Students’ attitudes towards mobile applications in learning english listening skills at ho chi minh city university of foreign languages and information technology

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY --- LE HOANG THAI THUONG STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS MOBILE APPLICATIONS IN LEARNING ENGLISH LISTENING SKI

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

-

LE HOANG THAI THUONG

STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS MOBILE APPLICATIONS IN LEARNING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

-

STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS MOBILE APPLICATIONS IN LEARNING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY

Submitted to the Faculty of English Language in partial fulfilment of

the Master’s degree in English Language

The thesis entitled “Students’ attitudes towards mobile applications in learning English listening skills at Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology” was successfully defended and approved on March 29th,

2023 at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH)

Academic supervisor: Duong My Tham, Ph.D

(full name, title, signature)

Examination Committee

1 Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Ph.D Chair

2 Cao Thi Phuong Dung, Ph.D Reader 1

3 Le Van Tuyen, Ph.D Reader 2

4 Tran Quoc Thao, Ph.D Member

5 Nguyen Thi Thu, Ph.D Secretary Member

On behalf of the Examination Committee

Chair

(full name, title, signature)

HCM UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

MASTER’S THESIS REPORT

Student name: Le Hoang Thai Thuong Sex: Male

Date of birth: June 1st, 1992 Place of birth: Dong Thap Province Major: English Language Student code: 2041900026

I- Thesis title:

Students’ attitudes towards mobile applications in learning English listening skills at

Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology

II- Objectives and contents:

This study aimed to examine second-year English majors’ attitudes towards the use of mobile applications in learning English listening skills at Ho Chi Minh City University

of Foreign Languages and Information Technology The researcher applied the mixed methods, using a survey questionnaire and the semi-structured interview The findings from both quantitative and qualitative data indicated that most of the one hundred and one participants had positive attitudes towards the use of mobile applications in learning English listening skills in the classrooms Furthermore, the study revealed that English majors with stronger levels of English listening skills were more inclined to use mobile applications for practicing English listening skills

III- Starting date: (as stated in the Decision issued by the University)

IV- Completing date: December, 2022

V- Academic supervisor: Duong My Tham, Ph D

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled:

“STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS MOBILE APPLICATIONS IN LEARNING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY”

In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee of Faculty of English Language, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

Ho Chi Minh City, December 2022

Le Hoang Thai Thuong

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, LE HOANG THAI THUONG, being a candidate for the degree

of Master of Arts (English Language) accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of the Master’s These deposited in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my Master’s Thesis deposited

in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan and reproduction for theses

Ho Chi Minh City, December 2022

Signature:

LE HOANG THAI THUONG

SUPERVISOR’S COMMENTS

HCMC, ……/……/……… Supervisor’s Signature

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Throughout the entire study process, I would like to convey my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Duong My Tham, for her compassion, guidance, insightful comments, and consistent support This thesis would not have been finished without her strong support and direction

I'm thankful to Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, the Postgraduate Institute, and the Faculty of English Language for giving me the chance to go to college and for always being there for me when I had problems while I was studying

Dr Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Dean of the Faculty of English Language, has always made everything useful for myself and my fellow students During the learning process, my classmates and I could not have completed all of our tasks on time without her assistance

I am thankful to Mrs Bui Thi Thanh Truc, Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, for granting me permission to perform my research experiment In addition, I would like to express my gratitude to Mrs Nguyen Thu Hien, my English lecturer who provided me with effective cooperation and assistance with data collection and the pilot project at Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology

Le Hoang Thai Thuong

ABSTRACT

Technology continues to create new avenues for inspiring language learners Collaboration among institutions, teachers, students and communities is crucial to unlock technology’s potential in a particular setting English learners should also learn to use technology to develop their listening skills, which are essential in learning English language In English as a foreign language classes, this ability is likely to be underemphasized This can lead to misunderstandings and make it difficult to interpret what speakers intend to say This study aimed to investigate how sophomores majoring in English at Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology (HUFLIT) thought about using mobile devices to improve their English listening skills One hundred and one English majors

at HUFLIT participated in the mixed-methods study Using the mixed-methods research design with a survey questionnaire as the primary data collecting instrument and the semi-structured interview, the study obtained significant findings and accomplished its objectives The quantitative data collected from the questionnaire were processed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 20.0 (SPSS 20.0) The findings from the quantitative and qualitative data indicated that the majority of participants had positive sentiments regarding the use of mobile applications inside classroom Moreover, the study also found out there was a positive correlation between the English majors’ attitudes towards the intention to use mobile applications

in learning English listening skills and their levels of English listening skills The result indicated that the higher scores of English listening skills the participants have, the more they consider using mobile applications to practice English listening skills (257 words)

Keywords: attitude; English listening skills; English major; mobile application;

mobile learning

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ii

SUPERVISOR’S COMMENTS iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv

ABSTRACT v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi

LIST OF TABLES x

LIST OF FIGURES xi

LIST OF ABBREVIATION xii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Statement of the problem 5

