 Chapter summary 57 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 58 5.1 Conclusion 58 5.2 Implications 60 5.2.1 For students 60 5.2.2 For teachers 61 5.2.3 For educational administrators and educators 62 5.3 Limitations of the study 63 5.4 Suggestions for further studies 63 REFERENCES 64 APPENDICES 68 ix  Understand a wide range of recorded and broadcast audio material, including some non-standard usage, and identify finer points of detail including implicit attitudes and relationships between speakers In listening to announcements and instructions at C1 level, what are CEFR requirements that learner can? (You choose one option)  Understand announcements and messages on concrete and abstract topics spoken in standard dialect at normal speed  Extract specific information from poor quality, audibly distorted public announcements, e.g in a station, sports stadium etc and can understand complex technical information, such as operating instructions, specifications for familiar products and services  Understand simple technical information, such as operating instructions for everyday equipment and can follow detailed directions  Understand instructions addressed carefully and slowly to him/her and follow short, simple directions B Factors influence EFL students’ awareness about CEFR requirements At high school, which skill were you good at?  Listening  Speaking  Reading  Writing 10 To be a good listener, what characters must you have? (You can choose more than one option)  Intelligent  Hard working  Creative  Sensitive  Logical  Careful Other opinions 11 How many listening periods you study each term?  Less than 30 periods  30 periods  45 periods  60 periods 71  More than 60 periods 12 Which current textbook(s) including listening part have your teachers used to teach listening skill? (You can choose more than one option)  North Star  Q_ Skills  IELTs Listening  Test Plus Other textbook(s) 13 Do you think course structure is clear and easy to understand?  Yes  No 14 When teaching listening skill, which question type(s) below have your teacher used? (You can choose more than one option)  Multiple-choice  Comprehension questions  True/False  Filling in the blank Completing the table Other opinions 15 What supporting tools have your teachers used?(You can choose more than one option)  Songs  Pictures  Video clips  Movies  Internet Other opinions (please specify) 16 In learning listening skill, you need (You can choose more than one option)  Assessment by others  Self-assessment 17 How often have your teachers assessed listening skill? 72  Rarely  Sometimes  Often  Very often 18 What form of oral inputs have you had in listening periods? (You can choose more than one option)  Public announcements (information, instructions, warnings, etc.)  Media (radio, TV, recordings, cinema)  As a member of a live audience (theatre, public meetings, public lectures, entertainments, etc.)  Overheard conversations 19 When teaching listening skill, what speech types have teachers taught? (You can choose more than one option)  Speech is not clearly structured and relationships are only implied and not signaled explicitly  Speech with unfamiliar accent  Speech with a wide range of idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms, appreciating register shifts Other opinions (please specify) 20 What difficulties you encounter when learning listening? (You can choose more than one option)  Few periods  Lack of listening materials to practice listening outside class  No clear teachers‟ instructions  Inappropriate learning attitude (hesitation, lack confidence, etc.)  Shortage of physical condition (large class, noise, poor quality of TV, CD player, lights, etc) Other opinions (please specify) 21 What difficulties have you encountered when being assessed listening skill ? (You can choose more than one option)  Difficulty in following speech due to vocabulary, grammar and structure 73  Topics beyond your field  Unfamiliar accents  Being nervous Other opinions (please specify) 22 Which process you often carry out when listening English?  Match the initial sounds of a new word to your familiar lexicon to guess what a word might be (bottom-up process)  Activate your background knowledge to constructs (or reconstructs) the original meaning of the speaker (top-down process)  Combine both bottom-up and top-down process Other opinions (please specify) 23 When you listen, you often  Try to improve understanding by applying and comparing ideas (“Deep” approach)  Try to get correct answer, involve reproductive strategies with little attempt to integrate information (“Surface” approach) Why? 24 Generally, what you think about CEFR requirements at C1 level?  Very easy  Easy  Normal  Difficult Reason(s): …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… C Suggestions for learning listening skill 25 What should you have to gain listening skill at CEFR – C1 level? (You can choose more than one option)  Having sufficient knowledge of language (vocabulary, grammar, speech structure, pronunciation, etc) 74  Enriching background knowledge (Economy, society, education, culture, science, art, etc)  Practicing listening skill regularly  Gaining self-confidence when participating in listening activities  Self-studying and self-assessment with the help of Internet, CDs, etc  Familiarizing yourself with the test format before being assessed Other opinions (please specify) _ Thank you for your cooperation!  