VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES ----------o0o---------- PHẠM THỊ VINH AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE FIRST – YEAR – STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS LEARNING ENGLISH LISTENING AT FACULTY OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY (HAUI) (Thái độ của sinh viên năm nhất ngành công nghệ kỹ thuật điện đối với việc học nghe tại trường Đại học Công Nghiệp Hà Nội) M. 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 & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES ----------o0o---------- PHẠM THỊ VINH AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE FIRST – YEAR – STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS LEARNING ENGLISH LISTENING AT FACULTY OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY (HAUI) (Thái độ của sinh viên năm nhất ngành công nghệ kỹ thuật điện đối với việc học nghe tại trường Đại học Công Nghiệp Hà Nội) M. Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Dr. Trần Thị Tuyết Hanoi – 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby state that I: Phạm Thị Vinh, am the author of the thesis entitled “An investigation into the first - year - students‟ attitudes towards learning English listening at faculty of Electrical Engineering Technology, Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI)”, which is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, and this thesis has not been submitted for any other degrees.
Ha noi, 2014 Phạm Thị Vinh i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to Dr. Tran Thi Tuyet, my honorable supervisor for her great guidance and encouragement without which the study would not be completed. Her patience and the amount of time she spent on revising manuscripts with muddled up contents have been truly appreciated. Besides, her sense of thoughtful criticism and recognition of the work have played a crucial role to the progress and completion of this study.
I also take this opportunity to express my thankfulness to all of my course instructors and lecturers of the University of Languages and International Studies - Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their valuable advice and suggestions throughout my study. In addition, I am appreciative of my first - year - Electrical Engineering Technology students as well as my colleagues at Hanoi University of Industry for their wholehearted cooperation in participating in survey questionnaires and interviews which gave great help to form a significant part of this study. Last but not least, my heartfelt gratitude goes to all those who have kindly advised and helped me towards the completion of my study report. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT The current study sheds light on attitude which is considered one of the most key factors affecting learners‟ achievement in foreign language learning.
It can be seen that attitude varies and different students lead different attitudes. Thus, this study was conducted to examine attitudes of the first – year – Electrical Engineering Technology students towards learning English listening at Hanoi University of Industry. The 120 male students and 5 teachers involved in this study. Also, questionnaire and interview were chosen as the instruments for data collection.
In the context of the study, it mainly focused on the influence of some determinant factors (learners‟ factors, teachers‟ factors and learning environment‟ factors) on students to evaluate their attitudes towards learning listening skills. Overall, the findings indicated that the participants kept negative attitudes towards learning English listening. Some possible causes accounted for their unfavorable attitudes could be named as their disinterest, limited level of English, uncreative teaching methods, poor learning conditions and inappropriate materials. Based on the research findings, some recommendations were discussed to foster positive attitudes towards learning listening skills.
Keywords: Attitude, language learning, questionnaire and interview, learners‟ factors, teachers‟ factors and learning environment‟s factors iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS.iv LIST OF ABRREVIATIONS. vii LIST OF APPENDICES. vii LIST OF TABLES.
viii PART A: INTRODUCTION. Aims of the study. Method of the study. Scope of the study.
Significance of the study. Organization of the study. 6 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW. Overview of the current situation of teaching and learning listening skills in Vietnamese context.
The teaching and learning of listening skills in the Vietnamese context………………………………………………………………………. Individual differences influencing on students’ success in learning English listening skills. The concepts of attitude. Definitions of attitude.
10 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Role of attitudes in students’ language learning. Factors affecting students’ attitudes towards language learning. The students’ background information at HaUI.
The English teachers at HaUI. A brief description of the English course. 19 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS. Data analysis of the students’ questionnaire.
The influence of internal factors on students’ attitudes. The influence of external factors on students’ attitudes. Learning environment’s factors. Summary from students’ questionnaire.
Data analysis from teachers’ interviews. 31 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. Students hold negative attitudes towards learning English listening…………………………………………………………………….33 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Some factors leading to students’ negative attitudes towards learning listening skills.
Suggestions to foster students’ positive attitudes. Summary of the study. Suggestions for further studies. XI vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HaUI Hanoi University of Industry ESL English as a second language LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: STUDENTS‟QUESTIONNAIRE (Vietnamese version) APPENDIX 2: STUDENTS‟QUESTIONNAIRE (English version) APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Students‟ perception Table 2: Students‟ interest Table 3: Students‟ ability Table 4: Teachers‟ behaviors Table 5: Teachers‟ practices Table 6: Learning conditions Table 7: Listening materials viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION 1.
