VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYEN THI HUYEN TRANG A STUDY ON MAJOR FACTORS AFFECTING THE FRESHMEN’S PERFORMANCES ON TOEIC LISTENING TEST AT VIETNAM MARITIME UNIVERSITY NGHIÊN CỨU CÁC NHÂN TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG ĐẾN KẾT QUẢ BÀI THI NGHE TOEIC CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC HÀNG HẢI VIỆT NAM M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 HA NOI – 2012 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYEN THI HUYEN TRANG A STUDY ON MAJOR FACTORS AFFECTING THE FRESHMEN’S PERFORMANCES ON TOEIC LISTENING TEST AT VIETNAM MARITIME UNIVERSITY NGHIÊN CỨU CÁC NHÂN TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG ĐẾN KẾT QUẢ BÀI THI TOEIC CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC HÀNG HẢI VIỆT NAM M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: Phạm Thị Hạnh, M.A HÀ NỘI - 2012 Table of content Declaration Acknowledgements Abstract List of tables, figures, and abbreviations Part one: introduction ……………………………………………… 1 Rationale for the study ……………………………………………………… Aims and objectives of the study …………………………………………… Scope of the study …………………………………………………………… Significance of the study …………………………………………………… Method of the study ………………………………………………………… Organization of the study …………………………………………………… Part two: Development …………………………………………… Chapter 1: Literature Review …………………………………… 1.1 Listening …………………………………………………………………… 1.1.1 Definitions of Listening ……………………………………………… 1.1.2 Definitions of Listening comprehension ……………………………… 1.1.3 Sources of listening difficulties ……………………………………… 1.1.3.1 Linguistic factors …………………………………………… 1.1.3.2 Non- linguistic factors ……………………………………… 1.2 Listening TOEIC test …………………………………………………… 11 1.2.1 Test …………………………………………………………………… 11 1.2.1.1 Definitions of a test ………………………………………… 11 1.2.1.2 Types of tests ……………………………………………… 11 1.2.2 TOEIC test …………………………………………………………… 12 iv 1.3 Summary ………………………………………………………………… 12 Chapter 2: Methodology …………………………………………… 13 2.1 The setting of the study …………………………………………………… 13 2.1.1 Participants …………………………………………………………… 13 2.1.2 Materials and current English study situation …… ………………… 13 2.2 Data collection instruments ……………………………………………… 14 2.2.1 Questionnaires ………………………………………………………… 14 2.2.2 Semi-structured interviews …………………………………………… 15 2.2.3 Observations …………………………………………………………… 16 2.3 Data collection procedures ……………………………………………… 16 2.3.1 Delivering questionnaires …………………………………………… 17 2.3.2 Holding the semi-structured interviews ……………………………… 17 2.3.3 Carrying out observations …………………………………………… 17 2.4 Data analysis ……………………………………………………………… 17 2.5 Summary ………………………………………………………………… 18 Chapter 3: Results and discussions …………………………… 19 3.1 What are Vimaru freshmen’s attitudes towards TOEIC listening? … 19 3.1.1 Reading Comprehension vs Listening Comprehension in TOEIC test 19 3.1.2 Vimaru freshmen’s attitudes towards TOEIC listening ……………… 20 3.1.3.Vimaru freshmen’s feelings when taking TOEIC listening test ……… 20 3.2 What are Vimaru freshmen’s current study situation and performances on TOEIC listening test? …………………………………… 3.2.1 Vimaru freshmen’s results in semester 1- TOEIC test ……………… 21 21 3.2.2.Difficult parts of TOEIC listening perceived by Vimaru freshmen … 22 3.2.3.Vimaru freshmen’s strategies while doing TOEIC listening test …… 23 3.2.4.Vimaru freshmen’s habits before doing TOEIC listening test ……… 24 3.2.5.Vimaru freshmen’s habits while doing TOEIC listening test ………… 25 3.2.6.Vimaru freshmen’s habits when they cannot listen to TOEIC test …… 25 3.2.7.TOEIC practice before taking the final test ………………………… 26 v 3.2.8.Factors causing difficulties in doing TOEIC listening test …………… 27 3.3 What are linguistic factors affecting Vimaru freshmen’s performances on TOEIC listening?………………………………………………………… 28 3.4 What are non-Linguistic factors affecting Vimaru freshmen’s performances on TOEIC listening?