An investigation into lac hong university’s first year english majors’ note taking habits in macro skills and suggestions for efficient approaches

Purposes To promptly prepare note-taking skills for students to be more active in learning, this research aims to investigate English first-year students' note-taking trends and suggest

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

LAC HONG UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

LAC HONG UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i

THE RECOGNIZANCE FOR NON-PLAGIARISM ii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iii

LIST OF CHARTS iv

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Statement Of The Problem 2

1.2 Purposes 3

1.3 Significance Of The Study 3

1.4 Limitations And Scope Of The Study 4

1.5 Research Questions 4

1.6 Hypothesis 4

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Definition of note-taking skills in academic context 6

2.2 The importance of note-taking skills to students 7

2.3 The relation of note-taking and learners’ cognitive abilities 8

2.4 The reality of note-taking application in Vietnamese educational contexts 15

2.5 Existing note-taking approaches 17

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 25

3.1 Aims And Objectives 26

3.2 Methodology 26

3.3 Population And Sampling 27

3.4 Data Collocation Instruments 27

3.5 Procedure 28

4.1 English freshmen’s note-taking habits during macro skills lessons 30

4.1.1 Students’ awareness of note-taking 30

4.1.2 Students’ application regarding note-taking 33

4.1.3 Students’ demands for note-taking 36

4.2 English freshmen’s prospect in applying note-taking: 38

4.2.1 Note-taking behaviours during macro skills classes 38

4.2.2 Note-taking effects on students 39

4.2.3 Note-taking potential as a learning tool in macro skills 39

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 41

5.1 Conclusions 42

5.2 Recommendations 42

5.2.1 For FEL Students 43

5.2.2 For FEL Lecturers 44

5.2.3 For the Faculty of English language 44

REFERENCES 45

APPENDIX 51

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The success of the project is a combination of the hard work and dedication of many individuals who have worked tirelessly to ensure that every aspect of the project is executed Moreover, their contributions have been invaluable in positively shaping the project's outcome, and their determined support and guidance have been a source of inspiration and motivation for me every step of the way It is important to acknowledge the astounding efforts of those who have helped to make this project a success, and I want to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has played a part in the successful completion of this project

Firstly, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to Lac Hong University, the management board of the English language department and all the lecturers for their intangible support from enthusiastically imparting valuable knowledge to giving invaluable opportunities in the research process

Secondly, words cannot express my gratitude to Mr Hoang Vinh Loc This endeavour would not have been possible without his patience and guidance Since the first day of conducting this research, his endless devotion to teaching, directing and assessing has been a huge inspiration, encouragement and direction to me I am also grateful for the tremendous and important expertise as well as knowledge which he has undoubtedly shared with me for my university years and especially in my academic journey

I am also grateful for the beloved lecturers and students who positively supported and participated in the survey contribution Many thanks for their moral support and great contribution to the completion of this research

Lastly, I would like to recognize my family and friends for their practical and emotional assistance throughout the process of conducting this research

Despite comprehensive research, it is inevitable that the work may still be limited To

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM Independence – Freedom - Happiness THE RECOGNIZANCE FOR NON-PLAGIARISM

Affiant: I – Nguyen Vu Minh khanh - hereby guarantee the following responsibility

to Lac Hong University

1 I hereby guarantee that the entire research report is the original creation from the affiant above This work does not involve any plagiarism from others

2 If the fact proves an entire or partial plagiarism from any other party, the eligibility

of the affiant will be expired immediately, the given diploma will be cancelled by Lac Hong University

3 If Lac Hong University needs to apologize to the third party due to the proved plagiarism of the affiant, he or she must take fully legal responsibility for compensating Lac Hong University

4 The affiant has guaranteed to possess the entire intellectual property of this research report This thesis must not violate the intellectual property of the third party

5 If the affiant’s illegal violation of the intellectual property damages any rights of Lac Hong University, or causes any lawsuit between the third party and Lac Hong University, he or she must take fully legal and financial responsibility

Dong Nai, May 23, 2023

Signature of Affiant

Nguyen Vu Minh Khanh

LIST OF ABBREVIATION

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

FEL: Faculty of English Language

LHTL: Learning How to Learn

LHU: Lac Hong University

CHAPTER 1:

