A survey on the relationship between learner autonomy and english proficiency of the institute of international studies efl students

M IN IS T R Y O F E D U C A T IO N A N D T R A IN IN G H A N O I U N IV E R S IT Y DOAN THU HUONG A SURVEY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEARNER AUTONOMY AND ENGLISH PROFICIENCY OF THE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES EFL STUDENTS SUBM ITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILM ENT OF REQUIREM ENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF M ASTER IN TESOL S U P E R V IS O R : Assoc Prof H anoi A pril 2010 Dr N G U Y E N V A N DO STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that the thesis entitled "A Survey on the R elationship betw een L earner A utonom y and English P roficiency o f the Institute o f International Studies EFL S tudents’’ and subm itted in partial fulfillm ent o f the requirem ents for the degree o f M aster o f A rts in TESO L is the result o f m y w ork, except w here otherw ise acknow ledged, and that this thesis o f any part o f the sam e has not been subm itted for higher degree to any other university or institution The research reported in this thesis w as approved by H anoi U niversity Signed: Dated: TABLE OF CONTENTS S T A T E M E N T O F A U T H O R S H I P I T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S IL A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S IV A B S T R A C T V L IS T O F ABBREV I A T I O N S V I L IS T O F T A B L E S V II L IS T O F F I G U R E S V III C H A P T E R I : I N T R O D U C T I O N 1.1 B a c k g r o u n d t o t h e s t u d y 1.2 A ims and re se a rc h q u e s t i o n s 1.3 S cope of t h e s t u d y 1.4 S ignificance of th e st u d y 1.5 O rganizat ion of th e t h e s i s C H A P T E R 2: L I T E R A T U R E R E V I E W 2.1 LEARNER AUTONOMY 2.1.1 D efinition o f learner autonom y 2.1.2 Factors affecting learner autonom y 10 2.2 L an g uage p r o f i c i e n c y 15 2.2.1 D efinition 15 2.2.2 C lassification 17 2.3 LEARNER AUTONOMY AND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY 21 2.4 S u m m a r y .25 C H A P T E R 3: M E T H O D O L O G Y 26 3.1 R sear ch m e t h o d s 26 3.2 researc h q u e st io n and des criptions of v a r ia b l e s 27 3.2.1 Research question 27 3.2.2 D escription o f va ria b le s 28 3.3 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS 28 3.3.1 Q uestionnaire 29 3.3.2 The TOEFL test 31 3.3.3 The Interview 33 3.4 THE SUBJECTS 35 3.5 D ata collectio n pr o c e d u r e s 37 3.6 DATA ANALYSIS 38 3.6.1 Q uestionnaire data analysis 38 3.6.2 TOEFL test data a n a ly sis 39 3.6.3 The analysis o f the correlation between two variables: ELP a n d L earner autonom y 39 3.7 CODING SCHEME FOR THE QUESTIONNAIRE 41 C H A P T E R 4: R E S U L T S AN D D I S C U S S I O N 42 l T he s tu d e n t s ’ b a c k g r o u n d in f o r m a t i o n 42 4.2 THE LEVEL OF S TU D EN TS’ A U T O N O M Y .43 4.2.1 The results o f the questionnaires 43 4.2.2 D iscussion o f the questionnaire re su lts 46 4.3 T he st u d e n t s ’ English l a n guage p r o f ic ie n c y 49 4.3.1 S tu d e n ts’ TOEFL sco rep s 50 4.3.2 D iscussion o f s tu d e n ts' E L P 52 4.4 T he s t u d e n t s ’ ELP a n d t hei r lea r n er a u t o n o m y 53 4.4.1 The results o f determ ining the form , direction a n d degree o f the correlation by regression analysis .54 4.4.2 The results o f determ ining the relationship betw een students ' ELP a n d their Learner autonom y w ith P aired Sam ples T -test 56 4.4.3 D iscussion o f the results o f the association betw een students ' learner autonom y and their E LP ' " .58 4.5 S u m m a r y 59 C H A P T E R 5: I M P L I C A T I O N S AN D C O N C L U S I O N 60 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 I m pl ic a t io n s 60 L imitations of t h e s t u d y 62 R ec o m m en d a tio n s f or f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h 63 C o n c l u s i o n 63 R E F E R E N C E S 65 A P P E N D IX 1: L E V E L S O F E N G L I S H P R O F I C I E N C Y AN D C O R R E S P O N D I N G S T U D E N T A C T I O N S 74 A P P E N D IX 2: D E S C R I P T I O N S O F S E V E N L E V E L S O F E N G L I S H L A N G U A G E P R O F I C I E N C Y BY W I S C O N S I N A D M I N I S T R A T I V E R U L E 75 A P P E N D IX 3: E N G L I S H P R O F I C I E N C Y L E V E L D E S C R I P T I O N S A D A P T E D F