(SKKN 2022) Adapting some techniques to create positive atmosphere in warm-up part of listening lessons for 10th form students at Nhu Thanh 2 high school

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAININGNHU THANH II HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENTAL INITIATIVE ADAPTING SOME TECHNIQUES TO CREATE POSITIVE ATMOSPHERE IN WARM-UP PART OF LISTENING LESSONS

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

NHU THANH II HIGH SCHOOL

EXPERIENTAL INITIATIVE

ADAPTING SOME TECHNIQUES TO CREATE POSITIVE ATMOSPHERE IN WARM-UP PART OF LISTENING LESSONS FOR 10th FORM STUDENTS

AT NHU THANH 2 HIGH SCHOOL

The writer: Đoàn Thị Mai Thanh The post: Teacher

Subject: English

THANH HOA, 2022

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2.1.2 Overview of listening skills 3

2.2.2 The result of the test 72.3 Solutions to the problems 72.3.1 Techniques for warm-up part in listening lessons 72.3.2 Applied techniques in English 10 82.4 Results of applying method 16

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

In modern time, the trend of international integration in almost aspects,including education, has put English a position of paramount importance.Understanding the benefits that the language can bring about in internationalcommunication as well as global integration, our country has chosen English as

a major role The language is useful, even essential to every part of work andlife, from tourism to medicine, from domestic business to foreign affairs That isreason why English has been learnt and put under a lot pressure for learners It is

a core subject in schools and universities, and in examinations with a purposethat one of present time must at least read and listen to simple textscomprehensively and speak and write common pieces of information in term ofcommunication

Learning English has become a demanding requirement all over the world

as well as in our country People need to use English for work, for travel or fortourism every day The four main skills to master this language are: Listening,Speaking, Reading, and Writing among which Listening skills almost the mostdifficult one for students to concentrate on and to catch ideas In Listeninglessons, they seem to have no interest to focus on the text because of the verystrange voice and accent That is why students, especially those who live incountryside where most of students are weak and have poor conditions to learnEnglish, usually ignore this skill During the process of teaching English at NhuThanh 2, I have been looking for many ways to improve this skill as much aspossible to help my dear ones in class because I know how important it is And,

I have been applying some my own methods which result in better result oflistening skills for my learners

In fact, the students at my school can do written tests about grammaticalknowledge rather well but they meet problems in the skills Because the teacherused to ask students to do exercises in their text books and do further practicefor the purpose of passing examinations in which there is no listeningrequirement Therefore, most of students have been ignored this skill so far

To help students listen to English better, I designed some activities forWARM -UP in Listening lessons of English 10 From the activities I applied, Iwould like to write a teaching experience named: “Adapting some techniques to

create positive atmosphere in warm-up part of listening lessons for 10th form students at Nhu Thanh 2 high school” in the basic program Hopefully, my

experienced ideas will make a little contribution to increase the interest in thelistening skills for 10th students

1.2 AIMS OF THE STUDY

This study aims at investigating how students at Nhu Thanh 2 high school usesome activities to make an interesting start in warm-up part of listening lessons.Thus, I decide to name my research with the “Adapting some techniques to

create positive atmosphere in warm-up part of listening lessons for 10th form students at Nhu Thanh 2 high school”.

1.3 OBJECTS OF THE STUDY

In order to achieve the aims of the study, the following research question is

to be answered:

How can some techniques help the students at Nhu Thanh 2 High School feel more excited in listening lessons?

The question has been addressed to two of the classes (10B1 and 10B2) that

I have been teaching in Nhu Thanh 2 High School with the aim to examine howthe techniques in warm-up affect the process of listening here

1.4 METHODS OF THE STUDY

- Using textbooks and references

2.1.1.2 The purpose of warm-up part

Instead of starting the lesson usually by checking up the old lesson,teachers can use a variety of warm-up activities for different purposes There arethree main purposes when using these activities:

* Warm up to start the lesson: to do this, the teacher can use the followingactivities:

- Talk to and pick up some information from them For example: Weather,

health, films, and so on.

- Ask students whether they remember the previous lesson: Where did we

stop last time?

- Tell something about ourselves For example: Last Sunday, I went to Thu

Le Park with my family …

* Warm up to encourage and motivate the students to speak right from thebeginning of the lesson

Here are some tips and suggested questions to help teachers get started:

- What did you do last night?

- What are your plans for this evening / the weekend?

