Factors affecting students' motivation in learning English listening skills at An Lao High School = Những nhân tố ảnh hưởng đến động lực học kỹ năng nghe Tiếng

Teachers- related factors affecting students‟ motivation in learning English listening .... 30 3.2.2 Teachers' -related factors affecting students' motivation in learning listening.....

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

M.A MINOR THESIS SUMMARY

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10

Hanoi – 2012

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

M.A MINOR THESIS SUMMARY

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10

Supervisor: ĐỖ BÁ QUÝ, M.Ed

Hanoi – 2012

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS i

LISTS OF TABLES iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale for the study 1

2 Aims of the study 1

3 Research questions 2

4 Scope of the study 2

5 Method of the study 2

6 Design of the study 2

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 4

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

1.1 Theoretical background of motivation 4

1.1.1 Conceptions of motivation 4

1.1.2 Motivation in foreign language learning 4

1.1.3 Types of motivation in foreign language learning 5

1.1.4 Demotivating factors affecting motivation in foreign language learning 6

1.2 Theoretical background of listening 12

1.2.1 Definitions of listening 12

1.2.2 The process of listening 13

1.3 Summary 14

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 15

2.1 The setting of the study 15

2.2 Participants 15

2.3 Instruments for collecting data 16

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2.4 Data collection procedures 16

2.5 Summary 16

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANANYSIS 17

3.1 Data from the students' responses 17

3.1.1 Factors affecting students' motivation in learning English listening 17

3.1.1.1 Learners- related factors affecting students‟ motivation in learning English listening 17

3.1.1.2 Teachers- related factors affecting students‟ motivation in learning English listening 24

3.1.1.3 Classroom- related factors affecting students‟ motivation in learning English listening………27

3.1.2 Students' expectations 28

3.1.2.1 Students' expectations towards teachers' listening teaching skill… 28

3.1.2.2 Students' expectations towards learning environment of listening…29 3.2 Data from the teachers' responses 29

3.2.1 Learners- related factors affecting students‟ motivation in learning English listening……… 30

3.2.1.1 Teachers' perception of students strategy use 30

3.2.2 Teachers' -related factors affecting students' motivation in learning listening 34

3.2.2.1 Teachers' behavior……… 34

3.2.2.2.Teachers' teaching aid use……… 35

3.2.2.3.Teachers' activities……… 36

3.2.3 Environment……… ………37

3.3 Summary……… … 37

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION……… … 38

4.1 Findings 38

4.2 Discussion 39

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4.3 Summary 40

PART C: CONCLUSION 41

1 Conclusions 41

2 Recommendation 42

3 Limitations and suggestions for further study 43

REFERENCES 44 APPPENDICES I

iv

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Students' interest in English listening learning 17

Table 2: Students' activities in class 18

Table 3: Students' strategies in listening acquisition 19

Table 4: Students' vocabulary knowledge in listening 20

Table 5: Students' pronunciation knowledge in listening 21

Table 6: Students' connected speech knowledge in listening 22

Table 7: Students' listening skills 23

Table 8: Teachers' teaching methods 24

Table 9: Teacher‟s behavior 26

Table 10: Classroom - related factors affecting students‟ motivation in learning English listening 27

Table 11: Students' expectations towards teachers' listening teaching skill 28

Table 12: Students' expectations towards learning environment of listening 29 Table 13: Teachers' perception of students' strategy use 30

Table 14: Students' language knowledge 32

Table 15: Teachers' behavior 34

Table 16: Teachers' teaching aid use 35

Table 17: Teachers' activities 36

Table 18: Teachers' perception of environment 37

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PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for the study

English has become one of the most popular languages all over the world Many Vietnamese people realize the importance of English because it

is an international, extra-cultural medium of communication Consequently, it has become a compulsory subject in most of the schools and universities Being a perceptive skill, listening skill plays an important role in communicating; teaching and learning English process, and it has also been defined an active process during which listeners construct meaning from oral input (Bently & Bacon, 1996) Of the total time spent on communicating, listening takes up 40-50%, speaking 25-30%, reading 11-16% and writing about 9% (Mendelsohn, 1994)