1.3 Aims and objectives of the study 7

1.4 Research questions 7

1.5 Scope of the study 8

1.6 Significance of the study 8

1.7 Definition of key terms 9

1.8 Organization of the study 9

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 11

2.1 Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) 11

2.1.1 Definition of MALL 11

2.1.2 The impacts of MALL on language skills 13

2.1.3 The application of mobile applications in language education 16

2.2 Listening skill 19

2.2.1 Definition of listening skill 19

2.2.2 Approaches to learning and teaching listening skill 20

2.2.3 Difficulties during teaching and learning listening skill 20

2.3 Attitudes 21

2.3.1 Definition of attitudes 21

2.3.2 Components of attitudes 22

2.4 Previous studies 22

2.4.1 Applying mobile applications for learning listening skills 22

2.4.2 Attitudes towards mobile applications 24

2.5 Conceptual Framework 25

2.6 Summary 26

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 27

3.1 Research design 27

3.2 Research site 28

3.3 Sample and sampling procedure 29

3.4 Research instruments 30

3.4.1 Questionnaire 30

3.4.2 Semi-structured interview 31

3.5 Data collection procedure 32

3.5.1 Questionnaire 32

3.5.2 Semi-structure interview 32

3.6 Data analysis procedure 33

3.7 Validity and Reliability 34

3.8 Ethical Issues 36

3.9 Summary 37

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 38

4.1 Results 38

4.1.1 Students’ attitudes towards the application of mobile applications 38

4.1.1.1 Overall Results 39

4.1.1.2 Detailed results 40

4.1.1.2.1 English major’s attitudes towards perceived usefulness of MALL in learning English listening skills 41

4.1.1.2.2 English majors’ attitudes towards perceived ease of

use of MALL in learning English listening skills 42

4.1.1.2.3 English majors’ affective attitudes towards the use of MALL in learning English listening skills 44

4.1.1.2.4 English majors’ attitudes towards perceived difficulty of Use of MALL in learning English listening skills 46

4.1.1.2.5 English majors’ attitudes towards the intention to use MALL in learning English listening skills 47

4.1.2 The Correlation between English Students’ Attitudes towards mobile applications and their levels of English listening skills 49

4.2 Discussion 52

4.2.1 The English majors’ positive attitude 52

4.2.2 The positive correlation between the English majors’ attitudes towards mobile applications and their English listening proficiency 55

4.3 Summary 56

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 57

5.1 Summary of the findings 57

5.2 Pedagogical implications 59

5.3 Limitations 62

5.4 Recommendations for further research 62

5.5 Summary 62

REFERENCES 63

APPENDIXES 78

STUDENTS’ QUESIONNAIRE 78

INTERVIEW QUESTION 85

INTERVIEW RESPONSES 87

PLAGIRSM CHECK 89

Chapter 1 3273 words Chapter 2 4791 words Chapter 3 2817 words Chapter 4 5674 words Chapter 5 1999 words

Total: 18554 words

LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Demographic Information of the Participants 29 Table 3.2: Reliability Statistics on the five dimensions 34 Table 4 1: The Overall Statistics Results of English majors’ attitudes towards the

use of MALL in learning English listening skills 37

Table 4.2: Results of perceived usefulness of MALL in learning English listening

skills 39

Table 4.3: Results of perceived ease of use of MALL in learning English listening

skills 40

Table 4.4: Results of English majors’ affective attitudes towards the use of MALL

in learning English listening skills 42 Table 4.5: Results of perceived difficulty of use of MALL in learning English

listening skills 44

Table 4.6: Results of English majors’ attitudes towards the intention to use MALL

in learning English listening skills 45 Table 4.8: The Correlation between English majors’ attitudes towards mobile applications and their levels of English listening skills 47 Table 4.7: The Correlation between English majors’ levels of English listening skills and the Intention to use MALL in learning English listening skills 49

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Features of mobile devices 14 Figure 2.2: Conceptual framework for attitudes towards MALL 26 Figure 3.1: Data collection and analysis procedures 34

MALL Mobile-Assisted Language Learning

M-learning Mobile Learning

PD Perceived Difficulty of Use of mobile applications

IU Intention to use mobile applications

PDAs Personal Digital Assistants

PE Perceived Ease of Use of mobile applications

PU Perceived Usefulness of mobile applications

SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study

It is well-known that mobile phones or smartphones are the essential devices which everyone keeps beside them because they are very convenient tools for many aspects of life Obviously, people nowadays depend on their mobile phones Using mobile phones is popular in Vietnam and people love to use them in many different aspects of life such as contacting friends and family, working, playing games, watching movies and learning And to English learners, mobile phones can be great tools for them in improving the English skills There are many studies of language learning and teaching using mobile devices and mobile applications For instance, using mobile phone to improve the knowledge of vocabulary (StockWell, 2010; Zhang, Song, & Burston, 2011) or grammar, speaking and listening (Rueckert, Kiser,

& Cho, 2012) Brown (2015) stated that of all four language skills, listening is more frequently used than speaking However, he also stated that listening comprehension received less attention of teachers and less time in English learning than speaking, writing and reading

Additionally, one of the most difficult language skills is listening (Artyushina

& Sheypak, 2018; Tran Quoc Thao & Duong My Tham, 2020) In the Vietnamese EFL context, there are many obstacles for students when they try to train and perfect their listening skills For instance, teaching and learning listening skill at high school have been discussed for a long time, but this skill has not received much attention There is probably a reason that high school examinations do not include listening tests, teachers would rather spend more time on other skills which help their students pass the examinations and get high scores Due to lack of investment, students in high schools always have many problems with listening comprehension Tran Quoc Thao and Duong My Tham (2020) found numerous problems which students at a high school in Ho Chi Minh city faced while they learn English listening skills such as phonetic barrier, vocabulary obstacle, materials Furthermore, at the university level,

listening skills also cause many difficulties for students Nguyen Ngoc Quyen and Thai Cong Dan (2018) concluded that first year English majors at some universities

in Mekong Delta also faced similar difficulties like high school students and other factors including speakers’ accents, students’ concentration ability and negative emotions in learning listening comprehension

