An investigation into the influence of the cefr on teaching listening skills to first year english major students at thua thien hue college of education

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HUE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

------

LE THI THANH PHUOC

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE INFLUENCE
OF THE CEFR ON TEACHING LISTENING SKILLS
TO FIRST YEAR ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS
AT THUA THIEN HUE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY
OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

HUE, 2014


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

------

LE THI THANH PHUOC

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE INFLUENCE
OF THE CEFR ON TEACHING LISTENING SKILLS
TO FIRST YEAR ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS
AT THUA THIEN HUE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY
OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
CODE: 60.14.01.11
SUPERVISOR: TRUONG VIEN Assoc. Prof. Dr

HUE, 2014
i


BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO
ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ
TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

------

LÊ THỊ THANH PHƢỚC

ĐIỀU TRA ẢNH HƢỞNG CỦA KHUNG TRÌNH ĐỘ
NĂNG LỰC NGƠN NGỮ CHÂU ÂU VÀO VIỆC DẠY KĨ NĂNG
NGHE CHO SINH VIÊN CHUYÊN NGỮ NĂM THỨ NHẤT
TẠI TRƢỜNG CAO ĐẲNG SƢ PHẠM THỪA THIÊN HUẾ

LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƢƠNG PHÁP
DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH
MÃ SỐ: 60.14.01.11

NGƢỜI HƢỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC
PGS. TS. TRƢƠNG VIÊN

HUẾ, 2014
ii


STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine. The data and findings discussed
in the thesis are true and have not been published elsewhere.

Author
Le Thi Thanh Phuoc

iii


ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to look into the influence of the CEFR on teaching
listening skills to first year English – major students at Thua Thien Hue College of
Education.
Questionnaire, class observation and interview were used as data collecting
tools. All 10 first year English – major foreign and Vietnamese teachers, who were
teaching at Thua Thien Hue College of Education and 65 students at HCE filled in
the questionnaire. It aims at finding out teachers‟ and students‟ attitudes in teaching
and learning the listening skills towards CEFR based on Objective PET, syllabus
and teaching materials, the reality of teaching and learning listening skills in the
classroom according to requirements of CEFR standards based on Objective PET
which helps students reach level B1 in CEFR and difficulties in teaching and
learning listening skills in reference to CEFR. According to results from
questionnaires and interviews, most teachers and students had positive attitudes on

learning and teaching listening skills based on CEFR in using Objective PET to
teach English at HCE. The reality of teaching and learning listening skills
developed in reference to CEFR based on Objective PET for students is effective.
However, this study also explored some possible solutions as well as suggestions to
overcome the difficulties in teaching and learning listening skills towards level B1
in CEFR. This study explored difficulties faced by the teachers and students when
teaching and learning listening skills based on Objective PET to reach B1 - level.
The analyzed data showed that most of the teachers and students had difficulties in
teaching and learning listening skills to get level B1 in CEFR such as students‟
habit of practicing listening, students‟ different level, time, etc. Therefore, the
researcher suggested useful solutions to improve its quality. Based on the findings
of the research, the implications help both teachers and students to better the
teaching and learning process.

iv


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost, I am very grateful to Assoc. Prof. Dr. TRUONG VIEN
for his guidance, encouragements, patience and help.
My truthful thanks are for teachers at Thua Thien Hue College of Education
in the theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching course 2014-2015 for
their devotion in teaching so that I can have the background knowledge to carry out
this research.
The data collection for my research paper was supported by the teachers and
students at Thua Thien Hue College of Education. Without their valuable
contributions, I could not do well with my research paper. I want to express my
thanking to the teachers and students who were willing to spend their time
participating in the interview.