75 APPENDIX - QUESTIONNAIRE (For EFL teachers at Hue College of Foreign Languages) This questionnaire aims to explore the issue of EFL 3rd year students' awareness of CEFR requirements in learning listening at Hue University of foreign languages (HUFL) All the data collected in this questionnaire will be used for the SOLE purpose of the research The researcher assures that all information collected will be confidential and I won‟t use your real name in my thesis and my publication, with the hope that you will answer these questions accurately and honestly Your assistance in completing all the following items is appreciated Thank you very much for your enthusiastic assistance Please kindly note that The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment, abbreviated as CEFR, is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and, increasingly, in other countries CEFR is Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, which is one the initiatives of Council of Europe (CE) The aim of CEFR is to give a framework of achievable learners‟ language level from the beginning to advance For each level of particular skills, it supplies requirements that learner must achieve Please put () into the box next to your answers Your additional ideas are appreciated since they contribute qualitatively to our study Personal information Name (optional): Gender:  Male Age:  Female Your degree/ certificates/ experiences for EFL methodology  BA  MA Other (please specify) Numbers of years teaching English: How many students you often have in a class?  Less than 30 students  About 40 students students 76  More than 50 A Teachers’ awareness of CEFR requirements for listening skill at C1 level In English, what CEFR level your students need to achieve for graduation?  C2  C1  B2  B1 How often have you mentioned CEFR requirements as course goal in learning listening?  Never  Sometimes  Often  Very often What are CEFR requirements at C1 level? (You can choose more than one option)  Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognize implicit meaning  Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions  Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes  Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organizational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices Other opinions (please specify) In overall listening comprehension at C1 level, what are CEFR requirements that learner can? (You can choose more than one option)  Understand enough to follow extended speech on abstract and complex topics beyond his/her own field, though he/she may need to confirm occasional details, especially if the accent is unfamiliar  Recognize a wide range of idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms, appreciating register shifts  Follow extended speech even when it is not clearly structured and when relationships are only implied and not signaled explicitly  Have no difficulty in understanding any kind of spoken language, whether live or broadcast delivered at fast native speed 77 In understanding conversation between native speakers at C1 level, what are CEFR requirements that learner can ?(You choose one option)  Easily follow complex interactions between third parties in group discussion and debate, even on abstract, complex unfamiliar topics  Keep up with an animated conversation between native speakers  Generally follow the main points of extended discussion around him/her, provided speech is clearly articulated in standard dialect  Generally identify the topic of discussion around him/her, when it is conducted slowly and clearly In listening as a member of a live audience at C1 level, what are CEFR requirements that learner can follow? (You choose one option)  Specialized lectures and presentations employing a high degree of colloquialism, regional usage or unfamiliar terminology  Most lectures, discussions and debates with relative ease  The essentials of lectures, talks and reports and other forms of academic/professional presentation which are propositionally and linguistically complex  In outline straightforward short talks on familiar topics provided these are delivered in clearly articulated standard speech In listening to audio media and recordings at C1 level, what are CEFR requirements that learner can ?(You choose one option)  Understand and extract the essential information from short, recorded passages dealing with predictable everyday matters which are delivered slowly and clearly  Understand the main points of radio news bulletins and simpler recorded material about familiar subjects delivered relatively slowly and clearly  Understand most radio documentaries and most other recorded or broadcast audio material delivered in standard dialect and can identify the speaker's mood, tone etc 78  Understand a wide range of recorded and broadcast audio material, including some non-standard usage, and identify finer points of detail including implicit attitudes and relationships between speakers In listening to announcements and instructions at C1 level, what are CEFR requirements that learner can? (You choose one option)  Understand announcements and messages on concrete and abstract topics spoken in standard dialect at normal speed  Extract specific information from poor quality, audibly distorted public announcements, e.g in a station, sports stadium etc and can understand complex technical information, such as operating instructions, specifications for familiar products and services  Understand simple technical information, such as operating instructions for everyday equipment and can follow detailed directions  Understand instructions addressed carefully and slowly to him/her and follow short, simple directions B Factors influence EFL students’ awareness about CEFR requirements At Hue College of Foreign Languages, which skill are students good at  Listening  Speaking  Reading  Writing 10 To be a good listener, what characters must students have? (You can choose more than one option)  Intelligent  Hard working  Creative  Sensitive  Logical  Careful Other opinions 11 How many listening periods you teach each term?  