R O M G U ID E L IN E S IS S U E D BY T H E N O R T H C A R O L I N A D E P A R T M E N T O F E D U C A T IO N E R R O R ! BO O K M A RK N O T D EFIN ED 76 A P P E N D IX 4.1: ( E N G L IS H V E R S IO N ) Q U E S T I O N N A I R E 78 A P P E N D IX 4.2: ( V I E T N A M E S E V E R S I O N ) 82 A P P E N D I X 5: T H E T O E F L T E S T 86 A P P E N D I X 6: T A B L E O F T O E F L C O N V E R T E D S C O R E .110 A P P E N D I X 7: I N T E R V I E W Q U E S T I O N S I l l A P P E N D IX 8: C O D I N G S C H E M E F O R T H E Q U E S T I O N N A I R E 112 A P P E N D I X 9: R E S U L T S O F T H E S T U D E N T S ’ B A C K G R O U N D Q U E S T I O N N A I R E .114 A P P E N D I X 10: S T U D E N T S ' T O E F L S C O R E S .115 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my thanks to m any people w ho have assisted m y research work w ish, first o f all, to express m y deepest gratitude to m y supervisor, A ssoc Prof Dr N guyen Van Do for his academ ic guidance, encouragem ent, insightful com m ents and support throughout my research W ithout his invaluable assistance, m y thesis w ould not have been com pleted M y special w ords o f thanks also go to the M anagem ent Board o f the D epartm ent o f Postgraduate Studies o f the H anoi U niversity for their consideration and enthusiasm in helping me to pursue the course M y particular thanks go to Ms N guyen Thai Ha, M Ed, for her useful advice, criticism and support while the research w as being done would also like to thank m y colleagues and students at IIS w ho have helped m e to collect data for this study Last, but not at all least, I am deeply indebted to all the love, support, great care and encouragem ent that m y fam ily has alw ays provided me in m y professional endeavors iv ABSTRACT The learning o f E nglish as a foreign language (E FL ) in V ietnam is gaining popularity and im portance as V ietnam opens its doors econom ically and culturally to the w orld at large This has resulted in a large num ber o f students enrolling in EFL courses at colleges and universities across the country The purpose o f this study w as to explore w hat relationship betw een students" E nglish language proficiency (E L P) and their learner autonom y was In order to reach the research purpose, a sam ple o f 50 non-E nglish m ajors at IIS w as chosen The data o f the subjects w ere collected by m eans o f the questionnaire adapted from Dafei (2007), designed by Z hang and Li (2004), a TO E FL test and an interview as supplem entary inform ation The adapted questionnaire consists o f 27 questions relating to learning autonom y The T O E FL test used in this study w as taken from Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFL Test - the Paper Test by D eborah Philips The collected data from the questionnaire and T O E F L test w ere com puted and analyzed by m eans o f descriptive analysis and Paired Sam ples T-test with SPSS 16.0 The results o f the study revealed that the stu d en ts7 E LP w as not high w hile their learner autonom y w as at the high degree Furtherm ore, the results o f the research also indicated that stu d e n ts’ E LP w as significantly and positively related to their learner autonom y Thus, the findings o f the study argues for an understanding o f language learner autonom y in w hich the developm ent o f learner autonom y and the grow th o f target language proficiency are m utually supporting and fully integrated w ith each other It further argues that only on the basis o f such an understanding can learner autonom y m ove to the centre o f language teaching theory and practice LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BICS: Basic Interpersonal C om m unicative Skills CALP: C ognitive A cadem ic Language Proficiency CTBS: C om prehensive Tests o f Basic Skills EFL: English as a Foreign Language ELL: English Language L earners ELP: English language proficiency ESL: English as a Second Language IELTS: International English Language T esting Service IIS: Institute o f International Studies LEP: Lim ited English Proficient LP: Language proficiency M: M ean M ELA B: M ichigan E nglish L anguage A ssessm ent B attery N: N um ber o f respondents SAT-9: Stanford A chievem ent Test, ninth edition SD: Standard D eviation SLA: Second Language A cquisition SRS: sim ple random sam ple TO EFL: Test o f E nglish as a F oreign L anguage TS: TO EFL