INTRODUCTION

Learning a foreign language has long been a familiar concept for people When exposed to and absorbing a new language, learners explore themselves and the world around them differently In addition to their needs, the requirement for foreign languages at work, especially English, has been and is still a milestone for many learners and employees Nevertheless, many employees believe that learning a foreign language has been a difficult challenge since they were in school In addition to external factors related to the learning environment, curriculum, psychology, or study time that affect students' ability to absorb English, learners’ ability to self-study at the same time also has become the foremost focus of English teachers (Ronglin, 2019) When acquiring English knowledge from books, teachers or other sources, English learners should know how to synthesize and transform learning into a personalized form so that their knowledge of the target language can be truly consolidated An effective method of personalizing knowledge into intellectual perception is the application of note-taking techniques, which can be exploited in learning to translate information and knowledge from the teacher into a useful set of notes according to the learners' perceptions and thoughts (Boyle et al., 2016) However, when language learners do not take notes seriously and fully, they tend to develop passive learning by relying on other people's thinking, not their own This passive learning which is prevalent in traditional teaching has been shown to fail students in actively engaging with the lessons and retaining as much material after the class (Michel et al., 2009) Note-taking seems like a simple action, but wrongly implementing it brings unpredictable results in the context of academics in particular and learning ability in general if the way of thinking is eroded and the ability to synthesise and analyse is not developed through a long period of passive learning According to the researcher’s observation in her own class at university, a large number of her classmates tend to load up much knowledge to prepare for exams and soon after that they forget almost all about it because they mainly rely on books, handouts, and photos of lecture slides This alarming fact urges the researcher to conduct a study into the note-taking habits

of first-year English majors at the Faculty of English Language (FEL) – Lac Hong

University (LHU) and propose the most appropriate and effective methods of taking notes

1.2 Purposes

To promptly prepare note-taking skills for students to be more active in learning, this research aims to investigate English first-year students' note-taking trends and suggest suitable note-taking methods to improve students' learning capacities while studying macro skills The investigation first detects note-taking habits and raises awareness of this activity among both students and lecturers Secondly, the impact of applying proper note-taking methods in macro skills is also generalized to suggest and create a note-taking strategy Thirdly, by suggesting researched and considered methods in note-taking, learners should be motivated and encouraged to change their learning style into an active one and then implement note-taking tools

1.3 Significance of the study

The investigation on note-taking skills in English should be carried out because of the potential to help first-year English majors at LHU enhance their capability in studying macro skills and build a better perspective on other linguistic subjects such as semantics, syntax or interpretation Gradually, they need to improve themselves to become well-English applicators in many disciplines rather than just regular users, especially in the current era when English has become a common language worldwide Having known efficient note-taking approaches, those students will be able to unlock and connect numerous personalized knowledge to establish an innovative mindset Furthermore, the researcher hopes to offer lecturers at FEL a crucial insight into their students’ note-taking practices in order to select optimal teaching approaches and encourage and assist them to become more qualified note-takers, which eventually contributes to improving the students’ learning outcomes and life-long learning ability

1.4 Limitations and scope of the study

This research is performed on definite objects: the English freshmen of LHU; therefore, the result of analyzing the habits and suggested note-taking methods is still limited to other out-of-scope circumstances Besides, there has not been much official quantitative regarding note-taking practices and techniques application in the English

as a foreign language (EFL) context in Vietnam to examine As a result, the outcome

of this study is more subjective and requires additional research to be more valid

1.5 Research questions

This research is conducted to address the following questions:

 What are English freshmen's note-taking habits when studying macro skills at LHU?

 How do note-taking activities influence students’ learning aspects?

 What note-taking methods can be applied to enhance students' learning abilities

in macro skills lessons?

1.6 Hypotheses

It is hypothesized that students are still affected by passive learning habits throughout their studying time at high schools Although note-taking skills have become more publicized in the students’ community, the technique is still poorly utilized and misused due to the passive habits, leading to poor performance in English learning processes However, with the introduction of powerful note-taking methods related to learning macro skills in English, problems regarding note-taking can be improved,

bringing about the change of passive learning style into a more active one

CHAPTER 2:

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Definitions of note-taking in academic contexts

Note-taking definition in learning has been determined under various aspects throughout time and concepts Ganske (1981) defined note-taking as one of the powerful objective indicators as a form of direct correspondence to a learner's thought processes; however, it has largely been ignored by the educational community One research regarding note-taking even claimed that it is entirely inefficient and irrelevant

to learning (Gagne, 1970) However, this is not the case; three conducted studies have stated that the activity of note-taking could be more functional relative to only listening skills (Kiewra, 1987) Furthermore, due to its robust nature, students often presume note-taking as a simple "information copying" activity rather than a complex one (Piolat et al., 2005) In contrast, note-taking activities, which are heavily based on the central executive functions of working memory to comprehend, select, and produce processes concurrently rather than duplicate or imitate what is heard, observed, or thought, are the basis and foundation of cognitive functions (Piolat et al., 2005) White (1996) introduced different note-taking types as a cognitive strategy, which has also been found to be among the most frequent mental processes to strengthen our acknowledgement of the contribution to the operating procedure of language learning A research also publicised that note-taking, which was determined

as an activity to help the learners learn and write as well as handle problems in terms

of making decisions for all the disciplines, should be a part of the curriculum for the primary, secondary and universities levels since it allows the learners to develop and acquire the basic skills of stabilising the required knowledge and reproducing the understanding during the course and lessons (Bergil, 2020) Being determined as a valuable skill to individuals in both academic and non-academic settings as well as having a positive and critical effect in research as mentioned above, note-taking needs

to be unarguably considered better compared to nowadays stereotyped insights of simply copying features about it (Friedman, 2014)

