(LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ) Using a record sorfware to promote High school students'''' English listening and speaking skills

1.1 Theoretical background of application technology in language teaching 5 1.3 Benefits of using record software in listening and speaking teaching 16... ABSTRACT The main aims of this

University of Languages and international studies

Faculty of Post-graduate Studies

NGUYỄN THỊ THU THỦY

USING A RECORD SOFTWARE TO PROMOTE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ENGLISH LISTENING AND SPEAKING SKILLS

(Sử dụng phần mềm ghi âm để phát triển kỹ năng nghe và nói

tiếng Anh của học sinh trung học phổ thông)

MA MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10

Supervisor: Trần Thị Thu Hiền, M.A

Hanoi, 2010

Faculty of Post-graduate Studies

NGUYỄN THỊ THU THỦY

USING A RECORD SOFTWARE TO PROMOTE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ENGLISH LISTENING AND SPEAKING SKILLS

(Sử dụng phần mềm ghi âm để phát triển kỹ năng nghe và nói

tiếng Anh của học sinh trung học phổ thông)

MA MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10

Hanoi, 2010

1.1 Theoretical background of application technology in language teaching 5

1.3 Benefits of using record software in listening and speaking teaching 16

2.6.3 Marking 27

3.3 Students‟ interest in English speaking and listening lessons 33

Appendix C The five speaking criteria were specified into the marking scales XI

Tables and charts

Chart 3.5 12D1 and 12D2 Pre- post speaking data 33 Chart 3.6 12D1 and 12D2 Pre- post listening data 34

ABSTRACT

The main aims of this study are to test the hypothesis on the benefits of applying record software named Adobe Audition in enhancing the high students English speaking and listening as well as in changing their interest in listening and speaking lessons

To fulfill this objective, a quasi - experiment research method in which post tests and brief questionnaire survey were used as research tools in this study

pre-The results obtained from the study are as follow: both English speaking and listening increased when using record function in Adobe Audition software However, the promotion in students speaking was not as good as that in listening Both students‟ interest in English speaking and listening was raised after using Adobe Audition

Hopefully, the results of the study can be used as referential material for teachers and students to enhance the effectiveness of using technology in teaching and learning English speaking and listening skills, and it will be the topic for other further studies in the future in reading and writing skills

LIST OF ABBREVIATION

CAPT: Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training CLT: Communicative language teaching

EFL: English as Foreign Language

ICT: Information and communication technology

OHPs : Overhead projectors

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language

PART A: Introduction

1 Rationale

English becomes very important in the time of globalization and as a result, communicative ability in English becomes necessary, and in many cases essential, to people of various professions This is true of Vietnam, too, where great efforts have been made to promote the quality of teaching and learning English At this time in Vietnam, the students who can speak English fluently are not many, which may be due to the fact that students are not tested orally Another factor accounting for students‟ low oral proficiency

is that they do not have adequate opportunities to produce the language In order to address the problem of inadequate exposure to the input of the target language and the opportunities for linguistic output, technology seems to be a workable solution

The benefits of using technology in the language classroom have been studied by many researchers in applied linguistics in terms of its benefits to the development of students‟ communicative skills Unfortunately, these benefits have not been researched sufficiently

in the context of Vietnamese schools, particularly, the high schools Thus, this study is an attempt to examine the benefits of using computer software to the students‟ speaking and listening proficiency The software which is experimented in this study is the „Adobe Audition‟, which is produced in the United States of America

From my practical experience, the Adobe Audition software has a number of advantages when it is used in the classroom Firstly, it allows teachers to record their voice when necessary for different pedagogic purposes, to edit the recordings as they want to improve its quality, to give and check students‟ homework effectively The software also supports teachers and saves their time planning their lessons, presenting their lessons or producing recordings for testing students‟ listening comprehension Teachers feel free to edit the recorded messages easily, for example, by shortening or lengthening sentences, while guaranteeing the voice quality Secondly, the software allows students to record their own utterances as frequently as they wish or to make their own recordings for further practice at home The third benefit of the software is that, with this software, students can make video clips with their own scripts so that they can listen again to their own voice at home by means of a mobile phone or a computer As a result, students can reduce their

anxiety in practicing speaking English This is extremely important given the fact that students‟ anxiety is a common classroom problem in many Vietnamese high schools Fourthly, the software is instrumental to promoting learner autonomy because they can learn English according to their own time and interest outside the school where teachers‟ direct supervision is absent

