VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES --------------------- PHẠM THỊ HẢI HÀ USING INTERACTIVE PROCESS TO IMPROVE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS’ LISTENING SKILLS AT HANOI COLLEGE OF EDUCATION SỬ DỤNG TIẾN TRÌNH TƯƠNG TÁC ĐỂ PHÁT TRIỂN KỸ NĂNG NGHE CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG SƯ PHẠM HÀ NỘI M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI - 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES --------------------- PHẠM THỊ HẢI HÀ USING INTERACTIVE PROCESS TO IMPROVE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS’ LISTENING SKILLS AT HANOI COLLEGE OF EDUCATION SỬ DỤNG TIẾN TRÌNH TƯƠNG TÁC ĐỂ PHÁT TRIỂN KỸ NĂNG NGHE CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG SƯ PHẠM HÀ NỘI M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Assoc. Trần Xuân Điệp HANOI - 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I hereby certify that the minor thesis entitled: “Using Interactive Process to Improve First-Year Students’ Listening Skills at Hanoi College of Education”, which is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English Language Teaching Methodology at Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies, Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, is the result of my own work.
I have provided fully documented references to the work of others. The material in this thesis has not been submitted for any other university or institution wholly and partially. Hanoi, 2014 Phạm Thị Hải Hà i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGTMENTS This research paper would not have been completed without the help of people to whom I would like to express my deep gratitude. First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Assoc.
Tran Xuan Diep, my supervisor, for his wholehearted support, continuous motivation and precious guidance which were decisive factors to the completion of the thesis. I would like to extend my special thanks to all the research participants. Without their valuable opinions and ideas in the questionnaires, the study would not have been accomplished. Last but not least, I owe my parents their continuous support.
Their patience and love have helped me go beyond what sometimes looks like an insurmountable task. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT This study was intended to investigate the impact of interactive process on first-year students’ listening skills at Hanoi College of Education. More specifically, the researcher strived to (1) investigate problems related to interactive process the students may have while learning listening, and (2) examine the effects of using interactive process in teaching listening to the first- year students. To achieve the above mentioned objectives, an action research was conducted with the participation of 60 first-year students from two classes at Hanoi College of Education.
The study included: (1) a pre-test and a questionnaire, (2) the instruction of interactive process, (3) a post-test and a questionnaire, (4) and students’ diaries. Later, all the data were collected and analysed. The main findings of the research were as follows: (1) Such problems as difficulties in new vocabulary and structures, background knowledge of the topics, the unfamiliarity of topics, the inability to catch up with what speakers said, the students’ limited ability of pronunciation as well as listening to stress and intonation were what caused the students troubles in listening. (2) After interactive process had been applied, the students’ scores in the post-test were higher than in the pre-test.
Overall, the instruction of interactive process improved their listening skills. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, L2: Second language EFL: English as a foreign language iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Procedures of the Study .26 Table 2: Results of Question 1 in the Questionnaire after the Pre-test .27 Table 3: Results of Question 2 in the Questionnaire after the Pre-test .27 Table 4: Results of Question 3 in the Questionnaire after the Pre-test .27 Table 5: Results of Question 4 in the Questionnaire after the Pre-test .28 Table 6: Results of Question 5 in the Questionnaire after the Pre-test .28 Table 7: Results of Question 6 in the Questionnaire after the Pre-test .29 Table 08: Results of Question 7 in the Questionnaire after the Pre-test .30 Table 9: Results of Question 8 in the Questionnaire after the Pre-test .30 Table 10: Results of Question 9 in the Questionnaire after the Pre-test .30 Table 11: Results of Question 10 in the Questionnaire after the Pre-test .31 Table 12: Results of Question 11 in the Questionnaire after the Pre-test .31 Table 13: Results of Question 12 in the Questionnaire after the Pre-test .31 Table 14: Results of Question 13 in the Questionnaire after the Pre-test .32 Table 15: Results of Question 14 in the Questionnaire after the Pre-test .32 Table 16: Results of Question 15 in the Questionnaire after the Pre-test .33 Table 17: Paired Samples Statistics.35 Table 18: Paired Samples Correlations.35 Table 19: Paired Samples Test .36 Table 20: Students’ Evaluation of the Learning Session .38 Figures Figure 1: Action Research Model .21 Figure 2: Comparison of Students’ Performance in the Pre-test and Post-test .34 Figure 3: Subjects’ Satisfaction with the Course .36 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS PART A. Aims of the Study. Objectives of the Research.
Scope of the Study. Significance of the Study. 6 CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND. Definitions of Listening.
