Luận văn a study on using bottom up techniques in teaching listening skill to the first year students at thai nguyen university of technology

Á STUDY ON USING BOTTOM-UP TECHNIQUES IN TEACHING LISTENING SKILL TO THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY.. - Chapter 2: “The study”, shows the scttmg, the su

Á STUDY ON USING BOTTOM-UP TECHNIQUES IN TEACHING

LISTENING SKILL TO THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT THAI

NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

NGHIÊN CÚU VE VIEC SU' DUNG PHUGNG PHAP BOTTOM-UP TRONG

GIẢNG DAY K¥ NANG NGIIE CIIO SINII VIEN NAM TOU NDAT TRUONG

ĐẠI HỌC KỸ THUẬT CÔNG NGHIỆP THÁI NGUYÊN

MLA MINOR THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY

CODE: 601410

Hanoi, 2012

4 Scape of the study

14 Summary 1?

CHAPTER II: THE STUDY

2.5, The application of bottom-up process in listenmg class

2.6 Findings and Discussions

CHAPTER II: IMPLICATION

3.1 Rollom-up lectmiques should be applied

3.2 Arousing students’ motivation and interest

3.3 Improving 3 stages of a listening lesson

3.3.1 Pre

ening 3.3.2 While-listening 3.3.3 Post-listening

- Survey questionnaire

6 Design of the study

This minor thesis consists of 3 parts:

Part A: Introduction, presents the rationale, hypothesis, aims, scope, methodology and design of the study

Part B: Development, which is divided inlo 3 chapters:

- Chapter 1: “Literature review”, sets up theoretical background that is relevant to the

purpose of the study

- Chapter 2: “The study”, shows the scttmg, the subjects, the methods, the way to callect data, the application of bottom-up techniques on teaching and leaming listening skill at

TRUT, the fidings and some discussions:

- Chapter 3: “Implications”, In this chapter, the implications of the study in which suggestions for improving listening skills to the students at TNUT are proposed at the ond of this chapter

Part C: Conclusion, summarizes the key issues in the study, points out the limitations and provides some suggestions for further study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

13

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

Tables:

Table 1.1: Descriptive statistics for the pre-test of the control and experimental groups

Table 1.2 Comparison of mode, mean, median and SD for the pre-test of the experimental and

control group

Table 1.3 Descriptive statistics far the mid-term test of the experimental and control groups

Table 1.4 Comparison of mode, mean, median and SD for the mid-term lest of the

experimental and control group

Table 1.5 Descriptive statistics for the post-test of the experimental and control groups

Tuble 1.6 Comparison of made, mean, median and SD for the post test of the experimental and control group

Table 1.7 Comparison of mean hetween the experimental and control groups

Table 2.1: Activities motivated students in the pre-listening stage

Table 2.2: Activities attracted students in while-listening stage

Table 2.3: Useful activities to students after listening

Table 2.4: Teaching methods in helping students livten better and more efficiently

Table 2.5: Requires tasks for students in a listening lesson with bottom-up processes

Table 2.6: The students’ opinion about teaching methods

Table 2.7: the students’ opinion about listening lessons with bottom-up process

Charts:

Chart 1.1: Percentage of the raw mark in the pre-test

Chart 1.2 Percentage of the raw mark in the mid-term test

Chart 1.3 Percentage of the raw mark in the post test

Chart 2.1: The students’ opinion about the listening tasks

Chart 2.2: The students’ opinion about learning listening with bottom-up process

Chart 2.3: The students’ opinion about their listening skill after a term with bottom-up pracess.

CHAPTER L: LITERATURE REVIEW

To provide a theoretical background for the study, this chapter is devoted to the reoxaminalion of the concepts most relevant to the (hesis’s lopic Firstly, an account of the theory on listening is made Secondly, some difficulties in leaming listening and some problems in teaching listening skill are discussed Finally, bottom-up process along, with its lechniques in teaching listening, will be presented

LL Theory on listening LLL Definitions of listening There arc some traditional views that listening is considered a passive language skill alongside the reading skill It means that leamers are almost passive in practising listening

aclivilies in the classroom Learners jus hear whal they are going to Hislen wiloul, paying

sufficient attention in the discourse such as the background knowledge of the speakers as well

as their intentions, attitude, implication and other shades of meaning etc The leamers mainly hear the message; they only ty to clicit the meaning from the individual syntactic and semantic components of the utterance and the manner m which it is spoken ‘his leads to the

result that it is hard for the learners to communicate Having this attitude, the teacher often

cơnduots the lesson as “tested” listening comprehension rather than teaching it Ihe method

of testing the comprehension of the leamers is based on the ability to remember the utterance, which they have just heard Obviously, this method is not effective as the ability to remember

the utterance does not mean that the listener can understand the message Just like a child

who is good at remembering songs and poems, but he does not know what they are about In fact the learners are nol provided enough information aboul what they are goiry, to hear before the tape plays and they cope with a wide range of problems while they are listening and the result is thal they carmot gel any listening experience from the ieacher