Finally, my thanks go to all my friends and colleagues for their encouragements
and support.

v


TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUB COVER PAGE ............................................................................................... i
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ..................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
ABSTRACT ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
LIST OF TABLES ............................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
LIST OF CHARTS .............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 1
1.1. Rationale of the study .................................................................................. 1
1.2. Research aims .............................................................................................. 3
1.3. Research scope ............................................................................................ 3
1.4. Research questions ...................................................................................... 3
1.5. Research significance .................................................................................. 3
1.6. Research structure........................................................................................ 4
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REWIEW AND THEORETICAL
BACKGROUND .................................................................................................. 5
2.1. Overview ..................................................................................................... 5
2.2. Previous studies related to the topic ............................................................ 5
2.3. Theoretical background of listening skills ................................................. 9
2.3.1. The definition of listening .................................................................... 9
2.3.2. The process of listening ...................................................................... 10
2.3.3. The definition of skill ......................................................................... 11

2.3.4. The definition of listening skill........................................................... 11
2.3.5. Types of listening skills ...................................................................... 12
2.3.6. The process of listening skills in language learning ........................... 12
2.3.7. The importance of listening skills....................................................... 14

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2.4.Theoretical background of the Common European Framework of Reference
for Languages ................................................................................................... 14
2.4.1. The CEFR? ......................................................................................... 14
2.4.2. Self-assessment grids for A1-C2 level listener according to CEFR
(for listening) ...............................................................................................................17
2.4.3. The benefits of using CEFR in teaching and learning listening skills.......19
2.5. CEFR-based English instruction at Hue College of Education ................. 19
2.6. The introduction of CEFR - related to teaching and learning listening skills......20
2.6.1. PET Test Format ................................................................................. 20
2.6.2. PET for Listening Skills ..................................................................... 21
2.7. Chapter summary....................................................................................... 21
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ................................................................. 22
3.1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 22
3.2. Research approach ..................................................................................... 22
3.3. Research methods ...................................................................................... 22
3.3.1. The questionnaires .............................................................................. 22
3.3.2. Class observation ................................................................................ 24
3.3.3. The interviews .................................................................................... 24
3.4. Participants ................................................................................................ 25
3.5. Data analysis .............................................................................................. 25
3.6. Chapter summary....................................................................................... 26
CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCSSIONS ............................................ 27

4.1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 27
4.2. Results from the questionnaires (quantitative results) .............................. 27
4.2.1. Results from teacher (see Appendice 1) ............................................. 28
4.2.1.1. Teachers‟ attitudes on requirements of CEFR-B1 level on teaching
listening skills based on Objective Pet (Cluster 1) .....................................................28
4.2.1.2.Syllabus and teaching materials (cluster 2).............................................32
4.2.1.3. The reality of teaching and learning listening skills developed in reference to
CEFR for first year English – major students at HCE (cluster 3)............................36
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4.2.2. Results from student (see Appendice 2) ............................................. 47
4.2.2.1. Students‟ attitudes on requirements of CEFR – B1 level on learning
listening skills (cluster 1) ..............................................................................................47
4.2.2.2. Syllabus and teaching materials (cluster 2) ....................................51
4.2.2.3. The reality of teaching and learning listening skills developed in
reference to CEFR for first year English – major students at HCE (cluster 3) ........55
4.2.2.4. Difficulties in learning listening skills in reference to CEFR
(cluster 4) ......................................................................................................................63
4.2.3. Comparison results between teacher and student questionnaires ....... 67
4.2.3.1. Teachers‟ and students‟ attitudes on requirements of CEFR – B1
level on teaching and learning listening skills.............................................................68
4.2.3.2. Syllabus and teaching materials.......................................................68
4.2.3.3. The reality of teaching and learning listening skills developed in
reference to CEFR for first year English – major students at HCE ..........................68
4.2.3.4. Difficulties in teaching and learning listening skills in
reference to CEFR .....................................................................................................69
4.3. Results from teacher interviews and classroom observation (qualitative
results) ............................................................................................................ 70
4.3.1. Effects of teaching and learning listening skills by integrating in

