An investigation into learners linguistic problems in toeic listening comprehension at the centre for foreign studies, nong lam university ho chi minh city m a 60 14 10

i DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE AN INVESTIGATION INTO LEARNERS’ LINGUISTIC PROBLEMS IN TOEIC LISTENING COMPREHENSION AT THE CENTRE FOR FOREIGN STUDIES, NONG LAM UNI

i

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE

AN INVESTIGATION INTO LEARNERS’

LINGUISTIC PROBLEMS IN TOEIC LISTENING COMPREHENSION AT THE CENTRE FOR

FOREIGN STUDIES, NONG LAM UNIVERSITY

– HOCHIMINH CITY

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Department of English Linguistics and

Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL

By NGUYỄN ĐẶNG THỊ CÚC HUYỀN

Supervised by TRƯƠNG HỚN HUY, M.A Senior Lecturer

HO CHI MINH CITY – NOVEMBER 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page Table of contents i

List of tables v

List of charts vi

Abbreviations vii

Statement of authorship viii

Retention and use of the thesis ix

Acknowledgements x

Abstract xi

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 The rationale of the study 1

1.2 Aims of the study 3

1.3 Background to the study 3

1.4 Significance of the study 4

1.5 Limitations 5

1.6 Structure of the thesis 6

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 7

2.1 An overview of listening comprehension 7

2.1.1 Definitions 7

2.1.2 Types of knowledge used in listening 8

2.1.3 The nature of listening comprehension 9

2.1.4 The role of listening comprehension in language learning 11

2.2 Listening processes 12

2.2.1 The bottom-up process 13

2.2.2 The top-down process 13

2.2.3 Combining the bottom-up and top-down models 14

2.3 Listening stages 15

2.3.1 The pre-listening stage 15

2.3.2 The while-listening stage 16

2.3.3 The post-listening stage 18

2.4 Listening strategies 19

2.5 Linguistic problems of listening to English 20

2.5.1 Phonological features 22

2.5.2 Lexical features 28

2.5.3 Syntactic features 31

2.5.4 Semantic features 33

2.5.5 Discourse structure features 34

Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 37

3.1 Research questions 37

3.2 Research design 37

3.2.1 The subjects 38

3.2.1.1 The first group of subjects 38

3.2.1.2 The second group of subjects 40

3.2.2 Data collection instruments 40

3.2.2.1 Questionnaires 40

3.2.2.1.1 Questionnaire for learners 41

3.2.2.1.2 Questionnaire for teachers 42

3.2.2.2 Interview 43

3.2.3 Data collection procedures 44

Chapter 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 46

4.1 Results from teachers’ questionnaire 46

4.1.1 Learners’ problems in TOEIC listening comprehension 46

4.1.1.1 Problems with phonological features 46

4.1.1.2 Problems with lexical features 48

4.1.1.3 Problems with syntactic features 50

4.1.2 Teachers’ assessment of linguistic knowledge’s support towards listening comprehension 52

4.1.3 Teachers’ suggestions to improve learners’ listening

comprehension 52

4.2 Results from learners’ questionnaire 53

4.2.1 Learners’ perception of English skills 53

4.2.2 The importance of listening comprehension 54

4.2.3 Learners’ self-assessment of listening ability 55

4.2.4 Learners’ problems in learning TOEIC listening comprehension 56 4.2.4.1 Problems with phonological features 56

4.2.4.2 Problems to lexical features 59

4.2.4.3 Problems with syntactic features 61

4.2.5 Learners’ self-assessment of linguistic knowledge’s support towards listening comprehension 62

4.2.6 Learners’ listening practice at home 63

4.2.7 Strategies of learning listening comprehension 64

4.2.8 Ways to improve listening skills 65

4.3 Results from learners’ interview 66

4.3.1 Learners’ problems in learning TOEIC listening comprehension 66 4.3.1.1 Problems with phonological features 66

4.3.1.2 Problems with lexical features 68

4.3.1.3 Problems with syntactic features 69

4.3.2 Possible causes of the linguistic problems 70

4.3.3 Ways to improve learners’ listening comprehension 72

4.3.3.1 Ways teachers can do to help learners improve listening comprehension 72

4.3.3.2 Ways learners can do to improve their listening 74

4.3.4 Learners’ opinions on the support of linguistic knowledge towards listening comprehension 75

Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 77

5.1 Conclusion 77

5.2 Pedagogical implications 79

5.2.1 To teachers 79

5.2.2 To learners 81

5.3 Recommendations for further research 82

APPENDIX 1: Questionnaire for teachers 84

APPENDIX 2: Questionnaire for learners (in Vietnamese) 88

APPENDIX 3: Questionnaire for learners (in English) 94

APPENDIX 4: Interview questions for learners (in Vietnamese) 100

APPENDIX 5: Interview questions for learners (in English) 101

REFERENCES 103

LIST OF TABLES

Page

3.1 Characteristics of the first group of subjects (learners) 39

3.2 Characteristics of the second group of subjects (teachers) 40

4.1 Teachers’ opinions on learners’ phonological problems in TOEIC listening comprehension 47

4.2 Teachers’ opinions on learners’ lexical problems in TOEIC listening comprehension 49

4.3 Teachers’ opinions on learners’ syntactic problems in TOEIC listening comprehension 51

4.4 Teachers’ suggestions to improve learners’ listening ability 53

4.5 Learners’ explanation for the importance of listening comprehension 55

4.6 Learners’ self-assessment of listening ability 55

4.7 Learners’ phonological problems in TOEIC listening comprehension 57

4.8 Learners’ lexical problems in TOEIC listening comprehension 59

4.9 Learners’ syntactic problems in TOEIC listening comprehension 61

4.10 Learners’ ways for extra listening practice 64

4.11 Learners’ ways of learning listening comprehension 64

LIST OF CHARTS

Page 4.1 Teachers’ assessment of linguistic knowledge’s support

towards listening comprehension 52 4.2 Learners’ perception of the difficulty among four English skills 54 4.3 Learners’ perception of the importance of listening comprehension 55 4.4 Learners’ self-assessment of linguistic knowledge’s support towards

listening comprehension 62 4.5 Learners’ listening practice at home 63 4.6 The hours of learners’ listening practice at home 63

