Using dictation to improve grade-10 students' listening skill at Tan Yen High school No.2 = Sử dụng đọc chính tả nhằm nâng cao kỹ năng nghe cho học sinh lớp 10

1 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYEN VAN NAM USING DICTATION TO IMPROVE GRADE-10 STUDENTS’ LISTENING SKILL AT TAN YEN HIGH SCHOOL N02 (SỬ DỤNG ĐỌC CHÍNH TẢ NHẰM NÂNG CAO KỸ NĂNG NGHE CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10 TRƯỜNG THPT TÂN YÊN SỐ 2) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 HANOI, 2010 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN VĂN NAM USING DICTATION TO IMPROVE GRADE-10 STUDENTS’ LISTENING SKILL AT TAN YEN HIGH SCHOOL N02 (SỬ DỤNG ĐỌC CHÍNH TẢ NHẰM NÂNG CAO KỸ NĂNG NGHE CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10 TRƯỜNG THPT TÂN YÊN SỐ 2) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Nguyễn Minh Cường, M.A HANOI, 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF CHARTS viii PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Aims of the study Scope of the study Methods of the study Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 1.1 General concepts of listening 1.1.1 Definition of listening 1.1.2 Listening as the final goal of learning a language 1.1.3 Listening as a mean of acquiring language 1.1.4 Evaluation standard of Ministry of Education and Training on listening skill to grade-10 students 1.2 General concepts of dictation 1.2.1 History of dictation across second/foreign language methodologies 1.2.2 Definition of dictation 1.2.3 Characteristics of dictation 1.2.4 Types of dictation 10 1.2.5 Advantages of dictation 11 1.2.6 Disadvantages of dictation 12 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 13 2.1 An overview of the research site 13 2.2 Research questions 13 2.3 The participants 14 2.4 The instruments 14 2.5 Data collection procedures 15 2.6 Data analysis 16 2.7 Summary 16 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 Analysis and discussion of dictations for listening skill improvement 17 17 3.1.1 Analysis and discussion of dictations with the T/F statement task 17 3.1.2 Analysis and discussion of dictations with gap-filling task 20 3.1.3 Analysis and discussion of dictation with short-answer question 25 3.2 Teachers‟ application of dictation for listening skill improvement 26 3.3 Analysis and discussion of students‟ tests 32 3.3.1 Analysis and discussion of pre-test 32 3.3.2 Analysis and discussion of progress test 34 3.3.3 Analysis and discussion of progress test 35 3.3.4 Analysis and discussion of post-test 36 3.4 Pedagogical implication and recommendations 38 3.4.1 Pedagogical implication 38 3.4.2 Recommendations 40 PART C: CONCLUSIONS 42 Summary of the findings 42 Conclusions 42 Limitations of the study 43 Suggestions for further research 43 REFERENCES 44 APPENDICES I Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire for teachers I Appendix 2: Pre-test IV Appendix 3: Progress test VI Appendix 4: Progress test Appendix 5: Post-test Appendix 6: Keys for practice tasks VIII X XII LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Listening practice task for dictation Table 2: Listening practice task for dictation Table 3: Listening practice task for dictation Table 4: Listening practice task for dictation Table 5: Listening practice task for dictation Table 6: Listening practice task for dictation Table 7: Listening practice task for dictation Table 8: Listening practice task for dictation Table 9: Teachers‟ opinion of dictation as a useful teaching technique Table 10: Teachers‟ frequency of the application of dictation Table 11: Application of dictation in different stages of a listening lesson Table 12: Teachers‟ attention to the content of dictation Table 13: Teachers‟ opinion of speech speed of dictation Table 14: Teachers‟ opinion of accent Table 15: Result distribution of Pre-tests Table 16: Result distribution of Progress tests Table 17: Result distribution of Progress tests Table 18: Result distribution of Post-tests 10 LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: Result description of pre-test Chart 2: Result description of progress test Chart 3: Result description of progress test Chart 4: Result description of post-test Chart 5: Result description of all the tests 11 PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study Language is the most important thing for people as a means of communication It is basically a means of both spoken and written communication People use language to express their ideas and wishes to other people such as when they need others help so that close relation among members of the group can be carried out (Ramelan, 1993:8) Ramelan further states that “the use of language enables the members of a social group to cooperate with one