VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ********* VI DIỆU THUẦN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING YOUTUBE VIDEOS AS SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS ON ENHANCING STUDENTS’ LISTENING SKILLS – A STUDY AT INTERNATIONAL STANDARD PROGRAM, VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HANOI TÍNH HIỆU QUẢ CỦA VIỆC SỬ DỤNG CÁC VIDEO TRÊN TRANG YOUTUBE LÀM TÀI LIỆU BỔ SUNG NHẰM CẢI THIỆN CÁC KỸ NĂNG NGHE CỦA SINH VIÊN HỆ NHIỆM VỤ CHIẾN LƯỢC, ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI M. COMBINED PROGRAM THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Hanoi, 2015 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ********* VI DIỆU THUẦN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING YOUTUBE VIDEOS AS SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS ON ENHANCING STUDENTS’ LISTENING SKILLS – A STUDY AT INTERNATIONAL STANDARD PROGRAM, VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HANOI TÍNH HIỆU QUẢ CỦA VIỆC SỬ DỤNG CÁC VIDEO TRÊN TRANG YOUTUBE LÀM TÀI LIỆU BỔ SUNG NHẰM CẢI THIỆN CÁC KỸ NĂNG NGHE CỦA SINH VIÊN HỆ NHIỆM VỤ CHIẾN LƯỢC, ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI M. COMBINED PROGRAM THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Dr. Do Tuan Minh Hanoi, 2015 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION To the best of my knowledge and belief, this minor thesis contains no material which has previously been submitted and accepted for any other degree in any university.
The thesis is my own work and based on my own research. It involves no material previously published or written by any other person, except where due reference is made in the paper. Hanoi, 2015 Vi Diệu Thuần i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The composing process of conducting this thesis is the most valuable journey I have ever had. Without this journey, I would not have been aware of all the joy and fortune I have been blessed with throughout my entire life.
I consider myself one of the luckiest students to have a chance to work with a distinguished advisor that opened my eyes and gained my complete respect both academically and personally. Do Tuan Minh, one of the most remarkable gurus in EFL teaching in ULIS, VNU, devoted his time, effort and support to teach me how to be a serious researcher. Minh, with his spectacular vision and insight, is the one who provided all the help that I needed to complete such an enormous task. I am also obliged to express my gratitude to him for spending every minute of his precious time in proofreading this paper and giving me valuable corrections and suggestions.
I was and still am amazed at Dr. Minh’s critical thinking and efficiency in problem solving. From the interactions with Dr. Minh, I witnessed his overwhelming power to focus on the overall research design, and at the same time, specific details in the study.
I also would like to acknowledge the support and assistance of Dr. Minh for provoking my interest in the topic by asking crucial questions, assisting in the editing of the draft, and making himself available to me throughout the final stage of completion. Last but not least, I want to thank my family for their unconditional understanding and love. My parents, my sister, my brother-in-law, and my friends – Thao, Lloyd, and Chris, have been my enthusiastic cheerleaders through the rough academic path I have followed.
Many other people whose names are impossible to be cited also contributed valuable help and support. Though their names do not appear in this acknowledgement, they shall always be cherished and embraced in my heart. The writing process, though difficult, is indeed a delightful journey, through which I discovered that I got richer every day. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT Listening is one of the most pivotal skills, though; it is unjustly neglected compared to the other language skills.
It was previously considered as a passive skill but now those ideas have been proved as myths. Therefore seeking innovative methods for teaching and developing listening materials for EFL students should not be taken for granted. Lack of adequate exposure and attention to listening sets the ground for authentic listening materials to improve the context in Vietnam. There have been controversial ideas regarding the use of authentic listening materials.
Specifically, their results ranged from total abstinence to complete utilization. This study intends to investigate the impact of YouTube videos as supplementary materials to enhance listening skills of students at International Standard Program, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University Hanoi. To serve this aim, fifty students were randomly assigned to two groups. One group was exposed to YouTube vieos as listening supplementary materials (experimental group) and the other groups received simplified listening materials (control group).
A pre-test was used to measure the differences among the students’ listening level at the beginning of the study. After six weeks, a post-test was administered for both groups. Besides a students’ feedback survey was given to experimental group to evaluate their attitudes and opinions about the materials. Analysis of quantitative study and comparing the mean scores of two groups via t-test showed that students who were exposed to YouTube videos as supplementary materials performed better in post-test.
The analysis of the feedback survey also denoted their satisfaction and positive attitudes towards YouTube videos as listening materials. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, AND ABBREVIATIONS. vii CHAPTER ONE .2 Background of the study .3 Statement of the problem.4 Aims and research questions .5 Significance of the study .6 Scope of the study.7 Design of the study.
