Action research on applying the interactive approach to develop listening skills for second year non english major students at hanoi university of industry

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ************** NGUYỄN THỊ THU HÀ ACTION RESEARCH ON APPLYING THE INTERACTIVE APPROACH TO DEVELOP LISTENING SKILLS FOR SECOND-YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY (NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG VỀ VIỆC ÁP DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP TƯƠNG TÁC ĐỂ NÂNG CAO KỸ NĂNG NGHE CHO SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH NĂM THỨ HAI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI - 2017 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ************** NGUYỄN THỊ THU HÀ ACTION RESEARCH ON APPLYING THE INTERACTIVE APPROACH TO DEVELOP LISTENING SKILLS FOR SECOND-YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY (NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG VỀ VIỆC ÁP DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP TƯƠNG TÁC ĐỂ NÂNG CAO KỸ NĂNG NGHE CHO SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH NĂM THỨ HAI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Assoc Prof KIỀU THỊ THU HƯƠNG HANOI - 2017 DECLARATION I hereby certify that the minor thesis entitled: “Action research on applying the interactive approach to develop listening skills for second-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry”, which is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Language Teaching Methodology at Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies, Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, is the result of my own work I have provided fully documented references to the work of others The material in this thesis has not been submitted for any other university or institution wholly and partially Hanoi, 2017 Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà i ACKNOWLEDGTMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Assoc Prof Dr Kieu Thi Thu Huong, my supervisor, for her assistance, encouragement as well as the guidance she gave me while I was doing this research Second, I would like to express my special thanks to all the lecturers of the Post Graduate Faculty of University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their scholarly knowledge and amazing lectures that have helped to increase my interest for English Methodology and my teaching job I also wish to show my appreciation to my second-year students of the class E6.1_K9 for their whole-heated participation in the study Last but not least, I owe my sincere thanks to my parents, my younger sister and my friends who have always inspired and encouraged me to complete this study ii ABSTRACT This study aims at investigating the impact of interactive processing on second-year students’ listening skills at Hanoi University of Industry More specifically, the researcher strives to (1) investigate problems that the students may encounter while learning listening, and (2) examine the effects of applying the interactive process in teaching listening to the second-year students To achieve the above mentioned objectives, an action research is conducted with the participation of 42 second-year students of class E6.1_K9 within twelve weeks A pre-test, a post-test and two questionnaires are used as instruments to collect data for analysis The findings show that there are six problems that cause difficulties to students in listening They are (i) lacking of vocabulary, (ii) structures of spoken language, (iii) speech rate, (iv) various and unfamiliar accents, (v) stress and intonation, (vi) lacking of background knowledge about the topic After interactive processing has been applied, the students’ scores in the post-test are higher than in the pre-test Overall, the instruction of interactive processing improves their listening skills iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGTMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LISTS OF FIGURES, CHARTS & TABLES vii PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of the problem Aims of the study Research questions Scope of the study Methodology of the study Significance of the study Structure of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Theory on listening 1.1.1 Definitions of listening 1.1.2 Types of listening 1.1.2.1 Real-life listening 1.1.2.2 Classroom listening 1.1.3 Listening processes 1.1.3.1 Bottom-up processing 1.1.3.2 Top-down processing 1.1.3.3 Interactive processing_ the inclusion of bottom-up and top-down processing 10 1.1.4 Factors affecting listening processes 11 1.2 Teaching listening skills 12 1.2.1 Stages of a listening lesson 12 iv 1.2.1.1 Pre-listening 12 1.2.1.2 While-listening 13 1.2.1.3 Post-listening 14 1.2.2 Interactive processing in teaching listening skills 15 1.2.2.1 Teaching bottom-up processing 15 1.2.2.2 Teaching top-down processing 16 1.3 Review of previous works 17 1.4 Concluding remarks 19 CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 20 2.1 Rationale of the using action research 20 2.2 Research setting 21 2.3 Selection of participants 22 2.4 Data collection instruments 22 2.4.1 Pre-test and post-test 22 2.4.2 Questionnaires 22 2.5 Data analysis procedures 23 CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 25 3.1 Preliminary investigation 25 3.1.1 Analysis of students’ preliminary questionnaire 25 3.1.1.1 Students’ attitudes on listening skills 25 3.1.1.2 Students’ self- assessment of their listening competence 26 3.1.1.3 Students' use of strategies in listening 27 3.1.1.4 Student's difficulties in listening 27 3.1.1.5 Students' expectation towards teachers 28 3.1.2 Results of students’ pre-test 29 3.2 Evaluation 30 3.2.1 Comparison of results from students' pre-test and post-test 30 3.2.2 Analysis of the students' post questionnaire 31 3.2.2.1 Activities motivating students in pre-listening stage 31 v 3.2.2.2 Activities attracting students in while-listening stage .32 3.2.2.3 Useful and effective activities for students after listening 33 3.2.2.4 Students’ opinions about the listening tasks 34 3.2.2.5 Students’ opinions on the