Score P: Probability value PBT: Paper-based test R: C orrelation coefficient RFEP: R edesignated Fluent E nglish Proficient W TO: W orld Trade O rganization LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: 1PT Proficiency Levels Table 3.1: The TO EFL PBT test Table 3.2: O bserved M inim um and M axim um TO EFL PBT Section and Total scores Table 3.3: Background inform ation o f inform ants o f the survey Table 4.1 : The Results o f the questionnaire (Part and Part 3) Table 4.2: The Results o f the Individual Item s o f the Q uestionnaire Table 4.3: IIS Students’ ELP Table 4.4: The R egression o f the Correlation betw een Students’ ELP and Their Learner A utonom y Table 4.5: The Size o f the C oefficient o f the C orrelation betw een Students’ ELP and Their L earner A utonom y Table 4.6: The C oefficients in the Pattern Table 4.7: Means and Standard Deviations o f the students’ ELP and Learner Autonomy Table 4.8: C orrelation o f ELP and Learner A utonom y Table 4.9: Paired t-test A nalysis o f the students’ ELP and L earner A utonom y LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1: The Results o f the Individual Item s o f the Q uestionnaire Figure 4.2: Frequency distribution for English language proficiency levels as measured by TOEFL (N= 50) Figures 4.3: Percentage distribution for English language proficiency levels as measured by TOEFL (N— 50) saw H is b u s in e s s c a re e r c a m e to an en d in 1819 w h e n h e w a s ja ile d lo r d e b t an d fo rc e d to file th e b a n k ru p tc y It w as at that tim e A udubon began to seriously pursue the dream o f p u b lish in g s collection o f his paintings o f birds For the next six years he painted birds in their natural habitats w hile his w ife w orked as a teacher to support the fam ily H is b ird s o f A m erica W hich included en g rav in g s o f 435 o f his colorful and lifelike w atercolors w as published in parts during the period from 1826 to 1838 in England A fter the success o f the E nglish editions A m erican editions o f his w ork w ere published in 1839, and his fam e and fortune w ere ensured T his passage is m ainly about (A ) N orth A m erican bird s (B) A u d u b o n 's route to success as a painter o f birds (C) The w orks that A u d u b o n published (D) A u d u b o n 's p reference for travel in natural habitats The w ord "fo rem o st" inline is clo sest in m eaning to (A ) prior (B) leading (C) first (D ) largest In the second p aragraph, the author m ainly discusses (A ) how A u dubon d ev elo p ed his painting style (B) A u d u b o n 's in v olvem ent in a m ercantile business (C) W here A udubon w ent on his excursions (D ) A u d u b o n 's unsuccessful business practices The w ord "m o d e ” in line could best be replace by (A ) m ethod (B) vogue (C) average (D ) trend A udubon decided not to continue to pursue business w hen (A ) he w as injured in an accident at a grist m ill (B) he decided to study art in French (C) he w as put in p riso n because he ow ed m oney (D) he m ade enough m oney from his paintings The w ord “p u rsu e” in line 11 is clo sest in m eaning to (A) im agine (B) share (C) follow (D) deny A ccording to the p assage, A u d u b o n 's paintings (A ) w ere realistic portrayals (B) used only b lack , w hite, and gray (C) w ere done in oils (D ) depicted birds cages T he w ord “ su p p o rt" in line 13 could best be replaced by (A) tolerate (B) provide for (C) side w ith (D ) fight for It can be inferred from the passage that after 1839 A udubon 101 (A) (B) (C) (D) u nsuccessfully tried to envelop new business continued to be supported by his w ife traveled to Europe becam e w ealthy Q uestion 10-19 T hese stories o f killer bees in the new s in recent years have attracted a lot o f attention as the bees have m ade their w ay from South A m erica to N orth A m erica K iller bees are reputed to be extrem ely aggressive in nature, although experts say that th eir aggression m ay have been som ew hat inflated T he killer bee is a hybrid-or c o m b in a tio n -o f the very m ild E uropean strain o f honeybee and the considerably m ore aggressive A frican bee w hich w as created w hen the A frican strain w as im ported into B razil in 1955 T he A frican bees w ere brought into B razil because th eir aggression w as considered an advantage: they w ere far m ore productive than th eir E u ro p ean counterparts in that