Luận văn an evaluation of the course book new cutting edge pre intermediate for first year non major students of english thái nguyên university of technology some suggestions for adapting

UNTVERSITY, HANOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES ae NGUYEN THU THUY AN ACTION RESEARCII PROJECT ON TIIZ USE OF METACOGNITIVE ST

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNTVERSITY, HANOT

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

ae

NGUYEN THU THUY

AN ACTION RESEARCII PROJECT ON TIIZ USE OF

METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE STUDENTS’ LISTENING COMPREHENSION IN TOEIC TESTS AT AN

ENGLISII CENTRE IN IIANOI

(Nghiên cứu hành động về việc sử dụng chiến lược siêu nhận thức để

cải thiên khá năng nghe hiểu của học sinh trong bai thi TORIC tai mat

trung tâm tiêng Anh tại Hà Nội)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: $140231.01

TIANOI, 2019

NGUYEN TOU THUY

AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT ON THE USE OF

METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE STUDENTS’ LISTENING COMPREIIENSION IN TOEIC TESTS AT AN

ENGLISI CENTRE IN HANOT

Nghiên cửu hành động về việc sử dụng chiến lược siêu nhận thức đề cải thiện khả năng nghe hiểu của học sinh trong bài thi TOEIC tai mat

trung tâm tiếng Anh tai ITA Nội)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

DECLARATION

| certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled:

“An action research project on the use of metacognitive strategies to enhance students’ listening comprehension in TOEIC tests at an English centre in Hanoi”

is the result of my own research in the fulfThnent of the requirement for Degree of Master of Arts at the Facully of Post Graduate Studies — University of Languages and International Studies, Hanoi 1 comumt that this thesis has not been submitted anywhere tor any degree

Hanoi, 2019

Nguyễn Thu Thủy

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I owe great many thanks to so many people who have supparted me all the

way throughout my study to this final achievement

It is with deep gratitude thal T wish to thank Dr Tuynh Anh Tuan for his wholchcarted guidance, valuable suggestions and academic advice during the courss

of writing this thesis, without which this work would hardly have been accomplished

I also wish to acknowledge all the statf of the Department of Post-Graduate

Studies for giving me assistance and the lecturers who conducted the Master course

for me with valuable knowledge

Last, tomy family, words are not enongh to express my gratitude I am gratefull

lo my parents, my child, and my dear husband, Without their help and

encouragement, | could not have completed this study

ABSTRACT

This research intended to explore the potential effects of instructing students

to use metacognitive strategies in listening comprehension in ths TUEIC tests An action research approach was employed ‘The research project lasted 8 weeks During

8 weeks of the project, participants were given instructions on using metacognitive strategies to improve their listening comprehension iu the TOEIC tesls

‘The rascarchor used stmvey yucsticnm 3, pro-tust and post-lost

to collect data from the students, The pre-questionnaize was chosen to eheit the data about the students’ employment of metacogmtive strategies in listening comprehension in the TOEIC tests before the intervention ‘Ihe post-questionnaire and the interview was conducted to collect students’ feedbacks on instructing metacognitive strategies in the TOEIC tests after the intervention Two TOEIC Tistening comprehension tests were given at the begitming and the end of the course

in order to assess the students’ fistening comp chension tmprovernent

Concerning the results of the study, instructing metacognitive stratcgics has a positive effect on the students’ listening comprehension and there was a slight improvement on the students’ listening comprehensien in the TOEIC tests

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLEä

PAR'T ONE: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

2, Aims and objectives of the study

3 Research methodolosy

4 Scope of the study

5 Structure of the study

6 Significance of the study 0

PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1ả

2 Li

3 Overview of the TOEIC listening test

4 Metacognitive strategies in listening comprehension

4.2 Definition of mutacognitive strategies

4.3 Differences between cognitive and metacognitive strategis 4.4, The role of metacognitive strategies in listening comprehension

4.5 Types of metacognitive strategies in listening comprehension

5, Related previous stuliŒs

1.1 Detinition of action researel

1.2 Rationale for the use of action researeh

4, Data collecting instruments .eccsesseesisisesieseeeeiaeinsensenseesanen 2B

6 Structure of the metucogmitive strategy training sessions in listening, 31

CHAPTER THREE: EINDINGS AND DISCUSSION coi 36

1 Students? employment of metacogmitiv: strategies before the intervention 36

2 The students’ improvement in the TOEC Listening test 4Ï

3 The students’ feedbacks on the instructions of using metacognitive strategies in

listening comprehension in the TOEC tests after the training 43

2 ReccmmendafiGTis chênh heo TT

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

Figure

Figure 1: Action research cycle

Tables

Table 1 The description of the research program

Table 2 The students’ overall awareness of metacognitive strategies in listening before the

Table 6 The students’ awareness of evaluation strategies in TOLIC listening comprehension

before the intervention

Table 7 TORIC pre- and post-test score

Table 8 Paired Samples Statistics

Table 9 Paired Samples Test

Table 10 The students’ impression of the listening lessens

Table 11, The studente” involvement in the listening lessons

Table 12 The stndents’ levels of motivation in the listemng leseons

Table 13 ‘The students’ self-assessment of their listening improvement

Table 14 The students’ assessment of the use of melacognilive strategies in listening comprehension

Table 15, The effectivences and importance of melacognilive stralcgice in TOEIC Listening comprehension

Table 16 The students’ difficulties in TOEIC listening comprehension after applying

motacognitive stralegics

Table 17 The students’ assessment of the teaching method

Table 18, The students" evaluation of the way teacher instructed melacognitive strategies

