The effects of formative assessments on listening skills performance of non english major students at a university in ho chi minh city

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE THE EFFECTS OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS ON LISTENING SKILLS PERFORMANCE OF NONENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT A UNIVERSITY IN HO CHI MINH CITY A research study submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master's degree in TESOL By NGUYEN ANH THI Supervised by PHAN THANH HUNG, Ph.D HO CHI MINH CITY APRIL 2023 THE EFFECTS OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS ON LISTENING SKILLS PERFORMANCE OF NON- ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT A UNIVERSITY IN HO CHI MINH CITY ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr Phan Thanh Hung, who is my thesis supervisor, for his enthusiastic guidance, valuable comments and support in the preparation and completion of this thesis I am greatly indebted to all the lecturers in the TESOL graduate program at the University of Social Science and Humanities for their dedication and helpful instruction during the course from the year 2019 to 2021 My special thanks go to my fellows who are Mr Pham Huynh Phu Quy, Ms Ky Tran Minh Uyen, Mr Nguyen Huu Ngoc, Ms Nguyen Thi Hoai Anh, Ms Ngo Thi Ngoc Tram, Ms Pham To Quyen, M Bui Thi Truc Linh, and Mr Tieu Tieu Long, who have given me useful advice and support on my thesis proposal I am also thankful to the students in the class Foundation Group 2020, Group 2027, Group 2016, Group 115 and Group 107 for their great cooperation in the study Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family for their love and support i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I certify that this thesis entitled "THE EFFECTS OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS ON LISTENING SKILLS PERFORMANCE OF NONENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT A UNIVERSITY IN HO CHI MINH CITY" is my own work This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution Ho Chi Minh City, April 2023 NGUYEN ANH THI ii RETENTION OF USE Being a candidate for the MA degree, I agree to the University's standards for the preservation and use of theses deposited in the Library I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be available for study and research purposes, subject to the Librarian's standard rules for the preservation, lending, or replication of theses I agree to follow any general terms imposed by the University for the preservation, lending, or replication of theses, as well as any specific usage conditions in regard to this thesis titled By signing this form, I agree that a copy of my thesis will be preserved in the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, and allow it to be published online in full text I confirm that the necessary copyright licenses for any original materials included in my thesis have been secured Date: Candidate’s signature NGUYEN ANH THI iii CONTENTS CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF FIGURES vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Aim of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Organization of thesis chapters CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Formative assessment 2.1.1 Theoretical definition 2.1.2 Operational definition 2.1.3 Characteristics of formative assessment 11 2.1.4 Comparison between formative assessment and summative assessment 16 2.1.5 Formative assessment and motivation in EFL classroom 20 2.2 Formative assessment and teaching English listening 22 2.3 Previous research studies 25 2.4 Conceptual framework 30 2.5 Research gap 33 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 34 3.1 Research design 34 3.2 Participants 35 3.3 Sampling 36 3.4 Research instruments 36 3.4.1 Pretest and posttest 38 3.4.2 Questionnaire 38 3.4.3 Unit progress tests 39 3.5 Research procedure 41 3.6 Data analysis scheme 44 iv CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 46 4.1 Results 46 4.1.1 Results of the pretest and the posttest 46 4.1.1.1 Comparison of the pretest results between two groups 47 4.1.1.2 Control group: Comparison of the pretest and posttest 49 4.1.1.3 Experimental group: comparison of the pretest and posttest 50 4.1.1.4 Comparison of the posttest results between two groups 51 4.1.2 Results of the questionnaire 51 4.1.2.1 Reliability of the questionnaire 52 4.1.2.2 Students’ respondents to the questionnaire 54 4.2 Discussion 58 4.2.1 Research question 58 4.2.2 Research question 60 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS 62 5.1 Summary of findings 62 5.2 Implication 63 5.3 Limitation 65 REFERENCES 67 APPENDICES 74 Appendix 74 Appendix 78 Appendix 80 Appendix 85 Appendix 96 Appendix 101 Appendix 102 Appendix 104 Appendix 105 Appendix 10 105 Appendix 11 106 v LIST OF TABLES Table Comparison between formative assessment and summative assessment Table The aspects of micro-listening skills that are assessed in Key English Test Table Research design in the study Table Aspects of language that are assessed in each unit progress test Table Implementation of the experimental group and control group during the experiment Table Data analysis scheme Table Comparison between pretest and posttest of the experimental and control group in terms of mean values Table Comparison of the results of the pretest between the experimental group and the controlled group Table Comparison of the results between the pretest and the posttest in the control group Table 10 Comparison of the results between the pretest and the posttest in the experimental group Table 11 Comparison of the results of the posttest between the experimental group and the control group Table 12 Measurement indicators and Cronbach’s alpha Table 13 The ranges of means scores and their meaning Table 14 Students’ attitude toward the six unit progress tests in their learning Table 15 Students’ attitude toward teacher's feedback of the six unit progress tests Table 16 Students’ attitude toward the motivation they have when doing formative assessment in their learning vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure Aspects of Formative Assessment Figure Formative assessment cycle Figure Conceptual framework of formative assessment Figure Conceptual framework of the study vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL English as Foreign Language ELT English Language Teaching viii + Listening and Vocabulary: Clothes + Speaking: Talk about the clothes you wear at different times - Unit 9C Everyday English + Listening + Useful language: Choosing clothes + Listening + Useful language: Paying for clothes + Conversation skills: Saying something nice + Pronunciation: Joining words + Speaking: Learn to shop for clothes - Unit 9D Skills for writing + Speaking and Listening + Reading + Writing skills - Unit Review and extension: + Wordpower 10 11 10 Unit progress test for the experimental group UNIT 10 COMMUNICATION - Getting started - Unit 10A A smartphone is better than a tablet + Reading + Grammar: Comparative adjectives + Listening + Vocabulary: IT collocations + Speaking: Learn to compare and talk about things you have - Unit 10B What’s the most beautiful language in the world? + Listening + Grammar: Superlative adjectives + Reading + Vocabulary: High numbers + Speaking: Talk about languages - Unit 10C Everyday English 92 + Listening + Useful language: Asking for help + Pronunciation: Main stress and tone + Listening + Conversation skills: Checking instructions + Speaking: Learn to ask for help + Speaking and Listening + Reading 12 13 14 11 - Unit 10D Skills for writing + Speaking and Listening + Reading + Writing Skills - Unit 10 Review and extension: + Wordpower UNIT 11 ENTERTAINMENT - Getting started - Unit 11A I’ve heard she’s really funny + Reading + Grammar: Present perfect: positive, negative and questions + Listening + Vocabulary: Irregular past participles + Speaking: Ask and answer about entertainment experiences - Unit 11B I bet you’ve never been to the opera + Reading + Vocabulary: Music + Listening + Grammar: Present perfect or past simple + Speaking: Talk about events you’ve been to - Unit 11C Everyday English + Listening + Useful language: Asking for and expressing opinions + Listening Unit progress test for the experimental group 93 15 16 17 18 12 + Conversation skills: Responding to an opinion + Pronunciation: Main stress and tone + Listening + Speaking: Ask for and express opinions about things you’ve seen - Unit 11D Skills for writing + Speaking and Listening + Reading + Writing Skills - Unit 11 Review and extension: + Wordpower UNIT 12 TRAVEL - Getting started - Unit 12A What are you going to do? + Vocabulary: Geography + Reading + Listening + Grammar: going to + Speaking: Talk about holiday plans - Unit 12B You should live like a local people + Reading + Vocabulary: Travel collocations + Grammar: should/ shouldn’t + Listening and Speaking: Give advice about travelling - Unit 12C Everyday English + Listening + Conversation skills: Showing surprise + Listening + Useful language: Checking in at a hotel - Unit 12C (cont.) + Pronunciation: Consonant groups + Listening + Useful language: Asking for tourist information Unit progress test for the experimental group Unit progress test for the experimental group 94 + Speaking: Learn language for travel and tourism - Unit 12D Skills for writing + Speaking and Listening + Writing Skills - Unit 12 Review and extension: + Wordpower 95 Appendix QUESTIONNAIRE STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD THE EFFECT OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT ON LISTENING PERFORMANCE AT TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY Dear students, My name is Nguyen Anh Thi I am working as a lecturer at Ton Duc Thang University I am conducting my research about The Effects of Formative Assessments On Listening Skills Performance of Non- English Major Students at a University In Ho Chi Minh City I am hereby seeking your participation in completing the questionnaire, which only takes you 15 minutes, about your attitudes toward the effect of formative assessment on listening performance at Ton Duc Thang University Your participation is a great help for me to conduct the research and positively contribute to English learning and teaching The information collected from the questionnaire will be analysed, and used in my research only The personal information of this study will remain confidential and anonymous Thank you very much! 🙣 🙡 I General information A G ge: ender: H ometown: 96 T he length of time that you have been learning English: II Students’ attitudes toward the effect of formative assessment on listening performance at Ton Duc Thang University Please answer the following statements by checking your response to each statement by putting a tick at one of five boxes indicating the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement Aspects Items Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree disagree A.The test Strongly Agree A.1 The content of the tests was relevant to what I have learnt from the lessons A.2 The tests contained the vocabulary that I have learnt from the lessons A.3 The tests contained the grammatical points that I have learnt 97 from the lessons A.4 The tests contained the sounds that I have learnt from the lessons A.5 The test was useful for me to take the real KET listening test A.6 The difficulty of the tests was appropriate for me B.Teacher B.1 Teacher ’s gave me feedback feedback at the appropriate time B.2 Teacher gave me feedback in 98 an appropriate length of time which was 15 minutes for each time B.3 Teacher’s feedback was clear and easy to understand B.4 Teacher’s feedback was useful for me to take the following lesson B.5 Teacher gave oral feedback which was quick and easy to understand 99 3.Motivati C.1 I felt on fascinated when taking the tests after each unit C.2 The test makes me study harder to prepare for it C.3 I practiced listening more frequently for the test C.4 I felt at ease with the time spent on the listening section C.5 This course was such a good environment for me to improve my English 100 listening skills That is the end of the questionnaire Thank you for your time! 🙣 🙡 Appendix DISTRIBUTION TABLE 101 Appendix CEFR 3.3 GLOBAL SCALE (2021) PROFICI ENT USER INDEPEN DENT USER C2 Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations C1 Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise 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, wellstructured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices B2 Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options 102 BASIC USER B1 Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans A2 Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment) Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need A1 Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help 103 Appendix SPSS RESULT- COMPARISON OF THE RESULTS OF THE PRETEST BETWEEN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP AND THE CONTROL GROUP 104 Appendix SPSS RESULT- COMPARISON OF THE RESULTS BETWEEN THE PRETEST AND THE POSTTEST IN THE CONTROL GROUP Appendix 10 SPSS RESULT- COMPARISON OF THE RESULTS BETWEEN THE PRETEST AND THE POSTTEST IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP 105 Appendix 11 SPSS RESULT- COMPARISON OF THE RESULTS OF THE POSTTEST BETWEEN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP AND THE CONTROL GROUP 106