VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES BA THESIS A STUDY ON THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE LISTENING SKILLS OF 10th GRADERS AT PHUC THO HIGH SCHOOL, PHUC THO DISTRICT IN HA NOI NGHIÊN CỨU CÁC YẾU TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG ĐẾN KỸ NĂNG NGHE CỦA HỌC SINH LỚP 10 TRƯỜNG THPT PHÚC THỌ, HUYỆN PHÚC THỌ TẠI HÀ NỘI Student : NGUYEN THUY HIEN Student code : 621241 Major : ENGLISH Supervisor : NGUYEN THI KIM QUE, M.Ed Supervisor : LE THI HONG LAM, MA Hanoi – 2021 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES BA THESIS A STUDY ON THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE LISTENING SKILLS OF 10th GRADERS AT PHUC THO HIGH SCHOOL, PHUC THO DISTRICT IN HA NOI NGHIÊN CỨU CÁC YẾU TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG ĐẾN KỸ NĂNG NGHE CỦA HỌC SINH LỚP 10 TRƯỜNG THPT PHÚC THỌ, HUYỆN PHÚC THỌ TẠI HÀ NỘI Student : NGUYEN THUY HIEN Student code : 621241 Major : ENGLISH Supervisor : NGUYEN THI KIM QUE, M.Ed Supervisor : LE THI HONG LAM, MA Hanoi – 2021 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled A STUDY ON THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE LISTENING SKILLS OF 10th GRADERS AT PHUC THO HIGH SCHOOL, PHUC THO DISTRICT IN HA NOI submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor in English Language Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis Hanoi, 2021 Nguyen Thuy Hien Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Date:…………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT During the process of doing this graduation thesis, I have received many necessary assistances, precious ideas and timely encouragements from my teachers, family and friends This thesis could not have been completed without the help, encouragement and support from a number of people who all deserve my sincerest gratitude and appreciation First of all, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor – Mrs Nguyen Thi Kim Que and Ms Le Thi Hong Lam, the English teacher of Faculty of Foreign Language, who has always been willing to give me valuable advices and suggestions in order that I can complete successfully this study I am so thankful to students of 10th graders at Phuc Tho High School for their whole – heart participation in the study I am equally indebted to my classmates for their suggestions and encouragements in the process of my study Last but not least, my particular thanks are given to my parents for their encouragement and support which played an important role in my graduation thesis ii TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii ABSTRACT v LIST OF ABBREVIATION vi LIST OF TABLES vii PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY 1.2 AIMS AND OBJCTIVES OF THE STUDY 1.2.1 Aims of the study 1.2.2 Objectives of the study 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 1.6 DESIGN OF THE STUDY PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 REVIEW OF PREVIOUS STUDIES (AT HOME AND ABOARD) 1.1.1 Related research studies at home 1.1.2 Related research studies abroad 1.2 REVIEW OF THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.2.1 Definition of listening 1.2.2 The importance of listening skills 1.2.3 Types of listening 1.2.4 Factors affecting listening comprehension 10 1.3 SUMMARY 11 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 12 2.1 RESEARCH GOVERNING PRINCIPLES 12 iii 2.1.1 Research questions 12 2.1.2 Research hypothesis 12 2.1.3 Research types 13 2.1.4 Research approaches 13 2.1.5 Principles/ criteria for data collection and data analysis 13 2.2 RESEARCH METHODS 15 2.2.1 Major methods 15 2.3 SUMMARY 16 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 17 3.1 FACTORS RELATED TO LISTENING TEXTS 17 3.2 FACTORS RELATED TO LINGUISTIC FEATURES 19 3.3 FACTORS RELATED TO THE SPEAKERS 21 3.4 FACTORS RELATED TO LISTENERS 22 3.5 FACTORS RELATED TO THE FAILURE TO CONCENTRATE 23 3.6 FACTORS RELATED TO THE PHYSICAL SETTINGS 24 3.7 RESULTS FROM INTERVIEWS 25 3.8 SUGGESTIONS ON IMPROVING THE STUDENTS LISTENING SKILLS 26 3.9 SUMMARY 27 PART 3: CONCLUSION 28 RECAPITULATION 28 CONCLUDING REMARKS 28 2.1 MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE STUDY 28 2.2 THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE LISTENING SKILLS OF 10 th GRADERS AT