VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES -*** - TRƯƠNG THỊ DUNG DESIGNING TASK-BASED POST-LISTENING ACTIVITIES FOR TENTH-FORM STUDENTS AT LÊ VIẾT TẠO HIGH SCHOOL IN THANH HÓA (Thiết kế hoạt động sau nghe theo đường hướng giao nhiệm vụ cho học sinh khối 10 trường THPT Lê Viết Tạo, Thanh Hóa) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Hanoi - 2013 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES -*** - TRƯƠNG THỊ DUNG DESIGNING TASK-BASED POST-LISTENING ACTIVITIES FOR TENTH-FORM STUDENTS AT LÊ VIẾT TẠO HIGH SCHOOL IN THANH HÓA (Thiết kế hoạt động Sau nghe theo đường hướng giao nhiệm vụ cho học sinh khối 10 trường THPT Lê Viết Tạo, Thanh Hóa) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Nguyễn Huy Kỷ, Ph.D Hanoi – 2013 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT: Communicative Language Teaching EFL: English as a Foreign Language SLA: Second Language Acquisition TBA: Task-Based Approach TBI: Task-Based Instruction TBLL: Task-Based Language Learning TBLT: Task- Based Language Teaching iv LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS List of tables Table 1: Traditional classroom and TBLT classroom (Nunan, 2005) Table 2: The teachers‟ attitudes towards teaching task-based post-listening activities Table 3: The students‟ attitudes towards learning task-based post-listening activities Table 4: The teachers‟ opinions of the benefits of teaching task-based post-listening activities Table 5: The students‟ opinions of the benefits of learning task-based post-listening activities Table 6: The teachers‟ difficulties perceived in carrying out task-based postlistening activities Table 7: The students‟ difficulties perceived in learning task-based post-listening activities List of charts Chart 1: The teachers‟ methods to carry out post-listening stage Chart 2: Frequency of designing task-based post-listening activities Chart 3: Frequency of students‟ task completion v TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS v PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Objectives of study Research questions Methods of the study Significance of the study Scope of the study Organization of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition of listening 1.2 The roles of listening skill in language teaching and learning 1.3 Procedure of teaching listening in classroom 1.3.1 Pre-listening stage 1.3.2 While- listening stage 1.3.3 Post-listening stage 1.4 An in-depth overview of post-listening activities 1.4.1 Purpose of post-listening activities 1.4.2 Some common post-listening activities 1.4.3 Factors affecting the implementation of post-listening activities 10 1.5 Task-based Language Teaching 10 1.5.1 The nature of Task-based Language Teaching 10 1.5.2 Principles of the TBLT approach 12 vi 1.6 Definitions of a task 12 1.7 The TBLT approach in teaching listening at the post-listening stage 13 1.8 Designing of task-based post-listening activities 13 1.8.1 Significance of designing task-based post-listening activities 13 1.8.2 Principles for designing task-based post-listening activities 15 1.9 Summary 15 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 16 2.1 The context for the research 16 2.1.1 The teachers 16 2.1.2 The students 16 2.1.3 The textbook: Tiếng Anh 10 17 2.2 The participants 17 2.3 Data collection instruments 17 2.3.1 Questionnaires 18 2.3.2 Class observations 18 2.3.3 Interviews 18 2.4 Data collection procedures 19 2.5 Data analysis procedures 20 2.5.1 Analysis of answers to questionnaires 20 2.5.2 Analysis of observation reports 20 2.5.3 Analysis of results from interviews 21 2.6 Summary 21 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 22 3.1 The teachers and students‟ attitudes towards teaching and learning task-based post-listening activities 22 3.1.1 The teachers‟ attitudes 22 3.1.2 The students‟ attitudes 23 3.2 Frequency of teaching and learning task-based post-listening activities and typical post-listening activities 24 vii 3.2.1 Frequency of teaching task-based post-listening activities 24 3.2.2 Frequency of learning task-based post-listening activities 26 3.3 The benefits of teaching and learning task-based post-listening activities 27 3.3.1 The teachers‟ opinions 27 3.3.2 The students‟ opinions 28 3.4 The difficulties of teaching and learning task-based post-listening activities28 3.4.1 The teachers‟ opinions 28 3.4.2 The students‟ opinions 29 3.5 Summary 31 CHAPTER 4:DESIGNING TASK-BASED POST-LISTENING ACTIVITIES 32 4.1 Design of task-based post-listening activities 32 4.1.1 Speaking activity 32 4.1.2 Reading activity 33 4.1.3 Writing activity 33 4.1.4 Language focus 34 4.2 Evaluation of effectiveness of task-based post-listening activities 34 4.2.1 Results from class observations 34 4.2.2 Results from interviews 35 4.3 Summary 37 PART C: CONCLUSION 38 Recapitulation of major findings 38 Psychological Implications 38 Limitations of the study 39 Suggestions for further studies 40 REFERENCES 41 APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS I APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (Vietnamese version) III APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (English version) V APPENDIX 4:SAMPLES OF TASK-BASED POST-LISTENING ACTIVITIES VII viii APPENDIX 5: CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET XII