Difficulties encountered by the 11th form students at Cẩm Thủy 2 Secondary School when learning the English listening skill Những khó khăn trong việc học kĩ nă

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST–GRADUATE STUDIES
*****************

LÊ THỊ SÁU

DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY THE 11th FORM STUDENTS AT
CẨM THỦY II SECONDARY SCHOOL WHEN LEARNING
THE ENGLISH LISTENING SKILL

(Những khó khăn trong việc học kĩ năng nghe của học sinh khối 11
Trường THPT Cẩm Thủy 2)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology
Code: 60 14 10

HA NOI – 2013


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST–GRADUATE STUDIES
*****************

LÊ THỊ SÁU

DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY THE 11th FORM STUDENTS AT
CẨM THỦY II SECONDARY SCHOOL WHEN LEARNING

THE ENGLISH LISTENING SKILL

(Những khó khăn trong việc học kĩ năng nghe của học sinh khối 11
Trường THPT Cẩm Thủy 2)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology
Code: 60 14 10
Supervisor: Lâm Thị Phúc Hân, M.A.

HA NOI – 2013


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
L2: The second language
CT2SS: Cẩm Thủy 2 Secondary School
Sts: students
LC: Listening comprehension

iv


LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND CHARTS

Page

Table 1: Students‟ goal to learn English

21

Table 2: Students general self-rating to listening proficiency

22

Table 3: Pronunciation in the cassette tape

27

Table 4: Problems related to the learners

29

Table 5: Students‟ opinion towards the listening environment at school

32

Table 6: Students‟ expectation from their teachers in helping them better

33

learning English listening skills
Chart 1: Students‟ attitude towards English listening skills

22

Chart 2: Students‟ frequency in listening English outside class

23

Chart 3: Students‟ assessment to difficulty` of listening tasks in the textbook

24

Chart 4: Students‟ Evaluation on Listening Activities in "Tieng Anh 11"

25

Chart 5: Speed in cassette tapes

27

Chart 6: Students‟ involvement in listening lesson

28

Chart 7: Students‟ opinion about the role of signals in listening texts

30

Chart 8: Students‟ expectation from the listening environment

33

v


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration

i

Acknowledgement

ii

Abstract

iii

List of abbreviations

iv

List of tables, figures and charts

v

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1

1 Rationale for the study

1

2. Purpose of the study

1

3. Scope of the study

2

4. Methods of the study

2

5. Significance of the study

2

6. Organization of the study

3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

4

CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW

4

1.1. Introduction

4

1.2. Theoretical background of listening skills

4

1.2.1. What is Listening Comprehension?

4

1.2.1.1. Definitions

4

vi


1.2.1.2 The importance and purposes of the listening skill

6

1.2.1.3. Nature of Listening

7

1.2.1.4. The process involved in the listening skill

8

1.2.2. Teaching the listening skill

9

1.2.2.1. The listening skill

9

1.2.2.2. Phases in teaching the listening skill

10

1.2. 3. Potential problems in learning to listening to English

11

1.2.3.1. Speed of delivery

11

1.2.3.2. Inability to get thing repeated

12

1.2.3.3. Limited vocabulary

12

1.2.3.4. Unrecognizing the signals

12

1.2.3.5. Listeners’ lack of contextual knowledge or background knowledge

13

1.2.3.6. Inability to concentrate

13

1.2.3.7. Learning habits

14

CHAPTER II: THE STUDY

15

2.1. Introduction

15

2.2. The setting of the study

15

2.2.1. English teaching and learning situations at CT2SS

15

2.2.2. The students’ background and their English levels

16

2.2.3. Listening text books

16

2.3. Data collection

17

2.3.1. Selecting the subjects

17

2.3.2. Data collection instruments

18

2.3.2.1. The questionnaire for the students

18

vii


2.3.2.2. Interviews

19

2.3.3. Procedures to collect data

19

2.4. Data analysis

20

2.4.1. Sts’ attitude toward the importance of learning English listening skills

20

2.4.2. The listening comprehension difficulties encountered

24

by the 11th form Sts at CT2SS
2.4.2.1. Problems related to the listening material

24

2.4.2.2. Problems related to the learners.

28

2.4.2.3. Problems related to the environment.

31

2.4.3. Suggestions for the teachers to help the students overcome

33

these difficulties.

