i MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYỄN THỊ PHƯƠNG THẢO THE EFFECTS OF SCAFFOLDING STRATEGIES ON IMPROVING THE TENTH GRADER’S LISTENING ABILITY Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Code: 60.14.01.11 MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: Trần Bá Tiến Ph.D Nghe An, 2017 i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is my own work The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission, and have not been published elsewhere Author Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao ii ABSTRACT This study aims to examine the effects of scaffolding strategies in improving the English listening ability of tenth graders at high school The problem of the study is the effectiveness of scaffolding interactive activities in improving tenth graders’ listening ability The subjects in this study were 60 tenth graders at Phan Dinh Phung high school They were assigned to two groups: 30 students in the control group and 30 students in the experimental group Each group studied the same lessons The experimental group participated in the scaffolding activities designed by the researcher To determine which listening skills are included in the English textbooks taught in the tenth grade in high schools, a listening skill list was selected Based on these listening skills, the content of the textbooks was analyzed and then a listening comprehension test was designed and used as a pre-post test Before the treatment, the first questionnaire was made to explore what difficulties students are facing and what they expect from the teachers The treatment was designed by the researcher to improve the listening comprehension skills of the experimental group The treatment was taught for one period a week over eight weeks At the end of the treatment, a post-test was administered to each group to find out the effect of the treatment on developing the pupils' listening comprehension skills And the second questionnaire was made to find out which scaffolding strategies are suitable for their listening skills The main statistical results of the study showed that: There was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the pupils of the experimental and control groups in the listening comprehension post-test (as a whole) in favor of the experimental group iii There was statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the pupils in the experimental group in the pre-test and their mean scores in the post-test (the total test) in favor of the latter It was concluded that the proposed scaffolding strategies were very effective in improving the listening comprehension skills of tenth graders at Phan Dinh Phung high school in Hatinh iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I gratefully acknowledge the encouragement and support of many individuals in assisting me to accomplish this study First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my beloved supervisor Dr Tran Ba Tien for his valuable time, suggestions, guidance, and assistance in this study Without his help, the thesis would not have been completed I would also like to thank the students of the classes I conducted the study in order to collect information for my research Without their help, this study could not have been successful Finally, my thanks go to my colleagues, friends and especially my beloved family I feel greatly indebted to them for their essential help and encouragement Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao v TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP .i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION…………………………………….………….1 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Scope of the study 1.4 Research Questions 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 The organization of the study .4 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Literature review 2.3 Briefing Communicative Language Teaching 2.3.1 The teaching of listening 10 2.3.2 The process of teaching and learning listening comprehension skills 14 2.3.3 Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and Scaffolding 17 2.4 Summary 28 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 29 3.1 Introduction 29 3.2 Research methods .29 3.3 Participants 30 3.4 Research Instruments 31 3.4.1 Listening Comprehension Pretest 31 3.4.2 Interviews 31 3.4.3 Questionnaires 32 3.4.4 Listening Comprehension Posttest 34 3.4.5 Instructional material .34 3.4.6 Lesson Plans 36 vi 3.5 Data Analysis 36 3.6 Data Collection Procedures 36 3.7 Summary 37 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS .38 4.1 Introduction 38 4.2 The result of listening pretest of 10th graders at Phan Dinh Phung high school 38 4.3 Problems encountered by 10th graders in learning listening skills .40 4.3.1 Problems from the listeners .40 4.3.2 Problems from the listening material 43 4.3.3 Problems result from physical settings 46 4.4 Students’ expectations in term of teachers’ methodology 47 4.5 Effects of scaffolding on students’ listening skills .49 4.5.1 Effects on listening comprehension results .49 4.5.2 Effects on students’ motivation .55 4.6 Pedagogical Implications 60 4.6.1 For teachers .61 4.6.2 For students .63 4.6.3 For school administrators 64 4.7 Summary 64 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 66 5.1 Summary of the key findings .66 5.2 Limitations of