An investigation into the current situation of using multimedia in learning speaking skills of the first year english majors at vietnam national university of agriculture

The study aimed to investigate the current situation of using multimedia in learning speaking skills of Vietnam National University of Agriculture first-year English majors and whether t

BA THESIS

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE CURRENT SITUATION OF USING MULTIMEDIA IN LEARNING SPEAKING SKILLS OF THE FIRST- YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

OF AGRICULTURE

KHẢO SÁT THỰC TRẠNG CỦA VIỆC SỬ DỤNG CÔNG NGHỆ ĐA PHƯƠNG TIỆN TRONG HỌC KỸ NĂNG NÓI TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM NHẤT CHUYÊN NGÀNH NGÔN NGỮ ANH TẠI

HỌC VIỆN NÔNG NGHIỆP VIỆT NAM

Student : BUI THI LAN ANH

Student code : 621247

Major : ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Supervisor : M.A NGUYEN THI HUONG

Hanoi – 2021

BA THESIS

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE CURRENT SITUATION OF USING MULTIMEDIA IN LEARNING SPEAKING SKILLS OF THE FIRST- YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

OF AGRICULTURE

KHẢO SÁT THỰC TRẠNG CỦA VIỆC SỬ DỤNG CÔNG NGHỆ ĐA PHƯƠNG TIỆN TRONG HỌC KỸ NĂNG NÓI TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM NHẤT CHUYÊN NGÀNH NGÔN NGỮ ANH TẠI

HỌC VIỆN NÔNG NGHIỆP VIỆT NAM

Student : BUI THI LAN ANH

Student code : 621247

Major : ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Supervisor : M.A NGUYEN THI HUONG

ENGLISH MAJORS AT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE" submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree

of Bachelor in English Language Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis

Hanoi, 2021

Bui Thi Lan Anh

Approved by SUPERVISOR

M.A Nguyen Thi Huong

(Signature and full name)

Date: 01/07/2021

her assistance and criticism, and her kind encouragement and correction

I am also particularly indebted to all my classmates, friends, and students for their cooperation, encouragement and suggestions in conducting the research

I wish to thank all my teachers, lectures, and the staff at the Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages at Vietnam National University of Agriculture for their consideration and enthusiasm in helping me to finish the course and complete the study

My appreciation and gratitude are also extended to my beloved family; my parents whose endless love and support ask for nothing in returns

Finally, I realise that this thesis is still far from being perfect There were many mistakes made It is expected that this thesis will be able to give contribution and be useful for the readers especially for those who are interested in the similar study

Ha Noi, 2021 The Writer,

Bui Thi Lan Anh

ABSTRACT

Speaking plays an important role in the learning process In an attempt to enhance first-year English major students ' speaking at Vietnam National University

of Agriculture , this paper is conducted

The study aimed to investigate the current situation of using multimedia in learning speaking skills of Vietnam National University of Agriculture first-year English majors and whether these multimedia tools can really motivate and improve the students ' speaking skill

The subjects of this research were 139 students in K65 of the first-year English majors at Vietnam National University of Agriculture The author used questionnaire and semi-structured as the principal sources of data Analyses of these data indicated that the multimedia tools really helped enhance students ' speaking skill Based on the findings of this study , some practical recommendations in application of these tools for learning speaking skill were presented

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 1: Students's opinion about the importance of speaking skill 23 Chart 2: Student's opinion about the difficulty of speaking skill 24 Chart 3: Student's opinion about the time they spend learning to speak

English everyday 25 Chart 4: Student's opinion about often or not of using multimedia tools in

learning English speaking skills 25 Chart 5: Student's opinion about the use multimedia tools help you become

interested in learning speaking 26 Chart 6: Student's opinion about the use multimedia tools help you learn

new words more easily 26 Chart 7: Student's opinion about the use multimedia tools help you catch

speaking lesson's ideas more easily 27 Chart 8: Student's opinion about the use multimedia tools help you practice

at home more easily 27 Chart 9: Student's opinion about the use multimedia tools help you practice

more various speaking activities 28 Chart 10: Student's opinion about difficulty in using multimedia tools to

learn speaking 29

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF CHARTS iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

