THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING THUONG XUAN HIGH SCHOOL THE INITIATIVE FROM TEACHING EXPERIENCE “USING SONGS TO ENCOURAGE GRADE 10 SCHOOLERS TO LEARN LISTENING SKILL AT THUONG XUAN HIGH SCHOOL” Teacher’s full name: Cầm Thị Hương Position : Teacher The initiative of : Teaching English THANH HOÁ 2017 Table of contents 2.3 The solution of the problem 2.3.1 The seven-step process of the Action Research .7 Introduction 1.1 Rationale Regarded as an international language, English is spoken in most parts of the world - and is considered the principle means of communication among the trade, diplomatic, and airline communities English has been a compulsory subject among Vietnamese students for many years Teaching English in Vietnam will help our students take advantage of globalization, and teachers are always seeking ways to improve their techniques for more effective lesson plans and higher cognitive retention among their students at all levels As a teacher of English at a high school, the author constantly faces the many problems inherent in helping students absorb and apply a foreign language Of primary importance is teaching listening skill, which is a topic of much debate among researchers In English textbooks for Vietnamese upper secondary school students, listening is one of the four skills that students have to learn Listening is one of the fundamental language skills, and crucial in the development of the second language competence It is essential for language teachers to help their students become effective listeners By developing their ability to listen well, we develop our students' ability to become more independent learners, as by hearing accurately they are much more likely to be able to reproduce accurately, refine their understanding of grammar and develop their own vocabulary However, among the listening lessons in textbooks for Vietnamese secondary students that I have taught, lessons are long and complicated, and contain needless repetition that is boring rather than inspiring to students Therefore, many of the students seem not to be interested in the listening lessons They have low motivation to study This problem is the foundation of my thesis, and I address how to teach listening comprehension more attractively and effectively, so that more students will want to learn In this thesis, the author demonstrated the use of songs, and examined their effectiveness in opening the textbook’s content in such a way as to increase 10th grade students’ motivation to listen and enjoy English Learners observations and student surveys were collected to determine the effectiveness of using these new techniques The results of this research will promote a new plan for using English songs to help teachers with teaching listening comprehension (with greater student enjoyment and retention) It is hoped that using English songs will be an effective technique for teaching listening in high schools in Viet Nam and elsewhere 1.2 Aims of the study The study aims at: - Investigating the attitudes of the grade 10 students at Thuong Xuan high school towards listening skill before implementing the use of songs in teaching listening - Selecting and using English songs in teaching English listening to the grade 10 students at Thuong Xuan high school - Evaluating the effectiveness of applying English songs in encouraging grade 10 schoolers to learn listening skill at Thuong Xuan high school to provide implications for English language teaching 1.3 The population of the study Applying English songs in the class may bring about many benefits in terms of effective grammar learning, listening, pronunciation, and it can be implemented at different classes However, in this research, we would like to focus on the use of English songs in teaching listening and the participants are only students of grade 10 at Thuong Xuan high school, Thuong Xuan district There are 40 grade 10 schoolers involving in this study They take part in the listening lesson with the use of songs and the questionnaire All the teachers of English in Thuong Xuan high school, aged twentythree to thirty-one years old, also take part in my study They shared their advantages and disadvantages of teaching Engish listening here and observed my class to find out if the song using have positive effects on the learners’ attitudes towards listening lessons 1.4 The methodology To fulfill the above aims, qualitative and quantitative method was chosen for the study All comments, remarks, assumptions and conclusion of the study were based on the observation, data and analysis Data collections for analysis in this study were gained though the following resources: - Survey questionnaires; - Interview; - observation; Content 2.1 theoretical background 2.1.1 Listening skill According to Anderson and Lynch (1988), listening is a receptive skill along side with reading skills and the role of listeners is no longer passive but active Listening skill plays a very importance role in foreign language teaching, which is emphasized by Rost (1994) as the following: Firstly, Listening provides input for the learner so it is vital in the language classroom Without understandable input at the right level, any learning simply cannot begin Secondly, listening is the decisional factor of the success of the interaction Spoken language provides a means of interaction for the learner Since the learners must interact to achieve understanding, access to speakers of the language is essential Moreover, learners’ failure to understand the language they hear is impetus, not an obstacle, to interaction and learning Thirdly, Listening lessons contain authentic language, which presents a challenge for the learner to attempt to understand