Table 19, Mctacognitive strategics thal the students usc to practice listening al home

vit

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale af the study

Facts have shown that the TOEIC test, which composes of two sections: listening and reading, is currently enjoying its popularity in both workplaces and universities in Vietnam ‘I'he teaching and learning of listening in preparation for the TORIC tests is tnore demanding because il requ the lest takers to process

information while listening Successful Tistening skills require the usage of

Without efit

effective strutegies ive listening stratsgios, students? listening becomes challenging, problematic and ineffective, There are various ways of classifying listening strategies However, the classification of the strategies into cognitive, metacognitive, and social-aflective strategies, which are based on cognitive theory (O'Malley and Chamot, 1990), seem to be the most popular A listener might use a cognitive listening strategy to comprehend or make progress, but a metacognive-strategy user would monitor the process and include both self- reflection and self-direction Leamers who have developed their metacognitive awareness are likely 1 become more antonomous Therefore, Goh (2008)

believed that metacognitive strates uction could potentially cnham Icamers’ knowledge about their listening and lcaming process Mctacognitive

strategies instruction can also bring positive effects on listening comprehension

and enhance students’ level of confidence, create more motivation and lessen

anxiety in leamers during the listening process

Despile its advantages, many stulents do not have adequate knowledge of

metacognitive strategivs in listening comprehension, Morcover, literature review shows that litte allention las buen paid to giving students instructions in using

mictacognitive stratcgics in listening comprehension Consequently, the listening

proficiency of Vietnamese students has not reached satistactory Ievel From the

dissatisfaction with the current situation, and the desire to make intervention to

improve the situation of teaching and learning listening, I decided to conduct:

“An action research project on the use of metacognttive strategies to enhance students’ listening comprehension in TOEIC tests at an English centre in Hanoi”

2 Aims and phjectives of the study

The ultimate aim of the study is to see whether giving students instructions mm

using metacognitive strategies help them improve their listening comprehension

inthe TOPIC tests

The objectives of this rescarch are:

‘Lo find out the students’ feedbacks to the instructions of metacognitive strategies

in listening comprehension in 'TOEIC tests

3 Research methodology

ch because the rescarchor has arr

of

Acton research is appropriate for this res

impact on leamers through the invalvernent of the teacher in the proces

teaching and learning The combination of different instruments, namely

questionnaires, interviews, pre-test and post-test in this research is hoped to gam

reliable data and help the researcher have a close investigation into the problems Pre-questionnaire will be conducted in the first week It aims at investigating

ihe use of telacogmitive strategies in listening cumpiehension by students before

the intervention Post-questionnaire and interview will be delivered in the last week afther rch, Post-questionnaire is used 1o vollcel feedback from students

about giving instructions of metacognitive strategics, Interviews are applicd to clarify the information collected trom the questionnaires

Pre-test and post-test are designed based on the actual TOEIC listenmg test They are marked to reveal any improvements students have made during the

research progress,

Specifically, the study is conducted to answer the following research

questions:

* Llow did the students use metacognitive strategies in listening comprehension

in preparation for the TOEIC tests before the intervention?

‘To what extent does giving students instructions on metacognitive strategies

help them enhance their listening comprehension in the TOLIC tests?

» What are the students’ feedbacks to the instructions of metacognitive strategies

in listening comprehension in the TOEIC tests?

4, Scope of the study

Due to the limited knowledge and time of the researcher, the investigation

could only be carried out on a small scale This action research will be conducted

for only 8 lessons in the context of a certain group of 13 students from a class in The English centre

5 Structure of the study

This study is divided into three parts:

Part one “Jetreduction” presents the rationale of the study, aims, objectives,

research questions, scope, and methods of the study,

Part two “Develapmenr” consists of three chapters Chapter 1 — Literature

review deals with the theoretical foundation for the research Chapter 2 —

Methodology describes the methodology applied in the study including

participants, instruments, as well as the procedures of conducting the study

Chapter 3 Research tindings and discussion presents the results of the research

and data analysis, from which major findings are revealed and discussed

Part three “Clonelzusion’” summarizes the major findings as well as points out

the limitation of the study Suggestions for further study based on major findings are also mentioned in this part

6, Significance of the study

Motacognitive strategics in listcning comprchension may provide a new look into the teaching and leaning of TOEIC listening skills especially at my English

contre, Hopefully, it would cnable students to learn Histering and apply mctacognitive strategies in their listening comprehension, Also, these strategies would be a helpful reference to teachers in the problems of insutticient methods for teaching TOEIC listening, Apart ttom my centre, the study can also be

feasible for ESL or HFL teachers and students in other educational institutes

PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT CITAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW

Tins chapter will explore some theoretical background relevant to the study It firstly discusses the concept of listening, the 1OEIC listening test, metacognitive strategies

in listening comprehension, and later reviews previous studies related to the research

1 Listening

It is believed that listening is a significant and essential element of communication in

a native language and in second language as well As it was estimated that adults spend 40-50% of their cormmumication fime on listening, (olden, 2004), listening is the most frequently used language skill

There are a number of definitions of listermng, however, dhe rescareher would only

name some typical and most recent ones,

According to Merriam Webster dictionary, listening means paymg attention to sound

(eg listen to music) or to hear something with thoughtful attention and giving consideration (e.g fisten toa plea)

(Retrieved from https:/ww wanerriam-webster.couyictionary/isten)

The definition in the dictionary mercly describes what is on the surface, but not the

nature of “listening”

Rost (2002) defines listening, ints broadest sense, as a process of receiving what the

speaker actually says; constructing and representing meaning; negotiating meaning

with the speaker and responding, creating meaning through involvement, imagination

and understanding Similarly, Helgesen (2003) states that “listening is an active,

purposeful processing of making sense of what we hear.”

From these definiticms, if is clear to summarize {hal the listener is domg more thar

sunply decoding what is heard Listening is reeciving what the speaker says then

actively interpreting what the listener hears with what he/she already knows

In short, Vandergrift (2003) asserts a more precise definition of listening, which is a

suil what they hear with their prior knowledge Therzfore, students should work to

develop aural proficicncy skills and strategics to help them manage the listening

comprehension process

2 Listenmg comprehension

Listening comprehension is defined by O'Mally, Chamot, and Kupper (1989) that "an active aru conscious process in which the listener coustrucl mearing by using cues fiom contextual information and from existine knowledge, which relying upon

resources to fulfill the task requirement”

multiple sirategi

Buck, G (2001, p.31) shares the ideas that “listcning comprehension is an active process of constructing meaning and this is done by applying knowledge to the incoming sounds” in which “different types of knowledge are involved: linguistic knowledge and non-linguistic knowledge”, However, this definition did not explain what is linguistic and non-linguistic