Objective PET to help students gain B1 level .............................................. 70
4.3.2. Teachers‟ attitudes about using Objective PET to evaluate first year English
– major students‟ level...................................................................................................72
4.3.3. Types of supplementary materials used to help students practice listening
skills to gain B1 level ....................................................................................................73
4.3.4. Difficulties of using Objective PET to teach listening skills faced by
teachers ..........................................................................................................................74
4.4. Results from student interviews and classroom observation (qualitative
results)

76

4.4.1. Effects of teaching and learning listening skills by integrating in
Objective PET to help students gain B1 level ...................................................... 76
viii


4.4.2. Students‟ attitudes about using Objective PET to evaluate first year English
– major students‟ level...................................................................................................77
4.4.3. Types of supplementary materials used to help students practice listening
skills to gain B1 level ....................................................................................................77
4.4.4. Difficulties of using Objective PET to teach listening skills faced
by students ....................................................................................................................78
4.5 Chapter summary........................................................................................ 78
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS ................................ 80
5.1 Summary of the findings ............................................................................ 80
5.2 Implications ................................................................................................ 82
5.2.1 For teachers ......................................................................................... 83
5.2.2. For students ......................................................................................... 85
5.3 Limitations of the study .............................................................................. 86

5.4 Further study ............................................................................................... 86
REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 87
APPENDICES

ix


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

APEC

: Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

CE

: Council of Europe

CEFR

: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

EFL

: English Foreign Languages

EP

: English Profile

HCE

: Hue College of Education

KET

: Key English Test

MOET

: Vietnamese Ministry of Training and Education

PET

: Preliminary English Test

S

: Statement

SPSS

: Statistical Package for Social Sciences

St

: Students

TC

: Teacher

YL

: Young Learners

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1. Common Reference Levels: global scale from Chapter 3 of the CEFR
(2001a:24) ............................................................................................................ 16
Table 2.2. Common Reference Levels: self – assessment grid from Chapter 3 of the
CEFR .................................................................................................................... 18
Table 3.1: Summary of the questionnaire components ........................................ 23
Table 4.1. The reliability of the questionnaire for students ....................................... 27
Table 4.2. The reliability of the questionnaire for teachers ....................................... 27
Table 4.3. The reliability of the questionnaire for teachers ................................. 28
Table 4.4. The reliability of the questionnaire for students ................................. 28
Table 4.5. Mean score of teachers‟ attitudes ........................................................ 29
Table 4.6. Mean score of S1 to S5 ....................................................................... 31
Table 4.7. Mean score of syllabus and teaching materials................................... 32
Table 4.8. Mean score of S6 to S10 ..................................................................... 35
Table 4.9. Mean score of the reality of teaching and learning listening skills developed
in reference to CEFR for first year English – major students at HCE ....................... 36
Table 4.10. Mean score of S11 to S20 ................................................................. 41
Table 4.11. Mean score of difficulties in teaching listening skills in reference to
CEFR ........................................................................................................... 42
Table 4.12. Mean score of S21 to S24 ................................................................. 46
Table 4.13. Mean score of students‟ attitudes ...................................................... 47
Table 4.14. Mean score of S1 to S5 ..................................................................... 50

Table 4.15. Mean score of syllabus and teaching materials................................. 51
Table 4.16. Mean score of Q6 to Q10 .................................................................. 54
Table 4.17. Mean score of the reality of teaching and learning listening skills
developed in reference to CEFR for first year English – major students at HCE 55
Table 4.18. Mean score of S11 to S20 ................................................................. 62
Table 4.19. Mean score of Difficulties in learning listening skills in reference to
CEFR ........................................................................................................... 63
Table 4.20. Mean score of S21 to S24 ................................................................. 66