they spent a hig h er percentage o f their tim e w orking lon g er in inclem ent w hether than did the E uropean bees T hese killer b ees have been know n to attack hum ans and anim als, and som e fatalities have occurred E xperts point out, how ever, that m ixed breed know n as the killer bee is actually not at all as aggressive as the pure A frican bee T hey also point out that the attacks have a chem ical cause A killer bee stings only w hen it has been disturbed; it is not ag gressive by nature H ow ever, after a disturbed bee stings and flies aw ay, it leaves its stinger em bedded in the victim In the vicera attached to the em bedded stinger is the chem ical isoam yl acetate, w hich has an od o r that attracts other bees A s other bees approach the victim o f the original sting, the victim tends to panic, thus disturbing oth er bees and causing them to sting The new stings create m ore o f the chem ical isoam yl acetate, w hich attracts m ore bees and increases the panic level o f the victim K iller bees tend to travel in large clusters or sw arm s and thus respond in large num bers to the pro d u ctio n o f isoam yl acerate 10 T he subject o f the p receding p aragraph w as m ost likely (A ) w ays o f producing honey (B) stories in the m edia about killer bees (C) the chem ical nature o f killer bee attacks (D ) the creation o f the k iller bee 11 T he m ain idea o f this passage is that k iller bees (A ) have been in the new s a lot recently (B) have b een m oving u nexpectedly rapidly through the A m ericas (C ) are n ot as aggressive as their rep u tatio n suggests (D ) are a h y b rid rather than a pure breed 12 T he w ord " in fla te d '’ in line could best be replaced by (A ) ex ag g erated (B) b low n (C) aired (D ) burst 13 It can be in ferred from the passage that the k iller bee (A ) trav eled from B razil to A frica in 1955 (B) w as a p redecessor o f the A frican bee (C ) w as carried from A frica to B razil in 1955 (D ) did n ot exist early in the tw en tieth century 14 W hy w ere A frican bees considered beneficial? (A ) T hey p ro d u ced an unusual type o f honey 102 (B) T hey spent their tim e traveling (C) T hey w ere very aggressive (D) T hey hid from in clem ent w eather 15 A "hy b rid " in line is (A) a m ixture (B) a relative (C) a p red ecessor (D) an enem y 16 It is started in the p assag e that killer bees (A) are m ore deadly th an A frican bees (B) are less ag gressive th an A frican bees (C) never attack anim als (D) alw ays attack A frican bees 17 The pronoun “th ey ” line 13 refers to (A) killer bees (B) hum ans and anim als (C) fatalities (D ) experts 18 W hat is N O T m entioned in the passage as in a contributing factor in an attack by killer bees? (A) Panic by the victim (B) An odo rous chem ical (C) D isturbance o f the bees (D) Inclem ent w eather 19 W here in the passage d o es the au th o r describe the size o f the groups in w h ich killer bees m ove? (A) L ines 2-4 (B) L ines 5-7 (C) L ines 11-12 (D) L ines 19-20 Q uestions 20-28 T here is a com m on e x p re ssio n in the E nglish languages referring to a blue m oon W hen people say that so m ething happens “ only once in a blue moon"’, they m ean that it happens only very rarely, on ce in a great w hile This expression has been aro u n d for at least a century and a half; there are references to this expression that date from the second h a lf o f the nin eteen th century T he expressio n “ a blue m o o n ’’ has com e to refer to the second full m oon occu rrin g in any calendar m onth A second full m oon is not called a blue m oon because it is particularly blue or is any differen t in hue from the first full m oon o f the m onth Instead, it is called a blue m oon b ecau se it is so rare The m oon needs a little m ore than 29 days to com plete the cycle from full m oon to full m oon B ecause every m o n th except February has m ore th an 29 days, every m onth w ill have at least one full m oon (except February, w hich w ill have a full m oon unless there is a full m oon at the very end o f January and another full m o o n at the very beginning o f M arch) It is on the o ccasion w hen a given calendar m o n th has a seco nd full m oon that a blue m oon occurs T h is does n ot happen very often, only th ree or fo u r tim es in a decade The blue m oons o f today are called blu e m oons because o f their rarity and n ot because o