Using english songs to support the learning of english skills by efl learners at medical college of tien giang

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES VO LE NGOC TRUC FIELD OF STUDY: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.10 MA THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: ASSOC PROF DR TRAN VAN PHUOC HUE, 2013 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 Vo Le Ngoc Truc i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to offer special thanks to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Tran Van Phuoc, for his valuable comments, corrections, assistance, constant encouragement in completing my thesis Without his help, his whole- heated guidance this study would have hardly been made possible Second, I am also grateful to all lecturers in MA course at Hue University College of Foreign languages, who gave me much knowledge and valuable materials in the lectures during the course Their enthusiasm, valuable teaching and tremendous assistance have enlightened my study path Third, I would also like to give my thanks to Ms Tran Thi Thanh Ngoc whose comments contributed to the fulfillment of the study In addition, I would like to express my sincere thanks to teachers and students at Medical College of Tien Giang, who carefully completed the questionnaires and sincerely provided me with valuable information for this study in the interviews to help me deal with the procedure of the thesis Last but not least, I wish to devote my special thanks for my beloved family, parents, aunt, siblings and my close friends for their love, warm support and encouragement that has helped me overcome the difficulties during the time I was working on this thesis ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Pages SUB COVER PAGE STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii TABLE OF CONTENTS .iii ABSTRACT vii Chapter I INTRODUCTION I.1 Background for the study I.2 Rationale for the study I.3 Research purposes I.4 Research questions I.5 Research scope I.6 Organization of the study Chapter II LITERATURE REVIEW II.1 Listening skills I.1.1 Definition of the listening skills I.1.2 Types of the listening skills II.2 Listening skills in foreign language teaching II.2.1.The importance of listening skills II.2.2.The difficulties in learning English listening skills 10 II.3 Stages of teaching listening skills 11 II.4 Songs 12 II.4.1 Definition of songs 12 II.4.2.The importance and the role of English songs in the foreign language teaching 13 II.5 Effects of using songs in the English listening classroom 14 II.5.1 Affective value 15 iii II.5.2 Cognitive value 16 II.5.3 Linguistic value 16 II.5.4.Other special value 17 II.6 Criteria for choosing songs to teach listening 18 II.7 Stages of using songs to teach listening 20 II.7.1 Procedure of using English songs 21 II.7.1.1 Pre-listening activities 21 II.7.1.2 While- listening Activities 22 II.7.1.3 Post-listening activities 23 II.7.2 Some commonly- used activities 24 II.7.2.1 Gap filling 24 II.7.2.2 Jumbled lines 24 II.7.2.3 Spot the mistakes 24 II.7.2.4 Singing 25 Chapter III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 26 III.1 Research method 26 III.2 Participant 26 III.2.1 Students 26 III.2.2 Teachers 26 III.3 Research instruments 27 III.3.1 Questionnaires 27 III.3.2 Class observations 27 III.3.3 Interviews 28 III.4.The procedure of the study 28 III.4.1 Procedure 28 III.4.2 Material 30 III.5 Data analysis 30 Chapter IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 31 IV.1 Participants’ perceptions about the use of English songs in the listening class 31 iv IV.1.1 Participants’ perceptions of the importance of teaching and learning listening skills 31 IV.1.2.What teachers and students learn and teach in listening skills 32 IV.1.3.The necessity of English songs in learning listening skills 33 IV.1.4 Students’ knowledge of the lessons when learning listening skills via songs 34 IV.1.5 Participants’ perceptions when learning listening skills through songs 35 IV.2.The reality of using English songs to support the learning of listening skills 37 IV.2.1 The frequency of using songs in listening period 37 IV.2.2 Kinds of songs used in teaching listening skill 38 IV.2.3 The sources that teachers use 39 IV.2.4 Students’ participation in listening lessons when using English songs 39 IV.2.5 The stages teachers use English songs 40 IV.2.6 The approaches used for teaching and learning listening skill through English songs 41 IV.2.7 Kinds of tasks used to teach listening skills through songs in Pre – listening stage 42 IV.2.8 Kinds of tasks used to teach listening skills through songs in while – listening stage 43 IV.2.9 Kinds of tasks used to teach listening skills through songs in post – listening stage 44 IV.2.10 The difficulties faced by teachers and students in learning and teaching listening skills through songs 45 IV.3 Suggestions to improve teaching and learning listening skills by using English songs 46 IV.4 Classroom observation 47 v Chapter V CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 48 V.1 Conclusion 48 V.2 Limitation 49 V.3 