INTRODUCTION
Statement of the problem
In recent years, listening has become increasingly important in foreign language learning, particularly in acquiring English as a second language Experts Rubin & Thompson emphasize that the initial focus should be on enhancing listening skills, as this lays the foundation for effective language acquisition.
Listening is arguably the most crucial language skill, as individuals dedicate around 60% of their time to this activity It not only helps you develop a deeper understanding of the language but also enhances your overall proficiency Without effective listening skills, engaging in conversations in a foreign language becomes challenging.
According to Rost (1994, p 141), listening is an essential skill for foreign language students and serves as a strong indicator of their language proficiency Therefore, the significance of listening in the process of learning a foreign language cannot be overstated.
Listening is now an integral part of English syllabuses across all levels of Vietnamese education Historically, however, English textbooks in Vietnam focused primarily on grammar, translation, and reading, often neglecting the teaching of listening skills Consequently, listening has become the most challenging skill for both teachers and learners in the English language education landscape.
As an English teacher at Hanoi University of Industry for over two years, the author has observed that non-English major students exhibit a lack of interest in listening lessons, showing reluctance to engage in listening tasks and struggling in listening assessments This raises the need to identify effective strategies to enhance these students' listening skills.
The above reasons have encouraged the writer to carry out the study entitled:
"Action research on applying the interactive approach to develop listening skills for second-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry"
Aims of the study
This study is designed with the aim to investigate whether applying the interactive approach helps students improve their listening skills in English
In order to achieve this aim, the following objectives are set out for the study:
- To gain the understanding of the difficulties encountered by second-year non- English major students at Hanoi University of Industry in listening lessons
- To experiment and investigate the effects of using the interactive approach to teaching listening to second-year non-English major students.
Research questions
In order to achieve the objectives above, two research questions are raised:
1 What difficulties do the second-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry encounter in listening lessons?
2 What are the effects of applying the interactive approach to teaching listening for second-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry?
Scope of the study
This study explores the use of an interactive approach to enhance listening skills among second-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry Over a 12-week period, the approach is implemented across three key stages of a listening lesson: pre-listening, while-listening, and post-listening The research focuses on a sample of 42 students from the E6.1_K9 class, aiming to address their challenges in learning listening skills effectively.
Methodology of the study
In conducting the study, the researcher adheres to Nunan's action research model (1992) and employs a quantitative method to thoroughly explore the topic Data is collected from two primary sources to ensure comprehensive analysis.
- Pre-test and post-test
Pre-tests and post-tests are essential tools for evaluating participants' listening performance before and after a study Following these assessments, two questionnaires are administered to validate and enhance the findings from the tests.
Significance of the study
This study highlights the impact of an interactive approach on enhancing students' listening skills and offers valuable pedagogical insights The findings can serve as a reference for English teachers seeking to adopt more effective teaching methods Additionally, disseminating these results may assist the researcher and her colleagues in refining their instructional techniques.
Structure of the study
There are three main parts in this study:
Part A: Introduction, presents the statement of the problem, aims, research questions, scope, methodology, significance and structure of the study
Part B: Development, which is divided into 3 chapters:
Chapter I: “Literature review”, sets up theoretical background that is relevant to the purpose of the study
Chapter II: “ Methodology”, indicates the rationale of using action research, the setting, the selection of participants, the data collection instruments and data analysis procedures
Chapter III: “Findings and discussion”, discusses the findings of application of the interactive approach on teaching and learning listening skills for second-year non- English major student at Hanoi University of Industry
Part C: Conclusion, summarizes the key issues in the study, gives the implications, points out the limitations and provides some suggestions for further study.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Theory on listening
In terms of listening definitions, Anderson and Lynch (1988) have two influential views: traditional view and alternative view
Traditionally, listening has been viewed as a receptive skill where learners focus solely on understanding the spoken messages, often overlooking important factors like attitude and nuances This approach results in teachers assessing only students' hearing abilities rather than their comprehension of conversations Consequently, listening instruction has been seen as an exercise in sound recognition rather than meaning-making This perspective has been criticized as inadequate by Anderson and Lynch (1988).
In the alternative view of listening comprehension, learners are regarded as active model builders who integrate new information with their background knowledge to achieve full understanding Anderson and Lynch (1988) emphasize the importance of active interpretation and integration of incoming information, a perspective also supported by Littlewood (1981) They highlight that effective listening requires listeners to engage actively in the process of deriving meaning, utilizing both linguistic cues and non-linguistic knowledge.
Listening is an active process where individuals focus on specific aspects of auditory input to construct meaning, relating what they hear to their existing knowledge (Bentley & Bacon, 1996) This involves applying both linguistic and non-linguistic knowledge, as comprehension occurs when incoming sounds are matched with prior knowledge (Buck, 2001; Faerch & Kasper, 1986).
To achieve success in listening comprehension, it is essential to understand that this skill cannot be mastered permanently and set aside while focusing on other areas Regular practice with progressively challenging materials is crucial for continual improvement (Wilga, 1986, p 157).
Listening can be categorized into various types based on several factors, such as the listener's purpose, their role, and the nature of the content being listened to.
Many students perceive a significant disconnect between classroom listening activities and real-life conversations This disparity arises from the fact that listening materials, such as textbook dialogues, are often overly focused on grammar and controlled speech In contrast, actual conversations feature a diverse range of speakers with varying genders, ages, accents, and speech patterns, including improper usage, incomplete sentences, and overlapping dialogue.
There are two ways which people often listen in real-life, they are casual and focus listening a) Casual listening
Many students often engage in casual listening while studying, tuning into the radio or having the television on in the background without any specific intent This type of listening contrasts with focused listening, where individuals actively concentrate on the content to enhance their understanding and retention.
Focus listening involves actively listening for a specific purpose, such as obtaining necessary information or studying a language In this process, listeners concentrate more on relevant details while not giving equal attention to all content The relationship between a listener's expectations and their purpose significantly influences comprehension; when listeners have clear intentions and needs, they are more likely to accurately perceive and understand the information presented.
