VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* TRẦN THỊ THANH XUÂN AN EVALUATION OF THE LISTENING COMPONENT IN THE TEXTBOOK NEW HEADWAY ELEMENTARY TO TEACH LISTENING SKILLS FOR NON-MAFOR ENGLISH COLLEGE FRESHMEN AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY (Đánh giá phần nghe trong cuốn giáo trình New Headway Elementary để dạy kĩ năng nghe cho sinh viên cao đẳng không chuyên Tiếng Anh tại trường Đại học Công nghiệp Hà Nội) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60.11 Hanoi - 2014 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* TRẦN THỊ THANH XUÂN AN EVALUATION OF THE LISTENING COMPONENT IN THE TEXTBOOK NEW HEADWAY ELEMENTARY TO TEACH LISTENING SKILLS FOR NON-MAFOR ENGLISH COLLEGE FRESHMEN AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY (Đánh giá phần nghe trong cuốn giáo trình New Headway Elementary để dạy kĩ năng nghe cho sinh viên cao đẳng không chuyên Tiếng Anh tại trường Đại học Công nghiệp Hà Nội) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60.11 Supervisor: Dương Thu Mai, PhD Hanoi - 2014 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work and effort and that it has not been submitted to any other university or institution wholly or partially. Hanoi, July 2014 Trần Thị Thanh Xuân i TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Ms.
Duong Thu Mai, PhD from Vietnam National University, University of Languages and International Studies, for her precious advice, academic guidance and support. Without her invaluable assistance, this thesis would not have been fulfilled. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to all lecturers and the staff of the Faculty of Post Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University for their useful lessons and materials which are of great values to my thesis. I am appreciative of all my colleagues, and the non- major English college freshmen at Hanoi University of Industry for their precious cooperation in giving valuable information.
Last but not least, I find myself in debt to my dear family, and my friends who are always supporting me with their considerations and encouragement. ii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com ABSTRACT This study was conducted to obtain knowledge about the evaluation of the textbook New Headway Elementary used for non- major English college freshmen at Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI) from the perspectives of the users of the material (i. non- major English college freshmen and their listening teachers). It took into consideration the listening needs of the target students in order to suggest changes for the improvements for teaching listening skill to non- major English college freshmen at HaUI.
The participants included 110 students chosen randomly among non- major English college freshmen at HaUI and 22 teachers who were in charge of teaching English for non- major English college freshmen. Two survey questionnaires were employed to discover the participants‟ perspectives of the students‟ listening needs and how the materials met these needs. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyse data obtained from the aforementioned data collection instruments. Quantitative data were processed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).
The findings of the research provided insight into the listening needs of non- major English college freshmen at HaUI as well as how the textbook New Headway Elementary was evaluated in the students and teachers‟ viewpoints. It can be clearly seen from the results of the study that listening to English was a challenge to the students. Hence, they needed support in various forms such as facilities, materials, teachers‟ guidance, etc in order to improve their listening skill. The results were generally in favour of the textbook.
However, there was a need to improve some elements of the book such as language input, post- listening and pair or group activities, active listening periods, visual materials, etc. to better meet the Ss‟ needs. Based on the findings of the study, some recommendations for the materials being evaluated and other elements of the listening course were suggested. iii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL : English as a foreign language ESL : English as a second language ESP : English for specific purposes FCE : First Certificate in English HaUI : Hanoi University of Industry MA : Master of Arts NA : Needs analysis SPSS : Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Ss : Students Ts : Teachers iv TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figure 1.1: Comparison different criteria for materials evaluation Figure 3.1: Ss‟ needs in the aim of listening in a course Figure 3.2: Ss‟ in lessons and kowledge of the lessons Figure 3.3: Ss‟ needs in three stages of listening Figure 3.4: Ss‟ needs in activities Figure 3.5: Ss‟ needs in topics Figure 3.6: Ss‟ needs in methods Figure 3.7: Ss‟ needs at the end of a course Figure 3.8: Ss‟ needs in layout and practical concerns Table 3.1: Ss and Ts‟ overall judgment on textbook‟s aim in terms of listening Table 3.2: Ss and Ts‟ overall judgment on lessons and knowledge of students Table 3.3: Ss and Ts‟ overall judgment on listening Table 3.4: Ss and Ts‟ overall judgment on topics in listening Table 3.5: Ss and Ts‟ overall judgment on method used for listening periods Table 3.
6: Ss and Ts‟ overall judgment on assessment after the course Table 3.7: Ss and Ts‟ overall judgment on layout and practical concerns v TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. iv LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES. Rationale for the thesis.