CHAPTER III: FINDING AND DISCUSSION

35

3.1. Major findings and discussions

35

3.1.1. The students’ attitude towards learning the listening skill

35

3.1.2. Difficulties in learning the listening skill

35

3.1.2.1. Problems from the materials

35

3.1.2.2. Problems from the learners

36

3.1.2.3. Problems from the listening environment

36

3.2. Suggestions for teachers and the students in teaching and learning

36

the listening skill

viii


3.2.1. For the students

37

3.2.1.2. Practice listening frequently outside class

37

3.2.1.3. Practice using listening strategies

37

3.2.1.4. Considering signals

38

3.2.2. For the teachers

38

3.2.2.1. Activating the students’ vocabulary

38

3.2.2.2. Giving extracurricular activities

38

3.2.2.3. Pronunciation

38

3.2.2.4. Encouraging the students to relate their background knowledge

39

with the topic they are going to listen
3.2.2.5. Guiding the students which listening strategies should be

39

used for each task
3.2.2.6. Using the tapes and radios with good quality

40

3.2.2.7. Providing and trying to again as much feedback as possible

40

3.2.2.8. Improving the learning environment of listening skills

40

3.3. Summary

41

PART C: CONCLUSION

42

1. Summary of the study

42

2. Limitations of the study

43

ix


3. Suggestions for further research

43

REFERENCES

45

APPENDICES

I

x


PART A: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale
Language is a means helping people to communicate with each others. Without
language, people can not understand each other properly. However, to master a language
is not easy at all.
Of the four language skills -Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing-that all
language learners are supposed to acquire, listening is believed to be the most challenging
due to the complex and subtle nature of listening comprehension in L2 or foreign
language. It takes much time and effort to make progress in this skill.
In Vietnam, a lot of students encounter listening problems in foreign language
learning, especially for Sts in mountainous areas, listening skill is much more difficult
because of both objective and subjective reasons. That‟s why I chose this thesis
“Difficulties encountered by the 11th form students at Cẩm Thủy 2 Secondary School
when learning the English listening skill”. I hope this thesis will help both teachers and
Sts to realize the factors obstacling the students in learning the English listening skill,
then find out solutions to this problem.
1.2. Purpose of the study
The main purpose of the study is to probe difficulties encountered by the 11th form
students at Cam Thuy II secondary school (CT2SS), in Thanh Hoa province in learning
the listening skill. Within this purpose, the three central objectives are:
-

Investigating the 11th form Sts‟ attitudes at CT2SS towards listening

-

Finding out the difficulties encountered by the Sts in learning the listening skill

-

Giving suggestions with the hope of helping the Sts improve their listening
comprehension

In order to achieve the above objectives, the study will be conducted to answer three
research questions:
1


1. How can the 11th grade Sts at CT2SS perceive the importance of studying English
listening skill?
2. What listening difficulties do the 11th grade Sts at CT2SS face when learning to listen
in English?
3. How can the teacher help the Sts overcome these listening comprehension difficulties?
1.3. Scope of the study
This minor thesis is conducted at CT2SS in order to perceive difficulties in
learning listening skills of the 11th form Sts. The study focuses on describing the
problems and factors causing such challenges, for instance, facilities, students‟ English
listening proficiency. To go ahead, the thesis also offers some appropriate suggestions to
better the current context.
1.4. Methodology of the study
To seek the answers to the research questions, both qualitative and quantitative
methods are used.
First of all, for the theoretical basis, a lot of reference materials on listening skills
have been collected, analyzed and synthesized carefully with the due consideration for
the students‟ learning situations.