Based on their definitions, listening comprehension is not a passive activity in which listener receive information and then comprehend it but is a process-oriented activity which process the aural inpul and combine background knowledge to information in the listening text Specifically, Tisleners must discriminate between sounds, understand vocabulary and grammatical structures, interpret stress and intention, retain and interpret this within the immediate as well as the larger socio-cultural context of the utterance (Wipf, 1984) It requires listeners to be active processors of information and to make meaning from the oral input by drawing from their Tackground knowledge of the world and the second language and produce

information in their long term memory and make their awn inlorprstations of the spoken passeges (Young, 1997)

‘There arc two distinct processes involved in listening comprehension Listeners usc

‘top-down! processes when they use prior knowledge to understand the meaning of a message Prior knowledge can be knowledge of the topic, the listening context, th text-type, the culture or other information stored in long-term memory, Listeners use content words and contextual clues to infer what the intentions of the speaker may

46

have been On the other hand, listeners also use ‘bottom-up’ processes when they use

linguistic knowledge to understand the meaning of a message They build meaning

fiom lower level sounds: syllables, words, grammatical relationships, to lexical meanings in order to arrive at the final message In bottom-up processing, the learner

uses sound input to guess what a word might b2, based on matching initial sounds to his know Ie: con, Listening comprehension is not either top-dewn or botlomeup processing, buf an interactive, inlerpretive process where listeners use both prot knowledge and linguistic knowledge in understanding messages The degree ta which

listeners use the one process or the other will depend on their knowledge of the

language, familiarity with the topic or the purpose tor listening For example,

listening for gist involves primarily top-down processing, whereas listening for

specific information involves primarily bottom-up processing

Based on the above mentioned statements, listening comprehension is a cognitive

skill, an active and conscious process, in which listeners focus their own attentions

on taking the information from the aural input, comprehend the meaning of the input,

and combine them with the comextual information and background knowls:

produce output (O°Malley, Chamol & Kipper, 1989), Wiay develop through acquisition of Icaming strategies Consequently, having knowledge and the usc of

effective strategies such as metacognitive strategies in listening comprehension can

help leamers to understand most of the language input

3 Overview of the TOEIC listening test

The Test of English for International Communication (TORIC) is defined as a standardized tost thal mncasures learners’ Tistoning and roading skills Since 1979, test taker numbers have steadily increased and today the TORIC test is one of the most intcmationally recognized English proficiency exams in the world An increasing number of companies worldwide use the TOEIC to set targets for English proficiency for the purposes of hinng new workers, transfers to different companies, or for promotion to management positions TOEIC is also being used within academic contexts as a way of screening candidates for their graduate programs

Traditionally and popularly, TORIC is a paper-and-ypencil test consisting twa sections: listening and rcading comprehension, There arc 100 multiple-choice questions in each section, Each section score scales ranging tiom 5 to 495 and total score scales ranging ftom 10 to 990

‘TORIC listening is a kind of listening comprehension Hirstly, the listening section

requires test takers to be farnitiar with different native speaking accents, neluđingr

US, Canadian, British, and Australian speakers Many students have difficulty understanding speakers with other accents To overcome this, it is important that

students be exposed to a varicty of English accents Sccondly, students nced to be

aware of the sound changes that occur in natural English speech The sound of words spoken innatural conversation can ditfer dramatically trom words spoken in isolation

(e.g going to and gonna) Helping students become aware of the ways that sounds are combined, dropped, and changed in natural speech can significantly improve their listening comprehension, both for the ‘LIC test and in the real world ‘Thirdly, listening section in TORIC test requires students to understand language in use (conversational English) The English used in the TORIC test reflects everyday usage

as ncountered in offices, shops, unul on the slroct in English speaking envirorunents

around the world In order to do well on the test students must be given exposure to English as it is really used Finally, success on the TOEIC test requires an extensive range of vocabulary and knowledge of how these words change and are organized grammatically Vocabulary is one of the most significant factors in doing well on the test, and any effective suudy program should include an organized syste for noting and reviewing words and phrases that studonls oncourtor as they study

The TORIC Tistering test meludes 100 questions with a time limit of approximately

45 minutes, It is divided into 4 sections, namely: picture description (10 questions), question and responses (30 questions}, short conversations (30 questions) and short talks (30 questions), The listeners” ability to understand what they hear and choose the correct answer 1s evaluated It might be a detail to remember, an inference to make, or main idea that they need to comprehend,

a

Part 1: pictures description (10 questions)

In this part, examinees see a picture and hear four descriptive statements about it The

picture can represent people, things actions and places Listeners must select the statement that best describes what is presented in the picture Listeners hear the sentences only once, and must make their choice immediately after that The

photographs show people in typical workplace settings as well as in everyday

situations There are three question types in this part They are: location questions, action questions (active or passive form), situation questions (the condition of things

in the pictures)

The best way to approach these questions is to scan the picture completely and

identify what's happening Part 1 requires predicting the type of possible statements students may hear, brainstorming nouns and verbs related to the picture before they listen, determining the focus or main idea of the picture, identifying common

distractors such as similar sounding words or words of the same form but different

parts of speech, and understanding natural spoken English

For example:

[Audio script]

(A) The firefighters are rescuing a woman

(B) The firefighters are riding in a truck

(C) The firefighters are holding a hose

(D) The firefighters are holding a child

The correct answer is C

Part 2: Questions and responses (30 questions)

In this part, the test taker will hear a short exchange between two speakers with a question and three possible responses They must choose the response that best answer the question The question may ask about people, location, time, an activity,

an event, emotions, reasons or opinions in everyday conversational English The question types include 3 types: Questions with an interrogative word (Who, whose,

whom, whal, which, where, when, why, how), questions with no inferrogative word,

(be/do, auxiliary verbs, modal verbs) and other types of questions like indirect questions, tag questions, negative questions, altemative questions, declarative

sentences, requests and suggestions

In order to do well in part 2, students need to identify the correct responses to each

What are you going to do after the meeting?

(A) I wenl lo a natural history museurn

(BỊ [have to fish a markeling report

(C) I didn't know about his birthday

The correct answer is B

Part 3: Short conversations (30 questions)

In this part, examinees will hear 10 short dialogues After each conversation, they are asked to answer 3 questions about what the speakers say There are four possible answers for each questions The questions will ask about the general idea of the conversation or specific details, Students will bo asked to identify an activity, an

emotion, atclationship, or the location of the speakers In some cases, they may have

to do some minor calculations based on measurcments in the dialogues, They will need to use short term memories as well

Tactics in part 3 include previewing each set of 3 questions and predicting possible vocabulary and expressions that are related, identitying the key words un the questions together with their corresponding answer choives, paraphrasing, identifying same

word distractor, inferring things wboul the situation, be Gimitiar with language

common to negative responses,

Por example:

[Audio script]

Questions 41 through 43 refer Lo the Lollowing conversation

GW) Hello, Excelsior Hotel How may [help you?

