VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** PHÙNG THỊ NHƯ TRANG AN EVALUATION OF THE APPLICATION OF THE COURSEWARE “LEARN TO SPEAK ENGLISH DELUXE 10” IN LANGUAGE LAB FOR THE FIRST YEAR NON-MAJOR OF ENGLISH STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY Đánh giá việc ứng dụng phần mềm chương trình dạy học “ Learn To Speak English Deluxe 10” tại phòng máy cho sinh viên năm thứ nhất không chuyên Anh tại trường Đại Học Kinh Doanh và Công Nghệ Hà Nội M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI – 2015 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** PHÙNG THỊ NHƯ TRANG AN EVALUATION OF THE APPLICATION OF THE COURSEWARE “LEARN TO SPEAK ENGLISH DELUXE 10” IN LANGUAGE LAB FOR THE FIRST YEAR NON-MAJOR OF ENGLISH STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY Đánh giá việc ứng dụng phần mềm chương trình dạy học “ Learn To Speak English Deluxe 10” tại phòng máy cho sinh viên năm thứ nhất không chuyên Anh tại trường Đại Học Kinh Doanh và Công Nghệ Hà Nội M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Prof. Nguyễn Hoà HANOI – 2015 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com DECLARATION I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “ An evaluation of the application of the courseware Learn To Speak English Deluxe 10 in language lab for the first year non major of English students at Hanoi University of Business and Technology” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts, and that this thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or tertiary institution.
Hanoi, 2015 Phùng Thị Như Trang i TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author of this thesis is grateful to a great number of people who did offer assistance and support in the preparation of the dissertation. I am most grateful to Prof. Nguyễn Hòa- my supervisor. His guidance and comments have helped me fulfill the thesis.
Without his suggestions and guidance, the thesis would never have been completed. I would also like to thank the teachers at Hanoi University of Business and Technology who did their best to help me gather data from students‟ and teachers‟ questionnaires. This thesis would not have been completed without the enthusiasm and the interest of the first year students in Accounting, Finance majors, who have participated in the survey. Finally, I own my deepest gratitude to my family for their great encouragement and support.
ii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com ABSTRACT Applying technology and latest advance in learning is an investment and an effort of both English Department of HUBT and the school. Learn To Speak English is introduced to first year students of all majors but the results were not up to expectation. Moreover, no courseware is perfect in any situations. For the reasons, the study is aimed to evaluate the software to find out to what extent it can meet teachers and students‟ needs in terms of contents and the presentation, organization of the content as well as to find out some benefits and difficulties in teaching and learning by using this software To evaluate the software LTSE, this study was carried out based on the criteria proposed by Georgiadou, E.
The data were collected from first year students from different majors and ESP teachers at HUBT. In this study, the teachers and students‟ needs in language learning in terms of content and the presentation, organization of the content of LTSE were investigated. The evaluation also releases some strengths and weaknesses of this software. And finally, the evaluator suggests some recommendations to make better use of LTSE.
iii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HUBT: Hanoi University of Business and Technology LTSE: “Learn to Speak English” CALL: Computer-Assisted Language Learning iv TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS Chart 1: Results of difficulties in delivering LTSE lessons Chart 2: Results of students’ evaluation of the most interesting and most difficult lesson Chart 3: Results of students’ recommendation to improve the use of LTSE Table 1: Results of Students’ and teachers’ evaluation of LTSE’s content Table 2: Results of Students’ and teachers evaluation of Pedagogical factors Table 3: Results of Students’ and Teachers’ evaluation of Interactivity Table 4: Results of students’ and teachers’ evaluation of Navigation of LTSE’s content Table 5: Results of students evaluation of Feedback of LTSE’s content Table 6: Results of students’ and teachers’ evaluation of LTSE’s screen design Table 7: Result of teachers’ opinion about the difficulties or the problems of teaching with LTSE Table 8: Results of teachers’ opinion about the benefits of teaching and learning English at HUBT Table 9: Results of Teachers’ recommendations to improve NDE Table 10: Results of students’ perception and attitudes to NDE’ benefits Table 11: Results of students’ evaluation of Challenges in LTSE studying v TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. iv LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS. Rationale of the study.
Aim of the study and research questions .1 Aim of the study. Scope of the study. Significance of the study. Design of the study .3 PART II: DEVELOPMENT .5 CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.
Computer assisted language learning (CALL). Criteria for evaluating language learning software. The software that has been used at HUBT. Learn to Speak English program .22 CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY AND DATA ANALYSIS.
