Developing listening skill for freshment at faculty of english, hanoi open university through note taking

MAIN FACTORS AFFECTING NOTE-TAKING SKILLS AND CURRENT LEARNING NOTE-TAKING SKILL OF ENGLISH MAJOR FRESHMAN AT HOU .... For the majority of English major students at HOU, especially fres

HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH

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CODE: 07

GRADUATION THESIS

TOPIC: DEVELOPING LISTENING SKILL FOR

FRESHMEN AT FACULTY OF ENGLISH, HANOI OPEN

UNIVERSITY THROUGH NOTE-TAKING

Name of student : Nguyễn Thùy Linh Date of birth : 29/10/1993

Class : K18-BPD2 Supervisor : M.A Nguyễn Văn Quang

HÀ NỘI - 2015

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this graduation thesis is my own work and effort and that it has not been submitted from any other studies Where other sources of information has been used, they have been acknowledges

Hanoi, May 4th 2015

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to Management Board

of English Faculty at Hanoi Open University for giving me a great opportunity to carry out the research on graduation thesis

I especially would like to offer my profound gratitude to my supervisor, M.A Nguyễn Văn Quang from whom I received enormous guidance Without his useful and patient instruction, it is impossible for me to complete my thesis

Also, my special thanks go to students who willingly took part in answering the survey questionnaire of this thesis

Finally, I truly appreciate the encouragement of my parents and my friends during my studies and my research as well

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART A INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims and objectives of the study 3

3 Scope of the study 3

4 Research questions 3

5 Methods of the study 3

6 Design of the study 4

PART B DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER I LITERATURE REVIEW 5

1.1 Definition of note-taking 5

1.2 The influence of note-taking on listening 6

1.3 Process of note-taking and skills required 8

1.4 Five note-taking methods 11

1.4.1 The Cornell’s method 11

1.4.2 The Outlining method 12

1.4.3 The Mapping method 13

1.4.4 The Charting method 13

1.4.5 The Sentence method 14

CHAPTER II MAIN FACTORS AFFECTING NOTE-TAKING SKILLS AND CURRENT LEARNING NOTE-TAKING SKILL OF ENGLISH MAJOR FRESHMAN AT HOU 15

2.1 Main factors affecting note-taking skills 15

2.1.1 Internal factors 15

2.1.2 External factors 17

2.2 Current learning note-taking skill of English major freshman at Hanoi Open University 18

2.2.1 Data collection - Survey questionnaire 18

2.2.2 Data analysis 19

CHAPTER III SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE NOTE-TAKING

EFFECTIVELY FOR ENGLISH MAJOR FRESHMAN AT HOU 28

3.1 Effective strategies for note-taking skills 28

3.1.1 What to note? 29

3.1.2 How to note? 32

3.1.3 When to note? 41

3.2 Enriching background and language knowledge 42

3.3 Providing reliable sources of study’s material 44

3.4 Eliminating psychology problems 46

3.5 Improving teaching and training methods 47

PART C CONCLUSION 50

REFERENCES 51

APPENDIX: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE 54

PART A INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

In the modern world of international competition today, more and more people have realized the role of learning foreign languages is undeniable so the study of foreign languages is increasingly paid much attention in many recent years It is commonly believed that mastering languages other than helps to experience a new culture easier but creates good opportunities for study and working People’s willingness to learn foreign languages depends

on two main things: interest and demand In different cases, people will learn another language because of their hobby Otherwise, they learn a foreign language as an instrument supporting and meeting their demands in life such as: study, working, living, entertaining, etc Anyway, mastering a new language is always a highly appreciated work and needs more encouragement and attention

For English, nobody can deny the popularity of this language over the world Undoubtedly, the number of English speakers and learners is increasing rapidly in many countries It is official important transaction language of many world major organizations namely the European Union or the United Nations, etc Additionally, in job recruitment, priority is often given to candidates who have good English proficiency

