DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING LISTENING SKILLS a CASE STUDY OF ENGLISH MAJORED FRESHMEN AT FFL IN INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE
INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
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GRADUATIONTHESIS
DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING LISTENING
SKILLS: A CASE STUDY OF ENGLISH
MAJORED FRESHMEN AT FFL IN INDUSTRIAL
UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY

STUDENT: NGUYEN THI DUY ANH
ID NUMBER : 18045141
CLASS : DHAV14D
COHORT: 2018-2022
SUPERVISOR : NGUYEN THI THOANG, MA.

HCMC, 05/2021



MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE
INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
---

---

GRADUATIONTHESIS

DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING LISTENING
SKILLS: A CASE STUDY OF ENGLISH
MAJORED FRESHMEN AT FFL IN INDUSTRIAL
UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY

STUDENT: NGUYEN THI DUY ANH
ID NUMBER : 18045141
CLASS : DHAV14D
COHORT: 2018-2022
SUPERVISOR : NGUYEN THI THOANG, MA.

HCMC, 05/2022


MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE
INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
---

---

Student name

: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh

ID Number

: 18045141

Class Code

: DHAV14D

Cohort

: 2018-2022

Supervisor Name

: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A.

Student’s declaration: I declare that this graduation report is entirely my own
work and does not involve in plagiarism or collusion. It also has not been
accepted as part of a submission to another purpose else where. I accept
heavy penalty for any cheating or plagiarism.

Date submitted

: 29/05/2022

Signed

: ………………………

Word count

: 7407 words


ABSTRACT

The research “A study on the difficulties in learning listening skills perceived by English-majored
freshmen at the Industrial University of HCM City." aims to figure out some major factors
causing difficulties for students in listening to English. The research is carried out within 12
weeks. Participants in this study are 100 English-majored freshmen from the Industrial
University of HCM City, chosen at random. Participants are given questionnaires to show their
ideas during the research period. The questionnaire is the main instrument used in this study to
gather information about students' listening problems. As a result, the study will analyze some
difficulties in the listening of English majored first-year students at the Industrial University of
HCM City that are related to linguistics such as vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, accents
and intonation, background knowledge and unfamiliar topics, psychological barriers, and the
length and speed rate of speech.

Keywords: Difficulties in listening, English-majored freshmen, listening to English


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It brings me great joy and pleasure to express my gratitude to the college of the Faculty of
Foreign Languages of the Industrial University of Chi Chi Minh City for putting together the
most straightforward conditions for me to complete my research successfully.

Throughout the course of the investigation, I received several passionate facilitations
and support, encouraging and inspiring me to overcome all obstacles and bring this
difficult but worthwhile period to a close.
First and foremost, I am grateful to the School Board of the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh
City (IUH) and the Faculty of Foreign Languages (FFL) for facilitating my research.

Second, I want to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Ms. Nguyễ n Thị Thoang,
Ph.s., who provided me with valuable guidance and recommendations that enabled
me to complete my study successfully.
Finally, I'd want to express my gratitude to one of my research team members,

Nguyen Thị Thoang, who consistently shared my emotions and provided me with
timely advice during the investigation.
Last but not least, I am thankful to the one hundred FFL students who assisted me in
completing this project; they played a crucial part in my study.
To summarize, I am grateful to everyone who assisted me in completing this
research from the bottom of my heart.


TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION................................................................................................

1.1Rationale ....................................................................................................

1.2Research objectives ...................................................................................

1.3Research questions .....................................................................................

1.4Scope of the study .....................................................................................
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW.....................................................................................

2.1Definition of key/concepts ........................................................................

2.1.1Definition of listening .........................

2.1.2Definition of listening skills ................

2.2Results of previous studies ......................................................................

2.2.1The importance of listening skills .......

2.2.2The common barriers in learning liste

2.2.2.1 Vocabulary ...................................................................................

2.2.2.2 Grammar .....................................................................................

2.2.2.3 Pronunciation and accents ...........................................................

2.2.2.4 Cultural differences and unfamiliar topics ...................................

2.2.2.5 Other factors ................................................................................

a) Psychological obstacle ...................

b) Quality of recorded material .........

c) Length and speed of the listening .

2.2.3How to enhance listening skills .........

2.2.3.1 Cognitive Strategies ....................................................................

2.2.3.2 Metacognitive Strategies .............................................................

2.2.3.3 Socio-affective Strategies ............................................................
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH DESIGN.......................................................................................

