Research proposal investigating factors affecting listening aptitude of english language students at sai gon university

SAI GON UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE RESEARCH PROPOSAL INVESTIGATING FACTORS AFFECTING LISTENING APTITUDE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDENTS AT SAI GON UNIVERSITY MEMBERS: 1

SAI GON UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

INVESTIGATING FACTORS AFFECTING LISTENING APTITUDE

OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDENTS

AT SAI GON UNIVERSITY

MEMBERS:

1 LE THI SUONG (33.3%) suongle011@gmail.com

2 PHAM THI PHUONG ANH (33.3%)

3 BINH THUY LAM QUYNH (33.3%)

Ho Chi Minh City made 2021

1 MARKING BOARDING

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2 Content

3 Introduction

4 Literature Review

5 Notion of original research

6 Key Objectives / Research

Questions

7 Research methods

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9 Proposal chapter outline

10 Research limitation

11 Proposed Time Scale

12 References / Bibliography

2 TABLE OF CONTENT

1 MARKING BROAD 2 0121121221211 20111 1111211111111 T 1H HH HH Hà rêu 1

2 TABLEOF CONTENT, L2 2.12212112112111 151101151121 211111 1221115171110 1111111 ceg 2

3 TNTRODUCTION - L2 2 221121121121 111111122111 111118111151 11151 1121111110111 2 ra 3

4 LITERATUREREVIEW Q 2 2.12111112112111 121 1211511111 11211111 111111211 ng 4 4.1 Definttion ofLiIstening SKIÏÌS§ - c2 2 201220112013 12311523 115111151115 211 8111 8111 ke ray 4 4.2 Malor Problems About Listening At SchoolL - 2c 2221111112111 1111211111122 x22 4 4.3 The Useful Approach To Solve The Problemas - - 2c 2 2221121132223 1322zx+2 6

5 NOTION OF ORIGINAL RESEARCH Q2 2 221211211 21121121221111 712112111 re re 6 6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS & OBJECTTIVES Q Q20 2121211121211 222211 2122 ra 7 RESEARCH METHODS - 2 1221211121211 121221151 12111111 20111112111 11211111112 ke ch 7 7.1 Research design -L L1 0 1220112011121 115211 151 110111101101 1111101111110 1111 vu 7 7.2 Participants - Sampling techrn1ques - : c2: 1222122011123 111211 1115511 1111551111 xe dg 8

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8.1 Quantitative Data AnaÏy$IS L2 1 2012121112211 121 1112111221112 1 118111011811 9 8.2 Qualitative Data AnaÌySIs L QC 2010220112111 121 1152111811110 1 1101118111011 110118111 k 9

9 PROPOSAL CHAPTER OUTTLINE 2 1 22222222121 121153 1211215112121 re 9

9.2 Literature Đ€VICW TQ T nnnn1H1 1H11 111 1H11 H1 121111111111 11 111 HH 111 11kg 10 9.3 Research questions / ObJ€CtIVGS Q.01 1211121110111 011121111 1111011101 1111 rà 10 9.4 Methodology L2 1201102011220 1121 111111111111 111 111111191 4111 11k KH TK TH KH 10

` 10 9.7 _ Conclusion and recommmenndatIOIIS - 0 2212211221221 1251 155111111511 21 171 8118 g2 10

10 RESEARCH LIMITATIONS L2 121121121121 111121 12211111111 1118111011101 1g ky 10

Ll PROPOSED TIME SCALE 2 1221121121121 11111115211112111211111111 211211215 ke 11

12, REFERENCES 200 ccccccccccccsccnecsesceceecseneesscescecescteesissseciessestesecssstestesssstesessieesieees 11

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3 INTRODUCTION

In fact, globalization and trade liberalization have become strong trends in the contemporary world, so moving towards a common language for easy development cooperation is indispensable in the path of socialization, internationalization and cultural exchange In which, English is the most used and spoken language around the world, used in business, science and technology Therefore, a person who is fluent in English will increase the chances of getting a better job, further advancement in career and life

One of the four English skills, listening is an extremely important skill and is used most often According to Morley (2001) and Rost (2001), listening is the most important skill for language learning because it can be mostly used in normal daily life and develops faster than the other language skills, which indicates that it makes easy the development

of the other language skills In today’s world, fluency in English is proof of a candidate's intellectual strength It shows employers how much time and effort they have put into mastering a new language so that students can speak English well Although methods to improve listening skills are applied such as listening to English songs, listening to talk shows or passive listening methods and so on, but students’ listening ability is still not improved effectively So where is the problem? Therefore, a study was carried out to find out “Factors affecting Listening aptitude of English Language Student" at Saigon University "and find out the solutions The authors wanted to choose Saigon University students as research subjects Because of the large number of studies, and are studying the English language, the results of the research will be more effective and reliable The study tries to find out the factors that affect English listening comprehension and strategies Strategies are made to improve students’ listening comprehension The research focuses on the following main issues: First, it discusses the definition of listening, the importance of listening Second, it examines the listening comprehension process and analyzes the factors that can affect listening comprehension Thirdly, methods to support the above problems in terms of listening comprehension will be discussed