Generally, learners may face huge numbers of problems in listening skills which stop them from understanding speakers’ ideas, and affect their concentration ability while listening Artyushina and Sheypak (2018) divided listening difficulties into four groups including difficulties with strange topics; difficulties with native speakers’ speech; difficulties with the culture of a foreign language; difficulties with introductions of the contexts For example, a listener may have to follow and get the information from his or her speaker passively when the speaker raises a topic This may be a problem to the listener if this topic is not familiar to him or her In addition, listeners do not have a chance like readers to look at the unusual information the second time, so they have to listen carefully and follow the speakers Listening is even more difficult to listeners because listeners will not be able to repeat the message

if the speakers go too quickly in his speech As an English teacher at a language school, the researcher also witnesses a common problem among English learners when they learn listening that is learners seem understand their teachers and classmates, but they barely understand English native speakers The reasons of this problem may be the speakers’ styles of communicating which are more informal and different from their teachers and classmates inside classrooms Goh (2000) also stated that the speakers’ pronunciation, the high speech rates and strange vocabulary could influence leaners’ listening comprehension Not knowing the culture of a foreign language is also an obstacle to learners Therefore, to understand English native and non-native speakers and master listening skill, learners should be aware of the oral message from the position of cross-cultural communication In addition, according to Brown (2015), the second or foreign language (L2) culture is one of many factors which affect aspects of lessons or curriculum He also stated that learning culture

would help learners realize what people expect of them and what would happen if they did not follow the expectations while communicating

Thanks to the advance of mobile technology, mobile learning (m-learning) which was defined as learning by using mobile devices such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops or smart phones (Traxler, 2009) has received a lot of attention in teaching and learning L2 (second language) Especially, mobile applications which are functions of smart phones can help learners develop their listening comprehension Moreover, using mobile phones for learning and teaching is a fruitful trend which can simplify the ways learners and teachers work inside and outside of classroom, particularly mobile applications In order to serve the purpose of studying English, many applications have been created and they are very excellent tools for learning English (Hockly, 2012) M-learning has offered numerous opportunities to support teachers and learners in and outside the classroom (Martin & Ertzberger, 2013) Although there are some disadvantages which stop learners from using m-learning to improve their language skills such as cost, accessibility, and technical considerations, many mobile applications still have been used widely for the purpose

of learning L2 For instance, according to Wang and Smith (2013), Japanese learners mostly have a mobile phone, and smart phone users are well-known Thornton and Houser (2005) presented in their study that in Japan learners would like to have more learning materials which could be used on smart phones than on personal computers

And this type of learning can bring numerous of advantages Nowadays, people are sharing and accessing information quickly on the internet through Wi-fi However, with smart phones teachers and learners can access internet for learning and teaching not only through wi-fi but also through cellular data networks such as 3G, 4G or 5G Brown (2015) added when accessing to the Internet, smart phone users can reach numerous applications that for language learning with various and attractive learning structures such as playing game, watching movie or listening in L2 First appeared around 2005 in the United States, many universities tried to apply

mobile assisted language learning (MALL) into the class by offering their learners free mobile devices (Chinnery, 2006)

Then around 2009, mobile applications were sponsored and developed by the British Council to support language learning (Hockly, 2013) Nevertheless, basing on the time m-learning appeared in academic environment, it is still a new type of learning model Teachers and learners still have to deal with MALL limitations such as small screen size, battery lives, virtual keyboard, and one-touch data-entry However, depending on teachers’ and learners’ contexts, attitudes, and intention, integrating mobile applications into L2 instruction can be successful in learning an L2

According to the data of Vnetwork (2019), in Vietnam 96% of 64 million internet users accessed the internet via their mobile phones In addition, the data also showed that from 2018 to 2019, the smartphone users had touched their phones at an average of one-hundred and fifty times per day Therefore, most students at university levels in big cities like Ho Chi Minh city often possess smartphones M-learning also creates a more flexible learning environment at universities, and encourage students learning anywhere, anytime Then the researcher believes that m-learning will contribute and give students a chance to improve their habits of autonomous learning Obari et al (2008) did some projects to investigate the promise of mobile devices for English education and they stated that mobile phones had more convenient functions than computers’ and could be carried out and used anywhere, anytime Teachers and students are able to use mobile phone for multiple purposes such as planning a lesson, practicing language skills, or even performing tasks Moreover, mobile learning can also improve their learning autonomy, which is very important for improving language skills, especially listening skills, because mobile learning can help learners access their learning materials whenever they want to learn and study at their own pace Many studies have been conducted to prove the potential of mobile phones in developing listening skills For instance, students improved their listening skills with their own portable devices for additional listening (Chen & Chang, 2011) Students showed positive attitudes towards using wireless application protocol sties for

learning listening skills on mobile phones (Nan, White & Sussex, 2008) Using podcasts on mobile phones enhanced students’ L2 listening comprehension outside the class (Reinders & Cho, 2010) Cakmak and Ercetin (2017) conducted a study which showed the effects of multimedia glosses on L2 listening comprehension and incidental vocabulary learning by listening to a story through mobile phones Learners will be able to receive a lot of benefits when they possess mobile phones or smart phones for learning listening skills They can easily access hundreds of learning applications with videos, podcasts, games, and special language programs Besides, smart phones are more accessible than computers or mp3 devices while learning listening Nowadays, with advances in technology, students do not have to wait until they get home to practice listening skills They just simply turn on their phone and access learning applications and plug in the head phones then they can practice listening This makes mobile learning convenient because students can use their small portable smart phones to listen wherever and whenever they want If teachers know how to motivate their students to listen regularly on their mobile phones, it will help them improve their good listening skills Entertainment may be another reason for students to use mobile phone applications to learn L2 Application developers have built and set up their applications for both learning and entertaining with a lot of interesting and various contents, students can choose their favorite programs, songs

or listening tasks to practice listening skills In higher education, students need to balance between studying and relaxing Therefore, it is wonderful when learning with mobile applications can help them enjoy learning listening skills which are difficult but very important for communicative purposes

