Applications of task based language approach in textbooks for grade 10 students in developing listening skills an action research

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ********* TRẦN THỊ MAI HUYỀN APPLICATIONS OF TASK-BASED LANGUAGE APPROACH IN TEXTBOOKS FOR GRADE-10 STUDENTS IN DEVELOPING LISTENING SKILLS: AN ACTION RESEARCH (ỨNG DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP HỌC TẬP THEO NHIỆM VỤ TRONG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10 NHẰM PHÁT TRIỂN KĨ NĂNG NGHE: MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 HANOI – 2020 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ********* TRẦN THỊ MAI HUYỀN APPLICATIONS OF TASK-BASED LANGUAGE APPROACH IN TEXTBOOKS FOR GRADE-10 STUDENTS IN DEVELOPING LISTENING SKILLS: AN ACTION RESEARCH (ỨNG DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP HỌC TẬP THEO NHIỆM VỤ TRONG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10 NHẰM PHÁT TRIỂN KĨ NĂNG NGHE: MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Supervisor: Prof Dr Hoàng Văn Vân HANOI – 2020 DECLARATION I guarantee that I myself write this thesis entitled “Applications of Task-based language approach in textbooks for grade-10 students in developing listening skills” There is no plagiarism here and if anything is taken from others’ works, it is surely written in quotation Then, the sources would be listed on the list of references I am ready to be inflicted any academic punishment if the proclamation proves inaccurate Signature Tran Thi Mai Huyen i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to my thesis advisor, Prof Dr Hoang Van Van for his continuous support, invaluable feedback throughout the process of the study He provided me with constant guidance and encouragement which turned the demanding thesis writing into a smooth and fruitful process I would also like to express my special thanks to all my dear colleagues of FPT High School, and my classmates of the Department of Post-graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi who never hesitated to help me and share their experience Special thanks to all participants in FPT High School for their participation and patience during the process of the study in the academic year of 2018- 2019 semester Finally, I am deeply grateful to all members of my family for being so motivating and patient throughout the study ii ABSTRACT Developing listening skills is an important sphere in studying a language This study focused on improving listening skills through Task-based language teaching (TBLT) TBLT is a methodology that develops from a focus on classroom tasks 30 grade-10 students in FPT High School were the participants of the study through an action research with two cycles of treatment employed A pre-test, the instruction, and two post-tests were given to the participants TBLT was applied for the participants The comparisons between the results of the pre-test and post-tests were made through paired sample t-tests The results indicated that the students after the treatment performed better The results were also supported by the data collected from interviews, questionnaires and class observations This study may have pedagogical implications for practitioners in the field and for syllabus designers to have suitable tasks in English textbooks and English teachers would use the most effective teaching methods for their students iii LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as Foreign Language Ss: Students T: Teacher TBLT: Task-based language teaching MOET: The Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training CEFR: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages iv LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 3.1: Score interval for tests .23 Table 4.1: Kinds of tasks in while-listening stage 29 Table 4.2: Paired Samples Statistics (pre-test & post-test 1) 32 Table 4.3: Paired Samples Correlations (pre-test & post-test 1) 33 Table 4.4: Paired Samples Statistics (post-test & post-test 2) .33 Table 4.5: Paired Samples Correlations (post-test & post-test 2) 34 Table 4.6: Paired Samples T-Test (post-test & post-test 2) 34 Table 4.7: Students' assessment on the teacher's teaching activities in listening lessons .34 Figure 3.1: The scheme of Classroom Action Research (CAR 21 Figure 4.1: Favorite listening tasks in listening lessons 28 Figure 4.2: Factors affecting in doing listening tasks .30 Figure 4.3: Students’ listening strategies 31 Figure 4.4: Students' improvement in listening skills .35 Figure 4.5: Effects of TBLT on listening comprehension 36 v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS iv LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study 1.2 Rationale for the study 1.3 Aims and objectives of the study 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Significance of the study .4 1.6 A Summary of research methodology 1.6.1 Participants 1.6.2 Research instruments 1.6.3 Research procedures 1.7 Structure of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Task-based language teaching (TBLT) 2.1.1 Definition of task .8 2.1.2 Task-based language teaching (TBLT) 2.2 Listening 12 2.2.1 Definition 12 2.2.2 Purposes of listening .13 2.2.3 Listening process .13 2.3 Previous studies 15 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 17 3.1 Research settings 17 vi 3.1.1 FPT High School .17 3.1.2 Teachers and students .17 3.1.3 Listening materials 18 3.2 Research method 19 3.2.1 Classroom action research (CAR) 19 3.2.2 Treatment 22 3.3 Data collection instruments 22 3.3.1 Listening tests 22 3.3.2 Questionnaire 23 3.3.3 Class observations 24 3.3.4 Interview 24 3.3.5 Data collection procedure .25 3.4 Data analysis .25 3.5 Summary 25 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 27 4.1 Research question 1: 27 4.1.1 Favorite tasks in listening lessons 27 4.1.2 Kinds of tasks in listening lessons 29 4.1.3 Difficulties while listening .29 4.1.4 Students' listening strategies 31 4.2 Research question 32 4.2.1 Results from tests .32 4.2.2 Results from student questionnaire 34 4.3 Research question 37 4.3.1 Applications of TBLT in teaching 37 4.3.2 Teacher’ activities at listening stages 38 4.4 Results from observations 39 4.5 Discussion 39 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS 40 vii 5.1 Summary 41 5.2 Pedagogical implications 43 5.3 Recommendations 43 5.3.1 Recommendations for teachers .43 5.3.2 Recommendations for students .44 5.4 Limitations 44 5.5 Suggestions for further research .45 REFERENCES 45 APPENDIX I APPENDIX 1: STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE I APPENDIX 2: TEACHER INTERVIEW III APPENDIX 3: SAMPLE OF CLASSROOM OBSERVATION IV APPENDIX 4: LISTENING TEST VII APPENDIX 5: TEST RESULTS XI viii would have been better if I had conducted my study in a longer time In that case, the evaluation of students’ progress in listening skills would have been better and more effective However, it was impossible for me to have much time, so I had to my research in the limited amount of time Another limitation concerns the questionnaires distributed to the students Some students were not serious about completing questionnaires For the researcher, questionnaires play a vital role in the study, but students did not realize its importance This caused the problem of analysis after data was collected 5.5 Suggestions for further research Considering the contribution and limitations of my study, I would like to suggest all future researchers to take into consideration the following points First of all, besides the effcts of TBLT in listening skills, the researchers can carry out further research to investigate other skills such as: Reading, Speaking, Writing to examine the possible role of this approach Furthermore, setting proper time is important when a valid investigation is conducted I would like to advise the future researchers to arrange a longer period of time so that students can have the opportunity to be given more different types of tasks and perform them in a greater number of times Another strong suggestion for all future researchers is that they need to investigate listening skills with the effects of each task type This could help give appropriate tasks to students and there might be a greater improvement in their listening skills Consideration of all my recommendations for future researchers in this field would help any investigator to address and improve issues illustrated in my study and realise a more reliable and helpful study It is believed that present and future research will bestow on the EFL teaching methodology and learning in Vietnamese educational system REFERENCES 45 Arikunto, S., Suhardjono, & Supardi (2010) Penelitian tindakan kelas Jakarta: Bumi Aksara Bell, J (1999) Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First-time Researchers in Education and Social Science (3rd ed.) Buckingham: OUP