The Impact of Video - Based listening activities on students' listening comprehension at Tan Binh continuing education center

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this thesis entitled “The impacts of video-based listening activities on

students’ listening comprehension at Tan Binh Continuing Education Center” is my

own work.

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains no

material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have

qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text

of the thesis.

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any

other tertiary institutions.

Ho Chi Minh City, 2016

Le Thi Ngoc Thuy

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To do the thesis successfully, I have to rely on the following people’s help,

cooperation, collaboration, instructions, and comments.

Firstly, I am very grateful to the teaching staff and students in Tan Binh Continuing

Education Center. I would like to thank Mr. Tien, the principal, for allowing me to teach the

listening course using designed videos and his encouragement. I thank Ms. Nhai, the vice￾principal, for her encouragement. I am very grateful to Mr. Dien for arranging the audiovisual

room for me and Ms. Ha for her supporting to arrange and checking my papers. I would like

to thank Ms. Kim Nen, Ms. Huyen, Ms. Hien, and Mr. Hoang - my colleagues, for their

supporting during the listening course. My study would not completely have been successful

if there had not been the participation from the students in Class 11C2 and Class 11C5 whom

I thank very much. I also thank the teachers who were mainly responsible for managing these

classes for encouraging the students to participate actively and sincerely in the training.

Secondly, I thank my fellow classmates in TESOL 7 for their contributions of

suggestions, thoughts, and views.

Most specially, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Nguyen Thuy Nga for her

careful supervision, deep commitment, and detailed instructions. Besides, I am grateful to the

professors and other doctorates for their comments and evaluations.

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ABSTRACT

Using video-based activities to train English foreign language students has been

widely applicable around the world (Williams & Lutes, 2012); however, no study has been

conducted in Tan Binh Continuing Education Center. Hence, the purpose of the current study

was to investigate whether the video-based activities were effective in enhancing students’

listening comprehension and their attitudes towards this teaching technique. The study

involved totally 86 eleventh-graders whose English proficiency was elementary and they are

now being taught listening by relatively conventional method at TB CEC such as listening to

the tape only one time and then memorizing transcripts to be able to do listening exercises

which will definitely appear on A Certificate Examination. Class 11C2 was selected as the

control group, and the experimental group came from Class 11C5. The control group was

taught listening by the existing method in the school, and the experimental group was exposed

to video-based activities. The pretest, posttest, and questionnaire were employed to collect

data.

The results of the study highlighted the positive effects of video-based activities in

improving students’ listening comprehension as well as positive attitudes from the

participants of the experimental group. These lead to conclusions that adopting video-based

listening activities indeed helped the students enhance their listening skills, activate students’

prior knowledge, and motivate students a lot in learning listening. The study also mentioned

several difficulties in applying video-based activities, creating videos as well as

recommendations for better video treatment. Finally, it addressed some implications and

called for further research to investigate video-based activities in a wider context.

Key words: impacts, videos-based listening activities, listening comprehension

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ............................................................................................................................i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .....................................................................................................................................ii

ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................................................iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................................................................iv

LIST OF FIGURES.............................................................................................................................................viii

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................................ix

ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS .......................................................................................................................x

CHAPTER 1 ........................................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................1

1.1. Background of the study.............................................................................................................................. 1

1.2. Problem of the study.................................................................................................................................... 2

1.3. Statement of the purpose ............................................................................................................................ 4

1.4. Research questions...................................................................................................................................... 4

1.5. Significance of the study .............................................................................................................................. 5

1.6. Scope of the study........................................................................................................................................ 5

1.7. Overview of the thesis chapters................................................................................................................... 6

CHAPTER 2 ........................................................................................................................................................7

LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................................................................7

2.1. Listening comprehension ............................................................................................................................. 7

2.1.1. Problems of learners’ in listening comprehension .............................................................................. 7

2.1.2. Solutions to the listening problems..................................................................................................... 8

2.1.3. Methods of training ........................................................................................................................... 11

2.1.3.1. Aprroach of listening.................................................................................................................. 11

2.1.3.2. Listening strategy ....................................................................................................................... 12

2.1.4. Measurement. ................................................................................................................................... 13

2.2. Task-Based Language Teaching................................................................................................................. 13

2.2.1. Definition of task-based language teaching....................................................................................... 13

2.2.2. Task types .......................................................................................................................................... 14

2.2.3. Features of Task-based language teaching method. ......................................................................... 15

2.2.4. Task process....................................................................................................................................... 16

2.2.5. Criteria for listening tasks .................................................................................................................. 17

2.3. Videos in language classroom ................................................................................................................... 18

2.3.1. Concepts of videos............................................................................................................................. 18

2.3.2. Classification of videos....................................................................................................................... 19

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2.3.2.1. Authentic videos ........................................................................................................................ 19

2.3.2.2. Educational Videos..................................................................................................................... 20

2.3.3. Benefits and drawbacks of using videos in language classroom ....................................................... 21

2.3.3.1. Benefits of using video in language classroom .......................................................................... 21

