The impacts of schema building activities on efl learners listening learning m a 60 14 10

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES THE IMPACTS OF SCHEMA-BUILDING ACTIVITIES ON EFL LEARNERS’ LISTENING LEARNING A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL) Submitted by BÙI THỊ KIM LOAN Supervisor LƯU TRỌNG TUẤN, PhD Ho Chi Minh City, April 2011 RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, BÙI THỊ KIM LOAN, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s thesis deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for research purpose, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or reproduction of thesis Ho Chi Minh City, April 2011 BÙI THỊ KIM LOAN ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to thank all of my students for their contributions to my research Without their participation and support, this research couldn’t have been completed and I couldn’t have applied my new ideas for the research I thank my students for completing the questionnaire and giving me the chances to the experimentation I also thank my colleagues for all their time and helpful suggestions They were Nguyen Thi Ly Da and Tran Quoc Thao, who observed my class a few times and marked all the posttests, Nguyen Thi Bich Thuan, from whom I had borrowed few of her ideas to design the questionnaire Besides, I wish to thank all of my teachers in and outside the USSH who taught me during the 2008-2011 TESOL course for their enthusiasm and instruction Their encouragements as well as comments helped me follow this research I give my thanks to the library and post-graduate office staff for their kindness and support Moreover, during the years of studying in Ho Chi Minh City I would like to thank my family for their sacrifice I am grateful to my parents-in-law for taking care of me when I gave the birth to my little son I also thank my father, older and younger sisters, who are now looking after my baby, for their sympathy and love I give my thanks to my husband, who always supports me Especially, I would like to say sorry to my little son, who I spent a little time rearing him when I was busy writing the last pages of the research Last but not least, I would really like to thank my supervisor, Dr Luu Trong Tuan for his valuable guidance, encouragements as well as comments through my research completion His support to my research and feedback on content preparation and all drafts of the study facilitated the successful completion of the research I hope I can become a passionate researcher like him a little, which showed me during this research writing ABSTRACT This research investigated the factors influencing listening learning and the impacts schema-building activities EFL learners’ listening learning at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH) The participants in the research were 123 EFL learners among 296 students from different faculties of this university They all took the same the pretest for the assessment of their listening proficiency, and then two classes with the rather analogous listening competence level and background were selected as two classes such as the control group and experimental group During the first two weeks, they were delivered the questionnaires and invited to complete them during the class meeting During 15 weeks, the experimental teaching was applied, and the students in the experimental learned listening skill with the approach of schema-building activities while there were no schema-building activities adopted in the control group After 15 weeks, the both classes took the same posttest for the comparison of the level of listening improvement between the two classes The data analysis indicated that the students in the experimental group got higher mean scores than those in the control group This means that the schemabuilding activities have impacts on EFL learners’ listening learning at HUTECH Besides, the findings from the observation on students’ interaction and motivation in the experimental group substantiated that participating in some activities before listening to the texts to trigger their schemata made the learners interested and motivated to learn listening in particular and acquire second language in general The research therefore suggests applying schema-building activities to the teaching, and some suggestions for teaching listening were made regarding the schema-building activities for teachers and EFL learners at HUTECH TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Retention and use of the thesis i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii Table of contents iv List of tables viii List of figures viii List of abbreviations x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Background of the study Aims of the study Significance of the study Organization of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Listening 2.1.1 Defining listening 2.1.2 The teaching and learning of listening 2.2 Schema 10 2.2.1 Definitions of schema 10 2.2.2 Characteristics of schema 12 2.2.3 Types of schema 13 2.3 Foundations of schema 13 2.4 Schema theory 15 2.5 Benefits of schema-building 18 2.5.1 Schema and second language acquisition 18 2.5.2 Schema and classroom participation/ interaction 22 2.5.3 Schema and motivation 23 2.5.4 Schema-building and listening comprehension 24 2.6 Summary 27 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 29 3.1 Research questions 29 3.2 Subjects 29 3.3 Instruments 33 3.3.1 Questionnaire 33 3.3.2 Tests 33 3.3.3 Observation 34 3.4 Experimental teaching 34 3.5 Data collection and analysis