For the past few years some present studies on listening comprehension have to come to another view in which the role of the listeners is thought to be active, but not passive any

more Listening is really a receptive skill alongside reading skill It is believed that listening is

a significant and essential area of development in.a native language and in a second language

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

It cannot be denied that Linglish is the intemational medium m the fields of science,

technology, culture, education, economy and so on It is also considered a means to promate

mmulual understanding and cooperalion between Vietnam and other countries TLis widely scon

as the key language toll in the integrating process in the world With the rapid development

and expansion of informational technology, there neads to be a common language for people

of all countries to exchange information with cach other and it is English that is used as a means of intemational communication Therefore, there has been an explosion in the need of

teaching and learning English all over the world

In Vietnam, in recent years the number of people who wish to know and master English has become more and more increasing: especially since Vietnam adopted an open-door policy, teaching and learning English have been paid much attention to English has been part

of the general education Jt becomes a compulsory subject at high schools and universities in most towns and cities throughout the country In Thai Nguyen University of Technology (TNUT), English teaching is strongly influenced by the fradilional methodology Emphasis has been placed on the mastery of forms and vocabulary, rather than the language in use And Listening seems to be the most difficull skill for frst year students of TNUT There are a number of possible reasons for this

First, this might be due to the fact that most students lack necessary strategies to fulfill the Estening tasks Next, they oflen have dilficullies in catching the meaning from the lape because they lack vocabulary Uesides, they are afraid of listening and have no head for

it Therefore, it is essential for teachers to find out some ways to help students overcome their

difficulties, and make them feel more comfortable when practicing listening to English so as

to assist them in approving their skills as well

Tt is also essential to note that listening is an efficient channel to provide comprehensible input for leamers, so teachers should pay attention to it from the very

beginning,

PART C: CONCLUSION

1 8ummary of the study óc se ¬ 43

3 Linitations and suggestions for ñuufher siudyy so se nei 43

Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire

Appendix 2: Pre-test, Mid-term test and Past test

Appendix 3: Sample lesson plan

PART C: CONCLUSION

1 8ummary of the study óc se ¬ 43

3 Linitations and suggestions for ñuufher siudyy so se nei 43

Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire

Appendix 2: Pre-test, Mid-term test and Past test

Appendix 3: Sample lesson plan

PART C: CONCLUSION

1 8ummary of the study óc se ¬ 43

3 Linitations and suggestions for ñuufher siudyy so se nei 43

Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire

Appendix 2: Pre-test, Mid-term test and Past test

Appendix 3: Sample lesson plan

CHAPTER L: LITERATURE REVIEW

To provide a theoretical background for the study, this chapter is devoted to the reoxaminalion of the concepts most relevant to the (hesis’s lopic Firstly, an account of the theory on listening is made Secondly, some difficulties in leaming listening and some problems in teaching listening skill are discussed Finally, bottom-up process along, with its lechniques in teaching listening, will be presented

LL Theory on listening LLL Definitions of listening There arc some traditional views that listening is considered a passive language skill alongside the reading skill It means that leamers are almost passive in practising listening

aclivilies in the classroom Learners jus hear whal they are going to Hislen wiloul, paying

sufficient attention in the discourse such as the background knowledge of the speakers as well

as their intentions, attitude, implication and other shades of meaning etc The leamers mainly hear the message; they only ty to clicit the meaning from the individual syntactic and semantic components of the utterance and the manner m which it is spoken ‘his leads to the

result that it is hard for the learners to communicate Having this attitude, the teacher often

cơnduots the lesson as “tested” listening comprehension rather than teaching it Ihe method

of testing the comprehension of the leamers is based on the ability to remember the utterance, which they have just heard Obviously, this method is not effective as the ability to remember

the utterance does not mean that the listener can understand the message Just like a child

who is good at remembering songs and poems, but he does not know what they are about In fact the learners are nol provided enough information aboul what they are goiry, to hear before the tape plays and they cope with a wide range of problems while they are listening and the result is thal they carmot gel any listening experience from the ieacher

For the past few years some present studies on listening comprehension have to come to another view in which the role of the listeners is thought to be active, but not passive any

more Listening is really a receptive skill alongside reading skill It is believed that listening is

a significant and essential area of development in.a native language and in a second language

