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

1 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES *********** NGÔ THỊ THƠM 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 (Using web-based listening activities to develop the skill of listening for details) (Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng cơng cụ Internet để bổ trợ q trình tự học tiếng Anh sinh viên không chuyên năm thứ trường Đại học Sư phạm Kỹ thuật Nam Định- Sử dụng hoạt động nghe dựa mạng Internet để phát triển kỹ nghe lấy thông tin chi tiết) M.A THESIS (Minor Programme) Field: Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Hanoi - 2012 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES *********** NGÔ THỊ THƠM 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 (Using web-based listening activities to develop the skill of listening for details) (Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng công cụ Internet để bổ trợ trình tự học tiếng Anh sinh viên không chuyên năm thứ trường Đại học Sư phạm Kỹ thuật Nam Định- Sử dụng hoạt động nghe dựa mạng Internet để phát triển kỹ nghe lấy thông tin chi tiết) M.A THESIS (Minor Programme) Field: Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Dr Do Tuan Minh Hanoi - 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements Abstract PART ONE – INTRODUCTION Rationale Aims of the study Research questions Scope of the study Method of the study Significance of the study Design of the study PART TWO – DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 The Internet as a language teaching and learning tool 1.2 Drawbacks of the Internet in language teaching and learning 1.3 Web-based language learning activities 1.4 Listening comprehension- a brief theoretical overview 1.4.1 Definition of listening 1.4.2 Strategies of listening comprehension 1.4.3 Process of comprehension in listening 1.4.4 Types of listening activities 1.5 Listening practice in relation to the web 1.5.1 Reasons for using the web for developing and improving listen comprehension 1.5.2 An example of free listening materials sources and web-based techniques and activities CHAPTER 2: METHOD OF THE STUDY 2.1 Quasi-experimental research 2.2 The setting of the study 2.3 Participants 2.4 Instruments 19 2.4.1 Pretest and postest 19 2.4.2 Survey questionnaire 19 2.5 Procedure of the study 21 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS 22 3.1 Findings 22 3.1.1 Research question 22 3.1.2 Research question 27 3.1.3 Research question 32 3.2 Implications 37 PART THREE – CONCLUSION 39 Conclusion 39 Limitations of the study 40 Suggestions for further study 41 References 42 Appendices LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS Figures Figure Screen shot from the WBLL Web Figure Screen shot from Randall‟s Cybe Tables Table Result of t-test for comparison between pretest scores of experimental group and control group Table Descriptive Statistics for Pretest a group Table Table Descriptive Statistics for Pretest and Posttest scores of Control group Result of t-test for comparison be group and control group Charts Chart Students‟ gender Chart Pretest and Posttest Mean Increas Chart The importance of the web-based Chart Frequency of using the web-base Chart Efficiency of using the web-base Chart Listening section‟s level of diffic PART ONE – INTRODUCTION Rationale The Internet is a global network of computer networks It provides language teachers with network-based teaching environments in which they can create meaningful tasks and use various materials for language learners The hypermedia nature of the World Wide Web, in particular, has greatly expanded the power of computer-assisted language learning by allowing learners to explore and discover their learning paths themselves and offering them easy access to an on-line database of resources (Son, 2008) With a variety of hyperlinked multimedia documents and computer-mediated communication tools, the web can support to integrate web resources into either language teaching and learning activities or into language classroom in next few years It can be also a virtual library that has a huge amount of information valuable to English as a second language teaching (Allodi,1998; Bell, 1998; Murray & McPherson, 2004; Son, 2005; Warschauer & Healey, 1998) In addition, Web-based Language Learning (WBLL) has the potential to increase learner motivation and engage learners in culturally authentic and highly interactive language experience (Chun & Plass, 2000; Kung & Chuo, 2002; Mosquera, 2001) WBLL is language learning that involves the use of the web and exploits web materials, resources, applications or tools (Son, 2007) Given that WBLL occurs with web activities on the web, it is important to use well-designed WBLL activities to maximize language learning Of the four English language skills that are often taught separately, listening requires more efforts from both course developers and learners Unlike courses for other skills, which are mostly paper-based, 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 (Wong, 2005) However, learners get to keep only the course book, and can access the course audio only in class, which essentially prescribes teacher-centered lessons Learner autonomy, if it is to take place