procedures 36 3.6 Summary 38 CHAPTER 4: FINDING ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS 38 4.1 Finding analysis for Research question 38 4.2 Finding analysis for Research question 54 4.2.1 Listening test scores 54 4.2.2 Findings from observation 57 4.3 Discussions 59 4.4 Summary 61 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 62 5.1 Summary of the findings 63 5.2 Implications 65 5.2.1 Implications for teachers 65 5.2.2 Implications for administrative staff 66 5.3 Limitations 67 5.4 Suggestions for further research 68 REFERENCES 69 APPENDIX A: Vietnamese version of the questionnaire 76 APPENDIX B: English version of the questionnaire 80 APPENDIX C: Pretest 84 APPENDIX D: Posttest 86 APPENDIX E: Observation instrument 88 APPENDIX F: A lesson plan for the control group 89 APPENDIX G: A lesson plan for the experimental group 92 APPENDIX H: Transcripts and answer keys for tests 97 APPENDIX I: Test scores of the control group 105 APPENDIX J: Test scores of the experimental group 107 LIST OF TABLES Page Chapter Table 1.1: Characteristics of effective and ineffective lecture Chapter Table 2.1: Techniques to activate stored schemata 21 Chapter Table 3.1: Profile of students in control group and experimental group 31 Table 3.2: Group statistics for pretest mean scores 32 Table 3.3: Independent samples t-test analysis of the pretest listening scores 32 Table 3.4: Experimental teaching outline 36 Chapter Table 4.1: Group statistics for posttest mean scores 55 Table 4.2: Independent t-test analysis of the posttest listening scores 55 Table 4.3: Classroom observation summary 58 LIST OF FIGURES Page Chapter Figure 2.1: A diagram of someone’s possible schema for the concept of egg 12 Figure 2.2: Speech Reception framework by Celce-Murcia and Olshtain 17 Figure 2.3: Conceptual framework 28 Chapter Figure 4.1: Teaching listening by asking students to look at listening parts in the book and listen to the tape 39 Figure 4.2: Pre-teaching some new words 40 Figure 4.3: Teachers introduce topic of the incoming listening text 41 Figure 4.4: Teachers involve students in group discussion on the topic 42 Figure 4.5: Teachers offer other activities to lead students to the listening text 43 Figure 4.6: Preferred ways of English listening learning 45 Figure 4.7: Some preferred activities before listening to the listening text 46 Figure 4.8: Students participate in some activities after listening 47 Figure 4.9: Activities used by students to present one’s own opinions on listening text 48 Figure 4.10: School materials for listening contain pre-listening activities 49 Figure 4.11: Pre-listening activities 50 Figure 4.12: Listening topics are relevant to students’ life 51 Figure 4.13: Listening texts in materials are difficult 52 Figure 4.14: Reasons for difficult listening texts 53 Figure 4.15: Pretest and posttest score classification in the control group 56 Figure 4.16: Pretest and posttest score classification in the experimental group… 56 Chapter Figure 5.1: The impacts schema-building activities have on EFL learners' listening learning 63 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL HCM HUTECH MA OHP TESOL USSH English as a foreign language Ho Chi Minh Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology Master of Art Overhead Projector Teaching of English to speakers of other language University of Social Sciences and Humanities CHAPTER INTRODUCTION This study seeks to investigate factors influencing listening learning and whether schema-building activities have impacts on listening learning of EFL learners at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH), which then give some possible suggestions to improve EFL learners’ listening teaching and learning The first chapter aims at providing the below the background of study, aims of the study, research questions, significance and organization of the study 1.1 Background of the study Learners of English receive messages English mainly through two skills (listening and reading) among the four skills - listening, speaking, reading and writing With regard to reading skill, there has been a wealth of studies on how to facilitate EFL learners to learn English reading better However, there still has been a limited amount of research on activities in improving listening learning of EFL learners (Long, 1987; Mendelsohn, 1998, Vandergrift, 2007) In Vietnamese context, teaching and learning listening still has not been highly focused on This may result from objective and subjective factors Objective problems are related to course syllabus or study facilities such as tapes, CDs, cassettes, headphones, and lab rooms, while subjective factors belong to students and teachers It is possible that they think it is unimportant or difficult to learn and teach listening in English classrooms, as reflected in the following researches Vandergrift (2004) asserts that “listening is probably the least explicit of the four macro language skills, making it the most difficult skill to learn” (p 3), and Khanh (2006) maintains that “listening has always been presumed to be the most difficult and boring skill to practice” (p 51) Do’s (2007) research finds out that “teachers concentrate on presenting vocabulary and structures so much that they may 99 100 APPENDIX H TRANSCRIPTS AND ANSWER KEYS FOR TESTS Transcript for Pre-test Task 1: A: So you’re a teacher Is that right? B: Yep A: Do you enjoy teaching? B: Yes, I The vacations are great, but I’ve got a really difficult class this year I try everything but they just don’t learn anything Maybe it’s the way I teach A: How long have