2.3.3.2. Drawbacks of using videos in language classroom .................................................................... 26

2.3.3.3. Video Evaluation and Selection....................................................................................................... 27

2.3.4. Techniques and activities of using videos in language classroom ..................................................... 29

2.3.4.1. Techniques of using videos in language classroom.................................................................... 29

2.3.4.2. Video-based activities in language classroom............................................................................ 30

2.3.5. Implementing videos in teaching listening ....................................................................................... 32

2.4. Schema theory ........................................................................................................................................... 33

2.4.1. Definition of schema .......................................................................................................................... 33

2.4.2. Classification of schema..................................................................................................................... 33

2.4.3. Impacts of schemata on language learning ....................................................................................... 34

2.4.4. Correlation between video-based listening activities, schemata, and listening skill......................... 34

2.5. Previous studies ......................................................................................................................................... 35

2.6. Summary of the chapter ............................................................................................................................ 36

CHAPTER 3 ......................................................................................................................................................37

METHODOLOGY..............................................................................................................................................37

3.1. Research approach .................................................................................................................................... 37

3.2. Research setting......................................................................................................................................... 39

3.3. Participants of the study............................................................................................................................ 40

3.4. Training procedures................................................................................................................................... 40

3.4.1. Control group (Class 11C2) ................................................................................................................ 41

3.4.1.1. Instructional materials ............................................................................................................... 41

3.4.1.2. Teaching plan for listening periods of CG .................................................................................. 42

3.4.1.3. Lesson plans for CG.................................................................................................................... 43

3.4.2. Teaching listening in experimental group (Class 11C5) ..................................................................... 44

3.4.2.1 Video-based listening course ...................................................................................................... 46

3.4.2.2. Implementation of designed videos........................................................................................... 48

3.5. Measures of the study ............................................................................................................................... 50

3.5.1. Tests of both CG and EG .................................................................................................................... 50

3.5.1.1. Design of the tests...................................................................................................................... 50

3.5.1.2. Administering the listening pretest and posttest....................................................................... 52

3.5.1.3. Scoring........................................................................................................................................ 52

3.5.2. Questionnaire instrument.................................................................................................................. 52

3.5.2.1. Designing the questionnaire ........................................................................................................... 53

3.5.2.1.1. Content of the questionnaire ............................................................................................. 53

3.5.2.1.2. Administering the questionnaire........................................................................................ 54

3.6. Data collection........................................................................................................................................... 55

3.7. Analytical framework................................................................................................................................. 55

3.7.1. The statistical tests ............................................................................................................................ 56

3.7.2. Descriptive data analysis.................................................................................................................... 56

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3.7.3. Qualitative data analysis.................................................................................................................... 56

3.8. Summary of the chapter ............................................................................................................................ 57

CHAPTER 4 ......................................................................................................................................................58

DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.................................................................................................58

4.1. Performance of both CG and EG on pretest and posttest.......................................................................... 58

4.1.1. EG’s and CG’s performance on the pretest........................................................................................ 58

4.1.2. Control group’s performance on the pretest and posttest ............................................................... 59

4.1.3. Experimental group’s performance on the pretest and posttest ...................................................... 60

4.1.4. Experimental group’s and control group’s performance on the posttest ......................................... 62

4.2. Students’ attitudes towards video-based activities in class....................................................................... 63

4.2.1. Theme 1: video-based treatment’s benefits...................................................................................... 64

4.2.2. Theme 2: Course design..................................................................................................................... 65

4.2.3. Theme 3: Instruction effects.............................................................................................................. 67

4.3. Evaluation of overall course....................................................................................................................... 68

4. 4. Discussion of findings................................................................................................................................ 69

4.4.1. Summary of the main findings........................................................................................................... 69

4.4.2. Effect of using video-based activities by the CLT Approach on the students’ listening skill.............. 70

4.4.3. Students’ attitudes towards video-based listening treatment. ......................................................... 70

4.4.4. Students’ satisfaction with the overall course................................................................................... 71

4.5. Summary of the chapter ............................................................................................................................ 72

CHAPTER 5 ......................................................................................................................................................73

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................................................73

5.1. Overview of the study ................................................................................................................................ 73

5.2. Implications and recommendations........................................................................................................... 74

5.3. Limitations of the study ............................................................................................................................. 76

5.4. Suggestions for further research................................................................................................................ 77

5.5. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................. 77

REFERENCES....................................................................................................................................................78

APPENDICES....................................................................................................................................................84

APPENDIX A: PRE-TEST ..................................................................................................................................... 84

APPENDIX B: TAPESCRIPTS OF PRE-TEST .......................................................................................................... 85

APPENDIX C: POST-TEST ................................................................................................................................... 86

APPENDIX D: TAPESCRIPTS OF POST-TEST........................................................................................................ 87

APPENDIX E: LISTENING SCORES OF PRE- AND POST-TEST OF BOTH GROUPS................................................. 88

The listening scores of CG (Class 11C2) and EG (Class 11C5) on the pretest and posttest ................................88