English as a Second Language English for Specific Purpose General English

Long Tenn Memory The second language Number

Standard deviation Short Term Memory

Thai Nguyen University of Technology

CHAPTER L: LITERATURE REVIEW

To provide a theoretical background for the study, this chapter is devoted to the reoxaminalion of the concepts most relevant to the (hesis’s lopic Firstly, an account of the theory on listening is made Secondly, some difficulties in leaming listening and some problems in teaching listening skill are discussed Finally, bottom-up process along, with its lechniques in teaching listening, will be presented

LL Theory on listening LLL Definitions of listening There arc some traditional views that listening is considered a passive language skill alongside the reading skill It means that leamers are almost passive in practising listening

aclivilies in the classroom Learners jus hear whal they are going to Hislen wiloul, paying

sufficient attention in the discourse such as the background knowledge of the speakers as well

as their intentions, attitude, implication and other shades of meaning etc The leamers mainly hear the message; they only ty to clicit the meaning from the individual syntactic and semantic components of the utterance and the manner m which it is spoken ‘his leads to the

result that it is hard for the learners to communicate Having this attitude, the teacher often

cơnduots the lesson as “tested” listening comprehension rather than teaching it Ihe method

of testing the comprehension of the leamers is based on the ability to remember the utterance, which they have just heard Obviously, this method is not effective as the ability to remember

the utterance does not mean that the listener can understand the message Just like a child

who is good at remembering songs and poems, but he does not know what they are about In fact the learners are nol provided enough information aboul what they are goiry, to hear before the tape plays and they cope with a wide range of problems while they are listening and the result is thal they carmot gel any listening experience from the ieacher

For the past few years some present studies on listening comprehension have to come to another view in which the role of the listeners is thought to be active, but not passive any

more Listening is really a receptive skill alongside reading skill It is believed that listening is

a significant and essential area of development in.a native language and in a second language

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

It cannot be denied that Linglish is the intemational medium m the fields of science,

technology, culture, education, economy and so on It is also considered a means to promate

mmulual understanding and cooperalion between Vietnam and other countries TLis widely scon

as the key language toll in the integrating process in the world With the rapid development

and expansion of informational technology, there neads to be a common language for people

of all countries to exchange information with cach other and it is English that is used as a means of intemational communication Therefore, there has been an explosion in the need of

teaching and learning English all over the world

In Vietnam, in recent years the number of people who wish to know and master English has become more and more increasing: especially since Vietnam adopted an open-door policy, teaching and learning English have been paid much attention to English has been part

of the general education Jt becomes a compulsory subject at high schools and universities in most towns and cities throughout the country In Thai Nguyen University of Technology (TNUT), English teaching is strongly influenced by the fradilional methodology Emphasis has been placed on the mastery of forms and vocabulary, rather than the language in use And Listening seems to be the most difficull skill for frst year students of TNUT There are a number of possible reasons for this

First, this might be due to the fact that most students lack necessary strategies to fulfill the Estening tasks Next, they oflen have dilficullies in catching the meaning from the lape because they lack vocabulary Uesides, they are afraid of listening and have no head for

it Therefore, it is essential for teachers to find out some ways to help students overcome their

difficulties, and make them feel more comfortable when practicing listening to English so as

to assist them in approving their skills as well

Tt is also essential to note that listening is an efficient channel to provide comprehensible input for leamers, so teachers should pay attention to it from the very

beginning,

In addition, after a master course with methodology subject, 1 realized that bottom-up process with its techniques and characteristics suit to the first-year non-major students in Icarning listening skill Il ean help students in Ieamning listening

‘Allinall, the above has encouraged the writer of the thesis to carry out the study entitled:

“4 study on using bottom — up teclmiques in teaching listening skill to the first — year students at Thai Nguyen Universily of Technology.”

2 Null hypothesis

This stndy is designed to test the following hypothesis

“Bottom-up techniques can be used to enhance TNUT first-year English learners’ listening comprehension”

3 Aims of the study

In order to test the above-named hypothesis, this study is aimed at:

- Experimenting and investigating the effects of using bottom-up techniques in teaching listening to first-year students

- Investigating the leamers’ perceptions regarding listening activities using bottom-up

listening strategies

- Formulating pedagogical implications and making suggestions for improving, the teaching and leaming of the listening, skills at TNUT

4 Scope of the study

In this study, the investigator intended to use bottom-up techniques to help first year students at TNUT overcome their listening difficulties, not taking the other kind of techniques,

ie lop-down ones These techniques were experimented over a period of one term with 17 weeks and were applied in the three stages of a listening lesson: pre-listening, while-listening and post-listening The sample population is 70 Eeslunen om two classes: 47Y and A7K1

- Survey questionnaire

6 Design of the study

This minor thesis consists of 3 parts:

Part A: Introduction, presents the rationale, hypothesis, aims, scope, methodology and design of the study

Part B: Development, which is divided inlo 3 chapters:

- Chapter 1: “Literature review”, sets up theoretical background that is relevant to the

purpose of the study

- Chapter 2: “The study”, shows the scttmg, the subjects, the methods, the way to callect data, the application of bottom-up techniques on teaching and leaming listening skill at

TRUT, the fidings and some discussions:

- Chapter 3: “Implications”, In this chapter, the implications of the study in which suggestions for improving listening skills to the students at TNUT are proposed at the ond of this chapter

Part C: Conclusion, summarizes the key issues in the study, points out the limitations and provides some suggestions for further study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

13

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

Tables:

Table 1.1: Descriptive statistics for the pre-test of the control and experimental groups

Table 1.2 Comparison of mode, mean, median and SD for the pre-test of the experimental and

control group

Table 1.3 Descriptive statistics far the mid-term test of the experimental and control groups

Table 1.4 Comparison of mode, mean, median and SD for the mid-term lest of the

experimental and control group

Table 1.5 Descriptive statistics for the post-test of the experimental and control groups

Tuble 1.6 Comparison of made, mean, median and SD for the post test of the experimental and control group

Table 1.7 Comparison of mean hetween the experimental and control groups

Table 2.1: Activities motivated students in the pre-listening stage

Table 2.2: Activities attracted students in while-listening stage

Table 2.3: Useful activities to students after listening

Table 2.4: Teaching methods in helping students livten better and more efficiently

Table 2.5: Requires tasks for students in a listening lesson with bottom-up processes

Table 2.6: The students’ opinion about teaching methods

Table 2.7: the students’ opinion about listening lessons with bottom-up process

Charts:

Chart 1.1: Percentage of the raw mark in the pre-test

Chart 1.2 Percentage of the raw mark in the mid-term test

Chart 1.3 Percentage of the raw mark in the post test

Chart 2.1: The students’ opinion about the listening tasks

Chart 2.2: The students’ opinion about learning listening with bottom-up process

Chart 2.3: The students’ opinion about their listening skill after a term with bottom-up pracess.

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

It cannot be denied that Linglish is the intemational medium m the fields of science,

technology, culture, education, economy and so on It is also considered a means to promate

mmulual understanding and cooperalion between Vietnam and other countries TLis widely scon

as the key language toll in the integrating process in the world With the rapid development

and expansion of informational technology, there neads to be a common language for people

of all countries to exchange information with cach other and it is English that is used as a means of intemational communication Therefore, there has been an explosion in the need of

teaching and learning English all over the world

In Vietnam, in recent years the number of people who wish to know and master English has become more and more increasing: especially since Vietnam adopted an open-door policy, teaching and learning English have been paid much attention to English has been part

of the general education Jt becomes a compulsory subject at high schools and universities in most towns and cities throughout the country In Thai Nguyen University of Technology (TNUT), English teaching is strongly influenced by the fradilional methodology Emphasis has been placed on the mastery of forms and vocabulary, rather than the language in use And Listening seems to be the most difficull skill for frst year students of TNUT There are a number of possible reasons for this

First, this might be due to the fact that most students lack necessary strategies to fulfill the Estening tasks Next, they oflen have dilficullies in catching the meaning from the lape because they lack vocabulary Uesides, they are afraid of listening and have no head for

it Therefore, it is essential for teachers to find out some ways to help students overcome their

difficulties, and make them feel more comfortable when practicing listening to English so as

to assist them in approving their skills as well

Tt is also essential to note that listening is an efficient channel to provide comprehensible input for leamers, so teachers should pay attention to it from the very

beginning,

English as a Second Language English for Specific Purpose General English

Long Tenn Memory The second language Number

Standard deviation Short Term Memory

Thai Nguyen University of Technology

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

Tables:

Table 1.1: Descriptive statistics for the pre-test of the control and experimental groups

Table 1.2 Comparison of mode, mean, median and SD for the pre-test of the experimental and

control group

Table 1.3 Descriptive statistics far the mid-term test of the experimental and control groups

Table 1.4 Comparison of mode, mean, median and SD for the mid-term lest of the

experimental and control group

Table 1.5 Descriptive statistics for the post-test of the experimental and control groups

Tuble 1.6 Comparison of made, mean, median and SD for the post test of the experimental and control group

Table 1.7 Comparison of mean hetween the experimental and control groups

Table 2.1: Activities motivated students in the pre-listening stage

Table 2.2: Activities attracted students in while-listening stage

Table 2.3: Useful activities to students after listening

Table 2.4: Teaching methods in helping students livten better and more efficiently

Table 2.5: Requires tasks for students in a listening lesson with bottom-up processes

Table 2.6: The students’ opinion about teaching methods

Table 2.7: the students’ opinion about listening lessons with bottom-up process

Charts:

Chart 1.1: Percentage of the raw mark in the pre-test

Chart 1.2 Percentage of the raw mark in the mid-term test

Chart 1.3 Percentage of the raw mark in the post test

Chart 2.1: The students’ opinion about the listening tasks

Chart 2.2: The students’ opinion about learning listening with bottom-up process

Chart 2.3: The students’ opinion about their listening skill after a term with bottom-up pracess.