Classroom listening may be divided into two types: intensive listening and extensive listening a) Intensive listening
Intensive listening involves focused attention on a brief audio passage to grasp detailed information and achieve full comprehension For instance, this technique is often applied in English classes where students listen to dialogues to analyze their structures and intonation patterns In contrast, extensive listening encompasses a broader approach, allowing learners to engage with longer audio materials for overall understanding and enjoyment.
Extensive listening involves engaging with natural language and general ideas without focusing on specific details or requiring teacher guidance This type of listening can include passages of varying lengths and typically uses language that aligns with students' proficiency levels, making the experience enjoyable and engaging Unlike other listening exercises, extensive listening does not aim to reinforce grammatical structures or specific course-related points.
Numerous linguists, including Anderson and Lynch (1998), Underwood (1989), and Brown (1990), have studied listening skills and agree that listening is a complex process comprising multiple activities rather than a simple task This intricate process involves various stages, starting with the physical processing of sound through the outer, middle, and inner ear, followed by the transmission of nerve impulses Ultimately, the listening process culminates in the brain, where numerous sub-processes take place.
Van Duzer (1997) outlines nine key activities in the listening process: (1) identifying the purpose of listening, (2) capturing the raw speech and storing it in short-term memory, (3) organizing the information by recognizing the type of speech event and its function, (4) predicting the content of the message, (5) recalling relevant background information to aid interpretation, (6) assigning meaning to the message, (7) verifying comprehension of the message, (8) deciding what information to retain in long-term memory, and (9) discarding the original form of the message from short-term memory.
Looking at the issue from other perspectives, other scientists assign listening process to a parallel processing model with bottom-up processing and top-down processing
Nunan (1992) describes the bottom-up processing model as a sequential listening approach where individuals decode sounds from the smallest units, or phonemes, to complete texts This process involves linking phonemic units to form words, words into phrases, phrases into utterances, and finally, utterances into meaningful texts For effective decoding, students must understand the sound code, which includes how sounds function, combine, and vary in different contexts This linear process culminates in meaning, likened to a "listeners as tape recorder" perspective, where listeners sequentially absorb and store information, similar to a tape recorder capturing one sound, word, phrase, and utterance at a time (Anderson & Lynch, 1988).
Bottom-up processes play a crucial role in how a listener's linguistic competence contributes to message comprehension As noted by Peterson (2001), these processes involve recognizing sounds and words to construct meaning, which is then organized into larger phrasal units that connect with related ideas in long-term memory Consequently, for individuals with lower language proficiency, relying on bottom-up processing can significantly tax conscious attention and working memory.
Top-down processing offers an effective approach to teaching listening skills, contrasting with bottom-up processing As highlighted by Nunan (1992), this method enables listeners to actively reconstruct the speaker's intended meaning by interpreting incoming sounds as contextual clues During this reconstruction, listeners leverage their existing knowledge of the context and situation to enhance their understanding of the spoken content.
Teaching listening skills
Preparing learners for what they are about to hear enhances their interest and clarifies the objectives of listening, mirroring the preparation we undertake for real-life situations (Davies & Pearse, 2000).
To maximize students' comprehension during listening activities, it's essential to establish foundational knowledge beforehand This preparatory stage serves two primary purposes: it equips learners with the necessary context and enhances their ability to engage with the material effectively.
- To motivate students to pay more attention to the listening text
- To activate or build students' prior topical and linguistic knowledge It is important for students to be able to relate what they already know to the speaker's content
- To help the students match what they hear with their stored knowledge by activating their prior knowledge about the coming topics
- To set purposes for listening: When students set purposes for listening, they become active listeners who listen for something, not to it
To enhance listening comprehension, teachers can introduce the topic, provide background information, and give clear instructions for while-listening activities Additionally, guiding students on the structure of the audio, discussing the topic, examining relevant images, and reviewing questions can significantly improve focus These strategies help students concentrate on key points of the listening passage by setting expectations and activating prior knowledge.
The while-listening stage is crucial for developing students' abilities to extract messages from spoken language According to Rixon (1986), this stage aims to challenge and guide learners in processing information from the listening text To achieve this, it is essential that while-listening activities are both engaging and thoughtfully selected, ensuring that students remain focused and effectively enhance their listening skills.
Effective while-listening activities must be engaging to motivate students to participate and complete tasks, while also being accessible to the majority of learners It's important to challenge advanced students without discouraging those who may struggle, ensuring that all students can achieve some level of success.
When selecting while-listening activities, teachers should consider several key factors, as highlighted by Underwood (1989) These include the ability to adjust the difficulty level as necessary, the practicality of facilitating activities that require oral responses from students, and whether the tasks can be completed with the teacher present or as independent study, either in a listening center or at home Additionally, teachers should think about potential materials for post-listening tasks and ensure that there is a system for providing immediate feedback on students' performance in the activity.
The post-listening stage encompasses activities conducted after the listening task is finished, serving as essential extensions of pre-listening and while-listening efforts According to Underwood (1989), these activities aim to assess students' comprehension and ensure they have completed the task, reflect on challenges faced by those who struggled with understanding, expand on the topic or language presented in the listening text, and encourage students to analyze the speaker's manner and attitude.
To achieve these above-mentioned purposes, the followings are possible activities:
- Teachers give the answers orally, or show the answers on the black board
Teachers emphasize key elements of the listening text, directing students' attention to specific forms, functions, lexis, stress, and intonation This targeted approach addresses the challenges students face, enhancing their understanding and improving their listening skills.
- Students work in pairs to check each other's answer or in groups to discuss any problems related to the listening text
1.2.2 Interactive process in teaching listening skills
Listening is an active and intricate process that necessitates the conscious application of strategies by listeners It involves the simultaneous interaction of bottom-up processing, which focuses on linguistic knowledge and sound discrimination, and top-down processing, which utilizes background knowledge to derive meaning This interactive approach, known as parallel processing, enables language learners to effectively perceive, interpret, and respond to auditory information (Lynch & Mendelsohn, 2009, p 185).
Listeners' reliance on top-down or bottom-up processing is influenced by their language knowledge, topic familiarity, and listening purpose For instance, listening for gist mainly utilizes top-down processing, while listening for specific information, such as in a weather report, relies on bottom-up processing to grasp essential details The upcoming sections will focus on the instruction of both processing methods.