APPENDIX F: QUESTIONNAIRE .......................................................................................................................... 91

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Part 1: Video-based treatment’s benefits ..................................................................................................... 91

Part 2: Course Design .................................................................................................................................. 92

Part 3: Instruction Effects ............................................................................................................................ 93

Part 4: Overall Course .................................................................................................................................. 94

APPENDIX G: DATA ANALYSIS OF POST QUESTIONNAIRE................................................................................. 99

APPENDIX H: LESSON PLAN FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP ....................................................................... 102

APPENDIX I: LESSON PLAN FOR THE CONTROL GROUP .................................................................................. 107

APPENDIX K: UNIT 52: THE EIGHT O’CLOCK NEWS ......................................................................................... 111

APPENDIX L: CONTENT OF LISTENING PERIODS IN 2nd SEMESTER.................................................................. 112

APPENDIX M: DESIGN OF THE VIDEO-BASED LISTENING COURSE.................................................................. 113

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Students’ rating of the overall course…………………………………..70

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1. Task-based lesson plan model ................................................................................ 17

Table 2.2. Task-Feedback Cycle .............................................................................................. 18

Table 2.3. Guidelines for Interactivity that Promote Learning from Video-based Models

Classified by Type..................................................................................................................... 31

Table 3.1. Pre-test and Post-test Design .................................................................................. 38

Table 3.2. Teaching plan for listening periods of CG ............................................................. 43

Table 3.3. A model of a lesson plan for CG ............................................................................. 45

Table 3.4. Differences between listening course of CG and EG .............................................. 47

Table 3.5. Design of the video-based listening course for EG................................................. 48

Table 3.6. A sample of lesson plan for video-based listening activities according to ............. 49

Table 3.7. The design of the questionnaire............................................................................... 54

Table 4.1. Mean scores of listening pretests for EG and CG................................................... 59

Table 4.2. T-test value of listening pretest for experimental and control groups.................... 59

Table 4.3. Mean scores of listening pre-post-tests for control group ...................................... 60

Table 4.4. Correlation and t-test value of listening pre-post-tests for control group………...61

Table 4.5. Mean scores of listening pre-post-tests for EG……………………………………….62

Table 4.6. Correlation and t-test value of listening pre-post-tests for EG…………..………...62

Table 4.7. Mean scores of listening posttests for EG and CG…………………………………...63

Table 4.8. T-test value of listening posttests for experimental and control groups ................. 63

Table 4.9. Students’ attitudes towards video-based treatment’s benefits ................................ 65

Table 4.10. Students’ attitudes towards course design ............................................................ 67

Table 4.11. Students’ attitudes towards the instruction effects................................................ 68

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ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS

TBLT Task-based Language Teaching

CLT Communicative Language Teaching

TB CEC Tan Binh Continuing Education Center

EV Educational Video

CG Control group

EG Experimental group

EFL English as a Foreign Language

ex for example

HCMC Ho Chi Minh City

L1 First language

L2 Foreign language

N Total number

No. Number

p Probability

p. Page

pp. Pages

Q(s) Question(s)

r Correlation

S(s) Student(s)

SD Standard deviation

SE Standard error

SEM Standard error of the mean

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1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This chapter will provide the background for the present study which is followed by

the introduction of the problem of the study. Besides, the purpose of the study will be stated

and the research questions will be proposed. Subsequently, the significance of the study will

also be mentioned and the scope which the study has will be referred to. Finally, the

overview of the chapters in the study will be glanced at.

1.1. Background of the study

Since 1960, a variety of English language teaching methodology and approaches have

developed (Richards & Rodgers, 2001). Each method or approach has had a great

contribution to the development of English language teaching and learning.

Maley (2009, 2010) considered moving images in the form of videos as an important

part of the input that plenty of videos are available in the Internet made access relatively easy,

and accessing to such resources could also be obtained outside the classroom. King (2002)

found that using videos had 12 positive results towards language teaching and learning.

Similarly, Berk (2009) who placed the great importance of videos in English language

teaching and learning determined 20 positive outcomes of using videos. In general, the

outcomes that Berk (2009) and King (2002) mentioned above consist of motivating students,

improving language areas and language skills.

Referring to the listening skill in particular, Stempleski and Tomalin (2001) assumed

that the teachers helped their students to improve their listening by encouraging them to

observe what went on and heard what was said while they watched the videos. The

importance of videos in English language teaching and learning was acknowledged in the

solution to the problems of spoken language (Sherman, 2003). To encourage the use of

videos in English language teaching and learning, Meskill (2006) described the

characteristics of videos made themselves a valuable input for teaching and learning

listening. Similarly, letting students watch videos, see and hear language in use to practice

their listening skill was the main procedure in the video-based lesson sequences that Harmer

(2007) designed. In short, videos have been useful tools for teaching and learning listening.

According to Berk (2009), the use of videos in teaching listening has become popular in the

world and it has resulted in the enormous success in the listening courses.