- What is in the news today?

- What is new at home / at school / at work?

- I think my watch is wrong What is the exact time now?

- What would you like to do tonight?

* Warm up to lead in:

By applying the following activities, the teachers can both "warm" theclassroom up and guide the students to the main content of the new lesson.

- Use pictures

- Tell a story

- Ask and answer

- Play the record of a song or sing a song

- Draw something not clear on board and get the students to guess

- Have the students to think words or definitions related to the new lesson

- Get the students to guess the content or topic of the lesson based on suggestions

- Hold a game for students to play,

2.1.2 Overview of listening skills

2.1.2.1 Definition of listening skills

Listening is defined as an interactive process of constructing meaning thatinvolves receiving information If someone were to ask you what listening skillsare at this point, you might just say that it is hearing someone talk While thatmay be true in one sense, because to listen you are hearing the person, there isactually a lot more that goes into it

To be an effective listener means that you not only listen or hear what isbeing said, you understand what you are listening to Being able to understandwhat is being said provides you the opportunity to use that information to yourbenefit in all areas of your life

Real listening is a process of hearing something, understanding what isbeing said, and then determining whether it makes sense to you

As you can see, there is a lot more that goes into listening than simplyhearing someone It is important that when you hear them, you also can interpretwhat they are saying and then actively engage in the exchange

By doing this, you will be taking great strides to improve some importantareas of your life, including those at home and work Do not get worried justyet; once you gain an understanding of how to improve your listening skills, youwill have no problems putting that into action and getting the most out of it

There is a big difference in merely hearing someone and actually listening to

her or him With a little practice, you can become a great listener

2.1.2.2 The purpose of listening

In addition to reading, it is a part of communicative means which gets inputand then processes to make meaningful communication in all aspects Thepurpose of listening is to gain information that becomes the basis for taking adecision on any topic A student who attends to his teacher and listens to himattentively learns a lot He stores this information in his mind and uses it in theexamination A customer listens to a seller attentively and gets informationabout a product

Later, he orders for the purchase of that product It means that listeningbecomes a useful activity for him

2.2 PRACTICAL BACKGROUND

Although listening is so important as I have said, students in Nhu Thanh 2high school coming from remote and mountainous areas often have psychologicalproblems such as being afraid of learning foreign languages and lack of positiveattitudes in listening lessons Moreover, when they were at lower school, theyalmost only focused on grammar structure, rarely spoke or listened Theirpronunciation is wrong and have no understanding when hearing the otherspeaking They soon get bored with listening lessons So, I choose this title tohelp create good environment for my students to better their English

In the early school year 2021-2022, I carried out a survey throughquestionnaires in classes 10B1 and 10B2 at my school to want to know students’interest in listening lessons

Questionnaires

1 How often do you listen English in English class time?

2 How much are you interested in learning listening English?

A very interested B rather interested

C a little interested D not interested at all

3 What factors make you unwilling to listen in class?

A unfamiliar topics B boring teaching way

C lack of vocabulary and structures D strange voice and accent

4 Which of the following factors may stimulate you to listen English in class? (You can have more than one choice)

A teacher’s enthusiasm, friendliness and helpfulness

B Various activities in warm-up part

C teacher’s teaching method D interesting topics

5 Do you think teaching listening skill by applying some activities in warm-up part is a useful way to improve your listening skills? Why?

……….………

Most of students answered they sometimes listen English in English class.They are a little interested in listening English because it is a difficult skill Forquestion 4, they chose almost options They also hope listening skill willimprove after applying some activities in warm-up part

Besides, I also did a test at the beginning of the 10th form in classes 10B1and 10B2 at my school to check students’ ability of listening in an extra lesson

2.2.1 Contents of the test

Contents of the first test of listening skill in classes 10B1 and 10B2

The conversation in the listening test Man: We are lucky to have in the studio today, Molly Taylor Molly is

arranging an activity course for the summer holidays Molly, this is the secondyear of the course, isn’t it?

Molly: Yes, that’s right The summer course operated for the first time

last year for a six week period from the middle of July until the end ofAugust, the length of the summer holidays This year we’ll be holding thecourse again We did think about making the course longer this year and

have a seven week course, as there are some schools in the area which finishterm a week earlier than other schools In fact, the two private schools in thetown have eight week summer holidays But in the end we decided to keep tothe same plan as last year.

