Note-taking strategies employed by level 3 students at International School, Vietnam National University, Hanoi while listening to the book Lecture Ready 2 Các.PDF

Note-taking strategies employed by Level 3 students at International School .... Therefore, the question of how to equip students with note-taking strategies so that they can use the ski

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF TABLES vii

LIST OF FIGURES vii

PART : INTRODUCTION 1

I Rationale of the study 1

II Scope, objectives, research questions, significance, method and design of the study 2

II.1 Objectives of the study 2

II.2 Research Questions 2

II.3 Scope of the study 2

II.4 Significance of the study 3

II.5 Method of the study 3

II.6 Design of the study 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

1 Overview of listening 5

1.1 Definitions of listening 5

1.2 Types of Listening 6

1.3 Listening techniques 8

2 Notetaking and notetaking strategies 9

2.1 Definitions and importance of notetaking 9

2.1.1 Definition of notetaking 9

2.1.2 Importance of notetaking 10

2.2 Notetaking methods 12

2.2.1 The Cornell Method 12

2.2.2 The Outlining method 13

2.2.3 The Mapping Method 13

2.2.4 The Sentence Method 14

2.2.5 The Charting Method 14

2.2.6 The PARR Method 15

2.3 Previous studies on note-taking strategies 16

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 19

2.1 Research questions 19

2.2 Participants and settings of the study 19

2.2.1 Participants 19

2.2.1 Settings of the study 20

2.3 Data collection instruments 20

2.4 Data collection procedure 21

2.5 Data analysis procedure 22

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS 23

3.1 Numbers of note-takers and the reasons for not taking notes 23

3.1.1 Number of note-takers 23

3.1.2 Reasons for not taking notes 24

3.2 Students’ personal information and background knowledge of note-taking 25

3.2.1 Student’s personal information 25

3.2.2 Student’s background knowledge of note-taking 26

3.3 Note-taking strategies employed by Level 3 students at International School 28

3.4 Differences in Listening Proficiency, note-taking experience and note-taking knowledge between note-takers and non-note-takers 30

3.4.1 Differences in Listening proficiency and note-taking experience between note-takers and non-note-takers 31

3.4.2 Differences in knowledge of note-taking between note-takers and non-note-takers 31

CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 33

4.1 Reasons for not taking notes 33

4.2 Note-taking strategies use by Level 3 students at International School 34

4.3 Note- takers vs non note- takers 35

4.3.1 Differences in listening comprehension and previous experience of note-taking 36

4.3.2 Differences in note-taking knowledge 37

PART C: CONCLUSION 39

1 Summary and Implications 39

2 Limitations and suggestions for further study 40

REFERENCES

APPENDIX

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Sections in the questionnaires 21

Table 2: Number of note-taking strategies used by individual note-takers 30

Table 3: Number of notetakers and non-notetakers in terms of listening proficiency and notetaking experience 31

Table 4: Number of notetakers and non-notetakers in terms of notetaking knowledge 32

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Percentage of note-takers 23

Figure 2: Reasons for not taking notes 24

Figure 3: Percentage of students’ English Listening Score 25

Figure 4: Percentage of students being taught to take notes before 25

Figure 5: Percentage of student’s opinion on note-taking definition 26

Figure 6: Percentage of student’s opinion on the order of note-taking activities 27

Figure 7: Strategies employed by note-takers 28

But acquiring and mastering note-taking is likely to become a big hindrance to many learners while they often find it difficult to exploit this skill in their learning experience It is especially true for General English students at International School, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, whose English level are not very high There are many reasons behind this phenomenon Students can be neither paying attention, nor write quickly enough It can be due

to the fact that their spelling is not good enough or they cannot understand the teachers Sometimes, the lectures are in a too high level for their capabilities However, the most common reason may be students‟ shortage of note-taking strategies to use flexibly in listening

to different lectures

Therefore, the question of how to equip students with note-taking strategies so that they can use the skill to support foreign language listening in any situation has become a matter of teachers of English in general and teachers of English at International School in particular

In Vietnam, there has so far been some research on note-taking strategies However,researchon note-taking strategies employed by students at International School, VNU has not been done yet

