Pre listening activities in fel classes an investigation at the faculty of economics m a 60 14 10

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES F G TRẦN THỊ DUNG PRE-LISTENING ACTIVITIES IN EFL CLASSES: AN INVESTIGATION AT THE FACULTY OF ECONOMICS A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL Supervisor: NGUYỄN THÁI ÂN, Ph D HO CHI MINH CITY, JANUARY 2010 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled: “PRE-LISTENING ACTIVITIES IN EFL CLASSES: AN INVESTIGATION AT THE FACULTY OF ECONOMICS” in terms of the statement of Requirements for Theses in Master’s Programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee Ho Chi Minh City, January 10th , 2010 TRẦN THỊ DUNG RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, TRẦN THỊ DUNG, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities relating to the retention and use of Master’s Thesis deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original version of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for care, loan, or reproduction of thesis Ho Chi Minh City, January 10th , 2010 TRẦN THỊ DUNG ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Ph.D Nguyễn Thái Ân, for his guidance, support and comments His insightful discussions and valuable comments and criticisms played a crucial role in the preparation and completion of this thesis My special thanks to all those who helped me in the study, in particular, all the teachers in charge of first-year students at the Faculty of Economics, for their permission to carry out the study in their classes as well as their considerable contribution to the survey questionnaires; 213 first-year students participating in the study for their cooperation in the questionnaire; and 20 others who were willing to answer the questions for the interview The thesis could not have been possible without those people’s help In addition, these friends and teacher of mine: Nguyễn Thị Trung, Nguyễn Vũ Huy, Sarah Connell, Nguyễn Thị Thu Hiền were specially of great help in preparing my thesis, searching for relevant references and reading my thesis for improvement My deepest appreciation is expressed to all of them Last but not least, I would like to offer my warmest thanks to my family: my father, my mother, my brother, and most importantly, my husband who, as always, have been wholeheartedly supportive This work would not have beeen possible without the consistent dedication of time, care, interest and love of these wonderful people ABSTRACT Many EFL learners find that they are unable to comprehend natural spoken English delivered at normal speed This thesis examines how to improve the competence of first-year students’ listening comprehension at the Faculty of Economics, Vietnam National University-HCM City in the light of applying prelistening activities at the preparatory stage in the listening process In order to serve this purpose, two sets of questionnaires were delivered to 213 first-year students in Course 2008-2009 and all 12 teachers currently in charge of Business English at the Faculty of Economics to elicit data about (1) two groups of population’s perceptions of pre-listening activities, (2) main factors negatively influencing students’ listening comprehension, (3) some suggestions of what should be done to facilitate the situation In addition, a semi-structured interview to the students was conducted to support the information in the questionnaire and to explore detailed data of listening skills The study found that (1) both teachers and students are fully aware of the importance of pre-listening activities; (2) pre-listening activities help the students become active participants, facilitate their comprehension, activate their background or cultural knowledge, build their confidence, and increase their input; (3) linguistic knowledge, especially pronunciation, the coursebook and the school’s facilities negatively influence the students’ listening comprehension The research has identified a significant role of pre-listening activities and also has drawn some recommendations related to the teachers, first-year students and school administrators in order to facilitate the situation TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Certificate of originality ……………………………………………………… i Retention and use of the thesis ………………………………………………… ii Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………… …iii Abstract …………………………………………………………………… … iv Table of contents ……………………………………………………………… … v List of tables …………………………………………………………………… xi List of figures ………………………………………………………………… …xiii Abbreviations and symbols ……………………………………………… ……xiv INTRODUCTION …………………………………… ……………… 0.1 BACKGROUND …………………………………………………………… …1 0.