another for their own benefit.” It is important to learn English because it is an international language which is used in many countries over the world and widely used in many sectors such as information, trade, aviation, science, education, etc In Vietnam, the importance of English has been realized because English is considered to play a crucial role on the path of industrialization and modernization of the country as well as on the way of regional and international integration Therefore, English is now taught in all levels of schools all over the country in order that the students are familiar with English and can use and communicate in English well Of all four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing, listening is always considered to be the most difficult for teachers to teach and for students to improve themselves, which leads to the fact that most learners have low level of proficiency in their listening skill In fact, in the process of teaching and learning English, listening plays an important role since it involves various kinds of learners‟ knowledge and it is closely related to other skills, especially speaking skill While, G (1998) pointed out that “being a good listener involves collaborating with speakers and taking an active role in asking for clarification when you not understand” Later on, the ability to understand the native speakers in face-to-face communication, on the radio or tape may be important for learners to further study the language and communicate in it At Tan Yen High School N02 where I have been working, like at many other high schools in Vietnam, English has been a compulsory subject for many years However, the 12 teachers of English here are facing the problem of their grade-10 students‟ low level of listening in their classrooms While there has been a variety of techniques used to improve listening skill for these students, most of them have not been really effective One idea of using dictation to improve listening skill for the students has exercised my mind since I had a chance of studying the subject “English language teaching methodology” by Mr Canh During the short course, a lot of time has been spent discussing how to use dictation to improve listening skill for students Moreover, according to researchers‟ opinion, dictation has a number of advantages For instance, Lightfoot (2004) says that dictation can be done with any level, depending on the text carefully designed and applied and it can be graded for a multi-level class And Montalvan (2006) points out that dictation involves the whole class, no matter how large it is During and after the dictation, all students prove very active The dictation passage can be completely prepared in advance and administered quite effectively by an inexperienced teacher Likewise, Pappas (1977) considers dictation as a good means of developing learners‟ listening skill For grade-10 students‟ problems of low listening competence and as one of the teachers of English of this school, I would like to improve my students‟ listening skill, and hope to be able to apply in the high schools where most of the students have low listening competence All considered, I chose to conduct a study on “Using dictation to improve grade-10 students’ listening skill at Tan Yen High School N02.” Aims of the study The purposes of this study are to find out an effective teaching technique to improve listening skill for grade-10 students at Tan Yen High School N02 Therefore, the study is conducted to aim at finding the answers to the following questions: How is dictation designed to improve listening skill for the students? How is dictation used to improve listening skill for the students? How much are the students‟ listening skills improved after the application of dictation? 13 Scope of the study Due to the limited time and financial constraint, I am unable to carry the investigation on a large scale Therefore, within an M.A minor thesis, my intention is only to investigate the effectiveness of dictation to enhance listening skill for grade-10 students (about 80 students in total) at Tan Yen High School N02 For the aims of convenience, I have chosen classes of grade-10 students who I have been teaching to be my research site Also, it is my intention to conduct a survey on three teachers of English of the school who have been teaching grade-10 students Methods of the study To achieve the aims of the study, I am going to use both quantitative and qualitative methods including survey questionnaires for teachers and listening tests for students + Survey questionnaires are designed for teachers with the hope to find out their attitudes towards dictation as well as their comments and suggestions for using dictation in the English