(M) Ili Liclephoned yesterday to make a rescrvalion for two single rooms over the weckend of

the first I'd fiketo add a third room to my reservation

CW) OK, let tne check availability for you HI need your last name and reservation number, please

(M) Certainly The last name is Jordan and my number is] 076KJ

41 What isthe man doing?

(A) Changing a flight reservation

(8) Changing a hospital room

(C) Reserving an extra hotel room

D) Canceling a hotel room

42 What information does the woman need?

(A) Atelephone number and address

(®) Aname and reservalionnumber

(C) Aname and cell phone number

@D) Adate of birth

43 What is “Jordan”?

(A) The woman's name

(ỳ The man's given name

(C) The man's family name

©) The man's pet dog

Part 4: Short talks (30 questions)

In this part, the test takers will hear a short monologue, followed by 3 questions The difference from part 3 is that instead of'a conversation, the listening features a single speaker giving a talk: a news report, an advertisement, an acceptance speech, a

weather forecast and etc

‘There are 4 types of questions in this part, which are: main idea questions, fact and detail dị fions, iuference questions, and cause and effect ep Hons

Similar to part 3, this part requires students to pick out the key words from the questions and also the answer choices to help predicting what students arc going to

hear and focus on what students have to listen for, brainstorm words related to the

Questions 71 through 73 referto the following news report

GW) The top business story today is American Aircraft Manufacturer's success at drumming up business in Europe AAM has won a slew of aircraft orders worth 1.6 billion dollars They have received 30 orders for their new model the 62F plane, to be delivered in such countries as England, Norway, Fraace, and Germany With the total European orders, AAM will be manufacturing 60 more planes than it sold in all of 1995 The company has pulled itself from the brink of faiture to expected

st profits of no less than 13 billion dollars this year This unexpected turnaround is thanks to the innovative marketing approach implemented by CEO, Mark Simpsoa, since he took over the company in April Mr Simpson was unavailable for comment

71 What isthe top story?

(A) AAMS plans to build factories

(B) AAMssuccess in foreign sales

(C) AAMsimpending financial failurc

(D) AAM's new commercial airplanes

72 ‘Towhich countricswill AM deliver aircrall?

(A) England, Norway, Spain, and Austria

(Bì England, Norway, France, and Germany

(C) England, Sweden, France, and Germany

(D) England, Deumark, Italy, and Germany

73 Who is credited with this change?

(A) AAM

(R) Furopean orders

(C) Mark Simpson

(D) Credit cards

‘The definition of listening, listening comprehension and listening in the TOLIC

test helps the researcher to understand the theoretieal background of the terms

relaked to “isteniny

4, Metacognitive strategies in listening comprehension

As stated above, listening in the TOEIC test is listening comprchension which

Tequires strategy use and teaching students how to use strategies can enhance the

process of listening comprehension Among those, metacognitive strategies are

considered effective tools for successful listening With the help of metacognitive strategies, language learners’ performance is improved in a mumiber of ways, includinyg better use of prior knowledge, bettur use of slrategies, and better preparation

tomuke conscious decisions about what they can do to improve their learning

conceming one’s own cognitive processes and products or anything related to them”, aud the capacity for “aclive monitorg amd consequent regulation and orchestration

of these processes in relation Lo the cognitive objcels or data on which they bear, usually in the scrvice of some concrete goal or objective” This definition scems to cover the concept of metacognition in the most complete sense

Based om the above mentioned characteristics of metacognition, metacognition are thoughts or behaviors consciously employed by the leamer to think about the leaming task, plan for the task, monitor the task, and evaluate how well he/she has completed the task

4.7 Definition of metacognitive strategies

‘The mental processes that listencrs usc to widerstand spoken English ean be broadly described as listening comprehension strategies Listening should be approached as a skill requizing strategy use and teaching students how to use these strategies leads to improvement in listening ability Among well-known language leaming strategies in listening are metacognitive strategies.

O'Malley and Charo (1990) states that “inclaagnitive stralogies involve thinking about the lcaming process, planning for lcaming, monitoring comprehension or production while it is taking place, as self-evaluation of Jeaming after the learning activity is completed” {p, 137) Therefore, these strategies have an executive tumetion Goh (1998) defines metacognitive strategies as the techniques that “involve thinking

about the way information is processed and sto

(p 126)

¢ stratogics include skills which require more

laking appropriate steps lo manage and regulate these cognitive pre

According lo Liu (2008), motacogni

complex processes involving, attention, stratcgic thinking, and the ability to engage

in self-monitoring, and self-evaluation

Each of the definition above mention aspects of metacognitive strategies The definition of metacognitive strategies proposed by Holden (2004) has summed up all previous definitions: metacognitive strategies are the actions that leamers use consciously while listening to a spoken text attentively, dealing with knowing about leaning With the help of this language teaming strategy, leamners are involved in thinking about the process of leaning while thay arc planting, monitoring, and evaluating their own learning Loamurs checkup and appraise their cornprehension of the listening text

4.3 Differences between cognitive and metacognitive strategics

‘The cognitive strategies are separate leaming activities and they are basically activities that are used by leamers in order to understand the linguistic input and get

Knowledge For example, when a leamer finds a difficull word ina text and inferring

the ruaning of that word froin the context, in fact he used the cognitive strategy In addition, cognitive strategies arc thoạc [hat cơndl the inpul or use a certain skill to complete a particular task, According to O'Malley and Chamot (1990), cognitive strategies enable leamers to understand and produce new language by many different ways Cognitive strategies may include repeating, translation, grouping, note taking, deducting, imagery, auditory representation, transferring

On the other hand, the metacognifive strategies refer Lo the aetions thal leamers: use

consciously while listening to a spoken text attentively Mctacognitive strategics arc

rather a sequence of tactics that are used They may include planning for learning, thinking about the leaming process as it is taking place, monitoring of one's

production or comprehension, and evaluating learning after an activity is completed

