MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES TRAN THI HA MY A STUDY ON NON-ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS’ USE OF LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES IN PREPARATION FOR TOEIC LISTENING TEST AT HUE UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of Foreign Languages HUE, 2016 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES TRAN THI HA MY A STUDY ON NON-ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS’ USE OF LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES IN PREPARATION FOR TOEIC LISTENING TEST AT HUE UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.11 SUPERVISOR: CAO LE THANH HAI, PhD. HUE, 2016 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ TRẦN THỊ HÀ MY NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG CHIẾN LƯỢC HỌC NGÔN NGỮ ĐỂ CHUẨN BỊ CHO BÀI THI NGHE TOEIC CỦA SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH TẠI ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.11 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. CAO LÊ THANH HẢI HUẾ, 2016 ii STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself.
Signed:………………………… Tran Thi Ha My Date: …………………………. iii ABSTRACT This paper reports the results of an investigation into the use of learning strategies in preparation for TOEIC listening test by non-English majored students at Hue University. The data in this study were obtained through student questionnaires, teacher interviews and classroom observations. The results of the study indicate that TOEIC learners experienced a wide range of listening problems caused by both external and internal factors.
To tackle the difficulties in listening, students in this study claimed to have applied several language learning strategies such as metacognitive, cognitive and social affective strategies (O’Malley and Chamot, 1990) inside classroom and at home setting. One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is that cognitive strategies were reported to be most frequently used and considered as the most effective both in classroom and home setting. The paper also provides practical recommendations for TOEIC learners, instructors and curriculum designers in relation to the promotion of language learning strategies in TOEIC educational setting. Keywords: language learning strategies, listening comprehension, non-English majored students iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research journey would never have been possible without the involvement of many individuals and groups, to whom I owe my grateful acknowledgements.
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Cao Le Thanh Hai, for her enthusiastic and inspirational supervision. My research paper would not have been done if it was not for her encouragement and valuable comments during my time of conducting the study. Secondly, I am also very grateful to all the instructors of class MA 2 2014 – 2016, Hue University College of Foreign Languages, who have broadened my knowledge and perspective during my master course.
Thirdly, many thanks go to all the students at Hue University as well as the TOEIC instructors in the area of Hue city who were willing to participate in the questionnaire survey and interviews of the study. Their participation was of great importance to the completion of my research and I sincerely appreciate their contribution. Finally, I am greatly indebted to my family and friends for having been there for me and supporting me wholeheartedly. Their persistent love and understanding have given me the strength and motivation to conduct this study.
Hue, December 2016 Tran Thi Ha My v TABLE OF CONTENT STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP .v TABLE OF CONTENT. vi LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES. ix CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION. Context and rationale of the study.
Significance of the study. Scope of the study. Structure of the study .4 CHAPTER II - LITERATURE REVIEW. The aspects of listening.
What is listening?. What is listening comprehension?. Problems involved in listening comprehension. The importance of listening comprehension in second or foreign language acquisition.
Learning strategies in language acquisition – Language learning strategies. Definition of language learning strategies. Classification of language learning strategies. The role of learning strategies in second language acquisition.
Language learning strategies in listening comprehension. TOEIC - the English proficiency test. TOEIC test in general. TOEIC Listening Test.
Previous researches related to the study .26 vi CHAPTER III - METHODOLOGY. Data collection instruments and procedure. Validity and reliability of the data .34 CHAPTER IV - FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Hue University non-English majored students‟ perception towards the aspect of listening comprehension.
Students‟ perception towards listening comprehension. Students‟ self-rated listening competence. The importance of listening comprehension. Problems involved in the process of listening comprehension.
Hue University non-English majored students‟ use of language learning strategies when practicing for TOEIC listening test. The frequency of students‟ use of language learning strategies for TOEIC listening practice in general. The use of language learning strategies among non-English majored students at Hue University. Respondents‟ choice of most effective type of language learning strategies.
Suggestions to maximize the effectiveness of learning strategies in TOEIC listening test. TOEIC instructors‟ suggestions. For TOEIC learners. For TOEIC instructors.