Bottom-up processing, as highlighted by Brown (2007), emphasizes the importance of sounds, words, intonation, and grammatical structures in spoken language To effectively engage with bottom-up texts, learners must possess a substantial vocabulary and a solid understanding of sentence structures.
Exercises that require bottom-up processing develop the learner’s ability to do the following:
- Retain input while it is being processed
- Recognize word and clause divisions
- Recognize key transitions in a discourse
- Recognize grammatical relationships between key elements in sentences
- Use stress and intonation to identify word and sentence functions
Peterson (1991, p 114-121) suggests several techniques for teaching listening comprehension Below are some kinds of bottom-up exercises for beginners
Discriminating between intonation contour in sentences
- Listen to a sequence of sentence patterns with either rising or falling intonation Place a check in column 1 (rising) or column 2 (falling), depending on the pattern you hear
Engage in an auditory exercise by listening to pairs of words, focusing on their final consonants Determine whether the pairs are "same" or "different" based on what you hear, and circle your answer accordingly This activity emphasizes selective listening skills, particularly in recognizing morphological endings.
- Listen to a series of sentence Circle "yes" if the verb has -ed ending, and circle "no" if it does not
Selecting details from the text (Word recognition)
- Match a word that you hear with its picture
- Listen to a weather report Look at a list of words and circle the words that you hear
- Listen to a sentence that contains clock time Circle the clock time that you hear, among three choices
- Listen to an advertisement, select the price of an item, and write the amount on a price tag
Listen to a series of messages from an answering machine and complete a chart with details from each caller, including their name, number, time, and message Focus on understanding the normal sentence structure during the listening process.
- Listen to a short dialogue and fill in the missing words that have been deleted in partial transcript
Table 1: Some kinds of bottom-up exercises for beginners 1.2.2.2 Teaching top-down processing
Top-down processing involves how listeners utilize their context and prior knowledge, including topic, genre, culture, and other schema stored in long-term memory, to create a conceptual framework for understanding.
Exercises that require top-down processing develop the learner’s ability to do the following:
- Use key words to construct the schema of a discourse
- Infer the setting for a text
- Infer the role of the participants and their goals
- Infer unstated details of a situation
- Anticipate questions related to the topic or situation
Peterson (1991, p 114-121) also suggests some kinds of top-down exercises for beginners
- Listen to statement about a vacation and decide whether or not the speaker enjoys the vacation Get the gist or main idea of a passage
- Listen to a dialogue and decide what type of weather is being described
- Listen to a series of short conversations and for each one mark a picture being described that shows where the picture took place
- Listen to a number of short biographies and for each, write the title that expresses the main idea
To identify common conversation topics among individuals who are not well-acquainted, start by analyzing a list of potential subjects Pay attention to ongoing discussions and observe which themes emerge frequently This approach will help you understand the typical topics people gravitate towards in initial interactions.
- Listen to a series of process descriptions and mark the picture that it tells about
Table 2: Some kinds of top-down exercises for beginners
Review of previous works
Al-Qaraghooly & Al-Bermani (2010) conduct a research on the effect of bottom-up
The study involved 128 second-year students from the Department of English at the College of Education, University of Babylon, divided into two groups: Section A, consisting of 53 students for bottom-up processing, and Section B, also with 53 students for top-down processing A pilot sample of 24 students was randomly selected The findings reveal that both groups achieved success in listening comprehension, highlighting that the simultaneous use of bottom-up and top-down processing enhances learners' listening skills more effectively than using either method in isolation.
Listening comprehension is a multifaceted and dynamic process that involves both bottom-up and top-down processing These two approaches work together to enhance the understanding of auditory stimuli, ultimately leading to effective comprehension.
In a study by Villegas (2013), the impact of bottom-up and top-down processing on listening comprehension was examined among second-semester English license students Over the course of one month, six participants engaged in listening tasks specifically designed by the researcher The findings indicated that teaching bottom-up and top-down strategies, such as inferring, contextualization, and prediction, enabled learners to effectively connect their prior knowledge with new information, enhancing their audio comprehension Additionally, students reported a positive perception of these strategies, noting that they significantly improved their listening skills and highlighted the importance of utilizing available information to identify specific details.
In her 2014 MA thesis, Dao Thi Hong Yen explores the effectiveness of top-down techniques in teaching listening skills to non-major 10th grade English students over a two-month period Utilizing a quantitative research approach, the study employs pre-tests, post-tests, and questionnaires to gather data The results indicate that the implementation of top-down techniques significantly improves students' listening comprehension skills.
Recent studies highlight the importance of integrating bottom-up and top-down processing in enhancing students' listening skills While both methods positively impact listening comprehension, their combination yields the best teaching and learning outcomes Many learners have begun to recognize the advantages of utilizing both approaches to improve their listening abilities post-instruction Additionally, research on discourse processing in teaching listening has emerged in Vietnam, though it primarily concentrates on either bottom-up or top-down processing Therefore, employing an interactive approach is highly recommended for optimal results.
Concluding remarks
This chapter outlines the relevant literature that establishes the theoretical and conceptual framework for the study of listening comprehension It begins by discussing key concepts proposed by leading scholars, followed by an exploration of the types of listening, the listening process, and factors that influence it The teaching of listening is then examined, highlighting the three stages of a listening lesson and the interactive processes involved Each stage serves a distinct purpose and includes specific activities that are essential for effectively completing the listening task; however, these activities are interconnected and should not be treated in isolation Finally, the chapter reviews previous studies related to the thesis's research area, offering readers a comprehensive overview.
METHODOLOGY
Research setting
Hanoi University of Industry, situated in the suburbs of Hanoi, Vietnam's northeastern capital, employs approximately 200 English teachers who educate around 30,000 students from various non-English major faculties.
Students from various provinces, predominantly from farming families, have faced challenges in learning English due to inadequate resources and isolated environments during their four years in secondary school and three years in high school English is often perceived merely as a compulsory subject, hindering their motivation and ability to improve their speaking and listening skills Despite a year of exposure to modern equipment at the university, many students still find listening lessons dull and unbeneficial Therefore, it is crucial to implement appropriate teaching strategies to enhance their listening skills effectively.
