An investigation into the effects of extensive listening using ted talks on students’ listening comprehension

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ LAN AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTS OF EXTENSIVE LISTENING USING TED TALKS ON STUDENTS’ LISTENING COMPREHENSION: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AT FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ TÁC ĐỘNG CỦA VIỆC NGHE TĂNG CƯỜNG (SỬ DỤNG TED TALKS) ĐỐI VỚI KHẢ NĂNG NGHE HIỂU CỦA SINH VIÊN: NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG TẠI KHOA NGOẠI NGỮ, TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Hanoi – 2016 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ LAN AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTS OF EXTENSIVE LISTENING USING TED TALKS ON STUDENTS’ LISTENING COMPREHENSION: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AT FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ TÁC ĐỘNG CỦA VIỆC NGHE TĂNG CƯỜNG (SỬ DỤNG TED TALKS) ĐỐI VỚI KHẢ NĂNG NGHE HIỂU CỦA SINH VIÊN: NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG TẠI KHOA NGOẠI NGỮ, TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Dương Thu Mai, Ph.D Hanoi – 2016 DECLARATION I hereby certify that this thesis entitled ―An investigation into the effect of extensive listening using TED Talks on students’ listening comprehension: An action research at Faculty of Languages in Hanoi University of Industry‖ is entirely my own work I have provided fully documented references to others‘ work The material in this thesis has not been submitted for a degree in any other university or institution I also accept all the requirements of ULIS relating to the retention and use of M.A Graduation Thesis deposited in the library Hanoi, October, 2016 Nguyễn Thi Lan ̣ i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This thesis would not be fulfilled without the help of some people, and in all ways, I would like to thank those who has taught me, inspired me, challenged me, and supported me throughout the realization of this thesis I would like to express my deepest gratitude towards my supervisor, Dr Duong Thu Mai, for her whole-hearted assistance, encouragement as well as her profound guidance she gave me while I was implementing my research I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all lecturers in Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their interesting lectures which have inspired me to conduct this thesis I would also like to express my gratitude to the teachers of English and the second-year students at Faculty of Languages in Hanoi University of Industry for their willingness to participate in the research Without their help, this project could not be completed Last but not least, I am most thankful to my beloved relatives, especially my parents and husband for their encouragement and great support during the time of implementing this thesis ii ABSTRACT This study examines how TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) Talks, used as an extensive listening material, can affect HaUI English-major students‘ listening comprehension and explores their awareness of benefits and obstacles they may have during the project This study also addresses key notions about listening, listening comprehension, extensive listening with TED Talks and then examined these issues in its merits and demerits The quantitative and qualitative data analyses, based on the results of students‘ pre-and post-tests and their self-assessment paper, indicate that students (inter-mediate and upperintermediate levels) felt the lectures improved their listening comprehension, enhanced their vocabulary, and accustomed them to listening to a variety of English accents while students of the pre-intermediate group seemed to achieve less progress Finally, providing more talks with suitable levels to their comprehension levels and conducting various types of scaffolding activities for lower proficiency students are also discussed iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii PART I INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Aims of the study Scope of the study Methodology of the study Design of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definitions, significance and classifications of listening 1.2 Definitions of listening comprehension 1.3 Extensive listening 1.3.1 Definitions of extensive listening 1.3.2 Benefits of extensive listening 10 1.3.3 Limitations of extensive listening 11 1.3.4 TED talks as an extensive listening source 12 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 15 2.1 Setting 15 2.2 Research design 15 2.3 Participants 18 2.3.1 Students 