Tw short, the distinguishing feature between cognition and metacognition is thal a

listenior wight use a cognitive listening sbalegy lo comprehend or make progress, but

a metacognition would monitor the process (Flavell, 1985), and include bath sel &

reflection and self-direction,

4.4 The rule of metacoynitive strategies in listening comprehension

Metacognitive strategy is not one single tactic or skill, but rather a sequence of tactics that are used In details, using metacognitive strategies means learners thinking about their understanding in the language Listeners build on more insights in the listening process, and are able to question themselves ‘They involve themselves in the process

of connecting new information to known material, creating practice chances, and of self-evaluation 1.2 leamors focus on their learning processes, arranging and plarming their learning activities, and then cvaluating their learning progress For instance, while listening, listeners revicw new information and link it with already known material, and pay extra attention to main ideas, After lectures, they selftidentify errors

in their understanding, try to avoid errors the next time, selfevaluate their progress, and come to better understand the new language in the future ‘Ihhen they set short- ferro and long-lerm goals in order to use English in academic settings (Oxforil, 1990;

Vandorgrift, 1997, 2003s)

The definition of metacognition, metacognitive strategies, the difference between cognition and metacognition and the role of metacognitive strategies provides the researcher and also the readers with conceptual framework of metacopnitive

strategies,

4.5, Types of metacognitive strategies in listening comprehension

(O'Malley and Chamot, 1990, p 137, 138) proposed the following categories of metacognitive strategies that can be used to carry out listening tasks:

a) Plaming: Organizing concept or principle of an anticipated leaming task; proposing strategies for handling an upcoming task; generating a plan for the parts, tnain ideas, or language fimelions to be usedin handling a task

1) Directed ationtion: Deviding int advance to attend to a learning lask and Lo ignors inclevant distractors; maintaining altention during task excoution

©) Sclective attention: Deciding in advance to attend to specific aspects of language input or situational details that assist in performance of a task; attending to specific

aspects of language input dunng task execution

d) Self-management: Understanding the conditions that help ons successfully accomplish language tasks and arranging for the presence of those conditions; controlling one’s language performance to maximize use of what is already known, 2) Selfmonitoring: Checking, verifying, or correcting one’s comprehension or

performance in the course of a language task

® Problem Identification: Explicitly identifying the cantrel point 1:

ding resolution ina task or identifying an aspect of the task that hinders its successful completion f) Self-evaluation: Checking the outcomes of one’s own language performance against an internal measure of completeness and accuracy, checking one’s language repertoire, strategy use, or ability to perform the task at hand

1) Producton evaluation: Checking one’s work when the task is ñmishedL

7) Performance evaluation: Judging one’s overall exceution of the task

i) Ability oviluation: Judging one’s ability to perfirrn the lask

Kì Strafcay cvaluation: Judging one’s strategy use when the task is completed,

1) Language repertoue evaluation: Judging how much one knows of the L2, at the word, phrase, sentence, or concept level

CALLA (Cognitive Academic Language Leaming Approach) was developed by Chamot and 0’ Malley (1994, p 43-44) as a metacognitive strategy training model It

16

helps teachers lo combine language, content, and learning strategies in a carefully

plamed lesson This model has five instruction phases as explained below

- Preparation: Students prepare for strategies instruction by identifying the prior knowledge about and the use of specific strategies

e.g.: Setting goals and objectives, identifying the purpose of a language task, over- viewing and linking with already known materials

- Presentation: The leavher deionstraies the new Ieaming shalegy and explains how

and when lo use it

c.g.: Explaining the importance of the strategy, asking students when they usc the

strategy

- Practice: Students practice using the strategy with regular class activities

e.g.: Asking questions, cooperating with others, seeking practice opportunities

- Evaluation: Students self-evaluate their use of the leaming strategy and how well the strategy is working for them

e.g.: Self-monitoring, setfevaluating, evaluating their learning

- Fxpansion: Students oxtend the usefulness of the Isarning strategy by applying iL te new situations or leaning for them

c.g.: Arranging and planning their learning

Vandergrift (1997) lists four strategy categories, planing, monitoring, evaluation

and problem identification, which make up the basics of his model

For planning he draws attention to an appropriate action plan to deal with difficulties that may hinder the listener from completing a task successfully AL this slage, he undartines the importance of pre-listening activilies that help students make predictions about wlnt to listen for and, subsequently, to focus alfention on meaning

Within the problem identifeation calegory, he underlines the importanee of explicitly

identifying the aspect of the task that hinders completion of the listening task

successfully He also suggests some teaching techniques to develop students’

metacognitive strategy use by illustrating some listening activities that are simple and

helpful for listeners to develop their metacognition He also suggests using a checklist

including two parts as “before listening” and “aller listening” Aer the pre-listening

turlinuts complete the first part of the choeklisl, bafore listening, to evaluata whether they have fullowerl all the necussary steps for successful listening before they begin to listen After listening and attempting to complete the listening task, students complete the second part, which will help them to evaluate their performance in a system, particularly if they had difticulty completing the task This self-evaluation will help students to adjust their strategies for the following tasks Room for a written reflection at the bottom of the instrument encourages students to personally reflect on the process, and state what they will do to improve their performance the next time

As can he seen, metacognitive strategies are used to manage these cognitive processes

by influcncing their oponitions This can include » move to greater knowledge, awareness and control of one’s leaming, selecting strategies, monitoring the progr

arousos lzamwers'infercal, expcelations, and promotes their motivation ta find oul what will happen daring the listening and it also clarifies the purposes for listening, Monitoring or comprehension monitoring is listeners’ sclf-regulation of their own comprehension during listening, Monitoring strategy assists listeners to compensate lost comprehension and to use listening, strategies to enhance comprehension Self assessment has its foundations in metacognition and selEzegulatzd learning and is

seen as having the potential lo provide teachers and students with opportunities to

understand and cnhance the ways students monitor and adjust strategic thinking

Anderson (2002) futher adds that metacognition can be divided ito the following five components, Each of these components is briefly discussed below:

a Preparing and planning for learning: Leamers reflect on what they need or want

to achieve and how they are going to achieve il, ‘Teachers may assist this reflection