…………………………………………… 30 3.5 What are Vimaru freshmen’s suggestions for improving TOEIC listening skill? ………………………………………………………………… 33 3.6 What are Vimaru freshmen’s expectations to improve the final TOEIC listening results? ……………………………………………………………… 3.7 Summary ………………………………………………………………… 34 34 PART three: Conclusion …………………………………………… 35 Summaries of major findings ……………………………………………… 35 1.1 What are Vimaru freshmen’s attitudes towards TOEIC listening? …… 35 1.2 What are Vimaru freshmen’s current study situation and performances on TOEIC listening? ……………………………………………………… 35 1.3 What are linguistic factors affecting Vimaru freshmen’s performances on TOEIC listening? ………………………………………………………… 36 1.4 What are non - linguistic factors affecting Vimaru freshmen’s performances on TOEIC listening? ………………………………………… 37 1.5 What are suggestions and expectations made by the freshmen to improve their TOEIC listening results ……………………………………… 37 Pedagogical recommendations to improve freshmen’s final TOEIC listening results ………………………………………………………………… 2.1 Recommendations for English study in the class ……………………… 38 38 2.2 Recommendations for facilities ………………………………………… 39 2.3 Recommendations for TOEIC-based listening test …………………… 39 Limitation of the study …………………………………………………… 40 Recommendations for further related study ……………………………… 40 vi REFERENCES 41 APPENDICES LISTS OF FIGURES AND ABBREVIATION vii Figure 1: Reading comprehension vs Listening comprehension in TOEIC test Figure 2: Vimaru freshmen’s attitudes towards TOEIC listening Figure 3: Vimaru freshmen’s feelings when taking TOEIC listening test Figure 4: Vimaru freshmen’ TOEIC results in semester Figure 5: Difficult parts of TOEIC listening perceived by Vimaru freshmen Figure 6: Vimaru freshmen’s strategies while doing TOEIC listening Figure 7: Vimaru freshmen’s habits before doing TOEIC listening test Figure 8: Vimaru freshmen’s habits while doing TOEIC listening test Figure 9: Vimaru freshmen’s habits when they cannot listen to TOEIC test Figure 10: TOEIC practice before taking the final test Figure 11: Vimaru freshmen’s suggestions for improving TOEIC listening skill Figure 12: Vimaru freshmen’s expectations towards the final TOEIC listening test : Table 1: Factors caused difficulties in doing TOEIC listening test Table 2: Linguistic factors affecting Vimaru freshmen’s performances on TOEIC listening Table 3: Non-Linguistic factors affecting Vimaru freshmen’s performances on TOEIC listening Abbreviation: Vimaru: Viet Nam Maritime University viii Part one: Introduction Rationale for choosing the topic In the age of economic growth and global integration, English obviously plays a very important role However, the criteria for evaluating one’s English competence are more and more difficult In today’s context, the A, B, C certificates used for people wishing to find a job are out-of- date, and the so-called IELTS, TOEFL or TOEIC have been the best choices TOEIC, together with other requirements for job seekers, is preferred by most companies in order to assess their employees’ qualifications Therefore, a lot of people are trying hard to achieve the success in a TOEIC test It is no doubt that among the four skills normally mentioned in English, listening is always considered “a key language skill” which “has a vital role in the language acquisition process” ( Brett, 1997) Nevertheless, it is listening that is always a nightmare for English learners due to its difficulty My primary observation shows that students normally get lower marks in listening test in comparison with other skill tests In addition, being a lecturer of English at Vimaru University, through my teaching experience, I have found out that my students are always more afraid of listening as compared to other skills Students, especially freshmen, find listening boring and stressful, and unfortunately, they have to sit for a TOEIC- based test which includes Reading and Listening comprehension for the final examination Therefore, many of the students get bad results because of low scores in English subject in which listening is always a target of blaming For all of the abovementioned, I would like to carry out a small- scaled study on “major factors affecting the freshmen’s performance on TOEIC listening tests at Vietnam Maritime University” so as to help solve out the problems Aims and objectives of the study The purposes of the study will be achieved through the answering of five research questions: What are Vimaru freshmen’ attitudes towards listening TOEIC? What are Vimaru freshmen’s current performance and study situation on listening TOEIC? What are linguistic factors affecting Vimaru freshmen’s performance on listening TOEIC? What are non- linguistic factors affecting Vimaru freshmen’s performance on listening TOEIC? What are Vimaru freshmen’s suggestions and expectations to improve their TOEIC listening results? Scope of the study: There are three terms that should be specified in the study Firstly, there are many kinds of English tests, but the author considers TOEIC test only Secondly, it