the study 68 5.3 Suggestions for further research 69 REFERENCES 70 APPENDIX 1A 74 APPENDIX 1B 77 APPENDIX 2A 78 APPENDIX 2B 78 APPENDIX 3A 90 APPENDIX 3B 97 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Being able to understand what one listens is important for learning in school and for life in general At Phan Dinh Phung high school, the tenth graders tend to have low levels of English, which makes listening comprehension challenging Often, instructional approaches promote listening as a product rather than as a process The former focuses on the text, while the latter explores the readers, their background knowledge and experience, predictions, and interaction with the text Additionally, listening comprehension skills are usually taught in school in one of two ways One method is to have students listen a text and then listen comments or answer questions about the text This method stresses important components of listening comprehension, but treats them purely as products (i.e., interpretations) rather than as processes (i.e., constructing interpretations) In particular, it does not teach students what to when they have difficulty comprehending parts of the text; nor does it teach them how to construct and revise hypotheses about what is likely to occur in the text based on what they have already read Both of these aspects are important in constructing an interpretation of the text In an effort to find an effective method of teaching listening skills, recent researches emphasize learning by engaging learners in knowledge construction (Reiser, 2004) The conditions of meaningful learning require appropriate strategies, where students need to elaborate, or generate activities, such as activities based on visual cues, information-based activities, game activities and following instruction activities from a listening tapescript Such strategies can be considered effective in listening comprehension If provided with appropriate assistance, students can attain a goal or engage in a practice task that is beyond their reach Reiser (2004) points that with scaffolding strategies, learners receive support and assistance to successfully perform certain tasks and move to more complex ones Similarly, Vacca (2008) suggests that when guided, supported and provided with the necessary attributes, students become more responsible for their learning, more motivated, and more successful Scaffolding strategies are, therefore, effective for teaching listening, and such strategies influence the development of higher functions and skills beyond the confines of learner With more than 15 years of experience in teaching English at high school, I found that the tenth graders face serious problems in comprehending information stated or implied in a listening They are unable to understand the long question after listening from the tape Moreover, they find themselves confronted with a vast variety of information, vocabulary, grammatical structures, culture aspects, and resources that make it extremely hard for them to pick their ways through Consequently, if the teachers not teach scaffolding strategies, many students will find listening frustrating All the aforementioned reasons urge the author to carry out the study entitled “The effects of scaffolding strategies on improving the tenth graders’ listening ability” Hopefully, the results could serve as a useful source of reference for those who are concerned about the subject matter for my thesis because this could be a contribution to my teaching profession on the continuum of its development, and with the hope that the study can be useful for students of English and also for those who at the pre-intermediate level of English 1.2 Aims of the study For the above reasons, the study aims at: Investigating the difficulties faced by 10th graders in learning listening skills Evaluating the effectiveness of the application of scaffolding strategies to improve listening comprehension skills of 10th grade students at high school 3 Proposing some suggestions and recommendations to listening comprehension skills teaching and learning 1.3 Scope of the study This research focuses on investigating how scaffolding strategies affect listening comprehension skills for 10th graders at Phan Dinh Phung high school Due to the limitation of time, the author only fulfilled the study among sixty 10th graders at Phan Dinh Phung high school They were assigned to two groups – thirty students in one class as the control group, the other thirty students in other class as the experimental group The effects of scaffolding strategies were chosen for 10th graders for the following reasons First of all, they are not experiencing final examination pressure Second, the listening topics in the book “Tieng Anh 10” are basic and simple Finally, the students have time to master listening skill step by step and consider listening as an essential skill in communication We also choose to focus on some scaffolding strategies: Activities based on visual cues, Information-based activities, Game Activities, and Following Instruction Activities 1.4 Research Questions To achieve the above aims the research tries to answer the following questions: What are the 10th graders’ difficulties in learning listening skills? Will scaffolding activities help to improve the 10th graders’ listening ability? 