As a teacher of English, I have dealt with many questions relating to note-taking which are raised by my students or among my colleagues For example, what are the effective ways

of taking notes? How to note down important information? Personally I found it necessary to provide to them successful note-taking strategies to listen to the lecture This is the major reason why this topic interests me

II Scope, objectives, research questions, significance, method and design of the study

II.1 Objectives of the study

The objectives of the study are as follows:

- To indicate whether all the participants take notes while listening to the book „Lecture Ready 2‟, and if not what the reasons are

- To explore the strategies of note-taking used by Level 3 students at International School

- To find out whether there are differences in listening proficiency, experience and knowledge

of note-taking between note-takers and non-note-takers or not

II.2 Research Questions

The study set out to seek answers to the following research questions:

♦ Do Level 3 students at International school take notes while listening to the book „Lecture Ready 2‟? If not, what are the reasons?

♦ What are note-taking strategies employed by Level 3 students at International School?

♦ Are there any differences in listening proficiency, experience and knowledge of note-taking between note-takers and non-note-takers

II.3 The scope of the study

The study is concerned with finding the students‟ note-taking strategies in listening to the book “Lecture Ready 2”

As note-taking strategies pointed out by individuals, institutions, and scholars are of a variety, the present study only focuses on those which are considered to be popular and the most easily-used by International School students

II.4 Significance of the study

This study plays an important role in the identification of note-taking comprehension strategies employed by Level 3 students at International School Also, non-note-takers‟ reasons for not taking notes are identified Based on the findings, the study will have many important implications for training Level 3 students of English at International School in taking notes

II.5 Methods of the study

In order to achieve the aims of the study mentioned above, the descriptive method is

the main tool for analyzing the data, which is collected from the questionnaire

After the data is analyzed and discussed, the findings will be showed and some conclusions will be drawn and some suggestions will be raised in the thesis

II.6 Design of the study

This thesis consists of three parts:

Part A: is the Introduction, which presents the rationale, the objectives, the research

questions, the scope, the significance, the methods and the design of the study

Part B: consists of four chapters

Chapter 1: deals with a theoretical background It starts with listening in general including

definitions, types and techniques The next is note-taking and its importance in language teaching, then an overview of some note-taking methods - their advantages and disadvantages

in applying in the classroom Last, the previous studies on note-taking strategies are briefly summarized

Chapter 2: presents the survey questionnaires Firstly, there is a description about the present

situation of English listening teaching and learning at International School Secondly, the methodology is performed in the study It provides participants, instruments and data analysis

Chapter 3: presents the findings

Chapter 4: analyzes and discusses the findings of the study are

Part C: is about the conclusion and suggestions for a further study

This part has presented an overview of the study which includes the rational for the study, the aims, the research questions, the scope, the significance as well as the design of the study The next chapter will review the relevant literature which provides a theoretical framework for the study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter provides a brief review of the theory and research into listening in general and note-taking strategies in particular It includes the researchers‟ findings relating to definition, types and techniques of listening; definitions and importance of note taking, note-taking methods, note-taking strategies and previous studies on note-taking and note-taking

strategies A justification on the basis of the literature review for the note-taking strategies definitions and framework adopted by the researcher of the present study are also presented

1 Overview of listening

1.1 Definitions of listening

It is believed that listening is a significant and essential area of development in a native language and in a second language Therefore, there have been numerous definitions of listening (by O‟Malley, Chamost and Kupper (1989); Buck (2001)) which present different views of scholars towards the concept

Listening comprehension is viewed theoretically as a process in which individuals focus

on selected aspect of aural input, construct meaning from passages, and relate what they hear

to existing knowledge (O‟Malley, Chamost and Kupper (1989))

According to Rost (1994), listening is referred to a complex process that enables us to understand spoken language Harmer (2001, p197) categorizes listening into receptive skill, the way in which people extract meaning form the discourse they hear or see

Buck (2001, p 31) indicates that listening is an active process of constructing meaning and this is done by applying knowledge to the incoming sound in which “number of different types of knowledge are involved: both linguistic knowledge and non-linguistic knowledge” In another word, he concluded “comprehension is affected by a wide range of variables, and that potentially any characteristic of the speaker, the situation or the listener can affect the comprehension of the message”