Man: But, as I understand, last year’s summer activity course was not a

complete success, was it?

Molly: Well, there were a few problems, yes We were actually very

surprised last year by the number of people interested in the course We didn’tactually have enough staff to look after all the children who wanted to attend,and we had to turn people away The weather also gave us some difficulties There was such a lot of rain that we couldn’t go outside as often as we wanted

to, but had prepared for that We had art and music activities that the childrencould do indoors, so they weren’t left with nothing to do

Man: So, what activities can children look forward to this year?

Molly: Well, once again we there will be art and music experts coming in

who will lead creative classes for the kids We also considered providing somemore exciting adventure sports like rock climbing and caving We decided not

to, in the end, because it would make the course a lot more expensive forparents

Instead, we’re introducing some fun projects – things that the kids canprepare together and show their parents what they have been doing Forexample, we’re going to put on a talent show and organize an American Night

I think it will be good fun for the kids, and teach them good skills too

Man: It sounds fun So, can children come on the course for the whole

summer?

Molly: Sure Kids can come for the whole length of the course if they

like We’ve done our best to keep prices low so that it’s not too expensive forchildren to attend the course for as long as they want There’ll be differentthings to do every week, so the kids won’t be repeating the same activities overand over again However, I don’t expect many kids will come for the wholesummer, as I’m sure they will all go away with their parents for a week or two

We do, however, ask that children attend full weeks, not just single days Itmakes it easier for us to keep attendance records

Man: The course is currently available for children aged eight to thirteen

Why is that? Why don’t you allow older teenagers to come on your summercourse?

Molly: It’s true, there really should be something for teenagers to do in the

summer holidays too Few people organize activities for teenagers because theyare seen as difficult to please They think they aren’t interested in anythingexcept computers and electronic games I don’t think that’s true I think theyjust don’t get the opportunity to do the creative things they used to do when theywere children, like painting and team games At the same time, I don’t thinkit’s fair to force teenagers to spend their summer holidays with eight year olds They shouldn’t have to feel responsible for the little ones They aren’t

babysitters In the future, when I have found the right staff, I’d like to organize

a separate summer course for teens too

Man: So, if a child or a child’s parent is listening, and is interested in

coming to your summer activity course, what should they do?

Molly: They should go to my website, www.summeractivities.co.uk and

print out an application form Send it in with a deposit as soon as possible,because the places are going fast You’ll need to tell us which weeks you areplanning to attend straight away, but you won’t need to choose your activities inadvance You can choose what you want to do every Monday We do need toknow if the child has any special needs regarding their diet

Man: Thank you very much for coming to speak to us, Molly I hope the

summer course is a success!

Students were said to answer the following questions:

1 This year, the course will run for

A six weeks

B seven weeks

C eight weeks

2 The problem last year was that

A few people wanted to attend

B there were too few workers

C there was nothing to do on rainy days

3 This, year, for the first time, children will

A do creative activities

B do new outdoor sports

C organize events

4 Molly doesn’t think children will come for six weeks because

A it’s too expensive

B they will do the same activities again and again

C their parents will want to spend time with them

5 The course isn’t open to teenagers because

A Molly thinks they aren’t interested in the activities which are available

B Molly thinks they should spend time with young people of a similar age C: Molly’s staff think that teenagers are difficult to please

6 It’s important that parents of children attending the course

A: pay the full amount immediately

B: choose the activities the child wants to do when they apply

C: inform Molly about any food the child cannot eat

(Unit 1 - Listening Destination B1)

2.2.2 The result of the test

The listening conversation is not so difficult but all of students were undermark 3 and 90% felt so sleepy while the cassette was playing the conversation.They were all shocked and did not like to listen

Before applying the new method

2.3 SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS

2.3.1 Techniques for warm-up part in listening lessons

There are many writings about improving listening to English accurately andfluently, they are both techniques and activities We can apply these theories forour teaching and learning process But with the level of my students, I have someother techniques and activities to motivate them in this skill From these activities,students will find it more and more interesting to start a listening lesson and thenthey are willing to focus on the contents of the text as well as the answers

In the book ENGLISH 10, there are 15 units and each has a listening lesson

in which I have applied the following ways to make the WARM-UP anattractive part to lead my students to the tasks with less obstacles:

- Playing some music related to the topic of the lesson This activityusually makes people happy (Applied in Unit 9, 10)

- Showing some pictures for students to describe This makes studentscreate some interesting ideas. (Applied in Unit 1)

- “Who am I” game This game increases students’ guess about people

Statistics about the results after a year of new methods applied: 80% getmarks over 5 And here are the uses of these techniques in real lessons.