All the benefits mentioned above have been experienced by the researcher of this study herself However, those benefits are just what the researcher felt intuitively, rather than being tested empirically It is the absence of empirical evidence of the benefits of the Adobe Audition in the context of a Vietnamese high school that motivated the research to conduct this study, which was set out to test the benefits of Adobe Audition to the enhancement of high school students‟ speaking and listening profiency as well as their interest in the speaking and listening lessons The study was conducted in a school in Hanoi where the researcher herself was teaching

2 Aims of the study

The study aims to reach the following targets:

 To examine the benefits of using Adobe Audition in teaching listening and speaking English for high school students

 To find out whether, and to what extent, Adobe Audition enhances the students‟ interest in speaking and listening lessons

3 Scope of the study

The study limits itself to the testing of the effectiveness of Adobe Audition on grade 12 students‟ two communicative skills, i.e., listening and speaking only

The reasons for limiting the study to these two language skills are more practical than pedagogical Firstly, these skills are most important to students‟ English communicative ability because students cannot communicate well in English unless they are sufficiently good at speaking and listening Moreover, Adobe Audition is designed for teaching listening and speaking in the language classroom, not for other language skills such as reading and writing

The language input used for this study is mostly based on the textbook and some other supplementary materials, which were selected from authentic sources such as English newspapers or self - making video clips

4 Hypothesis

In this study, the following hypothesis was tested:

 The use of Adobe Audition enhances students‟ interest in listening and speaking English, thereby helping to improve their listening and speaking proficiency

5 Methods of the study

Since the purpose of the study is to test the impact of Adobe Audition on students‟ interest in listening and speaking English as well as their listening and speaking proficiency, an experimental design is appropriate However, given the practicalities of the study, a true experimental study was impossible For example, the researcher was unable to randomize the sample and to control other extraneous variables such as students‟ learning style preferences, or motivation Instead, two intact groups, 12D1 and 12D2, were selected for the study Therefore, the study is a quasi-experimental in nature

6 Organization of the study

The thesis consists of some following parts and chapters:

INTRODUCTION

This part presents rationale, scope, and objectives of the study Research methods, hypotheses and organization of the thesis are also given clearly in this chapter

This chapter provides fundamental and theoretical concepts related to the purpose of the study It deals with the application of technology in language teaching, the background of Adobe Audition software, and the benefits

of using record software in listening and speaking

This chapter not only presents setting of the study, participants, measurement instruments and making scales, but also provides the data collection and data analysis procedures

Not only the findings of the research in listening, speaking pre - post tests and surveys, but also the discussions are presented in this chapter

CONCLUSION

This final part gives the overall answers for hypotheses of the study, limitation of the study, implications for teaching and learning, and the author‟s recommendations

PART B: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Literature review 1.1 Application of technology in language teaching

In the time of information technology, computer and the hi-tech products are the keys

to success to lots of jobs, especially in the language teaching There is a lot of research that studied applying technology in teaching languages in the world, but not much in Vietnam

It should be started with the definition of applying technology in foreign language (FL) teaching According to Warschauer and Meskil (2000), nearly every type of FL classroom teaching has it own technologies to support The first technologies based on classrooms with chalks, blackboards, pens, papers and textbooks FL teachers following the grammar- translation method considered the blackboard as a perfect vehicle for the one way teaching method of information transmission Echoing this, Harmer (2001) notes that the chalkboards “provide a motivating focal point” for the classroom emphasis and can be used for variable purposes such as: note pad, explanation aid, picture frame, public workbook, game board or notice board Although the chalkboard is still seen in many classrooms globally, new technologies have been increasingly introduced into the classroom to add the traditional chalkboard In fact, the availability of pictures, charts, radios, cassette players, recorders, overhead projectors (OHPs), movies, televisions, etc… has considerably changed the classroom structures, and approaches to learning and teaching including second and/or foreign language learning and teaching For example, OHPs can help display the texts or exercises, pictures or diagrams, or students‟ writing in very high quality that makes them more vivid compared to those on the board Songs and stories recorded on audio tapes provide interesting classroom environments Videos are means to bring the real-life things and events into the classroom (Harmer, 2001)

