1 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES *********** NGÔ THỊ THƠM THE USE OF THE INTERNET TOOL AS AN ASSISTANCE FOR FIRST- YEAR NON-MAJOR STUDENTS AT NAMDINH UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION IN BASIC ENGLISH SELF-STUDY (Using web-based listening activities to develop the skill of listening for details) (Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng công cụ Internet để bổ trợ quá trình tự học tiếng Anh cơ bản của sinh viên không chuyên năm thứ nhất trường Đại học Sư phạm Kỹ thuật Nam Định- Sử dụng hoạt động nghe dựa trên nền mạng Internet để phát triển kỹ năng nghe lấy thông tin chi tiết) M. THESIS (Minor Programme) Field: Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Hanoi - 2012 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 2 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES *********** NGÔ THỊ THƠM THE USE OF THE INTERNET TOOL AS AN ASSISTANCE FOR FIRST- YEAR NON-MAJOR STUDENTS AT NAMDINH UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION IN BASIC ENGLISH SELF-STUDY (Using web-based listening activities to develop the skill of listening for details) (Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng công cụ Internet để bổ trợ quá trình tự học tiếng Anh cơ bản của sinh viên không chuyên năm thứ nhất trường Đại học Sư phạm Kỹ thuật Nam Định- Sử dụng hoạt động nghe dựa trên nền mạng Internet để phát triển kỹ năng nghe lấy thông tin chi tiết) M. THESIS (Minor Programme) Field: Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Dr Do Tuan Minh Hanoi - 2012 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements Abstract PART ONE – INTRODUCTION Page 1. Aims of the study.
Scope of the study. Method of the study. Significance of the study. Design of the study.
3 PART TWO – DEVELOPMENT. 5 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW. The Internet as a language teaching and learning tool. Drawbacks of the Internet in language teaching and learning.
Web-based language learning activities. Listening comprehension- a brief theoretical overview. Definition of listening. Strategies of listening comprehension.
Process of comprehension in listening. Types of listening activities. Listening practice in relation to the web. Reasons for using the web for developing and improving listening 14 comprehension.
An example of free listening materials sources and web-based listening 14 techniques and activities. CHAPTER 2: METHOD OF THE STUDY. Quasi-experimental research. The setting of the study.
18 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail. Pretest and postest. Procedure of the study. 21 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS.
37 PART THREE – CONCLUSION. Limitations of the study. Suggestions for further study. 42 Appendices TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 8 LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS Figures Figure 1 Screen shot from the WBLL Website with a session planner 8 Figure 2 Screen shot from Randall‟s Cyber Listening Lab Website 15 Tables Table 1 Result of t-test for comparison between pretest scores of experimental 22 group and control group Table 2 Descriptive Statistics for Pretest and Posttest scores of Experimental 23 group Table 3 Descriptive Statistics for Pretest and Posttest scores of Control group 24 Table 4 Result of t-test for comparison between posttest scores of experimental group and control group 25 Charts Chart 1 Students‟ gender 18 Chart 2 Pretest and Posttest Mean Increase 26 Chart 3 The importance of the web-based listening activities 27 Chart 4 Frequency of using the web-based listening activities 28 Chart 5 Efficiency of using the web-based listening activities 29 Chart 6 Listening section‟s level of difficulty 36 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 9 PART ONE – INTRODUCTION 8.
Rationale The Internet is a global network of computer networks. It provides language teachers with network-based teaching environments in which they can create meaningful tasks and use various materials for language learners. The hypermedia nature of the World Wide Web, in particular, has greatly expanded the power of computer-assisted language learning by allowing learners to explore and discover their learning paths themselves and offering them easy access to an on-line database of resources (Son, 2008). With a variety of hyperlinked multimedia documents and computer-mediated communication tools, the web can support to integrate web resources into either language teaching and learning activities or into language classroom in next few years.
It can be also a virtual library that has a huge amount of information valuable to English as a second language teaching (Allodi,1998; Bell, 1998; Murray & McPherson, 2004; Son, 2005; Warschauer & Healey, 1998). In addition, Web- based Language Learning (WBLL) has the potential to increase learner motivation and engage learners in culturally authentic and highly interactive language experience (Chun & Plass, 2000; Kung & Chuo, 2002; Mosquera, 2001). WBLL is language learning that involves the use of the web and exploits web materials, resources, applications or tools (Son, 2007). Given that WBLL occurs with web activities on the web, it is important to use well-designed WBLL activities to maximize language learning.
Of the four English language skills that are often taught separately, listening requires more efforts from both course developers and learners. Unlike courses for other skills, which are mostly paper-based, listening courses are a combination of paper-based materials in the form of a course book, and sound-based materials in the form of audio on tapes/compact discs (Wong, 2005). However, learners get to keep only the course book, and can access the course audio only in class, which essentially prescribes teacher-centered lessons. Learner autonomy, if it is to take place at all, necessitates a different delivery mode.