Characteristics of Spoken Discourse. Bottom-up Processing and Teaching Bottom-up Processing. Top-down Processing and Teaching Top-down Processing. A Combination of Bottom-up and Top-down Processing.
Teaching Interactive Processing. Review of Previous Studies Related to the Research Area of the Thesis. 18 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Data Collection Instruments.
Pre-test and Post-test. Intervention: Instruction of Interactive Process in Class. The Instruction in Interactive Process. Data Collection Procedures.
31 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. Results from Questionnaire 1. Results from the Pre-test and Post-test. Results from Questionnaire after the Post-test.
42 vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Results from Diaries.2 Limitations of the Study. Suggestions for Further Studies. 51 APPENDIX …………………………………………………………………I viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
Rationale According to Barker, Edwards, Gaines, Gladney, and Holley (1980), college students spent 52.5% of their time listening. More recent studies of time spent communicating (Emanuel Adams, Baker, Daufin, Ellington, Fitts, et al., 2008) suggested that people listened for as much as 55% of their day. Nunan (1998, cited in Jonathan Newton, 2009) stated that in fact over 50% of the time that students spent functioning in a foreign language would be devoted to listening. Listening plays such an important role that Powell (1969) stated: It is impossible to overemphasize the immense need humans have to be really listened to, to be taken seriously, to be understood.
Listen to all the conversations of our world, between nations as well as those between couples. They are for the most part dialogues of the deaf.5) Despite properly appreciating the value of speaking, Lee Iacocca (1984) said: I only wish I could find an institute that teaches people how to listen. After all, a good manager needs to listen at least as much as he needs to talk. Too many people fail to realize that good communication goes in both directions.54) From some of the above views, it is possible to see that listening is a vital ingredient to success in communication.
It is a key second-language skill which has a significant role in the language acquisition process. Its development is of primary concern to language teachers. It is also believed that listening is a significant and essential area of development in a native language as well as in a foreign language. 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com As a teacher at Hanoi College of Education for three years, the researcher has found that first-year students whose major is English teaching must encounter a lot of listening problems.
Although their grammar and vocabulary are quite good, it is still difficult for them to listen to English materials. Most of the students complained that they had few chances to listen to English frequently in class at high school and their listening skills were scarcely developed. Consequently, students were at a loss, which might create high levels of anxiety and stress among students that could interfere with listening comprehension. For these reasons, it is essential to help students improve their listening skills.
There must be an efficient method with its techniques and characteristics that suit the first-year students in learning listening skills. Then interactive process is believed to be able to help students in learning listening. Aims of the Study The purpose of the study is to investigate to what extent the first-year students’ listening skills at Hanoi College of Education are improved by receiving instruction in interactive process. Then, recommendations on how to use interactive process to improve students’ listening abilities are given.
Objectives of the Research The specific objectives of the research are as follows: - To investigate problems related to interactive process the students may have while learning listening. - To examine and study the effects of using interactive process in teaching listening to the first-year students. Research Questions This survey aims at addressing the two following questions: 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com (1) What problems related to interactive process do the first-year students have in listening? (2) To what extent does interactive process help the students improve their listening skills? 1. Scope of the Study Within the frame of this study, the researcher would like to work on using interactive process to improve the first-year students’ listening skills at Hanoi College of Education.
The research was restricted to the first-year English- majored students from two classes K39A, and K39B at Hanoi College of Education. Significance of the Study The study is expected to contribute to the development of teaching and learning listening skills. It aims at helping students improve their listening skills by using interactive process. The significance of this study is that it will provide teaching implications for EFL teachers in dealing with interactive process.
In other words, this is significant for educators in providing implications for developing their listening syllabus, methods of teaching and assessment. Lastly, this research can be used as a reference source for those who have interest in this issue and a supplement to the previous studies on discourse processes. Approach Action research was chosen as the primary research method as it meets the aim and objectives of the study. Sample 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com The target population of this study was from two classes K39A, and K39B with 60 first-year English-majored students at English Department, Hanoi College of Education.
Instrumentation To attain the aim of the study, three data collection instruments were used: tests, questionnaires, and students’ diaries. Structure of the Study The study is composed of three main parts: Introduction, Development, and Conclusion. Part 1 includes Chapter 1 which states the rationale, aims, objectives, research questions, scope and significance of the study as well as its methodology. Part 2 consists of three chapters, namely theoretical background and methods.
- Chapter 1 provides the background of the study, including an overview of listening skills, listening as comprehension, and interactive processing. - Chapter 2 demonstrates the research methods applied in the study with details on how and why these methods were implemented. Besides, the data collection procedure and data analysis methods are also illustrated in this chapter.