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM……………………………………………2 0.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DTUDY………………………………………….…3 0.4 STATEMENT PURPOSES AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS……………… 0.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY ………………………………….………… .5 0.5.1 Participants and their syllabus………………………… …………5 0.5.2 Stages of the listening process………………………………… .… 0.5.3 Types of pre-listening activities……………… ………… ……….5 0.6 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY…………………………… …………….6 Chapter BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY……………………….……7 1.1 OVERVIEW…………………………………………………………… …… 1.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGLISH SYLLABUS FOR FE FRESHMEN….…8 1.2.1 Aims of the syllabus………………………………… .………………8 1.2.2 Coursebook……………………………………………… …………….8 1.3 INFLUENTIAL FACTORS ON FE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS’ STUDYING LISTENING COMPREHENSION SKILLS……………………… …………10 1.3.1 First-year students’ listening background………………………………10 1.3.2 First-year students’ attitude toward listening comprehension skills… 11 1.3.3 First-year students’ awareness of listening test……………………… 12 1.3.4 First-year students’ linguistic knowledge………………………………13 1.4 SUMMARY………………………………………………………………… 14 Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………… 15 2.1 OVERVIEW 15 2.2 TEACHING RECEPTIVE SKILLS………… 15 2.2.1 Schemata 15 2.2.2 Reasons for reading and listening 16 2.2.3 Top-down and bottom-up processing 16 2.2.4 Specialist skills .16 2.2.5 Integrating skills……………………………………………… .18 2.3 THE NATURE OF THE LISTENING SKILL……………………………… 19 2.3.1 What is listening? 19 2.3.2 Listening processes…………………………………………………… 20 2.3.2.1 Bottom-up processing………………………………………… 21 2.3.2.2 Top-down processing………………………………………… 21 2.3.2.3 Bottom-up processing or Top-down processing .22 2.3.3 Listening strategies…………………………………………………… 23 2.3.4 Listening stages……………………………………………………… 27 2.3.4.1 Pre-listening…………………………………………………… 27 2.3.4.2 While-listening………………………………………………….29 2.3.4.3 Post-listening………………………………………………… 29 2.4 IMPORTANT FEATURES OF SPOKEN TEXTS…………………….…… 30 2.4.1 Sounds and sound linking…………………………………….….… 30 2.4.1.1 Sounds……………………………………………………… …30 2.4.1.2 Sound linking………………………………………………… 31 2.4.2 Stress………………………………………………………………… 32 2.4.2.1 Word stress…………………………………………………… 32 2.4.2.2 Sentence stress………………………………………………… 32 2.4.3 Intonation……………………………………………………………….33 2.4.4 Speech rate and accent………………………………………………….33 2.4.5 Linguistic differences between speech and writing…………………….34 2.5 THE IMPORTANCE OF PRE-LISTENING ACTIVITIES………………… 35 2.5.1 What are Pre-listening activities? 35 2.5.2 The importance of pre-listening activities .36 2.5.2.1 Pre-listening activities play a role of generating interest, building confidence and facilitating comprehension 36 2.5.2.2 Pre-listening activities change the role of listeners from passive “recorders” to active participants……………… ……37 2.5.2.3 Pre-listening activities increase the input………….……………37 2.6 COMMON PRE-LISTENING ACTIVITIES…………………….……………38 2.6.1 Brainstorming……………………………………………… …………39 2.6.2 Using a class discussion…………………………………… …………40 2.6.3 Questioning and answering session………………………….…………40 2.6.4 Predicting the content of the listening passage……………… ……….41 2.6.5 Pre-teaching new words or difficult key words……………… ………41 2.6.6 Studying the listening tasks…………………………………….………42 2.7 SUMMARY 42 Chapter METHODOLOGY……………………………………….