language as it is actually used by native speakers Finally, Listening exercises provide teachers with a means for drawing learners’ attention to new forms (vocabulary, grammar, interaction patterns) in the language In real teaching and learning, listening skill seems to be the most difficult skill to be acquired by students of the four language basic English language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) According to Underwood (1989), there are seven problems in listening skill that students may encounter: (1) lack of control over the speed at which speakers speak; (2) not being able to get things repeated; (3) the listener’s limited vocabulary; (4) failure to recognize the signals; (5) problems of interpretation; (6) inability to concentrate and (7) established learning habit From the students’ dificultties in mastering listening lessons, the educators organizing the teaching ang learning process should plan their listening lesson to encourage their learners to take part in the listening lessons positively 2.1.2 Songs According to Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (2000, p.412), song is “a short piece of music with words that you sing” It may be written for one or several voices and it is generally performed with instrument accompaniment Songs are part of daily life for most people The benefits of songs inELT have been well-documented by a myriad researchers The benificial roles os song using are revealed as the following: Firstly, motivation is one of the things that can be gained by using songs in foreign language classroom Rogers (1999) found that “the use of songs creates an atmosphere of interest in the study of English and can lead from a “teacher centered” to a “student centered” class Using music can lift the atmosphere in class, or develop a non-threatening classroom atmosphere, bring in a boost of energy and capture the children’s attention Besides, English songs can motivate them in their quest to learn English Secondly, songs can be catchy and re-usable Songs are catchy and fun and ESL students will feel happy to hear them many times till they can sing along If teacher plays the recording of a dialogue the second time, students may get bored with it However, songs can be reused without making students become fed up with listening Thirdly, songs related to cultural aspects could be chosen to present to students about social situations, historical events, geographical descriptions, and others The use of songs, according to Jolly (1975), gives students the opportunity to acquire a greater understanding of the culture underlying the target language Besides, songs can help students remember vocabulary, grammatical structures and aid in comprehending the general meaning In short, songs are proved tobe an effective tool for language teacher to enhance their learners to master the foreign language 2.2 The real situation before emplementing songs in teaching listening skill 2.2.1 Research settings Thuong Xuan High School has been founded for several years Though the school’s Board of Directors have always encouraged and supported the teaching and learning of the English Language at our school, the facilities for learning English, such as computers and projectors are very poor Therefore, there are many problems which need to be solved: The books and materials for students are limited Additionally, the students have no opportunities to practice English with native speakers- vital to anyone trying to improve their listening as well as verbal skills Besides, In Thuong Xuan upper secondary school, there are five teachers of English, aged twenty-three to thirty-one years old As rural teachers, they have few opportunities to upgrade their teaching skills, and the school does not have the resources to provide them with modern teaching aids and materials to help their work However, despite some disadvantages, they have been successful teachersnot only developing their own language skills, but improving their teaching methods There is an atmosphere of collegiality and support among the faculty and administrators, and we often share our teaching experiences in the hope that we can learn from each other Most of the students in Thuong Xuan Upper Secondary School are living in the surrounding rural areas Our students are required to study 13 compulsory subjects, so they spend little time learning English, and their skills are weak Though they have been studying English for many years, their focus has been on learning syntax and grammar so they can pass regular examinations Moreover, because their parents are farmers who never use English in their daily lives, the students receive little encouragement at home to develop vital communication skills As a result, most of the students not know what they are studying English for- except to pass their exams Although they know it is important to learn English in the modern life, they become bored with learning it In each class, there are only a few students really learning English- and it is those few who are interested in learning it The majority of the students usually forget most the things they have learned as soon as their testing period is over Once the students lose their motivation for learning, the quality of their classroom experience rapidly declines 2.2.2 Students’ attitude and their difficulties in listening lessons The student’s survey questionnaire “A” was constructed with questions The data collected is presented- along with answers from each of the 40 students who responded This data provided a baseline of the student’s attitude towards their English language listening lessons, as well as their perceived difficulties After the students received their instructions, they put up