1.1 Rationale for the study 1

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study 2

1.2.1 Aims 2

1.2.2 Objectives 2

1.3 Research questions 2

1.4 Scope of the study 2

1.5 Significance of the study 3

1.6 Design of the study 3

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT 4

Chapter 1: Literature Review 4

1.1 Review of the previous studies (At home & abroad) 4

1.1.1 Related research 1 4

1.1.2 Related research 2 7

1.2 Review of theoretical background (depends on what the study is about) 7

1.2.1 Definitions of speaking 7

1.2.2 Criteria of Good Speaking Skill 8

1.2.3 Factors affecting students’ speaking skill 8

1.2.4 Definition of multimedia 10

1.2.5 Theoretical basis of using multimedia tools in language teaching 11

1.2.6 Multimedia tools and language teaching 14

1.2.7 Multimedia at VNUA 18

1.2.8 Brief summary 18

Chapter 2 : METHODOLOGY 19

2.1.Research setting/context 19

2.2 Research methodology 19

2.2.1 Quantitative methods 19

2.2.2 Qualitative methods 20

2.2.3 Data collection 20

2.2.4 Analyzing data 20

2.2.5 Data collecting instruments 21

Chapter 3 - Finding and Discussion 23

3.1 Initial data 23

3.1.1 Questionnaire for students 23

3.1.2 Semi-structured interviews 29

3.2 Discussion 30

PART 3 - CONCLUSION 34

1 Recapitulation 34

2 Concluding remarks 34

3 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study 37

3.1 Limitations of the study Error! Bookmark not defined 3.2 Suggestions for further study 37

4 Conclusion 38

APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE 41

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY

Nowadays, with the development of science, technology, education and economy, English becomes more and more important in our modern society We have

to use English in almost every aspect of life and in almost fields of work and study

So English becomes a compulsory subject in primary schools, secondary schools, high schools, especially in universities throughout the country in Vietnam In almost universities, students learn English as a compulsory subject They learn listening skill, speaking skill, reading skill and writing skill And one of skills which students lack the confidence when practicing is speaking skill After twelve years studying at school, they just focused on grammar and reading comprehension to pass the college entrance exam, they did have lots of chances for practicing speaking They often lack of confidence in communication and they lack time and method for learning speaking So we should help the first-year students improve their speaking skills to gain the better speaking abilities in the future, especially when they graduate and apply for work

Multimedia makes the students spend more time on using some tools to complete their English assignment It creates an environment for studying and learning professionally The students feel very eager to come to class each day when they have English lesson Moreover, Multimedia is believed that it will help student feel passionate about learning English, especially speaking skills and feel confidents in daily communication, also at work because they have chances to practice in group task and experience in real life The research really desires that the students can have more opportunities to search, study and practice Also, they can find out that multimedia is one of the best ways to help them improve their English day by day

With above reasons, the researcher really aspires to conduct a study “An investigation into the current situation of using multimedia in learning speaking skills

of the first-year English majors at Vietnam National University of Agriculture” to find the better way for the teaching and learning English speaking skills and apply suitable

techniques and activities in speaking class With the hope, the students can improve their ability for speaking skills This study with the objective is to explore the application of the project-based approach to improve speaking skills for the first-year students at Vietnam National University of Agriculture

1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1.2.1 Aims

The main aim of this study is to investigate the current situation of using multimedia in learning speaking skills of VNUA first-year English majors

1.2.2 Objectives

The overall purpose of this survey is to investigate the following issues:

· Investigate the current situation of using multimedia in learning speaking skills

of VNUA first-year English majors

· Propose some solutions to improve students' using multimedia in learning speaking comprehension skills

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This study is conducted to seek the answer to the following research questions:

a What is the current situation of using multimedia in learning speaking skills of VNUA first-year English majors?

b What are some solutions to improve the VNUA first-year English majors’ using multimedia in learning speaking skills?