you been a flight attendant? B: For nearly ten years A: Do you like flying? B: Actually I I love it And I meet lots of interesting passengers The only thing I don’t like is staying in hotels all the time I miss home cooking A: So, you’re an architect That must be interesting B: Yes, it is Right now we’re in the middle of a big project We’re in designing a new hotel A: Uh-huh B: The only trouble is the woman I work with and I have completely different ideas of what it should look like A: Is that going to be a problem? B: I hope not You see, I’m her boss A: So, you work in an auto shop? B: That’s right Bob’s Auto, on Ford Street Do you know it? A: Yeah, I think so Do you enjoy working on cars? 101 B: Yeah, I really I love anything mechanical The only trouble is the shop’s about an hour from my house A: An hour? So what you do? Drive? B: Sometimes Sometimes I take the bus The commute’s the worst part But the money’s good, it kind of makes up for it A: Where you work, Cindy? B: In a bookstore A: Oh Do you like it there? B: Well, the money isn’t bad A: Uh-huh B: But the boss is a bit strange Not at all friendly And he’s got a terrible temper A: So what you do, Tony? B: I’m a hairdresser A: Oh What’s it like? B: Well, I love my customers Some of them are so friendly But it’s tiring work I work long hours and I’m on my feet all day A: Yeah That must be tiring Task 2: A: So where you work now, Phil? B: I’m working at a night club down town A: Hey, that’s kind of interesting Are you the manager or something? B: Oh, yeah! Right! Actually, I play the drums in the band A: Oh, how long have you been playing in the drums? B: Well, only for two weeks! But I’m learning real fast A: Where you work, Ted? B: At a hotel, I’m with the Grand City Towers A: Oh, yeah? Do you like it? 102 B: It’s pretty good I get to meet some really interesting people A: Oh, are you the manager? B: Well, not yet I’ll still carrying bags, but I’m sure I’ll be manager before long A: So you work for a TV producer That must be interesting work B: It’s okay A: And what kind of work you do? B: Well, I’m on the road a lot A: Oh, yeah- a kind of personal secretary? B: Well, not quite-I drive her to work A: So you work in an office? B: That’s right A: How you like it? B: Well, it’s pretty boring A: oh, yeah! What you there? B: Oh, I type, answer the phone, that sort of thing And it really doesn’t pay much A: So why you stay there? B: I like my co-workers A: Where you work? B: I work for the city newspaper A: Really? B: Yeah I write about sports Have you read any of my stories? A: Maybe Say – what’s your name again? B: Ted Grant A: The Ted Grant? Can I have your autograph A: are you still working in a bar on the weekend? B: That’s right But I’m not working as a waitress anymore 103 A: oh? B: Yeah Now I’m working the cash register A: Lucky you Task 3: I work for a market research company We research for companies that are planning to develop new products I call people and ask them questions about products they are using now Sometimes I invite people to come to meetings We discuss plans for new products with them It’s pretty interesting work I’ve been doing it for nearly years now, and I’ve got no plans to change jobs The thing I really like about my job is that each month I’m working on something completely different, so it never gets boring I have my own design company It’s very small-just me and two assistants I design brochures, advertisements for magazines, menus, and things like that It’s a very creative job I started this company just two years ago after I graduated from design school Things have gone pretty well for me I have two big clients and most my work is for them Sometimes I have to work very late at night if I have a big job to finish quickly I always have plenty of work to and I am always busy I’ve had my own restaurant When I first bought this place, I thought it would be easy to run, but it’s very hard work I work long hours, sometimes we’re very busy and sometimes we’re very slow We usually have a lot of customers on the weekends During the week, it’s something quiet I never have a day off because there are always many things to I don’t any of the cooking myself I have three very good chefs to that Owning a restaurant is a tough job, but I love it I don’t want to anything else I’m a flight attendant Many people think it’s a boring job, but I love it I get to travel all over the world, and I meet lots of interesting people I like that The job is pretty easy, really We don’t work nonstop for the whole 104 flight We have plenty of time to sit down and take a break On long flights, we can even take a nap Also, the money is very good because all our expenses are paid when we’re working Answer key for Pre-test Task 1: A.3 B.1 C.5 D.6 E.2 F.4 2.b 3.a 4.c 5.b 6.a 2.a 3.d 4.d Task 2: 1.a Task 3: 1.c Transcript for Post-test Task 1: I love to eat out I eat at restaurants most of the time It’s expensive, but I don’t care I read almost everything I can books, magazines, newspapers I go to the public library about twice a week I never used to like stamp collecting, but now I think it’s great I’ve got two huge stamp albums Hey, why don’t you come and see my collection some time? My wife says I should take up gardening We have a big garden, and she loves working in it, but the truth is, it bores me Well, everyone in my family loves sports – everyone, that is, except me My family’s out playing baseball and stuff all the time But I think most sports are pretty boring I don’t like chasing balls around a field And I couldn’t hit a ball if I had to 105 My friends