In addition, after a master course with methodology subject, 1 realized that bottom-up process with its techniques and characteristics suit to the first-year non-major students in Icarning listening skill Il ean help students in Ieamning listening

‘Allinall, the above has encouraged the writer of the thesis to carry out the study entitled:

“4 study on using bottom — up teclmiques in teaching listening skill to the first — year students at Thai Nguyen Universily of Technology.”

2 Null hypothesis

This stndy is designed to test the following hypothesis

“Bottom-up techniques can be used to enhance TNUT first-year English learners’ listening comprehension”

3 Aims of the study

In order to test the above-named hypothesis, this study is aimed at:

- Experimenting and investigating the effects of using bottom-up techniques in teaching listening to first-year students

- Investigating the leamers’ perceptions regarding listening activities using bottom-up

listening strategies

- Formulating pedagogical implications and making suggestions for improving, the teaching and leaming of the listening, skills at TNUT

4 Scope of the study

In this study, the investigator intended to use bottom-up techniques to help first year students at TNUT overcome their listening difficulties, not taking the other kind of techniques,

ie lop-down ones These techniques were experimented over a period of one term with 17 weeks and were applied in the three stages of a listening lesson: pre-listening, while-listening and post-listening The sample population is 70 Eeslunen om two classes: 47Y and A7K1

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

Tables:

Table 1.1: Descriptive statistics for the pre-test of the control and experimental groups

Table 1.2 Comparison of mode, mean, median and SD for the pre-test of the experimental and

control group

Table 1.3 Descriptive statistics far the mid-term test of the experimental and control groups

Table 1.4 Comparison of mode, mean, median and SD for the mid-term lest of the

experimental and control group

Table 1.5 Descriptive statistics for the post-test of the experimental and control groups

Tuble 1.6 Comparison of made, mean, median and SD for the post test of the experimental and control group

Table 1.7 Comparison of mean hetween the experimental and control groups

Table 2.1: Activities motivated students in the pre-listening stage

Table 2.2: Activities attracted students in while-listening stage

Table 2.3: Useful activities to students after listening

Table 2.4: Teaching methods in helping students livten better and more efficiently

Table 2.5: Requires tasks for students in a listening lesson with bottom-up processes

Table 2.6: The students’ opinion about teaching methods

Table 2.7: the students’ opinion about listening lessons with bottom-up process

Charts:

Chart 1.1: Percentage of the raw mark in the pre-test

Chart 1.2 Percentage of the raw mark in the mid-term test

Chart 1.3 Percentage of the raw mark in the post test

Chart 2.1: The students’ opinion about the listening tasks

Chart 2.2: The students’ opinion about learning listening with bottom-up process

Chart 2.3: The students’ opinion about their listening skill after a term with bottom-up pracess.

In addition, after a master course with methodology subject, 1 realized that bottom-up process with its techniques and characteristics suit to the first-year non-major students in Icarning listening skill Il ean help students in Ieamning listening

‘Allinall, the above has encouraged the writer of the thesis to carry out the study entitled:

“4 study on using bottom — up teclmiques in teaching listening skill to the first — year students at Thai Nguyen Universily of Technology.”

2 Null hypothesis

This stndy is designed to test the following hypothesis

“Bottom-up techniques can be used to enhance TNUT first-year English learners’ listening comprehension”

3 Aims of the study

In order to test the above-named hypothesis, this study is aimed at:

- Experimenting and investigating the effects of using bottom-up techniques in teaching listening to first-year students

- Investigating the leamers’ perceptions regarding listening activities using bottom-up

listening strategies

- Formulating pedagogical implications and making suggestions for improving, the teaching and leaming of the listening, skills at TNUT

4 Scope of the study

In this study, the investigator intended to use bottom-up techniques to help first year students at TNUT overcome their listening difficulties, not taking the other kind of techniques,

ie lop-down ones These techniques were experimented over a period of one term with 17 weeks and were applied in the three stages of a listening lesson: pre-listening, while-listening and post-listening The sample population is 70 Eeslunen om two classes: 47Y and A7K1

PART C: CONCLUSION

1 8ummary of the study óc se ¬ 43

3 Linitations and suggestions for ñuufher siudyy so se nei 43

Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire

Appendix 2: Pre-test, Mid-term test and Past test

Appendix 3: Sample lesson plan

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

Tables:

Table 1.1: Descriptive statistics for the pre-test of the control and experimental groups