Secondly, a survey questionnaire has been conducted with the students to collect
the data. Then, follow-up interviews have been carried out with students to gather the
most reliable data for analysis to find the answers to the research questions mentioned
above.
1.5. Significance of the study
This study may provide insights into the process of learning the listening skill for
the students. It can help students understand why they have difficulties in the listening

2


skill. It also gives some suggestions to help students overcome the difficulties. It may
play a crucial role in enhancing the listening skill to the students.
1.6. Organization of the study
The thesis is divided into 3 parts:
PART A: INTRODUCTION. This part refers to the rationale, aims, scope, methods,
research questions and organization of the stud.
PART B: DEVELOPMENT. This consists of three chapters.
CHAPTER I – LITERARUTE REVIEW conceptualizes the definition of the listening skill,
the importance and purposes of listening, nature of listening, the process of listening,
teaching the listening skill, phases in teaching the listening skill and potential problems in
learning to listen to English
CHAPTER II: THE STUDY presents the methodology used in the study including the
setting, sample, data collection instrument, data collection procedure and data analysis.
CHAPTER III: MAJOR FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION shows some major findings and
suggestions for learning listening skills.
PART C: CONCLUSION. It is comprised of CONCLUSION, which revisits the main
points discussed in the study, some limitations of the study and recommendations for
future researches will be presented.

3


PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Introduction
This chapter discusses a variety of issues in the theories of listening skill. The
following main points will be presented: definitions, the importance and purposes of the
listening skill; the nature, the process of listening, and phases in teaching the listening
skill and potential problems in learning to listen in English
1.2. Theoretical background of the listening skill
1.2.1. What is the listening skill?
1.2.1.1. Definitions
Listening is considered as one of the most important skills in acquiring both a
native language and a second or foreign language; It is being paid more and more
attention to. So far, there have been a number of definitions of listening by different
linguists such as Howatt and Dakin (1974); Wolvin and Coakley (1982); Pearson (1983);
Hirsch (1986); Feyten (1991); Scarcella and Oxford (1992); Bentley & Bacon (1996)
Howatt and Dakin (1974) defined listening as the ability to identify and
understand what others are saying. This involves understanding a speaker's accent or
pronunciation, his grammar and his vocabulary, and grasping his meaning.
Wolvin and Coakley (1982) regarded listening "the process of receiving, attending
to and assigning meaning to aural stimuli".
Pearson (1983) stated “Listening involves the simultaneous organization and
combination of skills in Phonology, Syntax, Semantics, and knowledge of the text
structure, all of which seem to be controlled by the cognitive process. Thus it can be said
that though not fully realized, the listening skill is essential in acquiring language
proficiency”.
4

Hirsch (1986) gave another definition “Listening as an aspect of skills: involves
neurological response and interpretations of sounds to understand and to give meaning by
reacting, selecting meaning, remembering, attending, analyzing and including previous
experience.”
Bentley & Bacon (1996) stated that listening, an important part of the second
language learning process has also been defined as an active process during which the
listener constructs meaning from oral input.
To sum up, all of definitions are given with a view to clarifying the nature of the
listening skill which is necessary in the process of acquiring a native language or a
foreign one.
1.2.1.2 The importance and purposes of the listening skill in the language learning
process
It can‟t be denied that listening plays a vital role in our daily lives. People listen
for different purposes such as entertainment,
academic

purposes

or

obtaining

necessary

information.
People are believed to use more time
listening

in

comparison

with

other

skills.

