VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ********* TRẦN THỊ MAI HUYỀN APPLICATIONS OF TASK-BASED LANGUAGE APPROACH IN TEXTBOOKS FOR GRADE-10 STUDENTS IN DEVELOPING LISTENING SKILLS: AN ACTION RESEARCH (ỨNG DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP HỌC TẬP THEO NHIỆM VỤ TRONG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10 NHẰM PHÁT TRIỂN KĨ NĂNG NGHE: MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 HANOI – 2020 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ********* TRẦN THỊ MAI HUYỀN APPLICATIONS OF TASK-BASED LANGUAGE APPROACH IN TEXTBOOKS FOR GRADE-10 STUDENTS IN DEVELOPING LISTENING SKILLS: AN ACTION RESEARCH (ỨNG DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP HỌC TẬP THEO NHIỆM VỤ TRONG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10 NHẰM PHÁT TRIỂN KĨ NĂNG NGHE: MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231. Hoàng Văn Vân HANOI – 2020 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I guarantee that I myself write this thesis entitled “Applications of Task-based language approach in textbooks for grade-10 students in developing listening skills”. There is no plagiarism here and if anything is taken from others’ works, it is surely written in quotation.
Then, the sources would be listed on the list of references. I am ready to be inflicted any academic punishment if the proclamation proves inaccurate. Signature Tran Thi Mai Huyen i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to my thesis advisor, Prof. Hoang Van Van for his continuous support, invaluable feedback throughout the process of the study.
He provided me with constant guidance and encouragement which turned the demanding thesis writing into a smooth and fruitful process. I would also like to express my special thanks to all my dear colleagues of FPT High School, and my classmates of the Department of Post-graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi who never hesitated to help me and share their experience. Special thanks to all participants in FPT High School for their participation and patience during the process of the study in the academic year of 2018- 2019 semester. Finally, I am deeply grateful to all members of my family for being so motivating and patient throughout the study.
ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT Developing listening skills is an important sphere in studying a language. This study focused on improving listening skills through Task-based language teaching (TBLT). TBLT is a methodology that develops from a focus on classroom tasks. 30 grade-10 students in FPT High School were the participants of the study through an action research with two cycles of treatment employed.
A pre-test, the instruction, and two post-tests were given to the participants. TBLT was applied for the participants. The comparisons between the results of the pre-test and post-tests were made through paired sample t-tests. The results indicated that the students after the treatment performed better.
The results were also supported by the data collected from interviews, questionnaires and class observations. This study may have pedagogical implications for practitioners in the field and for syllabus designers to have suitable tasks in English textbooks and English teachers would use the most effective teaching methods for their students. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as Foreign Language Ss: Students T: Teacher TBLT: Task-based language teaching MOET: The Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training CEFR: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 3.1: Score interval for tests .1: Kinds of tasks in while-listening stage .2: Paired Samples Statistics (pre-test & post-test 1) .3: Paired Samples Correlations (pre-test & post-test 1) .4: Paired Samples Statistics (post-test 1 & post-test 2) .5: Paired Samples Correlations (post-test 1 & post-test 2) .6: Paired Samples T-Test (post-test 1 & post-test 2) .7: Students' assessment on the teacher's teaching activities in listening lessons .1: The scheme of Classroom Action Research (CAR .1: Favorite listening tasks in listening lessons.2: Factors affecting in doing listening tasks .3: Students’ listening strategies .4: Students' improvement in listening skills .5: Effects of TBLT on listening comprehension .36 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION. iii LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS.
iv LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES. Background of the study. Rationale for the study .3 Aims and objectives of the study .5 Significance of the study .6 A Summary of research methodology .7 Structure of the study .7 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW. Task-based language teaching (TBLT).
Definition of task.2 Task-based language teaching (TBLT). Purposes of listening .17 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. FPT High School. Teachers and students.
Classroom action research (CAR). Data collection instruments. Data collection procedure .25 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Favorite tasks in listening lessons .2 Kinds of tasks in listening lessons .3 Difficulties while listening .4 Students' listening strategies .1 Results from tests.
Results from student questionnaire. Applications of TBLT in teaching. Teacher’ activities at listening stages. Results from observations .40 vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
Recommendations for teachers. Recommendations for students. Suggestions for further research. I APPENDIX 1: STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE.
I APPENDIX 2: TEACHER INTERVIEW .III APPENDIX 3: SAMPLE OF CLASSROOM OBSERVATION. IV APPENDIX 4: LISTENING TEST. VII APPENDIX 5: TEST RESULTS. XI viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.
