VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ HÀ APPLYING LEARNING STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE TOEFL LISTENING SKILL OF ADVANCED PROGRAM STUDENTS AT THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SỬ DỤNG CÁC CHIẾN LƢỢC HỌC TẬP ĐỂ CẢI THIỆN KỸ NĂNG NGHE TOEFL CỦA SINH VIÊN CHƢƠNG TRÌNH TIÊN TIẾN TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KỸ THUẬT CÔNG NGHIỆP THÁI NGUYÊN M.A 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 NGUYỄN THỊ HÀ APPLYING LEARNING STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE TOEFL LISTENING SKILL OF ADVANCED PROGRAM STUDENTS AT THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SỬ DỤNG CÁC CHIẾN LƢỢC HỌC TẬP ĐỂ CẢI THIỆN KỸ NĂNG NGHE TOEFL CỦA SINH VIÊN CHƢƠNG TRÌNH TIÊN TIẾN TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KỸ THUẬT CÔNG NGHIỆP THÁI NGUYÊN M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 Supervisor: DUONG DUC MINH, PhD. Hanoi, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION This thesis is a presentation of my original research work. Wherever contributions of other sare involved, every effort is made to indicate this clearly, with due reference to the literature, and acknowledgement of collaborative research and discussions. The work was done under the guidance of my supervisor, Dr Duong Duc Minh, at the University of Languages and International Studies, VNU.
Student‟s signature Nguyen Thi Ha In my capacity as supervisor of the candidate‟s thesis, I certify that the above statements are true to the best of my knowledge. Hanoi, August 18th 2014 Supervisor Duong Duc Minh, Ph. i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing a thesis, especially in such a limited time, was one of the most challenging things I have ever gone through. In this demanding process, I was lucky enough to have the support of several people.
First and foremost, I would like to express my deep thank to my advisor, Dr. Duong Duc Minh for all his efforts, for not only being a very hardworking advisor, but also an understanding counselor. He never left me without an answer to my never-ending questions; he was always so quick to give feedback that I could finish my thesis on time thanks to him. I also would like to thank the Faculty of Post Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Hanoi National University for granting me the opportunity to pursue my studies and my research.
I am grateful to my collegues and my friends, who are always willing to share with me any kinds of work, documents or experience in doing a thesis. They also symphathize with with my difficulties as well as my fault in life. Last but not least, I owe my genuine, deepest gratitude to my family for their everlasting belief in me, for always encouraging me. They have been the strongest motivation for me to pursue my degree.
I am indebted to my family, especially my parents who are always ready to look after my little daughter. Without the support from my family members, I would not have finished my thesis. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT The purpose of the current study was to examine the frequency of listening strategies use by Advanced Program students at Thai Nguyen University of Technology and the relationship between listening strategy use and their language proficiency level. A total of 40 students were involved in this study.
The results of TOEFL test were employed to identify the learners‟ listening proficiency levels and a survey was developed and administered in which questionnaires were used to investigate the frequency of listening strategies use by Advanced Program students. The reported listening strategies use for this study are limited to metacognitive, cognitive, social and affective strategies. The findings of this study show that Advanced program students reported employing meta-cognitive strategies more frequently and actively; followed by cognitive and socio-affective listening strategies. The results of the A nalysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed that there was significant difference between listening strategy use and language proficiency levels of students.
Based on the results obtained from the study, it is recommended that teachers should aware of listening strategies and should have effective teaching methods to help students improve their listening skill when doing TOEFL listening test. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ANOVA : Analysis of Variance AP : Advanced Program SPSS : Statistical Package for Social Sciences TNUT : Thai Nguyen University of Technology TOEFL : Test of English as a Foreign Language iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES CHARTS Chart 1: TOEFL score obtained by AP students. 22 TABLES Table 1: Content Validity of the Listening Strategies verified by 5 experts.30 Table 2: Pre-listening Planning Strategies .34 Table 3: While-listening Monitoring Strategies.35 Table 4: Post-listening Evaluation Strategies .35 Table 5: Cognitive Formal Practicing Strategies .36 Table 6: Bottom-up Strategies .37 Table 7: Top-down strategies .37 Table 8: Social Strategies .38 Table 9: Affective Strategies .39 Table 10: Variation in Frequency of Use of Listening Strategies According to Language Proficiency Level .40 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.
iv LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES. v TABLE OF CONTENTS. vi PART A: INTRODUCTION. Rationale of the study.
Aims of the study. Scope of the study. Methods of the study. Design of the study.
5 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW. Definition of Learning Strategies. Classification of Learning Strategies. O'Malley's (1985) Classification of Language Learning Strategies.