According to Adler, R. et al (2001), adults spend
an average of 70% of their time engaged in some
sort of communication, of this an average of 45%
is spent listening compared to 30% speaking, 16% reading and 9% writing.
Rivers (1981) stated that listening is a critical element in the competent language
performance of adult second language learners, whether they are communicating at
school, at work, or in the community. Through the normal course of a day, listening is
used nearly twice as much as speaking and four to five times as much as reading and
5


writing. In a recent study of Fortune 500 Corporations, Wolvin and Coakley (1991) found
that listening was perceived to be crucial for communication at work with regards to
entry-level employment,

job

success,

general

career

competence,

managerial

competency, and effectiveness of relationships between supervisors and subordinates.
The importance of the listening skill can not be denied, however, different scholars
give their own views about how it is important.
Some practitioners believe that language learning is a linear process, starting with
the spoken language medium (listening and speaking) and then moving to the written
medium (reading and writing). Listening is the means to initiate oral production, which
tends to be an imitation of spoken texts. The second view places listening along with the
other three language modalities (speaking, reading and writing) in an intersectative mode.
All four modalities should be thought simultaneously, so that practice in one area can
reinforce and develop the other forms of communication (Rivers, 1987).
A third view emphasizes listening as the primary source of linguistic input, which
activates the language learning process. Rost (1994:141-142) claimed that 'Listening is
vital in the language classroom because it provides input for the learners. Without
understanding input at the right level, any learning simply cannot begin”. According to
this scholar, without understanding input appropriately, learning simply can not get any
improvement. In addition, without listening skill, no communication can be achieved.
Though different linguists give a number of views about the importance of
listening, they all claim that listening play a vital role in communication and in learning a
language. Listening is essential not only as receptive skill but also to the development of
spoken language prophecy
1.2.1.3. Nature of the listening skill
When we talk about listening, we tend to assume it as hearing. However, as stated
above, listening involves a more complex process than hearing (Burley- Alen, 1982).
Hearing is the process in which sound waves are received and modified by the ear while

listening refers to a process of being aware of sound sequences. In listening to speech, the
6


person first identifies the component sounds and then recognizes sound sequences as
known words through the avenues of auditory analysis, mental reorganization and
association of meaning. It can be said that listening is a skill characterized as a highlycomplex problem –solving activity.
In the past, listening comprehension was usually characterized as a passive activity
(Bacon, 1989). However, many theorists realized that listening is not a passive but an
active process of constructing meaning from a stream of sounds (McDonough, 1999;
Rivers & Temperly, 1978; Thompson & Rubin, 1996; Vandergrift, 1998; Weissenrieder,
1987; Wing, 1986).
As Anderson and Lynch(1988) described, there are two principal sources of
information we should consult in the process of comprehension: Schematic information
and systematic knowledge. Schematic information involves background knowledge, and
systematic knowledge refers to knowledge of the language such as semantic, syntactic
and phonological knowledge .
Cognitive psychology defines comprehension as information processing.
Schemata are the guiding structures in the comprehension process. The schema is
described by Rumelhart (1980, p. 34) as ―a data structure for representing the generic
concepts stored in memory. It can be used to represent our knowledge about all concepts:
those underlying objects, situations, events, sequences of events, actions and sequences
of

actions. According to the cognitive comprehension theory, ―schema means an

abstract textual structure that the listener uses to make sense of the given text. The
listener makes use of linguistic and situational cues and also the expectations he/she has
about the new input to evoke schemata. When a schema has been evoked, it will become
a guiding structure in comprehension. If the incoming information is matched with the

schema, then the listeners have succeeded in comprehending the text; if they are not
compatible, either the information or the schema will be discarded or modified.

7


1.2.1.4. The process involved in the listening skill
Specific listening activities can be approached in terms of two distinct processes involved
in listening skill: bottom-up and top-down processing (Chaudron & Richards, 1986).
Bottom-up processing
Bottom-up processing refers to deriving the meaning of the message based on the
incoming language data, from sounds, to words, to grammatical relationships, to
meaning. Stress, rhythm, and intonation also play a role in bottom-up processing.
Bottom-up processing would be activated as the learner is signaled to verify
comprehension by the trainer/teacher asking a question using the declarative form with
rising intonation ("You see that switch there?"). Practice in recognizing statements and
questions that differ only in intonation help the learner develop bottom-up processing
skills.
Top-down processing
Top-down processing: is explained as employing background knowledge in
comprehending the meaning of a message. Carrell and Eisterhold (1983) point out that in
top-down processing, the system makes general predictions based on- a higher level,
general schemata, and then searches the input for information to fit into these practically
satisfied, higher order schemata. In terms of listening, the listener actively constructs (or
reconstructs) the original meaning of the speaker employing new input as clues. In this
reconstruction process, the listener employs prior knowledge of the context and situation
within which the listening occurs to understand what he/she hears. Context and situation
involve such things as knowledge of the topic at hand, the speaker or speakers, and their
correlation with the situation, as well as with each other and previous events. We must
realize if the incoming information the listener hears is unfamiliar to him, it can„t evoke