by explicitly defining the particular learning goals which are set for the class and Lelping the learners in selling their own Iearning goals I'goals are clearly articulated,

it will be casicr for the learners to mcasure their progress

b Selecting and using learning strategies This component deals with selecting and using particular strategies im a given context for a specific purpose It is based on

leamers’ thinking and making conscious decisions about the leaming process

c Monitoring strategy use: 'Vhis component enables students to direct their own progress T'his component primarily deals with revisiting the way strategies are

employed and making sure that the strategies are implemented correctly

d Orchestrating various surategies: The mastery of ciuploying a number of stralegios together is a crucial and influential metacognitive skill Being able to coordinale,

organize, and relate different strategies can make a distinction between strong and

weak learning strategy users Teachers mught develop this ability in leamers through

introducing various available strategies

e Lvaluating strategy use and learning: At this stage “students attempt to evaluate

whether what they are doing is effective by means of selquestioning, debriefing discussions after stratugics practice", This ubilily can bo developed by toachers through asking students lo answer: 2) Whal is s/he is trying to acooruplist? b) What stratcgics is s/he cmploying? ¢) How well is s/he employing the strategics? and d)

‘What other strategies can s/he employ? These questions address all of the aspects of metacognition stated earlier At this step, all the steps stated above are revisited and evaluated Teachers attempt to encowage using all of components of metacognition, Metacognitive strategies (Rashtehi & Keyvanfar, 2010, p.181) are as followed

a Plaming and organising for leaning

- Previcwing the next unit of the course book

- Deciding in advance to pay attention to general or specific aspects of language

input

b Finding ways to make learning more effective

= Makitys word cards

= Categoriving words in scremlic groups

v Selfimuniloring while learning

- Reviewing onc's notes while studying

- Monitoring one's production of tenses while speaking

d Evaluating one's work on language

- Reading the teacher's comments and corrections on a written work

- Checking one's writing for accuracy

In a recent research by Dimassi (2017), he focused his research on planning,

monitoring, and evalnation

a Planning is a stratogy thal allows learners to develop awareness of what needs to

he done to accomplish a task and to develop an appropriate action plan to overcome

difficultics that may interfere with successful completion of a task Loamers

determine what their objectives are and decide on the strategies by which they will

achieve them In a listening activity, for instance, a leamer might decide to read over what they have to do or to try to think of the questions that is going to be asked Self-

Tmanagement necessitates Iwo melacognitive slratzgies: directed and_ selective

allention Ditceted attention allows leamers not only to decide im advanec to ignore inclevant distractors, but also to maintam allcition during task execution Selective

attention pcimits leamers to decide in advance to attend to specific aspeets of

language input or situational details during task execution Before tackling a listening task, for example, a student decides to listen for the key words or to establish the

speakers in the conversation, their relationship by tone of voice, and how they will

address each other

20

In addition, preparation and planing allow learners lo anticipate some aspeets of the input such as the main contents and some known vocabulary related to the main content Leamers can achieve this by activating their prior knowledge of the topic and by recalling their approaches to similar tasks

b, Monitoring is the strategy that allows leamers to check, and/or comect their comprchension in the course of Tsanning and taking appropriate teasures lo deal with difficultivs thal interfere with the process With regards to sclPelfcavy, it appears that monitoring is Ihe ability to reeagnive the causes of lemners* comprehension breakdown, and to pause in order to decide on the appropriate remedy to rectify it

On the other hand, leamers can examine the relationships between leaming goals and the means of achieving their goals, A learner, therefore, may discontinue using a revision list of strategic knowledge and select the appropriate strategies for the task Second, monitoring allows leamers to track the causes of their learning problems, such as inappropriate translation or overgeneralization ftom a native language Leamers understand more about the new language, their own use of lsaming stratogios, amd the extent of their progress Equally ioporiant, moniloring cnables Isarners to use a variety of strategies dusing the process of problem-solving, such as: using known words to deduce the meaning of unknown words, using the general idea

of a text to deduce unknown words, using one’s experience and general knowledge

in interpreting the text, adjusting one’s interpretation upon realizing that they are not correct, monitoring the accuracy of one’s inferences

Also, moniloring provides learners with opportunilies to practice a variely of stralogics which they can apply in their pair and class discussions, for instance,

supporting idcus, using ovidenwc and providing counlcraugunents Mocover, monitoring allows leamers to generate decp-level claborations, inferences and predictions through self, peer and class monitoring

c Evaluation is the strategy allowing leamers to check the outcomes of their language Teaming against an intemal measure of competence and accuracy, Evaluation refers

to appraising the products and efficiency of one’s learning When they evaluate their

learning, learners apply the criteria they establish during planning to determine

whether they have met some or all of the other goals Learners then consider whether

they are satisfied with the performance or need to apply problem solving strategies to obtain their goals

Kvaluation allows leamers to maintain an involvement in metacognition by asking thernselves questions and responding (o them thoughtfully Tor instance, while Teaming to Fisien for sain ideas, Isamers can evaluate their strategy use in tumy ways Such strategies melud: performance evaluation, problem identification and

problem-solution To cvaluate their performance, Icamers judge their overall

execution of the task when the task is completed Problem identification relates to

leamers deciding which problems they are still encountering with the text or task

5 Related previous studies

Many researchers have examined the use of metacognitive strategies in listening courprehension process

A study proving the effectiveness of metacagnitive strategy training on 1.2 listening

performance is that of O'Malley aud Chamot (1990) whos: 7 intennediate high

school Luderis were grouped into two experimental groups and a contol group

The experimental groups consisted of a metacognitive group and a cognitive group,

the third was a control group, and received no strategy instruction Performance ona

post-listening test was compared Results revealed that in each daily test, the treatment groups performed better than the control group, and that the metacognitive

group had a better performance than the cognilive group on three of the four Lests

Tw another study, Thompson and Rubin (1996) worked on the inñuenee of

inclavognitive and cogrilive stralogy instruction on the listening comprehension

performance of American university students lcaming Russian Aftcr a two-year

period, the listening results were compared within two groups: one is the experiment group which received systematic training in hstening strategies and the other received

fo instruction Fre- and post-tests showed that the students who received strategy

22

instructions in listening impoved significantly over those who had received no instructions

‘Also in Vandergritt’s investigation (2003), which aimed to examme the relationship between listening proficiency and listening strategy use, 36 junior high school students of French in Canada were randomly chosen as the subject of the study The sturly revealed that better listeners exploit more mela-cognitive strategies during the listening task compared to the less skilled listeners over the study period ‘Thus, the siudy suggosicd thal teaching less proficient listeners to usc metaeognilive siralcgics would cnhance their listening performance

Mareschal (2007) also studied the effect of self-regulation and meta-cognitive strategy instruction on some low and high intermediate French language leamers during 8 weeks of language training program, The results of data analysis by using a metacognitive awareness listening questionnaire, stimulated-recall protocols, diaries, think-alond protocols, and a final summative open-ended qnestionnaire, revealed that the students benefited from the metacognitive strategy instructions and were able to self-rogulate themselves betler during the Tistoning tusk; (herofere, their listening

d

Trung!