Non-English major students in their second year have utilized the KET course book, which is designed with theme-based and task-based approaches The book comprises 20 short units, 10 exam folders, and 5 writing folders, structured for a total of 180 periods over two terms, with six English periods each week.
Selection of participants
The study involves 42 second-year non-English major students from class E 6.1_K9 at Hanoi University of Industry These participants are part of an intact class taught by the researcher While many students struggle with English, particularly in listening skills, they demonstrate a strong desire to improve and achieve fluency in communication and effective speech delivery.
Data collection instruments
In order to collect sufficient data for the study, a number of instruments are employed: questionnaires, pre-test and post-test
2.4.1 Pre-test and post-test
To evaluate the participants' listening performance, the researcher created a pre-test and a post-test focused on English listening skills These tests, detailed in Appendices 1 and 2, utilize popular formats that align with the listening assessments students typically encounter, ensuring familiarity with the test structure.
The pre-test and post-test for English listening are designed to be similar in format, instructions, length, difficulty level, and time allocation Each test consists of four tasks, comprising a total of 20 questions: 5 picture questions in task 1, 5 matching questions in task 2, 5 multiple-choice questions in task 3, and 5 gap-filling questions in task 4 After evaluating both tests, the researcher analyzes the results to identify any improvements in student performance resulting from the experimental teaching.
Two questionnaires are used to get student's opinions before and after the application of the interactive approach to teaching listening
Following the pre-test, a questionnaire was administered, comprising six questions designed to assess students' attitudes toward listening skills, their self-evaluation of listening performance, the strategies they employ, the challenges they encounter, and their expectations of their teacher The insights gained from this questionnaire, in conjunction with the pre-test findings, will enable the researcher to pinpoint potential issues affecting students' listening skills.
The post-test questionnaire, detailed in Appendix 4, comprises eight questions based on the interactive approach to listening lessons and a three-stage listening lesson framework Its purpose is to evaluate the effectiveness of the improved listening skills of students and to gauge their interest in lessons utilizing this interactive method Prior to distribution to 42 students, the questionnaire was translated into Vietnamese to ensure a thorough understanding of the questions.
Data analysis procedures
The action process was conducted over a period of 12 weeks of the school year 2015-
2016 in applying Nunan’s action research cycle (1992, p 19) with four steps as follows:
After two weeks of instructing the E6.1_K9 class and drawing from two years of teaching experience at the university, the researcher identified a noticeable deficiency in her students' listening skills.
In week 3, the researcher-teacher implemented a pre-test and survey questionnaire to identify the challenges students faced in developing their listening skills The analysis of the collected data revealed a lack of interest in learning listening, as well as an assessment of students' listening abilities prior to the introduction of a new instructional approach.
From week 4 to week 11, the interactive aprroach was introduced and applied to teach listening to the students The procedures of teaching lessons were as follows (see
In the pre-listening stage, participants engaged in activities that activated prior knowledge, facilitated predictions, and reviewed essential vocabulary These activities were either sourced from the textbook or specifically designed by the researcher to align with the subjects and the topic at hand.
During the while-listening stage, participants engaged in comprehension exercises that emphasized selective listening, gist listening, and sequencing Depending on the complexity of the audio material, they had the opportunity to re-listen to specific sections they found challenging This approach helped them identify key features of spoken discourse, such as blends, reduced words, and ellipsis.
Finally, the subjects were asked to respond to comprehension or give opinions about the topic
To evaluate the impact of the interactive approach, a post-test and post-questionnaire were administered at week 12, and the collected data were quantitatively analyzed using a descriptive method to address the research questions.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Preliminary investigation
A study was conducted to explore the challenges faced by second-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry in their listening skills A questionnaire was distributed to gather insights from the participants, and their responses were meticulously analyzed In addition to the students' self-assessments, the instructor administered a pre-test to evaluate their listening performance prior to implementing a new teaching approach.
3.1.1 Analysis of students’ preliminary questionnaire
3.1.1.1 Students’ attitudes on listening skills
Students’ answers to question 1 and question 2 help the researcher understand their attitudes towards listening skills
Very Rather Little Not at all
Chart 1: Students’ attitude on the importance of listening skills
According to Chart 1, a significant majority of students exhibit a positive attitude towards learning listening skills, with 43% and 36% indicating that they believe it is important or very important In contrast, only 5% of students consider learning listening skills to be unimportant, while a smaller portion, 16%, views it as only slightly important.
Rather Little Not at all
Chart 2: Students’ interest in learning listening skills
The survey results indicate that none of the respondents have a strong preference for learning listening skills A significant portion, 45%, expressed only a slight interest in improving their listening abilities, while 33% reported no interest at all Additionally, 22% of students indicated a moderate interest in developing their listening skills, as illustrated in chart 2.
While 79% of students recognize the importance of developing listening skills, a significant number express a lack of enthusiasm for the subject, with only a few showing genuine interest in improving their listening abilities.
3.1.1.2 Students’ self- assessment of their listening competence
Very good Good Neutral Bad Very bad
Chart 3: Students’ self-assessment of their listening competence
The data in Chart 3 shows that the listening performance of students is not good
The survey results reveal that none of the respondents consider their listening skills to be very good, with only 5% of students rating their performance as good A significant number of students are uncertain about their listening abilities, indicating a low self-assessment of their listening proficiency Interestingly, students' attitudes toward the importance of listening skills appear unaffected by their actual listening performance, highlighting a disconnect between self-perception and skill level.
3.1.1.3 Students' use of strategies in listening
Chart 4: Students' use of strategies in listening
A survey revealed that 38.1% of respondents utilize listening strategies, while 61.9% do not This indicates a correlation between the use of listening strategies and improved listening comprehension, as evidenced by test results and active participation in classroom activities.
