The use of the Internet tool as an assistance for first-year non-major students at Namdinh University of Technology Education in basic English self-study

The use of the Internet tool as an assistance for first-year non-major students at Namdinh University of Technology Education in basic English self-study Ngô Thị Thơm Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ Luận văn Thạc sĩ ngành: Lý luận và phương pháp dạy học tiếng Anh Mã số: 60 14 10 Người hướng dẫn: TS. Đỗ Tuấn Minh Năm bảo vệ: 2012 Abstract: This study looks at and reports the results of an individual experiment using the Internet with web-based listening activities as a supplementary resource for students‟ self-study listening comprehension. In the experiment, three major points were investigated: 1) The investigation of the influence of utilizing web-based listening activities on the skill of listening for details outcomes of the first-year non- major students at Namdinh University of Technology Education (NUTE); 2) The students‟ opinions and attitudes towards the application of web-based listening activities in their listening self-study; 3) The difficulties students have during the process of self-study. The suggested websites were tested with a group of 20 first-year non-major students at NUTE. Students were asked to take the pretest and posttest and answer a questionnaire. Analyses revealed that students had favorable attitudes towards web-based listening activities which has positive effect on students‟ self study listening comprehension. However, problems encountered by the students during the experiment of using the web-based listening activities outside classroom were also be pointed out. Keywords: Tiếng Anh; Kỹ năng nghe; Internet; Phương pháp giảng dạy Content PART ONE – INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale The Internet is a global network of computer networks. The hypermedia nature of the World Wide Web has greatly expanded the power of computer-assisted language learning. Web-based Language Learning has the potential to increase learner motivation and engage learners in culturally authentic and highly interactive language experience Listening courses are a combination of paper-based materials in the form of a course book, and sound-based materials in the form of audio on tapes/compact discs. However, learners get to keep only the course book, and can access the course audio only in class. The web seems to be a new tool contributing to the formation of that alternative mode. 2 This paper studies the use of the Internet tool as an assistance for first-year non-major students at Namdinh University of Technology Education (NUTE) in basic English self-study. That is the students‟use of web-based listening activities to develop the skill of listening for details. While reporting the results of students‟listening activities trial, it investigates the usefulness and the difficulties as well. 2. Aims of the study The following aims are wished to achieve: (i) To investigate the influence of utilizing web-based listening activities on the listening for details outcomes of the first-year non-major students at NUTE . (ii) To find out the students‟ opinions and attitudes towards the application of web-based listening activities in their listening self-study. (iii) To find out the difficulties students have during the process of self-study. 3. Research questions In order to achieve the aims above, the following research questions will be raised : (i) To what extent does the utilization of web-based listening activities affect the effectiveness of teaching and learning the skill of listening for details for first-year non-major students at NUTE? (ii) What are students‟ opinions and attitudes towards the use of web-based listening activities in the suggested websites in their listening self-study? (iii) What are the problems that students have during the self- study process of using web-based activities to improve their listening comprehension skill? 4. Scope of the study The study operates within the following scopes: (i) Only the use of two activities: listening to the songs and ticking off items in the website http://genkienglish.net/ and listening to a short conversation and filling the gaps in the website http://englishteststore.net/ will be investigated. (ii) The subjects chosen for this research are 40 students from 2 selected groups: ĐK6C and CK14D; these students are studying basic English One Headway Elementary- Liz and John Soars- Oxford University Press. 5. Method of the study The method in this study is quasi-experimental research design which utilizes a survey questionnaire for students. The writer suggests two websites for students to practice listening comprehension on their own. One pre-test and one post-test are also used. The data collected for the study is from the survey questionnaire and the two tests‟ scores. 6. Significance of the study The data collected from the study can be analyzed and interpreted in terms of using websites and web-based activities with songs and short conversations to promote the effectiveness of teaching Elementary English listening comprehension in general and listening to do ticking off items and gap filling in particular at this university. The result of the study may also be expected to English teachers who have interest in applying new technology in their teaching for higher teaching quality. The study can lay grounds for further researches on the employment of web-based activities in self-study listening comprehension skill as well as other skills. 7. Design of the study The study consists of three main parts: Part One „Introduction‟ presents the rationale, purposes, research questions, scope, method, significance and design of the study. 3 Part Two „Development‟ consists of three chapters: Chapter 1 provides the Literature review Chapter 2 details the a quasi-experemental research Chapter 3 presents results of the study, the findings and implications . Part Three „Conclusion‟ summarizes the main issues of the study and proposes limitations and suggestions for further studies. 