CFS: Centre for Foreign Studies

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

ESL: English as a Second Language

L1: First language

L2: Second language

NLU: Ho Chi Minh City Nong Lam University

TOEIC: The Test of English for International Communication

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I hereby certify that this thesis entitled “An Investigation into Learners’ Linguistic Problems in TOEIC Listening Comprehension at the Centre for Foreign Studies, Nong Lam University – Hochiminh City” is my own work

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution

Ho Chi Minh City, November 29th, 2011

NGUYEN DANG THI CUC HUYEN

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, NGUYEN DANG THI CUC HUYEN, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and the use of Master’s Theses deposited in Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by Library for the care, loan or reproduction of theses

Ho Chi Minh City, November 29th, 2011

NGUYEN DANG THI CUC HUYEN

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Mr TRUONG HON HUY, who offered me valuable comments and guidance to the completion of this thesis Without his encouragement and assistance, this work would not have been completed

I am also grateful to all of my teachers for their helpful instructions during the M.A course

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all the students, who were willing to answer the questionnaire and participate in the interview and to teachers at the Centre for Foreign Studies, Nong Lam University – Hochiminh City for their help with the data collection

Last but not least, my special thanks go to my family, especially my husband, who bore a great deal of hardships during the execution of the thesis Without their patience, it would not have been possible

This chapter presents the rationale of the study, the aims, the background

to the study, significance, limitations, and the structure of the thesis

1.1 The rationale of the study

It is believed that English is a vital instrument that helps Vietnam develop and integrate with the world in the fields of economy, politics, culture, etc Vietnam is recognized as a country with a great economic potential, so a large number of corporations all over the world have set up their companies, factories,

or services in Vietnam Moreover, known as a beautiful country with famous landscapes and hospitable people, Vietnam attracts a great number of tourists every year With a growing economy, the demand for English speaking proficiency among workers and people has been on the rise

English language learning and teaching in Vietnam has become extremely important over the past several years and has focused more on communicative competence of learners People seem to identify communication with speaking; however, it is obvious that a communicative act involves both expression and interpretation According to Doff (1988:198), “We cannot develop speaking skills

unless we also develop listening skills; to have a successful conversation, students must understand what is said to them.” Wilson (2008:17) claims that in the past learners learnt foreign languages by reading and translating only However, in the late twentieth century, with the developments of linguistics, sociology and anthropology, research has indicated that listening is the key initial skill in learning both first and second languages People cannot talk without listening first

In fact, listening is the most frequently used language skill in daily life The time we spend in listening far exceeds the time spent in reading, writing, or speaking Researchers (e.g Morley, 1991; River, 1981; Weaver, 1972, cited in Celce-Murcia and Olshtain, 1995:102) estimate that we listen to twice as much language as we speak, four times as much as we read, and five times as much as

we write In recent years, listening comprehension has received increasing recognition as a language skill that ought to be researched and taught in its own right It is an important skill, but it is probably the most difficult one to learn and teach

Along with the development of our society, a great number of companies need excellent employees with English competences; universities need to train students who can work well in their majors and can also speak English to meet work’s demand and requirement of the Ministry of Education and Training There should be a tool to assess English competence The TOEIC test has become a recognized standard for a large number of organizations around the world that need to evaluate the English proficiency of prospective or existing employees Administrators of language programs find that the TOEIC test is an excellent placement tool and a valuable measure of post-training proficiency Many universities and institutions of higher education require that their students take the TOEIC test prior to graduation Thus, the need for learning and taking TOEIC test is increasing However, when Vietnamese learners learn TOEIC, they face

many difficulties due to different reasons; and the learners of English who are taking TOEIC preparation courses at CFS, NLU are not an exception A considerable number of these learners have said that they are satisfied with neither their listening comprehension ability nor the score in Listening Comprehension Section of the TOEIC test at their levels Faerch and Kasper (1986) assert that learners need to experience their comprehension problems They suggest that only by working on the problems that arise in trying to understand a sample of L2 input that learners become aware of gaps in their internal L2 systems (cited in Anderson and Lynch, 1988:35) In other words, to help learners comprehend better in listening comprehension as well as communicate more efficiently, teachers need to help them realize their listening problems

According to Richards, Platt, and Platt (1992:216), “The study of listening comprehension processes in second language learning focuses on the role of individual linguistic units (e.g phonemes, words, grammatical structure) as well

as the role of listener’s expectations, the situation and context, background knowledge, and the topic.” Buck (2001:3) also states that, “We should not underestimate the importance of the acoustic input, nor the importance of the linguistic information.” Based on the integrative study of linguistic problems, the learners’ reflection, and the researcher’s own teaching experience, the author conducted an investigation into linguistic problems faced by learners at CFS, NLU regarding TOEIC listening comprehension with the hope of helping her students improve their listening skills

1.2 Aims of the study

The aims of this study are:

(i) to investigate the common linguistic problems faced by the learners at CFS, NLU in Listening Comprehension Section of the TOEIC test,

(ii) to find out the main causes of those problems, and

(iii) to suggest some feasible solutions to the problems

1.3 Background to the study

This section is a brief discussion of CFS, NLU and TOEIC test It aims at providing general background information necessary for an understanding of the issues employed in this thesis