Recommendations for the further research 50 REFERENCES Appendix Questionnaire for students and teacher Appendix Listening activities through songs Appendix 3: Observation scheme vi ABSTRACT This study aims at not only seeking the information about the reality of using English songs to support the learning listening skills but also investigating teachers and students’ perceptions of the benefits of using English songs in the EFL listening classroom as well as their suggestions to improve teaching and learning listening skills by using English songs at Medical College of Tien Giang The data were collected by the means that the researchers employed the questionnaires and in-depth interviews to measure to 90 non-English majors and teachers’ motivation before and after they were exposed to listening activities through English songs Furthermore, classroom observations were utilized to confirm the reliability and validity of the information the researcher received from the questionnaires and to supply her with more evidence for analysis The findings show that there has been a well awareness of the power of English songs, the helpfulness as well as effectiveness of using English songs to support the learning of listening skills Based on the findings, relevant suggestions are made to improve to support the learning listening skills The result indicated that the implementation of English songs to support the listening classroom enhanced students’ motivations vii Chapter I INTRODUCTION I.1 Background for the study Nowadays, English has become an international language that plays an important role in communication among nations Since Vietnam began its “open door” policy, English has become the most popular foreign language, used by most people to apply for a job to work, or to contact with foreigners However, learning English is not easy at all, and it is more difficult to master it In Vietnam, English has become a core subject in high schools as well as in graduate examinations The aim of teaching and learning a language is to develop learners’ linguistic ability The reality shows that many students are unable to communicate in English after leaving school I believe motivation to learn has much to with this situation The more motivation students have, the more effort student can make to learn a language This leads to success in learning Motivation is a key to the success for any language learner Thus, skills and techniques to motivate learners are decided by language teachers into learning listening in particular Of the four language skills, listening has long been considered as a difficult and boring skill by many second language learners Listening to a foreign language is a complex process It is a skill that takes much time and effort to make progress By developing students’ ability to listen well, teachers develop the students’ ability to understand the main idea of what is said as well as specific information; understand the speaker’s meaning, emotions and opinions; infer the relationships between speakers; or identify the context in which the speakers are operating Among various factors, patience and strong motivation are needed so as to get positive results For listening teachers, correspondingly, it is a difficult task to get students involved in listening activities However, listening teachers try to create an interesting and motivating learning environment; they are also supposed to become aware of students’ motivation their students, and then select the best techniques to help them People are born to love music A baby is likely to listen to sound when it is still inside its mother Music pervades virtually every aspect of our lives (Lynch, 2004) Music and songs are something as necessary as food and drink For the last two decades, EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teaching methodology has been actively considering the possibility of using songs and music in class The analyses of the recent EFL literature on the problem in question (Gramham, 1978; Murphey, 1992; Eken, 1996; Saricoban & Metin, 2000) make it possible to suggest many different methodological purposes of using music and songs in the EFL classroom Songs or chants are used for practicing the rhythm, stress and the intonation patterns of the English language (Carolyn Graham, 1978 ), for teaching grammar (Saricoban & Esen Metin, 2000), for teaching speaking (Natalia F Orlova, 2003) Teaching English in the most effective ways is what teachers of English need to meet the urgent requirement of the learners Among a great many techniques, using English songs to support teaching listening skills has proved to have considerable results because it appeals to learners, especially teenagers and young adult learners No one can deny that music has played a very important part in our life Every one likes music It accompanies with us very time, we feel happy or sad Music is at everywhere, every time we need it “ when we exercise we work, when we work, when we play, when we worship and even when we die, music is there to reinforce or alter every mood, and emotion” Lynch (2005, p.4) Listening