Using digital stories to teach english listening skill at thai binh duong primary schoolefl teachers’ perceptions and difficulties

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

PHAM THI THANH THUY

USING DIGITAL STORIES TO TEACH
ENGLISH LISTENING SKILL AT THAI BINH
DUONG PRIMARY SCHOOL: EFL
TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND
DIFFICULTIES

Major: English Language
Course code: 80220201

HO CHI MINH CITY, SEPTEMBER 2021


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

USING DIGITAL STORIES TO TEACH
ENGLISH LISTENING SKILL AT THAI BINH
DUONG PRIMARY SCHOOL: EFL TEACHERS’
PERCEPTIONS AND DIFFICULTIES
Submitted to the
Faculty of English Language
in partial fulfillment of the master’s degree in English Language
Course code: 80220201

By

PHAM THI THANH THUY
Supervised by

DUONG MY THAM, Ph.D.

HO CHI MINH CITY, SEPTEMBER 2021


The thesis entitled “Using Digital Stories to Teach English Listening Skill
at Thai Binh Duong Primary School: EFL Teachers’ Perceptions and Difficulties”
was successfully defended and approved on 20/03/2021 at Ho Chi Minh City University
of Technology (HUTECH).
Academic supervisor: Duong My Tham, Ph. D

Examination Committee
1. Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Ph. D .......................................... Chair
2. Trinh Ngoc Thanh, Ph. D ................................................ Reader 1
3. Tran Quoc Thao, Ph. D ................................................... Reader 2
4. Nguyen Ngoc Tran Chau, Ph. D ..................................... Member
5. Nguyen Thi Thu, Ph. D ................................................... Secretary Member

On behalf of the Examination Committee
CHAIR

NGUYEN THI KIEU THU, Ph. D


HCMC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE
HCMC, 31/10/2022

MASTER’S THESIS REPORT
Student’s name: PHAM THI THANH THUY

Sex: Female

DOB: 07/04/1996

POB: Dong Nai

Major: English Language

Student code: 1941900047

I. Thesis title:
USING DIGITAL STORIES TO TEACH ENGLISH LISTENING SKILL AT THAI
BINH DUONG PRIMARY SCHOOL: EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND
DIFFICULTIES
II. Objectives and contents:
The purpose of this study is to investigate how the Vietnamese and foreign teachers at
Thai Binh Duong Primary School perceives the effectiveness of the digital story
adaptation on the listening skill teaching and their difficulties during the adaptation.
The results of this research indicate that digital stories have a significant influence on
the development of the students’ listening skills at various aspects. The study also shows
several difficulties that the teachers have been facing and thereby recommending several
possible solutions.
III. Starting date: July 01st, 2021
IV. Completing date: October 10th, 2022
V. Academic supervisor: Duong My Tham, Ph. D

ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR

FACULTY DEAN


i

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled:
“USING DIGITAL STORIES TO TEACH ENGLISH LISTENING SKILL AT
THAI BINH DUONG PRIMARY SCHOOL: EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS
AND DIFFICULTIES”
In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s programs issued by the
Higher Degree Committee of Faculty of English Language, Ho Chi Minh City University
of Technology.

Bien Hoa City, September 2021

PHAM THI THANH THUY


ii

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, PHAM THI THANH THUY, being a candidate for the degree of
Master of Arts (English Language) accept the requirements of the University relating to
the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library.
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my Master’s Thesis deposited in

the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with
the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan, and reproduction
for theses.

Bien Hoa City, October 2022

PHAM THI THANH THUY


iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Firstly, I would like to express my grateful gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Duong My
Tham, who has been constantly and patiently given guidance, instruction, insightful
advice and encouragement during the research process. It is impossible for this thesis to
be completed without her enthusiastic consultancy.

Secondly, I would like to show my gratefulness to Ho Chi Minh City University of
Technology (HUTECH), especially the Institute of Postgraduate Studies and the Faculty
of English Language for the opportunity to pursue my higher education and the support
I have been offered whenever problems arising.

Thirdly, I would like to send my special thanks to Dr. Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Dean of
the Faculty of English Language, for the kind benefits my classmate and I have received
the whole time. Without her constant support, we could not finish all the assignments on
time during the learning process.