3.1Research site ...........................................................................................

3.2Participants...............................................................................................

3.3. Research methodology and research methods ..................................................................

3.3.1Research methodology ......................

3.3.2Research methods ............................


3.4 Procedures........................................................................................................................ 17
3.5 Data analysis.................................................................................................................... 18
CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION..................................................................... 19
4.1 Finding............................................................................................................................... 20
4.2 Discussion........................................................................................................................ 31
4.2.1 Perspectives on Listening Comprehension Issues........................................... 31
4.2.2 Recommendations for Resolving Listening Comprehension Issues .............32
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS................................................................................................ 33
5.1 Conclusions...................................................................................................................... 34
5.2 Recommendations.......................................................................................................... 34
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................ 36
APPENDICES............................................................................................................................. 40


LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 4.1: The accessed amount of time when the first-year students have been learning English.

Figure 4.2: The participants' opinions about learning listening skills.
Figure 4.3: The barriers students encounter in listening skills
Figure 4.4: The percentage of students that have difficulties
Figure 4.5: The percentage of barriers
Figure 4.5.1: Problems from the listening material
Figure 4.5.2: Problems from the listeners

Figure 4.5.3: Problems result from physical settings
Figure 4.6: The percentage of respondents who confirmed that their teachers taught
them skills for practicing English listening.
Figure 4.7: The techniques used by freshmen in the listening process
Figure 4.8: The freshmen students often chose for practice listening


Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh

ID Number: 18045141

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A.

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Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh

ID Number: 18045141

1.1 Rationale
Listening is the most commonly used skill in everyday communication. It is very important in daily
communication and the educational process. As a result, it is apparent that listening is essential
for both communicating and learning a foreign language. As a researcher, I would like to present
the thesis title “A study on the difficulties in learning listening skills perceived by

English-majored freshmen at Industrial University of HCM City.’’ For the several reasons:

Firstly, English not only allows us to effortlessly communicate with people from other
nations, but it also provides us with greater career chances. At the moment, many
international investors live and work in Vietnam, thus knowing English well is an
excellent way to increase your chances of landing a decent job with a good salary.
Secondly, English is essential for those who want to travel or study abroad since it allows them to
communicate and understand native people's dialects, culture, or food in depth. Listening is
obviously highly important, and learners should be concerned in listening first and mainly when
learning the English language. Furthermore, Pourhosein Gilakjani and Mohammadreza Ahmadi
(2011) expressed that “Listening has an important role in the communication process”. As for
foreign language learning, listening is of paramount important since it provides the language input
(Rost, 1994). Without understanding input appropriately, learning simply cannot get any
improvement. According to Krashen (1985) and Hamouda (2013). Listening ability is crucial for
acquiring understandable input. There will be no learning if there is no feedback.
Last but not least, rural kids in Vietnam have virtually little exposure to English language other than
what they receive in the classroom, which is highly significant. Moreover, the low quality of
cassettes has a discernible effect on the process of practicing and evaluating listening, especially in
rural areas where tape players are either of poor quality or run on batteries. The students suffer
significant listening issues as a result of the low-quality sound. This study is being performed to
boost students' perceptions of the importance of listening in learning English as well as their
listening challenges in order to assist them in improving their listening skills.

1.2 Research objectives
This study aims at investigating:
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Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh

ID Number: 18045141

(1)
skills

English-majored freshmen’s perceptions of the importance of listening

(2)

The barriers that students face when learning to listen

(3) The techniques or strategies that learners use to improve their listening abilities

1.3 Research questions
1.3.1 What barriers do students encounter in learning listening skill?
1.3.2 What techniques or strategies that students can apply to improve listening skill?

1.4 Scope of the study
This study is going to cover these following:
- This research mainly focus on the freshmen’s perceptions of the
importance and difficulties in learning listening skills for English-majored
freshmen at Industrial University of HCM city.
-

In addition to clarifying the issues, the researcher wishes to recommend some

strategies for students to improve their listening skills. As a result, appropriate
instructional strategies can be implemented to assist them in overcoming the challenges.