1.5 Significance of the study The study is expected to be a good reference for teachers and students to improve students’ listening comprehension skills In addition, it is also hoped that the findings of this study will contribute to further understandings of 86 87 88 89 90 91 APPENDIX 3A A SAMPLE LESSON PLAN FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP UNIT 10: CONSERVATION School: Phan Dinh Phung high school Class: 10 D1 Teacher: Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao Date: 6/4/2017 Time: 45’ I Objectives: General knowledge: - Students know more about Van Cao and his music Language: - Vocabulary on music Skills: - Listening: choose True/ False statements and answer questions - Speaking: discuss the one's ideas about Van Cao's music II Anticipated problems: - Some students rarely listen to Van Cao's songs III Teaching aids: - Tape, cassette player, textbook, chalk, board IV Procedures: Teacher’s activities Warm up:(7 mins) GAME: Students’ activities - I give some information you can guess One st presents Others WHO IS THIS? He was born on November 15, 1923 in Nam Dinh His first song was written in 1939 listen and give remark 92 He wrote Tiến Quân Ca ( National Anthem) in 1944 He died on July 10, 1995 Key: HE IS VAN CAO - ask students to listen some songs and anwer Some sts stand up and give the question: their answer Which of these songs were written by Van - Suoi Mo Cao? - Lang toi v Suoi mo Song Lo - Tien Quan Ca - Truong Ca v Tien Quan Ca Ha noi mua thu Tinh Ca - Copy down the words and v Truong ca song lo phrases v Lang toi notebooks into their Ha noi mua thu was written by Vu Thanh Tinh Ca was written by Hoang Viet Before you listen:(12 mins) Aims: focus sts on the topic and review/ introduce the words and phrases used in the - Work in groups to say listening text about the person in the New words: picture - sweet(a: ngào - Listen to the teacher and - gentle(a): nhẹ nhàng then work in groups to - rousing(a): hào hứng discuss Van Cao's life and - exciting(a):thú vị career - boring(a):buồn chán - lirical(a):trữ tình - Ask some pairs to ask and 93 - solemn(a):trang nghiêm answer - Which of the words above can you use to describe Van Cao’s music? - Listen and repeat sweet, gentle, lirical, solemn - Read the words in pairs and correct each other’s - Read the words and ask sts to repeat mistakes - Ask sts to read the words in pairs - Some individuals read the - Ask some sts to read the words again words aloud While you listen:( 17 mins) + Task 1:Practice listening and marking True/ False statements - Tell sts that they are going to listen to a conversation between Lan Huong and Quang Hung about Quang Hung's opinion towards - Listen to the T Van Cao's music - Work in pairs to guess if - Ask sts to work in pairs, look at the the statements are true or statements given and guess if they are true or false false - Listen to the tape and - Ask sts to listen to the talk and tick the right the task column to indicate their answer and underline - Compare their answer the false information T plays the tape twice - Give their answer - Ask sts to compare their answer in pairs F The guess is Quang Hung 2.F - Check sts’ answer He likes some Vietnamese musicians - Play the tape once again, stop the tape where T necessary and conduct the correction F It was written in 1944 94 F ( He always ) + Task 2: Listen again and choose the correct - Check their answer, and answers: - Ask sts to read the questions in pairs then correct their work if and make sure they understand the questions they have the wrong answer and know what information they need to answer the questions - Ask sts to listen to the tape once/twice and take short notes to answer the questions - Work in pairs to read the - Ask sts to compare their answer in pairs questions - Play the tape once again, stop the tape where - Listen and the task necessary and conduct the correction - Compare their notes What is the name of the radio programme? àA It’s “My Favourite Musician” B It’s “My favous Musician” C It’s “ My Favourite singer” - Check their answer, and D It’s “My favous singer” then correct their work if Which song by Van Cao does Quang Hung they have the wrong answer like most? àA Tien Quan Ca B Lang toi Keys: D Truong ca 1.A A C Suoi mo Song Lo Why does Quang Hung like it? C Because it’s 4.D A Gentle B mournful C solemn D sweet Does Quang Hung like other songs? 95 A No, just Tien Quan Ca - Work in pairs revising B No, He doesn't Quang Hung's ideas about C yes, some of them Van Cao's music D Yes, lot of them After you listen:(8 mins) Two sts present Task 3: Information map: Work in pairs and fill in each gap ONE WORD Summarize about Van Cao’s music Ask sts to work in pairs and discuss Quang - Listen to the T Hung's ideas about Van Cao's music - Work in pairs to fill in - Move round to check the activities and to each blank with the correct make sure that sts are working effectively words/ phrases - Ask some pairs to present in front of the - Listen to the tape and whole class the task - Check and give remarks - Compare their answer Keys: Task 4: Listen a song and fill in each blank 1944 with the correct words/ phrases: Rousing When I was was young I'd (1) the Rural radio Lyrical Waiting for my (2) Musicsions When they played I'd (3) along It made me smile Keys: Those were such (4) and not so sing long ago favourite songs 96 How I But wondered