The CFS, NLU is a nationally accredited language institution, founded according to Decision No 331/QD dated March 14, 1990, and Decision No 884/QD dated May 2, 1992, by the Minister of Education and Training The NLU/CFS is one of the premier English language centers in Ho Chi Minh City as well as the whole country

The Center’s major functions include teaching foreign languages, mainly English, to adult learners, administering various international tests, organizing

faculty and student exchange, promoting opportunities for cultural and

linguistic exchange and teaching, developing international education programs,

and finally conducting research on distance education, development education

and language teaching and learning (“About Us” Nong Lam University Centre for

Foreign Studies, retrieved at March 10, 2011 from http://nlucfs.edu.vn)

One of the major training programs at CFS, NLU is the Business English program (TOEIC training) The program develops not only students’ skills in getting high score on the TOEIC test but also their English proficiency and knowledge necessary for work TOEIC is a multiple-choice test of English for non-native speakers of English “The TOEIC test was designed to meet the needs of

the working world” (Arbogast et all, 2001:7), and “to meet the need for a

measure of English language skills outside of the traditional academic context” (Woodford, 1982:4) The TOEIC test contains two sections, Listening Comprehension and Reading Comprehension, each of which includes one hundred questions

In the Listening Comprehension Section, the examinee is “required to listen to a variety of recorded English stimulus material and answer questions printed in English in the test book that are based on the recorded stimuli” (Woodford, 1982:4) The test questions are developed from samples of spoken and written language collected from various countries around the world where English is used in the workplace Test questions include different settings and situations, such as general business, manufacturing, finance and budgeting, corporate development, offices, personnel, purchasing, technical areas, housing/corporate property, travel, dining out, entertainment, and health The TOEIC test “is suitable for use in all environments where English is used by native

speakers of other languages” (Arbogast et all, 2001:7)

1.4 Significance of the study

It is hoped that this study will help learners as well as teachers realize common linguistic problems and causes of those problems which learners at CFS, NLU encounter in TOEIC listening comprehension Hopefully, the study’s findings concerning listening problems, causes, and recommendations may help both instructors and learners have a critical look at linguistic knowledge when teaching and learning listening comprehension, and know how to apply teaching and learning techniques and methodology to the syllabus of the CFS, NLU and use effective strategies in teaching and learning listening skills In addition, the research is a crucial step in exploring more appropriate methods in teaching listening skills

1.5 Limitations

The investigation only focuses on the issues: (i) linguistic problems facing learners at CFS, NLU in TOEIC listening comprehension; (ii) causes of those problems; and (iii) recommendations for teaching and learning TOEIC listening comprehension

Due to the time limit, the thesis cannot cover all problems that the learners face when they learn TOEIC Listening Comprehension Section It just focuses on the linguistic problems, through which, as the researcher believes, learners can increase their attention, develop their listening skills, and improve their TOEIC listening scores Linguistic problems cover five levels, including phonology, lexis, syntax, semantics, and discourse structures; nevertheless, the thesis mainly deals with phonological, lexical, and syntactic problems for two reasons Firstly,

“semantics is usually concerned with the analysis of the meaning of words, phrases, or sentences, and sometimes with the meaning of utterances in discourse or the meaning of a whole text” (Richards, Plat, and Plat, 1992:222) As

a result, semantic problems are related to word meaning and meaning of syntactic structure, so they are partly discussed in lexical and syntactic problems Secondly, discourse structure feature is a very big problem that cannot be covered in this thesis because of the difficulty in terms of lack of material and

time Moreover, in the TOEIC test, “the texts are too short to include many

discourse features There are virtually no tasks requiring any discourse processing” (Buck, 2001:211)

The study only deals with learners who are taking TOEIC preparation courses at CFS, NLU and is applied for this setting However, this study, if flexibly modified, can hopefully work with other learners at other language centers who face similar problems in TOEIC listening comprehension

1.6 Structure of the thesis

This thesis consists of five chapters:

Chapter one, introduction, identifies the problems leading to the thesis and the background in which the study was carried out, states the aims, the significance, the limitations of the study as well as the structure of the thesis

Chapter four, data analysis and results, analyzes the data and discusses research findings

Chapter five, conclusion and recommendations, gives the conclusion of the study

and recommendations for teaching and learning TOEIC listening comprehension

2.6 An overview of listening comprehension

2.6.1 Definitions

It seems to be not easy to give a clear definition of listening since there are various aspects of listening comprehension Listening means “different things to different people” (Anderson and Lynch, 1988:64) Each linguist has suggested their own different way to define listening

Rost (2001) and Richards, Platt, and Platt (1992) define listening as a complex process of understanding spoken language Samovar and Mill (1980) and Spearritt (1962) distinguish hearing from listening, and consider listening is broader than hearing Hearing perceives sounds only, but listening involves directed attention by a subject to these sounds In the context of verbal communication, “listening is often taken to include the active process involved in attaching meanings to the sounds” (Spearritt, 1962:4)

Underwood (1989:1) states, “Listening is an activity of paying attention to and trying to get meaning from something we hear.” 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 Also, Thomlison’s (1984) definition of listening includes “active listening,” which goes beyond comprehending as understanding

Whatever the definition of listening, it is clearly understood that listening comprehension is a very complicated act Linguists have tried to explain this phenomenon from several viewpoints, each of which can provide teachers some clues to their students’ problems in listening to a foreign language and suggest ways of structuring effective methods for learning and practicing

2.6.2 Types of knowledge used in listening

To understand a message, listeners have to use their knowledge They use not only knowledge of the language but other types of knowledge