The ease and difficulty of learning English are different from person to person in term of gender, age, nationality, environment, etc However, easy or difficult, studying English always focuses on four main skills which are reading, listening, writing and speaking No one can point out which skill is the most important one because there is a tight relation between them, they always support each other Listening, reading, writing and speaking are all equally important However, listening and reading are often taught or learned

learning from the root to the higher levels Especially, listening helps learner a lot in develop their first intuitions of a new language Listening makes the brain work more flexible and adjustable with foreign languages The more you listen to the language, the better ability in realizing what sounds correct, what seems wrong like an ability you have in your mother tongue Therefore, after time learners can think and speak with correct grammar and vocabulary naturally

In Vietnam, foreign languages, especially English is countrywide learned, many English courses, training centers and practicing activities are being provided widely to everyone Although the importance of learning listening is highly focused in colleges and universities, English listening proficiency of Vietnamese students is not high as expected The level of proficiency between English majors and other majors is very different For the majority of English major students at HOU, especially freshman, listening is supposed the hardest skill for them to study In addition, some seniors at HOU who will face the upcoming English proficiency tests like IELTS or TOEIC for their graduation assessment also acknowledge the difficulty of listening

The main reason is that students do not apply the effective methods to listening in order to activate them with motivation and interest and become active learners One crucial skill in listening is “note-taking”, a helpful assistance material It is important to English major students for its advantages to facilitate listening Effective note-taking is an important practice that can be applied in all aspects of life, socially, at work and during study At university, note-taking helps students deal with information they received by comprehending and processing it in order to serve later study purposes

For the above mentioned roles of note-taking, developing this skill for English major freshman at HOU is a concerned issue, pressing for effective

methods and a lot of learner’s attempt This study is implemented to find out current learning note-taking skill of first year students at HOU and introduce some effective strategies to develop note-taking skills

2 Aims and objectives of the study

The thesis aims at:

- Discovering current learning note-taking skills of English major freshman at Hanoi Open University

- Exploring internal and external factors that affect note-taking skills

- Providing some suggestions methods to develop note-taking skills

3 Scope of the study

Scope of this thesis is mainly about how to improve listening through note-taking skill for first year student at English Faculty, HOU With the research about current leaning of students, the paper promotes some suggestions and recommendations to develop note-taking skill effectively

4 Research questions

The main question of the thesis is: how to improve listening for freshman at English Faculty, Hanoi Open University through note-taking skill To answer this question, I indicate the following supporting questions:

1 Do note-taking skills help improving listening?

2 What are skills required in note-taking process and their roles?

3 How does English major freshman at HOU learn note-taking?

4 What are main factors affecting note-taking skills?

5 What are suggestions to improve note-taking effectively for freshman?

5 Methods of the study

The following methods are used in this graduation thesis include:

• Collecting available information, statistics and figures from related

material and sources

• Reviewing and sorting the data to form logical orders for each chapter

• Survey questionnaire

• Data analysis

6 Design of the study

This thesis is divided into three parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion

Part A Introduction

This part includes six small parts:

1 Rationale

2 Aims and objectives of the study

3 Scope of the study

4 Research questions

5 Methods of the study

6 Design of the study

Part B Development

This part consists of three main chapters:

1 Chapter I Literature Review

2 Chapter II Findings and discussion about current learning note-taking skill of freshman at Faculty of English, HOU

3 Chapter III Suggestions to improve listening skill for freshman at Faculty of English, HOU through note-taking

Part C Conclusion

References

PART B DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition of note-taking

Taking note is a very common process which is widely seen in many activities in daily life In teaching – studying, note-taking becomes an essential part because it is considered as a helpful assistance material Note-taking is an important part of the research process Notes taken on class lectures or discussions may serve as study aids Notes taken during an interview may provide material for an essay, article, or book Note-taking is a technique used by listener to assist their memory McPherson (2012, p.5)

highlights “note-taking is properly the most common study strategy” During

listening process, memory is the key to listen successfully while a good note

can be a useful supporting material McPherson (2012, p.11) writes

Linguists have their own different view of note-taking’s definition Paulk

and J.Q.Owens (2013) states “Taking notes doesn't simply mean scribbling

down or marking up the things that strike your fancy It means using a proven system and then effectively recording information before tying everything together."