English through songs in Vietnamese context are demand of mostly English learners in Vietnam Now, there are many English programs and songs on TV, radio, internet as well as there are many studies on using songs in English language teaching Music enables learners to relax in a learning atmosphere Vietnamese students feel comfortable when singing in class, individually and in groups They can enjoy songs in English classes, especially in listening periods Music- songs will help Vietnamese students to be self- confident in learning listening There have been several studies on using English songs in teaching in Vietnam for example Nguyen Hung (2007) with “Hoc tieng Anh qua bai hat”, Phan 21 Đề nghị bạn với nhà trường nhằm cải thiện chất lượng dạy học Tiếng anh nói chung kỹ nghe qua hát nói riêng _ _ _ Cám ơn giúp đỡ Bạn! QUESTIONNAIRE (FOR TEACHERS) Name: ……………………………………… (optional) Age: ……………………Gender: …………………… Teaching years: ……………… This questionnaire is to collect data regarding the reality of using songs in English listening, and it is only to support a research “Using English songs to support the learning of listening skills by EFL learners at Medical College of Tien Giang” The individual answers and personal information are kept confidential in the thesis or any publication For each of the following statements, please cross (X) or stick () the letters that indicate how true it is for you According to you, is listening skill important? A not important B less important C important D very important What you teach in teaching listening skill? B Grammar B vocabulary C Pronunciation D Understanding E All of them 15 Are songs necessary for teaching listening skill? A not necessary B less necessary C very necessary D necessary 16 In your opinion, how well your students understand the lesson when teaching listening skill through songs? A not much C much B very much D non 17 How you feel when teaching listening skill through songs? A easy to prepare B difficult to prepare C happy D overloading to prepare 18 How often did you use English songs in your teaching listening skill? A Rarely B sometimes C once a week D usually D Others (please specify) 19 Which kinds of songs did you teach listening skill in your English class? A songs for teaching Vocabulary B songs for teaching Grammar C songs for teaching pronunciation D songs’ native speaker E all of them How did you choose a song? A a simple song B Vocabulary in a song aren’t complicated C Content of song should have clear & understandable spoken English D Intonation’s song should be sweet & lyrics reflect standard What sources did you use? A on the internet B teachers compose songs C song books C all of them D others (please specify) 10 When using English songs in teaching listening skill how did your students take part in the listening lesson? A very enthusiastic & happy B not enthusiastic & happy C enthusiastic & happy H Boring & not active 11 In which stages of listening skill did you often use English songs? A pre-listening_ while-listening B pre-listening_ while-listening_ post-listening C pre-listening_ post-listening D while-listening_ post-listening E others (please specify) 12 Which listening teaching approaches have you used for teaching listening through English songs? A explaining vocabulary in the song B listening song first without writing song lyrics C deleting each sentence D listening and writing song lyrics E working in group F singing G others (please specify) 13 What kinds of tasks did you often use at Pre- listening stage? A guessing topic of the lesson or title of the song B pre- teach vocabulary C music games D using visual aids I others (please specify) 19 What kinds of While- listening tasks did you often use? A True/ false statements B Multiple choice C Gap- filling D Jumbled lines E Spot the mistakes F Grids G others (please specify) 20 Which activities did you often design for Post- listening? A Summarizing B Discussion C Writing it up D Singing E others (please specify) 21 What difficulties have you faced in teaching listening skill through songs? A Lack of facilities (e.g cassette recorders, ) B lack of time C large class size D others (please specify) 17 How have your students understood the text when you taught through English songs? A become motivated and confident B can understand the lesson better C don’t understand anything D Others (please specify) 18 After teaching listening through English songs, which problems did you encounter? A Most of the students can’t understand content of the lesson B Most of the students don’t enjoy listening songs in the class C Most of the students can’t summarize D Others (please specify) 19 To teach listening skill through English songs better, we should _ A Buy some CDs for music B Having a private room for teaching listening C Reduce the number of students in a class D Others (please specify) _ 20 To teach listening skill through English songs more effective, you should be A Train teaching staff specializing in using songs B Instruct teachers some skills to use English songs C Give more time for listening period D Others (please specify) 21 In your opinion, what are some best methods for effective listening teaching through song _ 22 Your suggestions to the school for improving the quality of English teaching in general and listening teaching through English songs in particular? Thank you very much for your help! QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW (For teachers) Name: ……………………………………… (optional) Age: ……………………Gender: …………………… Teaching years: ……………… 1/ According to you, is English listening teaching important or not in language classrooms? What is your listening teaching methodology? 