Table 1.2 Comparison of mode, mean, median and SD for the pre-test of the experimental and

control group

Table 1.3 Descriptive statistics far the mid-term test of the experimental and control groups

Table 1.4 Comparison of mode, mean, median and SD for the mid-term lest of the

experimental and control group

Table 1.5 Descriptive statistics for the post-test of the experimental and control groups

Tuble 1.6 Comparison of made, mean, median and SD for the post test of the experimental and control group

Table 1.7 Comparison of mean hetween the experimental and control groups

Table 2.1: Activities motivated students in the pre-listening stage

Table 2.2: Activities attracted students in while-listening stage

Table 2.3: Useful activities to students after listening

Table 2.4: Teaching methods in helping students livten better and more efficiently

Table 2.5: Requires tasks for students in a listening lesson with bottom-up processes

Table 2.6: The students’ opinion about teaching methods

Table 2.7: the students’ opinion about listening lessons with bottom-up process

Charts:

Chart 1.1: Percentage of the raw mark in the pre-test

Chart 1.2 Percentage of the raw mark in the mid-term test

Chart 1.3 Percentage of the raw mark in the post test

Chart 2.1: The students’ opinion about the listening tasks

Chart 2.2: The students’ opinion about learning listening with bottom-up process

Chart 2.3: The students’ opinion about their listening skill after a term with bottom-up pracess.

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

It cannot be denied that Linglish is the intemational medium m the fields of science,

technology, culture, education, economy and so on It is also considered a means to promate

mmulual understanding and cooperalion between Vietnam and other countries TLis widely scon

as the key language toll in the integrating process in the world With the rapid development

and expansion of informational technology, there neads to be a common language for people

of all countries to exchange information with cach other and it is English that is used as a means of intemational communication Therefore, there has been an explosion in the need of

teaching and learning English all over the world

In Vietnam, in recent years the number of people who wish to know and master English has become more and more increasing: especially since Vietnam adopted an open-door policy, teaching and learning English have been paid much attention to English has been part

of the general education Jt becomes a compulsory subject at high schools and universities in most towns and cities throughout the country In Thai Nguyen University of Technology (TNUT), English teaching is strongly influenced by the fradilional methodology Emphasis has been placed on the mastery of forms and vocabulary, rather than the language in use And Listening seems to be the most difficull skill for frst year students of TNUT There are a number of possible reasons for this

First, this might be due to the fact that most students lack necessary strategies to fulfill the Estening tasks Next, they oflen have dilficullies in catching the meaning from the lape because they lack vocabulary Uesides, they are afraid of listening and have no head for

it Therefore, it is essential for teachers to find out some ways to help students overcome their

difficulties, and make them feel more comfortable when practicing listening to English so as

to assist them in approving their skills as well

Tt is also essential to note that listening is an efficient channel to provide comprehensible input for leamers, so teachers should pay attention to it from the very

beginning,

CHAPTER L: LITERATURE REVIEW

To provide a theoretical background for the study, this chapter is devoted to the reoxaminalion of the concepts most relevant to the (hesis’s lopic Firstly, an account of the theory on listening is made Secondly, some difficulties in leaming listening and some problems in teaching listening skill are discussed Finally, bottom-up process along, with its lechniques in teaching listening, will be presented

LL Theory on listening LLL Definitions of listening There arc some traditional views that listening is considered a passive language skill alongside the reading skill It means that leamers are almost passive in practising listening

aclivilies in the classroom Learners jus hear whal they are going to Hislen wiloul, paying

sufficient attention in the discourse such as the background knowledge of the speakers as well

as their intentions, attitude, implication and other shades of meaning etc The leamers mainly hear the message; they only ty to clicit the meaning from the individual syntactic and semantic components of the utterance and the manner m which it is spoken ‘his leads to the

result that it is hard for the learners to communicate Having this attitude, the teacher often

cơnduots the lesson as “tested” listening comprehension rather than teaching it Ihe method

of testing the comprehension of the leamers is based on the ability to remember the utterance, which they have just heard Obviously, this method is not effective as the ability to remember

the utterance does not mean that the listener can understand the message Just like a child

who is good at remembering songs and poems, but he does not know what they are about In fact the learners are nol provided enough information aboul what they are goiry, to hear before the tape plays and they cope with a wide range of problems while they are listening and the result is thal they carmot gel any listening experience from the ieacher

For the past few years some present studies on listening comprehension have to come to another view in which the role of the listeners is thought to be active, but not passive any

more Listening is really a receptive skill alongside reading skill It is believed that listening is

a significant and essential area of development in.a native language and in a second language

