Perceptions of third year mainstream students towards authentic listening materials in news sharing assignment

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER PERCEPTIONS OF THIRD-YEAR MAINSTREAM STUDENTS TOWARDS AUTHENTIC LISTENING MATERIALS IN NEWS SHARING ASSIGNMENT Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Kim Phượng (M.Ed) Student: Ngô Thu Phương Class: QH2016.F1.E2 HÀ NỘI - 2020 ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHOÁ LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP NHẬN THỨC CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM BA HỆ CHUẨN VỀ TÀI LIỆU NGHE XÁC THỰC TRONG BÀI TẬP CHIA SẺ TIN TỨC Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Nguyễn Thị Kim Phượng (Th.S) Sinh viên: Ngơ Thu Phương Khố: QH2016.F1.E2 HÀ NỘI – 2020 ii Approval of Supervisor: Signature Date June 11, 2020 iii ACCEPTANCE PAGE I hereby state that I: Ngo Thu Phuong (QH2016.F1.E2), being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL), accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper Signature Date June 11, 2020 iv ABSTRACT In light of communicative language teaching, authentic listening materials have been encouraged in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom, to provide a sense of realism for learners Unlike earlier studies on students of intermediate and lower levels, this paper seeks to examine that of upperintermediate English, specifically third-year mainstream students in FELTE The present study aims at investigating the perceptions of students towards authentic listening materials’ influences, in terms of students’ participation and their listening comprehension improvement Participants of this research includes 116 survey respondents selected by convenience sampling method, and interviewees chosen by maximum variation sampling In order to take advantage of both quantitative and qualitative data, the researcher adopted convergent parallel mixed-methods design that yield several important results As regards the findings, third-year students in FELTE confirmed relevance to real-life situation, personal and professional interest, the drive of challenge and variability of accents to be the positive effects, while speed of delivery and lack of outline at the beginning discouraged them to participate in the News Sharing Moreover, better performance were not clearly recognized, but improvements of four sub-skills, namely listening for main idea, listening for details, listening for organization and note-taking skills, along with critical thinking skill, were admitted by half of the participants Notably, not only the language but also the content played an inevitable role in their skill enhancement Lastly, suggestions are proposed for teachers to invite students’ interest, regarding their professional and personal interest, and for students to prepare for the session more thoroughly i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I would like to show my sincere gratitude to my beloved supervisor - Ms Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong for her infinite patience, constant support and profound feedback throughout this study Without her, I would never reach this stage of writing an acknowledgement and completing the paper I am also thankful for the Faculty of English Language Teacher Education for extending the deadlines from time to time With the appearance of Covid-19 pandemic, things have been extremely hard for us to deal with lately Moreover, I am indebted to my dear participants, whose support has been a deciding factor in the accomplishment of this study Heartfelt thanks, especially, to my Lionet people that provided me with endless assistance and valuable insights I will forever appreciate my friends, who are also my influencers on this journey I count myself fortunate to have Tran Hoai Linh as an amazing encourager, Hoang Thi Minh Nguyet as a caring companion and Le Thuy Duong as a supportive friend Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my family whose love and understanding never fail to keep me going Also, I would show appreciation to myself for not giving up, even in the darkest time ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF FIGURES vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Statement of the problems and rationale for the study 1.2 Aims and objectives of the study 1.3 Scope of the study 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Organization CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Authentic materials 2.2 Authentic listening materials 2.3 Authentic listening materials in the News Sharing sessions 2.4 The effects of authentic materials towards students’ participation and listening comprehension 2.4.1 Authentic materials’ effects on students’ participation 2.4.2 Authentic materials’ help to foster students’ listening comprehension 2.5 Related studies on students’ perceptions of authentic listening materials 10 2.5.1 In the world .10 2.5.2 In Vietnam 11 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 13 3.1 Research Design: Convergent Parallel Mixed-methods Design 13 3.2 Setting of the study 14 3.3 Sampling 14 3.3.1 Sampling for questionnaire .14 3.3.2 Sampling for interview 15 3.4 Data collection 16 3.4.1 Data collection instruments 16 3.4.1.1 Questionnaire 16 3.4.1.2 Interview 23 3.4.2 Data collection procedure 25 3.4.2.1 Data from questionnaires 26 3.4.2.2 Data from interviews 26 3.5 Data analysis 27 iii CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 28 4.1 Quantitative data analysis: Numeric data from the questionnaire 28 4.1.1 Demographic information of participants .28 4.1.2 Research Question #1: The Extent to Which Authentic Listening Materials Affect Students’ Participation in the News Sharing Assignment 32 4.1.2.1 Positive effects 32 4.1.2.2 Negative effects 35 4.1.3 Research Question #2: The Extent to Which Authentic Materials Help Students Foster Their Listening Comprehension 37 4.1.3.1 Features that facilitate listening comprehension improvement 37 4.1.3.2 Features that impede listening comprehension improvement 39 4.2 Qualitative data analysis 40 4.2.1 Non-numeric data from the questionnaire 40 4.2.2 Interview data 42 4.2.2.1 