Buck (2001:1-2) states that a number of different types of knowledge are used in comprehension involving linguistic knowledge and non-linguistic knowledge The most important linguistic knowledge is knowledge of phonology, lexis, syntax, semantics, and discourse structure The non-linguistic knowledge is knowledge about the topic, the context, and general world knowledge

Widdowson (1983) points out two kinds of knowledge which are systemic

or linguistic knowledge and schematic or non-linguistic information Linguistic

knowledge includes knowledge of phonological, syntactic, and semantic components of language system; non-linguistic information includes background knowledge (factual and socio-cultural knowledge) and procedural knowledge (cited in Anderson and Lynch, 1988)

Background knowledge helps learners to understand the meaning of a message Anderson and Lynch (1988:11-12) clarify that previous knowledge – sometimes called “background knowledge” or “knowledge of the world – is

“central to the way we understand language,” whether through listening or reading The term covers a range of knowledge types, any of which we may need

to draw on in order to reach an adequate comprehension of what someone has said or written

Anderson and Lynch (1988:13) argue that it is very difficult to distinguish which kind of knowledge the learners use in comprehension in a clear or conscious way, and to know what was actually said and what was constructed by integrating the spoken words with their own knowledge

Knowing all types of knowledge used in listening may be a great help to students in order that they spend time not only learning linguistic features but also enlarging their background knowledge, both of which play important roles in success of acquiring listening skills

2.6.3 The nature of listening comprehension

Exploring the nature of listening comprehension is first thing to find out appropriate methods of listening learning and teaching as well as to improve its outcomes

Listening skills did not receive adequate attention in language teaching for

a long time Applied linguists often disregarded the nature of listening comprehension, and assumed that “listening skills could be acquired through

exposure but not really taught” (Richards and Renandya, 2002:235) Traditionally, listening and reading were assumed to be passive skills, and speaking and writing were active skills

However, Anderson and Lynch (1988:6) disclaim a conceptualization of

“listening as a passive act” or “listener as tape recorder” They argue that in the process of listening comprehension, listeners do not passively receive and record what a speaker says, but they actively apply their various types of knowledge and their experience to interpret and understand what they hear

Lee and VanPatten (1995:60) also argue against the view that listening is a passive skill in the way that the listener is a mere bystander during communication, a submissive individual, unable to act, who does not participate and merely accepts whatever is thrown her way They believe that listeners are active communicators using a variety of mental processes and knowledge sources, and thus listening is a dynamic process

Rivers and Temperley (1978:63) mention the cognitive nature of listening which involves perception based on internalized knowledge of the rules of the language Listening is an active process of message construction with what one knows of the phonological, semantic, and syntactic potentialities of the language While constructing a message from a stream of sound, students anticipate the import of the message, hold segments already identified in their immediate memory and readjust their interpretation of earlier segments in accordance with the final message

Underwood (1989) and Wilson (2008) also share the same idea with the above researchers Listening is an active skill, not passive Underwood (1989:2) claims that while hearing can be thought of as a passive condition, “listening is always an active process.” Indeed, it is extremely active, but all the activity happens in the mind Listeners guess, predict, infer, criticize and, above all,

interpret “Listening, then, is an activity that takes place on many levels simultaneously, from recognition of individual phonemes to recognition of patterns of intonation that alert us to irony, sarcasm, anger, delight” (Wilson, 2008:21-22)

Brown (1990) states that listeners are not simply passive processors They are active searchers for meaning by using their all relevant background knowledge, knowledge of the physical context of the utterance (the immediate surroundings, the place, the time), knowledge of the speaker (gender, age, known opinions), knowledge of the topic “Armed with this activated knowledge, the listener monitors the incoming acoustic signal, which will simultaneously shape and conform his expectations” (Brown, 1990:11) The statement confirms that listening is an active process rather than a straightforward matching of sound to meaning as it was assumed

In summary, it is now generally agreed that listening is an active process, not a passive one Effective listening requires as much attention and mental activity as speaking and writing that were always assumed as active skills and demands conscientious effort of the listener Understanding the nature of listening comprehension leads both instructors and learners to a great attention

in language teaching and learning

2.6.4 The role of listening comprehension in language learning

Researchers agree that listening is perhaps one of the most important skills, yet it is probably the least understood, the least researched and, historically, the least valued (Rost, 2001; Brown, 2006; Wilson, 2008) Listening in language teaching has undergone several important influences David Nunan (1999) describes listening as “the Cinderella skill”, overshadowed by its big sister, speaking However, along with the elaboration of a psychological theory of child acquisition, listening has become a vital component in language learning It is not

only a skill area in language performance, but also a critical means of acquiring a second language (Rost, 2001) The researchers provide crucial reasons emphasizing the significance of listening in language learning

Krashen (1985), Rost (1994), Goh, (2002) claim that in language classroom listening ability plays a significant role in the development of other language skills “When students first learn a language, they have to listen to the words several times before they are able to recognize and pronounce those words” (Goh, 2002:ii) Rost (1994, cited in Richards and Rennandya 2002:239) states that listening is really important because it provides input for the learners Without understanding input at the right level, any learning simply can not begin Krashen (1985) also argues that people acquire language by understanding the linguistic information they hear Thus, language acquisition is achieved mainly by receiving understandable input, and listening is the core component in achieving understandable language input

Moreover, according to Doff (1988:198), listening is an important way of

“acquiring the language” – of “picking up structures and vocabulary.” Listening can also help students build vocabulary, develop language proficiency, and improve language usage (Barker, 1971, cited in Goh, 2000:ii)