Anderson and Lynch (1988) pointed out that listening is really a receptive skill along side with reading skills and the role of the listeners is no longer passive but active After a period of listening the learners are exposed to be able to talk or write about what they have

heard, that is the objectives of listening comprehension Moreover, he uses the term “active

model builder” to refer to the listeners‟ language; listeners have to build their own “coherent interpretation” of the spoken message Both parts of this term are important First, it needs to

be coherent both in what we believe has just been said and with what we already know about the speaker, the context and the word in general Second, it is an interpretation, in the sense that it is our version of what the speaker meant, as far as we are able to assess that meaning

The two authors use the term “mental model” to refer the listener‟s “coherent interpretation”

This emphasizes the active and personal nature of successful listening The mental model that

we build as a representation of a spoken of a message is the result of our combining the new information in what we just heard with our previous knowledge and experience

In short, in order to be successful in listening, it is advisable that “listening comprehension is not a skill which can be mastered once and for all and than ignored while other skills are developed There must be regular practice with increasingly difficult materials” (Wilga, 1986, p.157)

1.2 Types of listening

There are many different types of listening We can classify these according to a number

of variables, including listening purposes, the role of the listener and the types of text being listened to

Real-life listening

Many students feel a big gap between listening activities in the classroom and actual situation This is because most listening materials including dialogues in text books are very grammar-oriented and controlled in many ways The speakers often speak with perfectly controlled speech, voice, tone, accent and correct grammar Whereas, in real-life conversations learners encounter various people with different gender, age, accent, speed, voice, tone There may be improper grammar usage, incomplete sentences, redundancy, contractions, overlap and

so forth

Characteristics of real-life listening

In real-life listening, we depend largely on visual information, including speaker‟s facial expression, posture, movement and appearance When a listener engages in listening, vocal massage filters through the short-term memory system first, and at this time the listener focuses on auditory or visual stimulus and concentration on the message received Therefore, visual stimuli play a very important role in listening

As for Ur (1984), it would seem reasonable to say that classroom practice should usually incorporate such characteristics of real-life listening as:

 We listen for a purpose and with certain expectations,

 We make an immediate response to what we hear,

 We see the person we are listening to,

 There are some visual or environmental clues as to the meaning of what is heard

 Stretch of heard discourse come in short chunks

 Most heard discourse is spontaneous and therefore differs from formal spoken prose in the amount of redundancy, “noise” and colloquialisms, and in its auditory characters

Sometimes particular situations may lack one or more of these characteristics For example, when watching television we are not normally expected to respond, when listen to a lecture we may have to hear uninterrupted speech a very long time indeed, but it is very rare that none of them is present at all

Extensive listening

Extensive listening is freer and more general listening to natural language for general ideas, not for a particular detail and not necessary under the teacher‟s direct guidance The listening passage for extensive listening can be long or short The language that is used in the type of listening is often within the students‟ current ability so that they find it pleasing and interesting when they are listening With this type of listening, students are not reinforcing a structure or practicing a grammar point linked to the rest of the course

To sum up, it is obvious that mastering the nature of real-life classroom can help

teachers as well as learners gain success in teaching and learning listening skill

1.3 Listening techniques

Southern Nazarene University (1999) introduced effective listening techniques, which are regarded as top five ways to listen to a lecture They clarified their points by making comparison between poor listeners and effective listeners

The first and foremost technique is to choose to find the subject useful They explained

that poor listeners dismiss most lectures as dull and irrelevant Meanwhile, effective listeners choose to listen to discover new knowledge

Their second advice is to concentrate on the words and message, not on the professor's

looks, clothes or delivery In their opinion, poor listeners notice faults in a lecturer's appearance or delivery, but effective listeners strive to pick every professor's brain for self-gain

Thirdly, the University stated that when students hear something they are not sure to agree with, they should react slowly and thoughtfully They gave explanation that in such situation, poor listeners stop listening to the speaker and start listening to themselves They either passively reject what is being said or launch into impassioned rebuttals (to themselves) However, in such case, effective listeners do not jump to conclusions and then disengage Instead, they keep conclusions tentative while getting more information