think I’m really boring because I’m always listening to music I go to concerts all the time I love Mozart and all that classical stuff Task 2: I used to play the piano a lot when I was younger, but I don’t play much anymore Now I enjoy playing in a band We call ourselves the bandits We’ve been practicing for few months in my garage and pretty soon we’re going to start playing at parties Maybe we’ll become famous! We all have a great time I like doing things with other people – that’s what I like best about it I’ve always collected things, even when I was young I used to collect everything – comic books, baseball cards, you name it But they’re al packed away in boxes now Now my favorite pastime is gardening I spend all weekend outside with my flowers I love seeing them change That’s what I like best about it I guess They’re these little seeds at first, and then one day, they’re big, beautiful flowers When I was a teenager, all I did was sit around playing video games But I can’t stand them anymore I work in a office now, so I sit in front of a boring computer screen all day Now I like being outdoors I belong to a hiking group and we go someplace different every weekend I keep fit and healthy this way The best thing is that I can make some really great friends I like collecting things I collected baseball cards when I was a kid, but I don’t anymore These days baseball card collectors are only interested in the money I wanted to collect things that are really beautiful, so that’s why I started collecting stamps Some of the stamps I have are really, really beautiful I think they’re like paintings What I like best is looking at my collection It’s like walking through a tiny museum full of wonderful paintings I always loved reading as a kid, so for a long time I wanted to write children’s books I tried to it for a few years, after college, but it was really hard to come up with good stories I guess I’m not very good words with Now, I’m 106 happy just painting I’ve won a few prizes, too – in art competitions, for my watercolors and oils The pictures are important to me, though, not the prizes What I enjoy most is creating pictures It makes me so happy Task 3: A few months ago, I moved to this cute little house out in the country Before I moved, all I did was sit in coffee shops and read or surf the Internet Boring! Now I want to spend all my free time outside, enjoying nature The only problem is, I’m not in very good shape, so I don’t like doing any sports, or anything that involves a lot of exercise I tried hiking once, but I fell down a hill and hurt my leg Don’t get me wrong, I love the outdoors – but what I really want is something I can quietly in nature I live in a big city, so I love being around lots of people My mother is completely the opposite – last weekend, he took me to the country to go birdwatching I was so bored the whole time I like talking to people and doing creative things I’d just love to get all my friends together at my apartment in the city and something We could have a dinner party, maybe We could bring over some guitars and rums, and stuff like that, and sing and dance! Exercise is really important to me I like doing things where I keep active, things that are good for your health My roommate isn’t like that at all, though – he wakes up and surfs the Internet for hours Then he plays his guitars in his room all afternoon Yuck! I just hate sitting around indoors! I especially hate surfing the Internet I want to meet other people I also want to get out and visit new places, like out in the country, where you can see some real nature I’m not so young anymore, so I don’t really like going to parties or working out at the gym all the time I don’t like hiking around in nature, either I like to things that develop my mind or things that teach me about other countries and places What I really love is history To me, a good history book is a lot more exciting than a big baseball game And now there’s a lot of great 107 historical information on the Internet, too! I’m not one of those old ladies who sits at home and collects stamps For me, learning something new is a real new adventure! Answer key for Post-test Task 1: A.5 B.2 C.3 D.4 E.1 F.6 2.c 3.b 4.a 5.a 6.b Task 2: 1.b Task 3: Scott: gardening, bird-watching Christine: music, cooking Joe: sports, hiking Amy: reading, surfing the Internet 108 109 APPENDIX I: TEST SCORES OF THE CONTROL GROUP Students Pretest Posttest 5 5 7 10 11 12 13 3 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 6 22 23 24 6 25 110 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 6 48 49 50 51 52 111 53 4 APPENDIX J: TEST SCORES OF THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP Students Pretest Posttest 8 6 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 10 19 20 21 22 23 112 24 25 26 27 28 10 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 7 38 39 5 40 4 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 4 48 49 50 4 113 51 52 53 54 55 ... representation of a typical instance” (p 86) The following is an example of schema for “mall”: For example, the statement “We went to the mall” would activate one’s schema for “mall” Mall is an abstract concept... Definitions of schema Researches have given a large number of different definitions of schema (plural of schemas or schemata) Rumelhart (1980) defines schemas as ? ?building blocks of cognition” (p... qualitative methods to find out the factors influencing listening learning and the impacts of 39 schema- building activities on EFL learners? ?? listening learning Data were collated by means of listening