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Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh

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CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

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ID Number: 18045141

2.1 Definition of key/concepts
2.1.1 Definition of listening
In the communication process, listening relates to the capability to accurately
receive and comprehend communications.
Effective communication requires the ability to listen. Messages are easily
misunderstood if you don't know how to listen well. As a result, communication
breaks down, and the message sender may become frustrated or irritated as a result.
There are some definitions given by linguist:
According to Underwood (1989), “a child receives listening as the first skill comes from
observation of how a child acquires the mother tongue”.When a kid is born with no knowledge
of the world. The child's initial activity is to listen in order to be able to speak by indicating what

the parents are teaching it.In addition, According to Rost (2009), "listening helps us to
understand the world around us and is one of the necessary elements in creating successful
communication."Besides, Michael and Deborah (1997) stated that "listening established us in
our real-life situation and enabled us to maintain meaningful relations with family, friends, and
professional associates."Listening is crucial because it allows us to form bonds with others,
learn from their experiences, and comprehend their views, personalities, and interests. Since
then, there have been opportunities for people to achieve in life and form personal bonds.

2.1.2 Definition of listening skills
The phrase "listening comprehension" has been defined in a variety of ways. In the
communication process, listening refers to the ability to accurately receive and analyze
communications. Listening is the act of hearing attentively. It is also a reading-like process
that requires knowledge of phonology, grammar, semantics, and text comprehension.
According to Brown (2001), "listening is not merely the process of unidirectional receiving of
audible symbols". He supposed that "one aspect of listening comprehension is the psychomotor
process of receiving sound waves through the ear and transmitting nerve impulses to the brain".
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Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh

ID Number: 18045141

Therefore, there are three elements in listening, including the sender, the message,
and the listener. In addition, Vishwanath Bite explains that listening skills are key to
receiving messages effectively. It is a combination of hearing what another person
says and psychological involvement with the person who is talking. Furthermore,
according to Johnson (1951) and Hampleman (1958), "listening skills are part of the

communication process, while it is to distinguish words from recognizing other words."
Finally, according to Herbert J. Walberg,:”listening skills are essential for learning
since they enable students to acquire insights and information, and to achieve
success in communicating with others.”
2.2 Results of previous studies
Firstly, "FACTORS AFFECTING THE LEARNING LISTENING ENGLISH".Kurniawati's 2019
research tries to determine the challenges caused by internal and external sources. The
descriptive qualitative method was applied in this study, and the data was presented in the
form of reports and descriptions. The study enlisted the participation of 40 students. The
variables creating difficulty in listening to students have been identified as deteriorating health
or disease, illusive material, a lack of support, and a lack of training to improve English
listening, whether with peers or native speakers (Kurniawati, 2019).
Next, according to Ahkam Hasan Assaf's research paper named "The Difficulties encountered by
EFL Learners in Listening Comprehension as Perceived by ELC Students at the Arab American
University-Jenin,". The study is intended to examine the issues EFL students have with listening
comprehension as witnessed by ELC students at the AAUJ using two independent data collection
instruments: a survey questionnaire and two interview questions. According to the findings, there
were no significant differences in the difficulty students had with listening comprehension based on
their academic level, academic year, gender, kind of school, or number of years they had studied
English, according to the findings. The study's author concentrated on the challenges rather than
providing effective solutions for children to learn to listen better.

Besides, according to the findings (Nowrouziand et al., 2015): "IRANIAN EFL STUDENTS’
LISTENING COMPREHENSION PROBLEMS", "The goal of this study was to look into a group
of EFL students' listening comprehension issues. The Listening Comprehension Processing
Problems Questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of Iranian tertiary-level EFL
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ID Number: 18045141

learners (n = 100). The learners had moderated to high difficulty in all three areas of
listening comprehension challenges, namely perception, parsing, and utilization.
Furthermore, according to Hasbi & Adhimah, 2021, the research entitled "STUDENTS’
DIFFICULTIES TOWARD ENGLISH LISTENING COMPREHENSION AND ITS
ADDRESSING STRATEGIES" was conducted in the intensive English language class at Edi
Islamic Boarding School, Salatiga, aiming at seeking students’ difficulties toward listening
comprehension. The data was acquired using a descriptive design using quantitative data
from a questionnaire and qualitative data from observations and interviews with 30 students
and 8 English teachers in the course. The research found that the challenges were primarily
caused by native speakers' accents, the classroom atmosphere, the speaker's quick pace,
the students' low English vocabulary, and the students' lack of attentiveness.
The common problems from some of the previous research are: (1)Vocabulary, (2)Grammar,
(3)Pronunciation and accents, (4)Cultural differences and unfamiliar topics, (5)Psychological
obstacle, (6)Quality of recorded material, (7)Length and speed of the listening.