f their color; how ever, the ex p ressio n “blue m oon” m ay have com e into ex istence in reference to unusual circu m stan ces in w hich the m oon actually appeared blue C ertain 103 natural p henom ena o f gigantic p roportions can actually change the appearance o f the m oon from Earth T he erup tio n o f the K rakatao volcano in 1883 left dust particles in the atm osphere, w hich clouded the sun and gave the m oon a bluish tint This particular occurrence o f the blue m oon m ay have given rise to the expression that we use today A nother exam ple o ccurred m ore than a century later W hen M ount Pinatubo erupted in the P hilippines in 1991, the m oon again took on a blue tint 20 This passage is about (A) an Idiom atic expression (B) an unusual color (C) a m onth on the calendar (D ) a phase o f the m oon 21 H ow long has the ex p ressio n ‘once in a blue m oon" been around? (A ) F or around 50 years (B) F or less than 100 years (C) F or m ore than 100 years (D ) F or 200 years 22 A blue m oon could best be described as (A ) a full m oon that is not blue in color (B) a new m oon that is blue in color (C) a full m oon that is blue in color (D ) a new m oon th at is not blue in color 23 The w ord " h u e ’' in line is closest in m eaning to (A )s h a p e (B) date (C) color (D ) size 24 W hich o f the follow ing m ight be the date o f a “blue m o o n ” ? (A ) January (B) F ebruary 28 (C ) A pril 15 (D ) D ecem b er 31 25 H ow m any blue m o o n s w'ould there m ost likely in a century? (A ) (B ) 35 (C ) 70 (D ) 100 26 A ccording to the p assag e, the m oon actually looked blue (A ) after large volcanic eruptions (B) w hen it o ccu rred late in the m onth (C) several tim es a year (D ) du ring the m o n th o f February 27 The ex p ressio n “ g iven rise to ” in line 19 28 W here in the passage does the could b est be replaced by describe the duration o f a lunar cycle? (A ) created a need for (A) lines 1-3 (B) elevated the level o f (B) lines 5-6 (C) spurred the creation o f (C) lines (D ) brightened the color o f (D) L ine 12-13 104 Q uestion 29-40 T he org an izatio n that today is know as the Bank o f A m erica did start out in A m erica, but un d er quite a differen t nam e Italian A m erican A.P G iannini established this bank on O cto b er 17 1904 in a renovated saloon in San F n cisc o 's Italian co m m u n ity o f N orth B each under the nam e B ank o f Italy, w ith im m igrants and First-tim e bank custom ers co m prising the m ajority o f his first custom ers D uring its developm ent G iia n n in i's bank survived m ajor crises in the form o f a natural d isa ster and a m ajor econom ic upheaval that not all other banks w ere able to overcom e O ne m ajo r test for G ia n n in i's bank occurred on A pril 18 1906, w h en a m assive earth q u ak e struck san Francisco, follow ed by a raging fire that destroyed m uch o f the city G iannini obtained tw o w agons and term s o f horses, filled the w ag o n s w ith the b a n k 's reserve, m ostly in the form o f gold, covered the reserves w ith c rates o f oranges, and escap es from the chaos o f the city w ith his clien ts' funds protected In the afterm ath o f the disaster, G ia n n in i's w as the first to resum e operations U nable to install the bank in a p ro p er office setting, G iannini opened up shop on the W ashington S treet W h a rf on the m ak esh ift desk created from boards and barrels In the period follow ing the 1906 fire, the B ank o f Italy continued to prosper and expand By 1918 there w ere tw enty-fou r branches o f the B ank o f Italy, and by 1928 G iannini had acquired num erous other banks, including a B ank o f A m erica located in N ew Y ork City In 1930 he consolidated all the branches o f the B ank o f Italy, the B ank o f A m erica in N ew Y ork City, and an o th er B ank o f A m erica that he had form ed in C alifo rn ia into the B ank o f A m erica N ational T rust and Savings A ssociation A second m ajor crisis for the bank occurred during the G reat D epression o f the 1930s A lth o u g h G iannini the had already retired p rior to the darkest days o f th e D epression, he b ecam e incensed w hen his successor began selling o f f banks d u rin g the bad eco n o m ic tim es G iannini resum ed leadership o f the bank at the age o f sixty-tw o U nder G ia n n in i's leadership, the bank w eathered the storm o f the D epression an d subsequently