Rationale English is known as an international language that is widely used to communicate in all fields of the life such as science, technology, culture, education, economy and so on. Therefore, mastering English has become an essential requirement in many nations all over the world as well as in Vietnam. In Vietnamese educational system, one of the most concerned problems is how to help teachers and students teach and learn English effectively. English has been introduced as a compulsory subject at grade three in most Vietnamese primary schools, so English learning process extends through primary school, secondary school, high school and university.
Communicative competence is required as the ultimate aim of foreign language teaching and learning in all schools; it means that students are required to focus on all four skills, namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing. However, in reality, the emphasis on some basic knowledge of English in terms of grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension or written forms is seen for the purposes of examinations instead of communicative purposes in many Vietnamese schools (Hoang, 2010). As the result, it is likely that the majority of Vietnamese students are good at grammar, writing, and reading but weak in listening and speaking (Nguyen, 2008). Among four skills, listening skill seems to be the most difficult to students.
They have to face much trouble in learning English listening skills. In English as second language learning context (ESL), many studies have been conducted on how to teach and learn listening skills effectively. Numbers of them have shown that various factors have strong impacts on the success of learning English language in general and learning English listening in particular. These factors can be motivation, anxiety, attitudes, aptitudes, intelligence, personalities, age, etc.
Among them, the matter of attitudes is one of the most crucial features affecting second language learning. It is said that both positive and negative attitudes have 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com associated with learners‟ language learning. Positive attitudes can enhance students‟ language learning and help them achieve their goal easier; meanwhile, negative ones can decrease it (Ellis, 1994). As an English teacher at Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI), I have recognized that my students, especially the freshmen met many difficulties in learning listening skills.
All of them have learnt English for at least 7 years; however, their listening abilities were quite poor. As far as I has observed, my students reflected different attitudes towards learning listening skills. Some students showed their favorable attitudes and wanted to improve their listening abilities, but others felt uncomfortable and under pressured in listening lessons. Hence, I think it is vital to identify students‟ attitudes to learning English listening.
After identifying students‟ attitudes, we can also find out some reasons for their favorable or unfavorable attitudes to facilitate positive attitudes and limit negative attitudes towards learning listening skills. For all what I have just mentioned, I decide to choose the topic “An investigation into the first – year – students‟ attitudes towards learning English listening at faculty of Electrical Engineering Technology, Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI)” for my minor thesis. Hopefully, the efforts in doing this research can contribute effectively to help my students overcome their difficulties, and make them feel more comfortable in practicing English listening and assist them in improving their listening skills. Aims of the study The study is conducted to identify the Electrical Engineering Technology students‟ attitudes towards learning listening skills.
The specific aims of the research are as follows: - The study investigates the students‟ attitudes at HaUI towards learning English listening. - The study aims to find out factors affecting their attitudes towards learning English listening. 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com - Then the study can provide some suggestions to facilitate students‟ positive attitudes in their listening learning process. Research questions In order to classify the aims, the paper answers the following research questions: 1.
What are the first – year – Electrical Engineering Technology students‟ attitudes towards learning English listening? 2. What should be done to foster students‟ positive attitudes towards learning English listening? 4. Method of the study Both quantitative method and qualitative method were used; however, the quantitative one was the main focus. The quantitative data was collected through students‟ questionnaire to examine the first – year – students‟ attitudes at faculty of Electrical Engineering Technology at HaUI School towards learning listening skills.
In addition, to make the data collected more reliable and authentic, qualitative method was applied with semi - structured interviews for teachers to check students‟ attitudes in class. Then, some guides were drawn to help students have positive attitudes to learn English listening. All the comments, remarks, recommendations and conclusions provided in the study were based on the data analysis of the study. Scope of the study Due to the limited time and within an M.
minor thesis, the study mainly concentrates on investigating students‟ attitudes towards learning English listening in a case of the first- year students at the faculty of Electrical Engineering Technology at HaUI School. All of them has been studied English for at least seven years and they have continued to learn English as a fundamental subject in the university. The researcher intends to discover the attitudes of the target population towards learning English listening; then offers some recommendations to foster students‟ positive attitudes to learning listening skills. 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
Significance of the study Conducting this study is necessary because it sheds light on one of the most significant factors claimed to affect learners‟ language learning. In fact, identifying attitudes is beneficial to students, teachers and researchers as well.