An evaluation of the application of the courseware “Learn To Speak English Deluxe 10” in language lab for the first year non-major of English students at Hanoi University of Business and Technology

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** PHÙNG THỊ NHƯ TRANG AN EVALUATION OF THE APPLICATION OF THE COURSEWARE “LEARN TO SPEAK ENGLISH DELUXE 10” IN LANGUAGE LAB FOR THE FIRST YEAR NON-MAJOR OF ENGLISH STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY Đánh giá việc ứng dụng phần mềm chương trình dạy học “ Learn To Speak English Deluxe 10” phịng máy cho sinh viên năm thứ khơng chuyên Anh trường Đại Học Kinh Doanh Công Nghệ Hà Nội M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI – 2015 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** PHÙNG THỊ NHƯ TRANG AN EVALUATION OF THE APPLICATION OF THE COURSEWARE “LEARN TO SPEAK ENGLISH DELUXE 10” IN LANGUAGE LAB FOR THE FIRST YEAR NON-MAJOR OF ENGLISH STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY Đánh giá việc ứng dụng phần mềm chương trình dạy học “ Learn To Speak English Deluxe 10” phòng máy cho sinh viên năm thứ không chuyên Anh trường Đại Học Kinh Doanh Công Nghệ Hà Nội M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Prof Nguyễn Hoà HANOI – 2015 DECLARATION I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “ An evaluation of the application of the courseware Learn To Speak English Deluxe 10 in language lab for the first year non major of English students at Hanoi University of Business and Technology” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts, and that this thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or tertiary institution Hanoi, 2015 Phùng Thị Như Trang i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author of this thesis is grateful to a great number of people who did offer assistance and support in the preparation of the dissertation I am most grateful to Prof Nguyễn Hòa- my supervisor His guidance and comments have helped me fulfill the thesis Without his suggestions and guidance, the thesis would never have been completed I would also like to thank the teachers at Hanoi University of Business and Technology who did their best to help me gather data from students‟ and teachers‟ questionnaires This thesis would not have been completed without the enthusiasm and the interest of the first year students in Accounting, Finance majors, who have participated in the survey Finally, I own my deepest gratitude to my family for their great encouragement and support ii ABSTRACT Applying technology and latest advance in learning is an investment and an effort of both English Department of HUBT and the school Learn To Speak English is introduced to first year students of all majors but the results were not up to expectation Moreover, no courseware is perfect in any situations For the reasons, the study is aimed to evaluate the software to find out to what extent it can meet teachers and students‟ needs in terms of contents and the presentation, organization of the content as well as to find out some benefits and difficulties in teaching and learning by using this software To evaluate the software LTSE, this study was carried out based on the criteria proposed by Georgiadou, E.,& Economides, A (2000) as a basis The data were collected from first year students from different majors and ESP teachers at HUBT In this study, the teachers and students‟ needs in language learning in terms of content and the presentation, organization of the content of LTSE were investigated The evaluation also releases some strengths and weaknesses of this software And finally, the evaluator suggests some recommendations to make better use of LTSE iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HUBT: Hanoi University of Business and Technology LTSE: “Learn to Speak English” CALL: Computer-Assisted Language Learning iv LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS Chart 1: Results of difficulties in delivering LTSE lessons Chart 2: Results of students’ evaluation of the most interesting and most difficult lesson Chart 3: Results of students’ recommendation to improve the use of LTSE Table 1: Results of Students’ and teachers’ evaluation of LTSE’s content Table 2: Results of Students’ and teachers evaluation of Pedagogical factors Table 3: Results of Students’ and Teachers’ evaluation of Interactivity Table 4: Results of students’ and teachers’ evaluation of Navigation of LTSE’s content Table 5: Results of students evaluation of Feedback of LTSE’s content Table 6: Results of students’ and teachers’ evaluation of LTSE’s screen design Table 7: Result of teachers’ opinion about the difficulties or the problems of teaching with LTSE Table 8: Results of teachers’ opinion about the benefits of teaching and learning English at HUBT Table 9: Results of Teachers’ recommendations to improve NDE Table 10: Results of students’ perception and attitudes to NDE’ benefits Table 11: Results of students’ evaluation of Challenges in LTSE studying v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS v PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study .1 Aim of the study and research questions 2.1 Aim of the study .2 2.2 Research questions Scope of the study .2 Significance of the study Design of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .5 Computer assisted language learning (CALL) Criteria for evaluating language learning software .7 The software that has been used at HUBT 19 Learn to Speak English program 22 CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY AND DATA ANALYSIS 24 Context of the study 24 Subjects 24 The instruments 25 Data collection and analysis 28 CHAPTER THREE: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .29 Findings from part I of questionnaires and the interviews .29 Findings from part II of the questionnaires and interviews 41 vi Summary of major findings 49 PART III: CONCLUSION .51 Conclusion 51 Limitations of the study 52 Recommendations for courseware improvements 53 Suggestions for further research .54 REFERENCES 55 APPENDICES I vii PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study For decades, English was taught in classrooms in which the teacher-centered method was applied The teacher gave information, while students gained knowledge passively However, advanced technology has influenced the educational methods in classroom in which computer-based technology is mainly used to reinforce instruction and put the focus on the students in their learning process Learners can use some English learning materials easily if they are equipped with a device from very simple ones as their mobile phone, a radio, a cassette, etc to a more advanced one as laptops, ipads And they can learn English anytime, anywhere whenever they have time because learning English does bring pleasure and interests besides leaving great impact on learner‟s listening skill improvement Among those conveniences, computer technology can be regarded as an educational tool supporting language teaching In fact, a wide range of electronic technologies have been developed to supplement second language teaching and learning (Bas & Kuzucu, 2009; Warschauer, 1996) These technologies include hardware delivery methods such as audiotape recorders, videotape recorders, computers and the Internet In addition, there are many innovative electronic tools that support language learning such as speech production and recognition, text analysis, text translation, and software for visualization and animation, electronic mail, list serve discussion groups, streaming audio and video and real-time synchronous as well as asynchronous communication opportunities that bring the target language environment to the learner (LeLoup & Porterio, 1997) One of the recent educational methods for language teaching, more specifically English Language teaching, is called the Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) method which is combining with face to face classroom instruction to form a new Blended Learning model Learn To Speak English Deluxe 10 is one of those lesson in a sequence 20 Summary and review key for reviewing whole or parts of the lesson B.2.3 Feedback Yes Item Questions No 21 Does this software provide feedback immediately after a respond? 22 For incorrect responses, is there information given to the student about how to correct their answers, or hints to try again? 23 Does it keep performance records for each user? 24 Does it allow students to check their performance? 25 Are enough questions for students to practice? B.2.4 Screen Design Item Questions Poor Average 26 Screens are designed in a clear and understandable manner 27 The quality of text, images, graphics and video is good 28 Pictures, graphics, video are relevant and an aid to understanding 29 The use of pictures or graphics meaningfully supports the text provided 30 The video, audio enhances the presentation of information IX Satisfactory Good Excellent Part II Information about the benefits, the problems as well as the recomendation for LTSE software 31 What problems you have when delivering LTSE lessons? a Lack of computer skills b Difficulty in interaction between teachers and students c Shortage of time for each lesson d Other……………………………………………………………………… 32 In the process of teaching LTSE, which type of lessons appear to be the most difficult to teach? a Vocabulary lessons b Stories or communication c Grammar d Exercise e Communication 33 How does LTSE benefit the teaching and learning English at HUBT? a LTSE creates a relaxing atmosphere to motivate the target language use b LTSE promotes students‟ needs and autonomy c LTSE develops integrated English language skills, especially oral skills? d Designed lessons in LTSE are very meaningful and purposeful based on real- world context e LTSE makes use of modern equipment and technology to support lessons 34 What you recommend to improve the LTSE program at HUBT? a Reduce the workload for each lesson b Increase time for each lesson c Design further tasks after each lesson d other suggestions …………………………………………………………… Thank you for your cooperation! X Appendix : Questionnaire for Students – Vietnamese version Phiếu