APPENDIX 6: CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET XIII APPENDIX 7: CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET XIV APPENDIX 8: CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET XV APPENDIX 9: CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET XVI APPENDIX 10: CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET XVII APPENDIX 11: QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEWS XVIII APPENDIX 12: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT XIX ix PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale English as a foreign language has become one of the integral and compulsory subjects of our secondary school‟s curriculum so far The ultimate goal of teaching and learning English is learners‟ ability to use English for communicative purposes In an attempt to attain this aim, the implementation of the new textbook among high schools had made a remarkable change in English teaching and learning method Besides learning basic English grammar and pronunciation, students have to master the four English macroskills: listening, speaking, reading and writing Among these skills, listening is considered as the most difficult one but makes a significant contribution to the process of language acquisition In the new textbook 10, the listening lesson parallels three parts: Before you listen, While you listen and After you listen corresponding with three stages of listening section: pre-, while- and post-listening Each stage covers one different aim and activities The fact indicates that not all the teachers can cover the three stages of a listening class, most notably post-listening stage They often spend most time on while-listening in order to make students to listen to the text to complete the tasks given in text book However, post-listening activities are important because they extend students‟ listening skill Well-planned post-listening activities offer students opportunities to connect what they have heard to their own ideas and experiences, and encourage interpretive and critical listening and reflective thinking As well, post-listening activities provide opportunities for teachers to assess and check students‟ comprehension, and clarify their understandings; to extend comprehension beyond the literal level to the interpretive and critical levels Besides the textbook Tiếng Anh 10 uses curriculum and syllabus with many designed-tasks so Task-based language teaching is appropriate to the extent that tasks serves as the means for implementing a methodological procedure It is more student-centered, allows for more meaningful communication and often provides for practical extra-linguistic skill building The above-mentioned facts honestly generate strong motivation in the researcher to conduct a study titled “Designing task-based post-listening activities for tenth-form students at Lê Viết Tạo high school in Thanh Hóa” She desires to take a closer look into current situation of teaching and learning task-based postlistening stage, and then suggests some task-based post-listening activities with the hope of promoting the effectiveness of teaching and learning at this stage Objectives of study This study sets out to achieve the following objectives:  To investigate the teachers and students‟ attitudes towards teaching and learning task-based post-listening activities  To find out benefits and difficulties teachers and students encounter in teaching and learning these activities  To propose task-based post-listening activities to help enhance students‟ learning as well as better teaching at this stage Evaluation of effectiveness of these activities was given Research questions In order to achieve the above mentioned objectives, the following research questions are raised:  What are the teachers and students‟ attitudes towards teaching and learning task-based post-listening activities?  What are benefits and difficulties teachers and students encounter in teaching and learning task-based post-listening activities?  Which task-based post-listening activities would be designed and how effective were these activities to teaching and learning at the post-listening stage? Methods of the study To achieve the objectives stated, apart from descriptive, analysis, synthesis method, both qualitative and quantitative methods were mainly used The interviews, questionnaires and class observations will be used to collect data for the analysis of the research Level of preference Activities Very Interested interested Not very Not interested interested at all Giving personal opinions Discussing in group Retelling the main ideas Summary completion Reading the related text Language focus (pronunciation and grammar) Other ideas …………………………………… How often you accomplish task-based post-listening activities? A Often B Sometimes C Never In your opinions, what benefits you get in learning task-based postlistening activities? A To increase interests and motivation in learning (as compared with other approaches) B To be highly motivated and less anxious when participating in the task-based post-listening activities C To be not motivated in the post-listening activities with TBLT approach What difficulties you have in learning task-based post-listening activities? A Do not have enough time to complete the post-listening