2.2.1 The importance of listening skills
Listening is a key skill in communication. To begin with, one of the most fundamental abilities in
learning a new language is listening. According to Kim (2014), who also emphasized that
"Developing listening skills is the most fundamental and important factor in language learning
to improve the other three language skills." Similarly, according to Barket (1971), "Listening can
also help students build vocabulary, develop proficiency in a language, and improve language
usage." 2.Besides, according to Rost (2009), "listening helps us to understand the world
around us and is one of the necessary elements in creating successful communication."
Moreover, according to As Dominick Barbara: "To listen with a purpose requires inner strength
and the courage to open our minds to other people's ideas, while at the same time, we must

face the fact that some of our ideas may be wrong." Listening is important because it allows
us to form relationships, learn from our experiences, and comprehend the thoughts,
personalities, and interests of others. Since then, there have been opportunities to succeed in
life and form close connections between people.

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Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh

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In conclusion, listening is an important life skill for everyone. It is not only the most important
ability for learning a new language, but it is also the one that allows us to communicate more
effectively and build stronger connections. Effective listening benefits the individual, his family
and friends, his business, and the bearers of bug-eyed frogs. As a result, English learners
should focus on improving their listening abilities in order to be more successful.

2.2.2 The common barriers in learning listening skills
2.2.2.1 Vocabulary
According to Chastain (1988), "the lack of needed vocabulary is the most common
cause of students’ inability to say what they want to say during communication
activities." For children, vocabulary inefficiency can be a serious issue; they find it
difficult to express themselves and listen carefully enough to hear what others are
saying. Having the same viewpoint, Wilkins (1972) said that "without grammar, very
little can be conveyed; without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed". This sentence
demonstrates the importance of vocabulary when learning the English language.
Another issue is that many words have many meanings, and when they are used

in their less common meanings, learners become confused.
In reality, vocabulary is the most important factor in improving other skills. Richard and
Renandya (2002) stated that "vocabulary is a core component of language proficiency and
provides much of the basis for how to learn to speak, listen, read, and write". When English
learners have a large vocabulary, they will be able to use words effectively to speak, listen,
read, and write in a variety of situations while fully comprehending the content.In contrast,
lacking sufficient vocabulary makes it difficult."If students do not know the meaning of many of
the words that they will encounter in a text, their comprehension of that selection is likely to be
compromised” (John & Shane, 2004:4)

As a result, vocabulary should be a top priority. In conclusion, it is clear that a lack of
vocabulary is the source of the hearing difficulties. Furthermore, grammar has a
significant influence on listening abilities.

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Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh

ID Number: 18045141

2.2.2.2 Grammar
The importance of grammar knowledge for listening has been less explored, although
there is a range of research arguing that there may be a strong relationship between
grammar and reading (Grabe, 2004). In cognitive psychology, according to Anderson
(2009), knowledge of the structure of English allows us to comprehend the meaning
of a sentence in the comprehension process.
In contrast, according to Mecartty (2000), grammatical knowledge does not

significantly contribute to either listening or reading comprehension, but vocabulary
knowledge plays a key role in L2 listening comprehension ability.
Additionally, according to Van Patten (1990), learners, particularly early-stage
learners, struggle to pay attention to both form and content while listening.
Moreover, according to Field (2008), function words were not paid attention to when people
listened. It seems reasonable to argue that because function words were more relevant to
grammar knowledge and content words were more relevant to lexical meaning, it may be
impossible to distinguish between lexical and grammar knowledge because listeners may
combine both syntactic and semantic cues in interpreting the sentence.

2.2.2.3 Pronunciation and accents
Pronunciation is crucial in communication, particularly when listening. Whether or not kids have
adequate listening skills is determined by their ability to pronounce words correctly. According
to Gilakjani (2012), learners with good English pronunciation are likely to be understood even if
they make errors in other areas, whereas learners with bad pronunciation will not be
understood, even if their grammar is perfect.1 Students who are proficient in pronunciation will
be able to confidently communicate themselves and even listen to others' messages with
accuracy. Poor pronunciation, on the other hand, can lead to misunderstandings or errors in
communication as well as in conversation.
According to Goh (1999), 66% of learners mentioned a speaker’s accent as one of the most
significant factors that affect listener comprehension. Unfamiliar accents, both native and non-