A Speaking speed of the speakers 92.8%
E Lack of background knowledge about the topic 19%
Table 3: Students’ difficulties in learning listening
The survey results indicate that a significant majority of students, 95.2%, identify a lack of vocabulary as the primary challenge affecting their listening comprehension skills Additionally, 92.8% of respondents struggle to keep up with the speed of speech, highlighting another major barrier Furthermore, 71.4% of students reported difficulties with speakers' stress and intonation, noting that these aspects differ from their native language, making it harder for them to adapt.
In a recent study, the structures of spoken language emerged as the fourth most significant challenge for students' listening skills, affecting 66.6% of participants Additionally, various and unfamiliar accents posed difficulties for 59.5% of students Furthermore, 19% attributed their listening challenges to a lack of background knowledge on the topics discussed Lastly, a minority of 11.9% reported that inadequate listening equipment hindered their learning experience.
A Provide certain amount of new words needed for listening activities 92.8%
B Equip necessary strategies needed for each kind of listening task 92.8%
C Design suitable listening tasks to students' listening levels and interests 45.2%
D Recommend other supplementary materials beside classroom activities 30.9%
Table 4: Students' expectation towards teachers
According to Table 4, 92.8% of students express a desire to acquire new vocabulary and essential listening strategies for improved comprehension Additionally, 45.2% prefer listening tasks that align with their interests and proficiency levels, while 30.9% seek supplementary materials for self-study Furthermore, students have requested teachers to explain components of spoken language, including clustering, redundancy, reduced forms, and colloquial language, as highlighted in their questionnaires.
- "Teacher should stop at the phrase or sentences that students may not recognize the words, then explain whether it is in short form, colloquial pattern and so on."
Teachers should provide students with the tape script after completing listening tasks, allowing them to follow along as the tape is replayed This approach helps students identify the specific words and phrases they are hearing, enhancing their comprehension and listening skills.
- "Teacher can sometimes play an English song or a short video with activities for us to learn and relax."
These information suggests that teachers should be flexible in teaching techniques so that they can help students overcome difficulties in language learning, especially in listening comprehension
3.1.2 Results of students’ pre-test
Score Number of testees Percentage
Table 5: The overall results of students’ pre-test
The findings indicate that students' listening performance is unsatisfactory, with no student achieving a score higher than 8 Only 9.5% of students scored above 7, while a significant 52.4% received scores of 5 or 6 Alarmingly, 38.1% of students, totaling 16 individuals, scored below 5, highlighting a concerning trend in their listening abilities.
From the result, it can be seen clearly that the majority of the students have
In conclusion, the preliminary investigation reveals that while most students acknowledge the significance of listening skills, they often lack enthusiasm for learning them and exhibit poor listening performance This demotivation stems from various challenges they face in listening tasks Therefore, it is recommended that effective strategies be implemented to enhance students' listening abilities.
Evaluation
Following the intervention phase, a post-test was administered to evaluate the effectiveness of the interactive approach in teaching listening skills to second-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry This post-test aimed to provide insights into the impact of the interactive teaching method by comparing the results with those obtained from the pre-test.
3.2.1 Comparison of results from students' pre-test and post-test
The students' post-test listening scores are presented in the following table:
Score Number of testees Percentage
Table 6: The overall results of students’ post-test
The effectiveness of the interactive approach on students' listening performance can be evaluated by comparing the results of pre-tests and post-tests, as illustrated in Chart 5 below.
Chart 5: Comparison of the results from pre-test and post-test
Chart 5 shows the results of students’ listening scores in pre-test and post-test Obviously, students’ listening scores have increased Specifically, there is a student getting mark 2 in pre-test, but none gets that mark in post-test On the contrary, there is no one getting a really good mark in pre-test, but one student gets mark 9 in post-test There is a considerable increase in the number of students getting marks 4,
5, or 6, whereas the number of students getting marks 7 or 8 increases From these figures, it can be seen that the interactive approach really helps students to improve their listening skills
3.2.2 Analysis of the students' post questionnaire
To be more detailed in evaluation of students’ improvements in learning the new approach, the questionnaire was given to 42 participants to collect data after the post-test
3.2.2.1 Activities motivating students in pre-listening stage
Options Percentage a Learning new words 73.8% b Introducing new grammar structures 57.1% c Giving back ground information 47.6% d Brainstorming, discussing the topic in pairs or groups 30.9% e Answering the relevant questions 11.9%
The data indicates that the most effective pre-listening activities for motivating students involve learning new vocabulary (73.8%), followed by introducing new grammar structures (57.1%) and providing background information (47.6%) These statistics highlight students' interest in acquiring vocabulary, grammar, and contextual knowledge prior to listening exercises Additionally, a smaller percentage of students enjoy beginning lessons with brainstorming discussions (30.9%) or answering relevant questions (11.9%), suggesting a desire to establish a foundational understanding before engaging with the audio material.
3.2.2.2 Activities attracting students in while-listening stage
Being asked: “In the while-listening stage, which activities attracted you?” students reported as follows
In a recent survey, various comprehension strategies were assessed for their effectiveness, revealing that 69% of respondents prioritize recognizing key words, while 64.3% focus on identifying word and clause divisions Additionally, 61.9% acknowledge the importance of recognizing key transitions in discourse Other notable strategies include using stress and intonation for understanding functions (54.8%) and constructing discourse schemas from key words (50%) However, lower percentages were observed for anticipating questions (14.3%), inferring causes or effects (14.3%), and identifying unstated details (9.5%) Overall, these findings highlight the diverse approaches individuals employ to enhance their comprehension skills.
Table 8: Activities attracting students in while-listening stage
In a listening lesson utilizing an interactive approach, various activities engage students, with a focus on gathering their opinions Notably, 69% of students expressed interest in activities centered on key words, while 64.3% preferred exercises related to word and clause divisions, and 61.9% favored those addressing key transitions This preference likely stems from the fact that grasping key words, understanding clause divisions, and recognizing key transitions significantly enhance their comprehension of spoken texts.
A significant 54.8% of students prefer using stress and intonation to discern word and sentence functions Additionally, 50% and 47.6% of students express a desire to utilize key words for constructing schemas and recognizing grammatical relationships within sentences Furthermore, 40.5% and 35.7% of students acknowledge that inferring the setting, participants’ roles, and their goals enhances their task completion However, only 21.4% of students wish to retain input during processing Challenges remain, as only 14.3% and 9.5% of students engage in anticipating questions or inferring causes and effects related to the topic.