privacy folders to block field-ofview from other students Question 1: What you think about the listening lesson in the text book? Figure 2.1 Opinions about the reading lessons The chart in Figure 2.1 shows that about 25 of the 40 studentresponders thought that the listening lesson are difficult, while 16 students said that they are boring At the same time, only four students agreed that the content of the listening lesson is normal Only 7.5% of the students expressed the opinion that the listening lesson were interesting Further, four of the students thought that the listening lesson in the textbook did not relate to their life experiences Question 2: How interested you feel in listening lessons? Question was designed to discover how interested the students are in the listening lessons When asked about their interest in listening English in class, only 4% of students said they are very interested, with an additional 9% who indicated that they were somewhat interested By contrast, 50% of the students revealed that they are not interested at all, with a further 37% indicating that they are only slightly interested These are dismal results Figure 2.2: Students’ enjoyment to the listening lessons In conclusion, students overwhelmingly lack interest in the material or find it too hard This data reveals that the students’ motivation in listening lesson is very low If they not like learning, they will not progress in the skill level and their language education will be lost This is both the challenge and the opportunity for the teachers to develop interesting methods of instruction to elevate the students’ motivation and interest in learning English Question 3: What is difficult about the listening lessons? Number % Options the listening lesson is long 27/40 67.5% there are so many new words 36/40 90% it is difficult to understand the main idea of the listening 35/40 87.5% lesson it is difficult to understand the details of the listening lesson 37/40 92.5% doing listening tasks (answering questions, gap-filling ) 28/40 70% the topic is too difficult for my level of background 20/40 50% knowledge Table 2.1: Factors that negatively impact student’s listening As we can see from the table, Question focuses on the student’s expressed negative factors that impact their listening lesson - that is, the subjective elements that they think and feel Results were predicable: When the students responded whether they had any difficulties in English listening lesson, most of them say “yes” However, they had an opportunity to quantify their responses: Question also includes the reasons why the students find listening lesson difficult The statistical data shows that 67.5% of the students expressed that the longer listening lesson, the harder time they had understanding the whole text 90% of the students give the opinion that the factors which make the listening lesson difficult is that there are too many new words More importantly, 87.5% of the students agree that it is difficult to understand the main idea of the listening lesson, and a further 92.5% find it hard to catch the detail of such a large section of text About 50% of the students state that the topics chosen by the authors of the listening lesson pick subject with which the students have no prior background knowledge It would be better if the authors chose familiar subjects (ideally by interviewing students to learn what they know and like) In addition, Almost three-quarters of respondents (70%) have difficulty completing required tasks such as answering the questions In summary, the data reveals that the students have no or very little interest in learning listening lessons This data will allow teachers to search for (and adopt) tools which will overcome these many problems English song using will help in this regard 2.3 The solution of the problem 2.3.1 The seven-step process of the Action Research My research focused on using songs to to facilitate our students’ listening learning, and we used songs by planning our lessons in the form of an action research with two cycles of a ‘spiral of cycles of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting’ (Kemmis, 1988, p.168), which involves the seven-step process (Sagor, 2000) These seven steps, which become an endless cycle for the inquiring teacher, are the following: Step 1: Selecting a Focus This first step is vitally important because the action research process begins with serious reflection directed toward identifying a topic or topics worthy of a busy teacher's time Selecting a focus begins with the teacher researcher or the team of action researchers asking: What element(s) of our practice or what aspect of student learning we wish to investigate? Step 2: Clarifying Theories The second step involves identifying the values, beliefs, and theoretical perspectives the researchers hold relating to their focus Step 3: Identifying Research Questions Once a focus area has been selected and the researcher's perspectives and beliefs about that focus have been clarified, the next step is to generate a set of personally meaningful research questions to guide the inquiry Step 4: Collecting Data Professional educators always want their instructional decisions to be based on the best possible data Action researchers can accomplish this by making sure that the data used to justify their actions are valid (meaning the information represents what the researchers say it does) and reliable (meaning the researchers are confident about the accuracy of their data) Lastly, before data are used to make teaching decisions, teachers must be confident that the lessons drawn from the data align with any unique characteristics of their classroom or school Step 5: Analyzing Data Step 6: Reporting