2.2 The importance of note-taking to students

Note-taking is a technique that helps students coordinate tactics and metacognitive skills that will assist them in translating verbal material into written form (Boyle et al.,

2016) Despite its potential, the application of note-taking is still underestimated in many educational settings, and it is often misunderstood as a copying activity Many researchers suggest that note-taking contributes to cognitive processes such as concurrently comprehending, selecting, and producing techniques, making it a powerful learning method that should not be ignored Not only does taking notes support students, but it also continues as an aid language system that occurs as part of the process of building skills in the target language (White, 1996) Ganske (1981) compared the note-taking method as a “phenomenon” in studying by measuring it with the "Theory-of-knowledge" Interestingly, this theory regarding knowledge formation

of the author defines the importance of the independent variables in the creation of a phenomenon of interest (a dependent variable consisting of two dimensions of learning and attitude) which are "aptitude" for 40% to 60%, "contextual" considered as instructional for approximately 10%, and "environmental" between 16% to 30% (Walberg, 1971) After analysing these percentages of the three domains, the result brings about a decision to research the "environmental variable" due to its manipulatable and sizable features This researcher claimed that note-taking, as a knowledge transaction directly related to formal learning, might be considered the dependent variable of an "environmental variable" and therefore needed more attention

in educational research Note-taking can be implemented more in learning as an excellent tool for knowledge acquisition rather than just for recall purposes, as is usually mistaken Therefore, note-taking can be seen as an essential research field as well as a representative of manipulated and changeable "environmental variables" due

to its strong connection with knowledge concepts, including two unseparated dimensions, namely learning and attitude (Ganske, 1981) The concrete figure that is discovered through Walberg's research gave the impression of an official announcement for education-related people to invest more in note-taking’s hidden probabilities Note-taking under language learning circumstances as a system context

is separated of note-taking into three hypotheses, which are as an encoding hypothesis,

as an effective independent review, as a means of recording information for recalling (external storage hypothesis) (White, 1996), and lastly as a selection of important information (Peper & Mayer, 1978) Later, White (1996) concluded after the only external storage hypothesis that through a wide range of note-taking behaviours and methods of students in their attempts to acquire a target language, these noting skills were combined usage with other strategies such as comprehension, monitoring, and problem identification, and mainly served encoding and generative function rather than served as external storage Furthermore, note-taking in learning a language is proven to create some complicated cognitive processes in language processing activities that are synchronously activated when jotting down notes (Piolat et al., 2005)

2.3 The relation of note-taking and learners’ cognitive abilities

Proving the compelling assistance of note-taking in learning the English language, the deeply rooted learning concepts must be mentioned Learning is an activity which humanity has had as an instinct since the very first day The learning abilities lie in everyone and will be developed differently based on different contexts and environments However, learning is not just simply understanding and applying learned knowledge behaviours, but rather something more than that In order to analyse the learning abilities more sufficiently, a professional term regarding learning,

"Learning How to Learn" (LHTL), will be explained and studied LHTL term, which

is perceived potential to underpin lifelong learning, is strongly related to the rapid advances in knowledge, which raised education standards in students' lifelong learning (Black et al., 2006) Learning How to Learn is also reasonably called "second-order learning" (Dean & Dearden, 1978 as cited in Black et al., 2006) due to higher-order activities such as "deliberating how to deliberate, investigating how to investigate, thinking out how to think things out, and so on" The idea of metacognition which is divided into two elements, is used to determine second-order learning by some theorists, Kamil and Brown (1981) and Phye (1997):

• Knowledge of cognition

• Self-regulating mechanisms

Finally, Black et al (2006) defined that the central feature of LHTL is summed up by the term "autonomy", which is not only a single unitary concept but rather a variety of overlapping and practical learning activities as the most secure foundation for lifelong learning Therefore, LHTL has been and is becoming an essential aspect of learning among all levels of students A human's learning potential can accelerate and develop when developing effective studying practices to think at a higher level than just the initial thought of knowledge Research related to metacognition in learning has also proven its potential in a more specific field: learning the English language Metacognition as a good English learning strategy can be structural to conscious, studying activeness, and purposeful self-regulation (Rahimi & Katal, 2012) The researchers then concluded metacognition for EFL students that learners who take this deliberate process to acknowledge the lessons and plan, control, and evaluate their learning tend to be the most successful learners (Rahimi & Katal, 2012) Accordingly, metacognition, strongly related to cognitive ability and autonomy, can be determined

as one of the most significant learning factors in acquiring the English language Students who apply and are conscious of this metacognitive process despite lacking knowledge regarding its definition and influences can still be aided by this second-order learning strategy after the first thought through classes, book reading, and document listening Besides, Öz (2005), who considered metacognition to be a complex phenomenon related to knowledge about the domain of cognition (thinking, knowing and remembering), suggest that learning and teaching activities should train students' metacognitive knowledge (knowledge of person, task and strategy variables) and metacognitive experiences (preparing and planning for learning; selecting and using learning strategies; monitoring strategy; orchestrating the process and evaluating strategy use and learning) in order to create confidence, self-regulating, quality positive, and responsibilities In short, Learning How to Learn unlocks life-long learning and allows people to perform second-order learning and learning autonomy related to metacognition concepts Taking a deeper understanding of metacognition as

a powerful learning strategy accompanied by cognitive ability, including thinking, acknowledging and memorizing, this type of cognition can become an ultimate tool in

learning English Then the question that needed to be answered in order to enhance the connection between metacognitive in LHTL and learning the English language is:

"How to develop English learners' metacognitive abilities?” The answer is strongly related to note-taking, a feasible and potential tool The below studies have proven that metacognition in learning English can be enhanced through note-taking practices:

 Metacognitive regarding English learning in general: Boyle et al (2016) stated

that the feature re-learning of note-taking when students can use notes to initially and re-study the information is a mighty task related to metacognition

"Accordingly, metacognitive monitoring and regulation play a major role in selecting, monitoring and evaluating strategy use during learning tasks such as note-taking" (Boyle et al., 2016) The study also mentions the features of independence and autonomy in learners through teaching note-taking skills rather than focusing on inappropriate guided notes "Firstly, many forms of guided notes do not teach effective note-taking skills Secondly, guided notes are very time-consuming for teachers to create, and students must rely upon teachers to provide these In other words, teaching students note-taking skills allows them to become independent and autonomous learners." (Boyle et al., 2016) The “autonomy” mentioned in Boyle’s research is highly evaluated again along with its role as the centre of LHTL

 Metacognitive regarding Reading skills for EFL learners through note-taking:

Experiments among students from the Tourism Management Faculty of Binh Dinh College on their heavily affected learning reading skills activities such as

"learning vocabulary by rote, answering textbook-designed comprehension questions or translating an English text into Vietnamese" compared to MNT (metacognitive note-taking) showed a considerable change in result Phan (2020) concluded in the Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education after her experiment that "after the seven-session instruction of MNT, the experimental participants showed significant changes in their awareness of metacognitive reading strategy and also through the interviews, respondents claimed their growth of motivation, learning skills and interaction with the aid

of MNT." In conclusion, a powerful mindset in studying, namely metacognitive, considered "thinking about thinking" (Öz, 2005) in learning and LHTL through practising appropriate and high-quality note-taking activities, can be developed to exploit a human learning ability, especially in learning language such as English

 Metacognitive regarding Writing skills for EFL learners through note-taking:

Writing in English as a second language to learners is a big challenge since each person's input of English daily is limited and unidentical Conducting a short writing or an essay require learners to integrate knowledge studying from other English macro skills such as Reading, Listening and Grammar applications Therefore, preparing a good mindset for Writing in English requires the writer to understand and analyse to create positive outcomes Teng (2020), based on his study in related research, declared, "Metacognitive knowledge (i.e procedural knowledge, declarative knowledge, conditional knowledge, and metacognitive regulation, namely planning, monitoring, and evaluating) may foster learners' active engagement in their learning-to-write process and thus predict their writing outcomes" Thus these active engagement related to metacognitive knowledge can be performed through note-taking

"The different phases of text production appear to induce variations in students' strategies of regulation When students are transforming their notes into a first draft (Study 1), they tend to use higher-level strategies (more optional transformations, more complex adjustments affecting text structure) than those used when they are revising their draft (Studies 2 and 3)." Allal (1999) The students in Allal's first experiment among four sixth-grade girls are tested in creating a poster challenge based on their text transformations ability (from the notes taken by the children from books and the first draft of their text) for a school exhibit on "Childhood in Africa" The results of this out-standing first study compared to the other two are: (1) transforming texts based on taken notes among the girls showed that this activity not only is optional rather than conventional but also influences four levels of transformation in language,

namely word, group, sentence and text as well as four means of transformation, namely addition, deletion, substitution and rearrangement; (2) the more successful students can also be recognised among the others in three ways which are performing the more optimal transformation, the more concerning for text organisation and the more complex transformation means (substitution and rearrangement) (Allal, 1999) Therefore, writing skills enhancement based on metacognitive note-taking and writing process, as well as organising content through text transformation, which can be proved in young children, is valuable

in teaching and developing writing skills for other learners such as higher education students who are still struggling in learning how to write

 Metacognitive regarding Listening skills for ESL and ELL learners:

Metacognitive in listening can be defined as many concepts related to

"planning, monitoring and evaluating comprehension" (Celce-Murcia & Peterson, 1991 as cited Murakami, n.d.); "prediction, monitoring, evaluating and solving problems" (Goh & Taib, 2006 as cited Murakami, n.d ), "problem-solving, planning / evaluation, mental translation, person knowledge, and directed attention" (Vandergrift et al., 2006 as cited Murakami, n.d) Overall, metacognitive listening can be seen as a fully developed process in problem-solving from understanding to planning, monitoring, and evaluating This precious process of enhancing listening skills in English can be performed through note-taking Murakami (n.d.) discovered through the experiments that note-taking assists students in listening effectively; meanwhile, metacognitive-focused listening help gain self-efficacy in listening ability Therefore, the author concluded that students who increased awareness in note-taking and realised metacognitive listening strategy uses are more outperformed (Murakami, n.d.) Listening skill in this section means not only the listening majors or subjects when studying English but also the skill in listening to lecturers' information and knowledge of the lessons