Recent technological developments have created new technologies for educational purposes in addition to those mentioned above Of these new technologies, the most influential is computer softwares designed particularly for education including foreign language education The advantages of these technologies have been well reported For example, the benefits of technology in teaching pronunciation have been acknowledged It has been found out that technology helps learners recognize the sound, then imitate how

the sound is articulated Another aspect of pronunciation is suprasegmentals, which can be most effectively taught through the assistance of technological equipment which extracts pitch and intensity from the speech signal and presents the information on a video screen in real time, providing instantaneous visual feedback on stress, rhythm, and intonation A dual display allows native speakers‟ target to be presented on the upper half of the screen and learner's attempts and target to be replicated on the lower half The effectiveness of such equipment has been justified experimentally It has been shown that visual feedback combined with the auditory feedback available to normal-hearing individuals through the demonstration of the place of the articulatory organ is more effective than auditory feedback alone In language teaching methodology, suprasegmentals (stress, rhythm, and intonation) are given a very high priority in the pronunciation curriculum (Dickerson, 1989; Gilbert 1984, 1987; McNerney and Mendelson, 1987; Pennington and Richards, 1986; Wong, 1987) That is because suprasegmentals provide the backbone of utterances, highlight the information speakers regard as important while at the same time revealing their feelings (Bolinger 1986), and they are important in communicating discourse meaning (Brazil, Coulthard, and Johns 1980)

Some authors have suggested that having children use computers as tools for learning increases motivation in children who are less likely to be motivated by school

(Sharp et al., 1995; Burns, Griffin and Snow, 1999) Technologies represent potential

contexts where active participation of learners, in conjunction with caring teachers, can be well orchestrated and promoted (Heath, 1990; Johnson, 1991; Meskill, Mossop and Bates, 2000a; Palumbo and Bermudez, 1994) In the field of learning and teaching EFL, Meskill (2005) makes use of computer technology to draw and maintain learners‟ focus, stimulateproblem-solving, anchor discourse, and encourage learner-directed talk and action in her research Indeed, she reported that children who otherwise "removed" themselves from the school community by keeping their heads down on their desks, crying, acting out, and behaving in ways that revealed strong disconnections with school, became more active when the screen is turned on Meskill (2005) has stated that using computer in teaching language for children brought many a benefits, especially with the children of low motivation The author reflects that:

“I became most excited when we had this little boy John … John was unreachable He was just, he was a first grader, very little bit of English I couldn't get John to color I couldn't get him

to even get excited about using markers Nothing turned John on He had his head down on the desk most of the day in his regular classroom and with me And I was surprised by that, because

I had other first graders and we did lots of little fun projects and the other six year olds were joining in, but not John Then finally we put him next to the computer and Well! He sat up! I couldn't believe it He had a smile on his face, and he started, I mean his eyes were bright! And I thought my god look at this kid, he wanted to interact, he wanted to do something That was a real turning point John wanted to type his name, this is a kid I couldn't get a pencil in his hand, he was

so lethargic, wouldn't hold a pencil And here he's typing his name It was amazing to me”

(Meskill, 2005) The above anecdote shows how much technology motivates the learners Even a learner, who was so quite, became active when technology was used in the classroom Other authors have reported similar positive results in learners‟ learning outcome when technology is used Used appropriately, technology enhances not only the spelling but also other language skills as well as motivates students to keep their eyes longer to what the

teachers‟ targets Some researchers had pointed out that Computer - Mediated Communication (CMC) is a means to teach oral skills Within CMC forms, email

exchanging and instant messaging seem to be the most popular ones used by foreign language teachers and learners E-mail exchanging is one of the main forms of CMC called

“the mother of all internet application” (Warschauer & Meskill, 2000), which reflects a great number of pedagogical benefits both inside and outside FL classrooms Similarly, Gonglewski (2001) and his co-authors have provided evidence for a few pedagogical benefits of e - mail such as extending language learning time and place; providing a context for real world communication and authentic interaction; expanding topic beyond classroom-based ones; promoting student-centered language learning; encouraging equal opportunity participation and connecting speakers quickly and cheaply CMC is no longer human-computer interaction, but human - to - human interaction via the computer (Rosell- Aguilar, 2005) Abrams (2006) shares the same idea that CMC is the process of using computer to facilitate authentic communication between two or more people, and using CMC in language teaching and learning seems the main trend in the process of applying IT

in English FL education Chen (2009) has suggested that the integration of CMC into EFL

learning can increase both input (exposure) and output (use) of the target language that is needed for learners to promote both their linguistic and pragmatic competence What is more, Neri and Mich (2008), in their study on the impact of computer-assisted pronunciation training, showed that young learners improve their word-level pronunciation skills in English as a foreign language at a level comparable to that achieved through traditional teacher-led training In their research, the pronunciation improvement of a group of 11-year-old learners receiving teacher-fronted instruction was compared to that of

a group receiving computer assisted pronunciation training by means of a system including

an automatic speech recognition component Results showed that the pronunciation quality

of isolated words improved significantly for both groups of subjects and both groups of words that were considered particularly difficult to be pronounced and that were likely to have been unknown to them prior to the training Training with a computer-assisted pronunciation training system with a simple automatic speech recognition component can lead to short - term improvements in pronunciation that are comparable to those achieved

by means of more traditional, teacher - led pronunciation training (Neri et al., 2008) This

study further evidences the significance of technology to the teaching of pronunciation

