Nghiên cứu về việc sử dụng chiến lược học ngôn ngữ để chuẩn bị cho bài thi nghe toeic của sinh viên không chuyên tiếng anh tại đại học huế

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES TRAN THI HA MY A STUDY ON NON-ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS’ USE OF LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES IN PREPARATION FOR TOEIC LISTENING TEST AT HUE UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of Foreign Languages HUE, 2016 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES TRAN THI HA MY A STUDY ON NON-ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS’ USE OF LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES IN PREPARATION FOR TOEIC LISTENING TEST AT HUE UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.01.11 SUPERVISOR: CAO LE THANH HAI, PhD HUE, 2016 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ TRẦN THỊ HÀ MY NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG CHIẾN LƯỢC HỌC NGÔN NGỮ ĐỂ CHUẨN BỊ CHO BÀI THI NGHE TOEIC CỦA SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH TẠI ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ 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 CAO LÊ THANH HẢI HUẾ, 2016 ii STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself Signed:………………………… Tran Thi Ha My Date: ………………………… iii ABSTRACT This paper reports the results of an investigation into the use of learning strategies in preparation for TOEIC listening test by non-English majored students at Hue University The data in this study were obtained through student questionnaires, teacher interviews and classroom observations The results of the study indicate that TOEIC learners experienced a wide range of listening problems caused by both external and internal factors To tackle the difficulties in listening, students in this study claimed to have applied several language learning strategies such as metacognitive, cognitive and social affective strategies (O’Malley and Chamot, 1990) inside classroom and at home setting One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is that cognitive strategies were reported to be most frequently used and considered as the most effective both in classroom and home setting The paper also provides practical recommendations for TOEIC learners, instructors and curriculum designers in relation to the promotion of language learning strategies in TOEIC educational setting Keywords: language learning strategies, listening comprehension, non-English majored students iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research journey would never have been possible without the involvement of many individuals and groups, to whom I owe my grateful acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Cao Le Thanh Hai, for her enthusiastic and inspirational supervision My research paper would not have been done if it was not for her encouragement and valuable comments during my time of conducting the study Secondly, I am also very grateful to all the instructors of class MA 2014 – 2016, Hue University College of Foreign Languages, who have broadened my knowledge and perspective during my master course Thirdly, many thanks go to all the students at Hue University as well as the TOEIC instructors in the area of Hue city who were willing to participate in the questionnaire survey and interviews of the study Their participation was of great importance to the completion of my research and I sincerely appreciate their contribution Finally, I am greatly indebted to my family and friends for having been there for me and supporting me wholeheartedly Their persistent love and understanding have given me the strength and motivation to conduct this study Hue, December 2016 Tran Thi Ha My v TABLE OF CONTENT STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP iii ABSTRACT iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v TABLE OF CONTENT vi LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ix CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION 1.1 Context and rationale of the study .1 1.2 Research aims .2 1.4 Research questions .3 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Scope of the study 1.7 Structure of the study CHAPTER II - LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The aspects of listening 2.1.1 What is listening? 2.1.2 What is listening comprehension? 2.1.3 Problems involved in listening comprehension 2.1.4 The importance of listening comprehension in second or foreign language acquisition 10 2.2 Learning strategies in language acquisition – Language learning strategies .11 2.2.1 Definition of language learning strategies 11 2.2.2 Classification of language learning strategies 13 2.2.3 The role of learning strategies in second language acquisition 22 2.2.4 Language learning strategies in listening comprehension 23 2.3 TOEIC - the English proficiency test 25 2.3.1 TOEIC test in general 25 2.3.2 TOEIC Listening Test .26 2.4 Previous researches related to the study 26 vi CHAPTER III - METHODOLOGY .29 3.1 Research approach .29 3.2 Participants 29 3.3 Data collection instruments and procedure 30 3.3.1 Questionnaire 30 3.3.2 Interview 31 3.3.3 Classroom observation 32 3.4 Data analysis 33 3.5 Validity and reliability of the data .34 CHAPTER IV - FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 35 4.1 Hue University non-English majored students‟ perception towards the aspect of listening comprehension 