18 2.3.2 Teachers 18 2.4 Data collection instruments 19 2.4.1 Pre and post tests 19 2.4.2 Self-assessment paper 21 2.5 Data collection procedures 21 2.5.1 Pilot test data collection 22 2.5.2 Main data collection procedure 22 iv 2.6 Methods of data analysis 24 2.6.1 Quantitative data analysis 24 2.6.2 Qualitative data analysis 24 2.7 Conclusion 25 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 26 3.1 Research question 26 3.1.1 Pre-test‘s and post-test‘s descriptive statistics for three different levels of students 26 3.1.2 Overall test descriptive statistics for all students 31 3.1.3 One sample T-test results 32 3.2 Research Question 33 3.2.1 Developing listening comprehension 33 3.2.2 Developing other aspects 38 PART III: CONCLUSION 41 Summary of the findings and discussion 41 Limitations 44 Suggestions for further studies 45 Conclusion 47 REFERENCES 48 APPENDIX I APPENDIX II APPENDIX VIII v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HaUI: Hanoi University of Industry TED: Technology, Entertainment, Design IELTS: International English Language Testing System EL: Extensive listening vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1: A brief description of the pre-test and post-test Table 2: Statistical results based on the collected pilot test scores Table 3: Descriptive statistics related to the results of the pretest and the posttest of Pre-intermediate students Table 4: Frequency Distribution of the scores of Pre-intermediate students‘ pre-test and post-test Table 5: Descriptive statistics related to the results of the pretest and the posttest of Intermediate students Table 6: Frequency Distribution of the scores of Intermediate students‘ pre-test and post-test Table 7: Descriptive statistics related to the results of the pretest and the posttest of Upper-intermediate students Table 8: Frequency Distribution of the scores of Upper-intermediate students‘ pretest and post-test Table 9: Descriptive statistics related to the results of the pretest and the posttest of all students Table 10: Frequency Distribution of the scores of all students‘ pre-test and post-test vii PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale Extensive listening (EL) is one of the measures to tackle almost all difficulties that students may encounter on the way of conquering their listening comprehension Rixon (1986) mentioned that students should be motivated to listen outside the class by two main ways – have them ―exercise‖ their listening outside the chool and listen for ―pleasure‖ This seems to lead to ―spontaneous listening for pure pleasure‖ Therefore, EL appears to be regarded as a rewarding motivator to facilitate students‘ learning In addition, TED Talks, the most popular conference and events website in the world with over billion informational videos viewed, provides academics with increased popular exposure and is one of the highly recommended websites for EL First of all, TED Talks has featured lectures around the world on Technology, Entertainment and Design which are posted everyday by both native and non-native speakers Using TED Talks as an authentic source for students to explore knowledge and language seems to appeal to students TED Talks also has accompanied almost all lectures with subtitles of over 40 languages, including English which is a highly supportive tool for students to recheck whether they master the content or not In other words, the subtitles make TED Talks less demanding for students to enjoy listening instead of making their concerted attempts when watching For another feature, TED‘s mission is transferring ―ideas worth spreading‖, which is presented by inspirational lectures with appealing inventions as well as breakthroughs and even new perspectives on aspects of life This will keep students‘ interest in exploring and broadening their knowledge as well as keep the passions As a result, they may listen as a pleasure, not as a required assignment to get high marks or pass exams and then enhance their listening comprehension with academic talks Alhough EL seems to be highly recommneded with such the website, the importance of listening, especially EL is not intentionally paid much attention in a 35 Waring, R (2008) Starting an extensive listening program Extensive Reading in Japan: The Journal of the JALT Extensive Reading Special Interest Group, 1(1) Available at www.robwaring.org/el/articles/Starting_Extensive_Listening_ERJ_June _2008.pdf 36 Wenden, A L (2002) Learner development in language learning Applied Linguistics, 23 (1), 32-55 51 APPENDIX Lecture Listening Journal Form ELA Speaking & Listening: Lecture Listening Journal (LLJ) Class: _ Students‘ Name: Date(s): _Source: Name of Lecturer: Title of Lecture: Length: minutes Summary (100 words or more): Summarize the main points in YOUR OWN words Begin by mentioning the title, lecturer, source, and date Reaction (50 words or more): Write your opinion about a main point in the lecture Vocabulary (at least new words): Write useful languages in the lecture Reflection: How was this LLJ? How many minutes did you take to listen? How about writing the summary? Write some short comments for your instructor and add any questions or suggestions you have I A Sample of a student’s Journal ELA Speaking & Listening: Lecture Listening Journal (LLJ) Class: _Students‘ name:_Phạm Diệu Linh Date(s): August 7, 2014 Source: ted.com Name of Lecturer: Henry Markram Title of Lecture: A brain in a supercomputer Length: 16.48 _ minutes Summary (100 words or more): Summarize the main points in YOUR OWN words Begin by mentioning the title, lecturer, source, and date Henry‘s goal is to build a realistic computer model of the human brain The reasons we need this model are: It is essential for us to understand our brain We cannot keep doing animal experimentation There are billion people affected by mental disorder, and the drugs used to treat them are empirical If better understood, we can develop better solutions One theory is that the brain builds its own version of the universe and projects this image around us We decide the size and shape of most things around us – when we walk into a new room, 99% of the sizes, shapes of objects are inferred by our brain By putting each of these models together and understanding the connections between them, you can rebuild the neocortical column Each neuron intersects others in millions of places, creating a synapse that allows communication between them This communication is in the form of an electrical charge, which interacts with a synapse to release chemicals to stimulate the next neuron II The equations to simulate communication between neurons are simple, and already known – but you need a very powerful supercomputer to simulate the whole brain They have done this, and although they haven‘t fully trained the brain they can stimulate it with an image of a rose and see which neurons are triggered They hope to analyse it deeper, and map these neurons to physical coordinates so we can actually see how the brain sees the universe around it Reaction (50 words or more): Write your opinion about a main point in the lecture This speech has a clearly structure and easy to understand Besides, the lecturer is not rambling that he goes straight to the main point His idea of building a realistic computer model of the human brain, especially, is very fantastic This would be an amazing step in the evolution of the universe – a time when the one brain can see the world projected by another, and in effect becomes self-aware Reflection: How was this LLJ? How many minutes did you take to listen? How about writing the summary? Write some short comments for your instructor and add any questions or suggestions you have Note: You will need to attach your lecture notes to your LLJ Any kinds of notes are fine, but try to take notes well III APPENDIX http://www.ieltsjuice.com/ted-talks/ Levels List of TED Talks Pre- Why we laugh Intermediate The secret of bat genome The shocking move to nonviolent protest For parents, happiness is a very high bar Hidden miracles of the natural world I am not your inspiration - thank you very much Why thinking you're ugly is bad for you How to live passionately no matter your age The power of believing that you can improve 10 Living beyond limits 11 Why some people find exercise harder than others 12 The origins of pleasure 13 A preview of the WorldWide Telescope 14 Save the oceans, feed the world! 15 The Bridge between suicide and life 16 How to make filthy water drinkable 17 What makes us feel good about our work? 18 A skateboard, with a boost 19 Religions and babies 20 Global population growth, box by box 21 A mini robot powered by your phone 22 The world's English mania 23 Let's talk crap Seriously 24 The magic washing machine Intermediate Can we make the globe a better place in 15 years IV A look at the first 21 days of a bee‘s life Magical houses, made of bamboo A shark-deterrent wetsuit and it's not what you think Dare to disagree Photos that bear witness to modern slavery What we know and what we not know about Autism The military case for sharing knowledge Underwater astonishments 10 See invisible motion, hear silent sounds 11 Why not eat insects? 12 Robots with "soul" 13 The mysterious lives of giant trees 14 How to spot a liar 15 Half a million secrets 16 Don't eat the marshmallow! 