Background of the study The first two decades in 21st century witnessed a huge change in teaching and studying English in Vietnam. The traditional method of teaching and learning the second language – the Grammatical Method (GM) has been gradually replaced by a new one called Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) for the sake of students’ upgraded language proficiency. Additionally, the National Foreign Language Project 2020 states that teaching English needs to focus on learner-centered styles and practices rather than on the old teacher-centered way and theory (Thủ tướng Chính phủ [The Prime Minster], 2008). To achieve this goal, task-based language teaching (TBLT) has widely been exploited effectively in teaching and learning.
TBLT is known as a method which can show functional and meaningful activities in a classroom. Willis (1996) points out that TBLT is implemented to aid learning environment that discovers appropriacy in listening skills and integrates skills in the same task (p. Students will be an active learner since TBLT is seen as communicative language teaching, so it can assist them in studying English, especially listening skills. Generally, listening is thought to be a tedious aspect and many students get trouble in obtaining information from the recording; however, TBLT can make learners study in a different way, become active and easier to acquire information through listening.
According to Ellis (2003), TBLT is a teaching method that is regarded as a tool of communication rather than as an area for study. Moreover, Lee (2004) suggested that TBLT has bettered students' learning attitudes, confidence and thinking skills. Undeniably, being one of the most updated approaches, task-based learning approach is now a very common method of teaching second languages around the world. In many countries such as Europe and America, educators put a considerable effort to build up a detailed syllabus and procedures based on this approach.
Besides, there are numerous pieces of research done to find out how effective this 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com approach brings to second or foreign language teaching and learning These include the studies by Willis (1996), Michael and Hayo (2010), Pauline (1999) and Nazenin (2007) to name just a few. Clearly, there is some increasing evidence to suggest that the type of tasks used in instruction may have a positive influence on learners’ performance. Rationale for the study Listening plays a vital role in studying English and it gives many benefits for us in our daily lives. Listening is seen as a key to unlock the work.
With listening, people could travel around, listen and understand what native speakers would like to talk, share and know how to reply to them so that they could keep up their conversations. It is undeniable that through listening, people can get more knowledge and information from different sources like TV news, videos, talks and others. Tyagi (2013) emphasized the importance of listening in work that the ability to listen carefully will permit you to build a relationship with colleagues, bosses and customers, solve problems with them, even show them your support and find hidden meanings in what they say (p. Listening is one of the four language skills to be taught in a foreign language.
Listening is the most important component in learning process and social interaction for three main reasons. Firstly, listening is an essential communication tool in a civilized society. Secondly, listening is one of the best ways to gather new knowledge a person has never known before. Thirdly, with the development of technology, instead of using stored reading materials, teachers would rather choose listening materials along with pictures or videos, which would make learners access better to not only the history but also numerous current events.
As a result, through listening activities, the students can gain their insight and it could help them a lot in the future. Obviously, students’ listening ability must be developed. Teachers have responsibility for learners’ skill improvement. The methods, techniques, and teaching media chosen and used by the teacher will influence the success of teaching and learning process of students.
In addition to good methods, techniques 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com and media, students are expected to become study enthusiasts. This means when students acquire knowledge actively, it would be easier for them to improve their skills in the teaching and learning process. There are four skills in learning process: listening, reading, speaking, and writing. In this research, the researcher will focus on listening skills.
Clearly, listening is not always an easy task for teachers and learners. To master this skill, learners have to get used to listening more in classroom while this skill is less to be exploited in classroom. Vietnamese students in certain regions do not have enough chance to approach listening sources at their early age, so many students have difficulty in understanding listening materials. Furthermore, although students are taught listening skill, they are not trained methodically how to deal with listening exercises.
If schools are able to provide what the students need, there will be more success for everyone involved. Through the teaching experiences and observations, it is indicated that many students at FPT High School have problems in listening and completing the tasks in listening exercises and they usually miss the important information in those exercises. Another problem in listening is the lack of vocabularies and also standard pronunciation. From there, students are likely to believe that listening skill is challenging.
Consequently, the teacher must have knowledge of approach, method, and strategy in teaching listening skills as these things will assist teachers in making the teaching and learning process more effective. Also, the research into TBLT employed in classroom practice in foreign language learning environment has not been adequate (Carless, 2004, p. Basing on the background and stated problems of the study, the researcher conducted a classroom action research on “Applications of Task-based language approach in textbooks for grade-10 students in developing listening skills” to improve English teaching and learning process and increase the listening proficiency of English learners. 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.