Coskun (2010) investigated the cffect of mctacognitive listening strategy training on

the listening pertormance of a group of preparatory school students at a university in

Turkey The experimental group received tive weeks of metacognitive strategy training embedded into a listening course book, while the other group did not At the

end of the training, a listening test taken from the teacher's manual of the same course

Look was administered to both groups The analysis of the test s

the experimental group did statistically better on the test, The iinplication of the study

is that metacognitive strategy training should be incorporated into the regular listening teaching, program to help students become more effective listeners

Finally, Rasouli, Mollakhan, and Karbalaei (2013) examined the effect of metacognitive listening strategies training on EFL leamers’ listening comprehension

in ran ‘The participants in the study were selected ftom six classes A listening

comprehension test, pre-test and post-test standardized measures of listening comprehension, and molacogniive listening strategy questionnaire were administered to the expenmental and control group The results of this study showed that metacognitive strategy training can advance EFL learners’ comprehension ability from the beginning level to a higher level of listening comprehension

To sum up, although the manber of studies in Histeriing comprehension strategy instruction is still Hnrited bul in these limited number of studies, if is highly proved thal Jeamners van be instructed to eroploy the usc of metacognitive strategies and these

stratcgics improved their listenmg comprehension It is inferred from the strategics

used by learners that they develop leamess' self-regulated learning through learners” selecton of their goals, assigning goals in their leammg, supervising their

improvement of learning, and assessing their leaming results

6 Summary

In general, the literature on metacognitive strategies and some previous studies

teviewed provide evidence of the positive impact of metacognitive strategies on

learners’ Isnguage acquisition, particularly the beneficial effecls on students? listening comprehension Therefore, instructing students to apply metacogmitive

stratcgics is possible in helping students improve their listening comprehension in the

TOEIC tests

24

CILIAPTER TWO: RESEARCH METILODOLOGY

The researcher ciuploys survey questionnaires, interviews and pre-tests and

post-te s 10 colleet data from students These instruments ere crmployed in order ta

answer the following research questions:

1 low did the students use metacognitive strategies in listening comprehension

in preparation for the TORIC tests before the intervention?

2 To whal oxtent dous giving students instructions on ickcognitive stratugics help them enhance their listening comprehension in the TOEIC tests?

3 What are the students’ fecdbacks to the instructions eftnctacognili sirategios

in listening comprehension in the TORIC tests?

‘This chapter describes methodology of the xescarch including the rationale for the use of action research, research settings, description of the participants, research instruments, research procedure, structure of the training sessions and data analysis procedure

1 Action research

1.1, Detinition of action research

Action research has heen defined in a number of ways in literature

Tw Longin Dictionary of Language Teaching and applied linguistics, Richards and Platt (1992) gave the following detimtion of action research: “Research has the primary goal of finding ways of solving problems, bring about social change or practical action, in comparison with research which seeks to discover scientific principles or develop general laws and theories.”

According to Cohen and Manion (1994), action research was a “small-scale intervention in the functioning of the real world and a close examination of the effects

of such intervention.” Action research was first and foremost situalional, being concemed with the identification and solution of problems ina specific context

To be more specific, in classroom, action rescarch was rescarch designed to help a teacher find out what was happening in his or her classroom, and to use that information to make wise decisions for the future Gwymn Mettetal (2002) ít can be

seen thal in an action research project, teachers are both a changing agen! to the social

reality and at the same time a subject influenced by thatreality Soitisa vey cfiketive way of helpng teachers to zetlect on their teaching and come up with their alternatives

to improve their practice

‘The main characteristies of action research was: itis situational It is a cyclic process

of plaming, action, and evaluation; and conducted by active paticipants in the

k ching/lourning process and deri d from # veal problem in the chasstoom Action

tescarch has continuous feedback resulting to all partics involved Tt takes imo

account differcnees in value systems and power structures of all the partics invelved

in the research It is concemed with the identification and solution of problems in a specific context Its main aims are: to salve a problem, to improve the current state

of affairs, and to generate new knowledge

According to Sagor (2005), there are 4 stages in am action research project illustrated

in the figure 1 below

Figure 1 Action Research Cycle

{ Reflecting and Plannin,

Tn short, action research is a process of seicntific investigation which is oferr condueted by a teacher or a practitioner in order to improve the current state of affairs within the educational context As itis named, “action” and “research” highlights the essential features of this method: carrying out theory of action in practice to help action researchers understand what is going on and then based on data regarding the innpael of their actions, action researchers produce a revised theory of action, and solutions for identified problems

1.2, Rationale for the use of action research

‘When thinking of choosing an appropriate mcthod for this rescarch, the rescarcher found out that action research is the best choice for the purpose of this study

‘As stated in chapter 1, the purpose of this study is to help to improve students’ listening skills in using

Firstly, action research aims at “improving the situation’

metacognitive strategies In general, action research in schools, universities or any other educational institutions sclves everyday practical problems experienced by teachers, rather than the “theoretical problems” Specifically, the research is

searcher as a classroom teacher with her own students, and in her

8 The

conduelod by the re

classioum The result of the sludy would be helpfid to her own leaching proc

teacher who conducts action rescarch could solve his/her problems scientifically Secondly, action research allows the teacher to have a careful investigation on the metacognitive strategies in listening skills of students ‘he teacher can have a thorough lock and is able to work out an analysis on the students” performance during the progress of the tesearch, Action research helps the teacher dasign a detailed program which is most suitable lo the class students and bouefits therm the most