Results Step 7: Taking Informed Action When teachers write lesson plans or develop academic programs, they are engaged in the action planning process What makes action planning particularly satisfying for the teacher researcher is that with each piece of data uncovered (about teaching or student learning) the educator will feel greater confidence in the wisdom of the next steps In this study, after identifying the topic ““Using songs to encourage grade 10 schoolers to learn listening skill at Thuong Xuan high school”, we identified two variables and two research questions The data would be selected by both qualitative and quantitative methods Then we selected three English songs which related to the topics of three units in textbook These songs were taught together with the lessons The three selected songs were integrated into the lessons as follows: Lesson Songs Unit 12: music “Because I love you” Unit 13: Films and cinema "My heart will go on " Unit 14: World cup “The cup of life” Table 2.1 The integration of songs 2.3.2 Some teachniques in teaching listening skill There are several techniques that can be done by teachers when teaching listening in the classroom, including : (1) Filling the Gap: This technique can be done by way of emptying a few words in a paragraph or dialogue Ask students to listen to text spoken by the teacher or the tape and fill that empty words are Example: Listen and fill one suitable word in each gap below: If I got (1)………on my knees and I pleaded with you If I crossed a million oceans just to be with you (2)…… you ever let me down? If I climbed the highest (3)………… just to hold you tight If I said that I would love you every single night Would you ever let me down? Well I'm sorry if it sounds kinda (4)………, it's just that Worried, so worried, that you let me down Because I love you, love you Love you, so don't let me down (2) Picture Guessing: This technique can be done by guessing the image according to an oral text that was read or heard Example: What these pictures relate to? (3) Finding Mistakes: The technique is done by asking and listening to spoken text underlined words that not correspond with the spoken text (4) Rearranging Sentences / Paragraph: The technique is done by giving the sentence or paragraph hiatus to students Students are asked to listen to the spoken text and make sentences / paragraphs to be true 2.4 The findings 2.4.1 Results of students’ survey questionnaire B: Teachers and students’ attitudes toward the implement of English song An additional set of data was collected after the researcher had applied English song during the following four weeks of classroom teaching The students were asked to show their attitudes towards new listening lessons Four teachers taking part in this study served as observers while I conducted normal teaching in the class A song implementing questionnaire was given to students after the four-week intervention phase to determine students’ attitudes toward these innovative tools The questions included in the survey are shown in Table below: STT Students’ attitude Numbers of students Percent (per total of 40) more relaxed 38 95% more concentrated 36 90% remember easily what has been learned 35 87.5% more pleasant learning 40 100% lesson seems easier 35 87.5% Confused 15% lesson seems harder 12.5% don't care 5% Table 2.2 Mean Values of questionnaire variable: “Students’ attitude towards the application of songs in the class” Through students’ completed questionnaire, we are very pleased that most students have positive attitudes when the teacher used songs in classroom Using songs brings good effects on students’ feeling and acquisition of the lesson Most students felt more relaxed and more concentrated in learning language, as a result, they remembered the lesson better Most of the students think that songs are an appropriate learning tool to learn new vocabulary and if they were taught the vocabulary through songs they remember the words better However, there were some students who are not in agreement with the statement that if they work with the vocabulary through songs, words are easier to remember Besides, we can observe that most students are more motivated by working with songs Most students are also aware that they concentrated more on the lesson when the teacher used songs in English teaching The findings of this research study have established that the use of songs as developed through different interesting activities are applicable to the primary EFL teaching context By using songs as means of teaching vocabulary, students have progressive changes in perceiving vocabulary The findings have indicated that a considerable number of learners not feel stressed or bored, and overall they find songs interesting and motivating learning material It was also apparent from all the data that songs provided the EFL language learners with an opportunity to learn not only in a fun but also in a meaningful and memorable way It also demonstrated that implementing songs in the learning process would be beneficial for vocabulary learning, as reflected in the observations and questionnaire with the students The findings thus of this study will have direct implications for language learning and also they could have a potential impact not only on the primary but the wider education sector In spite of the fact that the findings of this research demonstrated a generally positive response from the students, there were some responses which indicated that the positive effects were constrained by some factors such as the fast rhythm of the songs, the unknown words or the noise created during the use of songs which prevented them from considering songs as applicable to their learning situation This was