Although everyone knows the significant role of listening in communicating as well as teaching and learning English, teaching and learning English at ALHS still focus on grammar and vocabulary Therefore, both teachers and students do not pay much attention to listening skill Consequently, students are weak at listening and have a lot of difficulties in listening acquisitions They even become stressful and ignorant in listening lessons

The above reasons have inspired me to conduct a study on "Factors affecting students' motivation in learning English listening skills at An Lao High School" with the expectation of improving the teaching and learning

English listening at ALHS

2 Aims of the study

This study aims to investigate the factors affecting students' motivation

in learning English listening skills in Grade 11 at ALHS The following are the aims of the study:

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 The factors affecting students' motivation in learning English listening

in Grade 11 at ALHS; and

 The teachers' solutions to help students learn English listening better in Grade 11 at ALHS

3 Research questions

The study focuses on answering the following questions:

1 What are the factors affecting students' motivation in learning English listening skills in Grade 11 at ALHS?

2 What can the teachers do to motivate students in learning English listening skills in Grade 11 at ALHS?

4 Scope of the study

To improve English listening skill for the students in Grade 11 at ALHS The researcher's intention is to find out factors affecting students' motivation in learning English listening and some suggestions for the teachers

to help students to improve their listening skill

5 Method of the study

In order to achieve the aims of the study, both quantitative and qualitative methods were used involving two instruments: survey questionnaires and interviews

6 Design of the study

This study consists of three main parts: the introduction, the

development and the conclusion

Part A is the Introduction It lays out the reasons for choosing the topic

of this thesis and points out the aims, the scope, the methods, research questions and the design of the study

Part B is the Development which consists of three chapters:

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Chapter 1 – Literature Review - presents the theoretical background

related to the motivation, listening and motivation in learning English listening

Chapter 2 – Research methodology - gives the situation analysis,

subjects, data collection instruments, data collection procedures

Chapter 3 – Data Analysis, some findings, and discussion – shows the

detailed results of the survey and a comprehensive analysis on the data collected

Part C is the Conclusion which presents the review of the study, suggestions for further research and limitations of the study

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter presents conceptions of motivation, motivation in the foreign language learning, and the theoretical background of listening skills

1.1 Theoretical background of motivation

1.1.1 Conceptions of motivation

Motivation is necessary for everyone It is important to help us to take

an action Specially, in learning if we have motivation we will try our best to study well Defining motivation is not easy It is an abstract concept In fact, many researchers gave definitions of motivation Dornei (2001:613) defined motivation as “a general ways of referring to the antecedents (i.e the causes and the origins” He also stated that motivation explained why people decided

to do something, how hard they were going to pursue it and how long they were willing to sustain the activitie (2001:7) The author mentioned two

dimensions of human behavior direction and magnitude (intensity) which

motivation concerns

It can be said that motivation is something that forces us to make our efforts to achieve a goal As Garder (1985) stated that motivation involved four aspects, such as a goal; an effort; a desire to attain the goal and a favorable attitude toward the activity

1.1.2 Motivation in foreign language learning

Motivation plays an important role in determining success or failure in foreign language learning Therefore, many researchers had given the definitions of motivation in foreign language learning However they gave various ways of definitions Ellis (1997) stated “Motivation involves the attitudes and effective states that influence the degree of effort that learners make to learn an L2.” (p 75)

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Similarly, in 2001, Dornyei added that motivation involved desire to learn a language, intensity of effort to achieve this, and attitudes toward learning the language

In 1994, Dornyei divided motivation into 3 main levels which were

language level (integrative motivational subsystem and instrumental motivational subsystem), learner level (depends on need for achievement,

self-confidence which is language use anxiety, perceived L2 competence,

casual attributions and self-efficacy) and learning situation level ( refers to

course specific motivational components, teacher specific motivational components and group specific motivational components) In addition, Marion Williams and Bob Burden (1997) proposed a detailed framework of

L2 motivation with the "Internal" and "External" motivational influence

1.1.3 Types of motivation in foreign language learning

Motivation can be classified in different ways In some studies,

motivation is categorized: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and some others, it is classified: integrative and instrumental motivation