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Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh

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native, can cause major problems in listening comprehension, interrupting the
entire process while also making comprehension impossible for the listeners.
2.2.2.4 Cultural differences and unfamiliar topics
Background knowledge is essential for students to successfully listen to English.
According to Proverb (1990), "background knowledge includes knowledge of target
culture, knowledge of current affairs, arts, politics, and literature."
Contrastingly, Brody (2001) stated that "background knowledge refers to concepts,
experiences, information, and text structures that are relevant to a text understudy."
Background knowledge, as can be observed from these phrases, is the knowledge that
students have acquired during their education and lives.
Besides, according to Gebhard (2000), "background knowledge relates to our world
experiences and expectations that we have." When it comes to language processing
issues in students, this understanding is critical.
As a result, students' listening requires background knowledge.
Poor background knowledge, on the other hand, will make listening difficult for
students. According to Samuels (1984), "If a person has mastered the skill of
analyzing speech accurately and automatically, a lack of basic background
knowledge can cause reduced listening comprehension." In fact, a lack of prior
information makes it harder for students to listen effectively.
2.2.2.5 Other factors
a) Psychological obstacle
One of the most challenging variables affecting students' listening English is the
psychological barrier. According As Scarcella and Oxford (1992) stated that “Listening
anxiety occurs when students feel they are faced with a task that is too difficult or
unfamiliar to them. This anxiety is exacerbated if the listeners are under the false
impression that they must understand every word they hear”.
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Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh

ID Number: 18045141

According to Horwitz ET cited in Nascente (2001), "Anxiety is a feeling of tension,
apprehension, and nervousness associated with the situation of learning a foreign language".
When it comes to listening, anxiety is one of the most common feelings among learners.

Furthermore, according to Yagang (1994), the listening comprehension process is
also a highly complex psychological process. When someone feels uncomfortable,
their ability to listen is considerably diminished. " In conclusion, psychological
barriers have an impact on learners' listening ability.
b) Quality of recorded material
Despite the fact that we live in the technology world of the twenty-first century, some
classrooms still lack computers, smart boards, multimedia systems, and other
technology. The sound system's quality has an impact on listening comprehension.
According to Azmi Bingol, Celik, Yidliz, & Tugrul Mart (2014), in certain classrooms,
teachers use poor recorded materials in their classes. The sound system's quality can
influence how effectively learners comprehend what they hear.
c) Length and speed of the listening
Students struggle to retain information offered and are unable to concentrate on
listening because the listening portion of a conversation is too long.
According to Underwood (1989), "The students absolutely encounter certain difficulties in
listening comprehension since they lack control over the speed at which the speakers speak"
and "Speed can make listening passages difficult." Students may have difficulty understanding
second-language terms if speakers speak too quickly.
In summary, according to Flowerder and Miller (1996), one of the most significant barriers to
comprehending was the speed with which information was delivered. The length of time and

the tempo at which people speak are clearly the hurdles that make listening difficult.

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Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh

ID Number: 18045141

2.2.3 How to enhance listening skills
2.2.3.1 Cognitive Strategies
The cognitive methods are linked to comprehending and storing information in shortterm or long-term memory for later retrieval. As a process of decoding, comprehension
begins with the received material, which is analyzed as various levels of organization—
sounds, words, and so on. A cognitive strategy is a problem-solving technique that
students adopt to deal with the learning task and facilitate knowledge acquisition.
Repeating to memorize, summarizing, and putting together details are examples of cognitive
techniques. A cognitive strategy is a problem-solving method that learners apply to deal with
the learning activity and facilitate the learning of knowledge (Azmi Bingol, Celik, Yidliz, &
Tugrul Mart, 2014). According to Derry and Murphy (1986), "cognitive strategies are problemsolving techniques that learners use for the acquisition of knowledge or skills."
In hearing, there are two types of cognitive strategies: bottom-up and top-down. Word-forword translation, adjusting the rate of speech, repeating the oral text, and focusing on the
prosodic features of the text are all examples of bottom-up techniques. Forecasting, guessing,
explaining, and visualization are all part of top-down methods. According to the findings of a
qualitative study, success in listening is linked to aspects such as the use of many techniques,
the ability and flexibility to adapt strategies, stimulation, self-control, and adequate use of prior
information (Abdalhamid, 2012).

This is a technique for deciphering linguistic input and obtaining data. Learners
sometimes don't understand the meaning of words and try to deduce it from context.