lessons + Four listening tests are designed for students with an aim to measure the effect of using dictation on students‟ listening skill improvement The first listening test (pre-test) is given to students with an aim to measure their overall listening competence before dictation is applied in the listening lessons The result of this test helps the researcher to design appropriate activities of dictation in the listening lessons on the purpose of bettering the students‟ listening skill The next two tests (progress tests) are given to students to check their progress when dictation is applied in the listening lessons The last test (posttest) is given to find out how much the students‟ listening skill has improved after the experiment has been terminated 54 REFERENCES Alkire, S (2002) Dictation as a Language Learning Device The Internet TESL Journal, Vol.VIII, No http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Alkire-Dictation.html Anh, Vo Thi Thuy & Chi, Ton Nu Phuong (2006) Bài tập bổ sung Tiếng Anh 10 Vietnam Education Publishers Anh, Vo Thi Thuy & Chi, Ton Nu Phuong (2006) Bài tập bổ trợ nâng cao Tiếng Anh THPT 10 Vietnam Education Publishers David, P and M.Rinvolucri (1998) Dictation: New methods, new possibilities pp.7 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Fachrurrazy (1989) Dictation as a Device for Testing English as a Foreign Language Journal Guidelines Volume II No.2: 61 Field ,J (1989) Skill and Strategies: Towards a New Methodology for Listening Oxford: Oxford University Press Hornby, A.S.(1995) Oxford Advanced learners’ Dictionary of Current English London: Oxford Progressive Press Irvine, P., Atai, P., & Oller, G.W (1974) Cloze, dictation, and the test of English as a foreign language Language Learning, 245-254 Jafarpur, A & Yamini, M (1993) Does practice with dictation improve language skills? System, 21, 359-369 Loi, Vu Thi and Chau, Nguyen Hai (2010) Hướng dẫn thực chuẩn kiến thức, kỹ môn Tiếng Anh trung học phổ thông Vietnam Education Publishers Montalvan,Ruth (2006) Dictation Updated: Guidelines for Teacher-Training Workshops http:/ exchanges state gov/ education/engteaching/ dictatn.htm Nunan, D (1992) Research Methods in Language Learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Oller, J.W (1979) Language Test at School London: Longman Group Limited Pappas, G.S (1977) You mean you still give dictations? Language Arts, 54, 936-939 Ramelan (1993) Introduction to Linguistic Analysis Semarang: IKIP Semarang Press Rivers, W.M (1981) Listening Comprehension Journal, 50 (4), 196-204 Rost, M (1990) Listening in language learning Longman Group UK Limied 55 Sawyer, J.O & Silver, S.K (1961) Dictation in language learning In Teaching English as a second language, Ed.H.B Allen and R.N Campbel 2nd ed pp.223, 229 San Francisco:McGraw-Hill International Book Company Standfield, C.W (1985) A history of dictation in foreign language teaching and testing Modern Language Journal, 69, 121-128 Steil, L.K, Baker, L.L and Watson, K.W.(1982) Effective listening Mc Graw- Hill, Inc White, G (1998) Listening Oxford University Press Zhiquan, Wu (1989) Possible Aural Activities in the Listening Class Journal Guidelines Volume II N0.1:33 56 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (For teachers) This survey questionnaire is intended for the thesis “Using dictation to improve grade-10 students‟ listening skill at Tan Yen High School N02” I am very grateful for your goodwill and cooperation in completing the questionnaire Your effort would be of great use to my study Please be assured that the information you provide will be treated in the strictest confidence Thank you very much Personal information Please feel free to write down some information about yourselves * Name (optional): ……………………… * Genders : ……………………… * Age : ……………………… * Years of teaching: …………………… Questions for the survey Please tick (A, B, C, or D) or write the answer where necessary Do you consider dictation as a useful teaching technique? Why (not)? A Yes ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… B No ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 57 How often you apply dictation in the listening lessons to enhance your students‟ listening skill? A Always B Often C Sometimes D Rarely E Never Explain the reason why you apply in that frequency ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… In which stage of a teaching plan for listening lesson you often apply dictation? A Pre-listening B While-listening C Post-listening D All of the above Explain the reason why you choose the stage ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Clarify the way how you conduct dictation in the listening lessons (Teachers who has never applied dictation to the listening lessons not have to answer this question) ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… What you pay much attention to when you apply dictation in the listening lessons to enhance your students‟ listening skill? A Topic B Vocabulary 58 C Grammatical structure D Skill E Others (please specify): ………………………………………………………… How should the speech speed of dictation be to the listening level for beginners? A Very slow B Slow C Medium D Fast E Very fast What kind of accent is suitable for dictation? A A student‟s B A Vietnamese teacher‟s C A native speaker‟s 10 In your opinion, how much has dictation enhanced your students‟ listening competence so far since the application? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION 59 APPENDIX 2: PRE-TEST LISTENING TEST Listen to the conversation between Sue and Dan Then put a word that you hear in each blank provided One example has been done for you Sue: Brighton (0) 914403 Dan: Hello This is Dan Is that Sue? Sue: Yes Hi, Dan Listen It‟s my birthday on _(1) _ Dan: Yes How old are you? Sue: Never mind Well, 22 Dan: Yes? You‟re _(2) _ as old as me You don‟t look it Sue: Yes, well, I‟m having a _(3) _ Would you like to come? Dan: Yes Great What time? Sue: Oh, o‟clock Dan: Can I bring something? Sue: Something to eat, if you like _(4) _, _(5) _ Or a bottle of wine And some CDs Dan: Ok What sort? Sue: It doesn‟t matter Something good for _(6) _ Dan: Who‟s coming? Sue: Oh, about (7) people Jim and Bob _(8) _ my brothers My boss and the girls from the _(9) _ Dan: Your boss? Sue: Yes, John He‟s really nice He‟s very young Only 22 Tall and _(10) _ I like him Dan: Do you? Yes, Great Ok Thanks See you on Saturday, then Sue: Right See you Bye, Dan Dan: Bye 60 KEYS FOR LISTENING TEST Saturday dancing nearly twenty party Both Cheese shop bread 10 dark TAPE-SCRIPT Sue: Brighton 914403 Dan: Hello This is Dan Is that Sue? Sue: Yes Hi, Dan Listen It‟s my birthday on Saturday Dan: Yes How old are you? Sue: Never mind Well, 22 Dan: Yes? You‟re nearly as old as me You don‟t look it Sue: Yes, well, I‟m having a party Would you like to come? Dan: Yes Great What time? Sue: Oh, o‟clock Dan: Can I bring something? Sue: Something to eat, if you like Cheese, bread Or a bottle of wine And some CDs Dan: Ok What sort? Sue: It doesn‟t matter Something good for dancing Dan: Who‟s coming? Sue: Oh, about twenty people Jim and Bob Both my brothers My boss and the girls from the shop Dan: Your boss? Sue: Yes, John He‟s really nice He‟s very young Only 22 Tall and dark I like him Dan: Do you? Yes, Great Ok Thanks See you on Saturday, then Sue: Right See you Bye, Dan Dan: Bye 61 APPENDIX 3: PROGRESS TEST LISTENING TEST Task 1: You will hear Tung and Ha talk about themselves Listen to their talks and complete the missing words in the table below One example has been done for you Student’s name School Favorite subjects Leisure activities Le Hoang Tung Dong Da Maths, physics & (0) 16 _(1) _(2) _ - _(3) _ Mai Thanh Ha Hai Ba Trung _(5) _ - _(6) _ _(4) _ High School and age - Play football - Read books Task 2: Listen to their talks again and answer these questions One example has been done for you How old is Tung? => (He is) 16 years old What does Tung want to in the future? => ………………………………………………………………………………… What does Ha want to in the future? => ………………………………………………………………………………… 62 KEYS FOR LISTENING TEST Task 1: Complete the missing words in the table Student’s name School Favorite subjects Leisure activities Le Hoang Tung Dong Da Maths, physics & (0) 16 (1) High School (2) chemistry - (3) Go swimming Mai Thanh Ha Hai Ba Trung (5) Geography - (6) Listen to music (4) 17 High School and age - Play football - Read books Task 2: Answer the questions What does Tung want to in the future? => He wants to be an engineer in the future What does Ha want to in the future? => She wants to be a geologist in the future TAPE-SCRIPT Hello, my name‟s Le Hoang Tung I‟m 16 years old I‟m a student at Dong Da High School I‟m in class 10A2 with forty-four other students I study subjects such as Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Literature, History, Geography, English and so on My favorite subjects are Maths, Physics and Chemistry because I think they are the most important subjects of all I want to be an engineer in the future I often play football and go swimming in my free time Hi, I‟m Mai Thanh Ha I‟m 17 years old I study at Hai Ba Trung High School I‟m in class 11A3 I study a lot of subjects at school, but my favorite subject is Geography I think it‟s interesting to study maps and learn about different countries I want to be a geologist in the future I like listening to music and reading books, especially detective stories in my free time 63 APPENDIX 4: PROGRESS TEST LISTENING TEST Task 1: Listen to