Phát triển kĩ năng nghe cho sinh viên không chuyên tiếng Anh năm thứ nhất tại trường Đại học Nông Lâm Thái Nguyên thông qua các bài hát tiếng Anh

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* HÀ MINH TUẤN DEVELOPING LISTENING SKILLS FO

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

*********************

HÀ MINH TUẤN

DEVELOPING LISTENING SKILLS FOR THE FIRST YEAR NON ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY THROUGH ENGLISH SONGS

Phát triển kĩ năng nghe cho sinh viên không chuyên tiếng Anh năm thứ nhất tại trường Đại học Nông Lâm Thái Nguyên thông qua các bài hát tiếng Anh

M.A MINOR PRORAMME THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111

Hanoi, 2014

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

*********************

HÀ MINH TUẤN

DEVELOPING LISTENING SKILLS FOR THE FIRST YEAR NON ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY THROUGH ENGLISH SONGS

Phát triển kĩ năng nghe cho sinh viên không chuyên tiếng Anh năm thứ nhất tại trường Đại học Nông Lâm Thái Nguyên thông qua các bài hát tiếng Anh

M.A MINOR PRORAMME THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111

SUPERVISOR: NGUYỄN VĂN TRÀO, PhD

DECLARATION

I hereby state that I, Hà Minh Tuấn– Thái Nguyên, being a candidate for the degree of

Master of Arts (TEFL), accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention

and use of Master‟s thesis deposited in the library

In terms of the condition, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the library

should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal

conditions established by the librarians, for the care, loan, or reproduction of the thesis

Hanoi, August 2014

Signature

Hà Minh Tuấn

I would like to say how thankful I am to the teachers and students at Thái Nguyên university of Agriculture and Forestry for their tremendous supports in the collection of data and information for my study

Last but not least, I wish to express my acknowledgment to other individuals who have indirectly contributed to the completion of this thesis

To all these people I only hope that the achievement of my thesis will be favorable enough

to satisfy their expectation

Thai Nguyen-2014

ABSTRACT

This study aims to develop listening skills for the first year non English major students at Thai Nguyen university of Agriculture and Forestry through English songs To fulfill this purpose, 240 first year non English major students were selected from 4 classes These participants were then asked to answer the questionnaire, take part in some formal and informal discussion, make a face to face interview with the researcher about the use of English songs in class

The study was carried out over four-month course Data was gathered and analyzed through charts and tables Results revealed that the use of English songs made a rather significant improvement to the students‟ listening skills Some recommendations are finally presented based on research finding

Key words: English songs, first year students, listening skills

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

1 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1:T eachers’ attitudes towards using songs

Table 2: Reasons why students listen to English songs

Table 3: Teachers’ opinions about advantages of using songs

Table 4: Teachers’ opinion about disadvantages of using songs

Table 5: Favorite activities while students listen to English songs

2 LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 1: Students’ attitude towards listening skill

Chart 2:Why listening skill difficult?

Chart 3: Students’ attitude towards using songs to develop listening skill

Chart 4: The situation of using songs to teach listening skill

Chart 5: Students’ opinion about using English songs in class

Chart 6: Students’ opinion about the disadvantages of using songs in classes

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION……… i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……… ii

ABTRACT……… iii

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS……… iv

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1 Rationale of the study……… 1

2 Aims of the study……… 3

3 Research questions……… 4

4 Scope of the study……… 4

5 Methods of the study ……… 4

6 The outline of the study……… 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6 2.1 The definition of listening skill………

7 2.2 Listening skill in foreign language teaching………

2.2.1 The importance of listening skill in foreign language teaching…………

8 2.2.2 The difficulties in learning listening skill………

9 2.2.3 Teaching listening skill according to CLT………

10 2.3 Teaching listening skills through English songs………

2.3.1 The importance of songs in developing listening skills………

11 2.3.2 Using songs as motivator for students to learning listening skills………

12 2.3.3 Tasks designed for listening texts………

14 2.4 Summary………

15 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 16 3.1 The subjects………

16

3.2 Methods of data collection……… 16

3.3 Procedures and methods of data analysis……… 16

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Findings 4.1.1 Students’ attitude towards listening skill………