……44 3.1 OVERVIEW……………………………………………………………… …44 3.2 METHODOLOGY………………………………………………………… …44 3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN …………………………………………………… ….45 3.3.1 Participants of the study…………………………………………… …46 3.3.1.1 Students’ profile……………………………………………… 46 3.3.1.2 Teachers’ profile …………………………………………… 48 3.3.2 Instruments……………………………………………………… 49 3.3.2.1 Questionnaires ………………………………………………….49 3.3.2.1.1 Students’ questionnaire ………………… ……… …52 3.3.2.1.2 Teachers’ questionnaire ……………… …………… 53 3.3.2.2 Interviews……………………………………………………….55 3.4 SUMMARY……………………………………………………………………57 Chapter DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS……………………… 58 4.1 OVERVIEW………………………………………………………………… 58 4.2 DATA ANALYSIS…………………………………………………………….58 4.2.1 Students’ responses to questionnaires………………………………… 58 4.2.1.1 Students’ perceptions of four English skills and listening teaching and learning ………………………….………… …….59 4.2.1.2 Students’ perceptions pre-listening activities ……………… 66 4.2.1.3 Students’ suggestions ………………………………………… 71 4.2.1.4 Students’ evaluations about their material…………………… 73 4.2.2 Teachers’ responses to questionnaires………………………………….75 4.2.2.1 Teachers’ viewpoints of English skills……………………… 76 4.2.2.2 Teachers’ methods of teaching listening …………………… 77 4.2.2.3 Teachers’ perceptions of pre-listening activities ……………….79 4.2.2.4 Teachers’ viewpoints of the textbook and their suggestions……87 4.2.3 Students’ responses to the interviews ………………………………89 4.2.3.1 Students’ self-perceptions of English skills as language learners 90 4.2.3.2 Students’ self-perceptions of listening teaching and learning… 92 4.2.3.3 Students’ views of pre-listening activities………………………93 4.3 FINDINGS………………………………………………………………… …96 4.4 SUMMARY……………………………………………………………………98 Chapter IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS…….…….99 5.1 OVERVIEW……………………………………………………………………99 5.2 IMPLICATIONS………………………………………………… ………… 99 5.2.1 Pre-listening activities as the priority………………………….……….99 5.2.2 Integrated skills approach to teaching and learning L2 listening…… 100 5.2.3 Effects of linguistic knowledge on listening comprehension…………102 5.2.4 The material…………………………………………………… ……103 5.2.5 School’s facilities……………………………………………… ……103 5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS……………………………… …………… 104 5.3.1 To teachers…………………………………………………………….105 5.3.2 To students…………………………………………….………………109 5.3.3 To school administrators………………………………………………112 5.4 SUMMARY……………………………………………………………… …115 CONCLUSION……………………………………………… ………… 116 REFERNCES………………………………… …………………………119 APPENDIX 1A Questionnaire for students (in Vietnamese)……………… 125 APPENDIX 1B Questionnaire for students (in English version)…………….131 APPENDIX Questionnaire for teachers………………………………….137 APPENDIX 3A An interview description for students (in Vietnamese).……142 APPENDIX 3B An interview description for students (in English version) 143 APPENDIX An informal interview for teachers…………………………144 APPPENDIX 1B QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (IN ENGLISH VERSION) QUESTIONNAIRE Dear research participants, The questionnaire below is designed to collect data for my research entitled: “Pre-listening activities in EFL classes - An investigation at the Faculty of Economics.” Please complete the questionnaire by reading all the options carefully and put a tick (√) in the box indicating your answer to each question (Only one possible answer for each question) To open questions, please write your answers in the space provided Your full and honest answers will allow me to reach sound interpretations and reliable findings, which contribute greatly to the success of the study I assure that your responses are used for research purposes only and that they will not affect the scores of your study Thank you for your cooperation Part I: PERSONAL DATA Gender: High School Graduation: Male Urban area Female Rural area Part II: STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ENGLISH LEARNING AND LISTENING COMPREHENSION SKILLS How long have you been learning English? …………… year(s) How long have you been learning listening comprehension? …………… year(s) Of the four skills, what you think about the degree of difficulty? (Please tick ONE among five options) Difficul t Neutral Easy Very easy 5 5 Very difficult Listening Speaking Reading Writing Of the four skills, what you think about the degree of importance? (Please tick ONE among four options) Not at all Listening Speaking Reading Little Much Very much 4 4 Writing How much you enjoy listening lessons in class? (Please tick ONE among four options) Not at all A little Much Very much Which factor(s) make(s) it difficult for you to listen and comprehend a listening text? (Please tick ONE among four options) Strongl y Disagre disagre e e 