where they're they've back gone listen to again happy times Just like a long lost friend all the songs I love (5) so well - Check their answer, and Ev'ry sha-la-la-la, ev'ry wo-o-wo-o still shines then correct their work if Ev'ry shing-a-ling-a-ling they have the wrong answer That they're startin' to sing so fine Homework:(1 min) - Listen again at home - Write down - Learn the vocabulary - Prepare for the next lesson: Writing Written in ……… Hard, solemn, ………… Best of all time Vancao & his music Tien Quan Ca Songs about ……… life Sweet, gentle,………… 97 APPENDIX 3B A SAMPLE LESSON PLAN FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP UNIT: 15 SPACE CONQUEST School: Phan Dinh Phung high school Class: 10 D1 Teacher: Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao Date: 26/4 /2017 Time: 45’ I Objectives: General knowledge: - Students know more about space conquest Language: - Vocabulary on space conquest Skills: - Listening: choose True/ False statements and answer questions - Speaking: discuss the one's ideas about Van Cao's music II Anticipated problems: - Some students get familiar with the topic space conquest III Teaching aids: - Tape, pictures, posters and handouts, cassette player, textbook, chalk, board IV Procedures: Teacher's activities I Warm up: Students' activities - Work in groups Matching cards with the pictures - T devides the class into Pictures Cards groups -Picture Orbiting - Ss close the books and - Picture The Apollo crew representative of each 98 - Picture Walking on the moon group write the answer on - Picture The Moon landing the board - Picture The first foot print on the Moon - Group which gives the Question:” From the pictures can you guess what correct answers quickly topic we are listening today?” will be the winner ** T leads to new lesson: II Before you listen: Activity 1: Pronunciation: -Challenge (v) /………/ - Experiment (n)/……./ -Class work -Achievement (n)/……/ - T has Ss open the book Activity 2: Listen and repeat: Say STOP if you and look at the words hear one of these words from the listening carefully passage - T plays the recorder and Ss say STOP III While you read: - T stops the recorder to Activity 1: Circling the words, phrases or check number in the listening passage you hear Congress, 11, suitcase, later, press, the first, carry, marry, oxygen, chicken, 7, step, spacesuit, Apollo, cosmonaut, temperature, ect…… - Using handouts Activity 2: (Task page 173 ): Decide true /false -Ss work in groups statements - T gives Ss handouts and * Answer key: has them work in groups 1.F (In a speech to the Congress ) - Ss the task 2.F(There are three astronauts: Neil Amstrong, - T plays the recorder and Buzz Aldrin, and Michale Collins ) then feedback 99 F (Neil Amstrong became the first man on the - T asks Ss to read all the moon ) statement carefully and F (The Oxygen, temperature, and pressure then guess the statement is inside the spacesuit ) true or false T - T plays the recorder for Activity 3: (textbook ) Answer the questions by the first circling the letter A, B, C or D - Ss listen and take notes Which program was developed to meet to gives the evidence for president Kennedy ‘s challenge? their answer A NASA’s Apollo program - T calls Ss to answer and C NATO B ASIAN D VOA When was the Apollo 11 launched? A July 16, 1969 B July 16, 1996 C June 16, 1996 C June 16, 1969 plays recorder again to check - Using handouts What was the portable life support system for? - Pair work A Controlling the Oxygen B Temperature - T gives Ss handouts, then C Temperature and pressure explains some difficult if D Controlling the oxygen, temperature and necessary pressure - Ss listen and How long did the astronauts stay on the - T calls Ss to answer and surface of the moon? A two and a half hours C an hour plays recorder again to B Half an hour D three and a half hours feedback **Feedback: What did they while they were staying on 1.A 2.A the surface of the moon? A Collect soils and rock samples B Collect soil and perform experiments 4.A 5.D 3.D 6.B 100 C Perform the variety of experiments and collect soil D Perform the variety of experiments, collect soil and rock samples to return the Earth When did the astronauts return to the Earth? A July 24, 1968 B July 24, 1969 C June 24, 1996 D June 24, 1969 IV After you read: - Using handouts - Ss work in groups of - Discuss the reason for the human interest in four Mars and other planets in the solar system - T explains some difficult Fill in the blanks with the missing words words if necessary There are many reasons for human interest in - T reads the passage Mars and other planets in the solar system - Ss listen and the task Firstly, Man likes (1)………….and wants to find - T calls some group and out (2)………outside the World One day, we checks If any group gives may (3) ………people to Mars and other planets many correct words, T can in case the Earth is overpopulated We may also gives good mards conduct (4) …………on Mars and other planets ** Feedback: for the (5)……… of people on Earth We may (1) adventur (2) find (6)…………minerals there and have trips to Possibilities of life other planets for tourist purposes (3) send (4) researches * Home work: (5) benefits (6) precious - Write a paragraph talking things with you if Ss the task at home you have a chance of going to the moon - Rewrite - prepare D writing exercise notebooks the on above your