17 4.1.2 The factors leading to students’ difficulty in listening skill……… 17

4.1.3 Teachers’ attitudes towards using songs……… 18

4.1.4 Students’ attitude towards using songs ……… 19

4.1.5 The situation of using songs to teach listening skill……… 20

4.1.6 Reasons why students listen to English songs……… 21

4.1.7 Teachers’ opinion about advantages and disadvantages of using songs to teach listening skill………

23 4.1.8 Students’ opinions about advantages and disadvantages of using songs to learn English………

25 4.1.9 Favorite activities while students are listening to English songs…………

26 4.2 Discussions of the findings………

28 4.3 Criteria of song selection……… 30

4.4 Some suggestions for teachers……… 31

4.5 Some suggested tasks when using songs to teach listening skill………

32 4.6 Summary………

33 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 35 5.1 Summary of the study………

35 5.2 Limitations and suggestions for further study………

36

Sample songs

Sub questions

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

According to the theory of language acquisition, listening is the first mode for children to acquire a language (Peterson, 1991; Wulandari, 2011) It provides a foundation for language and cognitive development Hunsaker (cited in Bozorgian, 2012) found that children achieve more than three quarters of what they learn in school through listening Research has shown that improvement in listening skill positively affects other language skills: reading, writing and speaking (Bozorgian, 2012) Listening is also one of the most important language skills throughout human‟s life It makes up the largest part of human‟s communication As found out

by different researchers (Wilt, Rankin, Feyton cited in Wulandari, 2011; Ralph & Stevens, Rankin cited in Bozorgian, 2012), people spend 45% of their communicating time to listen to each other, while they spend only 30% speaking, 16% reading and 9% writing That finding confirmed what Rivers and Weaver had found (as cited in Morley, 1991) that the time people spend listening is twice as much as speaking, four times more than reading and five times as much as writing Listening can boost or impede the communication process and the mutual understanding among people because it provides the input for “all aspects of language and cognitive development” (Wulandari, 2011, p 15)

Listening skill has salient importance in not only the first but also second language learning (Bozorgian, 2012) Listening serves as the bridge to speaking and writing because it is an activity to gain information Moreover, listening comprehension is of more importance when it comes as the crucial step in understanding the foreign language to provide correct input for the two productive skills Peterson (1991: 106-107) emphasized that “no other type of language input is

as easy to process as spoken language, receive through listening” Students can get the most direct connection to the meaning of the new language through listening in the early stages of their language study By stressing the role of comprehensible

input, Krashen (as cited in Wulandari, 2011) agreed that listening lied at the heart of language learning

With that significance of listening in second language learning acquisition and communication, I have understood the importance of developing English listening skill for students at Thai Nguyen university of Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF) Acknowledging the benefit that English brings in the current time, our university (TUAF) has considered English to be one of the most important subjects

in the process of students‟ learning Textbooks have been changed, teaching methods have been changed and the hours of teaching English in class have been much higher than ever before All of these aim at developing the use of English for students at our university Moreover, in the context of being required to take a graduated examination with A2 level, our students have to try their best to fulfill this task However, during the process of teaching English in the school and through the result of the pre-training tests, I have realized that most of the first year students get higher marks at grammar, writing, speaking and reading test, but listening test I have asked myself why my students get lower marks at listening tests; it could be the structure of the school tests they used to take or it could be the teaching methods that they used to get or it could be the lack of desire and motivation of listening among the students I have tried many methods in order to develop my students‟ listening skills, among which, I have found that English songs can help

In addition, For many people whose first language is not English or they did not learn English as a second language in school like in some European countries for instance Belgium and Moldova (Ottilie, 2010; Xmarabout, 2010), their first exposure to English may probably be through popular songs Lynch (2005) points out in his article that language teachers should use songs as part of their English language teaching Among the reasons given are that songs contain natural language, are easily obtainable, and are natural and fun He also states that a variety

of new vocabulary can be introduced as well as cultural aspects and even different types of English accents Songs can be selected to suit the needs and interests of

students The lyrics of songs can be used in relating to situations of the world around the students Overall, he concludes that songs can offer an enjoyable speaking, listening, vocabulary and language practice