điều tra sinh viên Phiếu điều tra nhằm đánh giá việc ứng dụng phần mềm chương trình dạy học “ Learn to speak English deluxe 10” phịng máy cho sinh viên năm thứ khơng chun anh trường Đại Học Kinh Doanh Công Nghệ Hà Nội Thơng tin bạn cung cấp đóng vai trị quan trọng việc đánh giá sử dụng phần mềm thời gian tới Dựa vào kinh nghiệm học phần mềm này, bạn trả lời câu hỏi sau Chúng đánh giá cao hợp tác ý kiến bạn Phần I: Thông tin cụ thể để đánh giá phần mềm Learn To Speak English Hãy cho biết ý kiến bạn cách đánh dấu (√) vào lựa chọn mình: (1: hồn tồn phản đối; 2: phản đối; 3: khơng phản đối khơng đồng ý; 4: đồng ý 5: hồn toàn đồng ý) A Đánh giá nội dung: Phần mục Phần mềm cung cấp thông tin phù hợp với nhóm tuổi sinh viên Phần mềm cung cấp ngữ pháp xác Những khái niệm từ vựng phần mềm phù hợp với trình độ sinh viên Các chủ đề phần mềm phát triển logic với Sinh viên thực nhiều hoạt động với nhiều lựa chọn để tăng mức độ phức tạp học Phần mềm cung cấp đầy đủ kiến thức văn hóa, xã hội quy tắc ngữ pháp giúp sinh viên giao tiếp tự nhiên đời thực B Đánh giá cách trình bày, xếp nội dung B.1 Yếu tố giáo dục Phần mục Nội dung trình bày rõ ràng dễ hiểu Cấu trúc phần mềm cho phép XI người học xem qua phần học, ví dụ, học lại học thoát khỏi học để học khác Phần mềm cho phép sinh viên luyện tập, kiểm tra trình học cung cấp phản hồi cho sinh viên nhanh chóng dễ dàng 10 phần mềm phù hợp với đối tượng học có kiến thức kinh nghiệm học khác 11 Sinh viên tự dùng phần mềm cách độc lập, tạo cách trình bày ơn tập riêng cua B.2 Yếu tố thiết kế giao diện B.2.1 Sự tương tác Phần mục 12 Phần mềm cho phép người học tìm hiểu thông tin thông qua việc chủ động khám phá học 13 Phần mềm yêu cầu sinh viên áp dụng họ vừa học nhớ kiến thức họ nhận 14 Phần mềm khuyến khích sinh viên luyện tập tất kỹ ( nghenói-đọc-viết) 15 Phần mềm giúp sinh viên có hội thực hành giao tiếp nhanh hiệu tình thực tế 16 Phần mềm cho phép sinh viên dùng trợ giúp “help” or “hint” cách dễ dàng B.2.2 Định vị Phần mục Rất 17 Phím quay trở trang khỏi chương 18 Phím trợ giúp cho việc định vị 19 Phím chuyển phần học quay XII Kém Bình thường Tốt Rất tốt lại phần học học, phím chuyển sang học theo trình tự 20 Phím tóm tắt xem lại tất phần học B.2.3 Phản hồi Câu hỏi Có Khơng 21.phần mềm có đưa phản hồi sau người học đưa đáp án ghi âm không? 22 Đối với câu sai, phần mềm có cho sinh viên thơng tin để sửa đáp án họ, gợi ý để sinh viên thử làm lại không? 23 Các phần học sinh viên có ghi lại khơng? 24 phần mềm có cho phép sinh viên kiểm tra phần mà học khơng? 25 Phần mềm có cung cấp đủ câu hỏi để sinh viên luyện tập khơng? B.2.4 Thiết kế hình Kém Phần mục Trung bình Hài lịng Tốt Rất tốt 26 Màn hình trình bày rõ ràng dễ hiểu 27 Chất lượng chữ, hình ảnh, va video tốt 28 Tranh ảnh, đồ họa, video phù hợp giúp người học dễ hiểu 29 Việc sử dụng tranh ảnh đồ họa giúp giải thích nghĩa cho từ học 30 Video, audio phần mềm trợ giúp cho trình bày thơng tin Phần II Những lợi ích, khó khăn gặp phải gợi ý để cải thiện phần mềm Learn to Speak English deluxe 10 XIII Hãy cho biết ý kiến bạn cách đánh dấu (√) vào lựa chọn mình: 31 Việc thực hành kĩ tiếng Anh với chương trình Learn To Speak English mang lại lợi ích cho em? a Giúp em luyện phát âm b Phát triển kĩ nói c Phát triển kĩ giao tiếp d Giúp em hình thành tính tự quản e Tạo khơng khí vui vẻ thoái mái học f.ý kiến khác………………………………………………………………… 32 Loại hình học chương trình LTSE mang cho em hứng thú hay khó khăn ? Loại hình học Gây hứng thú Gây khó khăn Phần từ vựng Phần câu chuyện Phần ngữ pháp Phần tập Phần giao tiếp với nhân vật phần mềm 33 Khó khăn lớn em thực hành chương trình Learn to Speak English gì? a Luyện tập nói đạt giọng người địa b Nhắc lại câu dài phần ghi âm c Tóm tắt lại nội dung tiếng anh d Tương tác với nhân vật phần mềm e ý kiến khác: 34 Em có gợi ý để cải thiện việc sử dụng phần mềm Learn To Speak English? XIV a Tăng thêm thời gian để hoàn thành b Được giáo viên hướng dẫn tỉ mỉ c Giảm bớt khối lượng chương trình d ý kiến khác……………………………………… ………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… …… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Cảm ơn hợp tác em! XV Appendix INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Interview question for teachers What you think about the content of LTSE? Are they all well-organized and logical or easy to deliver to your students? What are the benefits that LTSE brings to your students? What difficulties you have when delivering LTSE lessons? In your opinion, what problems your students face when learning LTSE? What recommendations you have to improve LTSE course? Interview questions for students What benefits did you get from learning LTSE? Do you face any difficulties in the process of learning LTSE? What kinds of lessons or activities you like or dislike both in the language lab? What you recommend for the teacher or the leader to make the using of LTSE more interesting and effective Interview transcript with teachers Researcher: Good afternoon, everyone! Thank you very much for coming here today As you know, I am doing my MA minor thesis on evaluating the application of the software, “Learn