his schemata and he can only depend heavily on his linguistic knowledge in LC.

8


Besides, although the listener can trigger a schema, he might not have the suitable
schema expected by the speaker.
Thus, only relying on top-down processing may result in the failure of
comprehension The interactive processing (the third type) overcomes the disadvantages
of bottom-up processing and top-down processing to augment the comprehension. In the
early 1980s, it was the tendency that only top -down processing was acknowledged to
improve L2 listening comprehension. However it is now more generally accepted that
both top-down and bottom-up listening processing should be combined to enhance LC.
Complex and simultaneous processing of background knowledge information, contextual
information and linguistic information make comprehension an interpretation become
easy. When the content of the material is familiar to the listener, he will employ his
background knowledge at the same time to make predictions which will be proved by the
new input.
In conclusion, learners need to be aware that both of these processes affect their
listening comprehension, and they need to be given opportunities to practice employing
each of them. The best way is to combine both of these processing. Because each of them
has their own disadvantages and advantages. Using the interactive process ( both of
them) helps us overcomes the disadvantages of bottom-up processing and top-down
processing to augment the comprehension
1.2.2. Teaching the listening skill
1.2.2.1. The listening skill
Listening skill is one of the most difficult and challenge to a learner so it is not
easy to be a successful listener. An able listener, as Willis (1981:134)pointed out, can do
these things simultaneously: (1) predicting what people are going to talk about, (2)
guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic, (3) using one's own knowledge of

the subject to help one understand, (4) identifying relevant points; rejecting irrelevant
information, (5) retaining relevant points (note-taking, summarizing), (6) recognizing
9


discourse markers, (7) recognizing cohesive devices, including linking words, pronouns,
references, etc, (8) understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress, etc.,
which give clues to meaning and social setting, (9) understanding inferred information, e.
g. , speakers' attitude or intentions.
1.2.2.2. Phases in teaching the listening skill
A well-designed listening activity should be broken down into carefully sequenced
"phases" that build on each other. They are pre-listening phase, while listening phase, and
post-listening phase .
Pre listening: The initial phase is called pre-listening phase or activities . Pre-listening
activities that precede the listening passage should prepare the students for the
comprehension task by activating the students' vocabulary and background knowledge or
by providing the students with the information needed to comprehend the content of the
listening text (Dunkel, 1986; Rogers & Medley, 1988; Vandergrift, 1997).
According to Rost (1990:232), the pre-listening phase is a kind of preparatory
work which: “(...) ought to make the context explicit, clarify purposes and establish roles,
procedures and goals for listening” The pre-listening stage helps learners to find out the
aim of listening and provides the necessary background information. Jones and
Kimborough (1987:2) suggest introducing some preliminary discussion in which students
can talk together about their expectations and make predictions about what they are going
to hear.
While- listening activities should help the students develop the skill of extracting
meaning from the speech stream. While-listening activities can be shortly defined as all
tasks that students are asked to do during the time of listening to the text. The nature of
these activities is to help learners to listen for meaning, that is to elicit a message from
spoken language. Rixon (1986) points out that, at the while-listening stage students

should not worry about interpreting long questions or giving full answers, but they should
10