m oved into a phrase o f overseas developm ent 29 A cco rd in g to the p assage, G iannini (A ) o p en ed the B ank o f A m erica in 1904 (B) w orked in a bank in Italy (C) set up the B ank o f A m erica prior to settin g up the B ank o f Italy (D ) later changed the nam e o f the B ank o f Italy 30 W here did G iannini open his bank? (A ) In N e w Y ork C ity (B ) In w hat used to a bar (C ) O n W ashington S treet W h arf (D ) O n a m akeshift desk 31 A cco rd in g to the p assage, w hich o f the fo llo w in g is N O T true about the San F ran cisco earthquake? (A ) It happened in 1906 (B) It occurred in the afterm ath o f a fire (C) It caused problem s for G ia n n in i's bank (D ) It w as a trem endous earthquake 32 The w orld ‘‘rag in g " in line could best be replaced by (A ) angered (B) localized (C) intense (D ) feeble 33 It can be inferred from the passage that G iannini used c rates o f oranges after the earthquake (A) to hide the gold (B) to fill up the w agons (C) to provide n o u rish m en t for his cusstom ers (D) to protect the gold from fire 105 34 T he world "ch ao s" in line 10 is closest in m eaning to (A) legal system (B) extrem e heat (C) overdevelopm ent (D) total confusion Q uestions 41-50 T hunderstorm s, w ith their jag g e d bursts o f lightning and roaring thunder, are actually one o f n a tu re 's prim ary m echanism s for transferring heat from the surface o f the earth into the atm osphere A thunderstorm starts w hen low -lying pockets o f w arm air from the surface o f the earth begin to rise The pockets o f w arm air float upw arm through the air above that is both cooler and heavier T he rising pockets cool as their pressure decreases, and their latent heat is released above the condensation line through the fo rm atio n o f cum ulus clouds W hat w ill happen w ith these clouds depends on the tem perature o f the atm osphere In w inter, the air tem perature differential betw een higher and low er altitudes is not extrem ely great, and the tem perature o f the rising air m ass drops m ore slow ly D uring these colder m onths, the atm osphere, therefore, tends to rem ain rather stable In sum m er, how ever, w hen there is a high accum ulation o f heat near the e a rth 's surface, in direct contrast to the considerably colder air higher up, the tem perature differential b etw een higher and low er altitudes is m uch m ore pronounced As w arm air rises in this type o f environm ent, the tem perature drops m uch m ore rapidly than it does in w inter; w hen the tem perature drops m ore than four degrees Fahrenheit per thousand feet o f altitude, cum ulus clouds aggregate into a single m assive cum ulonim bus cloud, or thunderhead In isolation, a single thunderstorm is an um pressive but fairly benign w ay for M other E arth to defuse trapped heat from her surface; thunderstorm s, how ever, can appear in concert, and the resulting show , w hile extrem ely im pressive, can also prove ex traordinarily destructive W hen there is a large-scale collision betw een cold air and w arm air m asses during the sum m er m onths, a squall line, or series o f thunderheads, m ay develop It is com m on for a squall line to begin w hen an advancing cold front m eets up w ith and forces its e lf under a layer o f w arm and m oist air, creating a line, w h ich can be h undreds o f m iles long and can contain fifty distinct thunderheads, is a m agnificent force o f nature w ith incredible potential for desstruction W ithin the squall line, o ften near its southern end, can be found supercells, long-lived rotating storm s o f ex cep tio n al strength th at serve as the source o f tornadoes 41 T he topic o f the passage is (A ) the developm ent o f thunderstorm s and squall lines (B ) the devastating effects o f tornadoes (C ) cum ulus and cu m ulonim bus clouds (D ) the pow er o f tornadoes 42 “ M echanism s" in line are m ost likely (A ) m achines (B ) m otions (C ) m ethods (D ) m aterials 43 It can be inferred from the passage that, in sum m er (A ) there is not a great tem perature differential betw een higher and low er altitudes 106 (B) the greater tem perature differential betw een higher and low er altitudes m akes th u n d ersto rm s m ore likely to occur (C) there is not m uch cold air higher up in the atm osphere (D) the tem p eratu re o f rising air drops m ore slow ly than it does in w inter 44 T he w