to Speak English” (LTSE) in language lab at Hanoi University of Business and Technology In doing this thesis, I have designed a questionnaire for my analysis and now I would like to involve you into this group interview to ask for your opinions, suggestions and solutions to improvements of teaching LTSE at our university This interview will be recorded and transcribed later However, you should feel safe and be aware that the data from the interview XVI will be kept confidential and will be used only for the purpose of this study You will not be recognized in any parts of the data analysis and discussions Firstly, we will start with the first question: in your opinion, what you think about the content of LTSE? Are they all well-organized and logical or easy to deliver to your students? Teacher1: From my view the content of this software is quite easy and less challenges Because we are teaching multi-level students so some of them who have good language skill will feel bored with this type of content Teacher 2: I think student can learn a lot about other country‟s culture because in this software, students have opportunities to experience some of real situation so it is easy for them to communicate in their real life Teacher 3: I agree with you Researcher: what are the benefits that LTSE brings to your students? Teacher 1: personally, i think there are many advantages when applying LTSE at HUBT But the most outstanding one is that it provides students opportunities to practice speaking English with a native English speaking environment in the software I mean the native characters Teacher 2: yes, i share the same idea with you By using this software, students can expand their vocabulary, their knowledge about the culture of foreign country, and especially, they can improve their pronunciation a lot Teacher 3: that is what I think In addition, it makes the lesson less boring or in other words, it can motivates students to study better, you know, when students have to sit down in the same class room, they feel tired of listening to the radio or looking at the blackboard When you ask them to go to the lab rooms, I am sure that they feel eager to learn English Thus, the result of learning is better for sure XVII Teacher 4: I agree My students often feel excited when moving to the language labs They feel fresh because of new learning location, and new way of achieving the knowledge Furthermore, in the language lab, by using LTSE, I think that my student master a lot knowledge about not only the culture but also the way to interact with a foreigner, for example when being asked to show direction to the hotel in their real life, my students can show the foreigners easily by recalling what they have learnt through LTSE Researcher: oh yes, thank you very much Now move on to the second question What difficulties you have when delivering LTSE lessons? Teacher 1: I often felt stressed when delivering LTSE lessons in multilevel classes When I explained something in English, just one or two students understood what I meant and the rest just sat and appeared to understand nothing In other words, they have poor background; our students are not able to deal with such a difficult and huge workload Teacher 2: Oh, it is very difficult to cover a wide range of activities in a lesson Sometimes I feel exhausted Teacher 3: I tried my best to complete such a long lesson and heavy workload in a limited time and I really felt worried when thinking of too many activities in a short time Teacher 4: Yes, you are right In addition, technical problem is another thing that i often face when teaching LTSE It is difficult to control all the students‟ activities because the net support sometimes doesn‟t work well Teacher 1: Yes And there often have problems with computers and LTSE as well or sometimes I don‟t know how to use the net support to control students‟ activities They can play games or chatting with their friends XVIII Teacher 3: yes, it is easy for the students to be distracted the lesson due to the attraction of computer games Question 2: In your opinion, what problems your students face when learning LTSE? Teacher 1: Due to students‟ bad pronunciation, they need to practice more vocabulary parts to be able to improve their speaking skill Teacher 2: My students have difficulty in comprehending the lesson in the communication part because they can‟t remember the sentences to answer the screen character‟s questions Teacher 3: yes, that seems to be the biggest challenge to the students because they lack the basic vocabulary and ability to pronounce correctly As the result, they can‟t speak the full sentence without looking at the hint Teacher 4: you are right, besides, my students refuse to interact as instructed because as they are used to traditional approach Question 3: What recommendations you have to improve LTSE course? Teacher 1: it would be better if we reduced the workload and increase time to complete each lesson I mean it should lengthened the time in each lesson so that students can understand and practice them thoroughly- the