To some extent, the web seems to be a new tool contributing to the formation of that alternativemode. This paper studies the use of the Internet tool as an assistance for first-year non-major students at Namdinh University of Technology Education (NUTE) in basic English self-study. More specifically, it is the students‟use of web-based listening activities to develop the skill TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 10 of listening for details. While reporting the results of listening activities trial that explored, selected and developed web activities for students, it investigates the usefulness of the web activities in their listening comprehension practice and the difficulties as well.
The author hopes that this research would make a small but helpful contribution to the effective use of the Internet with web- based activities for the development of non-major students‟ listening self-study at Vietnamese universtities in general and at NUTE in particular. Also, this would be one of the foundation for further researches into the area in the near future. Aims of the study The ultimate purpose of this study is to effectively apply the use of web-based listening activities to develop the skill of listening for details at NUTE. The following aims are wished to achieve: (i) To investigate the influence of utilizing web-based listening activities on the listening for details outcomes of the first-year non-major students at NUTE.
(ii) To find out the students‟ opinions and attitudes towards the application of web-based listening activities in their listening self-study. (iii) To find out the difficulties students have during the process of self-study. Research questions In order to achieve the aims above, the following research questions will be raised in the study: (i) To what extent does the utilization of web-based listening activities affect the effectiveness of teaching and learning the skill of listening for details for first-year non-major students at NUTE? (ii) What are students‟ opinions and attitudes towards the use of web-based listening activities in the suggested websites in their listening self-study? (iii)What are the problems that students have during the self- study process of using web- based activities to improve their listening comprehension skill? 11. Scope of the study The study operates within the following scopes: (i) The use of the Internet with web-based activities in listening comprehension self-study is a wide topic so it is impossible to discuss every aspect of it in this research.
As such, only the use of two activities: listening to the songs and ticking off items in the website TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 11 http://genkienglish.net/ and listening to a short conversation and filling the gaps in the website http://englishteststore.net/ will be investigated. (ii) By the time constraint, doing a research with a large number of the participants is out of the author‟s research. The technical students at NUTE have to attend three semesters of English, of which the two first ones are basic English One and Two. The subjects chosen for this research are 40 students from 2 selected groups: ĐK6C and CK14D; these students are studying basic English One-.
Headway Elementary- Liz and John Soars- Oxford University Press. Method of the study The method used in this study is quasi-experimental research design which utilizes a survey questionnaire for students. The writer suggests two websites for students to practice listening comprehension on their own. In addition, two tests: one pre-test and one post-test are also used.
The data collected for the study is from the survey questionnaire and the two tests‟ scores. Significance of the study The first significance of the study is for the author herself and the other English teachers at the Faculty of Foreign Languages- NUTE since the data collected from the study can be analyzed and interpreted in terms of using websites and web-based activities with songs and short conversations to promote the effectiveness of teaching Elementary English listening comprehension in general and listening to do ticking off items and gap filling in particular at this university. The result of the study may also be expected to English teachers who have interest in applying new technology in their teaching for higher teaching quality. Especially, the teachers who are teaching Elementary English in colleges or universities can try suggesting the websites for their students.
The last but not least significance of the study is that it can lay grounds for further researches on the employment of web-based activities in self-study listening comprehension skill as well as other skills. Design of the study The study consists of three main parts: Part One „Introduction‟ presents the rationale, purposes, research questions, scope, method, significance and design of the study. TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 12 Part Two „Development‟ consists of three chapters: Chapter 1 provides the Literature review including the Internet as a language teaching and learning tool, drawbacks of the Internet in language teaching and learning, web-based language learning activities, theoretical overview of listening comprehension and listening practice in relation to the web. Chapter 2 details the a quasi-experemental research as the method of the study, the setting of the study, the participants, the instruments to collect data and the procedure of the study.
Chapter 3 presents results of the study, the findings in which research question are addressed and implications are also presented in this chapter. Part Three „Conclusion‟ summarizes the main issues of the study and proposes limitations and suggestions for further studies. TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 13 PART TWO – DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter introduces a brief review of the literature relevant to the study and is divided into five sections. The first section discusses the Internet as a language teaching and learning tool, the second section presents some drawbacks of the Internet in language teaching and learning, it continues by discussing the web-based language learning activities, the fourth one is a brief theoretical overview of listening comprehension, the last one looks at listening practice in relation to the web.
The Internet as a language teaching and learning tool While the computer is now used in some forms or another in most language classrooms, and is considered standard equipment, the Internet is also gradually being introduced in the second language classroom as teachers become more familiar with it. The Internet is a confederation of thousands of computers from various sectors of society such as education, business, government and the military. It is a network of thousands of computer networks (Lewis, 1994).