This is a case of cognitive strategy in action.
2.2.3.2 Metacognitive Strategies
When using this method, students are aware of their surroundings while carefully listening to
the text. This strategy, like pre-listening tasks, focuses on learning how to plan, monitor, and
assess the information obtained during the listening portion (Holden, 2004).

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For example, a student may recognize that he is having trouble connecting crucial elements
within a novel. If he or she is instructed to utilize a graphic organizer, such as a concept map,
to identify the important concepts and connect them with lines in a spider web-like pattern,
that student has used metacognition to finish the assignment (Nelson & Conner, 2008).
According to Rubin (1988), metacognitive strategies are management tactics used by learners
to govern their learning by planning, checking, assessing, and altering. Listeners, for example,
for metacognitive planning methods, define the goals of a listening task and use certain
elements of aural language input that facilitate aural input comprehension. Besides, according
to Wenden (1998), learners who employ metacognitive methods, may learn faster and
integrate knowledge more effectively, be continual receivers and deal with all situations, have
the confidence to seek help from partners, teachers, or family, and can monitor and assess
themselves. According to Baker and Brown (1984) and Abdalhamid (2012), there are two kinds
of metacognitive skills: knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition. Learners'
awareness of what is going on is dealt with by their knowledge of cognition, and what they
should do to listen well is dealt with by their regulation of cognition.

2.2.3.3 Socio-affective Strategies
Learners' interactions with other speakers and attitudes toward learning are the
focus of socio-affective techniques.
According to Habte-Gabr (2006), it is nonacademic in character and includes promoting learning
through the development of a degree of relationship between the lecturer and the student.

Besides, according to Vandergrift (1997), learners must understand how to reduce
anxiety, feel secure during listening exercises, and increase personal motivation in
order to improve their listening skills.
Similarly, according to Vandergrift (2003) and Abdalhamid (2012), listeners
utilize

socio-affective

tactics

to

cooperate

with

others,

evaluate

their

comprehension, and alleviate their apprehension.

Affective methods are important, according to Gardner and MacIntyre (1993), because
the learning setting and learners' social-psychological aspects are intertwined.
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Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh

ID Number: 18045141

There is a connection between low anxiety and strong listening performance; using emotive
techniques makes listening easier and more effective, according to Aneiro (1989).
Moreover, according to Wilson (2003), students' interactions with other speakers and reactions to
learning are tied to socio-affective methods. According to Habte-Gabr (2006), children should be
able to reduce anxiety, feel confident during listening exercises, and increase motivation in order to
improve their listening skills. This technique ensures and encourages good emotional responses
and language learning perspectives. Listeners use socio-affective tactics to interact with others,
check knowledge, and reduce anxiety, according to Vandergrift (2003).

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Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh

ID Number: 18045141

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH DESIGN

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Student: Nguyen Thi Duy Anh

ID Number: 18045141

3.1 Research site
The study was conducted at the IUH Faculty of Foreign Languages, especially in the
DHAV17 course. This research was carried out on The first-year students Englishmajored at the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the Industrial University of Ho Chi
Minh City. The university has a staff of highly trained professors, slicing facilities, and
training quality that meets Southeast Asia accreditation criteria (AUN-QA). The Faculty
of Foreign Languages is one of the most critical faculties in the Industrial University of
HCM City, it is one of four faculties with teaching programs that fulfill AUN-QA criteria.
The faculty was founded in 2005 and is now housed on the first level of Building B.
3.2 Participants
The study involved 100 first-year students at FFL from K17 (selected at random) who were
studying in the second semester of the academic year 2022–2023 at IUH. Because they are from
different parts of Vietnam, their English levels will vary between provinces and rural areas.

Importantly, students will receive a questionnaire relating to typical listening
issues. Furthermore, the findings of this study assist students in recognizing
common errors and improving self-correction.
3.3. Research methodology and research methods
3.3.1 Research methodology
Quantitative research is a type of study that deals with numbers and anything else that can be
structurally analyzed. It can be used to gather information about a problem or to generate new

research ideas. The advantages of this research method include the ability to conduct a largescale survey with a large number of participants, the ability to quickly, conveniently, and
accurately collect information from participants, and the ability to provide statistics quickly.
The questionnaire is one of the most important research tools. The questionnaire is designed to
collect background information from learners and to survey the challenges that are obstructing

Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thoang, M.A.

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