1.2 Statement of the problem

Many studies revealed that using mobile phones in learning was effective to a great extent In addition, Alsied (2019) stated that using mobile phones to check new words, listening to English songs offered learners great benefits in improving their language skills From the researcher’s observation, however, in most of the Vietnamese universities, especially in Ho Chi Minh city university of Foreign

Languages and Information Technology (HUFLIT), few teachers and learners have tried applying mobile applications in learning and teaching English listening skills Although some of articles published in HUFLIT Journal of Science mentioned the modernization, globalization and the fourth industrial revolution (IR 4.0) in teaching, learning and managing English classes, yet mobile applications have not been applied officially Additionally, the world has been suffered an enormous pandemic, COVID-

19, which affected the educational field severely Mobile learning continues to create fluctuations that affect teaching and learning styles during the pandemic

Listening is a challenging skill to develop while learning English language Nowadays, Technology has made it easier for teachers and students to teach and learn

a foreign language, and mobile applications have offered students opportunities to learning anywhere and anytime Especially, in Vietnam context where English major students study English as a Foreign Language, there are fewer chances for them to practice listening skills outside of the class But the idea of integrating mobile applications in and outside of the class may help students develop their listening competence They will be happy to decide by themselves which subjects, topics, materials, methods, and techniques to study when working on the mobile applications which are recommended by their teachers Therefore, it is better if teachers can provide guidance on appropriate mobile applications since some students may not be good at technology

However, although more students have been using mobile phones for learning, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, at HUFLIT the use of mobile phones have not been integrated into the teaching and learning listening process Additionally, with limited in-class listening practice, English majors may have difficulties when practicing listening skills through homework or materials As a result, they would like to try other sources online Nevertheless, it is quite expensive

if students need a laptop or a computer just for finding extra sources outside of the class Therefore, it would be beneficial for most university students, particularly English majors at HUFLIT to use smartphones as learning resources

Many researchers conducted their studies with mobile learning helping students develop their English skills Most of them agreed that mobile learning had positive effects on the language skills (Al-Shamsi, Al-Mekhlafi, Busaidi & Hilal, 2020; Artyushina & Sheypak, 2018; Jati, 2018; Kim, 2013; Utami, 2020; Zhu, 2018) In Vietnam, applying mobile applications in teaching and learning English in higher education probably faces a lot of difficulties such as school policy, educational quality, and budgets, etc However, in recent years more and more studies have paid attention on mobile learning for English major students Thus, it is necessary to investigate teachers’ and English majors’ attitudes towards using mobile applications

to learn listening skills Besides, there has been no research conducted at Ho Chi Minh university of Foreign Languages and Information Technology Therefore, this thesis is about to examine students’ perspective towards the employment of mobile application in learning English listening skills at HUFLIT

1.3 Aims and objectives of the study

The purpose of this research is to investigate the attitudes of students by using the mixed method for the employment of mobile applications inside the classroom in order to improve students’ listening skills at HUFLIT The objectives of this study are as follows:

To explore the English majors’ attitudes towards the use of mobile applications in learning English listening at HUFLIT

To examine if there are correlations between the students’ attitudes towards mobile applications and their English listening proficiency

1.5 Scope of the study

This study was conducted at Ho Chi Minh university of Foreign Languages and Information Technology, located at 828 Su Van Hanh street, Ward 13, District

10, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam The participants of this study were 101 second-year English majors The study was limited to the investigation of English majors’ attitudes towards the use of mobile applications in learning English listening skills, and the correlation between their attitudes and their English listening level Other language skills, such as reading, writing or speaking were not involved in the study Besides, only the affective component of the students’ attitudes was examined With the mixed method, the researcher used a closed-ended questionnaire to collect quantitative data from the students at HUFLIT first and then compare with qualitative quotes which was gathered by interviewing randomly 10 students from different levels with open-ended questions EFL students who took part in this study were given questionnaires, 10 randomly chosen students were interviewed to get their opinions on this topic

1.6 Significance of the study

The present study is significant because of the following reasons Firstly, this study may make theoretical and practical contributions in the area of applying mobile applications in learning and teaching listening skills Theoretically, the researcher tries to contribute to the field of mobile learning in terms of improving the quality of teaching and learning listening skills in higher education, especially at HUFLIT Secondly, in practice, this study may provide some useful recommendations and findings which help EFL learners have more effective periods learning listening skills with mobile applications inside and outside the class In addition, there are only few studies of applying mobile learning on listening skills at HUFLIT Additionally, the study may also raise the awareness of universities, education organizations, teachers and students relating to mobile applications in learning language skills, especially, for the upcoming time when the world in general and Vietnam in particular are struggling to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic and trying to digitalize many

fields and education is one of them Last but not least, other researchers may make use of this thesis’ the results and discussions for their future research in other similar contexts

1.7 Definition of key terms

Whenever any of the following terms are used anywhere in the current study, the meaning that they express is as follows:

- Attitudes are defined as an individuals' tendency to react to a particular object, activity, person, institution, event

- Correlation refers to the relationship between English majors’ attitudes towards the Intention of using mobile applications in learning English listening skill and their English listening proficiency

- English majors refer to second year students majoring in English at Ho Chi Minh city University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology

- Listening proficiency is defined as students’ scores of English listening test

on the English listening tests

- Listening skills refer to the abilities of receiving information by hearing what

1.8 Organization of the study

There are five chapters composed in the current thesis, including: an introduction chapter, a literature review chapter, a methodology chapter, a results and discussion chapter, and a conclusion and recommendations chapter

In Chapter 1, Introduction, a discussion of the study's context is presented initially Then, a statement of the problem, the aims and objectives of the study, research questions, the scope of the study, the significance of the study, and definitions of key terms are presented