On the whole, songs are believed to be able to improve the current listening teaching practice and develop students‟ listening comprehension

Based on that rationale, the hypothesis for this study was formulated as follows: Using English songs can develop listening comprehension skill for the first year non English major students at TUAF in the academic year of 2013-2014

2 Aims of the study

The main aim of the research is to help first year non English major students at TUAF improve their listening ability through English songs It first gives them an overview of a suitable technique in learning listening and the significance of using English songs to develop listening skill Then, the thesis also aims at finding their attitude towards the use of this technique in teaching listening skill, its benefits to listening as well as English learning in general Finally, it strives to suggest a method to enhance listening skill and apply it in teaching and learning

3 Research questions

This study aims at investigating the effects of using songs on improving listening comprehension skill of first-year non English major students at TUAF, and the impact it has on students‟ attitudes towards studying with this technique It attempts to address the following research questions:

(1) What are the students‟ attitudes towards listening skill?

(2) What are the students‟ attitudes towards English songs used in listening class?

4 Scope of the study

This study is limited to the first year non English major students at Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF), and help develop students‟ listening skill through English songs

5 Methods of the study

The study was designed to use English songs to develop students‟ listening skills To fulfill the above aims, qualitative and quantitative method was chosen for the study All comments, remarks, assumptions and conclusion of the study were based on the questionnaire, data and analysis Data collections for analysis in this study were gained though the following methods: the first is through the survey questionnaires (main method); the second is through a face to face interview (small talks, discussion) with students

6 The outline of the study

The thesis consists of five chapters:

* Chapter 1 sets up theoretical background that is relevant to the purpose of the

study

* Chapter 2 aims at providing a theoretical background to this study The review of

issues most relevant to the focus of the study will be included: concepts of listening comprehension, listening process, listening difficulties and the use of songs to help the listeners solve the problem in listening skills

* Chapter 3 emphasizes the subjects of the study, method of data collection, and

procedures and methods of data analysis

* Chapter 4 presents the analysis of findings and discussion

* Chapter 5 summarizes the key issues in the study, points out the limitations, and

provides some suggestions for further research

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter is aimed at providing a theoretical background to this study The review of issues most relevant to the focus of the study will be included: concepts of listening comprehension, listening process, listening difficulties and the use of songs to help the listeners solve the problem in listening skills

During the process of teaching and learning English, applying a suitable method in teaching requires both teacher and learners have long lasting cooperation and especially, the teacher should have high creativeness in giving his own

knowledge to the students That “develop listening skills for the first year non

English major students through English songs” is a method in developing listening skills to the students The chosen English songs are one of the materials in teaching

listening skill because music can help learners remember quickly and create a long lasting effectiveness When information is spoken along with the rhythms, learners will remember better It is true that the rhythms and lyrics in music have an

enormous influence in helping learners save information

Songs also give new insights into the target culture They are the means through which cultural themes are presented effectively Since they provide authentic texts, they are motivating Prosodic features of the language such as stress, rhythm, intonation are presented through songs, thus through using them the language which is cut up into a series of structural points becomes a whole again There are many advantages of using songs in the classroom Through using contemporary popular songs, which are already familiar to teenagers, the teacher can meet the challenges of the teenage needs in the classroom Since songs are highly memorable and motivating, in many forms they may constitute a powerful subculture with their own rituals Furthermore, through using traditional folk songs the base of the learners‟ knowledge of the target culture can be broadened Correctly chosen, traditional folk songs have the dual motivating attack of pretty tunes and interesting stories, plus for many students- the added ingredient of novelty

(Hill, 1999:29) Most songs, especially folk songs, follow a regularly repeated verse form, with rhyme, and have a series of other discourse features, which make them easy to follow

2.1 The definition of listening skill

Listening is one of the fundamental language skills, and crucial in the development of the second language competence so there are many definitions of listening which present different views of scholars towards the concept

Listening is the ability to identify and understand what others are saying According to Anderson and Lynch (1988), listening is really a receptive skill along side with reading skills and the role of listeners is no longer passive but active Rost (1994) says that “listening is referred to a complex process that enables us to understand spoken language.” It is an invisible mental process, so it is very difficult

to describe This involves understanding the speaker‟s accent or pronunciation, his grammar and his vocabulary, and grasping his meaning (Howatt and Dakin, 1974) Rost defines listening consists of:

 Discriminating between sounds

 Recognizing words

 Identifying grammatical groups of words

 Identifying “pragmatic units” – expressions and sets of utterances which function as whole units to create meaning

 Connecting linguistic cues to paralinguistic cues (intonation, stress) and to nonlinguistic cues (gestures) in order to construct meaning

 Using background knowledge and context to predict and then to confirm meaning

 Recalling important words and ideas

(Rost, cited in Rosová, 2007)

From the points of view above, it is obvious that an able listener is capable of integrating all these component skills

Underwood (1989) also says that “listening is the ability of paying to and trying to get meaning from something we hear” She explains that to listen successfully to spoken language, we need to be able to work out what speakers mean when they use particular words in particular ways on particular occasions, and not simply to understand the words themselves But listening is different from hearing Whilst hearing can be thought of as a passive condition, listening is always

an active process (Underwood, 1989) Actually, hearing is possible to hear sounds without consciously engaging in the process In contrast, in listening, the brain does not automatically translate the words into message they are conveying It involves much more than assigning labels to sounds or words

2.2 Listening skill in foreign language teaching

2.2.1 The importance of listening skill in foreign language teaching

It cannot be denied that we spend a large portion of our time listening because

it is a key element of the verbal communication It has been estimated that adults spend almost half their communication time listening, and students may receive as much as 90% of their in – school information through listening to instructors or to one another However, in the past, reading and grammar skills were paid much attention to while speaking and listening skills were taken for granted As a result, language learners did not recognize its importance in developing language skills Rost (1994) emphasizes the importance of listening for several reasons below:

 Listening is vital in the language classroom because it provides input for the learner Without understandable input at the right level, any learning simply cannot begin

 Spoken language provides a means of interaction for the learner Since the learners must interact to achieve understanding, access to speakers of the language

is essential Moreover, learners‟ failure to understand the language they hear is impetus, not an obstacle, to interaction and learning

 Authentic spoken language presents a challenge for the learner to attempt to understand language as it is actually used by native speakers

 Listening exercises provide teachers with a means for drawing learners‟ attention to new forms (vocabulary, grammar, interaction patterns) in the language Moreover, listening is also an important condition for developing other skills, especially speaking skill as Doff (1988) suggests that we cannot develop speaking skill unless we develop listening skill Indeed if we want to speak well, we firstly must listen to what others say and understand them clearly

To sum up, listening skill has taken a very important part in learning English

It is the most communicative and practiced skill that needs to be developed as much

as possible

2.2.2 The difficulties in learning listening skill

There are several reasons why students find listening to foreign languages and English in particular, so difficult:

* spelling and pronunciation of English differ a lot: “Many learners of English fail

to recognize the spoken forms of words that they „know‟ very well in print or writing.” (Rixon 1990 p 38)

* connected speech - students are able to recognize the words in isolation, connected speech poses a big problem though (factors of assimilation, weakening of sounds etc come into play)

* rhythmic pattern of English, rules for putting stress and intonation (while in Vietnamese language there is no stress on words because all words are root words

or single words, in English it can also be on the first or the second or the third or the last)

* the „same‟ sounds (usually vowels) can be pronounced in several different ways (break x weak x fear etc.)

* use of colloquial vocabulary in informal dialogues; grammar deviations; broken syntax

* the pace of the recording or speech is the same for everybody - we can not replay

it anytime we want; in real-life listening we are usually exposed to the text only once: “Written discourse is fixed and stable so the reading can be done at whatever

time, speed and level of thoroughness the individual reader wishes Spoken text in contrast is fleeting, and moves on in real time The listener - though he or she may occasionally interrupt to request clarification must in general follow what is said at the speed set by the speaker.” (Ur 2004, p 160)

* other factors such as poor acoustic conditions or noise can make the listening activity even more stressful for the learners

To solve these problems, teachers should make the lessons more interesting to motivate the students to listen by some interesting activities in class One of the activities is to listen to English songs In relation to the students at TUAF- Foreign Language Center who still feel it very difficult to understand the meaning of the material after playing the tape for twice or three times in class Songs seem to be the suitable choice because the students will be stimulated and not be panic or worry when they are learning listening