2.3.2 Applied techniques in English 10

2.3.2.1 Playing some music related to the topic of the lesson

(Applied in Unit 9, Unit 10)

UNIT 9: UNDERSEA WORLD

a Aim of activity: This activity is used in Unit 9 to help students to get ready

happily for the listening text

b Time for activity: 5minutes

c Way of organizing: Whole class

d Preparation: Teacher prepares a radio with a song named “BLUE WHALES

2013” and handouts of the tapescript of this song

SONG: BLUE WHALES 2013

Music: Daniel ROURE/Christophe MARIE Lyrics: Jacques ROURE/Michel CHARPENTIER

When the sun falls to the sea

To shine on the mermaids

When the kids run out to see

The birds fly in the shade

When the whales turn into blue

And weep as we all do

Is there in the world

Anything true

When we all forget the name

of those stars in the sky

When all battles to gain fame

Are nothing but a lie

When the whales become so few

And weep as we all do

Is there in the world

Anything true

But as long as we're livethere's still a tiny chanceJust give love a little sign

To come into the danceGive the whales a " rendez- vous"It's all up to you

Apart from our dreamsThere's nothing true

When all four seasons are springsWith flowers in the air

When clouds carry on their wingsGood news from here and thereWhen the whales along the shoreWill tell us "how are you"

We'll hear for evermoreSomething that's true

e Procedure:

* Step 1: Teacher rearranges the class reasonably and delivers the

handouts Then play the song twice for students to listen After that the teacherraises the question: “What animal is mentioned in the song?”

* Step 2: After 3 minutes, teacher calls students to answer and asks other

students to give comments

Suggested answer: It’s a whale.

* Step 3: Teacher leads to the new lesson.

UNIT 10: CONSERVATION

a Aim of activity: This activity is used in Unit 10 to help students imagine

the destruction of forest

b Time for activity: 5 minutes

c Way of organizing: Whole class

d Preparation: Teacher prepares a computer with the song “Heal the

world” (Earth song) of Michael Jackson connected to TV

e Procedure:

* Step 1:

+ Teacher gives a question “What do you think about the scenes in the following song?”

+ Teacher plays the song on the computer connected to TV and big screen

to show the video with awful scene of using up forests

* Step 2: The teacher calls some students to give theirs answers and asks

other students to give comments

Suggested answer: They are about the destruction of forests and the

environment, which leads to cry of people for the consequences such as: flood, storm, tsunami and so on

* Step 3: Teacher leads to the new lesson with students’ keenness.

2.3.2.2 Showing some pictures for students to describe

(Applied in Unit 1)

UNIT 1: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF …

a Aim of activity: This activity is used in Unit 1 to suggest students to

imagine about daily life of a teacher

b Time of activity: 5 minutes

c Way of organizing: Group work of four

d Preparation: Teacher prepare some pictures about daily routine.

e Procedure:

* Step 1: Teacher delivers each group a list of pictures and asks students

to talk about the activities in the pictures in 2 minutes

* Step 2: Teacher asks about 3 on behalf of their groups to present in front

of class The others listen and give comments

Suggested speech:

Good evening everybody! This is a typical day of Mrs Hang She is a teacher She gets up at 5.30 and then she cleans her teeth After that she has breakfast and goes to work at 6.30 She works from 7 A.M to 11 A.M Then she goes home at 11.20 A.M…

* Step 3: Teacher gives feedback on the best group’s speech This helps

students feel enjoyable to start the listening lesson

2.3.2.3 Organize a game “Who am I”

(Applied in Unit 3)

UNIT 3: PEOPLE’S BACKGROUND

a Aim of activity: This activity is used in Unit 3 to help students elicit the

information about a famous person before learning about Sally in theconversation

b Time for activity: 5 minutes

c Way of organizing: Whole class

d Preparation: Teacher prepares a picture of Park Hangseo (a beloved

coach of Vietnamese football team) and cards about the information about ParkHangseo

Park Hangseo

Who am I? 2 Height:

1.70m

3 Used to be a football player

4 The coach of Vietnamese football team

since 2017

5 Picture

1.Date/Place of birth: - 04/01/1959 in Korea