VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI College of Foreign Languages Post-Graduate DEPARTMENT    ĐẶNG NGHIÊM THU NGA The Use of Video-Assisted Instruction for Second-Year English-Majors at THE People’s Security Academy in Listening Class – An Action Research (Nghiên cứu hành động tác động việc dạy học có hỗ trợ băng hình sinh viên chuyên ngữ năm thứ hai Học viện An ninh nhân dân học nghe) Field : English Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Course: K15 MA.Minor Thesis Supervisor: ĐỖ TUẤN MINH, Ph.D Hanoi, September 2009 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements i Abstract ii Table of contents iv List of figures, tables and charts vii List of Abbreviations viii Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Rationale of the study 1.2 Significance of the study 1.3 Aims of the study 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Design of the study Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Definition and benefits of using video in language classroom 2.2 Theories of listening comprehension 10 2.2.1 Introduction and definitions of listening comprehension 10 2.2.2 Listening processes 11 2.2.3 Listening in language learning and teaching 13 2.3 The application of video in language teaching 14 2.4 Previous studies and fitness of the present study into the field 16 Chapter 3: Methodology 18 3.1 The context of teaching and learning listening skills to English majors in the PSA 18 3.2 Participants 19 3.2.1 Students 19 3.2.2 Teachers 20 3.3 Problem formulation 21 3.4 Classroom setting 23 v 3.5 Instruments 24 3.5.1 Interviews 24 3.5.2 Questionnaires 24 3.5.3 Classroom observation checklist 25 3.5.4 Achievement tests 26 3.6 Teaching procedure 27 3.7 A description of the Research Process 28 3.8 Plan of action 29 3.9 Data collection procedure 31 3.10 Data analysis procedure 32 Chapter 4: Results and Evaluation 34 4.1 Teachers’ perception and evaluation toward students’ listening competence and video-assisted instruction 34 4.1.1 Teachers’ evaluation toward students’ listening competence 34 4.1.2 Teachers’ perception of video-assisted instruction 34 4.1.3 Teachers’ evaluation toward video-assisted instruction 35 4.1.4 Teachers’ perception of difficulties in teaching listening using video 36 4.2 Reflection on the implementation of action plan in the first half of the second semester 37 4.2.1 Students’ performance in the first half of the second semester 37 4.2.2 Teacher-researcher’s self-evaluation toward the teaching process and students’ attitude in the first half of the second semester 39 4.3 Modifications 40 4.4 Final reflection and reporting the outcomes 42 4.4.1 Students’ initial assessment on their listening skill 42 4.4.2 Changes in students’ attitude toward learning in video-assisted instruction 43 4.4.3 Students’ assessment on the role of video-assisted instruction 45 4.4.4 Changes in students’ perceived learning and performance 46 vi Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion 50 5.1 Major findings and discussion of the research 50 5.2 Limitations of the research 52 5.3 Suggestion for further studies 53 References 54 Appendices I Appendix 1: Interviews for teachers I Appendix 2: Questionnaires for students III Appendix 3: Findings from interviews .XI Appendix 4: Classroom Observation Checklist XIX Appendix 5: Sample of lesson plan using video XXIII vii LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS Tables Table 1: Classroom observation checklist before and after mid-term test Figures Figure 1: Comparison between the listening result of the first semester and that of mid-term test in the second semester Figure 2: Most favourite video programs Figure 3: Most favourite video-assisted classroom activities Figure 4: Change in percentage of students’ retention after using video Figure 5: Change in percentage of students’ comprehension after using video Pie charts Chart 1: Final listening mark of second-year English majors in the first semester Chart 2: Result of mid-term listening test using video Chart 3: Students’ assessment on the importance of video-assisted instruction Chart 4: Students' assessment on the necessity of video-assisted instruction Chart 5: Result of final test of second semester viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS The PSA: The People’s Security Academy L1: first language L2: second language HULIS: Hanoi University of Language and International Studies IT: Information Technology Ss: Students ESP: English for special purpose CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study Technology is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s classrooms in Vietnam and a part of the classroom as an instructional and research aid for teachers and students However, there are not many studies on the effect that technology such as video or Internet in the classroom has on students’ attitudes towards learning There are a lesser number of studies on the effect of video to support teaching and learning listening skill in the classroom Many questions