As products of computer technologies, language teaching softwares, which are currently available on CD-ROMs, respond well to the demand of learners at variable levels

of proficiency and with diversified learning purposes These software packages give students opportunities to practice many learning activities at the same time, such as practicing conversations, working with texts, doing grammar and vocabulary exercises, listening to the texts and recording their own voices for progress monitoring Many CD-ROMs are now accompanied with the printed course books, providing a lot of extra input English material and exercises Recently, software for microcomputers has been developed

so that visual feedback as a tool for teaching FL is more accessible to language teachers This software is available and can be downloadable from the internet for free

The trend of using technology in teaching and instructing student‟s increases more when Cummins and Davesne (2009) presented an overview of research carried out on assessment using e-portfolios, which have been defined by Al Kahtani (1999) as “a purposeful collection of a student‟s work that is made available on the World Wide Web or

a recordable CD-ROM” It was Dewey (1933), who advocated using portfolios in his

research to reflect on and summarize what was learned and to monitor the learner‟s progress over time The research reviewed by the author‟s highlights that the process of reflection helps to develop learners‟ metacognitive skills which lead to the inclusion of self assessment tools as part of e-portfolio templates Technology application in teaching language can be seen in a variety of sectors, e-portfolio is also a useful way that enhances students‟ independent learning and self- assessments

The using of technology in reading-with-listening courses proves effective in giving students a better foundation both for language maintenance and for continuing acquisition If this kind of activity can be shown to support some acquisitions of oral proficiency as Lightbown et al (2002) suggested on their study, then an emphasis on reading needs no longer to be seen as taking away time from an emphasis on speaking (Chun, 2006, on a study, named: for an overview of Computer Assisted Language earning) technologies for reading Especially, for the language learners who want to improve the oral language proficiency, applying technology is a better way to choose (Henning, 2009)

Many authors have explored and brought significant benefits in learning and teaching listening and speaking languages Cummins and Davesne (2009) studied on the use of technology for assessment of FL abilities and also showed the better results in comparison with others means of teaching English FL Because of the benefits that technology has brought to FL teaching and learning, Jarvis (2006) stated that technological development has gone with teaching English and it has brought chances to people in communicating, working, doing business, relaxing or studying and non-native English speakers mainly come from Asian regions are at the top of using it

Jarvis (2006) commented that technology had played an importance role in English teaching and this matter is very clear to Vietnam at this time Therefore, being an English teacher means that you have to keep up with the trend of applying technology in the regional English FL teaching Under the view of technology used in teaching and learning

FL in Vietnam, there has been a significant research in this matter In using video in FL teaching listening and speaking, Tuan (2005) stated that when the teachers of language use some means of technology such as video, the students‟ eyes are caught because video excites interests in the meaning of the words and images or sounds In his study, Tuan

(2005) designed a syllabus for teaching listening and speaking using video with better results and attitude of participants in his research

Communicative skills are the goal of any foreign language programs or courses They are the evidence of successful language learning The poor quality of teaching speaking skill at university level in Vietnam results in a number of graduates who have difficulties in communicating in English (Bui, 2004) There are four main skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing in learning and assessing English However, at the end of each semester, students are only scored on a written test of reading and writing As a result, many students and even teachers are learning and teaching just for examination They spend almost their time improving reading and writing skills while „ignoring‟ listening and speaking skills (Hong, 2006) To solve this problem, a suggestion of using CMC (computer mediated communication) like some authors in the world mentioned above in teaching pronunciation and conversation was put forward to improve students‟ oral skills in Hong (2006) The author further stated that using CMC in teaching could improve learners‟ speaking and listening skills, and make them more confident to communicate in English Moreover, with CMC, students can not only promote their English communication, but also open their minds to the world

Regarding the use of technology in solving the poor FL communication skill,

another study was conducted to find out the roles of computer mediated collaborative

learning (CMCL) in a communication-oriented EFL classroom The discussion moved

from an overview of the principal domains of socio-cultural theory applicable to collaborative second/foreign language learning to the review of the current CLT approach (Long, 2010), the main focus of the research was the context of Vietnamese language education CMCL was then analyzed in terms of how it was able to support and enhance language improvement in the given CLT context

However, some studies showed that CMC did not bring about expected benefits in teaching communication skills For example, Thao (2003) found that technology was of no benefit to FL teaching In Thao‟s evaluative study on the use of CMC in FL teaching and learning, it was revealed that twenty percent of student respondents claimed that they were not motivated and made little progress in listening comprehension and proficiency Eighty percent felt that they made little and slow progress, which was under their expectations