PHUC THO HIGH SCHOOL, PHUC THO DISTRICT IN HA NOI 28 LIMITATIONS OF THE CURRENT RESEARCH 29 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 29 REFERENCES 30 APPENDIX 1: 33 APPENDIX 2: 44 iv ABSTRACT Listening skill is one of the most necessary skills to communicate in the real life In learning a foreign language, it is more and more important to learn this skill Everybody knows that in order to listen to a message is not as simple as hearing it, so the listener has to understand the message and respond in the right manner The thesis will study the factors affecting the listening skills of 10th graders at Phuc Tho High School, Phuc Tho District in Ha Noi Then, it would like to give some suggestions to help students enhance listening skills Therefore, I applied the qualitative and quantitative methods to the research So the collecting data instruments like questionnaires, interviews were used to the study v LIST OF ABBREVIATION EFL: English as a Foreign Language HUFI: Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry vi LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Criteria for judging the degree of problems 15 Table 3.1: Factors related to listening texts 17 Table 3.2: Factors related to linguistic features 19 Table 3.3: Factors related to the speakers 21 Table 3.4: Factors related to listeners 22 Table 3.5: Factors related to the failure to concentrate 23 Table 3.6: Factors related to the physical settings 24 vii PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY It is undeniable that listening is a vital skill in the mastery of any language According to Nunan(1998), listening is the basic skill in language learning and without listening skill, learners will never learn to communicate effectively In fact, more than 50% of the time students spend functioning in a foreign language should be devoted in listening The same claim is supported by Hamouda (2013) who confirms that listening is a fundamental language skill in foreign language Because the key to acquire a language is to receive understandable language input Without understanding inputs at a right level, any kind of learning cannot occur Rost (2002) also indicates that developing listening proficiency is the key to achieving proficiency in speaking As a researcher, I would like to present the thesis title “A study on the factors affecting the listening skills of 10th graders at Phuc Tho High School, Phuc Tho District in Ha Noi” for several reasons First of all, listening is the most important skill in communication in the real life Listening and speaking are two major parts of communication They are closely interdependent We are able to talk sensibly when we understand what is said to us If we fail to understand spoken language, we may miss important information and respond in a funny way Moreover, in learning a language, listening is a useful means of providing students with comprehensible input, which is an essential component of the whole language learning process And teaching listening skill in classroom helps students make transition from classroom English to real-life English more easily and effectively Therefore, I would like to this research to help the students and teachers pay more attention to listening skill REFERENCES Anderson, A & Lynch, T (1998) Listening Oxford University Press Boyle, J.P (1984) Factors affecting listening comprehension ELT Journal, 38(1), 34-38 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/elt/38.134 Brown, H.D (2001), Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy Second Edition Essex: Longman Bentley, S., & Bacon, S (1996) The all new, state-of-the-art ILA definition of listening: Now that we have it, what we with it? Listening Post, 56, 1-5 Coakley, C & Wolin, A (1986) Listening in the native language In B.H Wing (Ed.), Listening, reading, and writing: Analysis and application (pp 11-42) Middlebury: Northeast Conference on the teaching of foreign languages Díaz, S (2012), Identifying the Factors That Interfere the EFL Learners Listening Comprehension at a Public University: A Case Study Duong, T M., & Chau, N T (2019) English listening comprehension problems perceived by English majors atThe Saigon International University In T T Dang (Eds.), Proceedings of International Conference on Language Teaching and