have arisen from the use of technology in general and video-assisted instruction in particular in listening class but so far without satisfactory answers Do students’ attitudes about learning change when using video in the classroom? Does it motivate students to learn more? Does it affect a student’s academic listening comprehension in the classroom? What impacts technology in general and video in particular have on a student, when they view the challenges of a listening lesson? How should video-assisted instruction be designed and used in listening class? In the process of acquiring foreign language in the light of Communicative Approach, listening seems to be the most challenging for learners at the People’s Security Academy Second language (L2) listening comprehension is a complex process, crucial in the development of second language competence Knowing the context of a listening text and the purpose for listening greatly reduces the burden of comprehension However, students still often have difficulty in comprehension and lack concentration as well as attraction in listening class They try hard to hear every single word, to interpret any minutiae of spoken English and totally collapse at the end Such a fact shows the necessity and an urgency to provide students with a new and effective listening setting Video materials have long been used in the classroom as an important tool for teaching listening and speaking in the world In recent years, combining video with IT – information technology (computer-based streaming audio and video) – is being developed It allows teachers to transport virtually the target language environment into the classroom so that live or prerecorded news, music, sports from all over the world can be viewed by students in real time The main advantage of using video as a technology for language teaching is considered to be its ability to present and immerse learners into complete communicative situations (Lonergan, 1984) Another greatest advantage is the ability of video to cover non-verbal aspects of communication and its cross-cultural comparison potential (Stempleski & Tomalin, 1990) It may be said that video is the best means of demonstrating native speakers’ natural fluent communication and their natural behavior in the process of communication Learners can not only hear how native speakers speak, they can observe and learn how they behave when speaking It also gives materials for oral communication because learners may brainstorm and discuss what they have seen and heard, role-play it, enact it, develop and transform it in their own speaking, etc They can that in pair intercourse, small group communication, whole-class discussions actively involving everyone present in the classroom The observed native-speakers’ behavior may be imitated in such communication so that cultural components of communicative competence are acquired together with its linguistic components In this study, the researcher would like to investigate the use of video-assisted instruction for second-year English majors at the PSA in listening class This study will describe an action research project for video-assisted instruction as well as collaborative teaching and learning It also gives an account of how the teacher-researcher reflected on her teaching and modified her teaching methods, followed by a description of the changes in students’ listening comprehension and their attitudes toward learning listening skill compared with traditional audio-only version 1.2 Significance of the study Although listening skill has always been given a significant position in language teaching, the questions of how to teach and learn listening skill effectively often pose great problems to both teachers and students This study primarily explores how the use of video-assisted instruction affects second-year English majors at the PSA in listening class It, therefore, serves as a valuable resource for teachers to gain a deep insight into the practice of video-assisted instruction at the target university More importantly, an inventory of video-assisted instruction as well as practical evaluation and modifications in teaching methods aims at assisting teachers to effectively teach listening skill to English majors Placing second-year English majors at the center of analysis, the study intends to help the target population to succeed in improving listening comprehension On a larger scale, the study can be beneficial to teachers of English and English majors at other universities, who may undergo the same context of teaching and learning this skill 1.3 Aims of the study The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of video-assisted instruction on enhancing second-year English-major students’ learning at the PSA in listening class Based on the findings, an action plan is implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of this instruction as well as the students’ improvement in their listening comprehension To achieve this purpose of the study, the following research questions are addressed: Research Question 1: How does video-assisted instruction affect students’ learning (i.e comprehension and retention) in listening lessons? Research Question 2: Does the use of video in teaching listening change the attitude of second-year English-majors toward learning listening skill? Research Question 3: Do students’ learning (i.e comprehension and retention) and motivation (i.e., attention and satisfaction) in video-assisted instruction differ from that in traditional audio-only instruction? Research Question 4: Does the use of video in listening class improve students’ listening competence? 