17 Hack a banana, make a keyboard! 18 rules to spark learning 19 Brain magic 20 A garden in my apartment 21 What‘s next in 3D printing 22 How giant websites design for you 23 What animal madness means for us humans 24 Want to be happier ? Stay in the moment 25 How the Internet enables intimacy 26 Could future devices read images from our brains 27 My underwater robot V 28 Why domestic violence victims don't leave 29 I am the son of a terrorist 30 Success, failure and the drive to keep creating 31 How to speak so that people want to listen 32 A seed at a time, protecting the future of food 33 One very dry demo 34 The riddle of experience vs memory 35 Desertification and reverse climate change 36 Why we should build wooden skyscrapers 37 This is Saturn 38 How to make stress your friend 39 A needle-free vaccine patch 40 The fiction of memory 41 Your body language shapes who you are 42 A promising test for pancreatic cancer 43 A broken body is not a broken person 44 How to buy happiness 45 How to escape education's death valley 46 Teach every child about food Upper- The case for engineering our food intermediate Why we all need to practice emotional first aid Political changes with pen and paper Which country does the most good for the world? The history of our world in 18 minutes The astounding athletic power of quadcopters Growing new organs VI Life that doesn't end with death How not to be ignorant about the world 10 Hackers: the Internet's immune system 11 The art of misdirection 12 The linguistic genius of babies 13 ways to listen better 14 Synthetic voices, as unique as fingerprints 15 Battling bad science 16 The walkable city 17 How to rethink environmental folklore 18 Laws that choke creativity 19 Does money make you mean? 20 Why we sleep 21 Cloudy with a chance of joy 22 The military case for sharing knowledge VII APPENDIX SOURCE: http://www.academicenglishuk.com/ted-talks How to solve traffic jams (B1) https://www.ted.com/…/jonas_eliasson_how_to_solve_traffic_j… The other inconvenient truth (B2) https://www.ted.com/…/jonathan_foley_the_other_inconvenient… How to buy happiness (B2) https://www.ted.com/tal…/michael_norton_how_to_buy_happiness The currency of the new economy is trust (B2) https://www.ted.com/…/rachel_botsman_the_currency_of_the_ne… Behind the great firewall of China (B2) https://www.ted.com/…/michael_anti_behind_the_great_firewal… Your brain on video games https://www.ted.com/…/daphne_bavelier_your_brain_on_video_g… 10 ways the world could end https://www.ted.com/…/stephen_petranek_counts_down_to_armag… Why work doesn't happen at work https://www.ted.com/…/jason_fried_why_work_doesn_t_happen_a… We are all cyborgs https://www.ted.com/talks/amber_case_we_are_all_cyborgs_now… 10 Why videos go viral https://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_allocca_why_videos_go_viral 11 The hidden world of box packaging https://www.ted.com/…/mick_mountz_the_hidden_world_of_box_p… 12 The price of happiness https://www.ted.com/…/benjamin_wallace_on_the_price_of_happ… VIII 13 How web video powers innovation https://www.ted.com/…/chris_anderson_how_web_video_powers_g… 14 A gentler philosophy of success https://www.ted.com/…/alain_de_botton_a_kinder_gentler_phil… 15 Navigating our global future https://www.ted.com/…/ian_goldin_navigating_our_global_futu… 16 Why bother leaving the house? https://www.ted.com/…/ben_saunders_why_bother_leaving_the_h… 17 Domestic violence victim https://www.ted.com/…/leslie_morgan_steiner_why_domestic_vi… 18 Are mushrooms the new plastic? http://www.ted.com/…/eben_bayer_are_mushrooms_the_new_plast… 19 Looks aren't everything, believe me, I'm a model https://www.ted.com/…/cameron_russell_looks_aren_t_everythi… 20 What Doctors don't know about the drugs they prescrib https://www.ted.com/…/ben_goldacre_what_doctors_don_t_know_… 21 Txting is killing Language https://www.ted.com/…/john_mcwhorter_txtng_is_killing_langu… 22 What the Social Progress Index can reveal about your country https://www.ted.com/…/michael_green_what_the_social_progres… 23 Don't insist on English https://www.ted.com/…/patricia_ryan_ideas_in_all_languages_… IX IELTS websites: http://ielts-academic.com/2012/08/02/ielts-listening-ted-x-ielts-the-worlds-englishmania/ http://varanasienglish.com/resources The World‘s English Mania ways to Kill your dreams Download your new clothes Why Videos Go Viral Why Is ‗X‘ the Unknown? Talk Nerdy to Me X BỘ CÔNG THƯƠNG PRE-TEST TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CƠNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI Mơn thi: Nghe nói (Nghe) Trình độ đào tạo: Đại học Thời gian thi: 30 phút SECTION Question 21-30 Complete the table below Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer ‘Student Life’ video project Cristina Enjoyed  using the camera  going to a British 21………………… Ibrahim contact with students doing other courses (has asked some to 22………………….with him) listening to British students' language because of: - normal speed - large amount of 24 ………………… the importance of 27………………… Most useful language practice:  listening to instructions  learning 23………………… Vocabulary General usefulness:  operating video camera  working with other people: -learning about 25………………… -compromising -26………………… people who have different views don't make the film too  decide when to 28………………….each stage at the 30………………… beginning  make more effort to 29………………….with the camera Things to differently in future: XI SECTION Questions 31-40 Questions 31-35 Complete the sentences below Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer 31 According to George Bernard Shaw, men arc supposed to understand………………………, economics and finance 32 However, women are more prepared to………………………about them 33 Women tend to save for………………………and a house 34 Men tend to save for………………………and for retirement 35 Women who are left alone may have to pay for………………………when they are old Questions 36—40 Complete the summary below Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer Saving for the future Research indicates that many women only think about their financial future when a 36………………………occurs This is the worst time to make decisions It is best for women to start thinking about pensions when they are in their 37………………………A good way for women to develop their 38………………………in dealing with financial affairs would be to attend classes in 39………………………When investing in stocks and shares, it is suggested that women should put a high proportion of their savings in 40……………………… In such ways, women can have a comfortable, independent retirement XII BỘ CÔNG THƯƠNG POST-TEST TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CƠNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI Mơn thi: Nghe nói (Nghe) Trình độ đào tạo: Đại học Thời gian thi: 30 phút SECTION 3: Question 21-30 Complete the form below Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each question Feedback Form Course: Communication in Business Course code: CB162 Dates: From 21……………… to 22……………… Please give your comments on the following aspects of the course: Good Points Course organization Course delivery Materials equipment Suggestions for Improvement  23………………  useful to have  too much work in 24……………… at beginning 25……………… of the course of course could be more evenly balanced  good 26 ………………  some 27 ……………… sessions went on too long and  good 28……………… and  quick feedback from oral presentations  marking criteria for oral presentations known in advance  excellent 30 ……………… Other comments Testing evaluation XIII  not enough copies of key texts available  need more computers  too much 29………………  can we know criteria for marking final exams? SECTION Questions 31-40 Questions 31-35 Complete the notes below Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer SEMINAR ON ROCK ART Preparation for fieldwork trip to Namibia in 31………………… Rock art in Namibia may be • paintings • engravings Earliest explanation of engravings of animal footprints They were used to help 32………………… learn about tracking But: Why are the tracks usually 33…………………? Why are some engravings realistic and others unrealistic? Why are the unrealistic animals sometimes half 34…………………? More recent explanation: Wise men may have been trying to control wild animals with 35………………… Comment: Earlier explanation was due to scholars over-generalizing from their experience of a different culture Questions 36-40 Complete the sentences below Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer 36 If you look at a site from a…………………, you reduce visitor pressure 37 To camp on a site may be disrespectful to people from that………………… 38 Undiscovered materials may be damaged by………………… 39 You should avoid…………………or tracing rock art as it is so fragile 40 In general, your aim is to leave the site………………… XIV ... beginning of the course On account of all the reasons above, ? ?an investigation into the effects of extensive listening using TED Talks on students’ listening comprehension: an action research... Ph.D Hanoi – 2016 DECLARATION I hereby certify that this thesis entitled ? ?An investigation into the effect of extensive listening using TED Talks on students’ listening comprehension: An action... portion of their education - their information, their understanding of the world and of human affairs, their ideals, sense of values, and their appreciation In this day of mass communication,