Chapter 2 named Literature Review is a summary of the theoretical background regarding to the focus of the study First, it provides concepts of Mobile assisted language learning in terms of its definition, impacts, and the integration for language education Then the theories of listening skills, approaches to learn and teach listening skill and the difficulties of teaching and learning listening skill are summarized Following that, the definition of attitudes and attitude components are discussed and reviewed After that, a summary of the previous studies on mobile applications, learning listening skills and attitudes is presented Finally, a conceptual framework of the present study is established based on the reviewed literature at the end of the Chapter

In Chapter 3, the methodology of the study is presented Specially, in the first half of this chapter, the research questions mentioned in Chapter 1 have been rewritten The following section describes the research design, followed by the research setting Then, this chapter covers how the sampling was carried out and describes the study's participants Then, the research instruments, which are regarded

as the most crucial component for the success of the study, are assessed The chapter continues its presentation of the data collection and analysis technique The chapter concludes with sections on reliability and validity

Chapter 4, Results and Discussion, extensively describes the results of the study based on the data acquired from the questionnaire and the semi-structured interview, followed by a discussion of the findings based on the data analysis and the literature provided in Chapter 2

Chapter 5 is entitled Conclusion and Recommendations In this chapter, the key findings of this investigation are summarized concisely The chapter continues with ideas for future pedagogical practices and concludes with a discussion of limits and recommendations for future study

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

In this part, the researcher will give an overview of the literature on the application of mobile application for teaching and learning listening skills and attempt to provide the relevant past research This part will consist of the definition

of mobile assisted language learning, listening skills, attitudes, the integration of mobile applications for language education The previous studies of the application

of mobile applications for learning listening skills and attitudes towards mobile applications in other contexts will also be gathered in this part

2.1 Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL)

is also described as the use of mobile technology in learning a language (Miangah & Nezarat, 2012) Brown (2015) stated that MALL was invented in order to meet the learners’ demand for learning anytime and anywhere In the same way, O’Malley et

al (2003) also defined that MALL was when learners no longer depended on fixed location and they had chances to use mobile technologies for their learning ubiquitously Furthermore, Rosell-Aguilar (2013) added that mobile learning provided teachers and learners more space to extend learning outside traditional learning environments According to Harris (2001), MALL could be supposed to connect mobile computing and e-learning to create an anytime and anywhere teaching

and learning experience Attwell (2005) and Dye et al (2003) stated that m-learning could present content and form distance communication between teachers and learners with the help of mobile devices such as PDAs, laptops, and mobile phones

Ecem and Mithat (2017) mentioned that MALL was a subfield of m-learning and became more and more popular in the educational field in recent years In addition, Frank (2011), Pollara and Kee (2011), Sad and Goktas (2013) also proposed that m-learning is an extension of e-learning basing on mobile devices Quinn (2000) defined m-learning as e-learning through mobile computational devices like Palms, Window machines, and digital cell phones Koike et al (2005) stated that there were

a lot of schools that applied and developed m-learning, the new trend of learning process M-learning mainly focused on the mobility of learning and the interaction between learners and teachers, or among learners that can develop the effectiveness and flexibility of learning language skills (Li, 2008) In the study of El-Hussein and Cronje (2010), the idea of mobility was classified significantly into three areas: technological mobility; learning mobility; and learners’ mobility Technological mobility is about the usage of mobile devices which help learners access learning materials anywhere and anytime In term of learning mobility, when integrating m-learning into lessons, it may increase the motivation and enthusiasm of learners while learning Moreover, according to Sharples et al (2005), new modes of educational were created such as personalization, learner-center, collaboration, lifelong learning, and ubiquity with the mobility of learning Lastly, learners are able to connect with each other easily for learning purposes when they are mobile In other words, m-learning gives learners ways to overcome the limitations of space and time in learning In this study, the research will take use of the above definitions of mobile learning and mainly focus on the use of mobile phones to access mobile learning applications for learning listening progress Ludin and Magnusson (2003), Milrad et

al (2002), and Viehland and Marshall (2005) stated in their studies that typical mobile learning applications could help instructors and students access learning resources and work together when taking part in learning activities In the same way,

Sharples (2000) concluded that some advanced mobile learning applications such as tutoring systems, simulated classrooms, dictionaries, and other resources could help students access learning materials whenever and wherever they want

2.1.2 The impacts of MALL on language skills

Integrating MALL will benefit teaching and learning language skills To compare with personal computer technology, Wang and Smith (2013) provided three reasons for the development of m-learning in language learning and teaching including power functionalities, flexibility in connecting internet with both Wi-fi and cellular data networks and the progress of mobile phone hardware Additionally, Brown (2015) stated that one of mobile devices with greater flexibility than personal computers was smartphones Smartphones help learners not only connect to Wi-fi or cellular data networks but also access to abundance of learning mobile applications immediately Furthermore, with the development of technology, nowadays mobile applications for language learning may be more glamorous alternatives than traditional learning materials Godwin-Jones (2017) and Kukulska-Hume (2015) asserted that there were positive impacts when applying mobile technology for language learning According to Duman et al (2015), with mobile technology, mobile learners and teachers can have flexible time and experiences of collaboration inside and outside classroom Additionally, in recent years, mobile devices, especially mobile phones, are developed with significant features which were described in the Figure 2.1 (Bozkurt, 2017) Multiple sensors may be the most significant feature that increase the users’ experiences

Figure 2.1 Features of mobile devices (Bozkurt, 2017)