Teachers also said that their students seemed to gain no remarkable advances in listening Moreover, it was not applying technology in teaching Fl that brought better teaching and learning results when a researcher tested the benefits of using technology in teaching some

of EFL skills Brooks (2002) and Brooks., et al, (2006) also found no evidence of a statistically significant benefit on spelling outcomes using a computer program for literacy learning Worse still, for reading there seemed to be a reduction in reading scores associated with the use of the program The authors suggested that all new literacy software needs to be tested in a rigorous trial before it is used routinely in schools In addition, an area of literacy where information and communication technology (ICT) might

have a role is in the teaching of spelling There was systematic review and meta-analysis

looking at the role of ICT on spelling acquisition found only seven small randomized controlled trials that evaluated the effectiveness of interventions using ICT in spelling instruction (Torgerson & Elbourne, 2002)

In summary, technology with its potential benefits is capable of helping resolve certain problems raised by the introduction of a CLT approach into the Vietnamese language classrooms, including Confucian educational values, examination-oriented educational system, class management, and authentic communication Lots of studies were done to examine this question Some of them showed better results while others indicated negative resultssince technology did not come up to the teaching expectations and consequently, teachers judged the work with technology as a time-consuming activity in

FL teaching and learning In other words, the benefits of technology in foreign language learning remain inconclusive, and this is the motivation for the researcher to carry out the present study

1.2 Adobe Audition software: A description

1.2.1 Origin and evolution of Adobe Audition software

Adobe Audition, which was known as Cool Edit Pro, is very useful software that allows you to record voice, mix music, clean the sound for movie, edit audio or video and more

At the first time of the Adobe Audition, the Syntrillium Software was founded in the

early 1990s by Robert Ellison and David Johnston, former Microsoft employees

Originally developed by Syntrillium and named as Cool Edit, the program that had some functions as the Adobe Audition does now but it was not convenient enough The full version was useful and flexible, particularly for its time Syntrillium later released Cool Edit Pro and added the capability to work with multiple tracks, as well as other features Audio processing, however, was done in a destructive manner because at that time, most computers were not powerful enough in terms of processor‟s performance and memory capacity to perform those functions in real time From time to time, other versions of Cool Edit were issued and renewed, such as: Cool Edit version 1, version 2 and to the version 2.1, it was added supporting for surround sound mixing and unlimited simultaneous tracks which was up to the limit imposed by the actual computer hardware Cool Edit also included upgrading such as noise reduction and some others effective functions

Adobe purchased the latest, non-shareware version, Cool Edit Pro v2.1, from Syntrilium Software in May 2003 for $16.5 million in cash Adobe then changed the name

of Cool Edit Pro to "Adobe Audition", which is maintained to the time being

1.2.2 Available versions of Adobe Audition software

Up to now, the Adobe Audition has been non stop upgraded with new useful functions There have been 3 main versions of the software for the sound and movie

Version1 (v1)

The Adobe Audition v1 was released on August 18th, 2003 However, it had no new features, and was essentially Cool Edit Pro under a different name Adobe then introduced

Audition v1.5 in May 2004; major improvements over v1 included pitch correction, frequency space editing, a CD project view, basic video editing and integration with Adobe Premiere, as well as several other enhancements

Version 2 (v2)

The Adobe Audition v2 was released on January 17th, 2006 With this release, Adobe Audition 2.0 gave auditor professional audio mixing results in real time Recording, mixing, editing, and mastering digital audio files with powerful tools brought flexibility and control to the user‟s desktop studio That makes it easy to create music, produce radio spots, and restore imperfect recordings Bringing audio and video together, using smart integration with Adobe video applications also made it become one of the most powerful tools to master and restore in mixing digital video and producing film Whether the user needed to build complex soundtracks, create sound effects or restore imperfect audio, Adobe Audition has the right tool and it was well adapted to different file formats: AVI,

native DV, MPEG, and WMV

This version 2 was better than the old one but it still did not meet the demand of the users, therefore, the next version should be developed

Version 3(v3)

Now in version 3, there is much to say that Audition has come to age as an Adobe application and a host of new features brought it right into contention as every bit a viable contender with other useful systems Adobe Audition v3 was released on November 8th,

2007 Besides such basic functions as professional audio, mixing, editing and mastering, new features include virtual instrument support, enhanced spectral editing, a redesigned multi-track interface, new effects and a collection of royalty-free loops Adobe Audition v3

is designed for audio specialists in music, radio, video, and the web It provides a flexible

production toolkit for a broad range of audio engineering tasks

Audition v3 is primarily divided into three views: waveform editing, multitrack and

