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

Note-taking strategies employed by Level 3 students at International School, Vietnam National University, Hanoi while listening to the book “Lecture Ready 2 Nguyễn Thị Thu Huyền Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ Luận văn ThS. Chuyên ngành: Theory and methodology of English Teaching Mã số: 60 14 10 Người hướng dẫn: Văn Thị Thanh Bình, MA. Năm bảo vệ: 2011 Abstract: This paper reports on note-taking strategies employed by Level 3 students (N=50) at International School, Vietnam National University, Hanoi while listening to the book „Lecture Ready 2‟. The purpose of this study was threefold: 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. A note-taking strategy questionnaire was used for data collection. Statistical analysis revealed that not all participants take notes when listening to the book „Lecture Ready 2‟ and there are more non note-takers than note-takers. All of the strategies given in the questionnaire were used by students who take notes, but the frequency in the use of each strategy and the numbers of strategies used by individual note-taker vary. There is no difference in listening score between note-takers and non note-takers, yet it is not the same in the previous experience in and knowledge of note-taking between two groups. Suggestions should be that students need introducing, guiding and encouraging more so that they can make their best notes. Keywords: Kỹ năng nghe; Kỹ năng ghi chép; Tiếng Anh Content PART A: INTRODUCTION This part introduces the rationale and the aims of the study. The scope of the study and the significance as well as the design of the thesis will also be presented in this chapter. I. Rationale Listening to an English lecture has long been a difficult task to Vietnamese university students who hardly had any chances to practice listening skills at lower- level schools. Note- taking has long been considered an integral part of effective listening. Note-taking while listening is considered one of the most important skills which language learners should master, particularly as it helps to develop a sense of listening, allowing the reader to recognize main ideas and to understand the organization of the material. Note-taking is believed to be an important part of all of our learning interactions, from the most traditional, structured experiences to highly informal, unstructured situations.‟ This is extremely significant for Vietnamese learners who have been studying English listening skills traditionally in non - native environment, and have just started to learn listening in communicative way. 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, research on 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. 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(1984), Teaching Listening Comprehension, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 16. Southern Nazarene University (1999) “The Professor in the Classroom," The master teacher 17. Wilga, R. (1986), Teaching Foreign Language Skill, The University of Chicago Press. http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/listen.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notetaking . Note-taking strategies employed by Level 3 students at International School, Vietnam National University, Hanoi while listening to the book “Lecture Ready 2 Nguyễn Thị Thu. by Level 3 students (N=50) at International School, Vietnam National University, Hanoi while listening to the book „Lecture Ready 2 . The purpose of this study was threefold: 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