confirmed by a few students’ concerns expressed during the focus group discussions, and it could perhaps discourage them from wanting to work with songs There is, however, sufficient evidence to support the contention that it is up to the teacher to use songs wisely and implement them in an effective, appropriate and imaginative way through interesting activities, in order to achieve positive results from learners We could say that songs deserve our attention and we should familiarise ourselves with their pedagogical applications in the EFL language classroom Following table presents teachers’ attitudes towards English songs There were four teacher-respondents answering these questionnaires They all attended 10 my class as I conducted the “experimental” lessons, and they were positively encouraged by the results Options undecided disagreed agreed English songs can motivate students in 100% learning listening lessons Students can understand the lessons better 25% 85% through English songs I find English songs are effective with 25% 85% teaching listening lessons Table 2.3 Teachers’ attitudes towards the implement of English songs The results from the above table reinforce the fact that most of the teachers have favorable opinions of the implement of English songs, and will use them in their own listening lessons in the future They agreed that these are effective techniques and tools that may be used in teaching listening Only 25% indicated that she needed more trial experiences before committing to using graphic organizers in future lesson plans And in this study, it is important to note that 25% is only one teacher! Statistical analysis indicates a clear pattern of favorability among teachers who observed a lesson plan utilizing English songs It seems clear from the data above that both students and teachers alike have favorable opinions of English (both qualitatively and quantitatively) 2.4.2 Findings from interviews When the students were asked further why they were not interested in the listening lessons, many of them responded that the listening texts are too long, and that too many new vocabulary words are introduced In addition, they said that the speakers’ voice make them embarassed In response to the question about what was hard in the lesson, some of them supposed the content items were difficult; with the exception of two students reported that nothing was hard Several of them blamed the teacher’s methodology for their boredom to the listening lessons When asked further about why they like English songs, they stated that the “English songs” are visual and attractive to them Others stated that they liked English songs because they helped them understand the gist of the text and what the teacher is talking about When teachers were asked if they liked using English songs in listening lessons, three out of four of them agreed that it an effective technique to clarify the structure and the content of the listening text Only one out of four needed more testing to determine a final answer However, all four agreed that students often like something attracting so they are attracted to the design of each English song used in the lessons 11 Regarding their future use of English songs in their respective lesson plans, all four teachers responded positively - although they admitted there would be some difficulties in designing the appropriate English songs for individual listening lesson This was the concern the author expected, and which was addressed in the next chapter The author would include some recommendation when designing and applying the English songs for future listening lesson plans 2.4.3 Findings from classroom observation During the several weeks of this study, the author observed her students during three specific lessons where she utilized listening as described earlier These observations were done to confirm that their lessons were being taught according to the provided lesson plans - and to observe the participants’ behavior during the lessons As a result, the writer found that there were many advantages when teachers applied English songs to their classroom presentations These findings are described as follows: From the learners’ point of view (before English songs were introduced into the lessons), students took part in listening activities with low motivation and interest This is a serious obstacle that teachers struggle to overcome When observing lessons, the writer found that most of the students were attracted to English songs They listen to the songs attentively and completed the given tasks with improved interest They seemed to want to complete the lesson as soon as possible - and to show their answers to the teachers If they were required to work in groups, they did the tasks more quickly than when working alone When the teacher asked them to summarize or explain the information basing on the English songs, they could it well - and some of them could report in their own words This shows that English songs can facilitate important factors in listening comprehension: critical thinking, text structure awareness, and summarization However, there were some minor problems when the students were introduced to the listening texts: They used the words they hear in term of sounds, as a result, they wrote the words incorrectly There were unfamiliar souds, so they did not catch the ideas of the listening From this finding, some suggestions in the implication chapter will be given as a guide to improve the above situation so that teachers can help their students develop their listening comprehension skills effectively 2.4.4 Discussion Based on the data, the author conducted statistical analysis to discover whether the problems facing the students could