1.4 Scope of the study The research limits its scope to listening skill and to its participants of second-year English-majors of intermediate level at the People’s Security Academy Of four skills of language teaching, I choose listening skill to deal with as I have tried out some listening lessons using video and I have found that listening in the classroom derived from the use of video is very interesting and hopeful Also, I realize changes in my students’ attitudes toward learning listening skill Furthermore, this issue in language teaching has not been exploited sufficiently so far The choice of participants is simply a matter of convenience as I am teaching listening for second-year English-majors at the People’s Security Academy at the moment Personally, I suppose that students at this level are more suitable for the application of this teaching method Hence, audio-visual lessons are very demanding to most students, and require them relevant background knowledge to comprehend The materials for my listening lessons are collected from several sources such as movies, films, news, documentaries or video clips downloaded from the Internet However, as Underwood (1989) pointed out that what determines the difficulty of a teaching material is not just the material itself but also what the students are asked to with it, the selection of authentic materials is still limited due to several reasons Firstly, the preparation for the lessons is very time-consuming Secondly, teachers always find it difficult to design appropriate exercises and tasks for their students Finally, not all teachers are competent in IT (information technology) so that they can cut, record, edit the video and apply it into their listening lessons 1.5 Design of the study The thesis is divided into six parts: Chapter introduces the research problem and rationale of the study It also states the significance, aims, scope and methods of the study Chapter not only provides an overview of background to the study, including key concepts and theories relating to the research topic but also discusses previous studies of this field to reveal the research gap which needs filling In addition, the chapter enlarges upon the context of teaching and learning listening skill at the PSA and exposes the problem formulation Chapter presents the methodology applied in the study including participants, instrumentation, research process and plan of action In addition, the procedure of data collection is also embraced Chapter presents the results of the research and data analysis, from which major findings are revealed and discussed Additionally, the reflection of the action plan is implemented Chapter reviews the findings and indicates some limitations of the study Also, discussion and suggestions for further study are put forward XXIII APPENDIX SAMPLE OF A LESSON PLAN USING VIDEO LISTENING Skill Period + (90 minutes) Topic: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION Source: the lesson is designed based on the Advanced Listening Comprehension by P.Dunkel & F.Pialorsi Level: Intermediate Aims: The purpose of this lesson is to Language point: - provide students with some vocabulary relating to crime scene investigation - enhance students’ learning and motivation by using real world context - improve students’ listening comprehension and retention - provide students with structures to make speculations structures to make speculations and words relating to crime scene and crime scene investigation (footprints, blood stain, etc) Methodology: Teacher uses video in listening lesson to increase students’ interest and to improve students’ listening comprehension as well as retention XXIV Teaching procedure Time Content Activities Teacher’s Students’ 1st period minutes Stabilizing the - Have free talks with the students - Have free talks with the teachers class minutes Warm up - Show the some pictures of crime scenes and ask if students - try to guess what the pictures are know what they are about about - Ask them to explain the word “crime scene” - Explain the word “crime scene” if (If they not know the word, explain that crime scene is a they know it If not, try to get the real or imagined place where the crime happened.) meaning from the explanation 20’ Pre-listening stage 3’ Brainstorming - Ask students to think about as many words relating to - Make a list of words vocabulary crime scenes as