Finally, I am really grateful to the board of directors and the teachers at Thai Binh Duong
Primary School for the permission and the support to successfully conduct my study.

Without their assistance, I could not complete my thesis as expected.

PHAM THI THANH THUY


iv

ABSTRACT
The digital story has emerged as a new method to teach language skills to various
types of learners from different backgrounds due to its flexibility, engaging aspects, and
linguistic features. Even though it has been widely used in various countries, including
EFL, and ESL, it has not been given deserved studies for what it offers, especially in the
regions where residents treat English as a foreign language. This study aimed to
investigate the efficiency of the digital story in enhancing students’ listening skills in an
international school, Thai Binh Duong Primary School, with the hope that the study can
provide data on the teachers’ perspectives on the application of digital stories.
Furthermore, the study investigates possible difficulties in the teaching process in which
digital stories were employed as a learning tool. The findings indicated that digital stories
were positively perceived as an effective tool to teach listening skills. Particularly, the
digital story-based class offered several effective factors to the students’ listening skill
development in terms of language knowledge, the listening sub-skills, and the learning
environment. Furthermore, the study revealed several difficulties that the teachers have
faced such as technical issues, the influence of the content upon the young learners, and
the complication of the linguistic features. Finally, the study states some limitations and
recommendations for future research as it should be done with different approaches and
with different subjects to ensure the variousness of the research topic in the field.
Keywords: EFL teachers, digital story, listening skill, primary education


v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

i

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

iii

ABSTRACT

iv

CHAPTER 1

1

1.1.

Background to the study

1

1.2.

Statement of the problem

3

1.3.

Research objectives

4

1.4.

Research questions

5

1.5.

Scope of the study

5

1.6.

Significance of the study

6

1.7.

Definition of the key terms

6

1.8.

Organization of the Study

7

CHAPTER 2

9

2.1.

9

Listening skills

2.1.1. Definition

9

2.1.2. Role of listening in language education

10

2.1.3. Models of listening process

11

2.2.

2.1.3.1.

Decoding process

11

2.1.3.2.

Meaning-building process

14

Digital stories

15

2.2.1. Definition

15

2.2.2. Benefits of using digital stories in EFL education

16

2.2.2.1.

Rich knowledgeable content provision

16

2.2.2.2.

Language skill enhancement

16

2.2.2.3.

Collaboration and communication

17

2.2.3. Difficulties of applying digital stories/technology-based learning tools in English
Language Teaching

17


vi

2.2.3.1.

Technical issues

17

2.2.3.2.

Learning styles and motivation

18

2.3.

Previous studies

18

2.4.

Research gaps

22

2.5.

Conceptual Framework of the Study

22

2.6.

Chapter Summary

24

CHAPTER 3

25

3.1.

Research Questions

25

3.2.

Research design

25

3.3.

Research site

27

3.4.

Sample and sampling procedures

28

3.5.

Research instruments

29

3.5.1. Questionnaire

29

3.5.2. Semi-structured interview

31

3.6.

Pilot study

34

3.7.

Data collection and analysis procedures

35

3.7.1. The questionnaire

36

3.7.2. The semi-structured interview

37

3.8.

38

Validity and Reliability

3.8.1. Questionnaire

38

3.8.2. Interview questions

39

3.9

Ethical Issues

39

3.10

Summary

40

CHAPTER 4

41

4.1.

41

Results

4.1.1. Teachers’ perceptions of the benefits of the application of the digital stories in teaching
listening skill
42
4.1.2. The difficulties in adopting digital story-based teaching

48

4.2.

52

Discussion

4.2.1. The teachers’ perceptions on the implementation of the digital stories in teaching
listening skill

52


vii
4.2.2. The teachers’ difficulties in teaching listening skills with digital story-based classes 54

4.3.

Summary

56

CHAPTER 5

56

5.1.

Conclusion

57

5.2.

Pedagogical Implications

58

5.2.1.

Implications for Teachers

58

5.2.2.

Implications for Administrators

59

5.3.

Limitations

60

5.4.

Recommendations for Future Research

60

5.5.