xi


LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 4.1. Results from S1 to S5 .......................................................................... 29
Chart 4.2. Results from S6 to S10 ........................................................................ 33
Chart 4.3. Results from S11 to S20 ...................................................................... 36
Chart 4.4. Results from S21 to S24 ...................................................................... 43
Chart 4.5. Results from S1 to S5 .......................................................................... 48
Chart 4.6. Results from S6 to S10 ........................................................................ 52
Chart 4.7. Results from S11 to S20 ...................................................................... 56
Chart 4.8. Results from S21 to S24 ...................................................................... 64
Chart 4.9. Mean score of clusters M1, M2, M3 and M4 between teachers and
students 67

xii


CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

1.1. Rationale of the study
Learning English as a foreign language has become an essential part of our
lives. In Vietnam, people learn English as a foreign language with different
purposes. Being English teachers, getting a good job, communicate with foreigners
or simply having an English certificate is the common reasons why people learn
English. However, many teachers of English face lots of challenges like “How to
teach English effectively?”, “What methods should teachers use in teaching
English?”, “What are suitable materials for learning and teaching English?. In fact,
effects on enhancing the quality of teaching and learning as well as changing
methods of teaching English have not brought satisfied results. As an illustration,
many Vietnamese students can write and read English well but they cannot listen
well. Most of the students find that listening is difficult and uninteresting. After
several years of teaching English, I have found that university students are quite
passive in listening English. They do not actively participate in listening lessons.
So, “what is the best solution to this reality?” is still a difficult question for English
teachers as well as educators.
To solve this problem, many Vietnamese teachers of English participated in
some workshops related to methods of teaching English listening skills to develop
their professional competence. Today, a Vietnam language proficiency framework
which consists of six levels compatible with the Common European Framework of
Reference (CEFR) was developed. CEFR is the Common European Framework of
Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching and Assessment. As a result, CEFR is
applied in Vietnam in general and at Thua Thien Hue College of Education in
particular to teach English subject. First year English – major students at Thua
Thien Hue College of Education are required to master four language skills before
graduation. Furthermore, they must gain requirements of language skills to gain
level B1 after finishing Objective PET. Compared with other language skills,
1

listening is considered as the most difficult skill for many students learning English.
Listening requires considerable training because it is a difficult skill requiring
multiple sub-skills and stages, which have to be undertaken simultaneously.
According to Feyten (1991), in our daily life, listening accounts for 45 percent of
the time people spend communicating while reading 16 percent, speaking 30
percent and writing 9 percent. This entails that listening is an important skill that
needs paying much attention to. The importance of listening in language learning
and teaching is therefore worth considering.
However, there is an existing reality that most of the students failed in the
listening task according to requirements of National Foreign Language Project
2020 specially the first year English-major students at Thua Thien Hue College of
Education in spite of students‟ mastering English grammar and vocabulary. In my
opinion, firstly, the differences in learners‟ level in the same class may reduce the
effect of teaching and learning English. Secondly, they have little cultural
background knowledge in English. An unknown and unfamiliar culture affects the
guessing of words, the understanding of sentences, and the comprehension of the
whole text. Therefore, the student with no background knowledge of culture in
English, is unlikely to understand what they are listening. Thirdly, lecturers‟
method of teaching and materials are not interesting or boring. The last but not
least, teaching listening skills by integrating in Objective PET is not enough time
for students to learn other skills. As a result, they pay little attention to listening in
the classroom.
As an English teacher, I always wish to raise my teaching ability and
improve listening skills for students to gain B1 level based on Objective PET.
From my experience, I realized that students usually fail in the listening skills.
Especially, the new Vietnamese Ministry of Training and Education (MOET)
policy about learning outcome brings out lots of requirements for both teachers
and students. Besides, how the reality of teachers‟ method of teaching listening
skills meet requirements of CEFR.