is TOEIC listening which is the focus of the study, not TOEIC reading Finally, the study is aimed at the freshmen of Vimaru University whose proficiency levels are from low to high basing on their latest TOEIC results Significance of the study Investigating the “major factors affecting the freshmen’s performance on TOEIC listening tests at Vietnam Maritime University”, the study is expected to make certain contributions to the related populations including freshmen taking TOEIC test, teachers teaching TOEIC, and researchers of the same subjects First of all, through the problems pointed out and the suggestions made, the freshmen may improve their performance in listening TOEIC test Similar to the students, the study would help teaching TOEIC teachers to realize their problems in guiding their students in sitting for a test in order to achieve the best results Moreover, by noticing the students’ difficulties in listening, teachers can have their in-time consideration and correction in teaching listening effectively In addition to the benefits given to the two above subjects, the study may serve as the foundation based on which further related research would be carried out Particularly, future research could be made better after the limitations of the study are considered Method of the study Both qualitative and quantitative approaches are utilized in order to “provide a better understanding of the research problem and question than either method by itself” (Creswell, 2002) Questionnaire is the first thing to be made which is delivered to the freshmen after they take the first TOEIC- based test and have the final results Then, it is the turn of interview in which the author wishes to have the reliable share from the students The last but not least, test room observations are carried to have the direct data Organization of the study The rest of the study includes two parts as follow: Part consists of: Chapter Literature Review presents related theoretical background of the study in which concepts of listening and factors affecting the students’ performances in listening TOEIC would be discussed Chapter 2, Methodology, covers four major parts, namely, participants, data collection instruments, data collection procedures, and data analysis procedures Chapter 3, Results and Discussions, presents, analyzes and discusses the findings in order to answer the five research questions of the study Part 3, Conclusion, provides summaries of the main findings, suggestions for better results, limitations of the study, and lastly, recommendations for further related researches Phiếu điều tra cho sinh viên Tên Nguyễn Thị Huyền Trang- Giảng viên môn Tiếng Anh trường Đại học Hàng Hải Việt Nam Tôi phát phiếu điều tra nhằm thu thập thông tin cho nghiên cứu “những nhân tố ảnh hưởng đến nghe TOEIC sinh viên năm thứ Đại học Hàng Hải Việt Nam” Tôi mong bạn hợp tác giúp đỡ hồn thành nghiên cứu Tơi xin đảm bảo bí mật thơng tin mà bạn đưa phiếu khảo sát Tôi xin chân thành cảm ơn PHẦN 1: THÁI ĐỘ CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT ĐHHH ĐỐI VỚI BÀI THI NGHE TOEIC Bạn cảm thấy môn nghe bai thi TOEIC nào? (Hãy khoanh trịn/ tích lựa chọn) A Rất khó B Khó C Bình thường D Dễ E Rất dễ Bạn thường cảm thấy làm nghe TOEIC? (Bạn khoanh trịn/ tích nhiều lựa chọn) A Căng thẳng C Hồi hộp B Lo Lắng D Sợ hãi E Không tập trung F Cảm giác khác ……………………………………………………………………… Bạn so sánh môn đọc nghe thi TOEIC? (Hãy khoanh trịn/ tích lựa chọn) A Đọc khó Nghe B Nghe khó đọc C Cả khó D Cả dễ E Bình thường XI PHẦN 2: TÌNH HÌNH HỌC TIẾNG ANH VÀ KẾT QUẢ THI TOEIC HIỆN TẠI CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT ĐHHH Bạn điểm kỳ thi TOEIC cuối kỳ 1? …………………………………………………………………………………… Bạn có sử dụng chiến lược Nghe TOEIC khơng? (Hãy khoanh trịn/ tích lựa chọn) A Có B Khơng Nếu có xin nêu rõ: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Bạn thấy phần thi nghe TOEIC khó? (Bạn khoanh trịn/ tích nhiều lựa chọn) A Phần I – tả tranh B Phần II- Nghe hồi đáp C Phần III- Hội thoại D Phần 4- Bài nói Lý do: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Bạn thường làm trước làm thi nghe TOEIC? (Bạn khoanh trịn/ tích lựa chọn) A Tập trung cao độ B Đọc qua gạch chân từ quan trọng C Nhìn khơng đọc D Chắng làm E Các ý kiến khác: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… XII Bạn thường làm trình nghe TOEIC? (Bạn khoanh trịn/ tích nhiều lựa chọn) F Cố gắng hiểu tất câu từ G Dự đoán điều nghe H Cố gắng nghe tất câu từ I Vừa nghe vừa đọc