concentrate on comprehension, whether they have understood important information
from the passage. That means that students can focus their attention on listening itself,
rather than on worrying about reading, writing, grammar or spelling. The aim of the
while-listening stage for students is to understand the message of the text not catching
every word, they need to understand enough to collect the necessary information.
Post- listening activities are activities that follow the listening passage, on the other
hand, consist of extensions and developments of the listening task (Underwood, 1989);
they may emphasize cultural themes and socio-linguistic aspects related to the materials.
The post-listening stage comprises all the exercises which are done after listening to the
text. Some of these activities may be the extensions of those carried out at pre- and whilelistening work but some may not be related to them at all and present a totally
independent part of the listening session. Post-listening activities allow the learners to
„reflect‟ on the language from the passage; on sound, grammar and vocabulary as they
last longer than while-listening activities so the students have time to think, discuss or
write (Rixon 1986:64,97 and Underwood 1989: 78).
1.2. 3. Potential problems in learning to the English listening skill
There are a lot of potential problems in learning a language skill. For the listening
skill, Underwood (1989) offers seven conceivable causes of obstacles to efficient
listening comprehension.
1.2.3.1. Speed of delivery
Sometimes, listeners cannot control the speed of delivery, especially for beginners.
Learners often feel that the utterances disappear before they can sort them out or they
can get the message. Underwood says ,“Many English language learners believe that the
greatest difficulty with listening comprehension, as opposed to reading comprehension, is
that the learners cannot control how quickly a speaker speaks” (Underwood, 1989, p.16).
11

The reason is that speakers speak too fast, learners can not keep up with the speed. They
can not hear what is being spoken.
1.2.3.2. Inability to get things repeated
Secondly, listeners cannot always have words repeated. This is a serious problem
in learning situations. In the classroom, students often listen to their listening text on
radio controlled by teachers. Therefore, the decision as to whether or not to replay a
recording or a section of a recording is in hands of teachers, not in hands of students. This
problem can be solved only when learners are given the opportunity to control their own
machines and proceed in whatever way they wish. This problem happens not only in the
classroom, but outside it as well. Outside the classroom, listeners are not always able to
ask the speaker to repeat his utterance. This can lead their failure in listening.
1.2.3.3. Limited vocabulary
When listening, there are words or phrases that the listeners do not know. In other
words, listeners have a limited vocabulary. The speakers may choose words related to
topics the listeners do not know which obstacles the listeners in getting the message of
the passage. The listeners may wonder about the meaning of new words, so they can not
concentrate on listening the next part of the listening. Teachers, therefore, should help the
learners to know that there is not equal importance for every word and there is no need
for learners to understand all the new words when listening. They should orient students
to the topic they are going to hear so that they can find out vocabulary related to the topic
in advance.
1.2.3.4. Unrecognizing the signals
Fourthly, listeners may fail to recognize the signals, which indicate that the
speaker is moving from one point to another, giving an example, or repeating a point.
With regard to the functional effect of discourse signals on listeners‟ comprehension of
12


the discourse, Chaudron and Rechards (1986) empirically demonstrated that a speaker‟s

use of discourse markers facilitates comprehension of the incoming information.
Discourse markers used in formal situations or lectures such as “secondly”, or “then” are
comparatively evident to listeners. In informal situations or spontaneous conversations,
signals are more vague as in pauses, gestures, increased loudness….These signals are not
easy to be recognized at all.
1.2.3.5. Listeners’ lack of contextual knowledge or background knowledge
Another problem is that listeners may lack contextual knowledge. In other words,
they don‟t have enough essential background knowledge. That is the knowledge that we
possess previously about the context or passage (Ur, 1985). Many researcher agree that
prior knowledge can affect listening comprehension (Bacon, 1989; Carrell, 1983;
Connor, 1984; Chiang& Dunkel, 1992). It helps listeners

interpret the speaker‟

utterances and remove the difficulties in comprehending the text as the listeners lack the
familiarity with the target language. Bacon(1989) reported that successful listeners tend
to use their personal , world and discourse knowledge effectively. When EFL listeners
lack familiarity with the cultural element in the discourse, communication could break
down.
1.2.3.6. Inability to concentrate
Sixthly, it can be difficult for listeners to concentrate in a foreign language. This
can be caused by a number of things such as : the bad quality of machines, the poor
quality of listening materials. Other reason for loss of concentration is that the topic is not
interesting or not familiar and learners find it difficult to understand. In listening
comprehension, even the shortest breaks in attention can serious impair comprehension.
Concentration is easier when the students find the topic of the listening passage
interesting; however, students may feel listening is tiring because they must use an
enormous amount of effort to follow the meaning.
13