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Finding the answers to these problems becomes an urge for the researcher to
carry out this study. For those reasons, I find it necessary to have “An investigation
into the influence of the CEFR on teaching listening skills to first year Englishmajor students at Thua Thien Hue College of Education”. It is expected that we
could gain more insights into the implementations of the CEFR in teaching and
learning listening skills in Vietnamese context.
1.2. Research aims
The study is conducted with the aims to:
1. Analyze teachers‟ and students‟ attitudes on requirements of CEFR on
teaching and learning listening skills.
2. Apply the syllabus and teaching materials to help students gain B1 level
3. Explore how the reality of teaching and learning listening skills in the classroom
according to requirements of CEFR standards based on Objective PET.
4. Find out difficulties in teaching and learning listening skills in reference to
CEFR.
1.3. Research scope
The study was carried out at Thua Thien Hue College of Education. The
sample consists of 65 first year English-major students and 10 teachers who teach
English to English-major students at Thua Thien Hue College of Education.
1.4. Research questions
To fulfill the aforesaid aims, the two research questions are put forward:
1. What are the teachers‟ and students‟ attitudes towards CEFR on teaching
and learning listening skills?
2. How are listening skills developed towards teaching and learning listening
skills in reference to CEFR?
1.5. Research significance
This project can be significant in a number of ways. Through the study, I hope
to explore the method of teaching listening skills for first year English-major

students at Thua Thien Hue College of Education. From this point of view, it is
3


expected that English teachers as well as students could have positive changes in
teaching and learning listening skills to meet the criteria of CEFR.
1.6. Research structure
This research thesis consists of five chapters:
Chapter 1 – Introduction: The rationale for the research, the purposes, the
research questions, the scope, the significance and structure of the thesis are presented.
Chapter 2 – Literature review and theoretical background: clarifies key
terms used in the research. This review consists of previous studies related to the
thesis, theoretical background of listening skills and CEFR, requirements of B1 in
teaching and learning listening skills and the instruction of CEFR-related listening
skills at HCE.
Chapter 3 – Methodology: presents the research methodology, which includes
the description of the informants of the study (teachers and students), research
instruments such as questionnaire, interview and class observation. The chapter also
describes the process to obtain research data and the limitation of the study.
Chapter 4 – Findings and discussions: provides the detailed results of
findings with thorough discussions. At the end of the chapter is a summary of all the
findings and discussions.
Chapter 5 – Conclusions and implications: displays the summary of the
findings, the implications and suggestions for the further research.

4


CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REWIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1. Overview
The purpose of this chapter is to provide the readers general knowledge of
listening skills and the CEFR. The chapter begins with some previous studies on the
issues that have been conducted so far to point out the gaps of the literature. Then,
the theories related to listening skills and the CEFR will then be presented. Next,
applying the requirements of the CEFR to teach and learn listening skills. Then, the
instruction of CEFR-related listening skills at HCE was carried out. Finally, a
summary of the chapter will be provided.
2.2. Previous studies related to the topic
Until now there have been many researchers related to the field of teaching the
listening skills. However, little formal emphasis has been placed on the field of
CEFR to teach and learn listening skills.
Suryani (2012) investigated some useful ways to improve students‟ listening
skills through varied listening tasks conducted at the language laboratory. His study
is aimed to answer the questions: (1) what are the action plans conducted by the
researcher? (2) How does the researcher use varied listening tasks in the language
laboratory? And (3) how do the students‟ listening skills improve? This study is
categorized as action research. The data were collected by using three instruments
namely a questionnaire, pre-test and posttest, and observation. The data obtained
from the questionnaire and pre-test and posttest were analyzed quantitatively and
qualitatively, using descriptive and inferential analyses. The data gained from the
observation in the form of field notes were analyzed by using descriptive analysis.
The result of this study reveals three findings. First, the action plans of the study.
Second, the process of the use of varied listening tasks in the language laboratory.
Third, the students‟ five listening skills improved (pre-test Mean = 6.22; posttest
Mean = 8.36) which was significant (t = 17.328; p = 0.000).
5

