VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ---oOo--- NGUYỄN MỸ LINH THE EFFECTS OF USING AUTHENTIC VIDEOS ON IELTS STUDENTS’ LISTENING PERFORMANCE AT AN ENGLISH CENTER IN HANOI (ẢNH HƯỞNG CỦA VIỆC SỬ DỤNG VIDEO ĐẾN KHẢ NĂNG NGHE HIỂU CỦA HỌC SINH THEO HỌC KHÓA IELTS TẠI MỘT TRUNG TÂM TIẾNG ANH Ở HÀ NỘI) M.A MINOR THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231.01 Hanoi - 2018 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ---oOo--- NGUYỄN MỸ LINH THE EFFECTS OF USING AUTHENTIC VIDEOS ON IELTS STUDENTS’ LISTENING PERFORMANCE AT AN ENGLISH CENTER IN HANOI (ẢNH HƯỞNG CỦA VIỆC SỬ DỤNG VIDEO ĐẾN KHẢ NĂNG NGHE HIỂU CỦA HỌC SINH THEO HỌC KHÓA IELTS TẠI MỘT TRUNG TÂM TIẾNG ANH Ở HÀ NỘI) M.A MINOR THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231. Hoàng Văn Vân Hanoi - 2018 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION Title: “The effects of using authentic videos on IELTS students’ listening performance at an English center in Hanoi” I certify that no part of the thesis has been copied or reproduced by me from any other works without acknowledgement and that the thesis is originally written by me under strict guidance of my supervisor. Hanoi, 2018 Student‟s signature Nguyễn Mỹ Linh i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to sincerely thank my supervisor, Prof. Hoàng Văn Vân, for his support, guidance, advice, valuable comments, suggestions, and provisions which benifited me greatly in completing this study.
Secondly, I would like to express my gratitude to all of my students at AMA English center who took part in my study because of their valuable feedback and contributions in the process of conducting this research. My appreciation also goes out to all professors and lecturers at the Faculty of Post- Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University for their valuable lectures. Last but not least, I would like to send my gratitude to my parents, my brother and my special friend, Logan for supporting me and giving me useful advice when writing this thesis. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT This study investigated the effects of using authentic videos on IELTS students‟ listening performance at an English center in Hanoi.
The researcher implemented the action research approach to find out the significance of using authentic videos in improving students‟ listening performance as well as their attitudes towards the use of authentic videos as material in the IELTS foundation listening course. The sample of this study was 30 students who enrolled in the IELTS foundation course from two classes. To improve the quality of the course as well as meet students‟ needs, the researcher designed the new syllabus for the IELTS foundation listening course with the use of authentic videos, and the study instruments to collect the data were survey; pre-test, post-test and observation. The findings from the survey showed that students had positive attitudes towards using authentic videos as materials in the course.
The results from pre-test and post-test showed that students‟ listening scores increased. With the significant results and implications, the researcher hopes that this study will be useful for further studies as well as IELTS teaching and learning in general. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLES OF CONTENTS Declaration. iii Lists of Abbreviations .vii Lists of Tables, Figures.
viii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .1 Statement of research problem and rationale for the study .2 Significance of the study .3 Scope of the study. 4 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW. The IELTS listening test: an overview. IELTS listening performance.
IELTS listening performance. Authentic videos in improving students‟ listening performance.2 Characteristics of Authentic materials .4 Advantages and disadvantages of using authentic videos in the classroom.5 Reviews of related studies .6 Criteria for selecting authentic videos. 18 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY. 21 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
The validity and reliability of the action research. Strengths and weaknesses of action research. Participants of the study. Data collection methods.
Pre-test and post-test. The Survey on students‟ attitudes toward using authentic videos in the IELTS foundation listening course.7 Data collection procedure. Phase one: pre-intervention. Phase two: while intervention.
Phase three: post intervention .Data analysis procedures. 35 CHAPTER IV: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS. The significance of using authentic videos in improving students‟ listening performance in the IELTS foundation listening course. Participants‟ attitudes towards the use of authentic videos in the IELTS foundation listening course.
The significance of using authentic videos in improving students‟ listening performance in the IELTS foundation listening course. Students‟ attitudes towards the use of authentic videos in the IELTS foundation listening course. 46 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Recommendations for further research.