35 4.1.1 Students‟ perception towards listening comprehension 35 4.1.2 Students‟ self-rated listening competence .37 4.1.3 The importance of listening comprehension 39 4.2 Problems involved in the process of listening comprehension 40 4.3 Hue University non-English majored students‟ use of language learning strategies when practicing for TOEIC listening test 43 4.3.1 The frequency of students‟ use of language learning strategies for TOEIC listening practice in general 43 4.3.2 The use of language learning strategies among non-English majored students at Hue University 44 4.3.3 Respondents‟ choice of most effective type of language learning strategies 49 4.4 Suggestions to maximize the effectiveness of learning strategies in TOEIC listening test 50 4.4.1 Students‟ suggestion 50 4.4.2 TOEIC instructors‟ suggestions 52 CHAPTER V - CONCLUSION .54 5.1 Summary 54 5.2 Implications 55 vii 5.2.1 For TOEIC learners 55 5.2.2 For TOEIC instructors 56 5.2.3 For TOEIC curriculum designers 57 5.3 Limitations of the research and suggestions 57 REFERENCES 60 APPENDICES 64 viii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 2.1: Oxford‟s strategy classification system (Oxford, 1990, pp 18-21) .15 Figure 2.2: Oxford‟s strategy classification system (Oxford, 1990, pp 18-21) (Continued) .16 Figure 4.1: Students‟ perception towards listening comprehension 36 Figure 4.2: Students‟ self-rated listening competence 38 Figure 4.3: The importance of listening comprehension 39 Figure 4.4: Problems involved in listening comprehension 41 Figure 4.5: Frequency of students‟ use of language learning strategies in general 43 Figure 4.6: Types of language learning strategies used in TOEIC listening class 44 Figure 4.7: Frequency of using learning strategies in TOEIC listening class 45 Figure 4.8: Types of language learning strategies used in practice at home 47 Figure 4.9: Frequency of using learning strategies in practice at home 48 Figure 4.10: Most effective type of language learning strategies .49 Figure 4.11: Students‟ suggestion to maximize the effectiveness of language learning strategies 51 Table 2.1: Learning strategy definition and classification (O‟Malley and Chamot, 1990: 119) – Metacognitive strategies 17 Table 2.2: Learning strategy definition and classification (O‟Malley and Chamot, 1990: 119) – Cognitive strategies .18 Table 2.3: Learning strategy definition and classification (O‟Malley and Chamot, 1990: 119) – Social affective strategies 20 ix hear each question and answer options once and then choose the one that best matches the question There are always three answer options and only one correct answer The problem is that incorrect answer options might have similar sounding words, or use a different meaning of a word than is being used in the question, or refer to a different person (incorrect pronoun used), or use the wrong verb tense Short Conversations Part three is slightly longer than the previous two sections and requires test takers to listen to ten different everyday conversations and then answer multiple-choice questions based on the scenario Possible answers to the questions are given It is the duty of test takers to choose the best possible answer from the given choices There are six types of questions that TOEIC candidates may be asked in this section: To identify who one or both of the speakers are How or what one of the speakers will in case some action does or does not occur Where the speaker(s) are To identify the topic: place, person, or thing About a specific detail mentioned in the conversation To infer what will or will not likely happen next, or why a speaker will or will not or did (not) something 65 Although some of these types sound very simple to do, the candidates are most likely not directly told where or who the speakers are, and can only logically guess from the conversation what or why a speaker might next Test takers need to figure out the correct answer from listening to what they say, or from the tone of voice used Short Talks Part four requires the exam takers to listen to three short talks relating to different circumstances There are three questions per talk and test takers are required to choose the answer that best depicts the situation There are a total of 30 questions in this listening section The candidates will hear a total of 10 short talks spoken by a single person Each talk will only be heard one time, so they must always listen carefully to understand what is being said There are always four answer options and only one of them is the correct answer 66 Similar to the previous section, there are also six types of questions the candidates may be asked To identify who the speaker is, or what their occupation is Where the talk is taking place To identify the topic: place, person, or thing To determine who the audience, who would most likely be listening to this talk, is About specific detail mentioned in the talk To infer what will or will not likely happen next, or what the purpose of the talk is Accordingly, test takers can apply the same approaches as used in part three of the listening test (Trew, 2007) Part four is the trickiest section to when it comes to the TOEIC listening and it is incredibly easy for test takers to fall behind due to the speed of the recording and lack of breaks between each question 67 APPENDIX B QUESTIONNAIRE This questionnaire aims at investigating learners‟ use of strategies while