9 LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.1 Definitions of listening skills.2 Characteristics of listening skills .3 Significance of listening skills .4 Difficulties in learning listening skills .2 Types of YouTube videos .3 Advantages of YouTube videos. 38 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.1 Definitions of supplementary materials .2 Advantages of supplementary materials. 44 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY.6 Data collection procedures.1 Verifying the instruments.2 Data collection from pre-post tests .7 Data analysis procedures. 54 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND FINDINGS .1 Results of the pre- and post-treatment tests .2 Results of the questionnaire .1 Specific aural skills practised .2 Reflections on the YouTube video treatment .3 Ideas about the pre- and post- tests.
67 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS. 68 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.5 Suggestions for further researches. I vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, AND ABBREVIATIONS LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Statistical results concerning the administration of the two IELTS listening tests to the same group. Within-group comparison results for the experimental and control groups.
58 Table 3: Between-group comparison results for the experimental and control groups. Experimental group’s reaction to the multiple-choice questions of survey. 60 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Frame grab of YouTube.com’s main page (http://www.
Frame grab showing using browser Cốc Cốc to download videos from YouTube. 25 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ISP: International Standard Program ULIS: University of Languages and International Studies VNU: Vietnam National University EFL: English as a Foreign Language ESL: English as a Second Language IELTS: International English Language Testing System vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction It goes without saying that English has developed into a world language. It is considered international because of its significance in cultural aspects in not only former Bitish colonies but also in other countries due to integration. Besides, English is regarded as global thanks to the dominance of the language in this information technology age.
It is a common knowledge that any modern citizen of this rapidly growing twenty-first century mastering the English language is determined to overpower those who do not. Still, there remain some opponents of this trend who decide to go against the flow to probably avoid the domination of the language and its culture. Notwithstandingly, any practical and serious thinking individual could easily tell how that conservative idea is hardly working at this point now that English has been deeply rooted and undoubtedly here-to-stay in our society. In other words, one, needless to say, greatly depends on English to survive and thrive in this contemporary world.
The teaching and learning of English; therefore, has been immensely concentrated around the globe. English language is even separated into four distinctive skills to be easily taught to non-native speakers of English. As a child, we learn to listen before we speak, so it is fairly clear that input should come first before output. As a result, Reading and Listening are supposed to be taught before Writing and Speaking.
Novel movements in teaching English language also share the same opinion on placing more attention to the communicative purpose of the language by focusing on Listening and Speaking. Yet, reality has showed inconsiderable improvement in learners’ listening skills accompanied by a bitter truth of listening remaining a struggle for English learners. 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com The apparently undesirable situation of teaching and learning listening skills has triggered a passionate need in every teacher or instructor of English language to invent new ideas to combat the problem. As one myself, I have been concerned enough to conduct a study on the effectiveness of using YouTube videos as supplementary materials in enhancing students’ listening skills at the International Standard Program (ISP), University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS), Vietnam National University (VNU).
ISP provides a one-year English course during the very first school year of VNU students. The ultimate aim is that after the end of the course, students achieve band 5.0 IELTS so that afterwards, ISP students can part ways to return to their own universities and easily study their majors in English. A more detailed description of the program is specifically elaborated in the Methodology chapter.2 Background of the study According to Mehisto (2012) learning materials could be regarded as information or knowledge contained in various different media and formats to support the purpose of learning and they should strictly follow the objectives or requirements of educational curricula. Materials can also be informally and briefly defined as things needed in order to do a peculiar activity.
In every syllabus of any subject learned at school, a set of fixed materials called textbooks or coursebooks is compulsory since it plays the key role in focusing on the primary goals of the course. Teachers need to refer to the textbooks to ensure that the important knowledge is properly covered. Similarly, coursebooks are necessary for students to be aware and keep track of their own intake of information. Ideally, learning materials are supposed to support, not to restrict students and teachers.
Thus, when teachers discover that the provided materials are only partially helpful, they are allowed to determine how and to what extent a book or other 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com learning materials should be used in the classroom. It is little wonder that supplementary materials can be considered as equally important as textbooks. Supplementary materials are defined as any materials used addition to textbook (Spratt, Pulverness, and Williams, 2005: 114). They act as extra materials to supplement the fixed coursebooks when there is a lack of suitability and variety.
In order to boost the motivation in listening classroom, supplemenatry materials should be audio-visual. Moreover, to achieve the practical purpose of listening class, supplementary materials had better have a strong relation with the real world. Possessing the two aforementioned characteristics of being audio-visual and authentic, YouTube videos are obviously the leading candidate for the ideal supplementary materials for listening classes. It is also noteworthy that YouTube videos should be maintained as supplementary materials since they help illustrate as well as improve the natural or real use of English.