52 APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE APPENDIX 2: PRE-TEST APPENDIX 3: POST-TEST APPENDIX 4: LESSON PLAN SAMPLE APPENDIX 5: OBSERVATION CHECKLIST APPENDIX 6: SYLLABUS vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS IELTS International English Language Testing System L2 Second language EFL English as a Foreign Language ESL English as a Second Language M Mean N Number of Cases or Subjects of the study Sig. Equality of Variances Std. Deviation Standard Deviation SPSS Statistic Package for Social Science t Obtained Value df Degree of Freedom η2 Eta-squared value which is a measure of effect size vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1.1 IELTS listening performance checklist Table 2.1 Survey questions about students‟ attitudes toward the use of authentic videos in the IELTS foundation listening course Table 4.1 Result of pre-test and post-test Table 4.2 The recommended table for analyzing the effect size level by Cohen (1988) Table 4.3 The effect size of using authentic videos on students‟ listening performance in the IELTS foundation listening course Table 4.4 Results of survey questions about students‟ attitudes towards the use of authentic videos in the IELTS foundation listening course Figure 1 Formula to calculate Eta-squared by Cohen (1988) viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Statement of research problem and rationale for the study For a long time, listening has been considered to be in a secondary position in the English language teaching classroom. This originates from the fact that a variety of approaches to teaching language and textbooks have been designed for other skills, but listening has not received as much attention.
It was due to the high emphasis on speaking which was always considered a more valuable skill to focus on in the classroom. Although there was a lack of research interest in listening in the past, it is the language skill most often used in everyday life. According to Burely (1995), more than forty percent of our daily communication time is spent on listening, thirty-five percent on speaking, sixteen percent on reading and only nine percent on writing. Krashen (1994) affirms that listening is considered today as a complicated activity and a crucial factor in acquiring the language.
Despite the fact that listening has been a relatively neglected skill in terms of research and how it is introduced to language learners, it is now beginning to be highly appreciated. In the past few years, several major texts, both practical and theoretical, specifically related to listening skills have been published. In accordance with these books, teachers are gradually realizing that it is the teacher‟s role to help learners develop their listening performance rather than rely on the skill developing itself. The question of how to improve learners‟ listening performance brings attention to the method teachers apply and the type of materials teachers use for their learners.
The purpose of all listening lessons should be to make learners more independent when facing listening to the foreign language in a real world context. As Castro (2009) states “The listening skill refers not only to the ability to comprehend sounds and different accents, but also the context and the language 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com employed to perform the speech act.” In other words, to learn any language, it is important to have access to good input in terms of listening, since listening helps learners of the language obtain most of the aspects of the language. In addition, Higuchi (1998) also asserts that “Learning a foreign language through videos facilitates to develop performance skills in the target language, such as body language and facial expressions.” With the implementation of authentic videos in an English class, the students will be exposed not only to listening itself, but also to some other features of the language of the language as paralinguistic factors like body language, and facial expressions used by native speakers of English. This may promote EFL Learner‟s understanding of the language in a real context with natural use of English.
Another important issue is to consider the level of proficiency of the language in which the authentic materials could be used. Guariento & Morley (2001) claim only intermediate and advanced students should be exposed to authentic materials. These researchers believe that the use of authentic materials at lower levels make learners discontented and discouraged because students at these levels lack many lexical items and structures used in the target language. In other words, a lot of cultural factors in authentic materials lead to difficulties in understanding the target language since beginner learner‟s lack of proficiency to tackle aspects involved in the cultural issues.
Some researchers argue that motivation plays a key point in improving learners‟ listening proficiency. Oura (2001) suggests that the use of authentic materials in ESL or EFL classrooms have a positive impact on learners‟ motivation to learn the language. Images in authentic videos might make students feel more interested in listening. In the context of AMA English center, many students enrolled in IELTS course to get an opportunity to study abroad.
As can be seen, IELTS is considered to be a ticket to help students go abroad, but the main purpose is to adjust to the academic 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com environment in foreign countries. Therefore, learning listening skills not only helps them get a high score in IELTS listening tests, but offers them chances to get familiar with real-life situations. Students feel bored with listening to audio in the textbooks so they lack motivation to practice listening skill. Therefore, the researcher as well the teacher must come up with new ideas of how to use authentic videos in improving students‟ listening performance.
Although videos are used in some kind of English teaching in Vietnam, it is limited in some pronunciation or warm-up activities. The use of authentic video in teaching listening skills is a new approach, so the researcher must investigate whether it brings positive or negative effects to students. All of these reasons make the researcher conduct a study “The effects of using authentic videos on IELTS students‟ listening performance at an English center in Hanoi”. The aim of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of using authentic videos in enhancing students‟ listening performance in IELTS foundation listening course at AMA English center.
Besides, the researcher also attempts to explore students‟ attitudes towards using authentic videos in listening lessons. To achieve the aims above, the study is conducted to answer the following research questions: (1) To what extent is the use of authentic videos significant in improving students’ listening performance in the IELTS foundation listening course? (2) What are students’ attitudes towards using authentic videos in the IELTS foundation listening course? 1.2 Significance of the study By conducting this research, it is hoped that the findings may encourage teachers to use authentic material in their lessons.