Learning Today 2019: Autonomy and Motivation for Language Learning in the Interconnected World (pp 209-222), Ho Chi Minh City: Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City Press Gary Buck (2001), Assessing Listening Goh, C (2000) A cognitive perspective on language learners’ listening comprehension problems System, 28, pp 55-75 10 Hamouda, A (2013) An investigation of listening comprehension problems encountered by Saudi Students in the EL Listening classroom International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 2(2), 113-155 30 11 Howatt, A and J Dakin (1974), Language laboratory materials, ed J P B Allen, S P B Allen, and S P Corder 12 Kutlu O.,& Aslanolub E., (2009) Factors affecting the listening skill Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences (2009) 2013–2022 13 Nation, I.S.P (1990), Language teaching techniques Victoria University of Wellington English Language Institute 14 Nord, J.R (1980), Developing listening fluency before speaking: An alternative paradigm, System 15 Nguyễn Thị Vân Lam & Ngơ Đình Phương (2006), English Teaching Methodology Vinh University 16 Oxford, R.L (1990) Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know New York, USA: Newbury House 17 PhD Cand Lorena Manaj Sadiku, The Importance of Four Skills Reading, Speaking, Writing, Listening in a Lesson Hour (European : Journal of Language and Literature Studies, April 2015), 31 18 Quyen, N.N & Dan, T.C (2018) Listening comprehension: First-year English major students’ perceptions and problems Can Tho Journal of science, 54(2), 75-83 19 Reina, E (2010) The use of songs as a tool to work on listening and culture in EFL classes Cuadernos de Lingüística Hispánica N.° 15 ISSN 0121053X Enero-Junio 2010; p 121-138 20 Rost, M (2002) Teaching and Researching Listening London, England: Longman Anderson, A & Lynch, T (1998) Listening Oxford University Press 21 Teng, H.C (2002) An investigation of EFL listening difficulties for Taiwanese college students Selected papers from the Eleventh international symposium on English teaching/Fourth Pan-Asian Conference, pp 526-533 31 22 Underwood, M (1989) Teaching listening Harlow, England: Longman, p.981 Websites: http://www.academicinnovations.com/report.html#listen http://www.anglais.edunet.tn/tutorials/elt_train/pdf/teachinglistening.pdf http://www.ehow.com http://www.esl.about.com/od/englishlistening/a/listen_tips.htm 32 APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONAIRE FOR STUDENTS Chào bạn, thực đề tài nghiên cứu: “ Nghiên cứu yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến kỹ nghe học sinh lớp 10 trường THPT Phúc Thọ, huyện Phúc Thọ Hà Nội” Đây bảng câu hỏi hồn tồn với tính thu thập thơng tin cách khách quan, mong bạn trả lời câu hỏi cách đánh dấu X vào ô tương ứng (Với phát biểu chọn ô nhất) Hello everyone, we are implementing a research topic: “A study on the factors affecting the listening skills of 10th graders at Phuc Tho High School, Phuc Tho District in Ha Noi” This questionnaire is purely with objective information collection, we hope you to answer the question by marking an X in the corresponding box (Select only one cell for each statement) Các yếu tố liên quan dến nghe (Factors related to listening texts) Nội dung Hoàn toàn Khơng Trung lập Đồng ý Hồn (Items) khơng đồng đồng ý (Neutral) (Agree) toàn đồng ý (Disagree) ý (Strongly (Strongly Disagree) Agree) Q1 Tơi cảm thấy khó hiểu nghe có q nhiều từ khơng quen thuộc (I find it difficult to understand listening texts which have too many 33 unfamiliar words) Q2 Các cấu trúc ngữ pháp khó gây trở ngại với khả nghe hiểu (Difficult grammar structures interfere with my listening comprehension.) Q3 Tôi cảm thấy khó hiểu nghe có chủ đề không quen thuộc (I find it difficult to understand listening texts when the topic is unfamiliar.) Q4 Tôi cảm thấy khó để hiểu ý nghĩa nghe dài (I find it difficult to interpret the meaning of a long listening text.) 34 Các yếu tố liên quan đến đặc điểm ngôn ngữ (Factors related to linguistic features) Nội dung Hồn tồn Khơng Trung lập Đồng ý Hồn (Items) khơng đồng đồng ý (Neutral) ( Agree) tồn đồng ý (Disagree) ý (Strongly (Strongly Disagree) Agree) Q5 Tôi thấy cách phát âm quen thuộc nhận từ (I find the pronunciation familiar but cannot recognize the word.) Q6 Tơi cảm thấy