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study will investigate the current situation of 139 first-year English majors (K65) learning speaking skills in the second term at the school year 2020 – 2021 at VNUA And then, some suggested solutions will be given to use multimedia in learning speaking skills more effectively

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This study offers theoretical and practical significance Theoretically, this study can add the current theory dealing with the implementation of multimedia to improve the quality of the learning process The findings of the study may give information about the usefulness of applying multimedia in learning English speaking to improve the quality of learning of speaking generally, and the students' speaking ability particularly in a similar context

1.6 DESIGN OF THE STUDY Apart from abstracts, references and appendices, the study consists of three main parts:

Part 1 - Introduction, presents rationale of the study, aims and objectives of the

study, research questions, the scope as well as the significance of the study Some information about VNUA is also mentioned in this chapter

Part 2 - Development is divided into 3 chapters:

Chapter 1 - Literature review, provides theoretical background the definitions of speaking as well as multimedia tools, shows the difficulties of learning speaking are provided in this chapter The relationship between multimedia tools and learning speaking Many previous foreign and Vietnamese studies are included in this chapter Chapter 2 - Methodology, describes the methodology used in the research including the action research, data collection instruments, participants, the procedures employed to carry out the research

Chapter 3 - Finding and Discussion, reports and discusses the findings of the study

Part 3 - Conclusion, summarizes the research and states the conclusion, points

out the limitations of the study and suggests several solutions

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Literature Review

1.1 REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS STUDIES (AT HOME & ABROAD)

1.1.1 Related research 1

Neri, Cucchiarini, and Strik (2008) studied whether a computer assisted pronunciation training program can help young learners improve word-level pronunciation in English Participants were 11 years Results showed that pronunciation quality of isolated words improved significantly for both groups (experimental & control) They concluded that training with a computer-assisted pronunciation program with a simple automatic speech recognition SE ir component can lead to short-term improvements in pronunciation in contrast to those achieved by means of more traditional, teacher-led pronunciation training

Eaton (2010) found that computer-based communication is a beneficial feature for language learning Computer-assisted discussion tend to feature more equal participation than face to- face discussion Teachers or a few outspoken students are less likely to dominate the floor, resulting in class discussions that are more collaborative Zhao (2013) supported this view by stating that access and exposure to engaging, authentic, and comprehensible yet demanding materials in the target language is essential for successful language learning

Dong and Li (2011) explained that the use of multimedia teaching has the advantage in the process of training students' listening, speaking, reading and writing abilities, multimedia teaching could create a language lively and harmonious environment, provide a good learning scenario, increase practice in four basic skills and mobilize students to participate in class activities When taking part in these activities with concentrated, the students will have a deeper impression and remember knowledge well If students could see, hear and express their own ideas in their words, the knowledge grasped in this process will be easier to technology encourages students' positive thinking and communication skills in learning the language maintain

Neri, Cucchiarini, and Strik (2008) studied whether a computer assisted pronunciation training program can help young learners improve word-level pronunciation in English Participants were 11 years Results showed that pronunciation quality of isolated words improved significantly for both groups (experimental & control) They concluded that training with a computer-assisted pronunciation program with a simple automatic speech recognition component can lead to short-term improvements in pronunciation in contrast to those achieved by means of more traditional, teacher-led pronunciation training

Eaton (2010) found that computer-based communication is a beneficial feature for language learning Computer-assisted discussion tend to feature more equal participation than face to- face discussion Teachers or a few outspoken students are less likely to dominate the floor, resulting in class discussions that are more collaborative Zhao (2013) supported this view by stating that access and exposure to engaging, authentic, and comprehensible yet demanding materials in the target language is essential for successful language learning

In an article published for Amine, Benachaiba, and Guemide (2012) concluded that the use of multimedia in an English Foreign Language setting has turned the classroom into a more "dynamic" and interactive place Their study focused on investigating the consensus of the positive impact of multimedia on language pedagogy The study suggested the use of multimedia for the extraordinary benefits they carry into the classroom It started that multimedia nurture students' interests in a given field It develops students' communicative competence in their second language The study claimed that multimedia broadens students' insight to the global world It enhances the pedagogy process Moreover, the use of multimedia provides authentic context of language as it exists in real life It also shifts the learning process to be more