Less than 30 periods  30 periods  60 periods  More than 60 periods 79  45 periods 12 Which current textbook(s) including listening part have you used to teach listening skill? (You can choose more than one option)  North Star  Q_ Skills  IELTs Listening  Test Plus Other textbook(s) 13 Do you think course structure is clear and easy to understand?  Yes  No 14 When teaching listening skill, which question type(s) below have you used? (You can choose more than one option)  Multiple-choice  Comprehension questions  True/False  Filling in the blank Completing the table Other opinions 15 What supporting tools have you used? (You can choose more than one option)  Songs  Pictures  Video clips  Movies  Internet Other opinions (please specify) 16 In learning listening skill, students need (You can choose more than one option)  Assessment by others  Self-assessment 17 How often have you assessed listening skill?  Rarely  Sometimes  Often  Very often 18 What form of oral inputs have you had in listening periods? 80 (You can choose more than one option)  Public announcements (information, instructions, warnings, etc.);  Media (radio, TV, recordings, cinema);  As a member of a live audience (theatre, public meetings, public lectures, entertainments, etc.);  Overheard conversations 19 When teaching listening skill, what speech types have you taught? (You can choose more than one option)  Speech with unfamiliar accent  Speech with a wide range of idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms, appreciating register shifts  Speech is not clearly structured and relationships are only implied and not signaled explicitly Other opinions (please specify) 20 What difficulties students encounter when learning listening? (You can choose more than one option)  Few periods  Lack of listening materials to practice listening outside class  No clear teachers‟ instructions  Inappropriate learning attitude (hesitation, lack confidence, etc.)  Shortage of physical condition (large class, noise, poor quality of TV, CD player, lights, etc) Other opinions (please specify) 21 What difficulties have students encountered when being assessed listening? (You can choose more than one option)  Difficulty in following speech due to vocabulary, grammar and structure  Topics beyond your field  Unfamiliar accents 81  Being nervous Other opinions (please specify) 22 Which process students often carry out when listening to English?  Match the initial sounds of a new word to your familiar lexicon to guess what a word might be (bottom-up process)  Activate their background knowledge to constructs (or reconstructs) the original meaning of the speaker (top-down process)  Combine both bottom-up and top-down process Other opinions (please specify) 23 When students listen, students often  Try to improve understanding by applying and comparing ideas (“Deep” approach)  Involve reproductive strategies with little attempt to integrate information (“Surface” approach) Why? 24 Generally, what you think about CEFR requirements at C1 level?  Very easy  Easy  Normal  Difficult Reason(s):…………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… C Suggestions for learning listening skill 25 What should students have to gain listening skill at CEFR – C1 level? (You can choose more than one option)  Having sufficient knowledge of language (vocabulary, grammar, speech structure, pronunciation, etc) 82  Enriching background knowledge (Economy, society, education, culture, science, art, etc)  Practicing listening skill regularly  Gaining self-confidence when participating in listening activities  Self-studying and self-assessment with the help of Internet, CDs, etc  Familiarizing yourself with the test format before being assessed Other opinions (please specify) _ Thank you for your cooperation!  83 APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS What you study listening for? What is the role of CEFR in learning language? When studying listening under CEFR, what difficulties and benefits you have? Should teachers and educators anything to support your learning? If, yes What? Do you think you will satisfy listening requirements at C1 level in the near future? - - 84 APPENDIX 4: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS What you teach listening for? What is the role of CEFR in teaching language? When teaching listening under CEFR, what difficulties and benefits you have? What students need to have in order to boost their listening skill at Hue University of foreign language? Do you think your students will satisfy listening requirements at C1 level in near future? How many percentages? 85