Thực trạng dạy và học nghe đối với sinh viên năm thứ nhất không chuyên tiếng Anh tại trường Đại học Phương Đông vấn đề và giải pháp

i VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES MAI THỊ THU TRANG REALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING LISTENING SKILLS TO FIRST - YEAR NON - ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT PHUONG DONG UNIVERSITY: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS ( THỰC TRẠNG DẠY VÀ HỌC NGHE ĐỐI VỚI SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT KHÔNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC PHƯƠNG ĐÔNG: VẤN ĐỀ VÀ GIẢI PHÁP) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field : English Methodology Code : 601410 Hanoi, 2010 ii VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES MAI THỊ THU TRANG REALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING LISTENING SKILLS TO FIRST - YEAR NON - ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT PHUONG DONG UNIVERSITY: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS ( THỰC TRẠNG DẠY VÀ HỌC NGHE ĐỐI VỚI SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT KHÔNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC PHƯƠNG ĐÔNG: VẤN ĐỀ VÀ GIẢI PHÁP) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field : English Methodology Code : 601410 Supervisor : NGUYễN MINH HUệ, M.A Hanoi, 2010 vi LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: Teachers‟ situational problems Chart 2: Teachers‟ problems from listening materials Chart 3: Teachers‟ problems from students Chart 4: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of background noise in teaching listening Chart 5: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of large class size Chart 6: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of multi-level class Chart 7: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of poor teaching equipments Chart 8: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of unfamiliar topics to students Chart 9: Teachers‟ solution to the problem of texts having different accents Chart 10: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of fast speed of speech Chart 11: Teachers‟ solutions when the listening text has unfamiliar sounds to students Chart 12: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of students‟ low motivation Chart 13: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of students‟ low level of proficiency Chart 14: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of students‟ anxiety Chart 15: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of students‟ limited vocabulary and structures Chart 16: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem if students‟ lack of background knowledge Chart 17: Students‟ situational problems Chart 18: Students‟ problems from listening materials Chart 19: Students‟ problems from students themselves Chart 20: Students‟ solutions to the problems of background noise in listening lessons Chart 21: Students‟ solutions to the problem of listening in large class Chart 22: Students‟ solutions to the problem of listening in multi-level class Chart 23: Students‟ suggestions for teaching equipments in listening lesson Chart 24: Students‟ solutions to the problem of unfamiliar topics Chart 25: Students‟ solution to the problem of texts having different accents Chart 26: Students‟ solutions to the problem of unfamiliar sounds Chart 27: Students‟ solutions to the problem of texts having fast speed of speech Chart 28: Students‟ solutions to their low motivation in learning listening Chart 29: Students‟ solutions to the problem of difficult texts vii Chart 30: Students‟ solutions to their anxiety Chart 31: Students‟ solutions to the problem of texts having new vocabulary and structures Chart 32: Students‟ solutions to their lack of background knowledge viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration………………………………………………………………………………… i Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………… ii Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………… iii List of tables………………………………………………………………………………… iv Table of contents…………………………………………………………………………… vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………… 1.1 Statement of problem and rationale…………………………………………… 1.2 Aims of the study………………………………………………………………… 1.3 Research questions……………………………………………………………… 1.4 Scope of the study……………………………………………………………… 1.5 Significance of the study………………………………………………………… 1.6 Design of the study ……………………………………………………………… CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………… 2.1 Definition of listening…………………………………………………………… 2.2 Types of listening process……………………………………………………… 2.3 Common methods of teaching listening skill………………………………… 2.4 Teaching listening in the view of task – based approach…………………… 2.5 Teachers and students’ problems and solutions in teaching and learning listening……………………………………………………………………………………… 2.5.1 Situational problems…………………………………………………… 2.5.2 Problem from the listening materials………………………………… 2.5.3 Problems from student factors………………………………………… CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY………………………………… 12 3.1 The setting of the study……………………………………………………… 12 3.2 Participants…………………………………………………………………… 12 3.3 The data collection methods and procedures………………………………… 13 3.4 Data analysis…………………………………………………………………… 14 CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS…………………………………………………… 15 4.1 Teachers’ problems in teaching listening…………………………………… 15 4.2 Teachers’ solutions to the problems………………………………………… 17 ix 4.3 Students’ problems in learning listening…………………………………… 24 4.4 Students’ solutions to the problems………………………………………… 27 CHAPTER FIVE: RESULTS DISCUSSION…………………………………………… 35 5.1 Teachers’ problems in teaching listening…………………………………… 35 5.2 Teachers’ solutions to the problems………………………………………… 36 5.3 Students’ problems in learning listening…………………………………… 37 5.4 Students’ solutions to the problems………………………………………… 38 CHAPTER SIX: IMPLICATIONS……………………………………………………… 40 6.1 Implications for the university……………………………………………… 40 6.2 Implications for the teachers………………………………………………… 40 6.3 Implications for the students………………………………………………… 41 CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION…………………………………………………… 43 7.1 Summary of the study………………………………………………………… 43 7.2 Suggestions for further study………………………………………………… 43 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………… 44 APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………………… I APPENDIX 1: Survey questionnaires for teachers……………………………………… I APPENDIX 2: Survey questionnaires for students……………………………………… VI APPENDIX 3: Interviews with teachers………………………………………………… XI APPENDIX 4: Interviews with students………………………………………………… XV CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Statement of problem and rationale In the time of globalization, the ability to acquire and use English well is considered the key to achieve success Learning English is no longer a priority but a necessity in the present time It is the reason why many researchers and educators express their concern about the methods to improve the quality of teaching and learning English In the context of Phuong Dong University (PDU), great concern is put on listening Many students have raised their worries about the weak improvement in their listening ability The students in Phuong Dong University, especially the first year non English major ones found it difficult to perform listening tasks because of various reasons such as their low background knowledge, limited vocabulary and structures, low motivation, act Moreover, some students stated that in their high schools, they did not have chances to access listening, therefore when they move to university they lack experiences in acquiring this kind of skill Others have linked listening lessons with something much difficult and boring For the teachers in PDU, they revealed that sometimes they find it challenging to have a successful lessons and it is really difficult to motivate students in learning listening skill Although they have put great effort to increase students‟ interest, students‟ motivation sometimes is low and the listening lessons are stated to be boring and useless In addition, although in PDU, many researches were conducted in methods of English teaching, not many of them were in listening Most of them were to focus on speaking and reading as well It means that in this context, there remains a lack of research in the field of listening This above situation has inspired me to conduct a research study on the reality of listening and teaching listening to first - year non - English major students at Phuong Dong University: Problems and Solutions 1.2 Aims of the study In general, the study is to investigate the current situation of teaching and learning listening skills to the first - year non – English major students at elementary level at PDU Specifically, the study aims at: - Identifying the problems that teachers and students encounter in listening course - Finding out teachers‟ and students‟ solutions to these problems - Providing some recommendations for the teachers and students to consult and apply in their teaching and learning listening skills 1.3 Research questions What problems the teachers have in a listening lesson? What solutions to the problems the teachers suggest? What problems the students have in a listening lesson? What solutions to the problems the students suggest? 1.4 Scope of the study The study put its focus on the reality of listening and teaching listening to first – year non - English major students at Phuong Dong University at elementary level of English proficiency Due to the limited time, the surveys and interviews are conducted on 100 learners of elementary level and teachers in Faculty of Biotechnology (FOB) through their listening course with the textbook named “New Headway Elementary-Third Edition” by Liz and John Soars, Oxford University Press By this, the researcher aims to find out their problems and solutions in teaching and learning listening 1.5 Significance of the study Listening is considered the most difficult skill to the students and “more demanding than talking” Green (2006, p.44) As Rost (1994, p.141) states: “Listening is vital in the language classroom because it provides input for the learners Without understandable input at the right level, any learning simply cannot begin” Therefore, it is necessary for teachers of English language to realize the importance of how to make progress and feel interested in listening comprehension This study owns its significance to find out the problems encountered by teachers and students and give suggestions for implementing techniques to motivate the first year – non major students to improve their listening skills Therefore, it plays an important role in enriching the methodology of teaching listening skills Furthermore, the results of the study will contribute and suggest ideas for later research on the same field 1.6 Design of the study The thesis consists of seven chapters: Chapter one is the introduction to the study which presents the statement of problem and rationale; aims of the study; research questions; scope of the study; significance of the study and design of the study Chapter two focuses on the basic theoretical background from the literature review on listening skills Chapter three presents the research methodology which describes how the research was carried out Chapter four is on data analysis Chapter five presents and discusses the finding of the surveys In other words, it helps to find the answers for the four research questions Chapter six provides some recommendations for the development of teaching and learning listening to the first year non English majors at PDU Chapter seven is the conclusion which summarizes the thesis and makes some suggestions for further study CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definition of listening There appear many different points of view on the definition of listening: Underwood (1989, p.1) describes listening in a simple and easily understandable way: “Listening is the activity of paying attention to and trying to get meaning from something you hear” As a matter of fact, to succeed in listening, the duty of listeners is not only to understand of the words given, but also seek the real meaning hidden in words Buck (2001, p.3) asserts listening in communicative approach: “Listening comprehension is the result of an interaction between a number of information sources, which include the acoustic input, different types of linguistic knowledge, detail of the context, and general world knowledge, and so forth, and listeners use whatever information they have available, or what ever information seems relevant to help them interpret what the speaker is saying” In this definition, Buck aims to highlight the active role of the learners who act as the negotiators and integrators in the process of learning listening In this process, learners activate both linguistic cues and nonlinguistic knowledge to achieve the meaning In other words, listening is the active combination of new input gained by what the listeners get and their prior knowledge and experience This view is valuable and worth considering in setting up listening syllabus in the sense that it aims to build communicative competence to the learners in listening lessons To conclude, listening demands many skills It is an active process in which learners use their prior knowledge to infer the message of the listening text 2.2 Types of listening process There are two ways of processing a text: top-down processing and bottom-up processing According to Hedge (2000, p.230), in the bottom-up part of the listening process, the learners understand the meaning of the listening text by using the knowledge of the language to analyze all acoustic cues to capture the sense of the sound More specifically, she states that in this case, “we segment speech into identifiable sounds and impose a structure on these in terms of words, phrases, clauses, sentences, and intonation patterns” And “at the same time, ... UNIVERSITY: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS ( THỰC TRẠNG DẠY VÀ HỌC NGHE ĐỐI VỚI SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT KHÔNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC PHƯƠNG ĐÔNG: VẤN ĐỀ VÀ GIẢI PHÁP) M.A Minor Programme Thesis