"goal-oriented'" and adjustable For example, it has the power to lower students' affective filter as it is viewed to be entertaining Therefore, learners are more comfortable to err

The findings of Amine et al (2012) showed that most teachers and educators believed that employing multimedia enhances classroom quality For example,

multimedia gives students to display their previous knowledge through providing them with tools and opportunities applications to retrieve and elucidate information The study also found that most students believed that multimedia in classrooms will enhance their ability to use multimedia, which is a skill that has recently become a necessity They consider multimedia a more beneficial tool that allows them to demonstrate knowledge and information in more depth and in shorter time The pedagogy will become more interactive and inclusive of all, students simultaneously

Sharma and Barrett (2011) pinpointed that the instructional online or downloadable videos may help English learners to record their dialogues and then play

it back Generally, learners are asked to evaluate their own utterances, and they also have the chance to keep practicing and refining their attempts in order to improve their speaking fluency skills

Rokhayani (2012) concluded that in applying the interactive multimedia the students shows positive attitudes and opinions on several aspects, such as: all of the students seriously joins the teaching and learning process, most of the students are interestingly discussing the materials with their partners, (3) the students are so brave

to ask to the teacher when they find some difficulties, most of the students have an assumption that the materials are easy to understand, (5) most of the students thought that the instructions are easy to be understood, (6) most of the students have an opinion that the interactive multimedia help them to understand the materials and (7) the students comment that the interactive multimedia is interesting

The finding of the research "Designing Multimedia to Improve the Speaking Skill of the Second Language Learners" by Galloway (2007) is that multimedia have a big potential in improving the speaking skill of the learners A well-designed multimedia can assist language instruction to bring learners together so that they can improve the students speaking skill

In conclusion, relevant research studies above show that multimedia teaching äids can be án effective media for teaching speaking Thus, this research supports the idea to improve he students speaking ability particularly and the quality of speaking

teaching and earning process generally by implementing multimedia teaching aids in the speaking teaching and learning process

1.1.2 Related research 2

Nhon Dang Thanh (2011) discussed the detail background, advantages and disadvantages of exploring CALL options in Vietnam He said that the application of computers and the Internet in EFL instruction in Vietnam is limited and embryonic and he has proposed an appropriate response to the current situation by suggesting some CALL options that allow Vietnamese EFL teachers with high, moderate, or low computer proficiency to exploit the present technological resources to promote their students' English-language learning In this paper, the CALL options selected and recommended are made mainly based on his perspective after reviewing empirical studies

1.2 REVIEW OF THEORETICAL BACKGROUND (DEPENDS ON WHAT THE STUDY IS ABOUT)

1.2.1 Definitions of speaking

There are many definitions of speaking that have been proposed by some experts in Language learning D Brown (2000, p.19) cites that when someone can speak a language it means that he can carry on a conversation reasonably competently

In addition, he states that the benchmark of successful acquisition of language is almost always the demonstration of an ability to accomplish pragmatic goal through an interactive discourse with other language speaker

Furthermore, Nunan cited in D Brown (2000, p.19) divides the oral language into two part, monologue and dialogue He states that in monologues, when one speaker uses spoken language for any length of time, as in speeches, lectures, readings, news broadcasts, and the like, the hearer process long stretches of speech without interruption On the other hand, the term dialogue involves two or more speakers and can be divided into those exchanges that promote social relationship (interpersonal) and those for which the purpose is to convey proportional or factual information (transactional)

In his discussion of the basic function of spoken language, Nunan (1991, p.55) divides it into two, they are interpersonal and transactional Interpersonal language occurs where the speakers are less concerned with the exchange of goods and services, than socializing Meanwhile, transactional language occurs where the participants are concerned with the exchange goods and services