With the above features, mobile devices can be possibly used by teachers and learners in order to increase the effectiveness of learning language skills In this study, the researcher will focus on the use of applications on smartphones which include most of mobile devices’ features and are continuously enhanced by developers from around the world Moreover, students find that learning with mobile devices is exciting and appealing, because they can learn and work with their most favorite daily devices (Attewell, 2005; Nihalani and Mayrath, 2010; Perry, 2013; Thomas and Munoz, 2016; Traxler, 2009) Although mobile devices like smart phones have not been officially designed for high education, they still have a lot of benefits for language classrooms Brown (2015) indicated that applications of technology in a language classroom were apparently perpetual Learning vocabulary with MALL, especially mobile phones, has been more and more popular in recent years Saran et

al (2008) and Lu (2008) concluded that students showed positive attitudes when they use their mobile phones to learn new words and they could understand more vocabulary than those who work with the paper-based requests Additionally, Butgereit and Botha (2009) asserted that learners had more fun in both preparing and training spelling English words

Not only learning vocabulary, MALL also reveals great potential in applying for other learning situations Using mobile social network like Facebook on smart phones also helped learners have more opportunities to study and experience knowledge outside classroom Al-Shehri (2011) Additionally, MALL helped the participants who were male and female college students in Abedalla’s study (2015) not only learn speaking skills more effectively but also connect with each other more easily with the use of mobile applications Besides, from the findings, Abedalla also stated that with MALL learners could be able to compare the language they learned with their own language For writing and reading skills, Chang and Hsu (2011) introduced a system which support students in translating materials and sharing with others in the course of intensive reading In term of practicing listening and speaking, Demouy and Kukulska-Hulme (2010) indicated that participants were willing to adapt the use of iPods, MP3 players and mobile phones in order to practice the skills Wang and Smith (2013) announced that learning reading and grammar with mobile devices showed good experience in language learning Students in the study of Nah

et al (2008) were motivated to study with mobile phones by accessing wireless application protocol sites through the Internet for improving listening skills They also stated that mobile phones could enhance chances for learners to learn language skills actively and effectively Artyushina and Sheypak (2018) concluded in their study that podcasts on mobile phones could assist learners’ listening skills outside the classroom Also, in term of improving listening skills Kim (2013) provided results that were evidence for the possibility of MALL in helping learners Moreover, the study showed advantages and disadvantages of mobile phones’ applications in learning listening skills Although integrating mobile phones in teaching and learning has been receiving more attention, less studies have been conducted to investigate learners’ attitudes of integrating mobile applications into listening skill in high education level, especially at HUFLIT Therefore, this study tries to focus on the attitudes of the students of mobile applications then providing schools more information for developing better learning listening skill experiences

2.1.3 The application of mobile applications in language education

Difficulties while listening and the critical nature of mastering listening skills for language acquisition highlight the need to develop new strategies and techniques

to aid in listening comprehension Furthermore, few studies such as Al-Handhali (2009), Gangaiamaran and Pasupathi (2017), Yabukoshi (2018), and Vamdergrift and Goh (2012) stated that it was important to encourage students to engage in self-regulated learning by seeking out chances for listening outside of the classroom Also, for the learning process there has been a growing emphasis on the use of authentic resources (Vandergrift, 2007) and on offering substantial listening experience to the L2 language outside of the class (Lee & Cha, 2017)

According to the aforementioned discussion, integrating mobile learning can help learners in decreasing the level of their anxiety, while increasing their language exposure, improving their independence, and developing some strategies for learning that will motivate them to seek out further opportunities outside of the classroom while learning English skills, especially listening skills (AlAamri, 2011; Al Yafei & Osman, 2016; Chen, 2016; Kim, 2013; Kukulska-Hulme & Traxler, 2005; Liu & He, 2015; Rahimi & Soleymani, 2015) Outside of the classroom, mobile devices can be used to upgrade the learning process and foster a better environment of self-regulated learning (Zheng & Chen, 2018) Additionally, mobile-based learning can be a practical tool for offering rapid comments and assessment to students, allowing them

to track their linguistic self-improvement (Chen, Hsu & Doong, 2016) Therefore, in order to have a better look towards the applications of mobile devices in enhancing listening skills, this study intends to investigate English majors’ attitudes at HUFLIT

According to Pachler et al (2010), mobile technologies are evolving at an incredible rate, giving a variety of materials, including interactive apps, suited for independent language study and creating new learning contexts As a result, EFL teachers have begun to apply a variety of mobile devices in recent years, including tablets, MP4 players, and others However, mobile phones and smartphones are the most utilized technology for language acquisition In addition, according to

Kukulska-Hulme et al (2007), most MALL activities involve the usage of mobile phones Mobile phones and smartphones have many functions, including SMS, MMS, video features, or apps for language learning Furthermore, mobile devices are widely accessible and easy to use, so they can be used as tools to help learners improve their language skills Many studies have been conducted to prove the benefits of applying in mobile devices in education

Technology is a potent tool for education, and it may be used in various ways

to speed up teaching and learning process The widespread availability of mobile devices has simplified the learning production, but knowing how to properly use mobile devices is critical in the linked society nowadays There are also various kinds

of portable devices for mobile learning and mobile boosted language learning, from simple devices to complicated multi-purpose equipment like mobile phones which provide numerous benefits to students such as flexibility, low cost, small size and user-friendliness (Trinder, 2005) Mobile learning technologies enable teachers and students to take a more flexible method to education According to Khaddage et al (2016), as the use of portable devices has increased, so has the notion that such devices could be beneficial in the teaching and learning process Mobile applications are gaining popularity and can be used for a variety of purposes Numerous educational applications have been developed (Demuynck & Laureys, 2002) However, Pettit and Kukulska-Hulme (2007) asserted that users rarely recognize mobile phones' potential as a learning tool despite their sophistication and widespread use Only a minority of users use them for educational purposes