4 PART TWO – DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1. The Internet as a language teaching and learning tool The Internet is a valuable resource to both language teachers and learners: - allows language learners to communicate with native speakers, facilitates the use of the specific language in an authentic setting - can be used to acquire information from language resources for a variety of purposes - serves as a medium for experiencing and presenting creative works. The use of the Internet has been shown to promote higher order thinking skills: logic skills, scanning, discarding, and evaluative judgment, reading skills and strategies. The Internet also promotes literacy for authentic purposes: - communication with native speakers furthers literacy development for authentic purposes - enables language learners to compare student perspectives on an issue - allows them to practice specific skills: negotiating, persuading and authentic discussion. Promotion of literacy also occurs within a social context. The interaction can lead to cooperative projects and increased communication between students from all over the world, in turn leading to the development of social skills. The use of the Internet promote computer skills and technical experiences of using it. The Internet provides supplemental language activities which can provide students with additional practice in specific areas of language learning. 1.2. Drawbacks of the Internet in language teaching and learning The nature of the Internet itself can be a disadvantage at times. It may take time to access information or browse the net and technical glitches can lead to frustration. Lack of training and familiarity on part of the teachers can make it difficult to implement the Internet in the language teaching and learning. Costs related to training, as well as on-line costs of using a provider are issues that may interfere with implementing such a technology in schools. The Internet offers access to all types of issues and topics, some of which are unsuitable for children, and this in itself may result in various problems. Equity issues may also present difficulties when attempting to implement such technology in the language teaching and learning. Many institutions may also not have the computers or computing facilities necessary to implement such type of technology and foreign language teachers are anxious about computers since they often have little experience with it. 1.3. Web-based language learning (WBLL) activities WBLL is language learning that involves the use of the web and exploits web materials, resources, applications or tools. There are some types of WBLL activities: pre-created web activities, task-based web activities, problem-solving tasks and teacher-made web activities. There are various websites available on the net, what they have to do is to register to be a member and follows the guidelines to freely use activities the websites provide. One thing should be paid much attention is to select appropriate ones for certain uses. 1.4. Listening comprehension- a brief theoretical overview 1.4.1. Definition of listening Listening is as an important component in the process of second language acquisition . 5 Listening is an invisible mental process. Listeners must discriminate between sounds, understand vocabulary and grammatical structures, interpret stress and intention, retain and interpret this within the immediate and the larger socio-cultural context of the utterance . 1.4.2. Strategies of listening comprehension Three stages are mentioned. - First, the listener must recognize that the sounds are an actual message and not just noise. This recognition means to the listener that the sounds are elements of the language system. - In the second stage, the listener identifies sounds along with lexical and syntactic forms by segmenting and grouping them. - The third stage involves recoding in order to retain the auditory message in long-term storage. These stages are necessarily rapid and overlapping. Among all the strategies for listening, three main types of strategies are claimed: - Meta-cognitive strategy was a kind of self-regulated learning. It included the attempt to plan, check, monitor, select, revise, and evaluate Generally, it can be discussed through pre-listening planning , while-listening monitoring and post-listening evaluation strategies. - The cognitive strategies are related to comprehending and storing input in working memory or long-term memory for later retrieval. They are investigated from the aspects of bottom-up and top- down strategies. Bottom-up processing refers to using the incoming input as the basis for understanding the message. Top-down processing went from meaning to language. However, listening comprehension was not only utilized bottom-up but also top-down processing models. - For social strategies- techniques listeners used to collaborate with others to verify understanding or to lower anxiety. It was essential to reduce the anxiety, feel confident in doing listening tasks, and promote personal motivation in improving listening competence. .1.4.3. Process of comprehension in listening I.4.3.1. Perception cracking the code The listener has to be able to recognize and discriminate between contrasting sound, stresses, intonations and word shapes. This is called “code-cracking” I.4.3.2. Decoding- making sense of the message Each short stretch of meaningful listening material has to be (i) recognized as meaningful and understood on reception (ii) held in the short-term memory long enough (iii) for it to be related to what has gone before and what follows Out of this process come pieces of information which can be stored in the long-term memory for later recall. What is remembered later and presumably what is stored in the long-term memory are the gist of the message. 1.4.3.3. Prediction and selection The listener predict what is likely to come next and select which stretches of material he will pay maximum attention to. His prediction and selection come from the logic of details in the passage, knowledge of the language and life experience. I.4.4. Types of listening activities (i) No overt response: Learner do not have to do anything in response to the listening, only understand its main idea or enjoy it silently themselves: stories, songs, films, video, radio. (ii) Short response: Obeying instructions, Ticking off items, True/ False- Right/ Wrong, Dectecting mistakes, Blank-filling/cloze, Guessing definitions, Multiple choice items. (iii) Longer responses: Answering open-ended questions, Note taking, Dictation, Paraphrasing and translating, Summarizing, Long gap-filling. 