For TOEIC curriculum designers. Limitations of the research and suggestions .64 viii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 2.1: Oxford‟s strategy classification system (Oxford, 1990, pp.2: Oxford‟s strategy classification system (Oxford, 1990, pp.1: Students‟ perception towards listening comprehension .2: Students‟ self-rated listening competence .3: The importance of listening comprehension .4: Problems involved in listening comprehension .5: Frequency of students‟ use of language learning strategies in general.6: Types of language learning strategies used in TOEIC listening class .7: Frequency of using learning strategies in TOEIC listening class .8: Types of language learning strategies used in practice at home .9: Frequency of using learning strategies in practice at home .10: Most effective type of language learning strategies .11: Students‟ suggestion to maximize the effectiveness of language learning strategies.1: Learning strategy definition and classification (O‟Malley and Chamot, 1990: 119) – Metacognitive strategies .2: Learning strategy definition and classification (O‟Malley and Chamot, 1990: 119) – Cognitive strategies .3: Learning strategy definition and classification (O‟Malley and Chamot, 1990: 119) – Social affective strategies .20 ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter includes the background and the rationale of the study. It will also provide information on the objectives, research questions, significance, and the scope of the research. An outline of the content of all the subsequent chapters will be presented in the last section.
Context and rationale of the study Globalization has created a large demand for people in the workforce who can communicate in multiple languages, especially English for the fact that it is an international language. For this reason, many companies and corporations all around the world have the tendency to hire employees with high proficiency in English. Therefore, the pressure to excel at English is put on non-native students, even when they are still in college, since they always want to prove their language competence to potential employers in order to get a good job in the future. Similar to their international counterparts, Vietnamese college students – especially those who do not major in English – have sought reliable language qualification in order to polish their CVs for their job hunting later on.
Before, the optimal options would be Certificate of Level A, B or C in English. However, the preference has recently shifted towards IELTS, TOEFL or TOEIC. Many students in Vietnam choose to take the TOEIC test, either during their time in college or right after their graduation because of its versatility which can be used for English language qualification, both in the working environment and with academic purposes, while the other two options focus mainly on the academic aspect. Accordingly, this tendency has created a phenomenon which encourages language instructors to teach TOEIC as well as students to take TOEIC test in Vietnam.
According to many studies, such as Nguyen (2012) and Nhu (2012), in TOEIC test, Vietnamese college students struggle the most with the listening 1 comprehension section. Although listening is a vital language skill that can support the development of other linguistic aspects such as reading or speaking, some might take it for granted, thinking it is a boring and not very active skill to learn. To illustrate this point, Jalongo (2010: 11) claims that listening is the “Cinderella Skill of language, eclipsed by its sister skills of speaking, reading and writing.” Moreover, listening is considered to be the most difficult skill to master, even for those who major in English, let alone those who do not specialize in this language. This results in poor listening skills, and even worse, it leads to students‟ frustration as well as a lack of learning strategies when it comes to the practice of this particular skill.
For these reasons, most Vietnamese students do not succeed in achieving their desired score with their auditory performances when taking TOEIC test. Understanding the difficulties that Vietnamese students have encountered in the process of listening comprehension, especially when they have to prepare for a TOEIC listening test, I made the decision to carry out the research: “A study on non-English majored students‟ use of language learning strategies in preparation for TOEIC listening test at Hue University.” With this study, the researcher attempts to figure out some pedagogical implications for the improvement in the effectiveness of teaching and learning English listening skills at Hue University in general. More specifically, the researcher contend that, the earlier students are equipped with a variety of listening techniques and language learning strategies, the better their language skills will become. As a result, the study is geared towards providing in- depth insights into learning strategies used by students and suggesting ways for them to efficiently use such strategies.
Research aims This research aims: To explore the problems that non-English majored students at Hue University might encounter in the process of listening comprehension. 2 To investigate the types of learning strategies that students at Hue University use to prepare for TOEIC listening test based on the findings of the study. To figure out how to maximize the advantages of using language learning strategies when students practice for their TOEIC listening test. Research objectives To explore the perceptions, attitudes and experiences of TOEIC teachers and students concerning language learning strategies.
To identify the types, frequency and patterns of the application of learning strategies among TOEIC learners at Hue University. To develop pedagogical implications in relation to language learning strategies for TOEIC listening teaching and learning practice. Research questions The study seeks answers to the following questions: 1. What are the difficulties that non-English majored students at Hue University might encounter in the process of listening comprehension in general and in preparation for TOEIC listening test in particular? 2.
What are the most common types of learning strategies that non-English majored students at Hue University use to practice for their TOEIC listening test? 3. In what ways should students use such strategies to make them more useful for their learning? 1. Significance of the study This study addresses an issue which has not been thoroughly researched in the field of language learning and teaching, especially in the context of English education in Vietnam: the use of learning strategies. More specifically, it extends the literature regarding the complexity of students‟ use of strategies when practicing for TOEIC listening test.
Insights of this study can be of great value for students and language educators to enhance their TOEIC learning and teaching experience.