1.2.2 Criteria of Good Speaking Skill

Speaking is not simply expressing something orally However, the students need to acquire some speaking aspects to have good speaking skill As proposed by H

D Brown (2001, p.46), those aspects are pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary, and accuracy

a) Pronunciation Based on Longman Dictionary (2000, p.429), pronunciation is the way a certain sound or sound is produced It covers the way for speakers to produce clear language when they speak To make a successful communication happens, the speakers need to be able to deliver clear message for listeners In speaking, intonation is very important

b) Fluency As proposed by Harris and Hodges (1995,p.14), fluency is an ability

to speak quickly and automatically

c) Accuracy is an ability to produce sentences or utterance with correct grammar as stated in Longman Dictionary (2002,p.204) The speakers need to follow the rules of the language such as grammar and structure to be able to speak accurately

d) Vocabulary Based on Longman Dictionary (2002,p.580), vocabulary is a set

of lexemes, consisting single words, compound words, and idioms that are typically used when talking something To be able to speak fluently and accurately, speaker of foreign language should master enough vocabulary and has capability to use it accurately

1.2.3 Factors affecting students’ speaking skill

Zhang (2009, p.12) argued that speaking remains the most difficult skill to master for the majority of English learners, and they are still incompetent in

communicating orally in English According to Ur (1999, p.23), there are many factors that cause difficulty in speaking, and the areas follows:

1 Inhibition Students are worried about making mistakes, fearful of criticism,

or simply shy

2 Nothing to say Students have no motive to express themselves

3 Low or uneven participation Only one participant can talk at a time because

of large classes and the tendency of some learners to dominate, while others speak very little or not at all

4 Mother-tongue use Learners who share the same mother tongue tend to use it because it is easier and because learners feel less exposed if they are speaking their mother tongue

In addition, Rababah (2002,p.67) pointed out that there are many factors that cause difficulties in speaking English among EFL learners Some of these factors are related to the learners themselves, the teaching strategies, the curriculum, and the environment For example, many learners lack the necessary vocabulary to get their meaning across, and consequently, they cannot keep the interaction going Inadequate strategic competence and communication competence can be another reason as well for not being able to keep the interaction going

Some learners also lack the motivation to speak English They do not see a real need to Learn or speak English Actually, motivation is the crucial force which determines whether a learner embarks in a task at all, how much energy he devotes to

it, and how long he preservers (Littlewood, 1984) The development of communicative skills can only take place if learners have the motivation and opportunity to express their own identity and relate with the people around (Littlewood, 1981)

Teaching strategies also contribute to this problem as they are inadequate, and they do not put emphasis on speaking, which results in a measure development of this skill Besides, vocabulary items are taught in isolation, and listening materials are not used by the majority of schoolteachers because of the large number of teachers compared with the number of cassettes available Teacher-training programs were

found to be not very successful in changing the teachers' methodology (Rababah, 2002)

Furthermore, all the other subjects are in Vietnamese, and English is seen as an academic subject only, which means exposure to the English language is insufficient The lack of a target language environment can be considered another problem, which

of course results in a lack of involvement in real-life situations Not allowing learners

to participate in discourse can be another reason for speaking difficulties (Block & Cameron, 2002)

Moreover, language is best learned when the learners' attention is focused on understanding, saying and doing something with language, and not when their attention is focused explicitly on linguistic features(Kumaravadivelu, 2003) It is worthy to mention that researchers recognize that learners can improve their speaking ability by developing learning strategies that enable them to become independent learners (Nakatani, 2010)

Littlewood (1981,p.89) argued that some teachers use L1 for class management Nevertheless, this can be another factor that contributes to the problem of speaking difficulties This is because using L1 means sacrificing valuable opportunities for well- motivated foreign use In addition, it tends to devalue the foreign language as a vehicle for communication Learners see it as allocated to communicatively nonessential domains such as drills or dialogue practice, while the mother tongue remains the appropriate medium for discussing matters of immediate importance Another main reason for other teachers to use L1 is vocabulary and grammar Although their attitudes are of agreement with L1, this is not reflected in their practice (Al Busaidi, 1998)