6 (iv) Extended responses: Problem solving, Information transfer, Interpretation. 1.5. Listening practice in relation to the web 1.5.1. Reasons for using the web for developing and improving listening comprehension (i) Current students - the “Net Generation”- expect a language school or programme to offer opportunities to use technology in their courses. (ii) The use of technology outside the language classroom can make learners more autonomous. Using technology allows language practice and self-study anywhere. (iii) New information technology skills-Internet search skills can be transferred to real life. (iv) The use of technology via web-based environment can be current. (v) While listening to digital audio or watching a video clip, learners have the opportunity to pause, listen and read a transcript or get instant feedback on what they have done. (vi) Learners can access authentic websites. They can plan out their own use of web-based materials in their own time. Then they become effective listeners and independent learners. 1.5.2. An example of free listening material source and web-based listening techniques and activities Randall’s Cyber Listening Lab – http://www.esl-lab.com/- A non-commercial site developed by Randall Davis- include over 140 exercises divided into 4 groups: general listening, academic listening, long conversations with video, and short exercises. Exercises are divided into easy, medium, difficult, and very difficult. Lessons have pre- and post-listening exercises, the latter including quizzes and text completion. Using Randall‟s Cyber Listening Lab. Among other things, the author advises students to select familiar topics if they want to focus on language development and processing, and less familiar topics for more of a challenge for global listening. For difficult material, especially in an unfamiliar area, they may want to review the script first. CHAPTER 2: METHOD OF THE STUDY 2.1. Quasi-experimental research Experiments are carried out to explore the strength of relationship between variables. In a quasi-experiment, one has little or no control over the allocation of the treatments or other factors being studied. The key difference is the lack of random assignment. Another unique element is use of time series analysis, both interrupted and non-interrupted. There are several types of quasi-experimental designs ranging from the simple to the complex, each having different strengths, weaknesses and applications. Experimental research methods revolve around hypotheses and the final goal of experimental designs is to eliminate alternative hypothesis. There are three types of hypotheses: research hypothesis, null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis. The present study is conducted as a quasi-experimental design. Three hypotheses were set up. The first hypothesis stated in the research questions, the second one was the null hypothesis- there is no difference between the posttest scores of the experimental group and the control group. Only one the alternative hypothesis was set up for the study: the pretest score of the experimental group and the control group are different. 2.2. The setting of the study The study was conducted among 40 first-year non-major students at NUTE who come from two groups ĐK6C and CK14D. A program of English consisting two stages has been implemented at the university. The first one is focused on basic English. Students are taught intergrated skills and progress from elementary level to pre-intermediate level. The course book in this stage is the 7 Headway series, including Headway Elementary and Headway Pre-Intermediate. This stage aims at providing the four language skills and also some sub-skills such as using dictionary, searching for the net, self-study. A variety of approaches and methods have been employed during the teaching and learning process. 2.3. Participants The participants included 40 non-major students at NUTE in their first year. The students were divided into two groups: experimental group and control group, each has 20 students. These participants were not randomly selected and they belong naturally to two available groups: ĐK6C and CK14D. They are attending basic English One with the course book Headway Elementary by Liz and John Soars- Oxford University Press. Among them, the male students outnumbered the female with 24 (60%) and 16 (40%). The experimental group practise listening for details themselves with the suggested websites while the control group self-study listening comprehension following the traditional mode- use analogue and tape-based format (cassette ). The experimental group consists of 20 students, 14 males and 6 females while the control group consists of 20 students, 10 males and 10 females. 2.4. Instruments 2.4.1 Pretest and posttest In terms of the content, the tests simply consist of two parts: The first part includes about fifteen pictures simple and familiar with students. What students have to do is to listen to the song and click the correct words. This section aims at checking students‟ ability to identify and tick the phrases being sung very quickly. The second part requires students to listen carefully and complete the conversation by filling in the missing words or sentences. There were about six gaps. This part tests students‟ ability to remember and guess what is said in the dialogue. The exercise sometimes asks for knowledge of grammar and vocabulary in a particular context. 2.4.2 A survey questionnaire The survey questionnaire designed for students includes 17 questions and was administered to the experimental group. The aims is to investigate students‟ opinions and attitudes towards the use of web-based listening activities in listening and to find out the difficulties students faced with in the process of self-study. Seventeen questions of the questionnaire were divided into two parts. The first one consists of 8 questions with 7 close-ended questions and 1 open-ended question, their objectives were to investigate the students‟ attitudes towards the application of web-based listening activities and their opinions about the effectiveness of that application in their self-study at NUTE. The open-ended question was to get students‟ advice and comment for the better use of web-based listening activities: The second part of the questionnaire consists of 7 questions (from 9 to 15) which aims at stating the difficulties students had when self studying with the suggested websites. 