Context of the study. Data collection and analysis .28 CHAPTER THREE: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. Findings from part I of questionnaires and the interviews. Findings from part II of the questionnaires and interviews .41 vi TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.
Summary of major findings .49 PART III: CONCLUSION. Limitations of the study. Recommendations for courseware improvements. Suggestions for further research.
I vii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale of the study For decades, English was taught in classrooms in which the teacher-centered method was applied. The teacher gave information, while students gained knowledge passively. However, advanced technology has influenced the educational methods in classroom in which computer-based technology is mainly used to reinforce instruction and put the focus on the students in their learning process.
Learners can use some English learning materials easily if they are equipped with a device from very simple ones as their mobile phone, a radio, a cassette, etc. to a more advanced one as laptops, ipads. And they can learn English anytime, anywhere whenever they have time because learning English does bring pleasure and interests besides leaving great impact on learner‟s listening skill improvement. Among those conveniences, computer technology can be regarded as an educational tool supporting language teaching.
In fact, a wide range of electronic technologies have been developed to supplement second language teaching and learning (Bas & Kuzucu, 2009; Warschauer, 1996). These technologies include hardware delivery methods such as audiotape recorders, videotape recorders, computers and the Internet. In addition, there are many innovative electronic tools that support language learning such as speech production and recognition, text analysis, text translation, and software for visualization and animation, electronic mail, list serve discussion groups, streaming audio and video and real-time synchronous as well as asynchronous communication opportunities that bring the target language environment to the learner (LeLoup & Porterio, 1997). One of the recent educational methods for language teaching, more specifically English Language teaching, is called the Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) method which is combining with face to face classroom instruction to form a new Blended Learning model.
Learn To Speak English Deluxe 10 is one of those 1 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com advanced technology in language teaching and learning. At Ha Noi University of Business and Technology (HUBT) after two years of experiment, the application of Learn To Speak English Deluxe 10 Courseware has caused a controversy over its effectiveness among teachers and students. Hence, this research is done to explore to what extent this software meets teachers and students‟ needs in teaching and learning as well as to reveal the benefits and challenges in applying LTSE so as to find ways to improve the course. Aim of the study and research questions 2.1 Aim of the study The major aims of the study are: - To evaluate the courseware Learn To Speak English Deluxe 10 used at Hanoi University of Business and Technology in terms of content as well as the presentation and organization of its content.
- To propose some recommendations for administrators and English teachers to fully exploit and better apply the program supporting students in language learning for expected results.2 Research questions In light of the goals of the study, the following research questions are made: 1. To what extent does LTSE meet teachers and students’ needs in teaching and learning in terms of content as well as the presentation and organization of its content? 2. What improvements can be recommended to make the use of the LTSE courseware more effective? 3. Scope of the study This study tried to find out teachers and students‟ evaluation of the Learn To Speak English Courseware in terms of these criteria: content and the presentation and organization of its content.
This kind of information was collected through questionnaires and interview. 2 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com Due to the limited scope of a minor thesis, research subjects are primarily confined to ten English teachers who have been working with the courseware for two years and 100 random students who are learning at eight different classes of Accounting, Banking, and Finance. Significance of the study Firstly, the study serves as a reference source for HUBT administrators and English teaching staffs who are directly involved in Learn to Speak English program and administrators as well as for students who are beneficiaries of the program. They will be made aware of both the benefits and challenges in the application of Learn to Speak English and thus promote the quality & effectiveness of the program.
Secondly, based on the results of the study, some changes or improvements in the use of the courseware in the teaching/learning process may be made accordingly in order to serve best the goals of the English Department set for the teachers and students in the first school year. Thirdly, it would make a contribution to the research area in the field of computer assisted learning as well as relating to the application of language learning software. Finally, the thesis would also be helpful for those who share similar concern with the researcher. Design of the study This study consists of three parts: Part I: Introduction.
This part supplies an overview of the study with specific reference to the rationale, the aims, and the design. Part II: Development. In this part, three chapters are presented. 3 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com Chapter one: Theoretical Framework.
This chapter deals with an exploration of the theoretical background of the research. It concerns with the issues relevant to the topic of the research: Computer Assisted Language Learning, Criteria for evaluating language learning software, the software that has been used at HUBT, Learn to Speak English program. Chapter two: Methodology and data analysis. Methodology presents the background information of the subjects of the study, the instrument used to collect data, the procedure of data collection.
Chapter three: Results and Discussion. In this chapter, the data is analyzed in detail and a thorough discussion of the findings of the study is made. Some explanations and interpretations of the findings are also present in this chapter. Part III: Conclusion.
In this part, the limitations and some recommendations for further research are explored. 4 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 1.