1.1.3.1 Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Harmer stated that "intrinsic motivation comes from within the individual and a person might be motivated by the enjoyment of learning process itself or by the desire to make them feel better" The teachers doesn't have to stimulate the students to make them learn It's an inside desire of the students to get a positive learning outcome, as Edward Deci (1975:23) defined intrinsic motivation: "intrinsically motivated activities are ones for which there is no apparent reward except the activity itself People seem to engage in the activities for their own sake”

Extrinsic motivation is caused by external incentives which include circumstances, situations, rewards or punishment In 2001, Woolfolk, stated "

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Extrinsic motivation is the one in which the student engages in an activity in order

to obtain a reward, or to avoid a punishment This student is not really interested

in the activity for its own sake, but rather for what it will gain them”

1.1.3.2 Integrative and instrumental motivation

When speaking the target language, learners admire the culture and have a desire to become familiar with the society in which the language is used (Falk, 1978)

Gardner and Lambert (1972: 132) also considered “integrative motivation” as “a sincere and personal interest in the people and culture represented by the other group”

Contrarily, instrumental motivation concerns the practical and concrete rewards that student‟s desire as Ellis (1994: 75) said "Some functional reasons such as to pass an examination, to get a better job or to get a university place motivate learners to learn an L2 because it opens up educational and economic opportunities for them."

In short, it is clear to see the differences between integrative and

instrumental motivation Integrative motivation stresses a sincere and personal interest in the people and culture, on the other hand, instrumental motivation stresses on the practical and concrete

1.1.4 Demotivating factors affecting motivation in foreign language learning There have been many researches about demotivating factors in foreign

language learning and they are classified differently by various people

Rebecca Oxford (1998) analyzed contents of essays written by 250 American students ( in high school and universities) about their learning experiences over a period of five years In the research, demotivating factors

are categorized: The teacher’s personal relationship with the students, including hypercriticism, belligerence, a lack of caring, and favoritism; the

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teacher’s attitude towards the course or the material, including lack of enthusiasm, sloppy management and close-mindedness; style conflicts between teachers and students, including multiple style conflicts, conflicts

about the amount of structure or detail, and conflicts about the degree of

closure or „seriousness‟ of the class; the nature of the classroom activities,

including overload, repetitiveness, and irrelevance

Based on Dornyei, factors demotivating students‟ learning consisted of:

1 The teacher (personality, commitment, competence, teaching method);

2 Inadequate school facilities (group is too big or not the right level, frequent change of teachers);

3 Reduced foreign language being studied;

4 Negative attitude towards L2 community;

5 Attitudes of group members;

6 Course-book

7 Basing on Dornyei‟s study self-confidence (experience of failure or lack of success);

8 Negative attitude towards the L2;

9 Compulsory nature of L2 study;

From different points of view, it may be deduced that demotivating factors conclude: learner‟s factors, teacher‟s factors, environment factors, and teaching and learning conditions

1.1.4.1 Learners – related factors

a Intelligence

According to Lightbown & Spada (1999:52) intelligence refered to

performance on certain kinds of test It usually measured two types of

intelligence: verbal/linguistic and mathematical/logical intelligence

(1) Auditory ability: the ability to identify and memorize new sounds (2) Grammatical sensitivity: the ability to figure out grammatical rules from language samples, the ability to understand the function of particular words in sentences

(3)Memory: the ability to memorize new words

However, all successful learners may not be strong in all components of aptitude and can still succeed at learning a second language Some individuals may have strong memories but only average abilities in the other components

of aptitude ( Spada, 1999)

c Personality

Personality has a great impact on the success or failure of second language learning As Ellis (1997) showed that extrovert students were advantaged in the development of language associated with interpersonal communication Similarly, Lightbown and Spada (1999) gave a number of personality characteristics: extroversion, inhibition, self – esteem, empathy, dominance, talkativeness, responsiveness

d Learners' preference

Learners' preference refers to learning style describing an individual's natural habitual, preferred ways of absorbing, processing and retaining new

- Cognitive learning styles:

Field-independence and field-dependence

Reflectivity and impulsivity

Ambiguity tolerance

e Learners’ belief

Learners have strong beliefs about how their language instruction should be delivered Additionally, they also have their own expectations of how classes should be organized or taught (Mc-Kay and Tom, 1999)

f Learners' strategies

Learning strategies are steps or actions taken by learners to improve the development of their language skills (Gass et al 1993: 265) Each learner has his own learning strategies in order to get good result in learning language

g Age of acquisition

Age of learners affects their success in second language learning People believe that children are better than adults at acquiring a second language Linghtbown and Spada (1999) showed: "Age of acquisition is an important factor in setting limits on the development of native – like mastery of a second language"

1.1.4.2 Teachers - related factors

Teachers have strong influence on students' learning language in class Dornyei (2001) gave the teachers' factors and appropriate teacher behaviors as follows:

a Enthusiasm

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Teachers' love, dedication and passion together with their commitment toward the subject matter will give students willingness to pursue knowledge Moreover, based on Good & Brophy, 1994, teachers should clearly identify reasons for their love and interest in the L2 and then share these reasons with their students

b Commitment to the students' progress

According to Dornyei, 2001, teachers should show commitment towards their students' learning and progress, at the same time they should care for what their students have learnt and succeeded They can express commitment towards the students by:

+ offering concrete assistance

+ offering to meet students individually to explain things

+ responding immediately when help is requested

+ correcting tests and papers promptly

+ sending learners copies of relevant interesting articles

+ arranging extra-curricular instructional programs

+ encouraging extra- assignments and offer to assist with these

+ showing concern when things are not going on

+ allowing students to call at home when they have a problem

+ being available for overtime

c Teachers' expectations

Teachers' expectation is a factor that motivates students in learning

a language When high expectations are set by teachers, students seems to perform better at the subject matter and feel more competent (Good and Brophy, 1987), because students often tend to perform at a level consistent with the teachers' expectation

d Good relationship with students

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In every field it is easier to do anything with good relationship with someone Therefore, it is necessary for teachers to make close the gap between teacher and students by being friendly, helpful, tolerant, and humorous Teachers should avoid shouting at them, should create a good atmosphere in the classroom, so that students are eager to take part in the activities of the lesson Remembering that whenever teacher calls their name exactly, they will feel that teacher has good impression on them

e Acceptance

Teachers accept a variety of students' answers Acceptance, empathy and congruence are of great influence on the development of student-centred teaching

f Ability to listen and pay attention to students:

The teacher can convey his/ her personal attention to the students by remembering their names, smiling at them, asking them about their lives outside school (Burden, 1995 and Paffini, 1996)

1.1.4.3 Teaching and learning conditions

a Physical conditions

Physical conditions in the classroom include the classroom size, chairs, desks, table, lights, boards and even bulletin boards affect students' motivation either positively or negatively The decoration (poster, flowers, funny objects) also has a strong influence on the classroom atmosphere Moreover, according to Dornyei, (2001: 42), personalizing the classroom can

be seen as students exercising increasing control over their environment

b A pleasant and supportive atmosphere in the classroom

Teacher must be aware of how important to create a pleasant and supportive classroom atmosphere The teacher's rapport with the students, the students' relationship with each other and the norm of tolerance will help

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students feel safe and comfortable taking risk Moreover, teacher should make students know that making mistakes is a natural part of learning Therefore, students are encouraged to express their own opinion and thinking As Lightbown and Spada (1999) stated that the supportive and non- threatening atmosphere made a contribution to learners' motivation

1.2 Theoretical background of listening

1.2.1 Definitions of listening

There are many different ideas of the definition of listening Based on Bentley & Bacon, (1996), listening was an important part of the second language learning process had also been defined as an active process during which the listener constructed meaning from oral input

According to Field (1998:38), listening was “an invisible mental process, making it difficult to describe Listeners must discriminate between sounds, understand vocabulary and grammatical structures, interpret stress and intention, retain and interpret this within the intermediate as well as the lager socio-cultural context of the utterance.”