tasks B Be not get used to the new learning method (TBLT approach) C Do not get enough help from the teacher D Others: ………………………………………………………………………… Thanks for your help! - VI APPENDIX 4: SAMPLES OF TASK-BASED POST-LISTENING ACTIVITIES SAMPLE 1: Lesson: Unit 12 – Music: Listening (page: 128) Text book: Tiếng Anh 10 Objective: Students will be able to practice speaking skill through group discussion Allotted time: minutes Activity: After listening to the conversation between two speakers about Van Cao‟s music, the teacher asks students to work in groups of four discussing typical features of Van Cao‟ music and his famous songs SAMPLE 2: Lesson: Unit 14 – The World Cup: Listening (page 148) Text book: Tiếng Anh 10 Objective: Students will be able to practice speaking skill through giving personal opinions Allotted time: 10 minutes Activity: Basing on the listening text about the Pele‟, a famous Brazilian football player, the teacher asks students to work in pairs to talk each other about their own favorite football players Then some of the students will present their own ideas in front of the class SAMPLE 3: Lesson: Unit 15 – Cities: Listening (page 161-162) Text book: Tiếng Anh 10 Objective: Students will be able to practice speaking skill through retelling the main ideas Allotted time: 10 minutes VII Activity: The teacher gets students to work in pairs and distribute the following cards to each pair One uses the prompts to ask and the other based on the main ideas of the listening text to answer CARD A CARD B Ask your American friend about the Statue Tell your Vietnamese friend about of Liberty Ask about: Statue of Liberty, using the main  When it was built ideas from the listening text  Where it is  What its formal name is  What its typical features are (height, weight, material, the base)  What time it opens  Why it is considered a symbol of freedom Add more questions if necessary SAMPLE 4: Lesson: Unit 16– Historical Places: Listening (page 174) Text book: Tiếng Anh 10 Objective: Students will be able to practice speaking skill through role-play Allotted time: minutes Activity: The teacher creates a real-life situation in which a student acts as a tourist guide He or she will introduce the ancient town of Hoi An to visitors Students, as playing the role of the visitors, will ask her/him about information of Hoi An, which have presented in the listening text as follows: - its location and roles in the past - its attractive characteristics at present - its main tourist attractions and their features VIII SAMPLE 5: Lesson: Unit 10- Conservation: Listening (page 108) Text book: Tiếng Anh 10 Objective: Students will be able to practice reading skill through reading the text of related topic Allotted time: minutes Activity: The teacher asks students to read the text about station fire and choose the best answer Read the passage Then choose the best answers for the questions below: There is a small fire station in town At this station, the firefighters are volunteers That means they work for free The fire station gets some money from the government to take care of the building and the fire truck But the fire station has a problem Last winter, a pipe in the fire station froze Then it burst Water went everywhere There is a lot of damage Now the building cannot be used What is worse, the fire station does not have enough money for the repairs needed to fix the damage The people in town are worried about what will happen if there is a fire and no working fire station But they will figure out a way to solve the problem They always do! Questions: 1) The main problem in the town is that A the firefighters not make any money B a pipe in the fire station froze last winter C people cannot fix the fire station D people in town are worried 2) According to the author, the water went everywhere because the pipe A froze B burst C leaked D broke 3) In this sentence, the phrase “solve the problem” most likely means: A get more money B fix the fire station C make sure no fires happen D make sure no pipes freeze 4) The feeling at the end of the passage can best be described as A hopeful B worried C upset D excited 5) Based on information in the passage, it can be understood that the people in town will be most likely to A give money to the firefighters B build a new fire station C help fix the fire station themselves D ask the firefighters to work for free IX SAMPLE 6: Lesson: Unit 11- National Park : Listening (page 116) Text book: Tiếng Anh 10 Objective: Students will be able to practice writing skill through summary completion Allotted time: minutes Activity: The teacher asks students to complete a summary of listening passage about Cuc Phuong the listening passage by filling each blank with a Complete the summary of National Park word or phrase given in the box below: Officially flora fauna endangered located Cuc Phuong, the first national park in Vietnam, was … opened in 1960 It is …… 160km south west of Hanoi spanning Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa provinces The 200 square kilometer park attracts tourists and scientists alike Many come to see work being done to protect …… species According to scientists, there are about 2000 different species of ……and 450 species of ……… SAMPLE 7: Lesson: Unit 9- Undersea World: Listening (page 