Hammer (2007:133) states that listening is also good for student’s pronunciation because the more students hear and understand English being spoken, the more they absorb appropriate pitch and intonation, stress and the sounds of both individual words and those in connected speech

Indeed, it is worth remembering that successful spoken communication depends not only on our ability to speak, but also on the effectiveness of the way

we listen

Rost (1994) assumes that listening is thus fundamental to speaking, whereas Wilson (2008) believes that students cannot talk without listening first Dunkel (1986) also asserts that developing proficiency in listening comprehension

is the key to achieving proficiency in speaking (cited in Goh, 2000:ii) In order to

be a proficient partner in conversation, an L2 learner needs to be skilled as both a speaker and a listener Effective speaking depends on successful listening for L2 learners “A carefully prepared L2 utterance is only a useful aid to communication

if the speaker can deal effectively with the replies he receives” (Anderson and Lynch, 1988:15-16)

Even reading, which appears to be unrelated to listening, is believed to be correlated with it Anderson and Lynch (1988:20) claim that proficiency in using the essential underlying skill of language processing is as important and difficult when listening as it is when reading They suggest teachers should develop effective listening skills for non-native learners since this could well lead “not only

to improved listening but also to better reading” (Anderson and Lynch, 1988:20)

In brief, listening is very necessary in the development of second language learning Some researchers believed that all language learning should start from listening comprehension In addition, listening comprehension should be taught integrated with other skills or should be added on to an established program of reading, writing, and speaking

2.7 Listening processes

Listening then is difficult for many reasons While examining the difficulties, researchers (e.g., Chaudron and Richards, 1986; Anderson and Lynch, 1988; Richards, 1990; Brown, 1990; Nunan, 1991; Celce-Murcia and Olshtain, 1995; Nunan, 1999; Celce-Murcia and Olshtain, 2001; Buck, 2001; Nunan, 2002 in Richards and Renandya 2002, Wilson, 2008) have tended to use two distinct models to describe the listening process These are the “bottom-up” model and

the “top-down” one Their viewpoints of the two models can be summarized as follows:

2.7.1 The bottom-up process

Bottom-up processing refers to the use of incoming data as a source of information about the meaning of a message As far as this process is concerned, listeners begin with the consecutive understanding of level of organization – phonetic sounds, words, idioms, clauses, sentences, and paragraphs and make an analysis simultaneously until listeners comprehend intended meaning In addition, the bottom-up level of the listening process involves prior knowledge of the language system (e.g., phonology, grammar, vocabulary) Knowledge of the phonological system allows the listener to segment the acoustic signals as sounds that form words, words and/or phrases that form clauses or utterances unified by intonation contours having some key prominent element Knowledge of vocabulary allows the listeners to recognize words within phrases, and knowledge

of grammar allows for recognition of inflections on words as well as recognition

of the phrases or clauses that function as parts of cohesive and coherent instances of text

To conclude, the bottom-up model assumes that comprehension listening

is a process of decoding the sounds that one hears in linear fashion, from the smallest meaningful units (phonemes and syllables) to complete texts to lead us towards meaning This view is based on discrete units of language in the text

2.7.2 The top-down process

Top-down processing refers to the use of background knowledge in understanding the meaning of a message Background knowledge may be previous knowledge about the topic, contextual knowledge, or schematic knowledge, which is stored in the long-term memory, concerning the structure and correlations about the matter The top-down view suggests that the listener

actively constructs the original meaning of the speaker using incoming sounds as clues The listener uses prior knowledge of the context and situation within which the listening takes place to make sense of what he or she hears

In conclusion, the top-down model emphasizes the use of background knowledge to predict content This may refer to world knowledge, knowledge of the speaker, context, or situation This view is based, at least in part, on the listener; and much of the comprehension relies on what happens in the mind before the listening has ever begun

2.7.3 Combining the bottom-up and top-down models

So, which model is more effective and should be used in second language learning?

Wilson (2008:15) discusses that most errors in listening comprehension were assumed to be caused by students mishearing individual words – a failure of bottom-up process However, recent research suggests that top-down approaches cause mistakes in listening tasks, a typical occurrence being that the students know the topic, hear some familiar vocabulary, and make wild guesses about the content

If the listener is unable to make use of top-down processing, an utterance

or discourse may be incomprehensible Yet, “bottom-up processing alone often provides an insufficient basis for comprehension (Richards 1990:52) Hence, Nunan (1991) suggests that to be successful, learners utilize both “inside the head” knowledge and “outside the head” knowledge to interpret what they hear and see It means he/she should use both bottom-up and top-down strategies simultaneously in reconstructing messages These days, “it is generally recognized that both bottom-up and top-down strategies are necessary Fluent listening thus depends on the use of both top-down and bottom-up processing” (Nunan, 2002:239) In fact, listening comprehension is the result of an interaction

between a number of information sources, which include “the acoustic input, different types of linguistic knowledge, details of the context, and general world knowledge, and so forth, and listeners use whatever information seems relevant

to help them interpret what the speaker is saying” (Buck, 2001:3)

In general, bottom-up and top-down processing strategies are both necessary for learners to listen successfully Therefore, “it is important to teach not only bottom-up processing skills, such as the ability to discriminate between minimal pairs, but also to help learners use what they already know to understand what they hear” (Nunan, 2002:239) Moreover, learners also need to

be aware that both listening processes affect their listening comprehension, so they should practice employing both of them to improve their listening ability

2.8 Listening stages

Underwood (1989), Harmer (1991), Lee and VanPatten (1995), Field (1998), Davies and Pearse (2000), Celce-Murcia (2001), Richards and Renandya (2002), Wilson (2008) suggest that listening sequences should usually be divided into three parts: pre-listening, while-listening, and post-listening