Another idea of the definition of listening, Based on Susanne Flohr and Pia Paesler (2010:3- 4), listening composed important many factors and there were three stages of listening: pre – listening, while – listening and post – listening Pre – listening means that the teacher makes the students aware of

a situation and activate their prior knowledge While – listening means that the teacher gives the students visual support or guiding questions beforehand Post – listening is the stage where the students become active and work with what they had heard

In short, listening as the process of receiving, attending and understanding auditory messages, that is message transmitted through the medium of sound

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1.2.2 The process of listening

Listening process is an interactive process of language knowledge and psychological activities It is not simply decoding the message, it also involves the combining of the decoding of the message process with its reconstruction as meaning (Ma Lihua, 2002) There are different points of view of dividing listening process According Brown (1994), there were two process of listening: bottom-up and top-down process

Top-down process, learners use their prior knowledge which includes topic, context, culture, text-type of the listening material to make predictions about the text" The top-down model of listening involves the listener in actively constructing meaning based on expectations, influences, intentions, knowledge of schema and other relevant prior knowledge and by a selective processing of the input" ( Brown, 1994)

Bottom-up process is used when learners rely on "their linguistic knowledge to recognize linguistic elements vowels, consonants, words, sentences to do the construction of the meaning"

According to some other linguists show five common steps: hearing, attending, understanding, responding and remembering Hearing is a prerequisite to listening It occurs when sound waves strike the ear Attending

is a psychological choice involving filtering out some messages and focusing

on others Understanding refers to making sense of a message by assigning meaning to it Responding is providing feedback to the speaker Lastly, remembering is the process of recalling information from memory All steps have close relationship with each other for a successful listener Therefore listeners need to co-operate all steps well when learning listening

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1.3 Summary

In this chapter, the issues related to the research questions have been presented They serve as the theoretical framework for building up the sets of questionnaires and some findings and discussions

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CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter discusses the setting of the study, participants, instruments for collecting data, and data collection procedures

2.1 The setting of the study

The study was conducted at An Lao High School (ALHS) which is located in the countryside of Hai Phong city However, ALHS is one of the local school which is well- equipped by has a good and secure education

It has 5 buildings, 4 of which are used for studying with 36 rooms Internet system (world wide web) for all the teachers and students is equipped with high speed everywhere in the school

Each room has a camera to check teaching and learning process In addition school staffs are very helpful and friendly, many of them are well educated, and got high prizes in the teaching festivals of the city The proportions of the students who pass the entrance university examinations every year are very high Therefore many parents desire to send their children

to ALHS

Beside the above strong points, there are some weak one for all teaching and learning at ALHS Students live in the countryside, some of them are in bad condition so they have difficulty in studying Moreover, the class size is large with about 46 students for each It‟s difficult for teachers to teach English well Additionally, they don‟t have chance to communicate with English speaking people

2.2 Participants

The study was carried out with 120 eleventh form students and 8 teachers of ALHS

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The students include male and female students They have been studying English for at least 5 years Most of them are weak at English pronunciation, vocabulary, specially speaking skill and listening skill

The teachers are from the age of 26 to 40 They have at least 3 years of teaching English at High School Most of them have small children and live far from school

2.3 Instruments for collecting data

This study used two research instruments: questionnaires and interviews

Interviews are for students and questionnaires are for both teachers and students to get information concerning:

- The students' attitudes toward listening and their opinions about factors affecting their motivation in listening learning

- Teachers' opinions about factors affecting their students' motivation in listening learning

- What teachers do to motivate students to learn listening

2.4 Data collection procedures

Two sets of survey questionnaires and interview questions - one for teachers and one for students - were delivered to 120 students and 8 teachers After 2 days of delivering, 120 copies from students and 8 from teachers were collected 10 students were randomly chosen to answer the interview questions

2.5 Summary

In conclusion, this chapter described the context of the study Furthermore, the participants, instruments for collecting data, data collection procedures and data analysis procedures were also discussed

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CHAPTER 3: DATA ANANYSIS

This chapter presents the analysis of data collected from the survey questionnaires and interview

3.1 Data from the students’ responses

3.1.1 Factors affecting students’ motivation in learning English listening 3.1.1.1 Learners – related factors affecting students’ motivation in learning English listening

1) Students' motivation in learning listening

*Students' interest in English listening learning

To know how interested students are in learning English listening, let see Table 1

C not very interested

D not interested at all

20.8% 2.0% 55.0% 18.0%

Table 1: Students' interest in English listening learning

As can be seen from Table 1, the biggest number of students (55.0%) weren't very interested in learning listening, 20.8% students were interested in

it Only 2.0% students were very interested in it Meanwhile, 18.0% students weren't interested in it at all The percentages above suggest that the teachers may have difficulty in teaching listening When being asked why they were

* Students' activities in class

What do you often

do in listening

classes?