2 Settings

‘The English contre where the rescarcher is working was founded in 2008 with 1 headquarter and 2 branches, all of which are located in Hanoi The centre has been organizing thousands of offline English comses with approxamately 3500 leamers each year, There are a number of English courses for many types of leamers trom

Kids to adults The TOEIC preparation course is divided into 3 levels: Pre TOEIC,

TOFIC A, and TORIC B, and other supplementary courses for th: TORIC preparation

course Each TOEIC course often lasts 20 scssans (90 minutcs for cach session) The

course employs a number of popular commercial TOEIC test preparation books by well-known publishers such as ABC TOEIC, Big Step, Longman New TOEIC

Listening Comprehension Leamers participating in the course receive training in the

fortmat of the TORIC test, and frequent practice of the relevaril skills ta be tested

Nonrully, the number of learners in cach class is from 10 to 20 learners; sa the

The leamers were mainly university or college students along with some emplayees

in several companies in Hane Learners came Grom different provinces in Vietnam

The students wanted to take part in the TORIC course in order tomect the graduation

requirements sct by their schools or colleges The office workers participated in the

course to get a certificate in English as an evaluation tool in their enterprises

Previously, they mainly studied English grammar and did not pay much attention to listening ‘Therefore, they could not comprehend very complicated English conversations or speeches as well as lack the appropriate strategies to deal with the

TORIC

They voluntarily paid tuition foe lo take Gee course Most of the learners were very studtions and purposeful in studying Pnglish,

4, Data collecting instruments

Questionnaires (Appendix 1 and 2)

Two questionnaires were designed and administered: one prior to the instruction of metacognitive strategies in listening comprehension and the other after the

intervention

28

the first week The questionaire was adapted from Vandergnift, ct al, (2006) The

civention questionnaire consis

purpose of the questionnaires was to assess Jeamers’ metacognitive awareness about listening strategy use It represents four areas of metacognitive awareness about L2 listening: planning, monitoring, problemsclving, and evaluation This questionnaire

was writlen using a 6-putnl Likert le (1= Strongly disagree, 2 = Disagree, Slightly disagroc, 4= Partly agrae, $= Agroc and 6 = Strongly Agree)

Afler the intervention, which was instructing motavognitive strategics in listening conrprchension to the students, post-questiomnaire which composed of 12 questions was administered to the students in the last session of the research program The purpose of this questionnaire was to obtain information about how much metacognitive strategies help improve students’ listening comprehension and their feedback about the instructions of metacognitive strategies in listening skill

Pre-test and post-test (Appendix 4 and 5)

The scores of the prodest and post-test were uscd as they provided a quick and casy way of looking at the improvements made by the TOEIC learners The format and level of difticulty of these two tests are closely similar to those of an official TOEIC test They were marked by a third party to ensure the validity of the result

The ain of the pre-test was to identify leamers* level of English before they were enrolled in the course The post-test was to decide how mmch the Ieamers have improved thei TOEIC listening score after the intervention,

5, Research procedure

‘This research procedure is based on the action research cycle by Sagor (2008)

Steps of the study are summarized in five steps as follows:

Step }: Initiation (identify the problem)

Afler a few courses of teaching TORIC listening, T recognized that my students fell

anxious in the listening skills To understand more, I infonmally talked to some of my

students after classes, They said that they were worried because they couldn’t hear the recordmgs and understand very little or nothing at all They didn’t know the strategies or techniques to use when practicing the listening exercises

Step 2: Preliminary investigation (Collect data through questionnaire I, and pre-

the questionaire hetp searcher to find out students’ awareness of

metacognitive strategics in listening comprehension in the TOEIC tests before the intervention

Step 3: Intervention

‘The researcher decided to choose metacognitive strategies that were appropriate to

the content of the lessons and suitable for the students’ proficiency The research

programa was implernented on the class The cnire intervention took 8 weeks to be

completed: firstweck was for the pro-esl, next six weeks ware devoted to the training

sessions and last weck involved the post-test, The goal of this intervention was to instruct students to use metacognitive strategizs to improve their listening abilities, Step 4: Evaluation (Collect date and analyze it)

30

Tn order lo identify the students’ opinions loward instructions of metacugnitive

strategics and the changes in their leaming progress after the training period, the

Tesearcher gave them the post-intervention questionnaire and interviews on selected

students The data was collected from post-intervention questionnaire, interview and

post-test and analyzed to work out the findings and come up with conclusions and suggestions based on the findings:

Step 5: Reflection

‘What changes can be made to revise the theory of action and plan for future uetion

6, Structure of the metacognitive strategy training sessions in listening

Every training session of metacognitive strategies in listening comprehension consists of four stages:

1 Planning: In this phase, learners develop awareness of what needs to be done to

accomplish a task and deoide the strategies by which they will achieve them ‘Teacher may assist this by helping the leamers setting their own leaming goals and proposing strategies for handling the task Students make predictions about what to listen for

aud decide in advance to pay allention fo general or specific aspeels of the aural inpul

2 Monitoring: Learners may verify their predictions when listening and the way

strategics arc cmploycd and making sure that the strategics are implemented

conectly Leamers can also employ and orchestrate a number of strategies together

3 Problem solving: Leamers identify the points needing resolution in a task or

identify the aspects of the task that hinders its successfil completion

A_Tivaluation: They determine whether they have met some or all of the goals Learners refleet on their listening performance, strategy use, evaluate their progress, solutions for the difficulties they cncountered, and the way they should fice similar

listening tasks in the future

A description of the research program together with the topics and the objectives of each training session is provided in the table below

Table 1 The description of the research program

1 Intreduction to the course Introduction to the

research program

Pre-test

Questionnaize 1

? Listening Part 1: Photos of | - Know therequiremente |Inferventonl

People of part 1 (TORIC test)

- Statement Stmetrer + Identify the snmetures of

- Common Vocabulary in | photos of people

- Practice with TORIC vocabulary and actions Actual Questions related to the picture of

people

- Leam and remember common vocabulary in partl

3 Listening Part 1; Pholos of | - Identify the structures of | Intervention 2

- Statement Structures

- Practice

- Common Vocabulary in Part |

- Practice with TOEIC Actual Questions secnes/ objects