Sinha (2009) pointed out some guideline for teachers create an effective
methodology for teaching listening at the tertiary level. Teachers should keep in
mind that a listening class should not focus on just playing lots of recordings and
testing grammar, vocabulary or writing skill.
Sevik (2012) showed the ways to develop listening skills by using songs. Songs
have a definite place in the young learners‟ classroom. They provide meaningful
and enjoyable language practice, especially in fostering listening skills.
Faez, Majhanovich, Taylor, Smith, & Crowley (2011) surveyed teachers‟
perceptions of CEFR-informed instruction in English as second language
classrooms in Ontario. They explored the two main challenges that teachers faced in
implementing CEFR - informed instruction were: (a) time restriction related to
viewing the CEFR as an additional component, and (b) lack of understanding CEFR
and its applicability in their classrooms. The majority of teachers who participated
in the study indicated that they often faced a time crunch and did not have sufficient
time in the classroom to implement the CEFR-based activities and cover the
demanding curriculum. Therefore, some teachers viewed the CEFR as an “add-on”
rather than as an approach that could be used to cover various aspects of the
curriculum.
Two core factors that have made the success of the CEFR were the
definitions of different levels along proficiency scale at six main levels and the
characteristics of the approach, the positive wording and its non-compulsory nature
(Figueras, 2012, p.479). She concluded that CEFR could be easily adapted and used
in every particular situation if it were open and flexible.
Not only being used in Europe, CEFR has been used as a reference tool in
other countries in the world. In 2010, the Canadian Council of Minister of
Education published a guide book named Working work The Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in the Canadian context. The book
included three sections which were the general information about CEFR and the
Canadian context such as the possible Avenues for Working with CEFR, Aspects to
6

Consider for Using the CEFR Common Reference levels and the European
Language Portfolio in the Canadian context. The book illustrated that CEFR need to
be used from kindergarten to grade 12 in the Canadian context.
In China, Wang (2007) reported of an action research project conducted in a
listening course for the second-year English majors in one university in China in an
article “Three Ways to Motivate Chinese Students in EFL Listening Classes”. In his
article, after finding the existing teaching practice in the listening course not quite
interesting and rewarding to his students, a new teaching plan was designed to
motivate students in practicing listening. The plan consisted of three parts:
providing students with explicit knowledge about the listening process, listening
skills and the general process of improving listening skills at the beginning of the
course; modifying ways to manage each session so that each session is a purposeful
and growing experience for students; adding two ways to assess students‟ learning:
news report following a strict format and journal writing. Based on the data
obtained from classroom observations, students‟ journals, interviews with students,
and students‟ response to an open-ended questionnaire at the end of the term,
students developed a fairly high degree of motivation towards practicing listening.
Jana Bérešová (2011) explored the impact of the Common European
Framework of Reference (CEFR) on teaching and testing English in countries of
Central and Eastern Europe. It does so by reporting on the abrupt changes in
language teaching, resulting in the necessity of school-leaving examination reform
in most of them. The introduction of the CEFR fostered a genuine interest of
language professionals in Central and Eastern Europe to relate the curricula and
syllabi to the common referential levels for setting objectives. The range of different
competences described in the CEFR provided a useful reminder to language
teachers to extend the range of their teaching. The article considers the schoolleaving examination reform in Slovakia by reporting on part of a research project,
conducted in 2008, on the first attempts of relating the national examination in
English to the CEFR.