O’Hara (2005) describes note-taking skill is the combination of several

stages , that is "Taking notes involves active listening, as well as connecting

and relating information to ideas you already know It also involves seeking answers to questions that arise from the material."

Besides listening, note-taking plays a major role in interpretation Its

value is widely recognized Gillies (2005) writes that “It is important to

analyse the source text before taking down any notes Learning the

text is a crucial stage in the while-listening stage which listener should pay

much attention to Gillies (2005) also describes “Note-taking is a mechanical

In daily life activity or academic aspect as teaching and learning, taking has always been a basic and essential activity for recording key points

note-of information Note-taking is the practice note-of recording information captured from another source It allows note takers to have written records of all the necessary information that are heard, listened, seen or read before to have a chance to recall them

1.2 The influence of note-taking on listening

Note-taking is a sub-skill in listening and one of the most effective techniques to listening effectively Basically, efficient note-taking is necessary for students to have a record of lectures for future study and review Furthermore, it is the best assistant material in leaning listening subject, doing listening tests and also for translation and interpretation A good note does not stop at recording everything listener could hear but the information which is noted must be recorded selectively The data recorded in a good note must meet the requirements such as concise, brief and presented clearly, systematically The note of a listener is a miniature painting of words, speech which have their own meaning presented It reflects the attention, ability and care of the note-taker Thus, it is can be said that note-taking is one of the important skills that students, especially students of English major should learn and be taught carefully and systematically

As human’s memory is depended on type of person, it can be short or long, slow or quick No matter how good your memory, you cannot possibly remember everything So taking notes is the best technique According to Ferris and Tagg (1996) lack of note-taking skills and problems with note-taking as well as listening comprehension are troublesome areas most often

reported by international students Consequently, students’ lack of comprehension obviously cannot have good result of study Purdy (1996,

p.12) emphasized: “Comprehensive listening is listening for an understanding

of a message.” It is critical for learners to master note-taking for school, work, and life in general A good reason to take notes is that you can never re-listen to speech or a presentation You must take every opportunity to record and keep information so you can use it later Another illustration for the importance of note-taking in listening can be referred to memory The imperfect human’s memory often leads to numbers of disappearance of the content of what they listen to In fact, many good language learners claim that when they listen, they somehow can follow the speakers easily, but when it requires remembering it later, they find it is not totally an easy task This situation sounds common and may be acceptable in daily life However, this

is a serious problem that has to be taken into more consideration in studies on language One method to minimize the problem with memory in listening is

to apply note-taking skills

Some linguists have found positive relationships between note-taking and learning According to Hartley and Davies (1978), out of 35 studies on the effects on note-taking, 17 studies found that the note-takers performed better than the non-note-takers, 16 studies found no difference, 2 studies found that note-taking interfered with performance In their study, Titsworth and Kiewra (2004) pointed out that spoken organizational lecture cues boosted the number of noted organizational points and details by 39 and 35%

As another alternative result to their research, it was confirmed that taking resulted in about 13% higher test achievement than not taking notes Despite the undeniable importance of note-taking, this skill has not been paid enough attention to In fact, a question that many educators and students have wondered about is why note-taking is rarely taught carefully in school,

note-should be part of the curriculum.” Many linguists and educators believe that note-taking is a crucial skill especially in the subjects and activities involved listening skill so that it should be taught correctly for language learners

To sum up, note-taking plays an important role in everyday life It is a skill everybody uses, to some extent, as part of organizing daily life and routine, recording information, and identifying key points within it For student, especially university student, note-taking is very essential in some specific cases involved listening such as when you attend lecturers, practice listening and speaking subject, do a proficiency test Admittedly, the impact

of note-taking on listening is undeniable Summarizing some major roles of note-taking, they are:

• When you are listening, taking notes helps you concentrate In order to take notes - to write something sensible - you must understand the text Therefore, taking note boosts your brain to think, to analyze, and to comprehend the listening input Taking notes does not mean writing down every word you hear; you need to actively decide what is important and how

is related to what you have already written

• Notes help you to retain a lot of important information when listening

so it will be very helpful in learning purposes

• Note-taking is a complex process with many stages involved so practice note-taking not only improve listening but also build a good habit of self-practicing, in general