8.1 Different speakers produce the same sounds in different ways 8.2 The speed of the input of the spoken material is out of control 8.3 Speech is more likely to be distorted by background noise, the media… 8.4 Language learners often have to deal simultaneously with another task (egg: note-taking, gap-filling…) while listening 8.5 Language learners show much wrong stress (word and sentence stress) 8.6 Language learners are not trained listening strategies 8.7 Pre-listening activities are not performed as a preparation 8.8 Language learners own poor intonation 8.9 Language learners are not used to listening linking sounds 8.10 Others: …………………………………………… …………………………………………… …… Agree Strongly agree 4 4 4 4 What procedure does your teacher follow when teaching listening? (Please read Notes and tick ONE among four options) A Pre-listening and While-listening B While-listening C While-listening and Post-listening D Pre-listening, While-listening and Post-listening) Note: * Pre-listening includes one or more of the following activities: A Brainstorming words, structures or ideas B Using a class discussion about the topic, the title or the picture C Asking students some questions about the topic, the title or the picture D Pre-teaching new words E Making students predict the content of the text F Helping students understand the requirements of the listening task * While-listening: A tape/CD is playing and students are supposed to one or more of the following listening tasks: A Gap-filling B True/False C Multiple-choice answer D Completing tables/charts/grids E Question-Answer F Others * Post-listening: After listening tasks have been done, students are asked to one and/or following activities: A Summarizing B Extending notes into written responses/written work C Matching with a reading text D Role-play/Simulation E Identifying relationships between speakers F Others Part III: STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PRE-LISTENING ACTIVITIES 10 What benefit(s) you think you can get from pre-listening activities? (Please tick ONE among four options) Strongl y disagre e 10.1 Facilitating comprehension 10.2 Becoming an active participant 10.3 Activating background or cultural knowledge 10.4 Building confidence 10.5 Increasing the input Disagree Agree Strongl y agree 4 4 10.6 Others: …………………………………………… …………………………………………… ………… 11 Do you enjoy taking part in some pre-listening activities before playing a tape/CD? (Please tick ONE among four options) Not at all A little Much Very much 12 How often does your teacher employ these pre-listening activities? Never 12.1 Brainstorming words, structures or ideas 12.2 Using a class discussion about the topic, the title or the picture 12.3 Asking students some questions about the topic, the title or the picture 12.4 Pre-teaching new words or difficult key words 12.5 Making students predict the content of the text 12.6 Helping students understand listening tasks 12.7 Others: ……………………………… ……………………………… …… Teacher’s performance SomeSeldom Usually times Always 5 5 5 (Please tick ONE among five options) Part IV: STUDENTS’ SUGGESTIONS 13 What pre-listening activities should be employed to help you enhance listening comprehension? (Please tick ONE among four options) Strongl y disagre e 13.1 Helping students understand the requirement of listening tasks 13.2 Using a class discussion about the topic, the title or the picture 13.3 Making students predict the content of the text 13.4 Pre-teaching new words or difficult key words 13.5 Asking students some questions about the topic, the title or the picture 13.6 Brainstorming words, structures or ideas 13.7 Others: ……………………………………………… ………………………………….:………… ……… Disagree Agre e Strongl y agree 4 4 4 Part V: STUDENTS’ EVALUATIONS ABOUT THEIR MATERIAL 14 What you think about listening lessons available in your coursebook? (Please tick ONE among four options) Strongly disagree Disagree Agree 14.1 Suitable for students’ interests 14.2 Effective in helping improve listening skills 14.3 Sufficiently varied Strongly agree 4 4 students 14.4 Simple and not varied 14.5 Boring Thank you for your cooperation APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE (FOR TEACHERS) QUESTIONNAIRE Dear research participants, This questionnaire aims at collecting data for a study entitled: “Pre-listening