The effects of scaffolding strategies on improving the tenth grader’s listening ability

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI PHUONG THAO THE EFFECTS OF SCAFFOLDING STRATEGIES ON IMPROVING THE TENTH GRADER’S LISTENING ABILITY MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Nghe An, 2017 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYỄN THỊ PHƯƠNG THẢO THE EFFECTS OF SCAFFOLDING STRATEGIES ON IMPROVING THE TENTH GRADER’S LISTENING ABILITY Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: Trần Bá Tiến Ph.D Nghe An, 2017 i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is my own work The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission, and have not been published elsewhere Author Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao ii ABSTRACT This study aims to examine the effects of scaffolding strategies in improving the English listening ability of tenth graders at high school The problem of the study is the effectiveness of scaffolding interactive activities in improving tenth graders’ listening ability The subjects in this study were 60 tenth graders at Phan Dinh Phung high school They were assigned to two groups: 30 students in the control group and 30 students in the experimental group Each group studied the same lessons The experimental group participated in the scaffolding activities designed by the researcher To determine which listening skills are included in the English textbooks taught in the tenth grade in high schools, a listening skill list was selected Based on these listening skills, the content of the textbooks was analyzed and then a listening comprehension test was designed and used as a pre-post test Before the treatment, the first questionnaire was made to explore what difficulties students are facing and what they expect from the teachers The treatment was designed by the researcher to improve the listening comprehension skills of the experimental group The treatment was taught for one period a week over eight weeks At the end of the treatment, a posttest was administered to each group to find out the effect of the treatment on developing the pupils' listening comprehension skills And the second questionnaire was made to find out which scaffolding strategies are suitable for their listening skills The main statistical results of the study showed that: There was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the pupils of the experimental and control groups in the listening comprehension posttest (as a whole) in favor of the experimental group There was statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the pupils in the experimental group in the pre-test and their mean scores in the post-test (the total test) in favor of the latter It was concluded that the proposed scaffolding strategies were very effective in improving the listening comprehension skills of tenth graders at Phan Dinh Phung high school in Hatinh iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I gratefully acknowledge the encouragement and support of many individuals in assisting me to accomplish this study First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my beloved supervisor Dr Tran Ba Tien for his valuable time, suggestions, guidance, and assistance in this study Without his help, the thesis would not have been completed I would also like to thank the students of the classes I conducted the study in order to collect information for my research Without their help, this study could not have been successful Finally, my thanks go to my colleagues, friends and especially my beloved family I feel greatly indebted to them for their essential help and encouragement Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ii ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv TABLE OF CONTENTS .v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………….……… 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Scope of the study 1.4 Research Questions 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 The organization of the study CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Literature review 2.3 Briefing Communicative Language Teaching .6 2.3.1 The teaching of listening .8 2.3.1.1 The nature of listening 2.3.1.2 Listening and Hearing 2.3.1.3 Listening as a Receptive Skill 2.3.1.4 Listening as an Active Skill 2.3.1.5 Listening as a Complex Skill 11 2.3.2 The process of teaching and learning listening comprehension skills 11 2.3.2.1 The Bottom-up listening Process 11 2.3.2.2 The Top-down listening listening Process 12 2.3.3 Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and Scaffolding 13 2.3.3.1 Zone of Proximal Development .13 2.3.3.2 Scaffolding strategies .15 2.3.3.2.1 Activities Based on Visual Cues 17 2.3.3.2.2 Information-Based Activities .17 2.3.3.2.3 Game Activities .18 v 2.3.3.2.4 Following Instruction Activities 19 2.4 Summary .22 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 23 3.1 Introduction 23 3.2 Research methods 23 3.3 Participants .24 3.4 Research Instruments 24 3.4.1 Listening Comprehension Pretest 24 3.4.2 Interviews 25 3.4.3 Questionnaires .25 3.4.4 Listening Comprehension Posttest 27 3.4.5 Instructional material 27 3.4.6 Lesson Plans 28 3.5 Data Analysis 28 3.6 Data Collection Procedures 29 3.7 Summary .29 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 30 4.1 Introduction 30 4.2 The result of listening pretest of 10th graders at Phan Dinh Phung high school .30 4.3 Problems encountered by 10th graders in learning listening skills 31 4.3.1 Problems