 Metacognitive regarding Speaking skills for EFL learners: Some students

consider speaking skills difficult In fact, the key to unlocking English learners'

speaking skills is primarily based on metacognitive As repeated once more, the concept of "thinking of thinking" regarding metacognitive research, which specialises in enhancing speaking skills, uses a metacognitive strategy and provides persuasive linking details Autonomous language learners (planning, monitoring and evaluating) with higher-achievement aware of using metacognitive strategy during their learning of speaking; those factors are their English language backgrounds, the difficulties they face during their learning, and their access to learning resources (Karim, 2019) Surprisingly, some participants with a lower standard of learning English of these factors have better cognitive in being autonomous students Moreover, "the participants also revealed that they used cognitive strategies such as note-taking" (Karim, 2019) This information regarding research on speaking relating metacognition has shown a connection between note-taking as a cognitive tool to better English speaking skills since it raises the autonomy among learners

While note-taking is a crucial skill, the modern expectation of learners for extensive or online hand-outs and lessons on PowerPoint has resulted in a decline in active learning and note-taking techniques Some habits in note-taking among students are defined in various research Students have a reason for conducting substandard notes for lessons: difficulties with "online" processing (Kiewra, 1987) In other words, this "online" process of note-taking requires note-takers to manipulate information in working memory because they must simultaneously select information and maintain knowledge after selecting while integrating it with new and old ideas to finally transcribe representative notes (Kiewra, 1987) The research then claimed that note-takers' cognitive processing differences are likely to find note-taking dysfunctional relative to other means of acquisition, which might explain why students record too few notes to benefit fully from note-taking activities Ladas (1980) investigated note-taking abilities in the way of the information-processing variable At the end of the experiment, Ladas (1980) concluded that the note-taking of a lecture or even with a fast rate of presentation, rapid development, and student unfamiliarity with the material had a substantial interference with encoding function, which provides

optimum arousal and results in a deeper level of processing (greater elaboration, and more significant analysis) Therefore, the process of applying the note-taking method

as significant encoding progress can be identified as a consistently facilitative skill for most students (Ladas, 1980) Regarding many students in one class, note-taking products from learners have a high chance of becoming the best method for lecturers

in higher education to expose, understand, and assess the learners' insights and acknowledgement of the lessons Besides, lectures and students might also use valuable and proper notes of learners to review the quality of the classes since the encoding method, which is attached to note-taking skills, is necessary for higher education active style of learning Note-taking habits are variable based on different aspects, and technology growth is one of them The result from research regarding the note-taking patterns of 21st-century college students depicted that of 93% of students who did take notes and review their notes, 92% reported they only read the notes casually to recall (Morehead et al., 2019) Furthermore, the researchers discovered that females tend to record notes more significantly than males Morehead et al (2019) also pinpointed that students are flexible in their note-taking styles based on the teaching speed of the lecturers, as some reported using notebooks, a traditional handwriting method, and laptops In contrast with the voluntary and flexible note-taking toward in-class lectures, the students ignore taking notes in online courses because they believe that it is unnecessary since the content is always available, which brings about results that note-taking is just simply functioning as records of lessons' content and lost otherwise (Morehead et al., 2019) Palmatier (1974), who assumed that note-taking is an accepted phenomenon in the American college, indicated through comparison experiments that the lack of differences in note-taking behaviour between successful and highly successful students based on average points lies in the differences in expertise in taking and using notes In order words, complete notes rather than just recording information has much more effects and benefits to contribute

to the higher-level success of students In order to apply the learned skills and knowledge for further demands after graduation, such as for career, start-up projects, competition, Etc., students need to be self-conscious about personal note-taking styles

and application Some other behaviours in note-taking were also detected when researching students who learnt Japanese and French White (1996) listed some note-taking behaviours of languages learners and the purposes for which note-taking was deployed:

 Regular note-taking: Students write down essential points in a shortened form, mostly about grammar learning and internalising the content However, some students apply this as an external storage function for later review; meanwhile, most others emphasised that notes were not meant to review

 Writing out: Students copy words, phrases, items, Etc., several times to support memorisation This behaviour also works as an encoding function in language learning

 Listing: vocabulary list is an example of this behaviour This habit's purpose is

to later review as external storage

 Noting down: Students write down key and main language items from oral or written materials When selecting the essential points of the lessons through this behaviour, the learners will get back to it or work with it later Noting down not only functions as an encoding tool but also assists in maintaining attention

 Highlighting/Underlining: Students use colours and underlines to emphasise and select key points or to isolate knowledge section areas based on demands