lựa chọn J Cố gắng hiểu ý chung K Điều khác: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Bạn thường làm khơng nghe được? (Bạn khoanh trịn/ tích lựa chọn) A Khoanh bừa B Cố gắng đọc lựa chọn chọn cách hợp lý C Cách khác: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 10 Bạn có luyện thi TOEIC trước thi cuối kỳ khơng? (Hãy khoanh trịn/ tích lựa chọn) A Có Nếu B Khơng có xin nêu rõ thời gian bao lâu: ……………………………………………… 11 Điều gây khó khăn cho bạn làm thi nghe TOEIC? (Bạn khoanh trịn/ tích nhiều lựa chọn) B Chỉ nghe lần B Nhiều từ cấu trúc C Cách phát âm D Giọng người nói trọng âm XIII E Tốc độ nói nhanh F Nói liên tục G Chủ đề không quen thuộc H Kiến thức hạn chế I Phịng q rộng, lỗng tiếng J Chất lượng băng đĩa K Tiếng ồn bên bên L Sức khỏe/ Tâm trạng thân M Những điều khác: ………………………………………………………………… PHẦN 3: NHỮNG YẾU TỐ PHI NGÔN NGỮ ẢNH HƯỞNG ĐẾN KẾT QUẢ BÀI THI NGHE TOEIC CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THƯ NHẤT ĐHHH 12 Hãy tích vào cột phù hợp với bạn Hồn tồn Đồng ý Khơng Khơng Hịan đồng ý Ý kiến đồng ý không đồng ý Tôi cảm thấy khó hiểu người nói phát âm khác với cách phát âm Tôi thấy lo lắng tơi khơng hiểu người nói nói Tôi không hiểu ý người nói nói q nhanh Tơi thấy việc lên hay xuống giọng người nói khơng có ảnh hưởng đến q trình nghe Tơi khơng hiểu ý nghĩa từ lóng nghe XIV tồn PHẦN 4: NHỮNG YẾU TỐ PHI NGÔN NGỮ ẢNH HƯỞNG ĐẾN KẾT QUẢ BÀI THI NGHE TOEIC CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT ĐHHH 13 Hãy tích vào cột phù hợp với bạn Hồn tồn Đồng ý Khơng Khơng đồng ý Ý kiến đồng ý Hịan khơng đồng ý Tơi cảm thấy khó hiểu nghe chủ đề tơi không quen/ biết Tôi chọn đáp án dù có nghe Tơi khơng thể nghe tốt phịng thi q rộng đơng người Tơi khơng thể nghe tốt có tiếng ồn bên ngồi Tơi khơng thể nghe tốt âm lượng đài không to PHẦN 5: NHỮNG GỢI Ý VÀ MONG MUỐN CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT ĐHHH NHẰM CẢI THIỆN KẾT QUẢ BÀI THI NGHE TOEIC 14 Bạn thường làm để cải thiện kĩ nghe mình? (Bạn khoanh trịn/ tích nhiều lựa chọn) A Mua sách luyện nghe thêm nhà B Nghe nhạc xem phim tiếng Anh C Nghe tin tiếng Anh D Đến trung tâm tiếng Anh luyện thi TOEIC E Học nhiều từ F Cách khác: XV toàn …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… ……………… 15 Bạn mong muốn từ việc học tiếng Anh lớp để cải thiện môn nghe TOEIC? (Bạn khoanh trịn/ tích nhiều lựa chọn) a Được học luyện TOEIC nhiều b Được thi thử kiểm tra dạng TOEIC nhiều c Được cho đề thi thật dễ d Hạ mức điểm chuẩn cho môn thi e Nâng cao chất lượng băng đĩa f Thi phòng nhỏ với số lượng học sinh g Mong muốn khác: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Cảm ơn hợp tác ban! XVI Appendix 4: Interviews Findings from the interviews with the students 2.1 Findings from the interview with the student 2.1.1 Background of the subject:  Date of interview: May 2nd, 2012  Interview Duration: 10 minutes  Gender: Male  Final TOEIC result in the first semester: 650 2.1.2 Findings Interviewer: What is your attitude towards Listening TOEIC? 10 Interviewee: I think that in general, listening is so so except for some kinds of questions in the test Interviewer: What listening parts in the TOEIC cause difficulty for you? Interviewee: Sometimes, part is hard to listen as a lot of new topics I don’t have much knowledge and words for them 15 Interviewer: Is the speakers’ speed of delivery a big problem for you when you listening TOEIC? Interviewee: No, I don’t think so Speed is not really my problem since there are both slow and fast parts Interviewer: Have you ever been in the situation that you can listen to the 20 test but still cannot choose the correct answers? Interviewee: Yes, sometimes I can understand the talks but I still cannot XVII choose the best answers as sometimes the four options were hard to clarify Interviewer: Do you have any suggestions and preferences to improve the 25 matter? Interviewee: In my opinion, to improve my Listening TOEIC, I usually buy TOEIC books to self- study at home In addition, I often watch movies in English for both relaxing and practicing listening If I can propose something, I would like to more and more sample tests as I think I don’t have much experience in doing this kind of test 30 2.2 Findings from the interview with the student 2.2.1 Background of the subject:  Date of interview: May 2nd, 2012  Interview Duration: 10 minutes  Gender: Female 35  Final TOEIC result in the first semester: 450 2.2.2 Findings Interviewer: What is your attitude towards Listening TOEIC? Interviewee: In my opinion, Listening TOEIC is harder than Reading I am afraid of Listening not because I am a bad student, but to listen well needs a 40 lot of elements such as good pronunciation, rich vocabulary and sometimes, a little bit luck Interviewer: What listening parts in the TOEIC cause difficulty for you? Interviewee: I think it is part I could part because I could distinguish the male and female voices for the answers; however, part had 45 one voice only and I did not have rich vocabularies for those topics XVIII Interviewer: Do you have any difficulties while doing listening TOEIC? Interviewee: Yes, of course I have a lot of problems Pronunciation is my biggest trouble There are some words I know but I cannot listen to because they were spoken differently from what I usually pronounce 50 Interviewer: What makes you feel annoyed when doing listening? Interviewer: Normally, it is my problem when I cannot listen well to the test However, sometimes, the noise in the test room makes me feel hard to listen They can be steps made by teachers going around the test room, teachers’ voices when chatting or when talking on mobile phone I prefer 55 doing the listening in a quiet room Interviewer: Do you have any suggestions and preferences to improve the problem when listening? Interviewee: To listen well, I think I should improve much of my pronunciation and I would like to be taught more about that in the class 60 Moreover, I have to study many more new words as there are a lot of new vocabularies and structures in the TOEIC listening test Going to English centre may be a good idea to learn more testing skills 2.3 Findings from the interview with the student 2.3.1 Background of the subject: 65  Date of interview: May 2nd, 2012  Interview Duration: 10 minutes  Gender: Male  Final TOEIC result in the first semester: 280 XIX 2.3.2 Findings 70 Interviewer: What is your feeling towards Listening TOEIC? Interviewee: I hate listening as well as listening TOEIC and when I don’t understand the Listening, the monotonous sounds from the tape easily made me fall asleep Interviewer: What listening parts in the TOEIC cause difficulty for you? 75 Interviewee: Well, actually all the four parts are very difficult For example, Part is hard for me because I cannot recognize what the words are due to my bad pronunciation, hence, I always choose randomly Interviewer: What make you feel difficult to listen to the TOEIC test? Interviewee: There are a lot of factors which make me hard to listen The 80 most outstanding one I think is new words There are too many new words that I cannot work out When I don’t know those words, I cannot understand the listening Interviewer: Have you ever been at the last table while doing the test? If yes, you have any problems? 85 Interviewee: Yes, sometimes I have to sit at the bottom of the room When I have to sit at the last table, I can hear the sound from the adjacent rooms, which hinder me from concentrating on the listening Interviewer: Do you have any suggestions and preferences to improve the matter? 90 Interviewee: In my opinion, I think that rich vocabularies and structures, and good pronunciation are needed to listen well Therefore, I would like teachers to provide us as many as possible Moreover, I would like to sit for the easier tests which are suitable to my level XX 2.4 Findings from the interview with the student 95 2.4.1 Background of the subject:  Date of interview: May 2nd, 2012  Interview Duration: 10 minutes  Gender: Male  Final TOEIC result in the first semester: 160 100 2.4.2 Findings Interviewer: What you think about listening TOEIC? Interviewee: Well, TOEIC is very difficult for me, both listening and Reading However, I am very scared of Listening because I don’t understand almost everything 105 Interviewer: What listening parts in the TOEIC cause difficulty for you? Interviewee: All the four parts, of course Particularly in part the options are easy to be tricked; all the options seem to be considered as the answers Moreover, the limitation of communication languages is another reason for not being able to find the correct answers because even it is simple, but in 110 fact I not know that responding “you’re welcome” when the others say “thank you”, for example Interviewer: What difficulties you encounter when you listen to TOEIC test? Interviewee: I face a lot of difficulties while listening to TOEIC test such 115 as the pronunciation of the speakers, the fast speed, and especially new words I