The fourth advice is to identify the "big ideas," those fundamental concepts to which

everything else in the lecture is related The university pointed out that poor listeners listen only for facts only They may retain a few of those facts, but the information is usually garbled Whereas, effective listeners look for foundational concepts; they grab key ideas and use them as anchor points for the entire lecture

Last but not least, in order to listen effectively, students have to adjust their note taking system to the lecturer's pattern According to Southern Nazarene University, some poor listeners attempt to outline everything, believing an outline and notes are the same thing They

get frustrated when they cannot see the main points Meanwhile, effective listeners adjust their

note-taking to the organizational pattern used by the lecturer

In sum, the five listening techniques recommended by Southern Nazarene University are of great value to those who would like improve their listening comprehension

2 Note-taking and note-taking strategies

2 1 Definition and importance of Note-taking

This gives some definitions of note-taking and shows the importance of this action

↓

Is it important in term of the subject?

↓ Should I note it down?

↓ How can I note it down?

From Wikipedia, note taking is defined as „the practice of recording information captured from a transient source, such as an oral discussion at a meeting, or a lecture.‟ Castallo (1976) defined notetaking as a "two step process in which the student must listen for the important information and then write it in some organized way."

Obviously, note-taking is defined in different words but the main goals of it are remembering and recording, and note-taking basically is: analytical, organisational and creative

2.1.2 Importance of note- taking

Notetaking is important because it improves the listening ability by increasing the listener's attentiveness and prevents sidetracking Notetaking also increases the listener's chances of reviewing what he has heard, therefore remedying weaknesses in listening In addition, notetaking improves the learner's ability to learn from the spoken word as well as improves memory of what is heard

Otto (1979) stated that notetaking is useful because when people listen to some kind of discourse, they try to extract information, either factual or effective The information is then applied to some further need which may be casual conversation, technical writing or answering test questions The ability to listen for a certain kind of information and apply it to one of these needs is a notetaking skill which can be learned and practised

It is widely accepted by educators that notetaking is a valuable tool that can help increase the retention of information (Carrier & Titus, 1981, p 385) According to Ornstein (1994), notetaking is one of many “cognitive processes that students need in order to facilitate their own learning and to improve their academic performance…” By definition, then, notetaking is linked to student achievement Notetaking is an activity that students will need

to use in school if they want to be successful As Spires and Stone (1989) point out, students will “increasingly have to depend on their ability to take notes in order to be successful in the classroom” (p 36)

Almost all students in America have been taught to take notes as American educators believe that constructing quality notes is the key to effective learning According to Dunkel and Davy (1989), American students and professors generally agree that taking notes on lecture information "assists in the process of learning and retaining the information Carrier (1983 cited in Dunkel & Davy 1989) reported that 100% of the undergraduates interviewed at the University of Minnesota said that they always take notes in lectures Eisner and Rohde (1959) reported that a number of subjects became very upset when not permitted to take notes during a lecture notetaking experiment

In a study done by Dunkel and Davy (1989), the international students interviewed stated that they take notes during lectures to reinforce or compare information given in the

book and the lecture and to provide a record of facts, spellings, and statistical information presented by the speaker Taking notes also helps them to compensate for their English listening ability because one person's insufficient notes can be added to another person's notes

Rothkopf (1970 cited in Dunkel 1985) stated that note-taking is generally viewed by learner and lecturer alike as "one class of mathemagenic activity" that facilitates the process of learning and retaining lecture material The facilitative effect of notetaking on lecture learning and recall is thought to be derived from one or both of the two postulated functions of notetaking: the encoding function and the external storage function

Dunkel (1985) added that the encoding function aids learning and retention by activating attentional mechanisms and by engaging the learner's cognitive processes of coding, integrating, synthesizing and transforming the aurally received information into a personally meaningful form The external storage function is also important as the notes serve as an external repository of information enabling later revision and review to stimulate recall Carrier and Titus (1979 cited in Dunkel 1985) dubbed the storage versus encoding hypotheses concerning the utility of notetaking the "product versus process" dichotomy Ganeske (1981 cited in Dunkel 1985) viewed notetaking to be a multi-level analytical activity, with the product continuously evolving from the process

To sum up, the act of taking notes is important because it 1) increases attention and concentration, 2) encourages students to process the material at a deeper level, and 3) provides

a means of connecting new learning with prior knowledge (Carrier & Titus, p 386)