ord “ b en ig n ” in line 16 is closest iin m eaning to (A) h arm less (B) b eneficial (C) ferocious (D) sp ectacular 45 The ex p ressio n in concert "in line 17” could best be replaced by (A ) as a chorus (B) w ith oth er m usicians (C) as a cluster (D ) in a perfo rm ance 46 A ccording to the p assage, a "squall lin e'' in line 20 is (A ) a lengthy cold front (B) a serious thunderstorm (C) a line o f supercells (D ) a string o f thunderheads 47 T he pronoun “its e lf ' in line 21 refers to (A ) a large-scale collision (B) a squall line (C ) an a d v an cin g cold front (D ) a layer o f w arm and m oist air 48 A ll o f the follow ing are m entioned in the passage about supercells except that they (A ) are o f short duration (B) have circlin g w inds (C) have ex traordinary pow er (D ) can give birth to tornadoes 49 T h is read in g w ould m ost probably be assigned in w hich o f the follow ing courses? (A ) G eolo gy (B ) M eteorology (C ) M arine B iology (D ) C hem istry 50 T he p arag rap h follow ing the passage m ost likely discusses (A ) the lightning and th u n d er associated w ith thunderstorm s (B) v arious types o f cloud form ations (C) the forces that contribute to the form ation o f squall lines (D ) the d ev elo p m en t o f tornadoes w ith in supercells 107 Section Part A 10 Part B 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 P artC 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 A B C D 47 48 49 50 A B C D A B C D 11 12 13 14 15 A B C D 36 37 38 39 40 A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D Section Structure A A A A A W ritten 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 B B B B B C D A B C D C D 10 Exp ression A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 A B C D C D C D C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D 108 Section Q uestions - A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B C C C C C C C C C Q u estion s 32 29 A B 30 A B 31 A B 32 A B 33 A B 34 A B 35 A B 36 A B 37 A B 38 A B 39 A B 40 C C C C C C C C C C C 40 D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D Q uestions 10- 19 10 A B C 11 A B C 12 A B C 13 A B c 14 A B c 15 A B c 16 A B c 17 A B c 18 A B c 19 A B c D D D D D D D D D D Q uestions 41- 50 41 A B C 42 A B C 43 A B c 44 A B c 45 A B c 46 A B c 47 A B c 48 A B c 49 A B c 50 A B c D D D D D D D D D D Q uestions 20 A 21 A 22 A 23 A 24 A 25 A 26 A 27 A 28 A 20 B B B B B B B B B - 31 C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D C D A B C D 109 A P P E N D I X 6: C H A R T O F T O E F L C O N V E R T E D SC O R E (Source: Longm an Preparation Course f o r the TOEFL Test by Deborah Phillips p.581-582) NUMBER CORRECT 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 2i 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 j CONVERTED SCORE S E C T IO N 68 67 66 65 63 62 61 60 59 58 57 57 56 55 54 54 53 52 52 51 51 50 49 49 48 48 47 47 46 45 45 44 43 42 41 41 37 38 37 35 33 32 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 CO N V ERTED SCORE SEC T IO N - - - 68 67 65 63 61 60 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 40 38 37 36 35 33 31 29 27 26 25 23 22 21 20 20 CONVERTED SCORE SEC T IO N 67 66 65 63 61 60 59 58 57 56 55 54 54 53 52 52 51 50 49 48 48 47 46 46 45 44 43 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 32 31 30 29 28 28 27 26 25 24 23 23 22 21 APPENDIX 7: I N T E R V IE W Q U E S T IO N S T h e interview aim ed at surveying how the teachers evaluate the stu d en ts’ learner a u to n o m y and its reasons Y ou r cooperation is o f great value for my study The data collected will be used in my research paper only D o you think that the high-proficient students are m ore autonom ous than lowp ro ficien t students? W hat are the factors that influence th eir autonom ous abilities? W hat are the differences o f learner autonom y betw een high-proficient students and low -p ro ficien t students? W hat's your opinion on the classroom perfo rm an ces o f the high-proficient students and the low -proficient students? A P P E N D IX 8: C O D IN G S C H E M E FO R T H E Q U E S T I O N N A I R E (P A R T A N D P A R I 3) N um ber Code Item Description I study English here due to: A my parents' dem and B curiosity C getting a good job help to my m ajor D interest o f English culture, such as film, sports, m usic, etc Item E C and D I think the leam er-teacher relationship is