Demographic information of interviewees 42 4.2.2.2 Research Question #1: The Extent to Which Authentic Listening Materials Affect Students’ Participation in the News Sharing Assignment 43 4.2.2.3 Research Question #2: The Extent to Which Authentic Materials Help Students Foster Their Listening Comprehension Ability 44 4.3 Discussion 47 4.3.1 Research question #1: The Extent to Which Authentic Listening Materials Affect Students’ Participation in the News Sharing Assignment 47 4.3.2 Research question #2: The Extent to Which Authentic Materials Help Students Foster Their Listening Comprehension 49 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 51 5.1 Summary of the findings 51 5.2 Implication for teaching 52 5.3 Limitations of the study 53 5.4 Suggestions for further research 53 REFERENCES 54 APPENDICES 59 Appendix A: Questionnaire 59 Appendix B: Interview questions 66 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Types of authentic materials Table 2: News Sharing procedure Table 3: Five themes of research question #1 in the literature Table 4: Four themes of research question #2 in the literature 10 Table 5: Sample size for 土5%, 土7% and 土10% Precision Levels Where Confidence Level is 95% and P=.5 15 Table 6: Illustrative scale for listening skill: Watching TV and films 17 Table 7: Illustrative scale for listening skill: Overall listening comprehension 19 Table 8: Illustrative scale for listening skill: Radio audio & recordings 19 Table 9: Illustrative items for listening skill: news videos & audios, as perceived by third-year mainstream students in ULIS 20 Table 10: Questionnaire items of section in accordance with themes 22 Table 11: Questionnaire items of section in accordance with themes 23 Table 12: Interview questions in accordance with research questions 25 Table 13: Interview data analysis 27 Table 14: Changes in news listening level after the News Sharing assignment, 31 Table 15: Questionnaire - Relevance to real-life situation 32 Table 16: Questionnaire – Personal interest 33 Table 17: Questionnaire - Confidence building 34 Table 18: Questionnaire - Frustration 35 Table 19: Questionnaire - Speed of delivery and Linguistic problems 36 Table 20: Questionnaire - Better performance 37 Table 21: Questionnaire - Language appreciation 38 Table 22: Questionnaire - Attention to the content and linguistic limitations 39 Table 23: Questionnaire - Other limitations 40 Table 24: Non numeric data - Authentic materials’ effect on students’ participation 41 Table 25: Non-numeric data - Authentic materials’ effects on students’ listening comprehension ability 41 Table 26: Demographic information of interviewees 42 Table 27: Listening sub-skill improvement as perceived by students 45 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Participants’ college majors 28 Figure 2: Time spent on preparation for News Sharing session (as a facilitator) 29 Figure 3: Time spent on preparation for News Sharing session (as an attendee) 29 Figure 4: Listening level before and after News Sharing assignment, as perceived by students 30 vi 5.3 Limitations of the study In this paper, there are three shortcomings that require mention In terms of research instruments, students’ participation in the classroom would be better investigated with the use of observation protocols By means of questionnaires and interviews only, the researcher might lack the hands-on experience as a real attendee in class, and therefore, may misinterpret students’ responses Moreover, due to the time constraint and the consequence of Covid-19 pandemic, the numbers of participants in this study did not come up to expectation Specifically, it might be biased to generalize findings from a small number of attendees, while the objectives is to examine the effect on all third-year mainstream students Last, it would have been better if the scope was broadened to cover all types of authentic materials, in order to yield more insightful findings In this regard, the News Sharing session might be an exemplary case to illustrate the situation in ULIS 5.4 Suggestions for further research New research questions arise as a consequence of these findings Other interested researchers might examine the perceptions of teachers in FELTE, ULIS towards authentic listening materials, in order to paint a complete picture of the case in this context Also, future studies may investigate more efficient ways to exploit authentic listening materials, since the motivation of students are clearly witnessed in this study while their listening improvement are of little recognition 53 REFERENCES Al-Musallam, E I (2009) College instructors’ and learners’ attitudes to authentic EFL reading materials in Saudi Arabia 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SECTION Demographic Information Your full name: _ Your gender (please tick one): Your class (e.g 17E3): Your contact: ⭖ Male ⭖ Female _ Phone number: Email address: _ _ How much time you spend preparing for YOUR News Sharing session (as a facilitator)? a more than weeks b 1-2 weeks c 3-6 days d less than days How much time you spend preparing for YOUR PEERS' News Sharing session (as a participant)? 59 a more than hours / session b 1-2 hours / session c 30-59 mins / session d 10-29 mins / session e less than 10 mins / session How you assess your news listening skill BEFORE the News Sharing assignment? Choose ONE descriptor that best describes you: a I have no difficulty in understanding any kind of news, whether live or broadcast, delivered at fast native speed b I can understand a wide range of recorded and broadcast news materials, including some non-standard usage c I can understand most TV news and current affairs programmes d I can understand news reports on topics of personal interest when the delivery is relatively slow and clear e I can identify the main point of TV news items reporting events, accidents etc where the visual supports the commentary How you assess your news listening skill AFTER the News Sharing assignment? Choose ONE descriptor that best describes you: a I have no difficulty in understanding any kind of news, whether live or broadcast, delivered at fast native speed b I can understand a wide