In short, this behaviour allows people to select important information concerning comprehensive monitoring

2.4 The reality of note-taking application in Vietnamese educational contexts

Contrary to the importance and significance of note-taking in learning languages, its application is still strongly underestimated in Vietnam Extracting, organising, and presenting ideas in a lecture might be a big challenge for students due to their passive learning style with inappropriate note-taking activities in the past Therefore, in the learning context of English in Vietnam, note-taking should not be seen as a simple recording method only used in definite learning listening skill circumstances or being conducted effortlessly, but rather a direct factor in improving the quality of training at

universities based on the requirement of “turning the training process into a training process” (Phan, 2009) Although the teaching style in Vietnam universities still has some weaknesses like implementing the listening-copying lectures activity, the teaching trend of professors is steadily changing with the development of education (Nguyen, 2010) Therefore, it is worth trying note-taking in many methods and types among various subjects to create a better approach in acquiring the target language (White, 1996) Throughout the concept regarding essential note-taking contributions to the formation of knowledge, this hidden skill in learning the English language is a challenge that needs learners and teachers to discover its potential in order to change and develop the teaching and learning processes into more productive and fruitful ones Note-taking is an essential skill for success in higher education and beyond Practical note-taking skills enable students to capture important information, identify key concepts, and retain data for future use Moreover, note-taking helps students develop learning skills and enhance their analysing ability However, note-taking is not a skill that comes naturally to most students Many learners need help with note-taking, especially when studying in a different language or educational context This circumstance is particularly true for Vietnamese students studying abroad

self-in Australia In research conducted self-in Vietnam, Hương (2010) stated that note-taking and lecture-listening skills are the most challenging issue for Vietnamese students when studying abroad The research showed that the problem with the highest frequency during Vietnamese students' initial year in Australia was not writing essays

or scientific papers, academic English, differences in learning and teaching, time management, technical terms, or even the Australian accent, but rather the listening and note-taking skills required for lectures This problem highlights the need for Vietnamese students to be equipped with practical note-taking skills before they begin their studies abroad However, the issue is more expansive than just Vietnamese students studying overseas, and it is a must to question the reality of note-taking applications in learning in Vietnam In the country, note-taking skills need to be adequately taught and applied in secondary and high schools Students learning style tends to be more on the passive side, which does not align with the active learning

behaviors required for higher education in general According to Nguyen (2010), this passive trend exists from the primary note-taking method used in Vietnamese secondary and high schools: writing down what the teachers read or request Meanwhile, higher education requires active learning, which is different from the note-taking style in daily learning throughout the years The reality of inefficient note-taking in the Vietnamese study environment brings about a downward trend in a person's abilities to select details, analyse, create, and generalise If this passive learning style continues to be maintained in higher education, students' lifelong learning skills will be negatively affected Thus, universities should integrate active learning habits that align with the note-taking style required for higher education In addition, note-taking methods should be encouraged to enhance knowledge organisation, arrangement, and visualisation Moreover, note-taking tools are upgraded along with nowadays technology which results in a variety of note-taking software and apps such as Microsoft OneNote, GoodNotes, Notion, Apple Notes, Google Keep, Obsidian, Etc Professionally applying these tools allows students to enhance note-taking skills in this 4.0 environment where the intelligence and speed of technology will be used as powerful tools for people willing to learn and adapt Although note-taking is considered a critical component of formal classroom learning by most educators (Stacy & Cain, 2015), note-taking habits in Vietnam have yet to be studied and discovered significantly due to the undervaluing of its capabilities

2.5 Existing note-taking approaches

Since being discovered and developed in the early years, note-taking has been performed under many methods to assist learners Each method has advantages in enhancing learning strategies and metacognitive features to integrate and strengthen the thinking of an autonomous language learner Depending on the context, time and targets, people can use a variety of note-taking models below to apply:

 Cornell notes: This note-taking method was created by Professor Walter Pauk

at Cornell in the 1950s and named after Cornell University due to its creation and development place This method might be unpopular in note-taking aspects

However, the benefits of it are strongly related to encoding and analysis abilities To perform the Cornell method, firstly, a note-taker will divide their paper into three sections by drawing a horizontal line in the middle (or more to the left side) and a vertical line at the end of the paper When divided, the visual

of a Cornell note paper should look like an up-side-down T letter created by drawing two lines The right section of the paper will be the "Notes," in which note-takers write down what the lecturers or professors said and the information put on the board This section is to only jot down important and selected information which note-takers think is needed Using abbreviations, symbols and icons is encouraged in this section in order to keep up and engage the knowledge better The left section will then be used for "Cue" after taking notes

in the right section In this "Cue" part, note-takers will write down the question and comments when finished noting down information on the right side By commenting and questioning the knowledge, people will know what aspect of learning should be learned further or needs to expand According to Cornell instructions, some note-takers take notes and write cues simultaneously because