not understand as there are too many new words and some words I know but they have many meanings which I cannot work out XXI immediately Interviewer: Do you think that unfamiliar topics may cause challenges to 120 your listening? Interviewee: Certainly In part 4, there are many new topics that I not have much knowledge of, hence, I always choose randomly Again, I think that is the problem of new words Interviewer: Do you have any suggestions and preferences to improve the 125 matter? Interviewee: Vocabulary is my biggest problem, so I would like to be taught more and more new words Furthermore, I wish the test would be easier and the mark requirement would be lower English is really a nightmare for me XXII Appendix 5: Observation journals 3.1 Observation in the test room (for morning exam) 3.1.1 Background:  Date: June 1st, 2012  Place: Room 203 – B3- Vimaru  Number of students: 40  Number of observers:  Area of the room: 80m2 3.1.2 Content Before playing the CD: o Some students read the papers and use their pencils to write something on the pictures or underline words o Some students just have a look at the paper but they nothing o Some students nothing or just sit in silent o Some students have a quick rest by facing down the table for a while o Some students turn around to find their friends or someone whose have the same test code o Some students ask the English teachers for the unclear pictures While playing the CD o The sound from two most adjacent rooms can be heard in the test room o One teacher sometimes go around the classroom o Most of the students listen to the CD attentively o Some students write down something while listening o Some students turn around to ask for the answers o Some students not pay attention to the last part of the test After playing the CD o Most of the students complete the answer sheets o Some students still cannot choose all the answers o Some students turn around to ask for the answers XXIII 3.2 Observation in the test room (for afternoon exam) 3.2.1 Background:  Date: June 1st, 2012  Place: Room 201 – B2- Vimaru  Number of students: 30  Number of observers:  Area of the room: 50m2 3.2.2 Content Before playing the CD: o Some students read the papers and use their pencils to write something on the pictures or underline words o Some students just have a look at the paper but they nothing o Some students nothing or just sit in silent o Some students have a quick rest by facing down the table for a while o Some students turn around to find their friends or someone whose have the same test code o Some students ask the English teachers for the unclear pictures While playing the CD o Many test rooms not play the CD at the same moment o The sound from two most adjacent rooms can be heard in the test room o One teacher sometimes go around the classroom o One teacher are talking on the cell phone on the balcony o Most of the students listen to the CD attentively o Some students write down something while listening o Some students turn around to ask for the answers o Some students not pay attention to the last part of the test After playing the CD o Most of the students complete the answer sheets o Some students still cannot choose all the answers o Some students turn around to ask for the answers XXIV Appendix 6: toeic practice references  Longman series practice for TOEIC test (Lougheed, 2007)  Very easy TOEIC (Taylor & Byrne, 2007)  Starter TOEIC (Taylor & Malarcher, 2006)  Tactics for Listening and Reading TOEIC (Trew, 2000)  Developing TOEIC (Edmunds & Taylor, 2007)  Target TOEIC (Taylor, 2006)  TOEIC analyst (Taylor, 2006)  Target Score (Talcott & Tullis, 2006) Additionally, many websites can contribute a great deal of listening practice in general for students such as: http://www.eslhome.com/listen/ http://www.Englishlistening.com/ http://www.efl.net/ http://www.esl-lab.com/ http://www.englishclub.com/listening/ http://www.audioenglish.net/english-learning/ XXV .. .VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYEN THI HUYEN TRANG A STUDY ON MAJOR FACTORS AFFECTING THE FRESHMEN’S... are from low to high basing on their latest TOEIC results Significance of the study Investigating the ? ?major factors affecting the freshmen’s performance on TOEIC listening tests at Vietnam Maritime. .. hearing them clearly enunciated, one at a time, by the teachers Mentioning to intonation, Buck (2001) said that ? ?the intonation can make a considerable difference to the meaning” Obviously, stress and