CD Firstly, waveform edit view uses a destructive method when editing files, for example,

if reverb effects are applied and saved, the file is permanently changed Waveform edit view is handy when recording a simple voice-over clip Secondly, multitrack view on the other hand, displays multiple tracks and file changes are non-destructive, allowing for increased flexibility Multitrack view is used to include music beds and sound effects, for example, with a voice track Sends and buses route effects and other processes in real-time using Virtual Studio Technology and familiar multitracking techniques like punching are also available Audition v3's dockable panels, such as the time display, transport buttons and zoom controls make all user-defined displays available on screen Both edit view and

multitrack view have their own dockable panels, depending on which features the user wishes to open The final, CD View provides a handy interface for assembling and burning CDs

In general, people now are living in the age of technology; they watch video, shoot video or edit video and post videos online Yet if they are working on a video production, whether it is professional or just for fun, they know that audio is a key element of the mix Music is an important part of our lives, especially with the popularity of MP3 players or cassette - player In watching video, the audio quality is even more important than the video because we cannot stand when the audio breaks up and cuts in and out Therefore, the new Adobe version added video editing software function Adobe Soundbooth was a part of the Adobe 3 family It provides a subset of Audition's features, designed for the needs of video editors and creative professionals who are not audio specialists Currently, people who work with audio and video in Adobe Audition are satisfied with these above versions, especially language teachers Teachers can record the audiofiles for tests, edit the recording or video for lessons, and clean the sounds for better clip in teaching and learning languages The Adobe Audition is currently a suitable tool for their need of teaching oral skills like listening and speaking However, there are lots of versions with different functions in aspects of life and depend on the need of job or interest, so Adobe Audition are non stop refreshing itself

1.2.3 Functions of Adobe Audition

Adobe Audition can be mainly used to:

 Create one‟s own music

 Record and mix a project

 Produce a radio spot

 Clean up audio for a movie

 Compile and edit a soundtrack or a video

 and more …

1.3 Benefits of using record software in listening and speaking teaching

Many language learners regard speaking ability (production skill) as a measurement

of FL competence These learners define fluency as the ability to converse with others, much more than the ability to read, write or comprehend oral language They regard speaking as the most important skill they can acquire and assess their progress in terms of their accomplishments in spoken communication However, if English learners want to be good at communication, they have to be good at listening (reception skill), because of their receiving information to respond the suitable language materials As the importance of speaking and listening integration in teaching and learning FL, there have been lots of research carried out to find out more proper ways or steps to improve these oral skills Some of popularity teaching steps are mentioned here to find out the benefits of using record software in FL teaching and learning

In listening skill, Justine (2007) suggested some special techniques for effective teaching:

 Motivating students to focus students on the learning

 Maintaining the same topic and objective or consecutive activities

 Applying appropriate teaching methods and techniques

 Selecting material for listening comprehension activities

 Using authentic materials

In speaking skill, Hung (2008) confirmed that the teacher should have good preparation and presentation at:

feedback in the post language activity (Canh, 2004) To investigate the teaching points of both skills, the record software function can be an effective means of teaching speaking and listening in terms of students‟ motivation, good teaching techniques and updating teaching methods The benefits of using such record software as Adobe Audition in the classroom can be listed as follows:

Firstly, record software named Adobe Audition can motivate students by making lessons more interesting Teachers can record their voices or cut, mix any pieces of speech, sounds or videos to paste into FL lessons in her aims of eyes catching, students‟ attention

or the certain aims of her teaching It can be more curious and interesting when the FL lessons include the teacher or students‟ voice in audiofiles or video files Thus, using Adobe Audition in teaching FL will bring certain interest and teaching benefits if the teachers are equipped with computer techniques Adobe Audition can be an effective technique of teaching and learning language, especially in listening and speaking skills As

we know, in teaching listening, if the teachers who knows how to use software can make use of them For example, they can cut, mix, edit or create a recording or a video clip for listening tasks or presenting new words Moreover, it can be easy for teachers to get feedback and avoid student' abusing key materials in listening by editing or making their own audio files to get the convincing results in class or at home On the other hand, teachers can have appropriate tools to make effective listening tests; teachers can mix or create the recordings to suit her pedagogic target instead of oral reading