2.2 Note- taking methods

There are a number of note-taking methods that can be used, depending on the nature

of the reading or presentation and on individual student preferences Whatever method is used,

a systematic and organized approach is critical The following note-taking methods (except for the last one) are recommended in a certain order: the name, the method itself, the advantages

as well as the disadvantages, and the case they are to use

2.2.1 The Cornell Method:

It is one of the most favorite methods which are widely used in classroom The Cornell Method provides a systematic format for condensing and organizing notes without laborious recopying After writing the notes in the main space, use the left- hand space to label each idea and detail with a key word or „cue‟

In this method, the note-taker use only the side of the page, ruling the page with a two- and- a -half inch margin on the left, leaving a six- inch area on the right in which to make notes He should phrase most things in his own words in the six-inch area during the class time Then, he will use the left- hand column as a recall column After editing the notes, he will write the key words or questions in the margin and use these key words as a study aid to test his knowledge He can use the bottom of the page to summarize the information

This method is believed organized and systematic for recording and revising notes with easy format for pulling out major concepts and ideas There is no disadvantage in this method

This method can be used in any lecture situation

2.2.2 The Outlining Method:

Dashed or intended outlining is used best except some science classes No numbers, letters, or Roman numerals are intended in this method

Note-takers who follow this method have to listen, think, and then write in points in an organized pattern based on space indentation They put major points farthest to the left of the paper; indent each more specific point to the right Level of importance will be indicated by distance away from the major points The relationships between the different parts are come out through indenting

If done right, the outlining method is a well- organizing system It also reduces editing and is easy to review by turning main points into questions

The method requires more thoughts in the class for accurate organization This system may not show relationships by sequencing when needed and can not be used if the lecture is too fast

It‟s advisable to use this method if the lecture is presented in out-line organization This format can be most effective when note-taker possesses super sharp note-taking skills and

he can handle the outlining regardless of note-taking situation

2.2.3 The Mapping Method:

Mapping method is the method that maximizes active participation, affords in mediate

knowledge as to its understanding and emphasizes critical thinking

Note-takers have to use comprehension skills to create note taking form which relates

each fact or idea to every other fact or idea Mapping is the graphic representation of the

content of a lecture

This method provides note-takers with visual tract for their lectures little thinking is

needed, but relationship can be seen easily It is also easy for note-takers to edit their notes

adding numbers, marks and color coding

However, the disadvantage of this method is that note-takers may not hear changes in

the content from major points to facts

This method is of great use when the lecture content is heavy and well- organized

2.2.4 The Sentence Method:

In the method, the note-taker writes every new thought, fact or topic on a separate line,

numbering as you make progress

The advantage of sentence method is that note-takers can take more or all of the

information than the above method Compared with a paragraph, it is slightly less organized

Not much thinking to track content is needed

The downside of this method is it is difficult to edit and review the notes and

note-takers can not determine major or minor points from the numbered sequence

When the lecture is some what organized but heavy with content which comes fast, the

Sentence Method is recommended

2.2.5 The Charting Method:

If the lecture format is distinct (such as chronological), note-takers may set up their

paper by drawing columns and labeling appropriate headings in a table

Note-takers have to determine the categories to be covered in the lecture, and then

they set up the paper in advance by columns headed by these categories As note takers

listen to the lecture, they record information (words, phrases, main ideas, etc.) into the

appropriate category

This method helps students track conversation and dialogues that would normally be

confusing Also, it helps them to avoid relevant content and reduces amount of writing

necessary Moreover, it provides easy review mechanism for both memorization of facts and

study of comparisons and relationships

There are few disadvantages except for learning how to use the system and locating the appropriate categories Note-takers must be able to understand what is happening in the lecture

This method is used when: test will focus on both facts and relationships; content is heavy and presented fast, students want to reduce the amount of time note-takers spend editing and reviewing at test time; or students want to get an overview of the whole course on one big paper sequence

2.2.6 PARR Method

This method is quite difficult from the four above- mentioned as it is recently been studied This method involves four steps: Prepare- Abbreviation – Revise and Review – students can remember the word PARR as the redolence of the method‟s name