learning TOEIC listening test It usually takes 30 minutes to complete Please answer in terms of how well the statement describes you Do not answer how you think you should be, or what other people There is no right or wrong answer to these statements Your participation is highly appreciated The information you provided will only be used for research purpose, not for any others Student’s Information Name :……………………………………………………………………………… Age : Gender: MaleFemale Time of learning for TOEIC: ……………………………………………………… Your college: …………………………………………………………………… What is your perception towards listening comprehension? A I think listening is hard and boring B I think listening is easy and fun to learn C I not pay much attention to listening skills D Others: (please specify) ………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… How you assess your listening skills? A Excellent B Good C Average D Poor 68 In your opinion, how important is listening comprehension in the process of language learning? A Very important B Important C Moderately important D Not important According to you, what are the influences that listening comprehension can have on the process of language learning? Please tick √ if the statement is true to you You can choose more than one option Without listening skills, second or foreign language acquisition is impossible to be accomplished Improvement in listening skills has a positive effect on the development of the other language skills – reading, writing and especially speaking Listening skills enable students to gain insight and information, and to achieve success in communicating with others in the target language Other (please specify) What are the difficulties that you may have encountered in listening comprehension? Please tick √ on the problem that you may have encountered You can choose more than one option I find it hard when I cannot control the speed of the listening text I cannot have words repeated I have problems in listening because of my lack of vocabulary I fail to recognize the linguistic signals in the listening text I cannot understand the message as I not have background knowledge of the listening topic I find it hard to concentrate when listening to English I am not familiar with all the different types of listening exercise Other (please specify) 69 How frequently you encounter those problems in the process of listening comprehension? Please rank from (least frequently) to (most frequently) I find it hard when I cannot control the speed of the listening text I cannot have words repeated I have problems in listening because of my lack of vocabulary I fail to recognize the linguistic signals in the listening text I cannot understand the message as I not have background knowledge of the listening topic I find it hard to concentrate when listening to English I am not familiar with all the different types of listening exercise Other (please specify) How often you use language learning strategies (LLS) when practicing for TOEIC listening test in general? A Always B Usually C Sometimes D Never What are the types of strategies that you usually use when practicing for TOEIC listening test at school? Please refer to the back of the questionnaire for more information You can choose more than one option A Metacognitive strategies (such as planning, monitoring and evaluating during the listening process) B Cognitive strategies (such as catching key point, repeating, note taking, contextualizing…) C Social affective strategies (such as cooperating with others, seeking for clarification…) D Others: (please specify) ………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… 70 How often you use each particular type of strategies when practicing for TOEIC listening test in class? Please rank from (least frequent) to (most frequent)  Metacognitive strategies  Cognitive strategies  Social affective strategies  Others: (please specify)…………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 10 What are the types of strategies that you usually use when practicing for TOEIC listening test at home? Please refer to the back of the questionnaire for more information You can choose more than one option A Metacognitive strategies (such as planning, monitoring and evaluating during the listening process…) B Cognitive strategies (such as catching key point, repeating, note taking, contextualizing…) C Social affective strategies (such as cooperating with others, seeking for clarification…) D Others: (please specify) ………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… 11 How often you use each particular type of strategies when practicing for TOEIC listening test at home? Please rank from (least frequent) to (most frequent)  Metacognitive strategies  Cognitive strategies  Social affective strategies  Others: (please specify)…………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 71 12 Among the LLS that you use to facilitate the process of TOEIC listening comprehension, what is the most effective type of strategies, in your opinion? A Metacognitive strategies B Cognitive strategies C Social affective strategies D Others: (please specify) ………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… 13 What should TOEIC instructors and students to maximize the effectiveness of LLS? You can choose more than one option A Students should be provided with LLS from the very beginning of the TOEIC listening course B TOEIC instructors should work with students to discover and develop the set of LLS that is most effective to each learner C A periodic test should be applied to evaluate students‟ progress when using LLS to practice for TOEIC listening test D Others: (please specify) ………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… Thank you for your participation! 