7


In a word, the above foreign researchers have contributed a significant part to
the study of teaching and learning listening skills in some aspects.
In Vietnam, where English is regarded as a foreign language, CEFR has
become a new “gust of air” in teaching, learning and assessing English particularly
and other foreign languages generally.
This field has also been paid attention to Nguyen (2013), he explored
teaching listening which is not a simple task in general and especially to meet the
requirements for level B1 in CEFR in particular, but it also discovered some useful
ways to help students improve their listening skills. She suggested a lot of useful
solutions to help teachers as well as students overcome these difficulties towards
level B1 in CEFR.
Nguyen (2008) identified the difficulties in learning the listening skills
facing grade 10 students at some high schools in Hue rural areas. The study pointed
the causes leading to the learners‟ difficulties. In addition, some useful solutions
were carried out to help students improve their listening skills as well as help
teachers gain a few good methods to teach listening well.
In 2006, Vu Thi Phuong Anh‟s investigation of the insight vision about the
impact of CEFR in an article “Common European Framework (CEF) and the
improvement of English Language Training Programs in Vietnam National
University Ho Chi Minh City”. The paper included 2 main parts: Part I provided an
introduction of CEF; Part II presented suggestions to improve the curriculum
designing and output assessing of English subject and to upgrade the quality and
effectiveness of English language training programs in VNU-HCM. Moreover, she
emphasized the inadequate features in two main aspects of teaching language in
Vietnam: (1) defining aims and designing training programs; (2) assessment and
output standard. She indicated the necessity for learners to achieve B1 level before

learning academic English.
Recently, many conferences and workshops related to CEFR and output
standard for students have been conducted in Vietnam. “All school leaves will have
8


a minimum level of English by 2010 under ambitious education reforms, but teacher
fears that they are not getting the help they need to upgrade their own skills” was
quoted to start an article named Vietnam demands English language teaching
“miracle” on Guardian Weekly (Parks, 2011). The author also argues that teachers
will need to achieve level B2 in English with school leavers expected to reach B1, a
level below. Generally, in Vietnam, a number of educational projects have been
carried out in the past eight years, which were expected to have good effects on
teaching, learning and assessing English language dramatically.
It can be seen that the above researchers have considerably contributed to
improve as well as enhance the teaching and learning listening skills in some aspects.
In context of Vietnam the CEFR is used to evaluate our ability of languages today.
However, there still have been no studies about influence of the CEFR on teaching
and learning listening skills for first year English-major students to gain B1 – level.
Therefore, the researcher of this thesis finds it essential to conduct the study focusing
on the influence of the CEFR on teaching and learning listening skills for first year
English-major students at Thua Thien Hue College of Education (HCE).
2.3. Theoretical background of listening skills
2.3.1. The definition of listening
Listening is one of the most important skills we can have. How well we listen
has a major influence on our job effectiveness and on the quality of our
relationships with others. Moreover, listening is a vital part in communication. We
cannot communicate without listening. That is a reason why a successful
communication depends on listeners as receives of messages.
Listening is the receptive use of language, and since the goal is to make sense

of the speech, the focus is on meaning rather than language (Cameron, 2001).
Sarỗoban (1999) states that listening is the ability to identify and understand what
others are saying. It is the first stage of learning a new language. In the classroom,
this happens by listening to the teacher, a CD, or other learners. It is the process of
interpreting messages.

9


Listening is a complex, active process of interpretation in which listeners match
what they hear and with what they know. Therefore, learners have to discriminate
between sounds, master vocabulary and the way to pronounce a language.
In short, listening is difficult but it is important. Therefore, in order to be
successful in listening, it is advisable that we must practice regularly.
2.3.2. The process of listening
According to Brown (2001) “the process of listening involves eight steps”.
The eight steps are raw speech, hearer‟s determination of speech type, hearer‟s
inference, hearer‟s recall, hearer‟s literal meaning assignment, hearer‟s intended
meaning assignment, hearer‟s determination, and hearer‟s message deletion.
Raw speech means that the hearer must remember an image in a short time
memory. The image can be in the form of phrases, clauses, intonation, and stress
patterns. We hold the image naturally so that this process is called raw speech.
Hearer‟s determination of a speech type means that the hearer can realize type
of speech will be processed. This process is done by the ears to select one of the
sounds received. The sound selected is then appropriately interpreted by the hearer.
Hearer‟s inference is the hearer tries to infer the speaker‟s intention. The
inference can be done through the consideration of the type of speech events, the
context, and the content. For example, one determines whether the speaker wishes
to persuade, to request, to deny, to inform, and so forth.
Hearer‟s recall means that we recall the background information which is