Chapter Summary

60

REFERENCES

61

APPENDICES

70

APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE (ENGLISH VERSION)

70

APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE (VIETNAMESE VERSION)

73

APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (ENGLISH VERSION)

76

APPENDIX D: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (VIETNAMESE VERSION)

77

ENDORSEMENT FORM

78

PLAGIARISM CHECK RESULT

79

LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1 Decoding Process of Listening ...............................................................................14
Table 2.2 Meaning-Building Process of Listening ................................................................15
Table 3.1 Cronbach’s Alpha of The Pilot ..............................................................................35
Table 4.1 Teachers’ Responses on The Merits of The Digital Stories .................................43
Table 4.2 The Language Knowledge ......................................................................................43

Table 4.3 The Listening Sub-Skills.........................................................................................45
Table 4.4 The Learning Environment....................................................................................46


viii

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1 Levels of Utterance ................................................................................................13
Figure 2.2 Conceptual Framework of The Study .................................................................24
Figure 3.1 Data Collection and Analysis Procedures ...........................................................36
Figure 4.1 Possible Challenges When Teaching with Digital Stories ..................................49


ix

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
EFL: English as a Foreign Language

TPS: Thai Binh Duong Primary School


CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background to the study
English has been considered one of the crucial international communication
languages all over the world for its widely used and adaptation as most countries in the
world now adopt English into their primary educational program and their career options
as well. Furthermore, the English teacher has been acknowledged as a rising career trend
in many countries, especially teachers in internationally characterized schools. As
Jenkins (2009) mentions, English as an International Language is the term that becomes

more and more common in the TESOL profession over time. In Vietnam, English teacher
is not a new job but adapting the international methods of teaching has become common
in recent decades. In addition, the number of rising international schools, where English
is realized as the main language in the teaching program and daily communication at
school, affects the change of teaching objectives and goals respectively. Nguyen Thi Mai
Hoa (2011) states that at the current time, EFL in Vietnam has gained higher status than
before. The data in Le Thi Hong Cam and Phuong Hoang Yen’s (2017) study shows that
more than 99 percent of junior students in Vietnam are studying English in schools. Now,
language skills and ability are focused on more than just its function and grammatical
structure usage in Vietnam. One of the skills that have challenged the English teachers’
teaching skills, especially the teachers in Vietnam, is the listening skill requiring learners
to acknowledge the function of pronunciation, the stress, the intonation in the listening
process; and the linking sounds system of the language to completely understand the
speakers’ attention or the talks’ contents. Field (2008) claims that listening is generally
considered the most challenging skill in teaching and learning, especially in EFL classes.
Furthermore, most EFL students in Vietnam find that among the major skills, listening
is the most difficult skill to learn (Vu Hai Yen and Shah, 2016). Even the appropriate

1


period to develop listening ability is when the learners are in their early development,
which means elementary leaners are considered the most suitable subjects to adequately
develop the full potential of the listening skill.
According to Hamouda (2013), listening and speaking had the tendency of being
left behind due to the lack of focus on many materials and thereby, leading to the fact
that teachers tend to consider them not crucial to the teaching curriculum. As a result,
teaching listening skills used to be not considered important in many educational
facilities, especially elementary and high school. In addition, in Vietnam, listening skills
have not been treated as equally as it was supposed (Duong My Tham and Chau Thanh

Nha, 2019). The reason is that most of the English curriculum in Vietnam focus on
grammar, reading, and vocabulary to prepare for examination (Bui Thi Thuc Quyen and
Duong My Tham, 2018). To effectively teach the listening skill, besides the effective
and appropriate teaching material, the teachers were indeed required to make use of
several methods, both traditional and modern. Nevertheless, it is proven that the role of
speaking and listening skills in English teaching has received more attention throughout
the world, as Gilakjani and Ahmadi (2011) state, listening has always been an essential
part of daily communication and educational process. Furthermore, Vandergrift (1999)
mentions that listening skill plays an important part in facilitating language learning.
Eventually, there is a rise of various teaching materials focusing on the development of
the communicative competence of the learners.
For the current few decades, digital stories have been rising as one of the effective
methods to teach listening for elementary learners due to its content variation and the
interesting aspects it brings about. The digital stories have been imported in Vietnam for
a long time but only paid attention on for a few years back. A considerable number of
parents nowadays purchase the digital stories to use them as the useful bedtime story,
with the purpose of not only to help the children get to know the world around them, but
somehow to teach them the function of the language. As seeing the educational potential