teaching methods 35 3.2.2.6 Students’ opinions on learning listening with the interactive approach 36 3.2.2.7 Students’ opinions about their listening skills after the course .36 3.3 Concluding remarks 37 PART C CONCLUSION 37 Recapitulation 38 1.1 Difficulties students encounter when studying listening skills 38 1.2 The effects of applying the interactive approach to teach listening skills 38 Implications 39 2.1 The neccessity of applying the interactive approach 39 2.2 The neccessity of arousing students' motivation and interest 40 2.3 Changes in conducting three stages of a listening lesson 40 2.3.1 Pre-listening 40 2.3.2 While-listening 42 2.3.3 Post-listening 42 Limitations of the study 42 Suggestions for further studies 43 REFERENCES 44 APPENDIX I APPENDIX III APPENDIX V APPENDIX VII APPENDIX IX vi LISTS OF FIGURES, CHARTS & TABLES Figures Figure 1: Action research model 20 Charts Chart 1: Students’ attitude on the importance of listening skills 25 Chart 2: Students’ interest in learning listening skills 26 Chart 3: Students’ self-assessment of their listening competence 26 Chart 4: Students' use of strategies in listening 27 Chart 5: Comparison of the results from pre-test and post-test .31 Chart 6: Students’ opinions on learning listening with the interactive approach 36 Chart 7: Students’ opinions on their listening skills after the course .37 Tables Table 1:Some kinds of bottom-up exercises for beginners 16 Table 2:Some kinds of top-down exercises for beginners 17 Table 3: Students’ difficulties in learning listening 27 Table 4: Students' expectation towards teachers 28 Table 5: The overall results of students’ pre-test 29 Table 6: The overall results of students’ post-test 30 Table 7: Activities motivating students in pre-listening stage .31 Table 8: Activities attracting students in while-listening stage 32 Table 9: Useful activities for students after listening 33 Table 10: Students’ opinions on the listening tasks 34 Table 11: Students’ opinions on the teaching methods 35 vii PART I: INTRODUCTION Statement of the problem Recently, listening has gained more and more attention in foreign language learning In learning English as a foreign language, it is suggested that the most important step should begin with an effort to listen Rubin & Thompson state: Listening, quite possibly, is the most important of the language skills, since people spend approximately 60% of their time listening… In addition, listening will give you an opportunity to get a “feel” for the language and will have you improve your overall ability in it If you don’t learn to listen effectively, you will not be able to participate in conservations in the foreign language Rubin & Thompson (1994, p 85) Rost (1994, p 141) emphasizes that listening can be regarded as a necessary skill in the preparation of foreign language students and can even be considered as a good predictor of language achievement Consequently, listening plays a vital role in foreign language learning At present, listening is incorporated in all English syllabuses used at all levels of Vietnamese education However, there was a long time when most English textbooks in Vietnam paid attention to grammar, translation and reading materials, it was almost impossible to find anything related to teaching listening skills As a result, listening is considered to be the most challenging skill in teaching and learning compared to the other skills Being a teacher of English at Hanoi University of Industry for more than two years, the writer has found that the non-English major students are uninterested in listening lessons They are unwilling to any listening tasks and perform poorly in the listening tests The question arises here is to find out the suitable approach to help the students develop their listening skills Task 2: Listen Dan and Jess talking about evening classes at the community centre What club is on each day? There is one answer for each question A running B football C music night D swimming Monday Task 3: Listen to Sam phoning Kate Richards about a Saturday job at her music shop Circle the correct answers The hours for the Saturday job are A am- 8pm B am- 7pm C 10am- 6pm The job will be mainly A Adding up money B Cleaning the shop C Serving customers How much can Sam earn? A £5.25 an hour B £6.30 an hour C £7.00 an hour Task 4: You will hear a woman asking for information about a festival Listen and complete the question Type of Festival: Runs from: Opens from Take bus number: Try: II APPENDIX Post-test (Time allowed: 25 minutes) Task 1: You will hear five short conversation You will hear each conversation twice Put a tick under the right answer What time will the train arrive? What does the man want to buy? Where is the post office? What will they buy? How long will the man stay at the hotel in total? nights nights III night Task 2: Listen to Sam talking about his holiday What did he for each day? There is one answer for each question A read on the beach E went for a long walk B went canoeing F visit museums C went shopping G went swimming D climbed a mountain H returned home Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Task 3: Listen to Vanessa telling Paul about a visit to see a special James Bond exhibition at the Science Museum in London Circle the correct answers Vanessa went to the museum A on foot B on the underground C by bus Vanessa really liked James Bond's A helicopter B car C camera The museum opens at A 9.00 B 10.00 C 11.30 Task 4: You will hear a woman asking for information about a city bus tour Listen and complete the question Bus Tours depart… Last tour departs at Ticket prices: Tour Bus Office Address: Buses leave from APPENDIX Questionnaire after the Pre-test Dear students, This survey questionnaire is designed to gather your opinion for my thesis "Action research on applying the interactive approach to develop listening skills for second-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry" Your completion of this questionnaire is highly appreciated and the data collected are used in this research only, not for any other purposes Your personal information, therefore, will be kept strictly