be quantified or not - and solved by the accurate and appropriate use of English songs This was the foundational question that determined whether English songs could be effectively used in our classroom settings - and whether our students were benefiting or not However, the data did provide sufficient evidence to answer these and other vital academic questions First, the positive effects of incorporating English 12 songs into the listening comprehension portions of the lesson plans was reflected in students’ survey questionnaire A large majority of students claimed that English songs helped them understand both the gist and the details of the listening texts easily Moreover, they found the lessons more interesting when the teachers applied English songs to exploit the texts - instead of just doing repeated tasks such as answering boring questions, or true/false statements, etc Second, the students chosen during the study had positive attitudes towards the use of English songs in listening comprehension They also projected their awareness of the importance of developing listening skills in English The results of the teacher questionnaires and interviews were overwhelmingly positive - both for the interventions effectiveness, and the ease of implementation The positive teacher perceptions are an important finding because even if graphic organizers appear to be effective, if teachers find them burdensome or difficult to implement in their classroom, they would avoid integrating them into their classroom practices It can be said that using English songs is a realistic practice to encourage students listening comprehension On the basis of these findings, the researcher will propose appropriate recommendations in the next chapter Conclusion and implication 3.1 Conclusion This research was conducted with the aim of discovering and confirming the effects that English songs have on 10th graders’ listening comprehension at Thuong Xuan High school The study mainly dealt with the difficulties students encounter in listening lessons—and how effective English songs could be applied to encourage students’ listening comprehension skills The data analysis revealed that English songs are effective strategies which can help students involve and find interested in learning listening lessons These tools are helpful study guides for most students Several applicable English songs are presented, based on the topics of each unit in the text-book From my observation, some comprehension skills are more difficult for students to grasp and understand the listening lessons There could be various reasons for this matter The factors that hinder students’ comprehension of texts are their lack of vocabulary, and their inability to differentiate main ideas from irrelevant information Moreover, the length, the complexity and the topics of the listenings can exert a negative influence too; hence, teachers should look for solutions in order to tackle these types of problems English songs can be very effective tools to assist L2 learners in overcoming some of those difficulties For example, they can be so influential in enhancing their comprehension of listening texts As the data analysis revealed, English songs are effective tools to improve L2 learners’ understanding in listening comprehension and also increase their motivation to listen Additionally, utilizing English songs as a strategy for listening instruction has proved to be more efficient than other strategies 13 During the intervention period, the author noticed the students paid more attention to the listening and becoming more involved in the process of listening lessons The author also saw improvements in the students’ quality of work, whether it was written or through discussions By using English songs, the students were able to map out parts of the text, allowing them to concentrate on a specific part of the text, and apply that comprehension skill This strategy worked very well for the students that needed to focus on one part of the text at a time to gain full understanding Many students found more confident to summarize the listening text In conclusion, my attempt to inspire my students is to encourage my students to learn listening lessons Both in class and outside class, the data showed that the students became more focused, and they put more endeavor into practicing listening Despite these positive findings the author finds there are still a few areas that should be improved in the future 3.2 Implications for effective listening lessons As the data analysis revealed, English songs can be used as an additional technique to encourage my students to learn listening lessons English songs play an important role in representing the text structure, transforming dry text into content suitable for discussion and absorption during classroom instruction Using English songs help teachers to interest and inspire their students to want to comprehend the listening texts The students find it more interesting to work on a English songs Students will be more motivated during the lessons-perhaps creating their own English songs for the passage This improves their creativity and develops their critical thinking Another important aspect of this study is the attitudes of the students It has been shown that a reader’s attitude has a direct effect on how well he or she listen During observation times the author noticed an increase in the enthusiasm and motivation in her students utilizing English songs Their willingness to challenge themselves was rewarding for them and for their teacher Based on the research presented in this initiative, teachers should adopt the use of English songs in the listening lessons This strategy in the teaching and learning of