Aims of the study. Scope of the study. Significance of the study. Design of the study.3 PART II: DEVELOPMENT .4 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW.
Materials in language teaching and learning. Definitions and Classifications of materials. Roles of materials in language teaching and learning. Definitions of materials evaluation.
Materials evaluation in English language teaching and learning. Criteria for materials evaluation. Listening comprehension and teaching listening comprehension. Definition of listening comprehension.
Communicative competence in teaching listening comprehension. Three stages of listening sessions. Methods of teaching listening communicatively .Potential problems in learning listening comprehension. Needs analysis (NA) in language teaching .14 vi TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY.
Current situation of teaching and learning English listening at Hanoi University of Industry. The context of the study. The material description. Participants of the study.
Data collection instrument. Methods of data analysis .20 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. Students‟ listening needs. Students‟ needs in the aim of listening in a course.
Students‟ needs in term of lesson and knowledge. Students‟ needs in activities. Students‟ needs in topics. Students‟ needs in methods.
Students needs at the end of a course. Students‟ needs in layout and practical concerns. Evaluation of the textbook New Headway Elementary for non –major freshmen at HaUI as perceived by the Ss and Ts. Evaluation of the textbook in terms of aim of listening.
Evaluation of the textbook in terms of lessons and knowledge. Evaluation of the textbook in terms of listening activities. Evaluation of the textbook in terms of topics. Evaluation of the textbook in terms of methods used in listening periods.
Evaluation of the textbook in terms of the student assessment. Evaluation of the textbook in terms of layout and grammatical concerns .1 Students‟ needs to improve their listening skills .38 vii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail. Students‟ opinions on the book‟ changes in order to better meet their needs. Discussion of findings.
Students‟ needs analysis. Evaluation of the textbook New Headway Elementary for non –major freshmen at HaUI as perceived by the Ss and Ts .40 PART III: CONCLUSION. Conclusion of the study. Recommendations for material improvements.
Limitations and suggestions for further studies. I viii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail. Rationale for the thesis Listening comprehension plays a key role in language learning. Rost (1994, as cited in Nunan & Miller, 1995) confirms that listening is vital in language classrooms because it provides input for learners.
Without understanding inputs at the right level, any kind of learning simply cannot occur. Listening, therefore, is essential not only as a receptive skill but also to the development of spoken language proficiency. An important issue in the teaching and learning of listening is the material. Hutchinson and Torres (1994: 3) state that the material is “an almost universal element of English language teaching and learning”.
Tomlinson (2003: 2) also asserts that material “include anything which can be used to facilitate the learning of a language.” Among available material, careful consideration is needed in order to evaluate and choose the best materials. The importance role of material evaluation has been recognised by many researchers and experts in foreign language teaching such as Ellis (1997) and Robinson (1991), who claim that material evaluation should be carried out not only to choose the most suitable for one‟s particular situation but also to determine whether the chosen ones work for that situation after having been used for a period of time. It can also bring general insights into how teachers use materials and suggest directions both for materials development and professional development activities (Hutchinson & Torres, 1994). At Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI), listening skills have been taught for non-major English college freshmen based on the textbook New Headway Elementary (the third edition by Liz and John Soar) for a long time.
From the researcher‟s observation and professional experience as a teacher of English, teaching and learning listening skills have still faced some difficulties and the students‟ ability to listen English has not improved much. However, no research has been done to evaluate the listening skill section in New Headway Elementary. 1 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com Therefore, an evaluation of listening skills in the textbook New Headway Elementary from teachers and students‟ perspectives was carried out with an expectation that a solution for the situation of teaching and learning listening skills at HaUI with the textbook New Headway Elementary will be found. Aims of the study New Headway textbook is used for first year students during two semesters or twenty weeks.
Each unit is instructed in nine or ten periods of teaching and learning. The listening component is studied in one or two periods. The research aims to both evaluate the usefulness of the book and determine whether the textbook is suitable for teaching listening in the limited time. More specifically, this study seeks to examine the following research questions.
What are the non- major English college freshmen‟s needs when learning listening skills at HaUI? 2. To what extent does the current listening in-class component in New Headway Elementary meet their needs at HaUI? 3. Scope of the study Due to the small scale of the study as well as the limitation of time, this study only focuses on evaluating the current listening component in the New Headway Elementary for non- major English college freshmen at HaUI from the perspectives of the users of these materials (e. the students and teachers taking part in teaching and learning with the New Headway Elementary in school year 2013-2014.
The other components such as speaking, reading and writing are not within the scope of this study. Significance of the study The findings of the thesis may serve as useful information not only for the researcher, the course book designers but also for the teaching staff and the non- major English college freshmen at HaUI.