activities in EFL classes - An investigation at the Faculty of Economics.” Please complete this questionnaire by reading all the options carefully and putting a tick (√) in the box (There is ONE answer only for each sentence) To open questions, please write your answers in the space provided Your answers are very important to the success of the study They will be completely confidential and used for research purposes only Thank you for your cooperation Part I: BACKGROUND INFORMATION Gender: Male Female Age: 22-30 31- 40 41-50 Over 50 Years of English teaching experience: ………… year(s) English Language Teaching (ELT) qualifications • BA in English studies • Postgraduate diploma in TESOL • MA in TESOL • Others (please specify) …………………………………………………… Part II: TEACHERS’ VIEWPOINTS OF ENGLISH SKILLS What skills you think our students need improvement? (Please tick ONE among five options) Strongly disagree Listening Speaking Reading Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree 5 5 Writing Part III: TEACHERS’ METHODS OF TEACHING LISTENING When teaching listening, which way you follow (A, B or C)? A Playing the tape/CD, asking students to listen, doing the tasks and checking answers B Following two stages: pre-listening and while-listening; providing activities appropriate to different stages C Following three stages: pre-listening, while-listening and post-listening; providing activities appropriate to different stages When teaching listening, which process you center on? (Please read Notes and tick ONE among five options) Listening processes 7.1 Bottom-up processing 7.2 Top-down processing 7.3 Both of the processes Strongl y disagre e Disagre e Neutra Agree l Strongl y agree 5 Notes: - Bottom-up processing refers to a process in which learners rely on their linguistic knowledge to recognize linguistic elements – vowels, consonants, words, sentences to decode a message - Top-down processing refers to a process in which learners use their prior knowledge to make predictions about the text According to you, what factors often prevent learners from listening comprehension? (Please tick ONE among five options) Factors Strongl y disagre e 8.1 Poor linguistic knowledge (speed rate, intonation, sound linking, stress) 5 5 8.2 Poor background knowledge 8.3 Lack of facilities for listening study 8.4 Poor preparation for prelistening activities Others: …………………………………… … …………………………………… …… Disagre Neutra Agree e l Strongl y agree Part IV: TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PRE-LISTENING ACTIVITIES How important you think to some pre-listening activities before asking students to listen to a text? (Please tick ONE among five options) Not important at all Not important Neutral Important Very important 10 What are your purposes in using pre-listening activities? (Please tick ONE among five options) Pre-listening activities 10.1 To help students predict the content of the listening text 10.2 To increase students’ motivation in listening to the text 10.3 To activate background knowledge about the topic of the text 10.4 To get students to become more active 10.5 To get students to become more confident 10.6 To generate interests 10.7 To facilitate comprehension 10.8 To increase the input (background or cultural knowledge) 10.9 To learn new words and structures 10.10 Others: ……………………………….… … …………………………………… … Strongl y Disagree Neutral Agree disagre e Strongl y agree 5 5 5 5 11 Which of the following pre-listening activities are effective for performing listening tasks? (Please tick ONE among five options) Pre-listening activities Strongl y disagre e 11.1 Brainstorming words, structures or ideas 11.2 Using a class discussion about the rubrics 11.3 Helping students understand the requirement of the listening tasks 11.4 Asking students some questions about the rubrics 11.5 Making students predict the content of the text 11.6 Pre-teaching new words Disagre Neutra Agree e l Strongl y agree 5 5 5 11.7 Others: ……………………………….