at all, necessitates a different delivery mode To some extent, the web seems to be a new tool contributing to the formation of that alternativemode 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 More specifically, it is the students‟use of web-based listening activities to develop the skill 10 of listening for details While reporting the results of listening activities trial that explored, selected and developed web activities for students, it investigates the usefulness of the web activities in their listening comprehension practice and the difficulties as well The author hopes that this research would make a small but helpful contribution to the effective use of the Internet with web- based activities for the development of non-major students‟ listening self-study at Vietnamese universtities in general and at NUTE in particular Also, this would be one of the foundation for further researches into the area in the near future Aims of the study The ultimate purpose of this study is to effectively apply the use of web-based listening activities to develop the skill of listening for details at NUTE 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 10 Research questions In order to achieve the aims above, the following research questions will be raised in the study: (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 webbased activities to improve their listening comprehension skill? 11 Scope of the study The study operates within the following scopes: (i) The use of the Internet with web-based activities in listening comprehension self-study is a wide topic so it is impossible to discuss every aspect of it in this research As such, only the use of two activities: listening to the songs and ticking off items in the website 11 http://genkienglish.net/ and listening to a short conversation and filling the gaps in the website http://englishteststore.net/ will be investigated (ii) By the time constraint, doing a research with a large number of the participants is out of the author‟s research The technical students at NUTE have to attend three semesters of English, of which the two first ones are basic English One and Two The subjects chosen for this research are 40 students from selected groups: ĐK6C and CK14D; these students are studying basic English One- Headway Elementary- Liz and John Soars- Oxford University Press 12 Method of the study The method used 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 In addition, two tests: 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 13 Significance of the study The first significance of the study is for the author herself and the other English teachers at the Faculty of Foreign Languages- NUTE since 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 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 Especially, the teachers who are teaching Elementary English in colleges or universities can try suggesting the websites for their students The last but not least significance of the study is that it can lay grounds for further researches on the employment of web-based activities in self-study listening comprehension skill as well as other skills 14 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 12 Part Two „Development‟ consists of three chapters: Chapter provides the Literature review including the Internet as a language teaching and learning tool, drawbacks of the Internet in language teaching and learning, web-based language learning activities, theoretical overview of listening comprehension and listening practice in relation to the web Chapter details the a quasi-experemental research as the method of the study, the setting of the study, the participants, the instruments to collect data and the procedure of the study Chapter presents results of the study, the findings in which research question are addressed and implications are also presented in this chapter Part Three „Conclusion‟ summarizes the main issues of the study and proposes limitations and suggestions for further studies 51 REFERENCES Allodi, A., Dokter, D., & Kuipers, E (1998) WELLS: Web-enhanced language learning In S Jager, J Nerbonne, & A V Essen (Eds.), Language teaching and language technology (pp 123-135) Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger Barnes, K., Marateo, R., & Ferris, S (2007) Teaching and learning with the Net Generation Innovate, 3(4) Retrieved from http: // innovateonline.info/ pdf/vol3_issue4/Teaching_and_Learning_with_the_Net_Generation.pdf the Bell, C (1998) Everone‟s using the Web, so why aren‟t we?: Web design and Chiu, B E (2006) An Investigation of English Listening Strategies Used by Continuous Education Program Students in Taiwan Retrieved October 30, 2011 from http://web.nanya.edu.tw/tcof/tcrd/word Ellis, R (1985) Understanding Second Language Acquisition Oxford University Press Feyten, C M (1991) The Power of Listening Ability: An Overlooked Dimension in Language Acquisition The Modern Language Journal 75:173-80 Habte-Gabr, E (2006) The Importance of Socio-affective Strategies in Using EFL for Teaching Mainstream Subjects The Journal of Humanizing Language Teaching, 8(5) Retrieved September 10, 2011, from http://www.hltmag.co.uk/sep06/sart02.htm#C1 Henner-Stanchina, C (1987) Autonomy as metacognitive awareness: suggestions for training self-monitoring on listening comprehension M’elanges P’edagogiques 17 Universite de Nancy 2: CRAPEL Kung, S.