1.3 Process of note-taking and skills required

The process of note-taking is actually a complex set of many stages in which note taker is required the several skills First of all, about the note-taking process, Soar (1996) describes that note-taking is a three part process

of observing, recording, and reviewing There is a tight connection between

three stages of note-taking process Ellis (2014) emphasizes the connection:

“Each part of the process is essential and each depends on the others Your

observations determine what you record What you record determines what you review.” Therefore, note taker always has to do the right things from the first step in order to produce a good note that can show clear review of the information listened when looking back at the note The process of note-

taking can be viewed from the figure below:

Observing is the first stage in note-taking process which is likely related

to preparation stage In observing stage, listener should be prepared well before listening To be more specific, in this stage, the most important skills are concentrating, detecting and predicting It can be simplified with a real situation when a student does a listening test The first essential thing the student should do is to pay attention and focus on detecting all the key clues

in available text as well as predict the question and guess what the listening input is about to be better prepared before listening Ellis (2014, p.181) notes

the importance of predicting listening test question as “Predicting test

questions can do more than get you a better grade It can also keep you focused the purpose of a course and help you design your learning strategies.” Target of this technique is to help students better prepare appropriate context for better note-taking during listening activity

Concentration is the basic and important element for every activity When taking note, student should always concentrate on it at the beginning until the end Concentration can be boosted by focusing on the only main purpose Therefore, student has to determine their purpose when listening is

to take note the important information effectively

• Recording

The second stage, recording is the stage in which student has to listen and process what they can listen to note them into their paper Recording stage consists of understanding, analyzing, remembering and taking note

It is important to understand what you are listening the context and meanings of the words that are heard The role of understanding skill is to help note-takers provide sufficient language proficiency and appropriate background knowledge

Analyzing skill in the note-taking process during which you critically assesses the information you received from the listening input You should determine that not everything you listen is important and relevant so remember to analyze information selectively and systematically

Remembering skill is essential to the note-taking process because you need it to retain the information you listen Remembering details, ideas and concepts from what you listen to write them down in your notes requires good remembering skill The role of remembering skill is to show how much listener process what they listened to effectively Undoubtedly, depending on

short or long-term memory, the effectiveness of listening will comes out differently

Recording stage requires note-taker to understand, analyze, remember and taking note simultaneously When taking note, the principle factors note takers should keep in their mind is: what to note, how to note and when to note

What to note? They are main ideas, main verbs, keywords and relevant information

How to note? To increase the speed of note-taking process, note-takers should frequently use abbreviation, symbol

When to note? By the skill of sensing the context and meanings of the words that are heard, note-takers should note immediately when they can understand the context

• Reviewing

Reviewing stage is the final stage which requires note-takers have skills

to edit their notes, to complete by filling the missing information during taking process This stage means avoid conflict and misunderstand It helps to better understand what the meaning of the speaker and improve the ability of listening

note-1.4 Five note-taking methods

The Cornell method provides a systematic format for condensing and organizing notes without laborious recopying After writing the notes in the main space, use the left-hand space to label each idea and detail with a key word or "cue."

The method of taking note can be demonstrated as following Draw a line vertically down your paper, leaving 2.5 inches on the left and 6 inches on the right When taking note, take down important information in the six-inch area of the page and leaving space on the left to summarize the main point with a cue word or phrase When the information is set and the next points are coming, skip few lines and try to fill it when possible after finishing listening

To review or test the information noted down, cover your notes with a card, leaving the cues words or phrases Say the cue out loud, and then say as much

as you can of the material underneath the card and trying to remember as much information as possible Then check to see if you remembered correctly

The Cornell’s system works effectively for reviewing and studying This

is a simple and efficient way of recording and reviewing notes with an easy, organized and systematic format of notes