The data indicates that the teacher has effectively integrated interactive activities into her listening lessons, as evidenced by the positive recognition and responses from students.
3.2.2.3 Useful and effective activities for students after listening
Options Percentage a Retelling the main ideas 38% b Discussing in groups or in pairs 19% c Plays roles based on listening content 47.6% d Summarize the text 33.3% e Other ideas 7.1%
Table 9: Useful activities for students after listening
According to the data presented in Table 9, the most favored post-listening activity among students is role-playing, with a preference rate of 47.6% Students find that role-playing significantly enhances their speaking skills and pronunciation accuracy Additionally, retelling main ideas and summarizing texts are also popular, accounting for 38% and 33.3% respectively Furthermore, 19% of students express interest in group and pair discussions as effective methods for verifying their understanding of the listening material Students suggest that teachers should replay audio segments, pausing to clarify difficult sentences or words, and should emphasize colloquialisms, word combinations, and the nuances of spoken language Overall, there is a strong student desire for teachers to focus on explaining spoken language components and developing communication skills, highlighting the need for educators to consider these preferences in their teaching strategies.
3.2.2.4 Students’ opinions about the listening tasks
Options Percentage a Interesting 31% b Effective 43% c Difficult 14.3% d Boring 2.4% e Stressful 4.8% f Other ideas 0%
Table 10: Students’ opinions on the listening tasks
The survey results indicate that students generally have a positive attitude towards the listening tasks assigned by their teacher Notably, 43% of students believe these tasks enhance their learning effectiveness, while 31% find them interesting However, 21.5% of students express concerns about the tasks, citing difficulties (14.3%), boredom (2.4%), and stress (4.8%) as negative aspects.
The teacher has made commendable efforts to design engaging and relevant listening tasks for students, resulting in a majority finding them interesting and beneficial However, some students still perceive these tasks as challenging, tedious, or stressful, indicating that not all needs are being met To enhance the learning experience, it is essential to diversify the tasks to cater to the varying interests and learning requirements of all students.
3.2.2.5 Students’ opinions about the teaching methods
Teachers' methods are most effectively revealed through their organization of learning activities When asked about their opinions on teaching methods, students expressed a variety of views regarding their teachers' classroom performances, as illustrated in the chart below.
Options Percentage a Motivating 38.1% b Interesting 52.4% c Tense/ stressful 2.4% d Demotivating 7.1% e Boring 7.1% f Other ideas 0%
Table 11: Students’ opinions on the teaching methods
The data indicates that students generally hold positive attitudes towards the organization of listening activities by their teacher, with 52.4% finding the teaching styles interesting and 38.1% feeling motivated by the methods used These effective teaching strategies successfully capture students' attention, foster curiosity in learning, and enhance listening comprehension However, it is noteworthy that 16.6% of students expressed dissatisfaction, citing that certain teaching techniques have demotivated them, leading to feelings of boredom and strain during listening lessons.
The data indicates that the teacher's methods and performance significantly impact the listening comprehension of second-year non-English major students Therefore, it is essential to diversify and adapt teaching styles to align with the varied learning preferences and interests of students.
3.2.2.6 Students’ opinions about learning listening with the interactive approach
Students’ responses to the question of whether they like learning listening with the interactive approach or not are presented in the following chart
Chart 6: Students’ opinions on learning listening with the interactive approach
The chart indicates that a significant majority of students, 88.1%, prefer listening lessons that utilize an interactive approach, as it helps them engage step-by-step and grasp the overall meaning rather than just focusing on specific words or sounds This method provides them with valuable knowledge and tips about listening that they were previously unaware of Conversely, 11.9% of students express a dislike for the interactive approach, citing its complexity due to the multiple steps involved in the lessons, while others find certain tasks to be quite challenging.
3.2.2.7 Students’ opinions about their listening skills after the course
Concluding remarks
This chapter summarizes the study's findings, highlighting students' attitudes towards listening skills, their self-assessment, and the challenges they encounter in learning The analysis of pre-test results and preliminary questionnaires reveals insights into their listening strategies and expectations from teachers Furthermore, a comparison of test results indicates a positive impact of the interactive teaching approach on listening skills Additionally, the follow-up questionnaire identifies activities that engage students throughout the listening lesson and gathers their feedback on the tasks and teaching methods employed, as well as their perceived improvements in listening abilities after the course.
Recapitulation
The researcher conducted an action research study to implement an interactive approach for teaching listening skills to second-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry The primary aim was to enhance students' listening abilities through engaging and participatory methods.
This study aims to identify the challenges faced by students in developing listening skills and to assess the effectiveness of an interactive approach on their listening performance By analyzing data from 42 participants through pre-tests, post-tests, and two questionnaires, the researcher has successfully addressed the research questions.
1.1 Difficulties the students encounter when studying listening skills
The pre-test results and preliminary questionnaire reveal that while most students recognize the importance of mastering listening skills, they express a dislike for learning listening and demonstrate poor performance in this area This challenge stems from several difficulties encountered during the listening process, including a lack of vocabulary, unfamiliar structures of spoken language, rapid speech rates, diverse and unfamiliar accents, issues with stress and intonation, and insufficient background knowledge about the topics being discussed.
1.2 The effects of applying the interactive approach to teach listening skills
This research aims to evaluate the impact of the interactive approach on enhancing students' listening skills The comparison of pre-test and post-test results indicates a significant improvement in students' listening scores Furthermore, a follow-up questionnaire shows that the majority of students express interest in learning listening through this interactive method Overall, the findings suggest that the interactive approach positively influences the teaching of listening skills among second-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry.
Implications
2.1 The necessity of applying the interactive approach
Brown (1990) argues that while bottom-up processing is essential for comprehension, it is not enough on its own To fully grasp a speaker's message, top-down processing plays a vital role in the understanding process The study's findings suggest that an interactive approach, which combines both bottom-up and top-down strategies, should be implemented in teaching listening skills to second-year students at Hanoi University of Industry.