it helps them study and analyse simultaneously Using Cornell notes to fulfil these two sections, our brains are actively learning The last section, which in the summary part at the bottom of the paper is, functions as the name – to summarise This section answers the question, "What did you learn today?" Although summarising is not an easy challenge at all, note-takers will be able to personalise after noting down the lecturers' provided knowledge and information and digging more into the lessons by questions and comments in the cue and systemising the knowledge based on their own study guide The summary should also be written as concisely as possible In research comparing the benefits of Cornell note-taking methods versus guided note-taking methods

in a Secondary English classroom, the result points out the beneficial functions

of Cornell regarding the higher level of questions After doing the quiz for the experiments to compare the two methods, the Guided note-taking group had more positive results with 51 to 84 correct percentages, meanwhile the Cornell

group only from 56 to 61 per cent (Brazeau, 2006) However, this figure shows only one aspect of the quiz: the recall ability The guided notes method allows the users to basic comprehend and memorise new information regarding names, places or characters; in contrast, the Cornell method is more valuable when synthesising, applying, connecting and evaluating knowledge (Brazeau, 2006)

In learning English, students might consider implementing this note-taking method in subjects or lessons that need to be synthesised and analysed to better systemise and organise the knowledge An example can be viewed in research regarding Cornell notes effects on writing composition skills of EFL learners from Jordan Alzu'bi (2019) concluded that the "Cornell method helps the students to keep their writing organised, then it makes connections to the information and revises to produce the final draft of composition" The researcher came to such an end have analysed that when using the Cornell method in writing, the right section will be used for the details, and then on the left side, the note takers can practice pre-stage for the writing from the information on the right, and finally, the summarise section below two columns

is to practice the post-writing through reviewing and adjusting from conducted knowledge in the two previous sections Therefore, linking the vital information can create a better mindset and overview for further linguistic subjects

 Guided notes: Haydon et al (2011) defined "guided notes are a strategy that has been developed to provide support for students during note taking through teachers' prepared hand-outs that are used to support students during note taking

by reducing the cognitive demands that are required to successfully accomplish this task" Brazeau (2006) mentioned guided notes as "a framework for students to locate relevant information in a text or lecture by using prompts such as fill-in-the-blank statements or partial outlines" Guided notes benefit note-takers in memorising and recalling information, especially newly exposed knowledge (Brazeau, 2006) From a learning perspective, guided notes should

be applied to the introduction or initial steps of the lessons in order to create a first impression and build a basis for more complex activities However, using

guided notes is only sufficient when appropriately implemented When providing extensive hand-outs to the students, instead of presuming it is a method or tool for note-taking, they considered these guided notes a privilege that can grow into a standard student expectation (Brazeau, 2006) Guided notes can be separated into two smaller types: skeletal notes and complete notes

"Full notes are notes distributed following the lecture and contain all of the lecture's main ideas and supporting details; meanwhile, skeletal notes are distributed for note-taking prior to the lecture and briefly highlight only the lecture's main point" (Kiewra, 1985) Some significant concepts regarding these two types of guided note-taking, including the whole note and skeletal notes from that, can be inferred from Providing the Instructor's Notes: An Effective Addition to Student Note-taking (Kiewra, 1985):

- Skeletal notes are a more effective means of acquiring lecture information without a partial outline Due to the guided information, students are aware of the important content to drive their attention and elaboration Theoretically, it provides an advanced organisation, focuses on critical ideas, guides note-taking, and effective cues for retrieval

- Full instructor's notes which are interfering, are better means of external storage than personal notes due to their completion and better organisation of the content and knowledge However, students do not go beyond the provided information with this method

Students who perform and review these guided note methods tend to perform better at learning

- To maximise the value of personal notes, lecturers can initially provide students with skeletal notes

Therefore, guided notes should be performed with partial and logical outlines, or the lecturers and the learning outcome of the lessons will define the full content Furthermore, students can perform their own notes to achieve better results and perceive the knowledge rather than only memorising it for some time

 Mind mapping: Mind mapping is more popular among students when compared

to other methods, and the basis for this popularity is reasonable Tony Buzan was the creator of this note-taking method in 1970 This method which focuses

on visualising, managing and integrating the selected information from the lessons, is compelling for higher education students due to the increasing amount of knowledge throughout the years "Visual note-taking is naturally familiar to us since it has existed for centuries as proven by cave drawings of primitive man, hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt, and sketches of great thinkers such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michaelangelo" Mento et al (1999) Although children as we used to visualise pictures in their minds which are linked to the concept before learning a language (Margulies & Maal, 2001), regretfully, the creative channels are then blocked when children are trained to write only words in one colour on lined paper Mento et al (1999) The same situation also happened regularly in Vietnam's education environment It is not hard to find young kids studying in first grade to attend the extra class for practising beautiful handwriting In contrast to focusing on the norms of typical handwriting concepts, a mind map allows the user to record a great deal of information on one page and to show relationships among various concepts and ideas through simultaneous thoughts, images, mental pictures, and impressions

of our brain naturally functions Mento et al (1999) According to the creator of this method, as written in the Mind Map Book: How to Use Radiant Thinking