99) Text book: Tiếng Anh 10 Objective: Students will be able to practice writing skill through writing a small paragraph summarizing the listening text Allotted time: minutes Activity: The teacher asks students to write a paragraph (about 80-100 words) talking about whales, using the following cues: - their length and weight - their feeding grounds and food - the reasons for protecting whales X SAMPLE 8: Lesson: Unit 13- Films and Cinema: Listening (page 137) Text book: Tiếng Anh 10 Objective: Students will be able to focus on language through practicing pronunciation Allotted time: minutes Activity: - First of all, the teacher provides students with different ways of pronunciation of the letter “/ f / - / v /”, which appears in a lot of words in the listening passage - The teacher gives exercises to help students consolidate the target language items Pronounce the words whose underlined part below: fan van fast vast fat vat ferry very Fife five fine vine gift give leaf leave off of XI APPENDIX 5: CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET Date of observation: Class: School: Lesson: Text book: Number of students: Post-listening stage Type of activity Ways of carrying out activity Teacher‟s role Students‟ participation Effectiveness Options Speaking Group discussion activities Giving personal opinions Retelling the main ideas Role-play Reading activity Writing Summary completion activities Writing a paragraph summarizing the listening text Language focus Others Individual work Pair work Group work Whole class Controller Guider All students Many students Some students None Very effective Effective Not effective XII Observed class APPENDIX 6: CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET Date: February 18th , 2013 Class: 10I School: Lê Viết Tạo High School Lesson: Unit 10 – Conservation: Listening Text book: Tiếng Anh 10 Number of students: Post-listening stage Type of activity Ways of carrying out activity Teacher‟s role Students‟ participation Effectiveness 47 Options Speaking Group discussion activities Giving personal opinions Retelling the main ideas Role-play Reading activity (Reading a text) Writing Summary completion activities Writing a paragraph summarizing the listening text Language focus Others Individual work Pair work Group work Whole class Controller Guider All students Many students Some students None Very effective Effective Not effective XIII Observed class x x x x x x APPENDIX 7: CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET Date: March 1st , 2013 Class: 10H Lesson: Unit 11– National Park: Listening School: Lê Viết Tạo High School Text book: Tiếng Anh 10 Number of students: 43 Post-listening stage Options Speaking Group discussion activities Giving personal opinions Retelling the main ideas Role-play Reading activity Type of activity Writing Summary completion activities Writing a paragraph summarizing the listening text Language focus Others Individual work Ways of carrying out Pair work activity Group work Whole class Controller Teacher‟s role Guider All students Many students Students‟ participation Some students None Very effective Effectiveness Effective Not effective XIV Observed class x x x x x x x APPENDIX 8: CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET Date: March 12th, 2013 Class: 10H Lesson: Unit 12– Music: Listening School: Lê Viết Tạo High School Text book: Tiếng Anh 10 Number of students: 43 Post-listening stage Type of activity Ways of carrying out activity Teacher‟s role Students‟ participation Effectiveness Options Speaking Group discussion activities Giving personal opinions Retelling the main ideas Role-play Reading activity Writing Summary completion activities Writing a paragraph summarizing the listening text Language focus Others Individual work Pair work Group work Whole class Controller Instructor & Guider Participant All students Many students (two third of students) Some students None Very effective Effective Not effective XV Observed class x x x x x x APPENDIX 9: CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET Date: April 5th, 2013 Class: 10I Lesson: Unit 14 – The World Cup: Listening School: Lê Viết Tạo High School Text book: Tiếng Anh 10 Number of students: 47 Post-listening stage Options Speaking Group discussion activities Giving personal opinions Retelling the main ideas Role-play Reading activity Type of activity Writing Summary completion activities Writing a paragraph summarizing the listening text Language focus Others Individual work Ways of carrying out Pair work activity Group work Whole class Controller Teacher‟s role Instructor & Guider All students Many students Students‟ participation Some students None Very effective Effectiveness Effective Not effective XVI Observed class x x x x x APPENDIX 10: CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET Date: April 15th, 2013 Class: 10H Lesson: Unit 16– Historical Places: Listening School: Lê Viết Tạo High School Text book: Tiếng Anh 10 Number of students: 43 Post-listening stage Options Speaking Group discussion activities Giving personal opinions Retelling the main ideas Role-play Reading activity Type of activity Writing Summary completion activities Writing a paragraph summarizing the listening text Language focus Others Individual work Ways of carrying out Pair work