Bilash, O (2009) Content-Based Instruction Improving Second Language Education Retrieved February 21, 2012 from http://www2.education.ualberta.ca/staff/olenka.Bilash Bộ Giáo dục Đào tạo (MoET) (2018) Chương trình giáo dục phổ thơng môn tiếng Anh (General English Education Curriculum) (Ban hành theo Thông tư số32/2018/TT-BGDĐT ngày 26 tháng 12 năm 2018 Bộ trưởng Bộ Giáo dục Đào tạo) Bygate, M., P Skehan and M Swain (eds.) 2001 Researching Pedagogic tasks: Second Language Learning, Teaching and Testing London: Longman Carless, D (2002) Implementing Task-based Learning ELT Journal, 56(4), 389396 Dunkel, P.A (1986) Developing Listening Fluency in L2: Theoretical Principles and Pedagogical Considerations Modern Language Journal, 70, 99-106 Ellis, R (2003) Task-based Language Learning and Teaching Oxford: Oxford University Press Hoang Van Van et al (2018) Tieng Anh 11 - Thi Diem Hanoi: Education Publishing House Johnson, K & Morrow, K (1981) Communication in the Classroom London: Longman Le, Q.C (2018) Tại dạy tiếng Anh Việt Nam không hiệu quả? Giáo dục Việt Nam Retrieved from: https://giaoduc.net.vn/giao-duc-24h/tai-sao-daytieng-anh-o-viet-nam-khong-hieu-qua-post193491.gd Leaver, B.L & Willis, J (2004) Instruction in Foreign Language Education: Practices and Programmes Washington D.C.: Georgetown University 46 Press Mackey, A (Ed.) (2007) Conversational interaction in second language acquisition: A collection of empirical studies Oxford University Press Maghsoudi, N & Golshan, M (2017) The impact of Task-based Language Teaching on Listening skill of Iranian EFL Learners Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, (6), 241-253 Nunan, D (2004) Task-based Language Teaching Cambridge: CUP Prabhu, N S (1987) Second Language Pedagogy Oxford: Oxford University Press Rost, M (2002) Teaching and Researching Listening London, UK: Longman Sarỗoban, A., & Karakurt, L (2016) The Use of Task-Based Activities to Improve Listening and speaking Skills in EFL Context Sino-US English Teaching, 13(6), 445–459 Skehan, P (1996) A Framework for the Implementation of TBI Instruction Applied Linguistics, 17(1), 38-62 Tyagi, B (2013) Listening: An Important Skill and its Various Aspects The Criterion: An International Journal in English, 12, 5-8 Thủ tướng Chính phủ (The Prime Minister of the SRV) (2008) Quyết định việc phê duyệt Đề án Dạy học ngoại ngữ hệ thống giáo dục quốc dân giai đoạn 2008-2020 (Decision on the Approval of the Project “Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National Education System Period 20082020”) (Ban hành kèm theo Quyết định số 1400/QĐ-TTg ngày 30 tháng năm 2008 Thủ tướng Chính phủ) Retrieved from http://p2020.ehou.edu.vn/de-an-ngoai-ngu-quoc-gia/ Underwood, M (1989) Teaching Listening New York: Longman Willis, D (1996) A Framework for Task-based Learning London, Longman Zhang, N (2017) The Empirical Study on Task-based Listening Teaching Mode in Junior High School of China Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 8(2), 202-212 47 APPENDIX APPENDIX 1: STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE Instructions: This questionnaire aims to collect your opinion about how effective TBLT is on listening skills Please answer the questions below with reference to my thesis “Applications of Task-based language approach in textbooks for grade-10 students in developing listening skills” Your cooperation would be essential in my paper Please be assured that all your answers will be treated confidentially and used solely for research purposes while anonymity will be guaranteed throughout the whole research process Please tick the appropriate opinions to respond to each statement or question and answer the questions as accurately and frankly as possible as What are your favourite activities in listening lessons? (Check all choices that apply) • Pre-teaching vocabulary • Listening in details • Brainstorming • Feedback from teacher • Prediction • Integration of Listening with Speaking • Listening for main idea • Listening for specific and Writing • Others: information With the options not chosen, give the reasons why you don't like: Which listening tasks are you often asked to in while-listening stage? (Check all choices that apply) • True- False items • Multiple choice • Gap- filling • Others: • Comprehension questions Which factors affect you in the completion of listening tasks? (Check all choices that apply) I • New words • Speed of the recordings • Accent of speakers • Types of tasks • Topical knowledge • Others: How you deal with listening tasks while you listen? • Listen and answer the questions • Listen, take notes & answer the questions • Listen only • Others: What you think about the teacher's tasks to stimulate you in listening lessons? A I like very much B I like C I don't mind D I don't like • How are your listening skills improved after the course? nothing • very little • little • much • very much How you think listening tasks affect your listening skills? (Check all choices that apply) • They help improve my listening level • They help increase my listening scores • They help me acquire more listening strategies • I don't think they help my listening skills • I don't know • Others: Thank you very much for your help and cooperation! II APPENDIX 2: TEACHER INTERVIEW Open-ended questionnaire for teachers The following questionnaire will be used in my MA thesis research work at FPT High School I would very much appreciate it if you take a few minutes of your time to fill it out Thank you for your help Personal information:  Name  Gender _  Teaching experience _years Interview questions What are your viewpoints about the implementation of TBLT in textbooks to develop listening skills at FPT High School? Is it challenging for you to implement TBLT? If yes/ no, why? What you think are the important factors why TBLT has been implemented effectively in your teaching context? To what extent are the students motivated by the applications of TBLT in your classrooms? Which tasks you frequently use in pre- listening stage? Which tasks you frequently use in while- listening stage? Which tasks you frequently use in post- listening stage? III APPENDIX 3: SAMPLE OF CLASSROOM OBSERVATION (one sample in four) TEACHINGS OBSERVATION SHEET Teacher’s name: Ms Ly Date & time of observation: 9h15 – 10h, 11/9/2018 Lesson topic: Unit 1: Family life- Skills: Listening- Tieng Anh 10 Thi Diem No of students: 30 Full note of teacher’s and students’ activities: *Procedures: Time/Stages Pre-listening minutes While-listening minutes minutes Teacher’s activities Student’s activities Play a game: Miming the - Work in group action - Do the task - Present the answer - Listen to the Activity - Ask Ss to answer some instruction questions: Answer the - Introduce the content of the questions listening that they are going to listen Activity -Ask Ss to look at the sentences in task and guess which is true or which is false -Play the tape first time -At the first time ask Ss to give the answer if they can -Read the text second time -Ask Ss to give the evidence -Listen the answers then give comment IV Content How does your family share the household chores? Is your mother a homemaker? Is your father a breadwinner? Do you think that both parents now work to contribute the family finances? -Read task Suggested answers: - Listen to the tape T T T - Do the task F T Answer the questions -In the third listening teacher check the understand of Ss - Call some of them to give answers - Give comment 10 minutes 10 minutes - Work in pairs - Do the task Activity Have Ss work in pairs to Answer the match the words/ phrases with questions its appropriate meaning Ask them to guess the part of speech of the word given Part of speech Balance (n) Nurture (v) Equally shared parenting Traditional (a) Solution (n) Ask some of them to tell the answer Give comments - Read task - Listen to the tape - Do the task Activity Ask Ss to read the task Answer the Ask Ss to look at the key questions words Play the tape first time At the first time ask Ss to give the answer if they can Read the text second time Ask Ss to give the evidence Listen the answers then give comment In the third listening teacher check the understand of Ss Call some of them to give answers Give comment V Answers: e b d a c 1/ How has the role of men in the family changed? 