possible Teacher can give some suggestions such as: * crime scene investigation * blood stain teacher’s XXV * footprints * fingerprints * blood specimen 3’ Introducing film the - show a poster of the film titled “The bone collector” and - Ss look at the picture and answer T’s question ask if students have ever heard of it (If any student knows, ask him/her to talk about what he/she knows) - Show the slide: THE PLOT and explain briefly the content of the film (T explains some new words in the plot and - Listen to T introduces the main actor and actress in the film) 4’ Introduce words structures key - show the slides which provide new words in the video - try to guess the meaning when T and (some of the words are explained by words together with shows the picture illustrating the illustrations Therefore, T can give the picture first and then new word ask students to guess the meaning before explaining by words) - Tell the students that they have to make speculations about - Look at the slides and be aware the present Show the slides to give them the following that they must use these expressions structures to help: to make speculations XXVI If you think you know what í If you think you don’t know, happening, use: use: must be S can (not) be V-ing could be S may be V-ing might be 5’ Practice I’m certain…… I’m almost certain…… It must be…… I think it’s possible…… It could be… It may be… I think it’s possible…… (but a little less possible than “may”) It might be… I think it’s nearly impossible… I think it’s impossible…… It can’t be… Jack is not in his office (may/might) - the task and check their I’m not sure whether I can lend you any money answers (may not) You’ve been travelling all day (must) You’ve only just had dinner (can’t) XXVII Carol knows a lot about films (must) Answer: He may/might be out for having lunch (= Perhaps, he is having lunch.) I may not have enough money (=Perhaps, I don’t have enough) You must be tired (=I’m sure that you are tired) You can’t be hungry already (= It’s impossible that you are hungry.) She must go to the cinema a lot (=I’m sure that she goes to the cinema a lot) While-listening stage 5’ The 1st part set the context - show the slide CASE 1: THE VICTIMS and play the first part of the video (3’) Ss will see the context in which the 12’ The 2nd part - read and watch the video victims were kidnapped Pausing-predicting - play the video (5’), pause at the scene when the train is - watch and guess what happens XXVIII coming and ask Ss: next The answer may vary * What you think Donaghy is going to when she Eg: She may stop the train She might run away / call for help sees the train coming? She could take the evidence away Pausing-describing - play the video, pause at the scene when Donaghy is - watch and answer T’s questions examining the crime scene and ask Ss: The answer may vary * What you see on the crime scene? (a hand was exposed on the ground with a wedding ring on the index finger, an iron bolt, some powder, a piece of newspaper…) * Why you think Donaghy asks the boy to buy her a Eg: - She must take some photos of the cardboard camera? (To take some photos of the crime crime scene - It must be raining scene before it started to rain) Pausing-predicting - play the video, pause at the scene when Donaghy put a - watch and answer T’s question dollar bill next to the shoe print and ask Ss: The answer may vary * Why did Donaghy put a dollar bill beside the shoe Eg: print? (explain in the later part of the video) - She might make it clearer - It could be clearer for her to see end of the 1st period end of the 1st period end of the 1st period XXIX 10 minutes The 3rd part - watch the video and answer T’s Answering Qs and - play the video (5’) and ask Ss: questions The answers can vary predicting the story * What is Lincoln Rhyme’s initial speculation about the murder? (He believed that it was only a ransom) * Why did Rhyme pay special attention to the number “119”? (He thought that this number had something relating to the murderer or that the murderer was trying to tell him something, therefore he then asked Thelma what the date of that day was) Vision off on-sound - play the video once again without sound T can pause at - try to remember what Rhymes was the scene when Rhyme was studying the photos of the crime saying Ss focus on the scene when Rhyme was studying the photos of scene and ask Ss to remember what he said the crime scene (torn book page) 15 minutes The 4th part watching-listening - play the video (6’) and ask Ss to choose the best answer - watch the video and the task comprehension (Ss can work in pairs) Answer: 1.b b a c b - play the video once again and ask Ss to decide whether the - watch the video and the task statements are true or false (Ss can work in pairs) Donaghy called Rhyme the textbook guy (T) XXX Rhyme thought Donaghy had a natural instinct for forensics (T) There is always asbestos at the rail track (F) Rhyme was convinced that the crime scenehad been staged (T) Donaghy didn’t want to work with Rhyme because she