range of recorded and broadcast news materials, including some non-standard usage c I can understand most TV news and current affairs programmes d I can understand news reports on topics of personal interest when the delivery is relatively slow and clear e I can identify the main point of TV news items reporting events, accidents etc where the visual supports the commentary 60 SECTION The Extent to Which Authentic Listening Materials Affect Students’ Participation in the News Sharing Assignment Please read the following statements carefully and decide how the following items correspond to you by circling the appropriate number from to No Item Strongly Disagree Neutra Disagree The authentic materials I Agree l Strongly Agree 5 5 5 listened to in News Sharing are easier than nonauthentic materials 10 The authentic materials I listened to in News Sharing are more interesting than non-authentic materials 11 Authentic listening materials brought real life into the classroom 12 Authentic listening materials were difficult for me to comprehend 13 Authentic listening materials made the language more meaningful than non-authentic materials 14 The speed of delivery discouraged me to 61 participate in the News Sharing session 15 The use of authentic 5 5 5 5 listening materials made me eager to participate in the class discussions 16 The authentic listening materials given by my peers made me bored 17 The authentic listening materials given by my peers made me more enthusiastic 18 I became frustrated with the authentic listening materials given by my peers 19 Authentic materials made me learn unconsciously 20 The classroom became livelier with the authentic listening materials 21 The news I listened to in class included topics of my own interest 22 My lack of lexical items discouraged me to participate in the News 62 Sharing assignment 23 My lack of grammar structures discouraged me to participate in the News Sharing assignment Other features of authentic listening materials that affect your participation in the News Sharing assignment:………… … ………….……………………………………… … ……………………………….………………………… ………………………………… …….………………………………………………………… …………………………… SECTION 3: The Extent to Which Authentic Materials Help Students Foster Their Listening Comprehension Please read the following statements carefully and decide how the following items correspond to you by circling the appropriate number from to No Item Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Disagree 24 I can understand different Agree 5 dialects better after studying with authentic listening materials 25 Authentic listening materials increase my knowledge of vocabulary items which I need in listening to news 26 I am more aware of the stress patterns with the authentic listening materials 63 27 Authentic listening materials 5 5 5 5 improve my listening comprehension more than non-authentic ones 28 Authentic listening materials increase my familiarity with the use of grammar rules in their original context 29 The speed of delivery in the news caused me difficulty in understanding the materials 30 Unfamiliar vocabulary items in the news caused me difficulty in understanding the materials 31 The variability of accents caused me difficulty in comprehending the news 32 The background noise in the news caused me difficulty in understanding the materials 33 My listening skill did not improve much because I paid most attention to the content of the news 34 Exposure to authentic materials did not help me 64 answer the follow-up questions better Other features of authentic listening materials that help you foster your listening comprehension ability:……………… … ……………… ………………… ……… …………………………………………………….…… ………………………………… …….………………………………………………………… …………………………… THANK YOU SO MUCH! 65 Appendix B: Interview questions In general, what you think about the News Sharing Assignment? Why? What are the advantages and disadvantages of authentic materials, in comparison to non-authentic ones? Why? In terms of impacts on students’ participation, which materials outweigh the other, authentic or non-authentic? Why? In terms of impacts on fostering students’ listening comprehension, which materials outweigh the other, authentic or non-authentic? Why? How did your listening skills improve after this assignment, particularly: - Listening for main ideas? Why? - Listening for details? Why? - Listening for organization? Why? - Note-taking skills? Why? Among the following factors, which affected your participation most positively in News Sharing sessions and why: - Relevance to real-life situations - Personal interest - Confidence building Do your major affect your participation in the News Sharing sessions and why? Among the following factors, which affected your participation most negatively in News Sharing sessions and why: - Frustration - Linguistic problems - Speed of delivery Among two following factors, which helped you foster your listening comprehension skills more in News Sharing sessions, attention to the language or to the content? Why? 10 Among the following factors, which caused you the most difficulty in fostering your listening comprehension skills in the News Sharing session and why: - Attention to the content 66 - Linguistic limitations - Other limitations such as speed of delivery or background noise 11 Can you describe in details the News Sharing session that affected your participation most positively? 12 Can you describe in details the News Sharing session that helped you foster your listening comprehension the most? 13 Is there anything else about authentic listening materials you would like to share? 67 ... choose ? ?Perceptions of Third- year Mainstream Students towards Authentic Listening Materials in News Sharing Assignment? ?? as the title for this graduation paper in order to bridge the gap in the... 2.2 Authentic listening materials 2.3 Authentic listening materials in the News Sharing sessions 2.4 The effects of authentic materials towards students? ?? participation and listening. .. researcher of this study aims to address third- year students in their last semester of language learning, specifically their perception towards of authentic listening materials in News Sharing session