khó hiểu người nói sử dụng hình thức rút gọn từ chẳng hạn gotcha, kinda (I find it difficult to understand speakers when use the reduced forms of words such as gotcha, kinda.) Q7 Khi gặp từ không xác định, dừng 35 nghe nghĩ ý nghĩa từ ngữ (When encountering an unknown word, I stop listening and think about the meaning of the word) Q8 Tiếng lóng thành ngữ Gây cản trở khả nghe hiểu (Slang and idiomatic expressions interfere with listening my comprehension) Q9 Tơi thấy khó theo trình tự nói câu q dài phức tạp (I find it difficult to follow the sequence of the spoken text if the sentences are too long and complex) 36 Các yếu tố liên quan đến người nói (Factors related to the speakers) Nội dung Hồn tồn Khơng Trung lập Đồng ý Hồn (Items) khơng đồng đồng ý (Neutral) (Agree) toàn đồng ý (Disagree) ý ( Strongly (Strongly Disagree) Agree) Q10 Tơi cảm thấy khó hiểu nghĩa từ không phát âm rõ ràng (I find it difficult to understand the meaning of the words which are not pronounced clearly) Q11 Những lời nói tự nhiên( bộc phát) ngập ngừng dừng lại làm tơi khó hiểu (I find it difficult to understand the natural speech which is full of hesitation and pauses) Q12 Tơi cảm thấy khó hiểu người nói q 37 nhanh (I find it difficult to understand well when speakers speak too fast) Q13 Tơi cảm thấy khó hiểu người nói sử dụng nhiều giọng khác (I find it difficult to understand speakers when use various accents) 38 4.Các yếu tố liên quan đến người nghe (Factors related to listeners) Nội dung Hồn tồn Khơng Trung lập Đồng ý Hồn (Items) khơng đồng đồng ý (Neutral) (Agree) tồn đồng ý (Disagree) ý ( Strongly (Strongly Disagree) Agree) Q14 Tơi thấy khó để nhớ nhanh từ hay cụm từ vừa nghe (I find it difficult to quickly remember words or phrases I have just heard) Q15 Thiếu chiến lược nghe rèn luyện kỹ nghe cản trở khả nghe (Lack of listening strategies and listening skill training interferes with my listening comprehension) Q16 Tại thời điểm nghe, tơi cảm thấy khó khăn để dự đoán nội 39 dung nghe (At the time of listening, I find it difficult to predict what will come next) Q17 Tôi thấy khó khăn nghe mà khơng có dịch (I find it difficult when listening to English without transcripts) Q18 Tơi thấy khó hiểu nội dung văn nói khơng thú vị tơi (I find it difficult to understand the spoken text which is of no interest to me) 40 Các yếu tố liên quan đến việc không tập trung (Factors related the failure to concentrate) Nội dung (Items) Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý (StronglyDis agree) Không đồng ý (Disagree) Trung lập Đồng ý (Neutra)l (Agree) Hồn tồn đồng ý (Strongly Agree) Q19 Tơi tập trung văn dài (I lose concentration when the text is too long) Q20 Tôi tập trung nghĩ nghĩa từ (I lose concentration when I think about the meaning of new words) Q21 Tôi tập trung phải tìm đáp án nghe văn lúc (I am unable to concentrate because I search for the answers and listen to the listening text at the same time) Q22 Tôi tập trung nghĩ đến câu hỏi khác (I lose concentration when I think of another question) 41 Các yếu tô liên quan đến ngoại cảnh (Factors related to the physical settings) Nội dung Hồn tồn Khơng Trung lập Đồng ý Hồn (Items) khơng đồng đồng ý Neutral Agree toàn đồng ý Disagree ý Strongly (Strongly Disagree Agree) Q23 Những âm không rõ ràng điều kiện lớp học cản trở khả nghe hiểu (Unclear resulting classroom interfere sounds from poor conditions with my listening comprehension) Q24 Âm không rõ ràng thiết bị chất lượng CD - máy nghe nhạc cản trở khả nghe hiểu (Unclear sounds resulting from poor quality equipment such as CD - players interfere with my listening 42 comprehension) Q25 Thiếu manh mối trực quan (hình ảnh, sơ đồ, video, v.v.) cản trở khả nghe hiểu (Lack of visual clues (picture, diagrams, videos, etc) interferes with my listening comprehension) Q26 Tơi khó nghe xung quanh ồn (It is difficult for me to listen with noises around) (Adapted from the survey questionnaire of Nguyen Thi Xuyen, 2018 Factors affecting English listening comprehension: Perceptions of English- major students at HUFI) 43 APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS Q1 Do you think what the roles of teachers in improving your English listening skills is? Q2 Can you give any suggestions for yourself, and for other students to enhance their listening skills? 44