72 Metacognitive strategies Advance organization Previewing the main ideas and concepts of the material to be learned, often by skimming the text for the organizing principles Directed attention Deciding in advance to attend in general to a learning task and to ignore irrelevant distracters Functional planning Planning for and rehearing linguistic components necessary to carry out an upcoming task Selective attention Deciding in advance to attend to specific aspects of input, often by scanning for key words, concepts and/ or linguistic markers Self-management Seeking or arranging the conditions that help one learn, such as finding opportunities for additional language or content input and practice Self-monitoring Checking one‟s comprehension during listening or reading, or checking one‟ oral or written production while it is taking place Self-evaluation Checking the outcomes of one„s own language against a standard after it has been completed 73 Cognitive strategies Resourcing Using target materials language such reference as dictionaries, encyclopedias, or textbooks Repetition Imitating a language model, including overt practice and silent rehearsal Grouping Classifying words, terminology, numbers, or concepts according to their attributes Deduction Applying rules to understand or produce the second language making up rules based on language analysis Imagery Using visual images (either mental or actual) to understand or remember new information Auditory representation Planning back in one„s mind the sound of a word, phrase or longer language sequence Key word method Remembering a new word in the second language by: (1) identifying a familiar word in the first language that sounds like or otherwise resembles the new word, and (2) generating easily recalled images of some relationship with the first language homonym and the new word in the second language 74 Elaboration Relating new information to prior knowledge, relating different parts of new information to each other, or making meaningful personal associations with the new information Transfer Using previous linguistic knowledge or prior skills to assist comprehension or production Inferencing Using available information to guess meaning of new items, predict outcomes or fill in missing information Note taking Writing down key words or concepts in abbreviated verbal, graphic or numerical form while listening or reading Summarizing Making a mental, oral or written summary of new information gained through listening or reading Recombination Constructing a meaningful sentence or larger language sequence by combining known elements in a new way Translation Using the first language as a base for understanding and/or producing the second language 75 Social affective strategies Questioning for clarification Eliciting additional from a teacher explanations, or peer rephrasing, examples or verification Cooperation Working together with one or more peers to solve a problem, pool information, check a learning task, model a language activity, or get feedback on oral or written performance Self-talk Reducing anxiety by using mental techniques that make one feel competent to the learning task 76 APPENDIX C INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (The following line of questions will only be used as a guideline and the questions are subjects to change according to each actual interview) What are your perceptions towards students‟ use of language learning strategies in the preparation for TOEIC listening test? What are the problems involved in the process of listening comprehension that your students usually encounter? How often your students encounter each problem? Are you aware of students‟ use of language learning strategies when learning for TOEIC listening test? How often they use language learning strategies? What types of language learning strategies your students use to facilitate their comprehension process in the preparation for TOEIC listening test? What is the type of language learning strategies that your students use most frequently? What is the most effective type of language learning strategies? In your opinion, what are the differences between the students who are aware of the advantages of language learning strategies and those who are not? 10 What are your suggestions for the effectiveness of students‟ use of language learning strategies in the preparation for TOEIC listening test? 77 APPENDIX D CLASSROOM OBSERVATION FORM Instructor: _ Class: _ Date and Time: _ Length of observation: _ Review Section Problems students Description/Comments encounter in TOEIC listening comprehension a Types of difficulties b How often students encounter those problems LLS students use to deal with the difficulties in TOEIC listening test a Types of LLS b How often LLS is being used c The degree of effectiveness of each LLS Role of teacher in facilitating students‟ use of LLS a Teacher‟s instructions of LLS b Teacher‟s facilitation to help students apply LLS Other notes: 78 17,19,20,36,38,39,41,43-45,47-49,51,64,73,74,76 1-16,19,21-35,37,40,42,46,50,52-63,65-72,75,77-78 79