1.2.4 Definition of multimedia

"Multimedia" is one of the terms which is heard and discussed frequently among education technologists nowadays Multimedia can be defined in many ways depending upon one's audio perspective “Multimedia is the exciting combination of computer hardware and software that allows you to integrate video, animation, audio,

computer" (Fenrich, 1997) Phillip (1997) defines that "multimedia is characterized by the presence of text, pictures, sound, animation and video; some or all of which are organized into some coherent program" Brinton (2001) believes that multimedia is

"the seamless digital integration of text, graphics, animation, audio , still images, and motion video in a way that provides individual users with high levels of control and interaction" According to Brauer (2001), multimedia is "a software tool that enables users to branch or link text with video, audio, graphics, animations, or other digital data to create multimedia presentations or products" and he further stated that

"multimedia authoring tools also facilitate important education cognitive processes, including: cooperative learning, group problem solving, critical thinking, reflection, analysis, inquiry, process writing, and public speaking Multimedia authoring tools are inherently metacognitive: they help students think about thinking"

Graham Davies (2011) refers to multimedia as "computer-based materials designed to be used on a computer that can display and print text and high-quality graphics, play pre- recorded audio and video material, and create new audio and video recordings"

Maddux Johnson and Willis (2001) state that “multimedia comprises a computer program that includes text along with at least one of the following: audio or sophisticated sound, music, video, photographs, 3-D graphics, animation, or higher solution graphics."

Each researcher has their own definition of multimedia tools All these definitions lead us to to understand that multimedia is an integration of many elements (audio, text, video, animation, etc ) into one and this will bring more benefits than any one of element provides individually

1.2.5 Theoretical basis of using multimedia tools in language teaching

1.2.5.1 Constructivism

This term was introduced in early 1990s, which mentions the students' active role in their learning It is often discussed from two perspectives, cognitive constructivism and social constructivism According to Fosnot (1996), knowledge

refers to restructuring and reorganizing the experience in cognitive constructivism Knowledge cannot be simply transmitted to the students but should be acquired through students' experience and discovery Social constructivism holds that learning

is the process of interacting and collaborating either among the students or between the students and the teachers Nunan (1999) states that constructivism encourages students

to learn through personal experiences rather than being fed by teachers The function

of the education system is to create an environment in which students can reconstruct their knowledge through relating their existing input with the new knowledge Learning with multimedia tools can help this

1.2.5.2 Cognitive Psychology

Cognition, or mental activity, involves the acquisition, storage, and use of knowledge, and learning is not to acquire knowledge in a passive way but initiative procedure of information acquisition depending on learners' attitudes, demands, interests, habits, and their own backgrounds From this statement, it can be concluded that an individual is regarded as being an active and constructive being rather than one who is a passive recipient of information, which is why multimedia language teaching and learning is effective Therefore, one of the most important roles of teachers is to raise the students' interest and desire to learn Multimedia tools with the multimedia's integration of text, sound, animation, graphics and images to present the learning content in a multi-dimensional way, can help teachers attract their students in learning 1.2.5.3 Krashen's Affective Filter Hypothesis

According to Krashen (1987) language acquisition is effected by four factors They include motivation, attitude, anxiety, and self-confidence

1.2.5.4 Motivation

No one can deny the position of motivation in language learning, but there is, in fact, no agreement on the exact definition of motivation (Oxford & Shearin, 1994) According to• Dörnyei (1998), "although 'motivation' is a term frequently used in both educational and research contexts, it is rather surprising how little agreement there is

in the literature with regard to the exact meaning of the concept" However, some researchers and psychologists still give their own ideas about motivation

Crump (1995) believes that excitement, interest, keenness, and enthusiasm towards learning are the main constituents of motivation The levels and kinds of motivation in any individual are different from others In other words, not only levels and amounts of motivation in individuals are different, their kinds of motivation can be also different Ryan and Deci (2000) stated that to be motivated means to progress or

to be in motion to do something Ellis (1994) considers motivation as the attempt which learners make for learning a second language because of "their need or desire to learn it" Lightbrown and Spada (2001) identify motivation in second language acquisition as "a complex phenomenon which can be defined in terms of two factors: learners' communicative needs and their attitudes towards the second language community"