While mobile technologies have a number of advantages, researchers are investigating how they might be used to promote language acquisition (Huang et al., 2012) Smartphones also have drawbacks, such as tiny screen sizes and limited graphic presentation (Albers and Kim, 2013) They also have some technical challenges, including their reliance on the internet and the content's proclivity for instabilities of various kinds Shudong and Higgins (2006) explore the disadvantages

of mobile phone-based learning as well as the factors that limit its appropriateness in

their study They surveyed 32 university students about their mobile device use According to the study's findings, m-learning will take some time to become acknowledged as a component of the average person's lifelong education Ugur and Koc (2015) performed research to acquire insight into the frequency and manner in which students use their mobile phones in college classrooms The investigation discovered that most students did not utilize their smartphones to aid their studies but rather for personal purposes Apart from their potential useful uses, mobile phones

do have some disadvantages to consider For this reason, students must exercise extreme caution while using mobile phones as an educational tool, taking into account any problems and resolving them immediately

The number of people using and applying mobile applications keeps increasing, there are more and more studies on MALL and the factors affecting the mobile application and acceptance (e.g., Hussein, 2017; Liaw and Huang, 2015; Liu and Carlsson, 2010; Ngo Tan Vu Khanh and Gim, 2014) Additionally, there were seven factors affecting learners’ attitudes towards mobile applications including: perceived usefulness, ease of use, trust, context, character and personal qualities (Hamidi & Chavoshi, 2018) Davis (1989) conducted a study to investigate the two theories including perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use which leaded to the acceptance of users for technology Then, numerous studies have concentrated on utility and ease of use, two components of Davis's widely referenced Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) Despite its popularity in the literature, according to Chuttur (2009), TAM has been challenged for lacking the accuracy and relevance necessary to be considered a well-established theory However, with the second TAM model explaining almost half of the participants' usefulness assessments and usage intentions, the authors acknowledged that user acceptance of technology remains a complex, elusive, yet critical phenomenon (Venkatesh & Davis, 2000) In recent years, many studies have revealed other aspects impacting mobile learning besides the TAM components Shroff and Keyes (2017) developed a framework consisting

of four elements: perceived competence, perceived difficulty, perceived choice, and perceived interest

Gyoo-Mi and Sang-Jun (2017) created a complete hierarchical framework for content, system, learner, and language learning success factors, each with its own set

of sub-criteria, in the field of MALL Additionally, there have been several pieces of research on the elements that influence the acceptance of mobile learning Liaw and Huang (2015) discovered that perceived anxiety, self-efficacy, and self-regulation all had an effect on the acceptance of mobile learning in Taiwanese higher education Additionally, Skoumpopoulou et al (2018) discovered that members' performance expectations and behavioral intentions have an effect on their acceptance of technology in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom

2.2 Listening skills

2.2.1 Definition of listening skills

Listening is a receptive skill that learners use to gain information from speakers It is also the first skill that learners must acquire before embarking on their quest to master the English language When learners are good at listening, they can perform better in communicating Moreover, according to Brown (2015), students always spend more time listening than speaking in class He also added that listening ability was universally greater than speaking ability Although listening seems to be

a passive skill, students also have to think actively while listening to improve their listening skills

More importantly, numerous language-learning practices, both within and outside the language classroom, include listening Therefore, the development of listening abilities will lay the groundwork for developing other language skills Additionally, Nation and Jonathan (2009) defined listening as the natural predecessor

to speaking; the early phases of language development for language learners are entirely dependent on listening

2.2.2 Approaches to learning and teaching listening skills

For many language learners listening skills are considered as required skills, and it is one of the most challenging skills for EFL teachers to teach (Goh, 2014) He also stated that teaching listening lessons often included listening to paragraphs, replying questions and correcting students’ answers Approaches for teaching listening have been developed through a long history with the audiolingual method, the total physical response method and the communicative and task-based approaches Over the last several decades, three approaches which have been widely used to teach listening skills were top-down, bottom-up, and interactive models Listeners obtain the gist and main ideas of the listening passage through top-down processing Bottom-up processing requires listeners to concentrate on individual words and phrases and then piece together the details to form the entire content (Harmer, 2001)

In terms of interactive models, Brown (2015) asserted that listening is not a one-way path Additionally, Clark and Clark (1977) and Richards (1983) introduced seven processes in listening comprehension in their studies, including decoding auditory sounds; determining the function of the speech event; activating schemata; assigning literal meanings; assigning intended meaning; determining the demand for short-term or long-term memory, and retaining essential information or meanings As

a result, it should be evident that listening comprehension is an active effort, but more significantly, an interactive one (Goh, 2014)

2.2.3 Difficulties in teaching and learning listening skills

Although listening is a passive skill, it requires learners to be active while receiving information from speakers Enhancing listening skills in a second or foreign language is not simple, as learners must simultaneously process material and linguistic knowledge while listening (Kim, 2013) In addition, in reality, listeners have to depend on the speed rate of the speakers while communicating and do not have an opportunity to repeat the speech As a result, listeners often face cognitive restrictions in interpreting information in L2 communication Cook (1996) states that

both linguistic issues and memory constraints cause limitations on learners' capacity

to comprehend a second language

Language learners also have to face a number of obstacles which stop them from mastering listening skills Some learners find that they have physical and mental problems For instance, they have difficulties in hearing and remembering information from the speakers or troubles with the environment around such as air conditioners, and smoking