that of: A receiver and giver B raw m aterial and maker C custom er and shopkeeper D Partners E Item explorer and director I think my success or failure in English study is m ainly due to: A luck or fate B English studying environm ent C studying facilities(aids) D teachers E m yself Item W hether students should design the teaching plan together with teachers or not my opinion is: A strongly agree B agree C neutral D oppose E Item strongly oppose When the teacher asks questions for us to answer, I would mostly like to: A wait for others' answers B think and ready to answ er C look up books, dictionaries D clarify questions with teachers E join a pair/group discussion Item W hen I m eet a word I don't know, I m ainly: A let it go B ask others 112 C guess the m eaning D B and E E *7 Item look up the dictionary W hen I make m istakes in study I'd usually like the following ones to correct them: A let them be B teachers C classm ates Item D others E books or dictionaries W hen I am asked to use technologies that I haven't used before (e g internet discussion) A I resist using them B I put it o ff or try' to avoid it C.I feel w orried, but anyw ay D I learn them follow ing others E I usually try to learn new skills I think the follow ing way is m ost useful in my English study: A taking notes B m echanic m em ory C doing exercises o f gram m ar, translation, words etc D classifying or grouping or com paring E group discussion Item 10 Item 10 11 Item 11 I usually use m aterials selected: A only by teachers B m ostly by teachers C by teachers and by m yself D m ostly by m yself E only by m yself I think I have the ability to learn English well 12 Item 12 I m ake good use o f my free tim e in English study 13 Item 13 I preview before the class 14 Item 14 I find I can finish my task in time 15 Item 15 I keep a record o f my study, such as keeping a diary, writing review' etc 16 Item 16 I m ake self-exam w ith the exam papers chosen by myself 17 Item 17 I reward myself such as going shopping, playing etc when I make progress 18 Item 18 I attend out-class activities to practice and learn the language 19 Item 19 D uring the class, I try to catch chances to take part in activities such as pair/group discussion, role-play, etc 20 Item 20 21 Item 21 I know my strengths and w eaknesses in my English study I choose books, exercises which suit me, neither too difficult nor too easy 113 APPENDIX 9: Results o f the s tu d e n ts ’ background questionnaire ( N = 50) Gender Male 44 = 88% Female = 12% 2- Age Mean 20.06 years Did you le arn English before you s ta rt e d this c o u rse ? Yes 50 = 100% (If ‘yes’) How long? Mean 6.20 vears W here did you learn? Secondary school 50 = 100% High secondary school 50 = 100% NO Evening English centre ox O University II C O College — 50 = 100% = 0% II ox o O ther W hat are your strong points in learning Englis l? (tick the appropriate box(es)) Listening = 10% Reading 10 = 20% Speaking 11 = 22% W riting = 18% G ram m ar 20 = 40% N othing 16 = 32% ox O O O ther W hat areas o f your English learning you thin i you would like to improve now? L istening = 100% R eading 32 = 64% Speaking 48 = 96% W riting 26 = 52% G ram m ar 30 = 60% N othing = 0% O ther = 0% 114 APPENDIX 10: THE STUDENTS’ TOEFL SCORES Group Code Overall TOEFL score Beginner Intermediate SI S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S 10 S ll S 12 S 13 S14 S 15 S16 S 17 S18 S19 S20 S21 S22 S23 S24 S25 S26 S27 S28 S29 S30 S31 S32 S33 S34 S35 S36 S37 S38 S39 S40 S41 S42 S43 S44 S45 S46 S47 S48 S49 S50 345 356 345 354 345 345 345 340 332 356 354 335 343 334 332 345 341 334 350 345 345 339 340 340 345 358 13 345 358 10 345 365 361 361 368 363 361 362 378 400 381 370 370 383 372 375 12 361 380 400 ... U C A T IO N A N D T R A IN IN G H A N O I U N IV E R S IT Y DOAN THU HUONG A SURVEY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEARNER AUTONOMY AND ENGLISH PROFICIENCY OF THE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES. .. Deviations o f the students? ?? ELP and Learner Autonomy Table 4.8: C orrelation o f ELP and Learner A utonom y Table 4.9: Paired t-test A nalysis o f the students? ?? ELP and L earner A utonom y LIST OF FIGURES... such as increased proficiency in the target language and the developm ent o f life-long learners O ne o f the reasons w hy the relationship betw een autonom y and language proficiency has becom