In teaching speaking, it is convenient for the teacher to record the voice to demonstrate a speaking modal or a conversation for learners to imitate In addition, it can make possible for teacher to control and check the student‟s sentences in a large size class by record software Students are asked to record their sentences or conversations in pairs or groups at the same time in class by using record function on computers or mobile phones Then teachers can check any pairs or groups at variable levels by connecting the recorded files

on the digital speaker for correcting and encouraging students This technique may meet the demand of the CLT method, which is a fashion in FL teaching methodology now

On the contrary, in FL speaking learning, students can have autonomy in recording the voice at home to improve speaking as well as they can extract or record any audiotapes

to listen again at any time to improve FL listening skill or language pronunciation

Cauldwell (2002), who used Streaming Speech software to record learners‟ listening and pronunciation, reported better results in listening and speaking teaching According to him, Streaming Speech was one of the best software packages that he has ever seen, commercial

or otherwise, for the purpose of teaching higher level listening and pronunciation The autonomy learners get more things and learn better than people who sit passively waiting

to be taught Another FL teaching technique is recording the listening and speaking daily

to measure the students‟ FL progress Walker (2005) stated in his research that communication tasks provided learners with individualized peer feedback about the effectiveness of each adjustment, and they avoided the anxiety or embarrassment many learners feel when corrected by teachers in front of their peers The recorded audio-files can be either monologues or dialogues The student‟s completed record audio-file is given

to the teacher, who marks it with appropriate, objective grading scheme Each recording should fulfill only a few features, and the pronunciation focus of the assignment must be made clear Doing so improves the effectiveness of the learner‟s effort and prevents students with lower skill levels from feeling overwhelmed by the recording tasks Being asked to record their voices as a means of improving their pronunciation is completely new

to students As a result, they need a clear framework in which to perform Walker‟s (2005) gave the students a chance to send their feedback to him after applying recording their teacher‟s language tasks:

“I like recording cassettes to see if my pronunciation is correct and where I am wrong Very useful I think I can learn a lot mainly in the pronunciation

The recording is a very practical activity where you can measure your progress.”

(Walker, 2005)

Walker‟s (2005) study showed that the oral skill of students was improved remarkably, the average mark for students‟ work during this period was higher than 7/10, and the vast majority of students declared themselves to be “happy” or “very happy” with their marks To the record teaching technique, Justine (2007) mentioned an effective way

in his research that teacher could record the audiofile with pictures and play the recording

as many times as it was needed depending on the level of difficulty and the ability of the students to enhance the student oral skill Therefore, whatever using sort of record software

in teaching and learning oral language skills, learners also have opportunities to practice dealing with common occurrences in spontaneous speech, such as restarting after mistakes, self-correcting, and repeating themselves Using this technique, teacher‟s burden of work can be reduced with the record function of Adobe Audition software

In conclusion, using the record software named Adobe Audition brings significant benefits such as: motivating students, making language lesson interesting, being useful means of learning and teaching in listening and speaking FL classes, keeping up with the teaching fashion

teaching and learning (Thao, 2003; Brooks et al., 2006; Brooks, 2002)

In an attempt to fill the research gap of applying record software in secondary

FL teaching and learning, the author of this study followed Walker‟s theory (2005) on using record software in FL teaching and learning The study aimed to assess whether

an intervention using record software would boost the students‟ listening and speaking proficiency as well as their interest in listening and speaking skills in the context of a high school in Hanoi To achieve these aims, a quasi-experimental study was conducted with a view evaluating the using record software named Adobe Audition to promote student FL listening and speaking in high school was taken

Chapter 2: the study 2.1 Setting of the study

The study was carried out at 40-year-old Truong Dinh high school, located in Hoang Mai district in Hanoi There are about 45 classes with annual enrolment of approximately 2000 students It is a large school in Hanoi However, students‟ academic performance is not high because their entry level measured by their examination scores is lower than that of their peers in other Hanoi-based schools After graduating, students are expected to go straight to manual work or go to vocational schools instead of continuing their study in universities In order to apply for a job, they have to be able to communicate in English at the basic level

Truong Dinh high school is a well-equipped school one language lab and two classrooms equipped with projectors for PowerPoint presentations The teachers of English are good at computer skills, so are the students Moreover, 76% students have a personal computer at home (based on initial survey) This makes the use of computer software to promote FL learning possible Students have at least three English lessons per week and class time allocated to reading, speaking, listening, writing and language focus equally As time goes by, a fact reveals that Truong Dinh students are not good at speaking and listening Thus, a change in teaching method is critically necessary and the applying of technology in English teaching is believed to be one of the solutions to the improvement in the students‟ English listening and speaking proficiency