2/ Have you ever used English songs in listening teaching? a) If yes, how often you use? And how they use? b) If no, Which listening material you usually use? 3/ What you think of listening teaching through songs? Advantages disadvantages? 4/ What are your suggestions for the English listening teaching through songs? THANKS VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP! and QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW (For students) Name: ……………………………………… (optional) Age: ……………………Gender: …………………… Class: ……………… 1/ According to you, is English listening teaching important or not in language classrooms? What you think about it? 2/ Have your teacher ever used English songs in listening teaching? c) If yes, how often does She/ He use? And how does She/ He use? d) If no, Which listening material does She/ He usually use? 3/ What you think of listening teaching through songs? Advantages disadvantages? 4/ What are your suggestions for the English listening teaching through songs? THANKS VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP! and APPENDIX : Listening Activities Through Songs The sound of silence Objectives: - The song illustrates the use of irregular verbs in the simple past tense (V-ed) - Have students listen for and practice the irregular verbs (V-ed) - By the end of the lesson, students will be able to understand the content of the song Procedure: - What is the past form of these verbs? Turn walk plant stable Flash bow pray echo Touch whisper - Read the song and complete it using the above vebs - Listen to the song and complete it with the verbs you hear - Listen again and check - Sing along with the song - Content of the song: Hello darkness my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again, because a vision softly creeping Left It is seeds while I was sleeping, and the vision that was planted in my brain still remains with the sound of silence In restless dreams I walked alone, narrow streets of cobble-stone “Neath the halo of a street lamp, I turned my collar to the cold and damp When my eyes were stabled by the flash of a neon light That split the night, and touched the Sound of Silence What a wonderful world I see _ of green, red _ too I see them _ for me and you and I think to myself What a wonderful world I see _ of blue and of white the bright _day And the dark _ night and I think to myself What a wonderful world The of the rainbow so pretty in the sky are also on the _ of the people going by I see friends shaking _saying, “How you do? They’re really saying “I you” I hear _cry I watch them grow They’ll _ much more than you’ll ever know and I think to myself what a wonderful world Yes, I think to myself what a wonderful world Love is blue Objectives: - The song illustrates the use of irregular verbs in the simple past tense (V2) - Have students listen for and practice the irregular verbs (V2) - By the end of the lesson, students will be able to understand the content of the song Procedure: - Write the simple past form of the verbs in the box Which verbs aren’t irregular? Have know shine Come doubt get begin Go meet leave Lose die cry be - Listen to the song and tick the verbs you hear - Listen again and answer the questions: What colors can you hear in the song? How many characters are there in the song? How is her heart since he went away? Why are her eyes red? What happens to the rainbow when love died? - Sing along with the song buy - Content of the song: Blue, blue, my world is blue Blue is my world now I’m without you Grey, grey, my life is grey Cold is my heart since you went away Red, red, my eyes are red Crying for you alone in my bed Green, green, my jealous heart, I doubted you and now we’re apart Ref When we met how the bright sun shone Then love died, now the rainbow is gone Black, black, my life is black, longing for you so lost and away Gone, gone, the love we knew Blue is my world now I’m without you Sad movies Objectives: - The song illustrates the use of both regular and irregular verbs in the simple past tense - Have students listen for the simple past of the verbs - By the end of the lesson, students will be able to understand the content of the song and talk about the past Procedure: - Pre- teach vocabulary - Ordering the sentences: a/ She cried b/ she saw her boyfriend and best friend walk into the cinema c/ They sat in front of her, but didn’t see her d/ She told her mother a lie that sad movies made her cry e/ The lights went out and the projector was on f/ She walked home g/ She went to the cinema alone h/ They kissed