The key to effective language teaching and learning lies in vocabulary acquisition, as a limited word bank can significantly impede listening comprehension Therefore, educators must assist students in grasping the meanings and pronunciations of new words, enabling them to understand spoken texts and become accustomed to the accurate pronunciation used by native speakers Additionally, teachers should highlight the importance of stress and intonation, which are crucial elements that differentiate spoken English from students' native languages By focusing on these aspects, students will experience a marked improvement in their listening skills.
Connected speech presents challenges for beginner learners due to features such as weak forms, contractions, elision, assimilation, and catenation (Anderson & Lynch, 1998) To alleviate stress and surprise when encountering authentic listening materials, teachers should proactively educate students about these characteristics of spoken language Specifically, it is essential for educators to provide examples of common instances of elision, weak forms, contractions, and assimilation, enabling students to become familiar with these elements By focusing on these aspects, students can enhance their listening comprehension skills and develop into proficient listeners.
To enhance students' listening skills, it is essential to address challenges such as diverse accents, varying speech rates, and redundancy Exposure to different types of spoken English significantly improves comprehension To alleviate anxiety during listening lessons, teachers should encourage students to interpret speakers' emotions and opinions Additionally, it is important for educators to inform students that hesitations and background noise are natural in spontaneous speech, fostering their alertness and confidence in navigating these elements.
Background knowledge plays a crucial role in enhancing listening skills, as it enables students to comprehend new concepts and experiences more effectively Educators should equip students with relevant background information on a subject, allowing them to link new insights to their existing knowledge, thereby facilitating better understanding and retention.
2.2 The necessity of arousing students’ motivation and interest
The study reveals that a comfortable environment significantly enhances students' motivation and interest in learning listening skills High levels of motivation correlate with increased chances of success, particularly in second language acquisition Researchers emphasize a reciprocal relationship between motivation and achievement; as students become more motivated, they invest greater effort in their learning This is especially true for listening comprehension, where students who are eager and engaged actively participate in lessons Encouraging discussions and pre-listening activities helps students connect with the content, leading to improved attention and comprehension during listening exercises.
2.3 Changes in conducting three stages of a listening lesson
Pre-listening is a crucial preparation stage that sets the context for effective listening It aims to motivate learners and help them focus on relevant details, reducing the cognitive load during the listening activity Teachers can facilitate this by engaging students in brainstorming, discussing the topic, predicting content, and pre-teaching essential vocabulary However, these activities should be brief, ideally limited to a few minutes, to avoid revealing too much of the listening passage When pre-teaching vocabulary, it is sufficient to introduce only two or three key terms that are vital for comprehension, reflecting real-life situations where learners may encounter unfamiliar words without prior explanation.
Pre-listening plays a crucial role in enhancing learner engagement by activating their background knowledge, transforming them from passive listeners into active participants According to Anderson and Lynch (1988), learners utilize their internal resources to draw inferences and make predictions By dividing students into groups to discuss and predict content based on provided clues, teachers can motivate learners and encourage their involvement in classroom activities, ultimately increasing their chances of becoming successful listeners.
While-listening activities should be designed to enhance listening skills through engaging tasks that promote success These task-based exercises require learners to extract information from texts to complete various activities such as labeling, selecting, form-filling, or completing grids This approach encourages students to express agreement or disagreement, take notes, and create diagrams based on instructions Unlike traditional multiple-choice questions, task-based activities foster active engagement and the use of diverse listening strategies, closely mirroring real-life listening experiences Furthermore, these activities offer a more reliable method for assessing comprehension, as tasks like filling forms and labeling diagrams compel learners to actively process the information they hear.
Teachers should offer essential contextual clues about the speakers and their relationships to assist learners in overcoming challenges they encounter while listening.
While-listening serves as a crucial phase for both learners and teachers It allows students to express their understanding and clarify any difficulties with the teacher, fostering an open learning environment Additionally, this stage enables educators to impart essential listening skills and strategies, ultimately enhancing students' chances of success in listening tasks.
Post-listening activities are often overlooked by teachers, yet they play a crucial role in reinforcing recently learned material Engaging tasks such as problem-solving, summarizing, group discussions, and writing should follow the listening exercise Instead of focusing solely on grammar, teachers can replay the listening text, encouraging students to compare their understanding in pairs or groups, fostering healthy debate and motivation for a second listen After the second playback, students should be prompted to revise their perspectives, providing evidence to support their viewpoints rather than being told who is right or wrong This approach transforms listening into a more interactive experience, allowing students to practice speaking and writing through discussions and presentations, which can serve as a pre-writing activity before they compose related texts.
At the conclusion of the stage, it is essential for teachers to provide and ensure that learners receive constructive feedback on their performance By summarizing and addressing learners' challenges, educators can focus on the difficult aspects of the material Additionally, reinforcing newly acquired skills and strategies is crucial, and teachers should encourage students to implement these techniques in their listening practice outside of the classroom.
Limitations of the study
Due to the limitation of length and time constraints, this work remains some certain limitations
Due to time constraints, the study was limited to a single cycle; however, conducting an additional cycle could enhance students' listening skills by utilizing feedback obtained from the collected data.
The interactive process was tested in a single group for just one term, which may limit the investigator's ability to draw comprehensive conclusions To enhance listening skills among various student groups at Hanoi University of Industry, further studies utilizing this interactive approach are necessary.
The study focuses on 42 students from group E6.1_K9, which may not fully represent all second-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry To enhance the validity of the findings, it is recommended to conduct the study with a larger and more diverse student sample.
Suggestions for further studies
The study highlights its limitations and identifies areas for future research in teaching listening skills It focuses on second-year non-English major students with low English proficiency, suggesting that the interactive approach could also benefit English major students To enhance reliability, future studies should involve two comparable student groups, with only one group experiencing the interactive approach, allowing for a clear comparison of its effectiveness Additionally, further research should explore the interactive approach's impact on reading, speaking, and writing skills to improve overall English teaching and learning at Hanoi University of Industry.