2/ How have men’s and women’s roles become alike? What is the result of equally shared parenting? Suggested answers: They are not the only breadwinner in the family, and they get more involved in housework and parenting Both are responsible for family finances, homemaking and parenting 3.The families become happier and the divorce rate among them is the lowest Post-listening minutes Homework minute - Ask Ss to consolidate the Give feedback main contents - Give feedback - T asks Ss to write the Note down Work book dialogue in the notebook homework - Prepare for the next lesson Experience:  Students were motivated by the activities the teacher gave, so the atmosphere in the class was pleasant  The teacher was energetic and careful as well during the completion of tasks  The arrangement of the activities was suitable and the time for each task was reasonable VI APPENDIX 4: LISTENING TEST SAMPLE TEST Time allowance: 30 mins Full name: Mark: Question 1-5:  There are five questions in this part  For each question there are three pictures and a short recording  Choose the correct picture and put a tick (√) in the box below it VII Questions 6-10: There are five questions in this part For each question, circle the correct answer A, B, or C You will listen to the recording twice What does the father want the son to at the beginning of the conversation? A Clean the bathroom B Do the family room C Know the rules What is one thing the boy is NOT assigned to around the house? A Clean the garage B Vacuum the floors C Wash the walls What is the chore that the son is NOT doing in his bedroom? A Put away his toys B Make his bed VIII C Pick up his clothes What is the father going to while the boy is doing his household chores? A Wash the car B Paint the house C Work in the yard 10 Where will the son go after completing the housework? A To the cinema B Out to eat C To a ball game Question 11- 15: You will hear a schoolteacher talking to a group of students about a national poetry competition For each question, fill the missing information in the numbered space POETRY COMPETITION FOR SCHOOLS The competition for 11- 14s is called the (11) Prize The topic for this year is (12) The title of last year's winning poem was (13) This year the prize money available is (14) If successful, the school will spend the money on the (15) Questions 16-20: You will hear short conversations between two people After each conversation, you will hear a question about the conversation The conversations and questions will not be repeated 16 A Lock the computer lab later C Buy a new lock for the computer lab B Leave with the man D Show the man where the lab is 17 A The man should watch the program too B The man should leave the television on C The program will be over soon D She will watch television later 18 A He is not sure what course to take B He may not meet the graduation requirements C The math course is too short D The graduation date has been changed 19 A He does not like the painting either B He does not know how to paint IX C He does not have any paintings D He does not know what to 20 A Rare books B Paintings C Photographs D Historical reports Answer key B A 11 T/tiger 16 A B A 12 C/change 17 A C C 13 T/trains 18 C B C 14 two thousand/ 2(,)000 19 B A 10 B 15 library 20 D X APPENDIX 5: TEST RESULTS Pre-test Post-test Post-test 1.50 1.00 2.50 5.00 5.00 5.00 9.00 9.00 8.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.50 6.00 6.00 7.50 6.00 7.00 3.50 3.00 4.50 6.00 5.50 5.50 4.50 5.00 5.50 8.00 7.00 8.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 7.50 8.00 7.00 2.50 3.50 4.00 6.50 5.00 6.50 8.50 8.50 8.50 2.00 5.00 5.50 5.00 6.00 6.00 2.00 4.00 5.00 6.50 7.00 6.00 1.00 2.50 3.00 5.50 7.00 5.00 6.00 6.00 6.50 2.50 5.50 5.50 4.50 7.00 7.50 5.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 10.00 9.00 9.50 10.00 8.00 6.50 6.50 9.00 3.50 6.00 6.00 7.50 8.00 6.00 5.50 4.00 4.00 XI 3.00 4.50 5.50 7.00 6.00 7.50 5.00 7.00 7.50 9.00 8.50 8.00 4.00 4.00 7.00 6.50 5.00 5.50 5.50 6.00 7.00 5.00 5.50 5.00 9.00 7.00 9.00 5.50 6.50 7.00 9.00 9.00 8.00 4.00 3.00 6.00 3.50 4.00 7.00 5.50 6.00 6.00 8.00 6.50 7.00 5.00 5.00 6.50 10.00 9.50 9.50 4.50 5.50 6.50 6.50 8.00 8.50 8.50 9.00 9.00 5.50 5.50 5.50 5.00 5.00 6.00 4.00 5.50 7.00 7.00 7.50 8.00 3.00 3.50 6.00 5.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 5.50 3.50 4.00 7.50 7.50 5.00 6.00 XII ... this thesis entitled ? ?Applications of Task- based language approach in textbooks for grade- 10 students in developing listening skills? ?? There is no plagiarism here and if anything is taken from others’... Prediction • • Listening for main idea Writing • • Listening for specific • Integration of Listening with Speaking and Others: information Figure 4.1: Favorite listening tasks in listening lessons... study ii ABSTRACT Developing listening skills is an important sphere in studying a language This study focused on improving listening skills through Task- based language teaching (TBLT) TBLT is