2.5. Procedure The study were carried out as the following procedure: select subjects, divide experimental and control group, administer pretest to the two groups, suggest two websites to the experimental group, the experimental group self-practise with the listening activities in the suggested websites, administer posttest to the two groups, administer survey questionnaire to the experimental group, collect and analyze results, raise conclusion and implications CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS 3.1. Findings 8 3.1.1. Research question 1 1. To what extent does the utilization of web-based listening activities affect the effectiveness of teaching and learning the skill of listening for details for the first-year non-major students at NUTE? Table 1: Result of t-test for comparison between pretest scores of experimental group and control group t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances Experimental Group Control Group Mean 11.15 10.75 Variance 5.292105263 4.723684211 Observations 20 20 Pooled Variance 5.007894737 Hypothesized Mean Difference 0 df 38 t Stat 0.565239359 P(T<=t) two-tail 0.575233262 t Critical two-tail 2.024394147 It might be that the experiment group and the control group started at the same level of listening comprehension for details, or at least the ability of doing ticking off items and gap filling exercises while listening. The null hypothesis is repeated here: there is no difference between the posttest scores of the experimental group and the control group. Table 2: Descriptive Statistics for Pretest and Posttest scores of Experimental group Experimental Group Pretest Posttest Mean 11.15 14.5 Standard Error 0.514397962 0.494708846 Standard Deviation 2.30045762 2.212405217 Sample Variance 5.292105263 4.894736842 Range 8 8 Sum 223 290 Count 20 20 Confidence Level(95.0%) 1.076647305 1.035437512 Table 3: Descriptive Statistics for Pretest and Posttest scores of Control group Control Group Pretest Posttest Mean 10.75 11.3 Standard Error 0.485987871 0.49257647 Standard Deviation 2.173403831 2.202868943 Sample Variance 4.723684211 4.852631579 Range 7 7 Sum 215 226 Count 20 20 Confidence Level(95.0%) 1.017184301 1.030974398 The tables indicate the positive influence of using web-based listening activities in the self-study process. 9 Table 4: Result of t-test for comparison between posttest scores of experimental group and control group t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances Experimental Group Control Group Mean 14.5 11.3 Variance 4.894736842 4.852631579 Observations 20 20 Pooled Variance 4.873684211 Hypothesized Mean Difference 0 df 38 t Stat 4.583753826 P(T<=t) two-tail 0.000048 t Critical two-tail 2.024394147 A conclusion can be drawn that there was a statistically significant difference between the posttest means of the experimental group and the control group. Hence, the null hypothesis- there is no difference between the posttest scores of the experimental group and the control group- is rejected, in other words, the treatment was effective. Chart 2: Pretest and Posttest Mean Increase 14.5 11.15 11.3 10.75 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Pretest Posttest Scores mean Experimental Control The chart shows that the middle scores of the experimental group increased more significantly after the treatment in comparison with the non-treatment group. However, these results may due to the different starting level of English proficiency of the experimental group and the control group. The alternative hypothesis- the two group had started at the same level of English- was totally eliminated based on the result of pretest scores of the two groups. In short, the use of web-based listening activities has better influence on improving NUTE students‟ self-study listening comprehension skill than the traditional mode. This study has provided a strong case for the conclusion that web-based listening activities has positive effect on students‟ self study listening comprehension. Students taking part in the suggested web-based listening activities will be likely to make more progress in their listening for details ability than those who follow the traditional way of studying. This also means that the answer proposed to the first question can be said to have been confirmed. 3.1.2. Research question 2 10 2. What are students’ opinions and attitudes towards the use of web-based listening activities in the suggested websites in their listening self-study? The results from the survey questionnaire administered to the experimental group are analyzed to answer this question, In general, most of the respondents show agreement on the usefulness of the web-based listening activities in the two suggested websites. They hope more activities like these would be introduced. This finding gives further support to the assumption that the web-based listening activities will help to motivate students in their self-study. This questionnaire also reveals that the majority of the students find their listening comprehension improved thanks to the web-based listening activities practice. The analysis and the synthesis of the two groups‟ test scores show that the experimental group make a better improvement in the ability of listening for details. The two groups‟ pretest scores comparison analysis helps to strengthen the conclusion that the improvement made by those who participating in the web-based listening activities is not due to chance. 