… … …………………………………… … 12.What problems you face when applying pre-listening activities? (Please tick ONE among five options) Problems Strongly disagree Disagree Neutra Agree l Strongl y agree 5 5 12.1 Difficult to design 12.2 Time-consuming to design 12.3 Hard to handle 12.4 Not very interesting Part V: TEACHERS’ VIEWPOINTS OF THE TEXTBOOK AND THEIR SUGGESTIONS 13 What you think of the listening lessons in the coursebook “Business Basics” by David Grant and Robert McLarty? (Please tick ONE among five options) Listening lessons 13.1 Suitable for students’ interests 13.2 Simple and not varied 13.3 Boring Strongl y disagre e Disagre Neutra e l Agree Strongly agree 5 14 What you at the pre-listening stage for bettering students' comprehension when using the textbook without pre-listening activity as Business Basics? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you very much for your cooperation! APPENDIX 3A NỘI DUNG CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN (Dành cho sinh viên năm nhất) Chào Bạn, Nhằm thu thập liệu cho đề tài:“Các hoạt động trước lớp học Anh ngữ Khảo sát Khoa Kinh Tế.” (Pre-listening activities in EFL classes An investigation at the Faculty of Economics.), xin Bạn vui lòng dành chút thời gian trả lời câu hỏi sau Các câu trả lời Bạn quan trọng cho thành công đề tài, sử dụng vào mục đích nghiên cứu mà Xin chân thành cảm ơn cộng tác Bạn Trong kỹ (nghe, nói, đọc, viết), kỹ khó Bạn? sao? Bạn muốn phát triển kỹ nhất?(a) Tai sao? (b) Và làm để phát triển kỹ đó?(c) Bạn có thích nghe lớp khơng? (a) khơng vì: (b) có vì: Khi làm tập nghe giáo trình Business Basics, Bạn thích giáo viên cho Bạn thực số hoạt động (a) như: dạy từ vựng, cấu trúc nghe, trả lời câu hỏi tranh, chủ đề nghe, đoán câu trả lời cho câu hỏi…hay nghe (b) Nếu Bạn chọn (a) , vui lòng cho biết cụ thể hoạt động mà Bạn thích? Tại Bạn thích hoạt động này? Để làm nghe tốt, phát triển kỹ nghe hiểu học viên, giai đoạn đầu (a)Giáo viên, (b)Sinh viên cần làm gì? (a) Giáo viên: (b) Sinh viên APPPENDIX 3B AN INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION (IN ENGLISH VERSION) (For first-year students) Dear students, I am doing research entitled: “Pre-listening activities in EFL classes An investigation at the Faculty of Economics.” In order to get some accurate and sufficient information for the research, I would like to ask you some questions I promise all what you provide me is just for my thesis I would like to be grateful to you for your agreement and support (1) Of the four skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing), which is the most difficult for you? Why? (2) Of the four skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing), which you want to improve best? Why and How? (3) Do you like listening lessons at school? If no, why? If yes, why? (4) Performing listening tasks in the textbook Business Basics, which you expect your teacher at the pre-listening stage: - (a) to perform one and/or some pre-listening activities (eg: Brainstorming words, structures or ideas, Using a class discussion about the topic, the title or the picture, Asking students some questions about the topic, the title or the picture, Pre-teaching new words or difficult key words, Making students predict the content of the text) or - (b) to play a CD/tape immediately without pre-listening activities (5) If you choose (b), please specify your favourite pre-listening activities and why you like it/them? (6) On part of a listening teacher and a language learner, what should they to well perform listening tasks as well as enhance listening comprehension skills? APPENDIX AN INFORMAL INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION (For teachers) For improvements, what are your recommendations on what should be done: On the part of the books: what to add, to modify, and to delete? On the part of the students: what would you rather your students be like? On the part of the administrators: (e.g exam format to be changed) On the part of teaching and learning facilities (audio-visual aids, classroom conditions) On your own part: ... what they want to with the text Nunan (2007) also shares the idea that in pre- listening activities, learners tasks to “activate their schemata”, that is, helping them anticipate a situation and... together in a rather loose way, often connected more by the coherence of the ideas than by any formal grammatical relationship The vocabulary and the grammar also tend to be far more colloquial and... the EFL classes in general and to the teachers and students at the FE in particular in terms of teaching and learning listening skills by reminding them of the importance of pre- listening activities,