languages will help students enhance text comprehension Allowing for the benefits of English song teachers should implement this strategy in classrooms, and train students in using it to help become independent and self-regulated learners This is especially true after long-term interventions 3.3 Some considerations and suggestions on using English songs From the researcher’s own experience - and according to the findings in the study, there are negative factors experienced by both teachers and students that affect communication Examples include time limitation, lack of equipment, and the use of a different mother tongue English songs can address these shortcomings and provide workable solutions 14 For upper secondary students, teachers should make clear instructions at the beginning of the activity Written form can be done at home after the lessons In summation, this chapter illustrated a variety of English songs that can be used to assist teachers and students to solve the problems reported in the previous chapter Together with some suggestions and considerations for using these activities, the researcher hopes to provide teachers with some basic steps that will help them select appropriate English songs for their upper secondary foreign language students Limitations: The study has some limitations: First of all, the study’s sample size was small, limited to one high school, and conducted in poor facility However, the definitive data generated by the study’s methodology in favor of the effectiveness of English songs, surely proves a larger study is worthwhile Secondly, there were still some problems that this study could not solve absolutely during the action stage: specifically, the students’ relatively poor vocabularies, and the insufficiency of their background knowledge These are larger issues that need time to realize improvement Hopefully, these aforementioned problems can be solved in the near future, in other studies, by other interested scholars And my own limitations should not be overlooked: This thesis is written within the limited academic knowledge, methodology I have after six years in the classroom Therefore, any mistakes or errors are unavoidable Yet I sincerely hope that the results of this small study will motivate others to press on with greater and greater efforts to enlighten the world of academic education as to the potential benefits of incorporating graphic organizers into the study of foreign languages This study focused on the relationship between English songs and listening comprehension; other studies can examine the relationship between English songs and other language skills and components Moreover, a replication of this study may examine the effects of student - generated English songs in comparison to teacher-generated ones on L2 learners’ listening comprehension achievements Suggestions for further studies Further research is needed in order to validate the findings of this general topic English songs are research-validated strategies that improve listening comprehension; however, more studies should be conducted on student’s improvements In summary, the author hopes that further studies will overcome all the existing limitations of this study, and help to improve the quality of English teaching and learning at Thuong Xuan High School as well as at other high schools in Viet Nam It is hoped that the author’s efforts in this study may be a great service to bettering education in Vietnam 15 XÁC NHẬN CỦA THỦ TRƯỞNG ĐƠN VỊ Thanh Hóa, ngày 15 tháng 05 năm 2017 Tơi xin cam đoan SKKN viết, không chép nội dung người khác Cầm Thị Hương REFERENCES Anderson, A & Lynch, T 1988 Listening Oxford University Press Jolly, Y (1975) The use of songs in teaching foreign languages Modern Language Journal, 59(1), 11-14 Kemmis,S., and McTaggert, R., (1990) The Action Research Planner Geelong: Deakin University Press Rogers, E (1999) Effects of an entertainment-education radio soap opera on family planning behavior in Tanzania Studies in Family Planning, 30, 193–211 Rost, M (1994) Listening London: Longman Sagor, R (2000) Guiding school improvement with action research Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development 16 APPENDICES APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (A) This questionnaire is designed for my research entitled “Using songs to encourage grade 10 schoolers to learn listening skill at Thuong Xuan high school” Your assistance in completing the items is greatly appreciated You can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the study Thank you very much for your cooperation! I PERSONAL INFORMATION Full name: (optional)……………………………………… Age: ………………………………………………………………… Gender: Male: Female:  Where you come from? Rural areas:  Urban areas:  How long have you been learning English? II QUESTIONS In your opinion, the listening lessons in your textbooks are: A normal B interesting C difficult D boring How you prepare your listening lesson before going to class? A very carefully B not carefully C carefully D without preparing What you find most difficult in the listening lessons? A the listening text is long B there are so many new words C it is difficult to understand the main idea of the listening D it is difficult to understand the details of the listening E doing listening tasks ( answer the questions, vocabulary guessing ) F the topic is difficult and I not have a background knowledge about it G others:…………………………………………………………… APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (B) This questionnaire is designed for my research entitled “Using songs to encourage grade 10 schoolers to learn listening skill at Thuong Xuan high school” Your assistance in completing the items is greatly appreciated You