A Only pay attention to activities I like 58.3%

B Participate actively in all activities 33.3%

C Get too bored with concentrating on learning listening

54.2%

D Not participate in any classroom activities

49.2%

E Often do other things instead 49.2%

Table 2: Students' activities in class

When asked how actively they participated in listening activities in class, students responded differently The majority of the students (58.3%) only participated in the activities they liked 54.2% got too bored with concentrating on listening learning This affects students' participation in activities 49.2% students didn‟t participate in any activities and often did other things instead 33.3% participated actively in all activities Being asked the further interview question, most students expressed:

“I can not get the information to take part in the activities, moreover the activities are not attractive”

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All above imply that teachers need to design interesting listening activities, so that students actively participate in listening activities in class to have more effective listening results

2) Students' strategies in listening acquisition

Students' strategies in learning listening play an important role in

listening acquisition Moreover, any learners who use learning listening strategies more often, they will be more successful in learning listening Table

3 describes the frequency of students' strategy uses

Items Often Sometimes Seldom Never

1 Listen for key words 12.5% 16.7 % 37.5% 33.3%

2 Focus on main ideas 16.7% 19.2% 43.3% 20.8%

3 Listen to every detail to get the

main idea of the spoken text

48.3% 29.2% 18.3% 4.1%

4 Guess the answers 15.0% 26.7% 25.0% 33.3%

5 Take notes while listening 21.7% 24.2% 29.2% 25.0%

6 Predict what I am going to listen to 2.0% 29.2% 20.0% 30.8%

7 Try to guess the meaning of the

words based on the context

12.5% 16.7% 25.0% 45.8%

Table 3: Students' strategies in listening acquisition

It can be seen that 12.5% students often listened for keywords, 16.7% sometimes, and 33.3% never listened for keywords To respond to the state focus on the main ideas, only 16.7% them often, 19.2% sometimes, but 43.3% seldom, 20.8% never It means that students listened to every detail to get the

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main ideas of the spoken text (48.3% often, 29.2% sometimes) A great number of students (33.3%) never guessed the answer Especially, students didn‟t have habit of taking notes while listening (25.0% never, 29.2% seldom) Before listening, students prepared necessary knowledge to listen, 30.8% never predicted what they were going to listen to, surprisingly 45.8% never tried to guess the meaning of words based on the context

In short, students used listening strategies infrequently They need equipping essential listening strategies Before listening they need not listen every detail, they should practice predicting what they‟re going to listen to They should listen for keywords and focus on main idea while -listening Specially, they have to take notes so as to remember information All above, they can improve their listening acquisition

3) Students' perception of factors affecting their motivation in learning listening

2 I can guess the meaning of the words in a certain spoken situation 24.2%

3 I have not got any difficulties of vocabulary in listening text 16.7%

Table 4: Students' vocabulary knowledge in listening

Look at the table, 31.7% students could understand the meaning of necessary word or phrases for listening It was hard for most of the students to

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guess the meaning of the words in a certain spoken situation, only 24.2% students could guess the meaning of the words in a certain spoken situations