Based on literature review along with data analysis has great significance and can

be advantageous for improving students’ English listening comprehension skills majoring

in English at Saigon University

4 LITERATURE REVIEW 4.1 Definition of Listening Skills

Listening has been defined by many researchers Underwood (1989) simplified the definition of listening as "the activity of paying attention to and trying to make sense of something we hear" (page 1) According to Nadig (2013), listening comprehension is the various processes for understanding and making meaning of spoken language They involve knowing voice sounds, understanding the meaning of individual words, and understanding the syntax of sentences Richards, John Platt, and Heidi Platt (2000) and Pourhosein Gilakjani and Seyedeh Masoumeh Ahmadi (2011), listening comprehension is the process of understanding speech and it focuses on the role of the linguistic units such as phonemes, words, and structures grammatical structure and the role of listeners’ predictions, situations and contexts, prior knowledge and topics Alderson and Lynch (1988) argue that listening involves a complex process that allows us to understand and interpret spoken messages in real time using a variety of sources such as phonetics, phonetics, and grammar pronunciation, vocabulary, syntax, semantics and pragmatics Beard (2005) points out that listening is a fundamental language skill, and it is the medium through which people obtain a large part of their education, their information, their understanding

of the world, and the world, people's world and problems, their ideals, their sense of values, and their appreciation Jafari and Hashim (2015) emphasize that listening is a channel that makes input easy to understand and that more than 50% of the time learners spend learning a foreign language is spent listening Listeners understand oral input through sound discrimination, prior knowledge, grammatical structure, stress and intonation, and other linguistic or non-verbal clues Therefore, the researchers concluded that these experts had different concepts of hearing, but they all had the same sense of hearing

In short, although there are many different concepts of listening skills, they all have the same opinion Listening is a fundamental act and skill that helps people communicate, learn and develop other skills

42 Major Problems About Listening At University

According to Azmi Bingol, Celik, Yidliz and Tugrul Mart (2014), there are many difficulties that learners may encounter in the process of listening comprehension and the aim is to be aware of these problems and try to solve them

The problem raised by many researchers is that listeners do not have high vocabulary and grammar knowledge According to Azmi Bingol, Celik, Yidliz and Tugrul Mart (2014), when listening texts contain known words, it is easy to hear for students If students know the meaning of words, this can spark student interest and motivation and can have a positive impact on students’ listening comprehension Many words have more than one meaning and if they are not used appropriately in the right context, students will get confused Graham (2006) states that there are a number of other factors that increase learners’ listening comprehension problems such as limited vocabulary, poor grammar and misinterpretation of the listening text Hasan (2000) points out that unfamiliar words, difficult grammatical structures and length of spoken passages are the most important factors causing problems for learners’ listening comprehension He continued that clarity, lack of interest, and the need for complete answers to comprehension questions are serious difficulties in students’ listening comprehension In addition, Leong and Ahmadi (2017) show that intensive language learners have diverse vocabulary and sentences They will understand and grasp the division of words by sound and stress in detail

The next issue that comes up with listening comprehension is about the speaker Christine and Goh (n.d) argue that tone is an element that comes from the speaker According to Goh (1999), 66% of learners consider the speaker's voice to be one of the most important factors affecting the listener’s comprehension According to Goh (n.d), based on student research, 68% of students have difficulty receiving the speaker's voice Buck (2001) points out that when listeners hear an unfamiliar accent such as Indian English for the first time after studying only American English, they will experience serious listening difficulties This will definitely interrupt the whole process

of listening comprehension and at the same time the unfamiliar voice makes it impossible for the listener to understand Besides, according to Underwood (1989), speed can make listening difficult If the speaker speaks too quickly, the student may have serious difficulty understanding the words Buck (2001) mentioned many

problems in listening activities such as unclear vocabulary, unfamiliar topics, fast speaking speed and unfamiliar accent These problems make it difficult for listeners to concentrate on the listening text and lead to distractions Sometimes, the shortest amount of time in attention can interfere with comprehension In addition, according

to the Business Degree site, if an individual is having difficulty with their health condition, they will not be able to focus on the speaker and therefore have difficulty answering clearly and accurately, which affects their ability Listening

The researchers also emphasize that listening becomes more difficult if teachers

do not teach listening strategies to their learners According to Ye Pan (2016), teacher's teaching method for listening class is an important aspect Teachers are closely involved with the teaching process, they know what is best for learners, teachers can choose appropriate content for them