some information about Louis Braille and fill in each blank with a word that you hear One example has been done for you Louis Braille was the (0) son of a French leather _(1) _ He went _(2) _ at the age of three _(3) _ he fell in his father‟s workroom But Louis was very clever He wanted to be a _(4) _, so he learned to play the cello, and at the age of ten he won a scholarship to the National Institute for Blind Children in Paris He could play the cello, but he could not _(5) _ or _(6) _ Task 2: Listen to the last paragraph again and answer the following questions One example has been done for you (0) When did Louis Braille die? => (He died) in 1852 What did Charles Barbier invent in 1819? => ………………………………………………………………………………… Where was “Braille” in use by 1932? => ………………………………………………………………………………… 64 KEYS FOR LISTENING TEST Task 1: Fill in each blank with a suitable word worker musician blind read when write Task 2: Answer the questions What did Charles Barbier invent in 1819? => He invented “night writing” Where was “Braille” in use by 1932? => It was in use all over the world by 1932 TAPE-SCRIPT Louis Braille was the son of a French leather worker He went blind at the age of three when he fell in his father‟s workroom But Louis was very clever He wanted to be a musician, so he learned to play the cello, and at the age of ten he won a scholarship to the National Institute for Blind Children in Paris He could play the cello, but he could not read or write In 1819 a French soldier, Charles Barbier, invented “night writing” He used special dots on paper so that soldiers could read at night Louis Braille understood the importance of his invention for blind people and when he was fifteen, he began to develop it In 1829 he started to use it at the Institute By 1932 “Braille” was in use all over the world, but Louis died in 1852 and he never knew of the importance of is invention 65 APPENDIX 5: POST-TEST LISTENING TEST Listen to a tourist guide talk to the tourists about a day trip and complete the questions 1-10 Maybe a word (some words) is (are) needed for each blank DAY TRIP Leave: ………………………… Trip will take: ………………………… We will stop at three places: Stop 1: Built: ………………………… ………………………… Stop 2: ………………………… Stop 3: ………………………… Activities you can there: ………………………… Or ………………………… Or ………………………… Take your: KEYS FOR LISTENING TEST 10 ………………………… 66 Listen to a tourist guide talk to the tourists about a day trip and complete the questions 1-10 DAY TRIP Leave: nine thirty in the morning (9.30 a.m) Trip will take: seven hours (7 hours) We will stop at three places: Stop 1: Built: a castle hundred years ago (600 years ago) Stop 2: café at o’clock Stop 3: a beach/ lake Activities you can there: swim sit in the sun look at the scenery Take your: 10 camera TAPE-SCRIPT Hello, everybody Tomorrow we‟re all going on a coach trip to Lake Tandy and I‟d just like to give some information about the trip We‟ll be leaving here at nine thirty in the morning It‟s a seven-hour trip, so we‟ll be back at half past four We‟re going to visit three places The first one is a castle This was built six hundred years ago and it is very interesting After that we will stop at a café for lunch at one o‟clock We will then drive on to our third stop It will be at a beach and if you like you can swim there or just sit in the sun and look at the scenery The lake is very beautiful and there are a lot of birds there So remember to take a camera I‟m sure you‟ll be able to take some excellent photographs 67 APPENDIX 6: KEYS FOR PRACTICE TASKS Practice task for dictation 1 T F F T F T t f f t t f F F T F F T What Why How How French Which Where How When 1950 start school her mother died meet her husband get married have her daughter of go anyone find hotel send message good Practice task for dictation Practice task for dictation Practice task for dictation 10 Who Practice task for dictation Practice task for dictation 68 Practice task for dictation information newspapers on-line students internet available Practice task for dictation She wanted to lie in the sun Yes, she did No, she didn‟t She bought a guidebook Because the pilot was ill ... YEN HIGH SCHOOL N02 (SỬ DỤNG ĐỌC CHÍNH TẢ NHẰM NÂNG CAO KỸ NĂNG NGHE CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10 TRƯỜNG THPT TÂN YÊN SỐ 2) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10. .. on ? ?Using dictation to improve grade -10 students’ listening skill at Tan Yen High School N02.” Aims of the study The purposes of this study are to find out an effective teaching technique to improve. .. improve listening skill for grade -10 students at Tan Yen High School N02 Therefore, the study is conducted to aim at finding the answers to the following questions: How is dictation designed to improve