thought it was not her area (T) Post-listening 20’ 5’ Introducing - show the slide which provides students with structures to - work in pair structures make speculations about what happened a May/Might (not) + have + P2 These modal perfects are used to make speculations about past actions (or past possibilities)  Use “Might” (not “May”) when the matter was never put to the test Eg: Perhaps we should have taken the other road It might have been quicker (but we didn’t take that road)  Use “Might” when the main verb is in a past tense Eg; He said that she might have missed the plane b Can/Could (not) + have + P2 XXXI These modal perfects express a past ability  Use “could” when the action was not performed Eg: I could have lent you the money Why didn’t you ask me? (you did not ask me so I did not lend you)  Use “could” when we not know if it was performed or not Eg: The money has disappeared Who could have taken it? c Must (not) + have + P2 These modal perfect expresses a past certainty Eg: They had a row yesterday They must have broken their dishes and plates again (It was certain that they had broken their dishes and plates) Discussion 15’ - show the diagram of crime scenes and ask Ss to work in pair and discuss it Role-play - ask Ss to role-play forensic police who are examining the - role-play in the situation and give crime scene Based on the diagram of the crime scene, T out their prediction which may asks Ss to make speculations about what happened T can vary A spokesperson of a group call two or three groups to report the results of the crime talks about his/her speculations scene examination XXXII HANDOUT FOR LISTENING LESSON “CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION” A Predicting the story What you think Donaghy is going to when she sees the train coming? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Why you think Donaghy asks the boy to buy her a cardboard camera? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Why you think Donaghy puts a dollar bill beside the footprint? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… What is Lincoln Rhyme’s initial speculation about the murder? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Why you think Rhyme pays special attention to the number “119”? B Choose the best answer The killer was going to kill Mrs.Rubin, his victim at… a a.m, Nov 9th b a.m, Nov 11th c p.m, Nov 9th d p.m, Nov 11th XXXIII Things showing the date and time when the murderer was going to kill his victim are a A book page & a newspaper b A torn book page and a piece of newspaper c A book and a newspaper Donaghy put a dollar bill beside the footprints to………… a establish scale b see it clearly c make a comparison The size of the killer’s footprints is a b c 10 Rhyme believed that the iron bolt was removed from somewhere else and placed on the track because of the decaying oxidation on……… a the thread b the head c the thread and the head C Decide whether the following statements are true or false Donaghy called Rhyme the textbook guy ……………… Rhyme thought Donaghy had a natural instinct for forensics ……………… There is always asbestos at the rail track ……………… XXXIV Rhyme was convinced that the crime scene had been staged ……………… Donaghy didn’t want to work with Rhyme because she thought it was not her area ……………… D Post-listening activities Work in pair and discuss the following diagrams of crime scenes Use the following structures to make speculations about what happened a May/Might (not) + have + P2 These modal perfects are used to make speculations about past actions (or past possibilities)  Use “Might” (not “May”) when the matter was never put to the test Eg: Perhaps we should have taken the other road It might have been quicker (but we didn’t take that road)  Use “Might” when the main verb is in a past tense Eg; He said that she might have missed the plane b Can/Could (not) + have + P2 These modal perfects express a past ability  Use “could” when the action was not performed Eg: I could have lent you the money Why didn’t you ask me? (you did not ask me so I did not lend you)  Use “could” when we not know if it was performed or not Eg: The money has disappeared Who could have taken it? c Must (not) + have + P2 These modal perfect expresses a past certainty Eg: They had a row yesterday They must have broken their dishes and plates again (It was certain that they had broken their dishes and plates) XXXV XXXVI XXXVII ... applied in the study including the context of teaching and learning listening skill to English majors, problem formulation, participants, plan of action, instrumentation and the procedure of data... listening setting Video materials have long been used in the classroom as an important tool for teaching listening and speaking in the world In recent years, combining video with IT – information technology... the researcher would like to investigate the use of video- assisted instruction for second- year English majors at the PSA in listening class This study will describe an action research project for