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

It cannot be denied that Linglish is the intemational medium m the fields of science,

technology, culture, education, economy and so on It is also considered a means to promate

mmulual understanding and cooperalion between Vietnam and other countries TLis widely scon

as the key language toll in the integrating process in the world With the rapid development

and expansion of informational technology, there neads to be a common language for people

of all countries to exchange information with cach other and it is English that is used as a means of intemational communication Therefore, there has been an explosion in the need of

teaching and learning English all over the world

In Vietnam, in recent years the number of people who wish to know and master English has become more and more increasing: especially since Vietnam adopted an open-door policy, teaching and learning English have been paid much attention to English has been part

of the general education Jt becomes a compulsory subject at high schools and universities in most towns and cities throughout the country In Thai Nguyen University of Technology (TNUT), English teaching is strongly influenced by the fradilional methodology Emphasis has been placed on the mastery of forms and vocabulary, rather than the language in use And Listening seems to be the most difficull skill for frst year students of TNUT There are a number of possible reasons for this

First, this might be due to the fact that most students lack necessary strategies to fulfill the Estening tasks Next, they oflen have dilficullies in catching the meaning from the lape because they lack vocabulary Uesides, they are afraid of listening and have no head for

it Therefore, it is essential for teachers to find out some ways to help students overcome their

difficulties, and make them feel more comfortable when practicing listening to English so as

to assist them in approving their skills as well

Tt is also essential to note that listening is an efficient channel to provide comprehensible input for leamers, so teachers should pay attention to it from the very

beginning,

PART C: CONCLUSION

1 8ummary of the study óc se ¬ 43

3 Linitations and suggestions for ñuufher siudyy so se nei 43

Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire

Appendix 2: Pre-test, Mid-term test and Past test

Appendix 3: Sample lesson plan

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

It cannot be denied that Linglish is the intemational medium m the fields of science,

technology, culture, education, economy and so on It is also considered a means to promate

mmulual understanding and cooperalion between Vietnam and other countries TLis widely scon

as the key language toll in the integrating process in the world With the rapid development

and expansion of informational technology, there neads to be a common language for people

of all countries to exchange information with cach other and it is English that is used as a means of intemational communication Therefore, there has been an explosion in the need of

teaching and learning English all over the world

In Vietnam, in recent years the number of people who wish to know and master English has become more and more increasing: especially since Vietnam adopted an open-door policy, teaching and learning English have been paid much attention to English has been part

of the general education Jt becomes a compulsory subject at high schools and universities in most towns and cities throughout the country In Thai Nguyen University of Technology (TNUT), English teaching is strongly influenced by the fradilional methodology Emphasis has been placed on the mastery of forms and vocabulary, rather than the language in use And Listening seems to be the most difficull skill for frst year students of TNUT There are a number of possible reasons for this

First, this might be due to the fact that most students lack necessary strategies to fulfill the Estening tasks Next, they oflen have dilficullies in catching the meaning from the lape because they lack vocabulary Uesides, they are afraid of listening and have no head for

it Therefore, it is essential for teachers to find out some ways to help students overcome their

difficulties, and make them feel more comfortable when practicing listening to English so as

to assist them in approving their skills as well

Tt is also essential to note that listening is an efficient channel to provide comprehensible input for leamers, so teachers should pay attention to it from the very

beginning,

CHAPTER L: LITERATURE REVIEW

To provide a theoretical background for the study, this chapter is devoted to the reoxaminalion of the concepts most relevant to the (hesis’s lopic Firstly, an account of the theory on listening is made Secondly, some difficulties in leaming listening and some problems in teaching listening skill are discussed Finally, bottom-up process along, with its lechniques in teaching listening, will be presented

LL Theory on listening LLL Definitions of listening There arc some traditional views that listening is considered a passive language skill alongside the reading skill It means that leamers are almost passive in practising listening

aclivilies in the classroom Learners jus hear whal they are going to Hislen wiloul, paying

sufficient attention in the discourse such as the background knowledge of the speakers as well

as their intentions, attitude, implication and other shades of meaning etc The leamers mainly hear the message; they only ty to clicit the meaning from the individual syntactic and semantic components of the utterance and the manner m which it is spoken ‘his leads to the

result that it is hard for the learners to communicate Having this attitude, the teacher often

cơnduots the lesson as “tested” listening comprehension rather than teaching it Ihe method

of testing the comprehension of the leamers is based on the ability to remember the utterance, which they have just heard Obviously, this method is not effective as the ability to remember

the utterance does not mean that the listener can understand the message Just like a child

who is good at remembering songs and poems, but he does not know what they are about In fact the learners are nol provided enough information aboul what they are goiry, to hear before the tape plays and they cope with a wide range of problems while they are listening and the result is thal they carmot gel any listening experience from the ieacher

For the past few years some present studies on listening comprehension have to come to another view in which the role of the listeners is thought to be active, but not passive any

more Listening is really a receptive skill alongside reading skill It is believed that listening is

a significant and essential area of development in.a native language and in a second language

In addition, after a master course with methodology subject, 1 realized that bottom-up process with its techniques and characteristics suit to the first-year non-major students in Icarning listening skill Il ean help students in Ieamning listening

‘Allinall, the above has encouraged the writer of the thesis to carry out the study entitled:

“4 study on using bottom — up teclmiques in teaching listening skill to the first — year students at Thai Nguyen Universily of Technology.”