relevant to the particular context and subject matter. The experiences and
knowledge of the hearers are important to get success in the process of listening.
Hearer‟s literal meaning assignment means that the hearers interpret what
they perceive the content of listening lesson. This process may take on a peripheral
role in cases where literal meanings are irrelevant to the message.
The next step is the hearer‟s intended meaning assignment. In this process,
the hearer matches the perceived and intended meaning. For example, when he
receives a message, “Do you have the time?”, it does not mean that he or she will
respond “yes” or “not” but, “It is a quarter to nine.”
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After the hearers assign the intended meaning, they determine whether the
information should be retained in the short term memory or long term memory.
They will retain it as a short term memory if the context is for a quick oral response.
On the other hand, they will keep it as a long term memory if the context is for a
long processing information such as in a lecture.
The last process from this view is the hearer‟s deletion. In this process, the
hearers will delete the useless message and forget it quickly. They only hear the
main points in the message. Meanwhile, the important information is retained.
It can be concluded that listening is the process of receiving sounds, selecting
specific sounds, assigning meaning, and deleting useless information. Listening is
an interactive process that involves the ears and the brain.
2.3.3. The definition of skill
A skill refers to the ability to do something well. For example, if someone wants
to be able to drive, they must have driving skills. These skills include the abilities to
make the gear well, to handle the steering wheel, to handle the car when something
unexpected happens on the road suddenly, and others that make driving run well.
One‟s skills involve part of the body such as the brain, hand, tongue and tip,
legs, ears, and so on. For instance, a carpenter needs a skill that involves hands, or a

pianist needs a skill that involves the brain and fingers.
In the context of language teaching, a skill refers to one‟s language
performance (Brown, 2001: 232). One‟s language performance is divided into two
forms, namely productive performance and receptive performance. In English,
productive performances include speaking and writing skills while receptive
peformances include listening and reading skills.
2.3.4. The definition of listening skill
From the definition of listening and the definition of skill, it can be concluded
that a listening skill is the ability to receive any sounds, to select the specific sounds
that will be listened to, and to assign the meaning of the specific sounds. This ability
involves two main parts of the body: the ears and the brain. The ears are to receive and
select the sounds and the brain is to assign the meaning of the sounds.
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2.3.5. Types of listening skills
Listening skills are divided into six types such as identifying topics,
predicting and guessing, listening for general understanding, listening for specific
information, listening for detailed information, and interpreting texts.
The first skill is identifying the topic. In this skill, the listeners are able to
decide what the text they hear is about. This skill allows them to process the text
effectively.
The second skill is predicting and guessing. In this skill, the listeners are
required to understand what is being talked about after they have identified the
topic. This skill allows them to guess the content of the text from their half hearing.
The third skill is listening for general understanding. In this skill, the
listeners are able to understand the text they listen to in general without noting
every word in the text. This skill further helps them listen for specific information.
The fourth skill is listening for specific information. In this skill, the listeners
will concentrate on a particular item that attracts them. This skill will help them find

the specific item they are looking for.
The fifth skill is listening for detailed information. In this skill, the
listeners try to understand the text by listening to it in detail. For example, when
they hear an announcement in an airport, they listen in a concentrated way to
everything that is said.
The last skill is interpreting texts. In this skill, the listeners are able to see
beyond the literal meaning of words in a passage, using a variety of clues to
understand what the speaker is implying or suggesting. For example, when the
lecturer says, “You‟re in a non smoking zone area,” he or she is asking the students
to throw away their cigarettes.
2.3.6. The process of listening skills in language learning
There are two kinds of processes involved in understanding a spoken
discourse. These are often referred to as bottom-up and top-down processing of
listening (Richards, 2008: 4).
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