2.8.1 The pre-listening stage

Underwood (1989:28) defines the pre-listening stage is the one “when the context of the listening text is established, the task(s) explained and assistance given/offered as necessary.” The general purpose of this stage is to prepare and help orient learners for what they are going to hear (Lee and VanPatten, 1995; Davies and Pearse, 2000) It is so difficult for learners to listen to a text without knowing anything about what they will listen to Underwood (1989:30) suggests that before listening, students should be “turned in” so that they know what to

be expected, both in general and for particular tasks

This stage is a very necessary and helpful one that should be done consciously According to Underwood (1989:30-44), Lee and VanPatten (1995:74),

Celce-Murcia (2001:92), Richards and Renandya (2002:243), and Wilson (2008:60), pre-listening activities in listening comprehension involve facilitating comprehension, activating the learners’ prior knowledge, motivating them to want to listen, arousing their interest, providing some input of language, information and situation that can help learners guess something regarding the listening text, and making them become confident to listen effectively

Pre-listening can be integrated with reading, writing, and speaking “This kind of integrated skills approach provides opportunities for the students to use language in the way in which it is used in real life, and enables them to associate written and spoken language with language read and hear” (Underwood, 1989:44) Pre-listening work can consist of a whole range of activities, including giving background information; reading something relevant; looking at pictures, charts; associating vocabulary with the topic; discussing the topic, situation, or relevant experiences; reading through questions (to be answered while listening); writing exercises; following the instructions for the while-listening activity; considering of how the while-listening activity will be done (Underwood, 1989:31-43; Lee and VanPatten, 1995:74; Davies and Pearse, 2000:78; Richards and Renandya, 2002:243)

In fact, pre-listening work can be done in a variety of ways and often occurs quite naturally when listening forms part of an integrated skills course When planning lessons, “time must be allocated for pre-listening activities and these activities should not be rushed” (Underwood, 1989:31)

It is very useful to focus on providing considerable pre-listening activities so that learners can “maximize their comprehension” (Lee and VanPatten, 1995:74),

“achieve a high level of success” (Underwood, 1989:30), and give themselves “a greater chance of success in any given task” (Wilson, 2008:60)

2.8.2 The while-listening stage

The while-listening stage is the stage “when the students listen to the passage and attempt the while-listening activities” (Underwood, 1989:28) While-listening activities are “what students are asked to do during the time that they are listening to the text” (Underwood, 1989:45) According to Davies and Pearse (2000) and Underwood (1989), the purpose of while-listening activities is to help learners understand the text and develop the skill of eliciting messages from spoken language

Wilson, (2008) and Underwood (1989) agree that well-designed activities can help learners to understand the listening passage, find their way through the listening text, and build upon the expectation raised by pre-listening activities A variety of while-listening activities includes marking/checking items in pictures; choosing or drawing pictures; putting pictures in order; carrying out actions; making models/arranging items for patterns; following a route; completing forms, charts, diagrams, tables, maps, pictures, or sentences; labeling; using lists; answering multiple-choice and true/false questions; text completion (gap-filling); spotting mistakes or correcting errors; predicting; seeking specific items of information; identifying exact topic, or an aspect of it; note-taking; writing answers to questions (Underwood, 1989:49-69; Ur, 1984:47-143; Field 2002 (cited in Richards and Renandya, 2002:244); Celce-Murcia, 2001:79; Davies and Pearse, 2000:78; Wilson, 2008:82)

There are a number of factors which can make while-listening work frustrating and demotivating Failure of following this stage rapidly leads to demotivation; and activities with potential “sticking points” cause students to get into difficulties For these reasons, while-listening work should be “simple – in the sense that it should be easy to handle” (Underwood, 1989:48) It is always wise to remember that the purpose of listening is to comprehend, to assist concentration, and to guide the listener through the text, not to “test the ability

to make correct sentences based on the content of the listening text”

(Underwood, 1989:48) Therefore, when developing the skills of listening for comprehension, teachers must choose while-listening activities carefully While-listening tasks should be what we want our students to show evidence of understanding or non-understanding As a teacher, he/she should help his/her learners “understand rather than testing their understanding the whole time” (Davies and Pearse, 2000:78)

While-listening activities should be interesting, so that students feel they want to listen and carry out the activities It will however be also necessary to include activities which present potential “sticking points”, so that students learn

“not to be put off and to persevere in spite of the problems” (Underwood, 1989:46)

2.8.3 The post-listening stage

The post-listening stage comprises all the exercises related to a particular listening text which are done after the listening is completed “Some post-listening activities are extensions of the work done at the pre-listening and while-listening stages and some relate only loosely to the listening text itself” (Underwood, 1989:74)

Underwood (1989) and Davies and Pearse (2000) bring out some purposes

of this stage, which are to help learners connect what they have heard with their own ideas and experience, to check their understanding, to check whether they have completed whatever while-listening task has been set successfully, to reflect

on why some students have failed to understand or missed parts of the message,

to give students the opportunity to consider the attitude and manner of the speaker of the listening text, to expand on the topic or language of the listening

text, and perhaps to transfer things learned to another context In addition, the post-listening phase emphasizes on “helping the students with difficulties, and reflecting on performance”, and it also develops with the realization that

“listening provides excellent input” and that “this input needs to be analyzed” (Wilson, 2008:61)

Underwood (1989:78-90), Davies and Pearse (2000:78), Ur (1984:145-164), and Celce-Murcia (2001:80-81) provide a selection of post-listening activities, including completing form/chart; extending lists; sequencing/grading; matching with a reading text; extending notes into written responses; summarizing; using information from the listening text for problem-solving and decision-making activities; jigsaw listening; identifying relationships between speakers; establishing the mood/attitude/behavior of the speaker; role-playing or simulating a similar interaction; dictation; giving opinions; relating similar experiences; debating the topic