content, the pronunciation Many students, despite reaching the teacher‟s requirement for each lesson, they still cannot thoroughly understand the content, and they cannot speak or summarize the content It would be better to adapt these things Teacher 4: yes, and all technical problems with computers, the software as well as administration function of teacher‟s computer should be solved To avoid playing games or logging on the web i think no internet connection and no game can be installed is a good idea XIX Teacher 3: absolutely! Teacher 2: maybe you are right, but it seems a little difficult because of the students‟ hi-technology today For me, teachers should adapt this software to their classes with some modifications such as more pair work and group work activities in class, more useful video clips and more difficult communicative tasks and more supplementary activities should be added to drill speaking in each lesson Teacher 4: In order to motivate the students to practice and gain higher score I think, it is necessary to have a mid-term and final test for the students to assess their improvement XX Interview with students’ transcription Question 1: What benefits did you get from learning LTSE? Student 1: Many benefits I think Learning NDE help me pronounce better Student 2: In my opinion, presenting and speaking in front of the class made me more confident and communicate better Student 3: Repeating models many times helped me speak English fluently and smoothly” Student 4: Me too Question 2: Do you face any difficulties in the process of learning LTSE? Student 1: Of course I didn‟t know how to learn at first But after listening to the instruction that the speaker said and reading them i can figure out easily And now I can understand the requirement of each task However, there are a lot of things to during just two period I can hardly meet my teacher‟s requirement for each lesson Student 2: I share the same idea with you we are pressed to complete a great deal of workload, you know, one lesson is too long with a lot of information so we seem not to pay much attention to the quality of practice Student 3: I met difficulties with my pronunciation I tried to imitate the native voice but it seems not effective The communication part is also very difficult because I can‟t speak the whole sentences and then the computer say sorry to me and my result is not good Student 4: for me, I am confident of speaking English but it is not my fault for bad mark when the teacher checks my speaking through the software It is due to the computer‟s fault It doesn‟t realize my voice even I tried all my best May be it is the technical issues XXI Student 2: I sometimes the exercises in this software but when I finish doing and check my answer, the red color fills my exercise because I haven‟t done correctly, but I can‟t figure out how to make them correct again Question 3: What kinds of lessons or activities you like or dislike in the language lab? Student 1: As I said before, I met difficulties at first, especially vocabulary lessons I often can‟t reach the native voice, but now I like these lessons If i master how to speak the vocabulary individually or in phrase, I can other part more easily Besides, video interaction or communication lessons are real situations in daily life and we can participate directly in the talk Oh, grammar exercises in LTSE are very interesting, they are various and helpful However, I don‟t like Student 2: I like communication lessons, grammar exercises but I don‟t like vocabulary, it is so boring and repeated in the form Student 3: I like stories part because i can follow a real situation but I felt tired of recording too much in this part too, Student 4: actually, I not like any activities It is really boring Question 4: What you recommend for the teacher or the leader to make the using of LTSE more interesting and effective? Student 1: Of course, I always hope to have chance to improve my English by using this software So i wish the time for each lesson should be longer so that we can have more time to practice to get the best result Student 2: yes, that is one of suggestion For me, i some time don‟t understand clearly the instruction for each part and my pronunciation is not really good without listening to the native speaker first, maybe it is because the teacher lacks time to check pronunciation for each students I mean that lengthen the time and teacher should instruct more and check each student individually more XXII Student 3: why don‟t the teachers give more supplement material to help their students further task to drill what they learn? I think it will work And group work or pair work should be combined in this language lab, I think so Student 4: you are right In addition, the technical problems should be repaired right before the lesson starts because when having technical problem, I waste a lot of time waiting for the technician to fix my computer‟s problems What is more, I also think that there should be no internet connection so that lazy students can‟t play games or chat with their friends XXIII