It is because language is used as a means of communication, students should be encouraged to develop all four skills which are closely related to one another
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APPENDIX 1 Pre-test (Time allowed: 25 minutes) Task 1: You will hear five short conversation You will hear each conversation twice Put a tick under the right answer
1 What is the man buying for his lunch?
3 Which postcard does the woman choose?
4 How much does the woman pay for the DVD?
5 What did the girl leave at Ben's flat?
Task 2: Listen Dan and Jess talking about evening classes at the community centre What club is on each day? There is one answer for each question
Task 3: Listen to Sam phoning Kate Richards about a Saturday job at her music shop Circle the correct answers
1 The hours for the Saturday job are
2 The job will be mainly
3 How much can Sam earn?
4 Where is the music shop?
B In the centre of town
C Across the river from Sam’s home
5 Which day will Sam visit the shop?
Task 4: You will hear a woman asking for information about a festival Listen and complete the question
Type of Festival: Food and
APPENDIX 2 Post-test (Time allowed: 25 minutes) Task 1: You will hear five short conversation You will hear each conversation twice Put a tick under the right answer
1 What time will the train arrive?
2 What does the man want to buy?
3 Where is the post office?
5 How long will the man stay at the hotel in total?
Task 2: Listen to Sam talking about his holiday What did he do for each day? There is one answer for each question
Task 3: Listen to Vanessa telling Paul about a visit to see a special James Bond exhibition at the Science Museum in London Circle the correct answers
1 Vanessa went to the museum
2 Vanessa really liked James Bond's
4 For lunch Vanessa decided to
5 The exhibition will finish on
Task 4: You will hear a woman asking for information about a city bus tour Listen and complete the question
Bus Tours depart… Every minutes
Last tour departs at Ticket prices: Adults: £10; Children: £ Tour Bus Office Address: Street
Buses leave from The Hall
APPENDIX 3 Questionnaire after the Pre-test
This survey questionnaire is designed to gather your opinion for my thesis
"Action research on applying the interactive approach to develop listening skills for second-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry"
We greatly appreciate your participation in this questionnaire, as the data collected will solely be used for research purposes Rest assured, your personal information will remain strictly confidential To ensure the success of this investigation, please provide truthful answers by circling the appropriate options for the following questions Thank you for your cooperation!
1 How are listening skills important to you?
2 How do you like listening lessons?
3 To what extent do you evaluate your listening skills?
4 Do you use any strategies in listening?
5 Which factors cause difficulties to you in learning listening?
H Speaking speed of the speakers
M Lack of background knowledge about the topic
6 What do you expect your teachers to do to help you overcome the difficulties in listening?
A Provide you with certain amount of new words needed for listening activities
B Equip you with necessary strategies in listening comprehension
C Design more suitable listening tasks to students' listening levels and interests
D Recommend other supplementary materials beside classroom activities
APPENDIX 4 Questionnaire after the Post-test
This survey questionnaire is designed to gather your opinion for my thesis
"Action research on applying the interactive approach to develop listening skills for second-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry"
We greatly appreciate your participation in this questionnaire, as the data collected will solely be used for research purposes and kept strictly confidential To ensure the success of this investigation, please answer truthfully by circling the appropriate responses to the following questions Thank you for your cooperation!
1 Which activities did teacher do before listening to the tape recording? a Learning new words b Introducing new grammar structures c Giving back ground information d Brainstorming, discussing the topic in pairs or in groups e Answering relevant questions
2 Which activities that teacher asked you to do in while-listening stage? a Retain input while it is being processed b Recognize word and clause divisions c Recognize key words d Recognize key transitions in a discourse e Recognize grammatical relationships between key elements in sentences f Use stress and intonation to identify word and sentence functions g Use the key words to construct the schema of a discourse h Anticipate questions related to the topic or situation i Infer the setting for a text j Infer causes or effects k Infer the role of the participants and their goals l Infer unstated details of a situation
3 After you listen, which activities is the most useful and effective to you? a Retelling the main ideas b Discussing in groups or pairs c Playing roles based on listening content d Summarize the text e Other idea (Please specify)
4 How do you think of the listening tasks that teacher has designed in class? a Interesting b Effective c Difficult d Boring e Stressful f Other idea (Please specify)
5 How do you think of the ways that teacher has organized listening activities in class? a Motivating students b Interesting c Tense/ stressful d Demotivating students e Boring f Other idea (please specify)
6 Do you like learning listening with interactive process?
7 What do you think of your listening skills after a term with interactive listening process? a A lot of improvement b Better c Worse d No improvement e Other idea (Please specify)
1 Target learners: Second-year students at Hanoi University of Industry
- Introduce Ss vocabulary relating to animals
- Listen for main ideas and specific information
- Guide students write a postcard about a visit to a zoo
3 Anticipated problems: Students may get confused with new words and sentences' intonation
5 Materials and aids: KET Student’s book (page 33), laptop, speaker, board, chalk, power point lesson plan
Time Teacher’s activities Students’ activities
- Ask: ''Have you ever been to the zoo?''
"What animals did you see?"
- Teach Ss some new words + bear (n)
+ horse (n) + monkey (n) + elephant (n) + dolphin (n) + lion (n) + cow (n)
- Ask Ss to read after the teacher, and then read loudly in the class
- Before asking Ss to listen to the recording, demonstrate the pronunciation
- Ask Ss to give their sentences
*Task 1: (using top-down technique mainly)
- Ask Ss to read the requirement
- Play the tape twice, asks Ss to order the words in the textbook
- Ask Ss to compare their answers with the partner
- Ask Ss to give their answers
- Ask Ss to predict the gist of the talk based on the words in a group of 3 or 4
- Call some groups to give their answers
- Play the tape again, ask Ss to listen and check the answers
*Task 2: (using bottom-up technique mainly)
- Ask Ss to read through 5 questions to understand the meaning
- Call Ss to give their answers
- Listen to the teacher’s comments
- Listen to the tape and order the words
- Compare their answers with the partner
- Predict the gist of the talk based on the words in groups
- Listen again and check their answers
*I like horses, cows, dogs and cats
* I like monkeys, elephants and bears.