Motivation is known as an important factor that contributes to the success of language learning and teaching in general and listening learning and teaching in particular

1.2.5.5 Attitude

According to Krashen (1988), attitude is also an important factor that influences the language learning Students who have positive attitude in their language learning tend to learn language actively, easily with a rapid process and can have high grade 1.2.5.6 Anxiety

Gardner & MacIntyre (1993) considers language anxiety as "the apprehension experienced when a situation requires the use of a second language with which the individual is not fully proficient" There are three kinds of language anxiety in language learning They are communication apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation The feeling of fear when students communicate with another person, have a test, or receive the negative evaluation from teachers will affect the students' language learning

1.2.5.7 Self-confidence

One of the most important factors affecting the students' language learning is self- confidence It is believed that people who have enough self-confidence and positive personal images will succeed more They dare to adventure, to communicate

in foreign language without feeling of fear, and they will gain more

To sum up, learners will acquire the language effectively with high motivation, positive attitude, confidence, and low anxiety In contrast, learners with low motivation, low confidence and high anxiety will not acquire the knowledge easily According to Warschauer (1997), "multimedia applied in teaching can create a relaxing and non-threatening learning environment in which learners' motivation and self-esteem can be promoted and learners' anxiety can be reduced"

1.2.6 Multimedia tools and language teaching

1.2.6.1 Support for using multimedia tools in language teaching

Multimedia has been applied in language learning since the early 1990s (Warschauer & Kern, 2000) According to Warschauer & Kern (2000), globalization and the increasing advent of new information technologies further the spread of English and change the way English is used In other words, technology contributes to transforming or at least changing the ways teachers teach and the ways students learn, and allow them to have flexibility in the leaning of English

The application of multimedia has been spread all over the world recently and many researchers, teachers and educational experts highly appropriate the support of these tools in teaching and learning language

Plass, Mayer, Chun and Leutner (1998) believe that students in multimedia environment become more active and autonomous They will be interested in learning with attractive pictures, animation or sound This environment will increase the effectiveness of teaching and learning Moreover, multimedia is the combination of sound, text, computer data, animation video, etc , teachers will have multiple ways to present the teaching materials to arouse students' interest, which would make the

material in a time-efficient and compact manner, and of stimulating students' senses, thereby helping them to process information more readily

It has been believed that multimedia tools can motivates students to learn English Words and pictures are better than words only so that with the help of audio, visual and animation, multimedia effects and motivates the students to learn English quickly and effectively For instance, students will be able to easily remember the meaning of a word with a picture According to Rana (2013), “We also need to take into account that as human beings, we're very visual beings, that what we see tends to affect our judgment more, and technology helps in bringing that visual aspect to education." Thanks to the abundant information and crossing , 2 time and space, multimedia creates a real life or native speaking country context for English language teaching, which cultivates students' interest and motivation in learning the language

Brinton (2001) also considers multimedia tools as important motivators in the language teaching because "media materials can lend authenticity to the classroom situation, reinforcing for students the direct relation between the language classroom and the outside world."

Students can widen their knowledge through the use of multimedia tools Ren et

al (2009) presents that multimedia tools can offer more information than textbooks as well as create a real life language material, and supply the culture of target language, which may attract the students

Multimedia also helps create a conducive teaching environment in the classrooms According to Healey et al ( 2008), "Bad teaching will not disappear with the addition of even the most advanced technology; good teaching will benefit from appropriate use of technology to help learners achieve their goals" Teachers can use pictures to help students interest in the lessons It also helps students guess the meaning of the new words, as well as have background knowledge of the speaking lessons

Healey et al (2008) also said that multimedia tools can provide opportunities for English teaching outside the classrooms Students can learn not only at school but

also at outside school through multimedia The students can contact the teachers for help through Internet if they have any problems