Outlines tend to proceed down a page, using headings and bullets to structure information A common system consists of headings that use Roman numerals, letters of the alphabet, and Arabic numerals at different levels How to outline the note is described as following Before listening, write down in points in an organized pattern on your page Place the most major points at first line and farthest to the left In turn, note the sub points then the details below to the right with the indent The space of indent will indicate the level of importance of each point

There are three main advantages of Outlining method Firstly, it makes the note well-organized and systematic Secondly, strong point of this method

is to record content as well as relationships properly Finally, it also reduces editing time Besides that, taking note by using Outlining method is easy to review by turning main points into questions

1.4.3 The Mapping method

Mapping is a method that uses comprehension and concentration skills and evolves in a note taking form which relates each fact or idea to every other fact or idea Mapping method is a graphic representation of the content

It is a method that maximizes active participation, affords immediate knowledge as to its understanding, and emphasizes critical thinking

Mapping method is usually referred to tree structure which can be constructed by drawing from a central point, main topic, goal, etc in the center of the page and then branching outward to identify all the sub points, details and ideas connected to those major ones

This note format helps you to visually track your lecture regardless of conditions Another advantage is that it requires little thinking and relationships can easily be seen Moreover, it is also easy to edit and design your notes

The Charting method is used when note about different objects with the heavy and classified content

This method bases on setting up your paper by drawing columns and labeling appropriate headings in a table Determine the categories to be covered in the lecture Set up your paper in advance by columns headed by these categories When listening, you record information (words, phrases, main ideas, etc.) into the appropriate category

The Charting method helps you track conversation and dialogues where you would normally be confused and lose out on relevant content It also helps to reduces amount of writing necessary Furthermore, it provides easy review mechanism for both memorization of facts and study of comparisons and relationships

1.4.5 The Sentence method

When listening to somewhat organized, but heavy with content which come fast, it is useful to use the Sentence method

In Sentence method, note taker will write every new point, fact or topic

on a separate line When taking these notes, you can number them or bullet them

The obvious strong points of this method is more organized than the paragraph and still records most of the information This strategy is short and helpful, especially when a professor or teacher may need to read the notes

Summary

In conclusion, the Chapter I Literature Review is a synthesis part including definition, process, methods and importance of note-taking skills based on available sources of information In addition, it aims to illustrate the undeniable importance of listening and note-taking skills with their enormous influence on student’s English ability Obviously, listening must be the top priority and note-taking is effective strategy for every learner who wishes to master English The first chapter is also the important initial part leading to further analysis in chapters afterwards

CHAPTER II MAIN FACTORS AFFECTING NOTE-TAKING

SKILLS AND CURRENT LEARNING NOTE-TAKING SKILL OF

ENGLISH MAJOR FRESHMAN AT HOU 2.1 Main factors affecting note-taking skills

Literature review shows that note-taking process can be affected by various factors which can be identified as internal and external Internal problems refer to the background knowledge, language proficiency like grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and psychological problems like memory External factors are related to situation, language input’s content which student sometimes may not avoid

• Language proficiency

In general, it is undeniable that language proficiency is a major factor that affects foreign language ability of students Note-taking skills cannot be better when listening proficiency is first influenced internally

It is well-known that vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation are foundation linguistic assessments of language which influence every aspect of language learning Weak vocabulary and grammar leads students to ineffective learning and reduces the ability of expressing ideas verbally and non-verbally When taking note, students have to face the fact that they cannot rely totally on the available context like reading, they have to listening for comprehension, for the meaning to select and write down important information in their paper under time limitation Therefore, lacking vocabulary and grammar is one big obstacle that initially affects listening and note-taking proficiency In some cases, missing and misunderstanding few keywords, few main points may severely prevent students from taking down correct information

In terms of pronunciation, English freshman often encounter pronouncing gaps because of the wrong concept of pronunciation Many students frequently have problems in distinguish some pairs of vowels such as /i/ and /i:/ or /ɑ/ and /æ/; consonants such as /s/ and /ʃ/ For example, some students may misunderstand those common pairs of words: feet – fit, sell-shell, held-hell, live-leave, ship-sip, etc The wrong concept of pronunciation leads to many common mistakes in their learning In some cases, when listening to native speakers, students find it hard to distinguish words because speakers sometimes use liaison and elision Pronunciation could be one of the most difficult fields making listening burdensome In other words, once listening is limited note-taking process cannot go on correctly