2 Null hypothesis

This stndy is designed to test the following hypothesis

“Bottom-up techniques can be used to enhance TNUT first-year English learners’ listening comprehension”

3 Aims of the study

In order to test the above-named hypothesis, this study is aimed at:

- Experimenting and investigating the effects of using bottom-up techniques in teaching listening to first-year students

- Investigating the leamers’ perceptions regarding listening activities using bottom-up

listening strategies

- Formulating pedagogical implications and making suggestions for improving, the teaching and leaming of the listening, skills at TNUT

4 Scope of the study

In this study, the investigator intended to use bottom-up techniques to help first year students at TNUT overcome their listening difficulties, not taking the other kind of techniques,

ie lop-down ones These techniques were experimented over a period of one term with 17 weeks and were applied in the three stages of a listening lesson: pre-listening, while-listening and post-listening The sample population is 70 Eeslunen om two classes: 47Y and A7K1

English as a Second Language English for Specific Purpose General English

Long Tenn Memory The second language Number

Standard deviation Short Term Memory

Thai Nguyen University of Technology

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

Tables:

Table 1.1: Descriptive statistics for the pre-test of the control and experimental groups

Table 1.2 Comparison of mode, mean, median and SD for the pre-test of the experimental and

control group

Table 1.3 Descriptive statistics far the mid-term test of the experimental and control groups

Table 1.4 Comparison of mode, mean, median and SD for the mid-term lest of the

experimental and control group

Table 1.5 Descriptive statistics for the post-test of the experimental and control groups

Tuble 1.6 Comparison of made, mean, median and SD for the post test of the experimental and control group

Table 1.7 Comparison of mean hetween the experimental and control groups

Table 2.1: Activities motivated students in the pre-listening stage

Table 2.2: Activities attracted students in while-listening stage

Table 2.3: Useful activities to students after listening

Table 2.4: Teaching methods in helping students livten better and more efficiently

Table 2.5: Requires tasks for students in a listening lesson with bottom-up processes

Table 2.6: The students’ opinion about teaching methods

Table 2.7: the students’ opinion about listening lessons with bottom-up process

Charts:

Chart 1.1: Percentage of the raw mark in the pre-test

Chart 1.2 Percentage of the raw mark in the mid-term test

Chart 1.3 Percentage of the raw mark in the post test

Chart 2.1: The students’ opinion about the listening tasks

Chart 2.2: The students’ opinion about learning listening with bottom-up process

Chart 2.3: The students’ opinion about their listening skill after a term with bottom-up pracess.

- Survey questionnaire

6 Design of the study

This minor thesis consists of 3 parts:

Part A: Introduction, presents the rationale, hypothesis, aims, scope, methodology and design of the study

Part B: Development, which is divided inlo 3 chapters:

- Chapter 1: “Literature review”, sets up theoretical background that is relevant to the

purpose of the study

- Chapter 2: “The study”, shows the scttmg, the subjects, the methods, the way to callect data, the application of bottom-up techniques on teaching and leaming listening skill at

TRUT, the fidings and some discussions:

- Chapter 3: “Implications”, In this chapter, the implications of the study in which suggestions for improving listening skills to the students at TNUT are proposed at the ond of this chapter

Part C: Conclusion, summarizes the key issues in the study, points out the limitations and provides some suggestions for further study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

13

PART C: CONCLUSION

1 8ummary of the study óc se ¬ 43

3 Linitations and suggestions for ñuufher siudyy so se nei 43

Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire

Appendix 2: Pre-test, Mid-term test and Past test

Appendix 3: Sample lesson plan

- Survey questionnaire

6 Design of the study

This minor thesis consists of 3 parts:

Part A: Introduction, presents the rationale, hypothesis, aims, scope, methodology and design of the study

Part B: Development, which is divided inlo 3 chapters:

- Chapter 1: “Literature review”, sets up theoretical background that is relevant to the

purpose of the study

- Chapter 2: “The study”, shows the scttmg, the subjects, the methods, the way to callect data, the application of bottom-up techniques on teaching and leaming listening skill at

TRUT, the fidings and some discussions:

- Chapter 3: “Implications”, In this chapter, the implications of the study in which suggestions for improving listening skills to the students at TNUT are proposed at the ond of this chapter

Part C: Conclusion, summarizes the key issues in the study, points out the limitations and provides some suggestions for further study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

13