activity Group work Whole class Controller Teacher‟s role Instructor & Guider Participant All students Many students Students‟ participation Some students None Very effective Effectiveness Effective Not effective XVII Observed class x x x x x x APPENDIX 11: QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEWS A Questions for students *** English version Do you like learning task-based post- listening activities that your teacher has designed? What you think about these activities? Are they effective? What activity you like learning best? Why? Do you think the task-based post-listening activities can help you learn the poststage better? In comparison with the post-listening activities given in the text book, are the task-based post-listening activities, which your teacher has designed, more interesting and suitable with your ability? *** Vietnamese version Em có thích học hoạt động sau nghe mà giáo viên thiết kế không? Cảm nhận em hoạt động này? Hiệu hay không? Hoạt động mà em thích học nhất? Vì sao? Theo em, hoat động sau nghe giáo viên thiết kế yêu cầu em thực có giúp em học tốt không? So với hoạt động sau nghe có sách giáo khoa hoạt động giáo viên thiết kế yêu cầu em thực khoảng thời gian định có hay phù hợp với khả em không? B Questions for teachers How you evaluate task-based post-listening activities which have been designed? Do you think whether these activities are suitable with students‟ proficiency of English or not? Are task-based post-listening activities which have been designed more interesting than those given in the textbook? XVIII APPENDIX 12: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT A Results from interviews with students Em có thích học hoạt động sau nghe mà giáo viên thiết kế khơng? S1: Em thích số hoạt động sau nghe mà giáo đưa đóng vai nhân vật, hay thảo luận nhóm Thơng qua hoạt động em thấy tự tin chút trình bày ý kiến trước lớp S2: Em thấy hào hứng thoải mái sử dụng tiếng Anh để thảo luận hồn thành nhiệm vụ mà khơng sợ sai hay xấu hổ Cảm nhận em hoạt động này? Hiệu hay không? S1: Đối với em, hoạt động hiệu Khơng q khó em hồn thành hoạt động sau nghe mà cô giáo giao S2: Các hoạt động giúp em cải thiện kĩ nói Đây kĩ mà em học chưa tốt Tuy nhiên, với riêng em, em thấy hoạt động cô giáo thiết kế hiệu học, hoạt động đóng vai thảo luận nhóm Hoạt động mà em thích học nhất? Vì sao? S1: Em thích kĩ viết nên em thích hoạt động viết có gợi ý giáo S2: Hoạt động đóng vai nhân vật - làm hướng dẫn viên du lịch unit 16- làm em thích thú Em có hội để thực hành kĩ nói, làm hướng dẫn viên thật Đôi em chưa kịp nắm bắt hết thông tin nghe, em xem lại nội dung task phần While you listen để làm phần After you listen Theo em, việc học hoat động sau nghe giáo viên thiết kế yêu cầu em thực có giúp em học tốt khơng? S1: Có Em thấy hứng thú tăng thêm động lực để học cá hoạt động sau nghe Do em thấy có nhiều tiến S2: Em thấy kỹ nói em tiến lên nhiều, ngày trước em ý ghi tìm cách trốn tránh để giáo khơng gọi trả lời Nhưng em thấy tự tin đưa ý kiến trình bày trước lớp XIX So với hoạt động sau nghe có sách giáo khoa hoạt động giáo viên thiết kế yêu cầu em thực khoảng thời gian định có hay phù hợp với khả em không? S1: Hoạt động cô giáo thiết kế đa dạng, sinh động kích thích chúng em tham gia thực nhiều Em hoàn thành hết hoạt động mà cô giáo giao khoảng thời gian qui định S2: Một số hoạt động sau nghe mà giáo thiết kế khơng có sách giáo khoa Ví dụ: hoạt động đóng vai, hoạt động đọc khố có chủ đề liên quan với chủ đề nghe hiểu, ôn tập ngữ pháp phát âm Tuy nhiên, hoạt động khác kể lại ý nghe, đưa ý kiến cá nhân em chưa thực làm tốt B Results from interviews with teacher How you evaluate task-based post-listening activities which have been designed? T1: In general, the task-based post-listening activities, which have been designed, are various, effective and they enhance many students to participate in The atmosphere in classes is warmed-up T2: The post-listening activities are well-prepared Do you think whethere these activities are suitable with students’ proficiency of English or not? T1: These activities are suitable with many students‟ level of English They are not too difficult, and it took them enough time to complete the tasks T2: Several students in the last rows of desks seem not to pay attention to the lesson That means these activities not motivate them Are task-based post-listening activities which have been designed more interesting than those given in the textbook? T1: Yes Some of these activities such as role-play, group discussion, reading a text are more interesting T2: Some post-listening activities designed are not included in the textbook Students will feel more eager to carry out XX ... TENTH-FORM STUDENTS AT LÊ VIẾT TẠO HIGH SCHOOL IN THANH HÓA (Thiết kế hoạt động Sau nghe theo đường hướng giao nhiệm vụ cho học sinh khối 10 trường THPT Lê Viết Tạo, Thanh Hóa) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME... carried out at Lê Viết Tạo High School Data was collected from 90 grade 10 students in two classes (10H, 10I) and teachers of English at Lê Viết Tạo High School The reason for choosing the students... study was conducted at Lê Viết Tạo High School, Thanh Hóa Province, where the researcher is currently teaching English My school was established in 2001 with 26 classes in this school currently: ten