2.2.3 Teaching listening skill according to CLT

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), derived from the late 1970s and early 1980s, can be said to be the product of educators and linguists who had grown dissatisfied with the audio-lingual and grammar-translation methods of foreign language instruction It can be understood as a set of principles about the goals of language teaching, how learners learn a language, the kinds of classroom activities that best facilitate learning, and the roles of teachers and learners in the classroom According to Richards (2002), “CLT was an attempt to operationalize the concept

of communicative competence and to apply it across all levels of language program design, from theory, to syllabus design, to teaching techniques.” In other words, CLT makes use of real-life situations that necessitate communication The Teacher sets up a situation that students are likely to encounter in real life As a part of communication, listening can be taught in a communicative way

According to Rost (1990), listening is given a new role in language learning in CLT: communicative approach views listening as an interactive functional basic mode of communication on rather than a skill to be learned and tested CLT

emphasizes the use of extensive listening to material taken from “authentic” L1 situations where learners are expected to select the language they need to use in order to perform language tasks

It can be said that listening plays an important role in CLT It can enable the listeners to select a function of language from the presented listening model and to apply it in communication activities Besides, it could stimulate communication by creating the need for social interaction through simulation of real-life situations CLT regards listening as a procedure in language learning not as a target of learning

by itself

2.3 Teaching listening skills through English songs

2.3.1 The importance of songs in developing listening skills

No one can deny that music has played a very important part in our life Every one likes music It accompanies with us very time we feel happy or sad Music is at everywhere, every time we need it: “when we exercise, when we work, when we play, when we worship and even when we die, music is there to reinforce or alter every mood and emotion” (Lynch, 2005 p.37) Studies have shown that music can improve concentration, improve memory, bring a sense of community to a group, motivate learning, relax people who are overwhelmed or stressed, make learning fun, help people absorb material

Due to its great value, music and songs have been taken into consideration as a method to teach language as Medina (1993) says “it is currently a common practice

to use songs in the classroom to support second language acquisition” because music can stimulate and motivate students to learn a new language It is really a language package that bundles culture, vocabulary, listening, grammar and a host of other language skills in just a few rhymes (Inggris, 2008)

In the words of Lynch (2005), “songs are useful in the language learning classroom” Therefore, he points out 9 reasons why foreign language teachers should use songs to teach EFL:

o Songs almost always contain authentic, natural language

o A variety of new vocabulary can be introduced to students through songs

o Songs are usually very easily obtainable

o Songs can be selected to suit the needs and interests of the students

o Grammar and cultural aspects can be introduced through songs

o Time length is easy controlled

o Students can be experience a wide range of accents

o Song lyrics can be used in relating to situations of the world around us

o Students think songs are natural and fun

(Lynch, 2005)

To share the same view, Davanellos (1999) says that “songs are not only fun, they have a serious purpose for language learning”, he also suggests several good reasons of using songs for teaching purposes One of the reasons the students are interested in studying is that they feel motivated as “enjoyable learning has to be more effective than teacher-centred procedures” (Davanellos, 1999)

To sum up, songs not only play an important part in our life but are a useful tool to learn in a foreign language classroom So teachers of foreign language should make use of them to make the lessons more interesting and stimulate students to learn

2.3.2 Using songs as motivator for students to learning listening skills

Songs can be used to show our emotions, it makes us happy, helps us ease the pain in the best way Besides, songs can be utilized in foreign language teaching for many purposes According to Eken (1996), songs can be used:

 To present a topic, a language point, lexis, etc

 To practice a language point, lexis, etc

 To focus on common learner errors in more direct way

 To encourage extensive and intensive listening

 To stimulate discussion of attitudes and feelings

 To encourage creativity and use of imagination

 To provide a relaxed classroom atmosphere

 To bring variety and fun to learning

It is proved that what you can do with a text you can do with a song They can also form the basis for many lessons (Futonge,2005 cited in Inggris, 2008) So Lynch (2005) suggests three factors that songs can be made use of in a foreign language classroom: the use of new vocabulary, idioms and expressions; pronunciation and accent of the singer; and use of new grammar and structure To share the same point of view, Ur (1986) points out that songs are taught for a variety

of purposes: “for the sake of vocabulary or structures they contain, to get students to produce oral English by singing them; as an aspect of English-language culture; for fun.” Moreover, in the words of Saricoban and Metin (2000), songs can develop the four language skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking)