In short, listening skills are influenced by many different factors Depending on the individual, factors will affect more or less, Therefore, we need to investigate to find out the factors that have the most impact on listening comprehension and find an appropriate learning method

43 The Useful Approach To Solve The Problems

Create excitement when learning to listen to English: listen to your favorite topics

or watch movies, listen to English music, improve vocabulary and _ interesting grammar Listen when the mind is relaxed and alert to increase the effectiveness of listening comprehension

Practice the habit of actively listening to English every day: Actively listen to English passages whenever possible or at least 30 minutes a day

Practice taking notes while listening: take notes of good vocabulary, structures, and idioms: write down phrases you often confuse when you hear

5 NOTION OF ORIGINAL RESEARCH Other studies on issues affecting the listening skills of language major students have also shown us a lot of meaningful material This survey further examines some new difficulties that students majoring in languages encounter when learning listening comprehension skills, In addition, to this, some gaps in teachers’ teaching methods can

be identified for better improvement

Applied topics help students self-assess and learn about issues related to listening comprehension skills, then apply listening methods to improve the effectiveness of listening ability, and at the same time practice listening skills Inheriting previous scientific research articles on students’ English listening comprehension skills, the innovative scientific research article lies in finding the gaps in teachers’ teaching methods such as textbooks, teaching, the ability to create excitement in class,

6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS & OBJECTIVES

The general objective of this study is to investigate problems affecting students encountered in relation to listening comprehension in English and to suggest possible solutions that could contribute to the improvement of the listening ability of English students The specific objectives of the study are to identify factors that affect students’ listening comprehension and to describe linguistic-related listening comprehension problems faced by Saigon university English major students

The questions posed for this research are:

1, What are the problems affecting the listening skills of students majoring in languages at Saigon University?

2 How can language majors at Saigon University solve difficulties when listening to English?

3 What are the Useful suggestions for overcoming students Listening Comprehension Difficulties?

7 RESEARCH METHODS 7.1 Research design

This study aims to investigate the factors affecting the listening ability of each group of students The obtained results can provide useful and useful information for the English department of Saigon University

The study was conducted at Saigon University in the academic year 2020-2021 and completed in 2 months

The present study is a direct and indirect survey study based on the Questioning method About 600 students will be answered diagnostic questions consisting of 26

multiple-choice questions Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to collect and analyze data for this study

The results of these two tests will answer research questions number one and two From the results of this survey, through research and analysis, researchers will find the answer to research question number three

7.2 Participants - Sampling techniques

The study was carried out by students of the Department of English, Saigon University The students involved in the study, including about 600 students with majors in English for Commerce and Tourism, were surveyed by the researchers by class and partially through the social network Facebook It took only 1 month to conduct the survey so 600 individuals is enough to get an accurate statistic and interpret this situation easily

Simple random sampling method is the simplest and most optimal Researchers will collect survey responses and randomly select 500 responses for analysis With a simple random sample, every member of the larger population has an equal chance of being selected

7.3 Procedure

1 Choosing topic: talk to friends and other students, instructor

2 Reading references: Reading the data to gain a sense of the whole, review existing research on my topic, conduct a range of literature reviews

3 Making the questionnaire: consult textbooks and supervisor, look at examples in other research

Piloting questionnaire

Delivering the questionnaire

Collecting data

Analyzing data

Finding the solutions

Answering questions

7.4 Data collection

Research using questionnaires The data collection consisted of surveying about

600 participants They will be asked to answer diagnostic questions including multiple

choice questions Design the questionnaire reasonably, printed on paper with large, clear and easy-to-see fonts, Researchers will ask permission from teachers they know

to enter the class to take the survey for about 15 minutes, so that the information is more accurate and secure Since then, the reliability of the study has also increased The questions will be divided into three parts The first part will include some problems

to select the common problems in listening comprehension, the second part will be the influence of factors to find out which factors affect the listening comprehension as much as possible to find a fix, the third part is some suggested solutions to find out which method is used by many students to improve In the questions that ask students

to determine the level of factors to find the factors affecting listening ability, reflecting different hypotheses about the possibility of happening in the students’ thinking will be put forward

7.5 Validity and reliability

With the method of collecting data directly in the classroom and indirectly on closed groups of students of Saigon University, the reliability and validity will be more assured, The surveyed individuals are guaranteed to be students studying English at Saigon University Besides, with the permission of the teacher, students will feel secure and answer the questions more honestly and accurately

8 ANALYSIS The data collected from various instruments are analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively

81 Quantitative Data Analysis

Quantitative data analysis was performed using a survey panel After collecting the survey responses, they will be analyzed, measured and statistical by the MaxDiff method to find the highest and lowest levels of each influencing factor This quantitative study will generalize research results through random distribution and representative sampling

8.2 Qualitative Data Analysis

Qualitative data analysis was performed with the data collected from the end of the survey about the solutions that individuals chose or offered The solutions that are