can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the study Thank you very much for your cooperation! I PERSONAL INFORMATION Full name: (optional)……………………………………… Age: ………………………………………………………………… Gender: Male: Female:  Where you come from? Rural areas:  Urban areas:  How long have you been learning English? II QUESTIONS Do you think that you understand the text through the English songs? A Yes B Somewhat C No After the teacher has applied English songs, how you feel about learning listening skill? No Agree Don’t agree more relaxed more concentrated remember easily what has been learned more pleasant learning lesson seems harder confused lesson seems harder others ……………………… APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS This questionnaire is designed for my research entitled “ Using graphic organizers to enhance 10th graders’ reading comprehension” Your assistance in completing the items is greatly appreciated You can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the study Thank you very much for your cooperation! I PERSONAL INFORMATION Full name: (optional)………………………………………………………… Age: ………………………………………………………………………… Gender: Male:  Female:  Where you come from? Rural areas:  Urban areas:  How long have you been teaching English? II QUESTIONS I find English songs effective with teaching listening comprehension A agree B disagree C undecided My students can understand the text easily through the English songs A agree B disagree C undecided The English songs can motivate my students to learn the listening lessons A agree B disagree C undecide APPENDIX 4: Song collections The Cup Of Life - Ricky MartinThe cup of life, this is the one Now is the time, don't ever stop Push it along, gotta be strong Push it along, right to the top The feeling in your soul is gonna take control Nothing can hold you back if you really want it I see it in your eyes, you want the cup of life Now that the day is here, gotta go and get it Do you really want it (yeah) Do you really want it (yeah) Here we go, ale, ale, ale Go, go, go, ale, ale, ale Tonight's the night we're gonna celebrate The cup of life, ale, ale, ale The cup of life, it's or die It's here it's now, turn up the lights Push it along, then let it roll Push it along, go, go, g And when you feel the heat, the world is at your feet No one can hold you down if you really want it Just steal your destiny right from the hands of fate Reach for the cup of life 'cause your name is on it Do you really want it (yeah) Do you really want it (yeah) Here we go, ale, ale, ale Go, go, go, ale, ale, ale Tonight's the night we're gonna celebrate The cup of life, ale, ale, ale We're gonna get it Do you really want it We're gonna get it Do you really want it Yeah The cup of life, this is the one Now is the time, don't ever stop Push it along, gotta be strong Push it along, right to the top The feeling in your soul is gonna take control Nothing can hold you back if you really want it I see it in your eyes, you want the cup of life Now that the day is here, gotta go and get it (yeah) Do you really want it (yeah) Do you really want it (yeah) Do you really want it (yeah) Here we go, ale, ale, ale Go, go, go, ale, ale, ale Tonight's the night we're gonna celebrate The cup of life, ale, ale, ale Un, Dos, Tres, ole, ole, ole Un, Deux, Trois, ale, ale, ale Tonight's the night we're gonna celebrate The cup of life, ale, ale, ale Ale, ale (ale, ale) Ale, ale (ale, ale) Ale, ale (ale, ale) Ale, ale, ale Ale, ale (ale, ale) Ale, ale (ale, ale) Ale, ale (ale, ale) Ale, ale, ale My heart will go on - Celine DionEvery night in my dreams I see you I feel you That is how I know you go on Far across the distance And spaces between us You have come to show you go on Near, far, wherever you are I believe that the heart does go on Once more you open the door And you're here in my heart and my heart will go on and on Love can touch us one time And last for a lifetime And never go till we're one Love was when I loved you One true time I hold to In my life we'll always go on Near, far, wherever you are I believe that the heart does go on Once more you open the door And you're here in my heart and my heart will go on and on There is some love that will not go away You're here, there's nothing I fear, And I know that my heart will go on We'll stay forever this way You are safe in my heart And my heart will go on and on Because I love you - Shakin' Stevens If I got down on my knees and I pleaded with you If I crossed a million oceans just to be with you Would you ever let me down? If I climbed the highest mountain just to hold you tight If I said that I would love you every single night Would you ever let me down? Well I'm sorry if it sounds kinda sad, it's just that Worried, so worried, that you let me down Because I love you, love you Love you, so don't let me down If I swam the longest river just to call your name If I said the way I feel for you would never change Would you ever fool around? Because I love you, love you Love you Well I'm sorry if it sounds kinda bad, just that Worried, cuz' I'm so worried, that you let me down Because I love you, love you Love you  ... entitled ? ?Using songs to encourage grade 10 schoolers to learn listening skill at Thuong Xuan high school? ?? Your assistance in completing the items is greatly appreciated You can be confident that you... identifying the topic “? ?Using songs to encourage grade 10 schoolers to learn listening skill at Thuong Xuan high school? ??, we identified two variables and two research questions The data would be... applying English songs in encouraging grade 10 schoolers to learn listening skill at Thuong Xuan high school to provide implications for English language teaching 1 .3 The population of the study