to Maximise Your Brain's Untapped Potential, a mind map which is a powerful graphic technique, is an expression of radiant thinking and is, therefore, a function of the human mind to unlock the potential of human brains The inventor of this method also created a set of "mind mapping laws" to assist note-taker in using both sides of their brain; namely, the left side deals with logic, words, reasoning, numbers, linearity and analysis, meanwhile the right one is in charge of rhyme, images and imagination, colour, daydreaming, face recognition, and pattern of map recognition Besides the basic information for the method, he also encourages note-takers to free their mind maximumly to

integrate and connect their thoughts In Buzan's book regarding this method, a good mind map can be done with these essential characteristics: a central image related to the main subject, thick branches radiating out in different colours, and

a single key image or word for each branch Buzan (2018) explained that to create a mind map after preparing those must-have features, secondary-level shoots from the first main branch should now be drawn and filled with keywords or symbols From then on, many branches represent for growing ideas of users from the secondary branches of the main ones will be freely developed as self-thinking (Buzan, 2018) A tip for this step is to avoid empty branches, as this will naturally inspire the brain to fulfil (Buzan, 2018) Then, keep filling the main branches whose ideal amount is five or six Finally, move freely around the map, fill in the gaps and add new sub-branches as ideas and associations that might be popped up (Buzan, 2018) Note-takers can also perform an extra step to add arrows as links between main branches to reinforce the connection (Buzan, 2018) Being able to extend and enhance knowledge through practising using more possibilities of the brain can be possible by practising mind mapping An experiment among 50 sophomore students participating in the "General English" course at National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University discovered that the mind map technique helped students

to find a more balanced approach to the issues, intensify associative thinking which is missed with traditional analysis (Buran & Filyukov, 2015) Modern working environments nowadays demand employees' creativities and breakthroughs in order to use the innovative contribution to compete with rivals

in a hard and fast market Students should prepare themselves to enhance and expose their own thinking potential by using mindmap as a tool to approach further thoughts, ideas, and life-long learning skills Especially at this time, popularly named the "AI era", people need to develop their values in distinctive and unique ways to blend in and use the technology rather than keep thinkings inside a box and weaken the humanity inside us

 Colouring method: Colours application around us can be interpreted as some definite common concepts such as the colours of traffic lights, traffic signs, temperature levels, Etc Gradually, some cognition and feelings related to these colours affect how people visualise something Even though the names of colours differ in languages, the recognition of their messages is still considerable Using colours in learning is an exciting method and a powerful tool to personalise notes and information In different languages, the colour categories are organised around the universal focal colours black, white, red, green, yellow and blue, which are privileged for human colour memory (Regier

& Kay, 2009) Furthermore, Regier and Kay (2009) also concluded that these privileges are among speakers of a language with a colour naming system different from English Based on the priority of memories, colour cognition is a tool to improve English learners' vocabulary mastery This colour-coding method which was experienced through pre-test and post-test instruments on the students of MTs Cimahi concluded that the implementation of colour-coding got positive responses in the teaching-learning process of vocabularies since their post-test results gained total raised when applying colour-coding(Regier & Kay, 2009) Colouring is also defined as a helper for students

to trigger their memory when reviewing the material Students in Vietnam are familiar with colour-coding using highlights, note paper, or colouring functions

on digital note-taking tools; however, using these primary colours, which are sensitive to note-taker's cognitive abilities, can enhance memory and recognition in learning English better Not only in learning vocabulary, but once creating and getting familiar with a self-colour-coding system, other aspects of learning English can also be applied Reading tasks with grammar and vocabulary, listening with interesting phrases and pronunciation, speaking with communication tips and etiquette, and much more can be recorded and recalled better using self-made colour-coded notes

 Digital note-taking: Technology development affects many aspects of our life, including teaching and learning activities Note-taking is also an important field

that is influenced strongly Students nowadays who are exposed to laptops, tablets and smartphones will be aware of some digital note-taking applications Murtafi'ah et al (2020) researched that most millennial students did digital note-taking to help them create notes faster and easier by using mobile and laptops However, due to the high competition in the app market, many considerable options in functionality and price regarding note-taking are launched and introduced, but not every note-taking apps permit students to draw upon, edit, summarise and highlight in a manner that allows cognitive involvement in the taking note process (Stacy & Cain, 2015) Regarding note-taking activities being done by selecting substandard digital applications, despite assisting students in recording the information faster, disadvantages in understanding and cognitive process when rephrasing and personalising the note might happen Therefore, when applying digital note-taking tools, there must be a careful selection among apps that allow students to perform noting functions (Stacy & Cain, 2015) rather than only supporting grammar checks, writing style and other standard boosting speed features

Students and lecturers can utilize these note-taking strategies to improve and reinforce learning outcomes in courses based on different scenarios and concepts in learning Additionally, these note-taking methods can be used to assist in organizing and synthesizing material, making it simpler to absorb and retain Taking notes can also help develop active learning skills and participation in classes