2


aspect, digital stories have been adapted in many educational programs in the world and
Vietnam is not the exception. Various international and private schools have been step
by step adapting it as a trial for the curriculum modification in the future aiming that it
can become one of the main materials to teach the elementary learners.
1.2. Statement of the problem
Since the beginning of the new method of English language education, which
focuses mainly on developing leaners’ four major skills, listening has been considered
the most complicated skill to teach, especially to elementary learners. According to

Graham and Santos (2015), there has been a gap “between theoretical development in
listening research and materials for listening pedagogy”, which results in the lack of
appropriate instruction of students’ approach of listening. In addition, various studies
indicate that children learning English as Foreign Language tend to score lower than
children speak English as their mother tongue in reading and listening, given the same
examination (Burgoyne et al., 2009; Rosowsky, 2001). Furthermore, as McKendry and
Murphy (2011) state, there is a lack of research focus on the listening skill in primary
education, especially in countries where children are learning EFL. EFL students’
development of productive and receptive competences are at different rates in primary
education (Lee, 1986). This indicates that in primary learning environment, it is
important to create a balance among the major skills, but also help the students with their
driven-examination curriculum. Furthermore, in primary education, it is vital to measure
the students’ listening performance under the amount of content they actually are capable
of comprehending based on their cognitive level, rather than requiring them to fully listen
to a whole complex conversation.
The digital stories are believed to help students, even with limited ability of
English, engage in rich and complex interpretations of texts (Early and Marshall, 2008).
It means that instead of introducing students with the tradition engagement of literacy
such as written books or novels at the very young age, “visually symbolic representations

3


of key elements” are more effective and engaging (Towndrow and Pereira, 2018).
Furthermore, digital stories can provide visual and verbal interpretations, which extend
the concept of literacy (Towndrow and Pereira, 2018).
Thai Binh Duong Primary School is seen as the pioneer of the international
educational facility in Dong Nai Province, which is still on its way to bring the most
efficient learning experience to the local students, especially the elementary ones. The
digital stories, which are used to mainly teach elementary students listening and reading

comprehension, are during trial period and if the adaptation shows positive effect, the
use of digital stories will be made positive in the future curriculum.
When digital stories were introduced into the school, a solution for the problems
was found. It was put into use in some of the elementary classes, whose students possess
an adequate level of language ability. Therefore, the effectiveness of the adaptation of
this new material in terms of teaching listening skill has still stirred up quite an argument
among teachers who are using it. In addition, as the use of the material gradually
develops, there have been issues emerging during the teaching process of the teachers.
Therefore, considering the necessary for an investigation to be conducted on the
TPS’s teachers’ viewpoints and teaching practices on the use of the digital stories in
teaching listening skill to elementary students, the author decided to carry out a study
within the school regarding the issues. Moreover, the need for investigating teachers’
difficulties in using digital stories was also considered important because the results of
the investigation would provide useful data for future additional features of teaching
curriculum. Hence, the data could serve as a useful tool to help teachers overcome
challenges and get the solution for them. It is hopeful that this study can contribute
significantly to the school education curriculum and create a respectively sufficient
foundation for the future studies.
1.3. Research objectives
The study aimed to achieve the following objectives:

4


1. To explore EFL teachers’ perceptions of the benefits of digital stories in
teaching listening skill at Thai Binh Duong Primary School.
2. To scrutinize difficulties EFL teachers may encounter during the English
listening teaching process in the digital story-based classroom.
1.4. Research questions
The study focused on the matter raised by the following issues: (1) how the teachers

perceive the effectiveness of the application of digital stories in teaching listening skill;
and (2) the possible challenges the teachers face during the application of the digital
stories. Particularly, the study seeks to answer the following questions:
1. What are the EFL teachers’ perceptions of the benefits of digital stories in
teaching English listening skill at TPS?
2. What are the difficulties encountered by the EFL teachers during the English
listening teaching process in the digital story-based classroom?
1.5. Scope of the study
The study focused mainly on the application of digital stories to teach English
listening skill perceived by EFL teachers at TPS, who have been currently using the
digital stories as a tool to teach English listening skill in elementary classes and possible
obstacles during their teaching practices. In particular, the study investigated how the
teachers perceived the benefits of digital stories on feature in terms of students’ listening
skill development and the challenges the teachers faced during the application.
The study was conducted with the participation of 30 EFL teachers who oversaw
15 elementary classes in TPS (25 students/class) using two research instruments, which
were the questionnaire for quantitative data and the semi-structured interview for the
qualitative data. The participants consisted of both Vietnamese teachers and foreign
teachers who were using digital stories in their teaching.