-C., & Chuo, T.-W (2002) Students‟ perceptions of English learning through ESL/EFL Websites TESL-EJ, 6(1) Retrieved August 1, 2011, from http://writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ej21/a2.html 10 Lewis,P.H.(1994, August 9).Who's the coolest Internet Provider?The New York Times, p.12 11 Lu, P H (2008) English listening comprehension strategy used by students of pre- sessional courses of Northumbria University, Unpublished master thesis, Southern Taiwan University 52 12 Mike, D (1996) Internet in the schools: A literacy perspective Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 40(1), 1-13 13 Mills, D (2000) Web-based technology as a resource for form-focused language learning TESOL Quarterly, 34, 603-615 14 Murray, D E., & McPherson, P (2004) Using the Web to support language learning Sydney: National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research 15 Nguyen Thi Anh Nguyet-M.A Thesis (2008) A study on effectiveness of application information technology tools in teaching English for IT vocabulary for second year students at Vietnam-Korea Industrial Technology College 16 Nielsen, J (2003) Time to make tech work Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030915.html 17 Nunan, D (1999) Research methods in Language Learning, Cambridge University Press 18 O‗Malley, J M., Chamot, A U., Stewner-Manzanares, G., Kupper, L., & Russo, R P (1985) Learning strategies used by beginning and intermediate ESL students Language Learning, 35, 21-46 19 Oxford, R L (1990) Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know Boston: Heinle & Heinle 20 Peterson, E (2010) Internet-based resources for developing listening Studies in Self- Access Learning Journal, (2) 139-154 21 Pham Thi Ngoc Phuong-M.A Thesis (2006) Application of technology in teaching English to Information Technology students at IT Faculty-College of Technology-Vietnam National University 22 Phil, H., Greg, K., & John, M (2003) Technology, Techniques, and Materials for Web Listening.Retrieved from http:// www.stanford.edu/~efs/tesol03listening 23 Prensky, M (2001) Digital natives, digital immigrants On the Horizon, 9(5) Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/ 24 Richards, J C (2008) Teaching Listening and Speaking Cambridge University Press 25 Rivers, W M (1983B) Speaking in Many Tongues 3rd edition London: Cambridge University Press 26 Rost, M (2002) Teaching and Researching Listening London, UK: Longman 53 27 Sharma, P., & Barrett, B (2007) Blended learning: Using technology in and beyond the language classroom Oxford: Macmillan Publishers Ltd 28 Singhal, M (1997), The Internet and Foreign Language Education: Benefits and Challenges The Internet TESL Journal, 3(6) Retrieved from http:// iteslj.org/Articles/Singhal-Internet.html 29 Son, J.-B (2005, September) Making Web-based language learning meaningful Paper presented at the Second International Conference on Pedagogies and Learning, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia 30 Son, J.-B (2007) Learner experiences in Web-based language learning Computer Assisted Language Learning, 20(1), 21-36 31 Son, J.-B (2008) Using Web-Based Language Learning Activities in the ESL Classroom International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning, 4(4), pp 34-43 August 2011 Retrieved from http:// www.apacall.org/ijpl/v4n4/IJPLv4n4_article3.pdf 32 Thompson, I., & Rubin, J (1996) Can strategy instruction improve listening comprehension? Foreign Language Annals, 29, 331-342 33 Vandergrift, L (2003) Listening: theory and practice in modern foreign language competence Retrieved January 4, 2012, from http://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/gpg/67 34 Warschauer, M., & Healey, D (1998) Computers and language learning: An overview Language Teaching, 31, 57-71 35 Wipf, J (1984) Strategies for Teaching Second Language Listening Comprehension 36 Wong, J (2005) English Listening Courses: A case of Pedagogy Lagging behind Technoloty Retrieved from http://e-flt.nus.edu.sg/v2n12005/wong.htm 37 Some other websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_of_quasi-experiments http://www.esl-lab.com http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/listening http://englishteststore.net http://www.englishlistening.com http://genkienglish.net 54 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: PRETEST Listen to the song, click the correct words and then count your scores Have you ever ? Have you ever eaten ice cream? Have you ever written a song? Have you ever been to Paris? Have you ever seen King Kong? Have you ever been surfing? Have you ever flown a plane? Have you ever forgotten a birthday? Have you ever been in love? I have, I have, I have Have you ever met a rock star? Have you ever played the piano? Have you ever slept on a beach? 55 Have you ever broken a window? Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever drunk lemonade? Have you ever been on the radio? Have you ever been afraid? I have, I have, I have 56 Listen carefully and complete the following conversation by filling in the missing words or sentences After typing your answer, click Submit button to complete A: You don‟t look _ 57 B: I have a major stomachache, A: Did you eat something strange? B: _ had spaghetti with clam sauce for lunch A: _ you have food poisoning B: Yes, that could have been it, but I haven‟t been feeling that great for the past few days A: Are you under a lot of stress? B: Not really _ have been going OK A: Maybe you have a touch of the flu B: I that I might be getting the flu 58 APPENDIX 2: POSTTEST Listen to the song, click the correct words and then count your scores “ I have to I can” I have to go to school I have to go to the gym I have to eat more vegetables I have to say nice things I have to study English I have to clean my room I have to wash my clothes I have to finish soon I must, I should, I have to I can! I can! I have to wake up early I have to buy a pen I have to my homework I have to try again I have to go to the dentist I have to save more money I have to practise baseball I have to make more money I must, I should, I have to I can! I can! I can go to school I can go to the gym 59 I can eat more vegetables I can say nice things I can study English I can clean my room I can wash my clothes I can finish soon I must, I should, I have to I can, I can I can wake up early I can buy a pen I can my homework I can try again I can go to the dentist I can save more money I can practise baseball I can make more money 60 Listen carefully and complete the following conversation by filling in the missing words or sentences After typing your answer, click Submit button to complete A: someone I can talk to about a payment question? 61 B: Yes, we can handle that here How can I help you? A: My paycheck that just arrived is less than last week‟s check B: Did you work at all during the last pay _ ? A: Yes, actually, I did make a little bit of _ B: Did you report it on your Continued Claim Form? A: Yes, I showed that income on the Continued Claim Form B: check Well, we deducted a portion of the _ that you made from this week‟s A: _ I just shouldn‟t show the income then B: That‟s cheating and, if you get caught, you will be fined and disqualified from collecting unemployment 62 APPENDIX 3: PRETEST SCORE Pretest Experimental group 13 12 11 13 12 14 12 13 15 10 11 10 14 13 63 APPENDIX 4: POSTTEST SCORE Posttest 19 18 15 11 14 15 14 12 13 15 16 17 14 16 12 13 12 17 15 12 64 APPENDIX 5: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS This survey questionnaire is designed for my research into The use of the Internet tool as an assistance for first-year non-major students at Namdinh University of Technology Education in basic English listening self-study Your assistance in completing the survey is highly appreciated! Thank you very much for your cooperation! Ngo Thi Thom Teacher in Foreign Language Department Namdinh University of Technology Education How important are the web-based listening activities to your listening comprehension improvement? Very important Important No opinion Not so important Unimportant 10 How often you attend to the exercises? never rarely sometimes often always 11 How has the web-based listening activities helped with your self study? Very effectively Effectively No opinion Not very effectively Ineffectively 12 The suggested websites were well-designed with good link and easy access Strongly agree Agree No opinion Disagree Strongly disagree 13 The topics in the listening section were covered basically the same things in the lectures Strongly agree Agree No opinion Disagree Strongly disagree 14 The suggested websites were suitable to students‟level and students learned a lot Strongly agree Agree No opinion Disagree Strongly disagree 15 The listening sections from the websites motivated me to listen to English more and supported my learning much 65 Strongly agree 16 Agree No opinion Disagree Strongly disagree Please give your advice for web-based listening activities for better result 17 Self-study with the listening activities in the websites brought about many problems Strongly agree Agree No opinion Disagree Strongly disagree 18 I got enough guidance with clear instructions from the teachers True False 19 It cost me a lot of money to get access to the Internet for self-study True False 20 It took much time to study following the websites on my own True False 21.I will continue using these websites for self practice listening comprehension skill and introduce it to others True 22 Too easy False How would you evaluate the listening section‟s level of difficulty? Easy Medium Hard Too hard 23 Can you state some other difficulties you encounter apart from these mentioned above ... Internet tool as an assistance for first- year non- major students at Namdinh University of Technology Education (NUTE) in basic English self- study More specifically, it is the students? ? ?use of web-based... ASSISTANCE FOR FIRST- YEAR NON- MAJOR STUDENTS AT NAMDINH UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION IN BASIC ENGLISH SELF- STUDY (Using web-based listening activities to develop the skill of listening for. .. communicate with native speakers In this manner, the Internet facilitates the use of the specific language in 14 an authentic setting The Internet can also be used to acquire information from language