The introduction of self-developed courseware that involves sound, video, images, and glossaries, the uses of videotext and caption, and online activities has helped enhance the speaking skills of ESL learners as well (Stockwell, 2007)

Joiner (1997) presented that multimedia can promote speaking skills thanks to multiple meaning sources including full motion video, written texts and graphics, and

a variety of online helps such as dictionaries, comprehension hints, and maps

Jones (2003) found that the use of verbal and visual annotations contribute to more positive outcomes in speaking The students are able to recall information better when supported with verbal and visual aids

In conclusion, using multimedia tools in teaching language in general and teaching speaking in particular brings many advantages

1.2.6.2 Critiques of using multimedia tools in language teaching

However, using multimedia also maintains some problems

Multimedia is the tool to support the language learning and it will bring benefits

if it is used in the right way If the teachers totally depend on the multimedia, they may lose the key role in the class For example, if the teachers and students only look at the computer's screen all the time, there is not direct eye contact between teachers and students Teachers may have no link with their students in class According to Yang (2012), teachers should play the leader role in the class and multimedia plays an assistant role

Before listening lessons, there are always some pre-listening activities which need the communication between students and teachers or between students and students Multimedia can enhances students' interest in the lessons with the help of video, sound, pictures; however, it may lack the interaction between students and teachers or among students Moreover, students can be inactive in thinking and expressing their ideas because of the sound and image of multimedia tools The total

use of multimedia may turn students into viewers rather than the center in the classroom

Lack of real time teaching is another disadvantage when teachers use multimedia tools in teaching inflexibly In real classroom, it is always necessary to have questions and guide form teachers to students, which motivates students to think,

to discuss Warschauer and Kern (2000) presented that "students need to be given maximum opportunity for authentic social interaction" Healey et al (2008) also said that media "develops critical thinking and autonomous learning while maximizing beneficial interactions"

Choosing suitable teaching materials is also a challenge for the teachers They may spend much time to choose and adapt materials to suit to their students' ability and teaching syllabus Brinton (2001) claimed that the preparation of teacher-made media materials demands an investment of time and energy beyond that of normal lesson planning As a result, quite a large number of language teachers express their inability or unwillingness to use multimedia tools in their classrooms

Sometimes, the use of multimedia tools in the classroom presents some challenges form teachers According to Herrell (2000), teachers who are not familiar with the tools might turn their lessons from a success to a failure as they fail to use the tools to support their lessons "In fact, a teacher without experience in this approach is sometimes overwhelmed with both the possibilities and potential barriers." (Herrell, 2000) Erchun and Jie (2012) also describe many problems in using multimedia tools

in teaching and learning mainly including excessive dependence on multimedia technology, the lack of proper capacities among teachers, the lack of the real integration of multimedia technology into the classroom teaching, inappropriate design

of the teaching courseware, a large gap between the potentials of multimedia technology and teachers and students' understanding and proficiency, the insufficiency

of students' awareness and ability of autonomous learning, the lack of good management and maintenance of the multimedia facilities, and the outdated system of teaching evaluation and management

1.2.7 Multimedia at VNUA

There are 7 rooms with computers at Vietnam National University of Agriculture These rooms are usually used for students to do the end-of-term test of English and learn Information and Technology Each computer has been connected to the Internet and installed with necessary software for students to study

1.2.8 Brief summary

This chapter provided the definitions of listening and multimedia The author also tried to give the reasons why speaking is difficult in this chapter The use of multimedia tools in learning language in general and in learning speaking in particular

is presented There are many advantages when using multimedia in teaching; however, there are also some disadvantages Many studies about using multimedia tools in language learning have been conducted around the world and in Vietnam These research efforts investigated the success as well as the failure of using multimedia in learning The theoretical basis of using multimedia tools in language learning is also mentioned in this chapter From the reality of multimedia application in ELT, both successfully and unsuccessfully all over the world, the requirement for a study into the application of multimedia tools in supporting speaking learning at Viet Nam National University of Agriculture is obvious