• Background knowledge

In note-taking process, all stages require students must have certain knowledge about the topic they are going to listen Coady (1979) emphasizes the role of good background knowledge in learning English as he states:

“Background knowledge becomes an important variable when we notice, as many have, that students with a western background of some kind learn English faster, on the average, than those without such a background.” When taking note, students have to use their brain to better note-taking process by applying other abilities Lacking background knowledge, many students may have problems in identifying main idea when they are listening, and they have weak ability of prediction and inference Students who lack background knowledge are easy to encounter some nonsense mistakes when they try to impose their own culture and language into the language they are learning

• Psychology problems

Besides language proficiency and background knowledge, psychology factors like memory and habit are parts of learning ability Psychology factors may include memory, attention, habit, or anxiety, etc

When students are under certain pressures about psychology factors, it is impossible for them to study well

Firstly, memory belonging to cognitive processing system plays a significant role in listening proficiency The importance of listening has been found in many studies and researches about psychology Human memory is not permanent, thus, everything you hear may be forgotten over time if you

do not tend to retain it In fact, as listening and note-taking process occurs in a very limited time so it is very hard for all students to store all the information

in their brain then express them into their note effectively because memory is different from person to person Memory affects severely note-taking process Secondly, attention is another important factor supporting effective listening and note-taking skills In terms of concentration level, some students cannot pay attention on what they are listening and often being absent after few minutes of listening It is such a common habit of students who have listening difficulties or loss their interest in listening which greatly affects their learning ability

In some cases, another factor – anxiety sometimes affect student’s listening ability which obviously affect note-taking process Generally, among many skills of learning English, students often show their anxiety in listening and speaking partly because they have to interact with other people, unlike reading and writing, they do them alone Anxiety is often present when students cannot listen or miss some necessary information It affects both listening and note-taking process directly by reducing listener’s concentration and flexibility which may causes many mistakes

• Speaker’s speed

When taking note, every student wishes to note down as much as

time limitation it is difficult to do so When referring to time, we think about speed In listening, the speed of speaker controls the process In different situations, the speed of speaker has a great or little impact on listening ability

of students It is also one of the main causes for student’s anxiety Many students experience the anxiety during listening and note-taking process when they find it difficult to recognize words, never talk about identifying important phrases and points Therefore, speaker’s speed is considered an external factor that students may not avoid but can partly conquer by frequent practice

• Language input’s content

Another external factor is language input’s content Different contents

of listening input will influence listener’s ability It refers to certain amount of language proficiency and background knowledge of each student Specifically, in different situations, if students come across the listening topics they are familiar with, they will obviously listen and take note more effectively Familiar contents of listening input help students to have interest

In addition, with such topics, it is easier for students to remove anxiety and being focused on the whole listening and note-taking process

2.2 Current learning note-taking skill of English major freshman at Hanoi Open University

In order to complete chapter II of the thesis, collecting and analyzing data from a survey questionnaire is conducted The questionnaire which consists of seven questions aims at English major freshman in Hanoi Open University The questionnaire concentrates on gathering information to answer the question: “How does English major freshman at HOU learn note-taking?”

• Student’s current problems in learning note-taking skills

• The influence of main factors affecting note-taking skills

The answers to the questionnaire will help to find out level of learning and difficulties of English major freshman at HOU, since then propose some suggestions and solutions to improve note-taking skills

First of all, the survey questionnaire starts off with two questions about student’s opinion about the most important skill in listening and the frequency

of practicing note-taking Obviously, the improvement of every subject relies

on student’s frequency of learning and practicing it

About the first question, as can be seen from the Table 1, the importance

of note-taking is highlighted as 50% of the answerers choose it The percentage number shows that English freshman at HOU partly concern about this crucial skill in listening Half of the answerers think note-taking is the most important skill to improve listening indicates that students are trying their best to develop the listening proficiency along with other skills