each other Answer key: 1g 2e b 4c 5h - Listen and check - Listen again and answer the questions 6a 7f 8d Why did She go to the show alone? Who did She see in the cinema? When did She almost die? What did her mother see on her face? Did she tell her a lie or tell the truth? - Students tell the title of the song: “ SAD MOVIE” How can I tell her? Objectives: - This song illustrates the use of can in affirmative and interrogative forms - Have students listen for and practice the modal Can + infinitive Procedure: - Listen to and complete the song - Content of the song: She knows when I’m lonesome, she cries when I’m sad She’s up in the good time She’s down in the bad Whenever I’m discourager She knows just what to But girl, she doesn’t know about you I can tell her my troubles, she makes them all seem right I can make up excuses not to hold her at night We can talk of tomorrow I’ll tell her of things that I want to But girl, how can I tell her about you? Ref: How can I tell her about you? Girl, please tell me what to Everything seems right whenever I’m with you So girl, won’t you tell me how to tell her about you? The day before you came Objectives: -This song illustrates the use of prepositions of time and used to talk about the action which always happens in the past Procedure: - Listen to and complete the song - Content of the song: Must have left my house at eight, because I always My train , I’m certain, left the station just when it was due I must have read the morning paper going into town And having gotten through the editorial, No doubt I must have frowned I must have made my desk around a quarter after nine With letters to be read, and heaps of papers waiting to be signed I must have gone to lunch at half past twelve or so The usual place, the usual bunch And still on top of this I’m pretty sure it must have rained The day before you came I must have lit my seventh cigarette at half past two And at the time I never even noticed I was blue I must have kept on dragging through the business of the day Without really knowing anything, I hid a part of me away At five I must have left, there’s no exception to the rule A matter of routine, I’ve done it ever since I finished school The train back home again Undoubtedly I must have read the evening paper then Oh yes, I’m sure my life was well within its usual frame The day before you came Nothing’s gonna change my love for you If I had to live my life without you near me The days wound all be empty The nights would seem so long With you I see forever, oh so clearly I might have been in love before But never felt this strong Our dreams are young and we both know, They’ll talk us where we want to go Hold me now, touch me now I don’t want to live without you Nothing’s gonna change my love for you You ought to know by now how much I love you One thing you can be sure of I will never ask for more than your love Nothing’s gonna change my love for you You ought to know by now how much I love you The world may change my whole life through But nothing’s gonna change my love for you Yesterday once more Objectives: - This song illustrates the use of be in the simple past in affirmative and negative forms: was (n’t), were(n’t) - Have students listen for and practice the simple past of to be: was(n’t), were(n’t) Procedure: - Listen to and complete the song, using was(n’t), were(n’t) - Content of the song: When I was young I’d listen to the radio, waiting for my favorite songs When they played I’d sing along and it made me smile Those were such a happy time and I’m not so long ago How I wonder where they’d gone But they’re back again, just like a long lost friend all the songs, I love so well… Every sha la la la….Every woo…woo… still shine Every swings aling aling that They were starting to sing so fine When they get to the part while he’s breaking her heart It can really make me cry, just like before It’s yesterday once more Looking back on how it wasn’t years gone by And the good time that I had makes today seem rather sad, so much has changed It was songs of love that I would sing to them And I memorize each word Those old melodies still sound so good to me As they melt the years away… Every sha la la la….Every woo woo… still shine Every swings aling aling that they’re starting to sing so fine All my best memories come back clearly to me Some can even make me cry, just like before It’s yesterday once more Every sha la la la….Every woo woo… still shine Every woo woo… still shine Every swings aling aling that they’re starting to sing so fine Every sha la la la… APPENDIX 3: OBSERVATION FRAMEWORK Date of observation: …………… Class: Period: Teacher’s name: How the students feel while learning listening - through monologues or dialogues? * excited * bored - through songs? * excited * bored Are the students actively involved - in monologues or dialogues? * yes * no - in songs? * no * yes How I know?  gestures  facial expressions  participant Classroom atmosphere is - through monologues or dialogues: - through songs:  tense  boring  friendly  cheerful  unpleasant  exciting  noisy Do the students sing after that?  yes  No