As can be seen that only 20 students (16.7%) had not got any difficulties

in vocabulary in listening texts But in fact, vocabulary plays a vital role in students' listening process Students' problems of vocabulary made teachers think over and try their best to find the way to enrich students' vocabulary and help them have a habit of guessing the words in the certain situation Moreover, teachers have to help students realize the importance of vocabulary

in learning a language in general and in learning listening in particular Therefore, students should have strategies in improving their vocabulary

b Pronunciation

1 I can get the words from their sounds 32.5%

2 I can hear the sounds to understand spoken text 29.2%

3 I can guess the correct words from their sounds 30.8%

Table 5: Students' pronunciation knowledge in listening

The table indicates that most of the students were weak at pronunciation 32.5% students could get the words from their sounds, and 30.8% students could guess the correct words from their sounds, consequently only 29.2% students could hear the sounds to understand spoken text It is time for teachers to give some solutions to help students improve their pronunciation For example, teachers correct students' pronunciation more often even in the other skill teaching lessons

c Connected speech

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good

Bad

1 I get the correct words from linking sounds 20.8% 32.5% 42.5%

2 I know how sounds disappear 15.9% 30.8% 53.3%

3 I know how words link together 5.8% 29.2% 65.0%

4 I know how sounds link together 16.7% 24.2% 54.2%

5 I hear linking sounds to understand spoken

text

15.8% 24.2% 60%

Table 6: Students' connected speech knowledge in listening

Table 6 reveals that most students were bad at connecting speech in listening 65.0% students were bad at knowing how words link together, only 5.8% were good at it Besides, 53.3% students were bad at knowing how sounds disappear, 30.8% were not very good at this skill, and 15.9% were good How to link sounds together also gave trouble to students in hearing linking sounds to understand spoken text

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* Students' listening skills

1 Guess the words based on the spoken context 33.3%

2 Activate prior knowledge to understand the spoken messages 35%

3 Using the knowledge of intonation and stress to know feelings

and opinions intended of the speakers

40.8%

5 Predict what is going to be spoken based on some words given 32.5%

6 Use the knowledge of discourse to guess meaning 21.7%

8 Understand the spoken message through key words 35.8%

Table 7: Students' listening skills

Beside students' language knowledge, listening skills also have a great impact on listening acquisition Participating in the survey, students showed their ideas about their skill problems The percentages are low The highest percentages of students who used the knowledge of intonation and stress to know feelings and opinions intended of the speakers was 40.8% Next, 35.8% understood the spoken message through key words and understand by visual clues About 35% students activated prior knowledge to understand the spoken messages, 33.3% guessed the words based on the spoken context Looking at the table again, it shows that students didn't use predicting skill, 32.5% predicted what was going to be spoken based on some words given, 31.7% predicted what was being spoken and 35.0% get the key words Finally, only 21.7% used the knowledge of discourse to guess meaning When

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being asked “In your opinion, is it necessary to improve your listening skills? Why? Or why not?”, they answered:

“Yes, because it helps me to get information of listening more effectively”

In short, most students lacked listening skills Therefore, teachers should invest time helping them improve their listening skills and encouraging them to successfully use strategies so as to become better listeners ( Micheal Rost -1991)

3.1.1.2 Teachers – related factors affecting students’ motivation in

learning English listening

1) Teachers' teaching methods

1 Your teachers create comfortable environment for you to

exchange information and prepare you about the topic of listening

before you listen

55.8%

2 You are suggested necessary listening strategies for each

activity

51.7%

4 You are offered enough chance to listen again 91.7%

5 Teachers re-design listening tasks to suit your levels and

interests

26.7%

Table 8: Teachers' teaching methods

It is important for students to give their ideas about their teachers' teaching methods of listening skill From that teachers can change their teaching methods to meet students' demand Answering the question “What

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do your teachers do in listening lesson?”, surprisingly, most of the students (91.7%) were satisfied that their teachers offered them enough chance to listen again It is necessary to do like this when the important sounds make students difficult to hear Moreover, 55.8% students acknowledged that teachers created comfortable environment for students to exchange information and prepare about the topic before listening They always tried to motivate students before listening Preparing the topic of listening helps students concentrate on the listening situations and guess what they are going

to listen to About 50.0% students stated that they were given some key words This reduces students' difficulties in vocabulary of a listening lesson Additionally, it helps students more confident in listening The smallest number of students agreed that teachers re-designed listening tasks to suit students' levels and interests It indicates that students desired their teachers to

be more flexible in designing listening tasks This activity plays an important role in motivating students to learn listening Therefore, teachers should invest more time on it to raise effectiveness of a listening lesson

Totally, students expressed their satisfaction about their teachers‟ teaching methods