confidential Please give your answers truthfully for a guaranteed success of the investigation by circling the appropriate for the following questions Thank you very much for your cooperation! How are listening skills important to you? A Very important B Rather important C Little important D Not important at all How you like listening lessons? A Very much B Rather C Little D Not at all To what extent you evaluate your listening skills? A Very good B Good C Neutral D Bad E Very bad Do you use any strategies in listening? Yes V Which factors cause difficulties to you in learning listening? H Speaking speed of the speakers I Lack of vocabulary J Structures of spoken language K Unfamiliar topics L Various and unfamiliar accents M Lack of background knowledge about the topic N Poor listening equipment O No motivation P.Other idea (please specify) What you expect your teachers to to help you overcome the difficulties in listening? A Provide you with certain amount of new words needed for listening activities B Equip you with necessary strategies in listening comprehension C Design more suitable listening tasks to students' listening levels and interests D Recommend other supplementary materials beside classroom activities E Other idea (please specify) VI APPENDIX Questionnaire after the Post-test Dear students, This survey questionnaire is designed to gather your opinion for my thesis "Action research on applying the interactive approach to develop listening skills for second-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry" Your completion of this questionnaire is highly appreciated and the data collected are used in this research only, not for any other purposes Your personal information, therefore, will be kept strictly confidential Please give your answers truthfully for a guaranteed success of the investigation by circling the appropriate for the following questions Thank you very much for your cooperation! Which activities did teacher before listening to the tape recording? a Learning new words b Introducing new grammar structures c Giving back ground information d Brainstorming, discussing the topic in pairs or in groups e Answering relevant questions Which activities that teacher asked you to in while-listening stage? a Retain input while it is being processed b Recognize word and clause divisions c Recognize key words d Recognize key transitions in a discourse e Recognize grammatical relationships between key elements in sentences f Use stress and intonation to identify word and sentence functions g Use the key words to construct the schema of a discourse h Anticipate questions related to the topic or situation i Infer the setting for a text j Infer causes or effects k Infer the role of the participants and their goals l Infer unstated details of a situation VII After you listen, which activities is the most useful and effective to you? a Retelling the main ideas b Discussing in groups or pairs c Playing roles based on listening content d Summarize the text e Other idea (Please specify) How you think of the listening tasks that teacher has designed in class? a Interesting b Effective c Difficult d Boring e Stressful f Other idea (Please specify) How you think of the ways that teacher has organized listening activities in class? a Motivating students b Interesting c Tense/ stressful d Demotivating students e Boring f Other idea (please specify) Do you like learning listening with interactive process? Yes What you think of your listening skills after a term with interactive listening process? a A lot of improvement b Better c Worse d No improvement e Other idea (Please specify) VIII APPENDIX SAMPLE LESSON I LESSON BACKGROUND Target learners: Second-year students at Hanoi University of Industry Aims: - Introduce Ss vocabulary relating to animals - Practice listening short talking - Listen for main ideas and specific information - Guide students write a postcard about a visit to a zoo Anticipated problems: Students may get confused with new words and sentences' intonation Time: 45 minutes Materials and aids: KET Student’s book (page 33), laptop, speaker, board, chalk, power point lesson plan II LESSON PROCEDURES Time Warm-up (5 mins) Prelistening (8 mins) IX Whilelistening (20 mins) *Pronunciation - Before asking Ss to listen to the recording, demonstrate the pronunciation *I like horses, cows, dogs and cats * I like monkeys, elephants and bears - Ask Ss to give their sentences - Listen and make comments *Task 1: (using top-down technique mainly) - Ask Ss to read the requirement - Play the tape twice, asks Ss to order the words in the textbook - Ask Ss to compare their answers with the partner - Ask Ss to give their answers - Write on the board - Show the right answers - Ask Ss to predict the gist of the talk based on the words in a group of or Call some groups to give their answers - Play the tape again, ask Ss to listen and check the answers - Make comments *Task 2: (using bottom-up technique mainly) - Ask Ss to read through questions to understand the meaning - Call Ss to give their answers Ask others to listen to their friends and - Listen to the teacher’s - comments Give their answers - Listen again and check their answers - Read after the teacher - Read the requirement - Listen to the tape and order the words - Compare their answers with the partner Give their sentences - Read the questions - Give their answers - Give their opinions Give their answers - Predict the gist of the talk based on the words in groups X Postlistening (12 mins) XI ... in listening lessons? What are the effects of applying the interactive approach to teaching listening for second- year non- English major students at Hanoi University of Industry? Scope of the. .. listening skills after the course 37 PART C CONCLUSION Recapitulation The researcher have conducted an action research on applying the interactive approach to teach listening skills for second- year non- English. .. major students at Hanoi University of Industry in listening lessons - To experiment and investigate the effects of using the interactive approach to teaching listening to second- year non- English major