5


1.6. Significance of the study
The study shows its significance in both theoretical and practical aspects.
Theoretically, the study is expected to help determine the perspectives on the use of
digital stories in teaching listening skill and thereby, suggesting appropriate ways to
make use of digital stories through real experience in teaching practice of the teachers.
Practically, the results of the study are hoped to aid the teachers and the curriculum
designers to have more data and evidence to effectively utilize the digital stories in

enhancing elementary learners’ listening skill.
In particular, since the adaptation of the digital stories in teaching English listening
skill, there has been little number of studies conducted relating to the educational context
in general, and to the listening skill of the primary students in particular. As a result, this
research was carried out in the hope of providing opportunities for the entry of future
studies and data for the teachers, new and former, as well as the board of directors for
future educational curriculum consideration. More specifically, the study hopes to
provide teachers and administrators a foundation to effectively adopt the digital stories
in teaching curriculum as well as a small number of the possible difficulties during the
adaptation for future consideration. Furthermore, the study also is expected to offer a
chance for both native and foreign teachers to have time discussing on the teaching
materials, which is really useful for future teaching program. Finally, the study is hoped
to provide theoretical foundation for the future research on the relation of the study.
1.7. Definition of the key terms
The following definitions interpret the existing terms which appear throughout the
study:
Difficulties are referred to as the challenges the teachers have been facing during
the listening skill teaching process in which digital stories were employed.
Digital stories refer to made-up, adopted or re-told stories that are digitally made
and stored.

6


Foreign EFL teachers refer to the foreigners who teach English as the main
subject in TPS.
Listening skill is the process of comprehending what is being heard by analyzing
the language of the context.
Teachers’ perspectives involve teachers’ viewpoints on the adaptation of digital
stories in teaching English listening skill.

TPS students are students in elementary classes learning English listening skill
with digital stories at Thai Binh Duong primary school.
Vietnamese EFL teachers refer to the Vietnamese who teach English as the main

subject in TPS.

1.8. Organization of the Study
The thesis includes a total of five chapters, which are accordingly listed as
Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results and Discussion, and Conclusion
and Recommendations.
The Chapter 1, Introduction, presents the background of the study, statement of the
problem, main aims and objectives, research questions, scope and significance of the
study, and a list of brief definition of key terms.
In Chapter 2, Literature Review, a number of previous literatures relating to the
thesis topic are summarized to provide empirical background for the study. Firstly, the
concepts of listening skill in general and particularly in education are presented in terms
of the definition and the viewpoints. Secondly, the digital stories are introduced
regarding the definition and the benefits when adapting in teaching English. In addition,
the possible difficulties of the adaption will also be presented in the section. Furthermore,
some previous studies, in particular, about the adaptation of digital stories in teaching
listening skill, with international context and in Vietnam are being discussed. Finally,

7


following what being discussed in the literature review, a conceptual framework of the
study is formed.
The Chapter 3, Methodology, has a first section mention the research questions
again as a reminder for readers to follow the thesis issues. Next, the research design is
introduced and following is the research site. After that, the sampling procedure is

described in detail with the description of the participants. The key component of the
research, the research instruments are analyzed after the description of the sampling
procedure. The data collection and analysis are then presented accordingly. Finally, at
the end of the chapter, a section of reliability and validity, and the ethical issues is
described.
Chapter 4, Results and Discussion, interprets the findings generated in the study
following the data collected from the semi-structed interview. Then, the findings are
discussed regarding the significant and the contribution according to the literature
reviewed in Chapter 2.
In Chapter 5, the findings interpretation is summarized for conclusion. Following
is the provision of recommendations on the contribution of the findings for the future
pedagogical studies and practices. Finally, the chapter ends by presenting some
limitations of the research and suggestions for the future projects.