The first step in taking good notes is to be prepared for the lecture The note-taker must

be a selective listener and listen for important information Then, he will write down the main ideas, examples of main ideas, important details, and unfamiliar terms Think about the best format for taking notes for each lecture

Writing speed is important, so note-takers have to create their own abbreviations They can use symbols, do not need to capitalize and can omit unimportant words such as „a‟ or

„the‟

Note-takers should revise notes within 24 hours when the content is still fresh in their minds It is necessary for note-takers to expand the abbreviations, circle new or unknown terms, make sentences out of important phrases, place stars next to critical information and correct mistakes

A few minutes of steady review will save time later During the review step, takers ask themselves questions to review the material and to check their comprehension

note-To sum up, these are the method students can use to take notes in class The choice of a particular method depends on the purpose of the lecture and on the class that students are in (for example, a science class versus a humanities class) However, a comfortable method is normally a combination of two or more of these six methods

2.3 Previous studies on note-taking strategies

A number of studies have been carried out relating to note-taking strategies and training

Among the few studies done on comparing various methods of notetaking, Palmatier (1971) found no significant difference in the amount learned by students trained in different methods of notetaking Norton (1981 cited in Boon 1989) stated that rereading or rewriting notes seemed equally beneficial and most of the successful test performers were those who took full notes, had positive attitudes towards notetaking and reviewed their notes Researches also seem to point to the value of the overview and ample space as encouragement for increased notetaking According to Boon (1989), the skeletal outline is an ideal solution as it provides an overview of the lecture as well as an opportunity for the students to take more organized notes Kiewra (1985) also stated that students will not be developing their own organizational skills if full notes are available

As for using skeletal outline as a strategy to take note, Hartley (1976 cited in Boon 1989) discussed seven naturalistic studies comparing varying forms of a skeletal outline with the students' own notes Students using a skeletal outline, on which they have taken notes, were found to perform better than those reviewing either their own notes or their lecturers' notes Kiewra (1985) stated that the skeletal outline provides an advance framework which then guides the students' notetaking efforts

According to Greene (1928) students are able to take notes at only 20 words per minute whereas the average lecture rate is that of 100-180 words per minute Students generally take notes almost verbatim, with little evidence of reworking or elaborating while notetaking (Carter and Van Matre 1975 cited in Peters 1972, Kiewra 1985) It was also found that students find it easier to take notes on factual details or main points than to take relational notes (Kiewra 1985)

Some educators believe that teaching general notetaking skills is not sufficient Instead, they argue that teachers should provide training in a specific method or strategy of notetaking Stahl, King, and Henk (1991) state that the Cornell Method, and the Split Page

Method are all effective, “time-honored tactics” (p 615) Spires and Stone (1989) and Bakunas and Holley (2001) specifically recommend the Split Page Method Eidson (1984), however, believes that general notetaking procedures may be more effective than specific methods because they take individual student differences into account (p 267)

Also, a number of researchers have performed studies that aim to understand how note -taking training affects student achievement

Palmatier‟s 1971 study involved a sample of 135 eleventh grade students The notetaking methods that he examined were a) a Formal Outline Procedure, b) the three-column Cornell method, and d) a control group, in which students took notes in their usual style Of the three trained strategies, Palmatier only describes the BAM method in his article According to the BAM method, students divided their paper into two columns On the right side, students would take notes from a lecture in a manner that they felt comfortable with After the lecture, the students would go back and label major points or themes in the left column

In his study, Palmatier (1971) compared the “quality of notes” as well as student comprehension of information The results showed that the FOP group achieved the highest quality of notes However, no difference was noted between the methods in terms of objective recall (p 258) Palmatier‟s study demonstrated no superiority in learning for trained groups over the groups that took notes in their usual manner

Peck and Hannafin (1983) used a sample of 104 junior high students and randomly assigned them to four experimental groups: 1) instructed notetakers, 2) uninstructed notetakers, 3) instructed non-notetakers, and 4) uninstructed non-notetakers Like Bretzing et

al (1987), Peck and Hannafin did not train the students using specific notetaking strategies as Palmatier did, but rather the instruction consisted of general tools for taking effective notes The instructed groups watched a videotape about the importance of taking notes It also included tips for good notetaking such as listening for main ideas and writing notes in one‟s own words (p 101, 102)