Meanwhile, the data for other skills like predicting and inferring are 15% and 7% respectively The numbers show that freshman at HOU, yet, have not paid consider attention to essential sub-skills in listening In listening as well as note-taking, the two sub-skills are really helpful to get information 28% of answers choose remembering is another second important skill in listening It shows that English major freshman at HOU really acknowledge the role of their brain in learning

Table 2 Answers of first-year students

Question: How often do you practice

Table 3 Answers of fourth-year students

Question: How often do you practice

Secondly, with the next question, it is asked among English major first year student s and some fourth year students to see the differences between the frequencies of practicing note-taking The numbers of table 3 indicate bright tendency in learning note-taking skills among senior students when nearly a half of the answers (45%) choose “sometimes” practicing this skill About 20 – 35% of hardworking students admit that they “always” or “often” practice note-taking For senior students, especially who are major in translation and interpretation, they obviously acknowledge the importance of note-taking in their major

In contrast, the frequency of practicing note-taking of freshman is different 41% of the students admit that they rarely practice note-taking About 24% of them often or sometimes spend time to practice A minority admit that they never use note-taking skills when learning Finally, it is a sad fact that none of first-year students say they always practice note-taking The proficiency of learning note-taking skills among students is different It strongly depends on their listening ability For most students regard listening is a difficult part in learning English language, it is obvious that their note-taking proficiency is limited With the next questions in the questionnaire, it aims to indicate student’s habit in learning note-taking

Table 4

Question: What do you note when taking note? Result

A Everything you are able to hear 25%

When taking note, identify, analyze and evaluate to select and retain only the most important ideas related to the whole topic are really important The result of question “What do you note when taking note?” proves that with the teaching methods, students acknowledge the key element in note-taking is keywords as 50% of them select it However, there are quite a lot students take note passively with ineffective way as 25% of them admit they will write down everything they are able to hear in their paper Their wrong habit of note-taking will obviously lead to ineffective notes The number of students who write shortened phrases in their notes is 20% and some say present that they take note other information like time, place, person, etc

From the table, it can be said that a part of Vietnamese students have the habit that they tend to prefer “excess rather than shortage” This habit is difficult to break as students tend to stick to words They prefer trying to retain as many as possible the information they are able to hear They still find it difficult to only focus on only the meaning, the whole topic of the speaker’s saying by analyzing, evaluating to select what is and is not necessary to write down in their notes This habit only leads to ineffective note-taking so it needs to be removed

Table 5

Question: How to identify important

information when taking note?

Result

Relying on signpost and transition phrases 53%

When taking notes, every student wishes to quickly recognize the important information so the question here is “How to identify important information when taking note?” More than a half of students find out effective strategies to do it as 53% of them choose to rely on signpost and transition phrases 30% of the students rely on the emphasis given to important information in speaker’s voice In some cases, to quickly recognize important information, student may also notice the repeat of words as another way to emphasize However, only a small number of students (15%) choose this way

Table 7

Question: Which source of materials do

you prefer when taking-note?

in learning note-taking through English TV programs such as talk show, live show, interview, speech Quite a lot of students (33%) choose native radio (BBC, VOA, CNN) as a source of learning Interestingly, a minority of the students (11%) say that they learning note-taking through watching English movies without sub title It indicates that freshman partly show their motivation in self-practicing note-taking as well as other skills like listening, speaking, spelling, etc However, learning note-taking through watching

movies is a wrong concept of practicing note-taking because movies often contain a lot of daily conversations about daily life things In English major, students should approach more academic learning sources instead of non-academic ones like movies Only few students (5%) choose TV daily news, textbook’s exercises and English proficiency tests as their favorite sources of learning note-taking It shows that nearly all students are not attracted by non-authentic sources Besides that, some of students prefer the combination between authentic and non-authentic sources when learning note-taking

H Others (attention, flexibility, habit, etc.) 5%

As stated above, note-taking process can be affected by various factors which can be identified as internal and external Internal problems refer to the background knowledge, language proficiency like grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and psychological problems like memory External factors are