8


CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Listening skills
2.1.1. Definition
The definition of the listening skills can be found in various literature. According
to Janusik (2007), listening skills consist of six common elements: perception, attention,
remembering, interpreting, evaluating and responding. Based on the different language
level of the students, one element can be accordingly concentrated more on others.
Brownell (2012), on the other hand, defined listening skills as the combination of
hearing, understanding, remembering, interpreting, evaluating and responding. It can be
understood that listening skills are considered the components of the comprehensive
process through listening activities. Bourdeaud’hui et all. (2018) analyzes and summarizes
the listening skills as what the listeners do in accordant steps to reach the comprehensive

outcome of what is presented.
Smialek and Boburka (2006) indicate listening skills can be understood in terms of
critical or perceptive features. In the critical concept, listening skills are the way the
students use their perceptions, through instructed or trained techniques, to develop
critical though towards the listening materials to produce comprehensive outcome. On
the other hand, perceptive listening skills are the process of students making use of their
prior knowledge, through problem-solving approach guided by the teachers, interpret
and response the listening sources.
As Bite (2013) defines, listening skill is considered an effective message receiving
ability, which can be understood that to absorb the utterance produced by the speaker,
there needs to be a combination of listening process and psychological involvement. On
the other hand, the definition by Walberg (2004), which is more related to students’
learning process, informs that listening skill is considered the insights and information
acquisition.

9


2.1.2. Role of listening in language education
As Baurain (2011) mentions, not only in daily life, listening pedagogy plays an
important part in language education. However, listening has been considered being
taught and practiced as a merely technical skill or proficiency. Therefore, it is essential
that listening should be treated more seriously as among the four major English skills.
Baurain indicates that besides the practical aspect, listening in language education should
also be focused on the moral and relational activity. In particular, in stead of being seen
as a substitution to the major speaking skill, listening has become recognized as a distinct
area of language proficiency.
Graham, Santos and Brophy (2014) view listening in language education, on the
other hand, a teachable effective skill rather than a distinguished component of language
proficiency. It means that listening can serve as the key element to reach the output of

language proficiency and comprehension. Listening can be used as the activities to
activate students’ later language acquisition in terms of speaking and writing.
Furthermore, regarding the other aspect in language education such as confidence,
autonomy and teaching approach, listening has a role as a booster to encourage students
or teachers to engage the language more proficiently. Furthermore, to pedagogical
principles, listening is an important initial skill that devotes to other language skills
acquisition.
Another implication of listening in education is that listening can be a measurement
to classify students’ levels language ability or as a main medium to transfer the
knowledge (Beall et al., 2008). Furthermore, listening can be considered a standard to
evaluate students’ general language proficiency when effective listeners are generally
more successful in school (Dickinson et al., 2003). Field (2008) sees listening in
education in two perspectives, to native and foreign speakers. It is undeniable that to
native speaker, listening is taught as a subordinal element, which is used to demonstrate
other key matters such as grammar, vocabulary, speaking and writing. However,

10


considering the foreign speakers’ context, speaking is considered the equivalent
competencies with listening. In order to get fluency forms of speaking, learners should
be able to be effective listeners first. In addition, in EFL classroom concept, students are
usually graded mainly based on the basis of grammar tests, in which listening role is very
minimal; and this leads to students’ lack of lesson comprehension later because of the
insufficient training of listening in education (Field, 2008). That is to say, listening plays
as a key component in education progress, as it can be various attribution to the learning
process of the students.
2.1.3. Models of listening process
2.1.3.1.

Decoding process

According to Field (2008), listening can be divided into two main models of
process based on the purpose and the level of language acquisition. The first model,
called decoding process, focuses on the linguistic features of the utterance, which
learners need to identify components to explicit the meaning and comprehend. This
process aligns with the implication of Steele (2004) about the listening process. In this
process, the utterance is divided into levels which learners practice in micro-listening
sessions. For each level of utterance analysis stage, the listening process is conducted in
different decoding steps. The below are the illustration of the presentation of utterance
stages and the following listening decoding process, taken from Field (2008).

11


Figure 2.1. Levels of Utterance

12