3.1.3. Research question 3 3. What are the problems that students have during the process of using web-based activities to improve their listening comprehension self- studying? The questions from 9 to 15 aim at finding out the problems students cope with during self-study process. The author focuses on the problems of the amount of instructions, the time, the cost as well as other difficulties websites. Most participants did not have serious problems. The most explicit disadvantage is the problem of time-consuming. Not enough exchange between students and the teacher as well as the teacher‟s guidance come second. Other troubles are phonetic and lexical problems, negative attitudes with the tasks‟level misorder, expenses. Most students would use these websites to support their learning and introduce to other learners. 3.2. Implications The use of web-based listening activities in the two suggested websites to self- practise listening for details can serve as an effective tool that remarkably supports non-major students at NUTE in their listening comprehension improvement. The web-based listening activities in this study can be introduced widely to other groups at the university with higher language proficiency levels, and also English for Specific Purposes. Teachers can explore more common and useful websites and introduce to students to practise other language skills. Whichever websites are explored, some notes should be considered: the sections in the websites must be at the students‟ English proficiency level; students need to be made familiar with searching the Internet for self-study and they should be provided with certain basic knowledge of Information Technology and necessary skills to work on the net. Teachers should take some following characteristics of good web listening lessons into consideration: Are organized, Give comprehension help, Supplement, Challenge students, Are oriented to the global village, Build listening skills. [...]... different language proficiency levels and other skills developing as well The next is the intergrating technology especially the Internet with web-based activities into the syllabus used in the university The last, at NUTE, students learn basic English with the course book Headway Elementary and Pre-Intermediate by Liz and Joan Soars and English for Specific Purposes, it is the author‟s expectation to... listening activities outside classroom These problems will be considered in the future researches into the field The result of the study lay the foundation for further researches into a wider range of population and varying English proficiency levels The study was carried out with the author‟s hope to increasing more information technology application especially the Internet with appropriate webbased... Conclusion In the present study, the author has conducted a quasi-experimental research which makes use of the Internet tool with web-based activities to help students at NUTE in listening self-study The study was carried on 20 first-year non-major students in the two separate groups The findings show that there was a statisticallly significant difference in the posttest score mean of both control group and... for form-focused learning But that also implies that when it comes to open-ended questions, the reliability of the web medium in checking the accuracy of the answers is low 3 Suggestions for further study The findings and limitations of the study indicate some suggestions for further research The first suggestion is the application of the study with a bigger sample The second is that the study can be... period of time (four weeks) As such, it was impossible for the author to study the participants‟ background information as well as other factors that may at the same time also affect students learning results The next one is that as this is the first time the author has applied the experiment of web-based activities use for students self-study, this means they explore the suggested websites to study themselves... attitudes towards the web-based activities use which motivated them and made them feel comfortable and self-controlled during the self-study process It may be said that the web-based activities application in the learning process partly contributed to the better result of the posttests The study also provides information about problems encountered by the students during the experiment of the web-based... activities in English self-study for better result of language learning at NUTE and other institutions in Vietnam, too 2 Limitations of the study The study contains some following limitations: The first inevitable one is the size of the experiment Also, the experimental subjects‟ proficiency levels was elementary, this narrows the range of students levels so partly prevented the author from getting a full... findings However, the statistically significant difference is not enough to come to conclusion that the application of web-based activities for developing listening for details ability always brings effective influence to every student as the research‟s limitation in terms of sample size and other uncontrollable counfounding variables But the significance of the findings lies in the fact that students had... although their pretest score level were equal This means that the students taking part in the experiment of using web-based listening activities made more significant improvement in self-studying the skill of listening for details than those did not follow the application The survey questionnaire for students generally received positive responses to that application and it is strongly supported the findings... idea of the effect of web-based activities at all proficiency levels The second limitation is the subjects‟ gender, 60% of the subjects are males As such, it may be unreasonable to make sure that the similar findings could be concluded when carrying out the research among a wider range of gender The third one lies in the fact that the application of web-based listening activities was experimented in . The use of the Internet tool as an assistance for first-year non-major students at Namdinh University of Technology Education in basic English self-study Ngô Thị Thơm. tool contributing to the formation of that alternative mode. 2 This paper studies the use of the Internet tool as an assistance for first-year non-major students at Namdinh University of. developing as well. The next is the intergrating technology especially the Internet with web-based activities into the syllabus used in the university. The last, at NUTE, students learn basic English