2.2 Subjects

The subjects in this study numbered 99 EFL high school students in one school

in Hanoi (49 in the control group and 50 in the experimental group) They were all grade 12 students, who had learned English as a compulsory subject in school settings for at least six years, and their English proficiency ranged from high beginning to low intermediate level They had neither studied abroad before, nor were attending additional English classes outside of the classroom The classes met three times a week for twenty weeks in each school term, and the listening - speaking materials for this course were the textbook English 12 (basic form) prescribed by the Ministry of

Education and Training some supplementary authentic audio materials and other materials for listening comprehension test practice

The subjects were not good at speaking and listening English because of a variety of reasons, such as written oriented-assessments, shyness to speak English in front of a crowded classroom, and lack of a favorable FL language environment These subjects were selected conveniently, i.e., they were taught by the researcher herself The researcher invited them to participate in the study and they were willing to accept

2.3 Instruments

Instruments used in this study were the pre-test and post-test In addition, two questionnaires were administered after the two tests The questionnaires were used to find out the subjects‟ interest in learning English with the computer software Both the tests and the questionnaires were designed by the researcher with reference to the literature on the benefits of computer software in FL learning The results of the pre -test and post-test as well as questionnaire responses were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics A paired-sample t-test was conducted to evaluate whether there were statistically significant differences between the two ways of teaching listening and listening skills

Following is the detailed description of the instruments used for data collection

in this study

2.3.1 Tests

All pupils were tested at two points in form of achievement tests which cover and focus on measuring what language the learners have learned as the results of teaching (Mcnamara, 2000) before the intervention began (pre-test), and again after all pupils had received the program (post-test) The purposes of the pre-test and post-test were:

● Pre-test – to establish a benchmark of the subjects‟ speaking and listening which was to be used as a covariate in the statistical analysis of post -test results;

● Post-test – to detect whether the first cohort maintained any gains or even continued to make progress, or whether there was any tendency for their gains

to wash out; also to see whether the second cohort made gains similar to those

of the experimental The post-test scores were then compared with the pre-test scores to identify the statistically significant difference, if any, for the acceptance or rejection of the research hypothesis

2.3.1.1 Listening test

A multiple choice TOEFL simulated test was employed to help collect listening data on students from the two studied classes The multiple-choice format was adopted because the students were familiar with it, and it did not require writing Moreover,TOEFL is now widely used for both testers and testees both inside and outside Vietnam According to Anh (2006) more than 2,400 universities and colleges in the United States, Canada and many other countries in the world consider TOEFL certificate as a must for their entry admissions With its widely available and easily accessible resources, a listening TOEFL simulated test out-weights other test types which are less convenient and more time-consuming

The content of the test was based on the knowledge, vocabulary, topic and listening skill of grade 12 which the test - takers had learnt The test consisted of 25 multiple-choice questions divided into thee parts in PBT form The multiple-choice format was chosen following studies by several other researchers (Sellers, 2000; Shohamy, 1984; Shohamy & Inbar, 1991; Wolf, 1993) since it was more convenient to analysis than open-ended questions The length of audio-files in the pre - post tests was

15 minutes and students listened to the recordings twice Each test was completed in 45 minutes including time for reading the rubrics, pauses and writing the answers on the answer sheet

The test consisted of 3 parts:

- Part A: five short conversations

- Part B: a longer conversation

- Part C: a short talk

The listening content was related to the topics covered in the English 12 basic textbook The recordings were edited or recorded by Adobe Audition and burned into a

CD so that the test could be conducted with either a computer or a CD player which were available in the school

2.3.1.2 Speaking test

The test format was a 3-minute video clip The subjects watched the video-clip, and then were involved in a discussion about the topic The video-clips were selected to suit the subjects‟ age, and level of proficiency According to Lonergan (1984), a video

is a proper means to embark on introducing language materials for carrying a discussion It can not only instruct the material in panacea way, but also be easy adapted to objectives of the lessons

At all stages the tests were marked in terms of the responses of each test - taker

to the issue of the given video clip The whole speaking test took 120 minutes and the test was conducted in extra curricular time Due to the large number of test-takers in the controlled and experimental groups, the samples from the two groups were divided into 2 groups with 25 or 24 test-takers each, who completed the test in 60 minutes altogether

Test-takers‟ oral performance was measured according to the following criteria, which were suggested by Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate – Cambridge University (2000):

These five criteria were specified into the marking scales (See appendix 3)

The steps of speaking test were based on discussion procedures suggested by

Hung (2008) and Bailey and Savage (1994)

2.4 Questionnaires

General speaking, compared with other methods, survey questionnaires were likely

to be more time-saving and fruitful in the large scope The questionnaire enables the researcher to “collect a large amount of information in less an hour” (Brown, 1994)