Underwood (1989) claims that post-listening activities which go further than merely checking comprehension need to have a purpose of their own “If the pre-listening stage has built up expectations in the listeners, and the while-listening stage has satisfied these expectations, it is hard to sustain interest at the post-listening stage unless the post-listening activity is intrinsically motivating” (Underwood, 1989:78) For this reason, teachers need to find post-listening exercises which should be interesting and motivating Before choosing a certain activity teachers must consider “how much language work they wish to do with the particular listening passage; how much time they will need to do a particular post-listening task; whether the post-listening stage will include speaking, reading

or writing, and whether they want students to work individually, in pairs or in groups” (Underwood, 1989:80) This helps teachers to find out good activities that are appropriate for their learners

2.9 Listening strategies

Successful listening can also be looked at in terms of the strategies a listener uses when listening Does the learner focus mainly on the content of a text, or does he or she also consider how to listen? A focus on how to listen raises the issues of listening strategies According to Richards (2008:11), strategies can

be thought of as the ways in which a learner approaches and manages a task, and listeners can be taught effective ways of approaching and managing their listening “Strategies consist of conscious, deliberate behaviour which enhances learning and allows the learners to use information more effectively” (Wilson, 2008:34)

Buck (2001) identifies two kinds of strategies in listening: cognitive and

metacognitive strategies (cited in Richards, 2008:11) Cognitive strategies are

mental activities related to comprehending and storing input in working memory

or long-term memory for later retrieval, including three processes as follows:

 Comprehension processes: Associated with the processing of linguistic and

nonlinguistic input

 Storing and memory processes: Associated with the storing of linguistic and

nonlinguistic input in working memory or long-term memory

 Using and retrieval processes: Associated with accessing memory, to be

readied for output

Metacognitive strategies are those conscious or unconscious mental activities

that perform an executive function in the management of cognitive strategies, including

 Assessing the situation: Taking stock of conditions surrounding a language

task by assessing one’s own knowledge, one’s available internal and external resources, and the constraints of the situation before engaging in

a task

 Monitoring: Determining the effectiveness of one’s own or another’s

performance while engaged in a task

 Self-evaluating: Determining the effectiveness of one’s own or another’s

performance after engaging in the activity

 Self-testing: Testing oneself to determine the effectiveness of one’s own

language use or the lack thereof

Besides the two kinds of strategies that Buck (2001) suggests, Oxford,

Chamot and O’Malley (cited in Wilson, 2008:34) mention socio-affective

strategies, which are concerned with the learners’ interaction with other

speakers and their attitude towards learning For example, “they may choose to rehearse a telephone conversation in L2 with another student in order to develop confidence, or reward themselves with a doughnut when they successfully complete some task in the target language” (Wilson, 2008:34)

Good listeners use many strategies simultaneously and in accordance with the task at hand However, to gain these strategies effectively, they need frequent and systematic training and opportunities to put them in practice

“Strategy training works best as a drip-feed process (little and often) rather than

a food” (Wilson, 2008:37) Thus, if teachers repeat the process often enough, learners will probably begin to use correct strategies automatically

2.10 Linguistic problems of listening to English

There is a variety of factors that affects listening comprehension of English There exist many ways to classify these factors Some experts classify them into linguistic factors (pronunciation, vocabulary, pattern drills, etc.), and non-linguistic ones (psychological factors, physiological factors, cultural and background knowledge, etc.)

Rubin (1994) classified these factors into five categories including (1) text type; (2) task; (3) speaker; (4) listener; and (5) listening process Text type

comprises three features: acoustic features, discourse features, and a clear influence Task comprises types of question, the amount of time available for processing information, and the repetition of information Speaker comprises accent, fluency, standard or non-standard usage, and gender of speaker Listener comprises language proficiency, gender, memory, interest, purpose, prior knowledge, attention, concentration, accuracy of pronunciation, physical and psychological states, knowledge of context, topic familiarity, and established learning habits Process is comprised of top-down process, bottom-up process, a combination of both processes, and types of listening strategy

Brown (1994) defines eight characteristics of spoken language (i.e., listening text) which make the L2 listening process difficult: (1) clustering; (2) redundancy; (3) reduced forms; (4) performance variables; (5) colloquial language; (6) rate of delivery; (7) stress, rhythm, and intonation; and (8) interaction

Brown & Yule (1983) mention that there are four main factors that affect the L2 listening process: (1) the listener; (2) the speaker; (3) the content of the message; and (4) visual support

From the study of Goh (1997), factors or obstacles to listening comprehension can be separated into person knowledge and task knowledge The obstacles of person knowledge are: (1) limited vocabulary or academic terms; (2) phonological modification; (3) particular types of accent; (4) idiomatic expressions; (5) types of input with an unfamiliar structure; (6) inefficient memory; and (7) fast speech The obstacles of task knowledge are: (1) phonological modifications or prosodic features; (2) unfamiliar vocabulary; (3) different varieties and local accents; (4) speech rate; (5) types of input; (6) interest in topic and purpose of listening; (7) existing knowledge and experience; (8) physical factors; (9) emotional states; and (10) length and structure of sentences

In developing the research tools for this study, the researcher adopted from the studies of Brown & Yule (1983), Anderson & Lynch (1988), Brown (1994), Rubin (1994), Lee and VanPatten (1995), Goh (1997), and Buck (2001) the factors concerning only linguistic features Buck (2001) claims that among different types

of linguistic features the most important are phonology, lexis, syntax, semantics, and discourse structure