There are two processes involved in listening: bottom-up process and down process Cullen (1999) says that the first is bottom-up processing where the listener builds up the sounds into words, sentences and meaning The second is top-down processing where the listener uses background knowledge to understand the meaning of a message Practicing both of these processes is essential for developing comprehension Songs can be used to utilize these two processes Also, researchers have shown that music can change the brain waves and make the brain more receptive to learning Music connects the functions of the right and left hemispheres

top-of the brain so that they work together and makes learning quick and easy

Krashen (1982) explains that optimal learning will occur if the affective filter must be weak According to his Affective Filter Hypothesis, a weak filter means that a positive attitude towards learning is present If the affective filter is strong, the learner will not seek language input, and in turn will not be open to language acquisition The practical application of this hypothesis is that teachers must provide a positive atmosphere conducive to language learning Songs are one method for achieving a weak affective filter and promoting language learning

In conclusion, songs are one of the best methods to teach and motivate students to learn listening skill So teachers should take advantages of songs to stimulate and help students improve their listening skill

2.3.3 Tasks designed for listening texts

There are various kinds of listening tasks According to Ur (1984), possible and applicable listening tasks should be:

- Dictation exercise:

This is common listening exercise which is usually practices in the earlier years of school education It requires students an integrative knowledge of the phonological, syntactic and semantic systems of a language To do this task, teacher gives students handout, omitting some sentences of the text, then plays the tape and asks students

to listen to the text and write the missing sentences down

- Ticking off items:

Learners tick beside the items: Learners tick beside the items that they hear in the listening

- Answering questions:

Based on the content of the listening, students are required to give longer and full answer to the questions

Secondly, the importance of listening in second language learning and some problems that students may cope with when they learn this skill are discussed Lastly, there are some discussions about the advantages of songs and it should

be taken into consideration to be applied in teaching and learning foreign language

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 The subjects

The subjects of the study are the first year non English major students Most of the students come from the mountainous provinces of Vietnam The chance for them to learn English is not as good as those who live in big cities Most of them do not seem to concern about the importance of learning English because they focused

on the subjects they have to take when taking part in a university entrance examination When they enter the university, they fear English, they consider it a difficult subject to learn They are bored and passive in learning English For most

of the students, is only understood as an obligatory subject in university curriculum

3.2 Methods of data collection

The research adopted questionnaire and interview as means of data collection

In addition, formal and informal discussions and small talks with teachers and students to collect more data for this study were also conducted

3.3 Procedures and methods of data analysis

The aim of the questionnaires was to collect data relating students‟ attitudes towards listening skill, the reasons that caused students‟ difficulties in learning listening skill, teachers and students‟ attitudes towards English songs and using songs in teaching and learning listening skill, and the situation of using songs to teach listening skill at TUAF Basing on categories established, data was then analyzed by using descriptive statistics (percentage) and qualitative statistics (informal discussions, interview) Pie chart, graphs and tables were mainly employed to analyze and compare figures The information was gathered from two questionnaires were presented and analyzed as in chapter 4, finding and discus

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Findings

4.1.1 Students’ attitudes towards listening skill

Most of the students agreed that listening skill played a very important role in second language learning but it was the most difficult skill to be reached As can be seen from Chart 1, a larger number of students (86%) thought that listening skill was very difficult, 10% of them considered listening skill was difficult and 4% of them said that it was not very difficult 4% of the students who said listening skill was not difficult much had higher English level than the others They were good at basic English at high-school level because they came from specialized schools or school in urban areas

Students' attitude towards

Chart 1: Students’ attitudes towards listening skill

4.1.2 The factors leading to students’ difficulty in listening skill

There are many reasons causing difficulties to students‟ listening skill, but most

of them admitted that they had few chances to listen right from the secondary and high school level Most of the teachers have found it easier to teach grammar and other skills, but listening Another reason was that they could not keep up with the speaker‟s speed and were often left behind As a result, they could hardly