1.2.3.7. Learning habits
The last is students may have established some learning habits such as a wish to
understand every word. By tradition, teachers want their Sts to understand every word
they hear by repeating and pronouncing words carefully, by grading the language to suit
their level, by speaking slowly….Therefore, Sts often feel nervous when they can not
hear some words. This leads to their lack of confidence in listening. According to
Scarcella and Oxford (1992), Sts' anxiety about not understanding everything can lead
them to "discouragement, fatigue, and a general sense of failure" .

14


CHAPTER II: THE STUDY
2.1. Introduction
There are three parts in this chapter: The first part of the chapter is the setting of
the study which refers to English teaching and learning situations at CT2SS, the students‟
background, their English levels and the listening materials that are being used at school.
The second part is devoted to the presentation of data collection, which consists of
selecting the subjects, the data collection instrument and the procedure to collect data.
The final part, which is the most important one, presents the comprehensive analysis of
the data gathered from the survey questionnaire and informal interviews.
2.2. The setting of the study
2.2.1. English teaching and learning situation at CT2SS
The study was conducted at CT2SS which was established in 1984 in Cam Thuy
district, Thanh Hoa province.
There are currently 57 teachers in the school, most of whom are young (from the
age of 23 to 35) with 1-13 years of teaching experiences. Among them, there are 6 English
teachers, graduating from different universities in the country, and being well- trained and
qualified; however, they still lack teaching experience, particularly teaching English skills.

These teachers of English are in charge of 24 classes with 3 periods of English per week in
each class. Every year, they often attend summer training courses organized by Thanh Hoa
education and training bureau to learn new English teaching methods as well as new
English textbooks or how to raise the quality of teaching English
Classes at the school are very crowded with from 35 to 50 students in each class.
In addition, the desks are often arranged traditionally with rows of four desks with a
narrow isle in the middle and two narrower on the sides. There is no other empty space
left where teachers and students can move to and from if they conduct different

15


interaction activities. Also, unavoidable noise in a big class usually has bad effects on
students‟ concentration and sound quality.
Though the school has a library, a laboratory, and two computer rooms, not many
teachers make full use of them.
Like in other schools, students at CT2SS are taught all the subjects, one of which is
English. English is taught in classrooms with five parts: Listening, Speaking, Reading
Writing and Grammar within 40 weeks.
2.2.2. The students’ background and their English levels
The 11th form students at CT2SS are aged from 16 to 17. They came from
different places of Cam Thuy district. Most of them have learnt English including
listening skill since they were at grade 6. However, because of many different reasons,
the students‟ level in English is very low. They are basically beginners of English.
Moreover, they do not have clear determination on English learning goals. At the
beginning of each school year, they must take an examination to check their knowledge
of all subjects. The result points out that they are not good at English at all because most
of them got marks under 5. In addition, Cam Thuy is a remote mountainous area and the
living standard is low, students have a lot of difficulties in going to school and pursuing
their study. They do not have the best conditions to learn. For them, English is not a

popular subject and they do not pay much attention to it while the most important ones
are mathematics, physics and chemistry.
2.2.3. Listening text books
At Cam Thuy 2 secondary school, students have 3 years to learn English with six
semesters for secondary level. Each semester has 20 weeks with 60 periods, each of which
lasts 45 minutes. Like students at other secondary schools, students at Cam Thuy 2 use
English books published by Education publishing house, Grade 10 students use “ Tieng
Anh 10”, Grade 11 students use “Tieng anh 11”, and “Tieng anh 12” is used for grade 12.
All of students here learn the Basic English level.

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