2.10.1 Phonological features

 Failure to recognize the sound

Many learners have trouble recognizing the English sounds The difference between Vietnamese and English sound systems leads to this trouble According

to Underwood (1989:9), “In English, there are sounds which are unknown or unusual for foreign learners of English, and which they may therefore fail to distinguish from other similar sounds or even fail to hear at all.” The learners cannot perceive certain English sound with any accuracy because these do not exist in their own language They sometimes may have difficulty with the

“sequences and juxtapositions of sounds typical of English words” (Ur, 1984:12) Many students also find consonant-cluster particularly difficult to cope with

Therefore, they may get the consonants in wrong order (hearing “parts” for

“past”), or omit one of the sounds (“crips” for “crisps”), or hear a vowel that is not in fact pronounced (“littel” for “little”) (Ur, 1984:12) Underwood (1989)

believes that learners may have difficulty with the vowel sounds of English; they

cannot distinguishing them, e.g “sit/seat”; “foot/food”, and need a lot of practice

to recognize the difference Moreover, English is a stress-timed language, “in which the stressed syllables are said to recur at equal intervals of time” (Richards, Plat, and Plat, 1992:356) “The amount of time it takes to say a sentence in a stress-timed language depends on number of syllables that receive stress, either major or minor, not on the total number of syllables” (Avery and Ehrlich, 1992:73) Unlike English, Vietnamese is a syllable-timed language, “in which all syllables are said to recur at equal intervals” (Richards, Plat, and Plat, 1992:367) This difference can adversely affect the comprehensibility of Vietnamese learners

of English

 Word pronunciation with word formation

A large number of learners are unable to correlate word pronunciation to word formation What they keep in mind is word formation rather than word pronunciation; therefore, only when words are written down can they recognize and understand the listening text

According to Thornbury (2002:27), “sound-spelling mismatches are likely

to be the cause of errors, either of pronunciation or of spelling, and can contribute a word’s difficulty While most English spelling is fairly law-abiding, there are also some glaring irregularities.” Wilson (2008:13) claims, “Knowing the written form of a word is no guarantee that students will recognize the spoken form.” The learners may know the word so well but they still cannot match the word pronunciation with word formation The irregular spelling system of English does not help in matching sounds and spellings (Wilson 2008:13), so recognizing word boundaries is problematical

 Similar sounds

Brindley (1982) assumes that similar-sounding words/segments often cause confusion and misunderstandings (cited in Richards, 1985:200) Lougheed

(2003:4) states that the TOEIC questions are tricky in order to “discriminate between test-takers of varying abilities.” Thus a test question and the answer options usually use tricks to test their language competence Using words with similar sounds to confuse learners is one of the tricks used in TOEIC, such as

“printer”/ “print her”; “the play” / “display”; “train” / “rain” / “plane”

Fortunately, understanding spoken English does not often depend on being able

to distinguish between words which sound almost the same, because “the context nearly always makes it obvious which of two words is being spoken” (Underwood, 1989:9) However, if the students pronounce the sounds accurately,

it will be easier for them to hear those sounds correctly (Ur, 1984)

 Response to the incoming sounds

Many learners of English are not skilled enough to be able to respond to the incoming sounds To grasp the gist of the text needs reflection and consideration With slow reaction, the learner finds it hard to interpret the incoming sounds He/she usually feels overloaded with incoming information Underwood (1989:16) states, “Learners are so busy working out the meaning of one part what they hear that they miss the next part Or they simply ignore a whole chunk because they fail to sort it all out quickly enough Either way, they fail.” Ur (1996) suggests that teachers should encourage learners to relax, stop trying to listen to every word and understand everything, and learn to pick up what is essential and allow them to ignore the rest

 Accent

Many foreign-language learners who are used to the accent of their own teacher are surprised and dismayed when they find they have difficulty understanding someone else (Ur, 1984:20) L2 listeners are usually much less familiar with the range of common accents, and they sometimes have considerable problems when they hear a new accent (Kennedy, 1978 cited in Buck, 2001:35) Accent is potentially a very important variable in listening

comprehension When listeners hear an unfamiliar accent, this can cause problems and may disrupt the whole comprehension process An unfamiliar accent can make comprehension almost impossible for the listener (Buck, 2001:35)

 Stress and intonation

Ur (1984:12) points out that one reason why sounds may be misheard is

“the student is not used to stress and intonation patterns of English and the way these influence both the realization of certain phonemes and the meaning of the utterance.” Buck (2001:5) states, “One of the most important aspects of listening comprehension is paying attention to stress and intonation patterns.” The English stress pattern gives each word an individual form, which is as much a part of the sound of the word as the actual phonemes Stress plays an important role in listening comprehension Though an English word is pronounced with the correct sound sequence, “it will often be misunderstood if the relative stress of the syllables is incorrect” (Buck, 2001:36) Underwood (1989) and Brown (1990, cited

in Buck, 2001) mention the purpose of the stress is to highlight words which the speaker thinks are important to convey, or to indicate the point he/she is making Changing the stress can alter the meaning of an utterance even where the words

remain the same (Underwood 1989:10) For example, if a speaker says “My SISTER returned yesterday.” The stress is on the word “sister” indicating that the

topic of the utterance is the person, rather than what she did However, if the

stress changes to “My sister RETURNED yesterday.” The topic is what she did,

rather than who did it (Buck, 2001:36)

Similarly, the intonation pattern of the utterance, which “refers to the way the voice goes up and down in pitch when we are speaking” (Kelly, 2000:86), is usually very important Kelly (2000) states that intonation is a fundamental part

of the way we express our own thoughts and it enables us to understand those of others Roach (2000:183) lists some functions of intonation: (i) it enables us to