from the listeners 32 4.3.2 Problems from the listening material 34 4.3.3 Problems result from physical settings 37 4.4 Students’ expectations in term of teachers’ methodology 37 4.5 Effects of scaffolding on students’ listening skills 39 4.5.1 Effects on listening comprehension results 39 4.5.2 Effects on students’ motivation 44 4.6 Pedagogical Implications 47 4.6.1 For teachers 48 4.6.2 For students 50 4.6.3 For school administrators 50 4.7 Summary .51 vi CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 52 5.1 Summary of the key findings 52 5.2 Limitations of the study 53 5.3 Suggestions for further research .54 REFERENCES 55 APPENDIX 1A 58 APPENDIX 1B 62 APPENDIX 2A 63 APPENDIX 2B 63 APPENDIX 3A 76 APPENDIX 3B 80 vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Being able to understand what one listens is important for learning in school and for life in general At Phan Dinh Phung high school, the tenth graders tend to have low levels of English, which makes listening comprehension challenging Often, instructional approaches promote listening as a product rather than as a process The former focuses on the text, while the latter explores the readers, their background knowledge and experience, predictions, and interaction with the text Additionally, listening comprehension skills are usually taught in school in one of two ways One method is to have students listen a text and then listen comments or answer questions about the text This method stresses important components of listening comprehension, but treats them purely as products (i.e., interpretations) rather than as processes (i.e., constructing interpretations) In particular, it does not teach students what to when they have difficulty comprehending parts of the text; nor does it teach them how to construct and revise hypotheses about what is likely to occur in the text based on what they have already read Both of these aspects are important in constructing an interpretation of the text In an effort to find an effective method of teaching listening skills, recent researches emphasize learning by engaging learners in knowledge construction (Reiser, 2004) The conditions of meaningful learning require appropriate strategies, where students need to elaborate, or generate activities, such as activities based on visual cues, information-based activities, game activities and following instruction activities from a listening tapescript Such strategies can be considered effective in listening comprehension If provided with appropriate assistance, students can attain a goal or engage in a practice task that is beyond their reach Reiser (2004) points that with scaffolding strategies, learners receive support and assistance to successfully perform certain tasks and move to more complex ones Similarly, Vacca (2008) suggests that when guided, supported and provided with the necessary attributes, students become more responsible for their learning, more motivated, and more successful Scaffolding strategies are, therefore, effective for teaching listening, and such strategies influence the development of higher functions and skills beyond the confines of learner With more than 15 years of experience in teaching English at high school, I found that the tenth graders face serious problems in comprehending information stated or implied in a listening They are unable to understand the long question after listening from the tape Moreover, they find themselves confronted with a vast variety of information, vocabulary, grammatical structures, culture aspects, and resources that make it extremely hard for them to pick their ways through Consequently, if the teachers not teach scaffolding strategies, many students will find listening frustrating All the aforementioned reasons urge the author to carry out the study entitled “The effects of scaffolding strategies on improving the tenth graders’ listening ability” Hopefully, the results could serve as a useful source of reference for those who are concerned about the subject matter for my thesis because this could be a contribution to my teaching profession on the continuum of its development, and with the hope that the study can be useful for students of English and also for those who at the pre-intermediate level of English 1.2 Aims of the study For the above reasons, the study aims at: Investigating the difficulties faced by 10th graders in learning listening skills Evaluating the effectiveness of the application of scaffolding strategies to improve listening comprehension skills of 10th grade students at high school Proposing some suggestions and recommendations to listening comprehension skills teaching and learning 1.3 Scope of the study This research focuses on investigating how scaffolding strategies affect listening comprehension skills for 10th graders at Phan Dinh Phung high school Due to the limitation of time, the author only fulfilled the study among sixty 10th graders at Phan Dinh Phung high school They were assigned to two groups – thirty students in one class as the control group, the other thirty students in other class as the experimental group The effects of scaffolding strategies were chosen for 10th graders for the following reasons First of all, they are not experiencing final examination pressure Second, the listening topics in the book “Tieng Anh 10” are basic and simple Finally, 67 68 69 APPENDIX 2B: LISTENING COMPREHENSION POSTTEST 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 APPENDIX 3A A SAMPLE LESSON PLAN FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP UNIT 10: CONSERVATION School: Phan Dinh Phung high school Class: 10 D1 Teacher: Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao Date: 6/4/2017 Time: 45’ I Objectives: General knowledge: - Students know more about Van Cao and his music Language: - Vocabulary on music Skills: - Listening: choose True/ False statements and answer questions - Speaking: discuss the one's ideas about Van Cao's music II Anticipated problems: - Some students rarely listen to Van Cao's songs III Teaching aids: - Tape, cassette player, textbook, chalk, board IV Procedures: Teacher’s activities Students’ activities Warm up:(7 mins) GAME: - I give some information you can guess WHO IS THIS? He was born on November 15, 1923 in Nam Dinh His first song was written in 1939 He wrote Tiến Quân Ca ( National Anthem) in 1944 He died on July 10, 1995 Key: HE IS VAN CAO - ask students to listen some songs and anwer the question: Which of these songs were written by Van Cao? v Suoi mo v Tien Quan Ca Ha noi mua thu Tinh Ca v Truong ca song lo v Lang toi Ha noi mua thu was written by Vu Thanh Tinh Ca was written by Hoang Viet One st presents Others listen and give remark Some sts stand up and give their answer - Suoi Mo - Tien Quan Ca - Lang toi - Truong Ca Song Lo - Copy down the words and phrases into their notebooks Before you listen:(12 mins) Aims: focus sts on the topic and review/ introduce the words and phrases used in the listening text - Work in groups to say about the New words: person in the picture - sweet(a: ngào - Listen to the teacher and then work in - gentle(a): nhẹ nhàng groups to discuss Van Cao's life and - rousing(a): hào hứng career - exciting(a):thú vị - boring(a):buồn chán - Ask some pairs to ask and answer - lirical(a):trữ tình - solemn(a):trang nghiêm - Listen and repeat - Which of the words above can you use to describe Van Cao’s - Read the words in pairs and correct music? each other’s mistakes sweet, gentle, lirical, solemn - Some individuals read the words aloud 77 - Read the words and ask sts to repeat - Ask sts to read the words in pairs - Ask some sts to read the words again While you listen:( 17 mins) + Task 1:Practice listening and marking True/ False statements - Tell sts that they are going to listen to a conversation between Lan Huong and Quang Hung about Quang Hung's opinion towards Van Cao's music - Ask sts to work in pairs, look at the statements given and guess if they are true or false - Ask sts to listen to the talk and tick the right column to indicate their answer and underline the false information T plays the tape twice - Ask sts to compare their answer in pairs - Check sts’ answer - Play the tape once again, stop the tape where necessary and conduct the correction + Task 2: Listen again and choose the correct answers: - Ask sts to read the questions in pairs and make sure they understand the questions and know what information they need to answer the questions - Ask sts to listen to the tape once/twice and take short notes to answer the questions - Ask sts to compare their answer in pairs - Play the tape once again, stop the tape where necessary and conduct the correction What is the name of the radio programme? A It’s “My Favourite Musician” B It’s “My favous Musician” C It’s “ My Favourite singer” D It’s “My favous singer” Which song by Van Cao does Quang Hung like most? A Tien Quan Ca B Lang toi C Suoi mo D Truong ca Song Lo Why does Quang Hung like it?  Because it’s A Gentle B mournful C solemn D sweet Does Quang Hung like other songs? A No, just Tien Quan Ca B No, He doesn't C yes, some of them D Yes, lot of them - Listen to the T - Work in pairs to guess if the statements are true or false - Listen to the tape and the task - Compare their answer - Give their answer F The guess is Quang Hung 2.F He likes some Vietnamese musicians T F It was written in 1944 F ( He always ) - Check their answer, and then correct their work if they have the wrong answer - Work in pairs to read the questions - Listen and the task - Compare their notes - Check their answer, and then correct their work if they have the wrong answer Keys: 1.A A C 4.D - Work in pairs revising Quang Hung's ideas about Van Cao's music Two sts present After you listen:(8 mins) Task 3: Information map: Work in pairs and fill in each gap ONE WORD Summarize about Van Cao’s music Ask sts to work in pairs and discuss Quang Hung's ideas about Van Cao's music - Move round to check the activities and to make sure that sts are working effectively - Ask some pairs to present in front of the whole class - Check and give remarks 78 - Listen to the T - Work in pairs to fill in each blank with the correct words/ phrases - Listen to the tape and the task - Compare their answer Keys: 1944 Rousing Rural Task 4: Listen a song and fill in each blank with the correct words/ phrases: When I was was young I'd (1) the radio Waiting for my (2) When they played I'd (3) along It made me smile Those were such (4) and not so long ago How I wondered where they've gone But they're back again Just like a long lost friend all the songs I (5) so well Ev'ry sha-la-la-la, ev'ry wo-o-wo-o still shines Ev'ry shing-a-ling-a-ling That they're startin' to sing so fine in ……… Lyrical Musicsions Keys: sing favourite songs listen to happy times love - Check their answer, and then correct their work if they have the wrong answer - Write down Homework:(1 min) - Listen again at home - Learn the vocabulary - Prepare for the next lesson: Writing Written Hard, solemn, ………… Best of all time Vancao & his music Tien Quan Ca Songs about ……… life Sweet, gentle,…………… 79 APPENDIX 3B A SAMPLE LESSON PLAN FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP UNIT: 15 SPACE CONQUEST School: Phan Dinh Phung high school Class: 10 D1 Teacher: Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao Date: 26/4 /2017 Time: 45’ I Objectives: General knowledge: - Students know more about space conquest Language: - Vocabulary on space conquest Skills: - Listening: choose True/ False statements and answer questions - Speaking: discuss the one's ideas about Van Cao's music II Anticipated problems: - Some students get familiar with the topic space conquest III Teaching aids: - Tape, pictures, posters and handouts, cassette player, textbook, chalk, board IV Procedures: Teacher's activities Students' activities I Warm up: Matching cards with the pictures Pictures Cards -Picture Orbiting - Picture The Apollo crew - Picture Walking on the moon - Picture The Moon landing - Picture The first foot print on the Moon Question:” From the pictures can you guess what topic we are listening today?” - Work in groups - T devides the class into groups - Ss close the books and representative of each group write the answer on the board - Group which gives the correct answers quickly will be the winner ** T leads to new lesson: II Before you listen: Activity 1: Pronunciation: -Challenge (v) /………/ - Experiment (n)/……./ -Achievement (n)/……/ Activity 2: Listen and repeat: Say STOP if you hear one of these words from the listening passage -Class work - T has Ss open the book and look at the words carefully - T plays the recorder and Ss say STOP - T stops the recorder to check III While you read: Activity 1: Circling the words, phrases or number in the listening passage you hear Congress, 11, suitcase, later, press, the first, carry, marry, oxygen, chicken, 7, step, spacesuit, Apollo, cosmonaut, temperature, ect…… Activity 2: (Task page 173 ): Decide true /false statements * Answer key: 1.F (In a speech to the Congress ) 2.F(There are three astronauts: Neil Amstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michale Collins ) F (Neil Amstrong became the first man on the moon ) F (The Oxygen, temperature, and pressure inside the spacesuit ) T Activity 3: (textbook ) Answer the questions by circling the letter A, B, C or D 80 - Using handouts -Ss work in groups - T gives Ss handouts and has them work in groups - Ss the task - T plays the recorder and then feedback - T asks Ss to read all the statement carefully and then guess the statement is true or false - T plays the recorder for the first - Ss listen and take notes to gives the evidence for their answer - T calls Ss to answer and plays Which program was developed to meet president Kennedy ‘s challenge? A NASA’s Apollo program B ASIAN C NATO D VOA When was the Apollo 11 launched? A July 16, 1969 B July 16, 1996 C June 16, 1996 C June 16, 1969 What was the portable life support system for? A Controlling the Oxygen B Temperature C Temperature and pressure D Controlling the oxygen, temperature and pressure How long did the astronauts stay on the surface of the moon? A two and a half hours B Half an hour C an hour D three and a half hours What did they while they were staying on the surface of the moon? A Collect soils and rock samples B Collect soil and perform experiments C Perform the variety of experiments and collect soil D Perform the variety of experiments, collect soil and rock samples to return the Earth When did the astronauts return to the Earth? A July 24, 1968 B July 24, 1969 C June 24, 1996 D June 24, 1969 IV After you read: - Discuss the reason for the human interest in Mars and other planets in the solar system Fill in the blanks with the missing words There are many reasons for human interest in Mars and other planets in the solar system Firstly, Man likes (1)………….and wants to find out (2)………outside the World One day, we may (3) ………people to Mars and other planets in case the Earth is overpopulated We may also conduct (4) …………on Mars and other planets for the (5)……… of people on Earth We may find (6)…………minerals there and have trips to other planets for tourist purposes * Home work: - Write a paragraph talking things with you if you have a chance of going to the moon - prepare D writing 81 recorder again to check - Using handouts - Pair work - T gives Ss handouts, then explains some difficult if necessary - Ss listen and - T calls Ss to answer and plays recorder again to feedback **Feedback: 1.A 2.A 3.D 4.A 5.D 6.B - Using handouts - Ss work in groups of four - T explains some difficult words if necessary - T reads the passage - Ss listen and the task - T calls some group and checks If any group gives many correct words, T can gives good mards ** Feedback: (1) adventur (2) Possibilities of life (3) send (4) researches (5) benefits (6) precious Ss the task at home - Rewrite the above exercise on your notebooks ... operationalization of Vygotsky's concept of teaching in the zone of proximal development (Wells, 1999), to the view that the notion of scaffolding only partially reflects the richness of Vygotsky's zone of. .. organization of the study The study includes five chapters as follows: Chapter – Introduction – provides the rationale, the aims of the study, the scope of the study, the research questions, the significance... explanations and evaluations aiming to confirm the effects of scaffolding strategies on listening comprehension skill for the first class students 4.2 The result of listening pretest of 10th graders