The results of Peck and Hannafin‟s study seem surprising and counterintuitive They found that the uninstructed non-notetakers actually performed better on all three recall tests One was given immediately after instruction, one was given five days later, and another was

given 30 days later Peck and Hannafin suggested that the results were a product of an

“interference effect” in which the process of notetaking itself interfered with the retention of information (p 105)

Despite the results of these studies that indicate a lack of positive correlation between notetaking training and achievement, many questions remain unanswered All of the researchers cited above have suggested that more research needs to be conducted on the topic

to determine if teaching notetaking strategies can boost student achievement (Palmatier, 1971, p.258, Peck & Hannafin, 1983, p.106)

The experimental research on the effects of notetaking on student achievement generally does not support experts who argue in favor of the benefits of notetaking training However, notetaking is still used at academic context as a tool of studying and students are still using various strategies to take good notes in listening lessons and examinations Therefore, my research will take these two factors into account and aims to answer the question: What are note taking strategies employed by students at International School?

Briefly, this chapter presents the literature related to the study Not only the definition, the importance and methods of note-taking, but previous studies on note-taking are also viewed to figure out the most suitable techniques for effective note-taking Based on these theories, the researcher wishes to discover what strategies are employed by International School students to take notes The following chapter will focus on the research methodology

2.1 Research questions

The aim of the present study is to investigate the note-taking strategies employed by level 3 students at International School The study tried to answer the following questions:

♦ Do Level 3 students at International school take notes while listening to the book

„Lecture Ready 2‟? If not, what are the reasons?

♦ What are note-taking strategies employed by Level 3 students at International School?

♦ Are there any differences in listening proficiency, experience and knowledge of taking between note-takers and non-note-takers?

note-2.2 Participants and settings of the study

2.2.1 Participants

A total of 50 students from four Level 3 classes at International School participated in the study Twenty eight were female and twenty two were male The age of the students was from 18 to 19 They come from different places of the country and their overall English proficiency was roughly at the level of intermediate The participants have been studying English

at International School for 8 months, during this time they have been studying four separated skills: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking When they were at level 2, “Lecture Ready 1”- the only note-taking oriented book in the syllabus is optional for them Their note-taking skills will be tested at the end of level 4

2.2.2 Settings of the study

The current study was carried out in mid July 2011 The number of Level 3 English students at International School was 98 By the time of the study, they had access to the four main language skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing) for eight months (equivalent

to 3 semesters) with 200 periods in total in which listening counts for 40 periods a semester Their final goal is to achieve 5.0 IELTS in the End-of-term examination at the end of level 4 When the research was conducted, they were studying the listening textbook: Lecture Ready 2

by Peg Sarosy and Kathy Sherak This text book is a multipurpose book It comprises five

units, which itself consists of 2 chapters Each chapter has three components: Reading, Practice Lecture, and Real Lecture and consists of four sections The section "Prepare to Listen and Take Notes" introduces listening strategies in context Students are encouraged to pay attention to "big picture lecture language", to "recognize lecture language", to "listen for the topic", and to "listen for the big picture" so that they become familiar with the expressions that signal how professors start, proceed with, and conclude their lectures In "Listen and Take Notes" note-taking strategies are explained and illustrated Students are shown how to take notes in outline form, make predictions, follow the lecture, assess comprehension, and summarize the lecture

2.3 Data collection instruments

In order to collect data for the study, survey questionnaire was chosen because it is a simple and familiar instrument of collecting information from the students and is less time-consuming than other instruments

The questionnaire was aimed at measuring the frequency of note-taking strategies used It consists of two sections: the first section includes the questions to gain personal information about the participants and their general knowledge of note-taking; the second section includes the questions about the strategies that participants may have used when they listen to the book „Lecture Ready 2‟ It contained 16 items The participants were asked to tick the strategies they use Also, due to the assumption that there may be non-takers, one question for them is designed to discover their reasons for not noting down This question contains five items for students to choose from and the last one labeled “others” for students to write their own reasons For more detail, a table of questionnaire sections is provided below:

Section Questions in the questionnaire

Number of questions/ items