Brown (2015) asserts that eight characteristics create difficulties when learners perform listening skills in conversations, including clustering, redundancy, reduced forms, performance variables, colloquial language, delivery rate, pronunciation features, and interaction Authenticity may appear as one of the difficulties for learners in learning listening skills In other words, authenticity implies the use of natural language, which is unlikely to be slowed down or simplified For L2 learners, authenticity frequently means negative perceptions, as listening to authentic materials can be challenging When learners listen to unfamiliar topics at the same rate as native speakers speak, they barely pick up on the meaning and are left with a nearly continuous chain of sounds Brown (2004) states that the target language needs to be natural, and its learning tasks should be authentic to make the language more enjoyable to learners Therefore, according to Elkhafaifi (2005) and Kao (2006), teachers should provide materials that are familiar or relevant to students' interests and a variety of listening inputs, such as various types of speakers, speeches, presentation modes, and situations

2.3 Attitudes

2.3.1 Definition of attitudes

When integrating mobile devices into language teaching and learning, it is critical to understand the effectiveness of mobile applications as well as teachers' and students' attitudes regarding smart technologies Based on the ABC model of attitude developed by Albert Ellis (1991), attitudes are defined as a set of beliefs that enable

individuals to evaluate people, situations, objects or issues with confidence The ABC model stands for three components of attitudes: Affective, Behavior, and Cognitive Moreover, AbdulHussein (2014) also asserted that attitude refers to assessing another person, an idea, or an item He also added that attitudes are categorized as favorable

or unfavorable and positive or negative Additionally, they might be characterized as

a learned pattern of responding to social cues Ajzen (1993) states that attitude can be defined as an individuals' tendency to react to a particular object, activity, person, institution, event, or other distinguishable components of their universe In the same way, Banaji and Heiphetz (2010) assert that a set of feelings, beliefs, and behaviors towards a specific object, person, thing, or event is characterized as an attitude in psychology It is a taught tendency to assess or see things in a particular manner As

a result, one can have a good or negative evaluation or perception of specific items, events, and practices

2.3.2 Components of attitudes

According to Allport (1954), Hilgard (1980), Rosenberg and Hovland (1960), attitudes are composed of three components: affective, behavioral, and cognitive First, the attitude's affective component is concerned with how one's feelings or emotions shape one's attitudes about a person or item If one person has a positive attitude to someone or something, he or she is more inclined to address them positively It remains a psychological reaction that may be expressed verbally or nonverbally as an expression of one's feelings against a subject, item, person, or institution This reaction might be either favorable or negative Second, the cognitive component refers to our attitudes being shaped by our beliefs and knowledge about someone, something, or a circumstance It is connected with the individual's perception and information of a subject, object, or person And finally, the behavioral aspect is concerned with an individual's conduct towards another person or situation

As a result, this component may involve intents, plans, and commitments to carry out

a planned behavior

2.4 Previous studies

2.4.1 Applying mobile applications for learning listening skills

Mobile devices have been showing their benefits in many fields According to Cheon et al (2012) asserted that mobile learning enables engagement to occur outside

of the classroom in comparison to classroom-based computer learning Thus, many studies have been conducted in order to prove the needs for mobile applications in education

Azar and Hassan (2014) studied the attitudes of EFL learners towards the applications of MALL on listening skills They conducted the study with seventy students in Mahabad, Iran Traditional and mobile phone-based materials were used for the control group and the experimental group Then the researchers gave out questionnaire to the participants to investigate their attitudes towards the use of technology The findings showed outstanding performance of the control group with the assistance of mobile phones and the positive perceptions of learners in applying audiobooks on mobile phones for listening skills

Al-Shamsi et al (2020) conducted a study to investigate the effect of applying mobile devices on listening comprehension The quasi-experimental method including tests and questionnaire was applied to for forty-eight participants in an institute of a military school The participants in the control group show significant results in listening skills In addition, all participants agreed that learning with mobile phones increasing their vocabulary, motivating them to learn more and giving them opportunities to access learning lesson everywhere at any time

Read and Kukulska-Hulme (2015) conducted a study to examine the possibility and effectiveness of the audio news trainer which was a mobile application

on improving listening skills Research questions focused on the effectiveness of the app, its motivation for learning listening and students’ performance Ninety students

of The Spanish National Distance Education University were registered to participate

in the study By using pre-questionnaires and post-questionnaires, the researchers collected the data and analyzed them for the results The findings were impressive

Most of the students showed their enthusiasm to the use of the app and despite some disadvantages of mobile devices, they still wanted to continue using the app as an assistance tool for listening skills

2.4.2 Attitudes towards mobile applications

Nonetheless, according to Dashtestani (2016) and Stockwell (2008), the flexibility and widespread use of smartphones today do not guarantee that EFL learners and teachers would accept their use for educational reasons There are some studies which have been conducted to understand the perceptions of EFL teachers and learners towards the mobile applications for educational purposes Vo Van Loc and Vo Thuy Linh (2020) investigated the perceptions of sixty-nine EFL teachers at University X, Vietnam The qualitative approach and questionnaires were carried out and used to collect the data The findings showed that M-learning and the applications

on mobile devices received positive attitudes from EFL teachers and could be accepted in class

Vo Van Loc et al (2021) conducted a study to examine the behavior and awareness of EFL learners at a University in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam towards the use of mobile technology for English learning One hundred of EFL learners participated in the study and answered thirteen English-Vietnamese statements in the questionnaire Then, the researchers used the SPSS 20 to analyzed the data The results indicated that learners had positive perceptions and were willing to use mobile technology to practice English skills In addition, the university also showed the willingness to apply mobile learning applications in the future Pham Thu Tra (2019) conducted a study to investigate the attitudes of English learners from a university in Vietnam The researcher applied the mixed-method for the survey with the questionnaire Ninety-five first-year students took part in the study Both qualitative and quantitative data showed that majority of the participants had positive attitudes towards the application of mobile devices, especially smartphones used by 96% of participants in the study