Rubin's (1987) Classification of Language Learning Strategies. Oxford's (1990) Classification of Language Learning Strategies. Stern's (1992) Classification of Language Learning Strategies. Definitions of Listening by Different Researchers.
The importance of listening. Overview of listening strategies. 13 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Previous studies in the world and in Vietnam.
Participants and setting of the study. Setting of the study. Data Collection Instruments. Think-aloud Protocols.
Data Collection Procedures. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The post-hoc Scheffé Test. 32 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.
Frequency of Strategy use from the results from questionnaire. Social/ Affective Strategies. Variation in Frequency of Use of Listening Strategies According to Language Proficiency Level. 46 vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
Research question 1: What is the frequency of listening strategies reported by AP students at TNUT?. Research question 2: Do students‟ choices of listening strategies vary significantly according to their levels of proficiency? If they do, what are the main patterns of variation?. Limitations of the study. Suggestions for further study.
I viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale of the study Nowadays, when the world has become increasingly global and information technology has developed with rapid speed, English is considered as an indispensable means of international communication. On this basis, since an open- door policy was adopted in Vietnam, the focus of teaching has been promoting oral skills in order to meet the students‟ needs of mastering English for effective communication. It is English that becomes a compulsory subject at high schools as well as universities throughout the country.
Among these universities is Thai Nguyen University of Technology (TNUT), Thai Nguyen University. TNUT is one of the educational institutions in Vietnam which uses the results of Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) in evaluating English proficiency of lecturers as well as students, especially students studying Advanced Program (AP). AP is the program that TNUT is granted from Vietnamese Government to offer two Bachelor of Science programs, major in Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering. The two courses are implemented in English, with the same syllabus, curricular and training method as in the University of New York at Buffalo and the University of Oklahoma, the United State.
AP is set of engineering courses in English, established to meet the increasing trends of globalization on engineering items. As language instruction of AP is English, students have to obtain TOEFL score according to the regulation of the program before they get the Degree of Engineer. However, that most students were taught focus too much on grammar, structures and vocabularies when they were at high school makes it difficult for them to do the listening test. Despite teachers‟ efforts to help students develop their communication skills, effective listening teaching and learning is still a challenge to both teachers and students in Vietnam.
Researchers showed that listening skill is employed the most frequently among four language skills. Hence, strategies for listening and the ability to use them effectively are particularly significant in language learning. As a lecturer at TNUT, I would like to do a research in the hope of improving listening skill for AP students and as a result, the thesis title goes as: “Applying learning 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com strategies to improve TOEFL listening skill of Advanced Program students at Thai Nguyen University of Technology”. Aims of the study Difficulties in listening are challenges for Vietnamese learners in general and for second year AP students in particular if they do not find the suitable study methods for themselves.
In order to develop this skill, many different methods have been applied and various activities have been employed in classrooms. Teachers have sought ways to teach foreign language learners strategies to adopt. In addition to applying strategies, researchers and teachers have designed and tried to follow different techniques. Nevertheless, listening has remained one of the most difficult skills due to certain reasons.
Applying strategies into the listening learning and teaching process has become a mounting concern for both teachers and learners. The aim of this study is to investigate listening strategies that AP students reported employing when doing TOEFL listening tests then draw out some tips for teaching processes. Hopefully, this research will be useful for second year AP students in improving listening skills as well as for teachers in finding new teaching methods. This study has three specific aims: - Finding out the frequency of listening strategies used by AP students.
- Investigating the relationship between listening strategy use and language proficiency level of AP students at TNUT. - Pointing out some suggestions for English teachers and students to help students improve listening skill. Research Questions This study will find answers to two questions: * What is the frequency of listening strategies used by AP students at TNUT? * What are the main patterns of variation of listening strategies choices according to their levels of proficiency ? 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Scope of the study Due to the limitation of page number of the minor thesis, the author can only conduct a survey on the frequency of listening strategies use and the relationships between listening strategy use and proficiency level of second year AP students at TNUT.
After that, researcher will give some suggestions for English teachers to help students better in improving listening skill. Methods of the study To seek answer to the research questions, following tasks have to be done: - Collecting TOEFL test results of AP students to investigate their language proficiency levels. - Doing a survey on the use of listening strategies by AP students by delivering questionnaires. - Using SPSS software to analyze the frequency of strategy use and the relationships between listening strategy use and proficiency level of AP students.
- Evaluating the techniques that are most suitable for students to improve their listening skill. Design of the study This minor thesis consists of three parts: Part A, “Introduction”, presents the rationale, aims, method, subject and design of the study.