The assistance of the web system in teaching listening skills at school of educational practice an giang university

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY
--------------------------------

THE ASSISTANCE OF THE WEB SYSTEM IN
TEACHING LISTENING SKILLS AT SCHOOL
OF EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE
AN GIANG UNIVERSITY

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts (TESOL)

Submitted by PHAN THỊ THÙY DUNG
Supervisor: Dr. LÊ XUÂN TRƯỜNG

HO CHI MINH, March 2011


STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I certify that this thesis entitled: “THE ASSISTANT OF THE WEB SYSTEM
IN TEACHING LISTENING SKILL AT SCHOOL OF EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE
– AN GIANG UNIVERSITY” is my own work.
Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contain
material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I
have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.
No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the
main text of the thesis.
This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any
other tertiary institution.

HO CHI MINH, 2011

PHAN THI THÙY DUNG


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my deepest thanks to my thesis supervisor, Dr Le Xuan
Truong, who provided valuable comments and supports for my thesis improvements
and completion. I could not have finished my study without his great patience and
dedication. Although his schedule was always full, he was always to read my drafts,
and give me constant guidance. He has been really my great help to complete the thesis
successfully.
I am greatly indebted to all my teachers for their dedication and helpful
instruction during the course.
My special thanks go to those who help me greatly in this study, in particular,
Mrs. Nga , Mr.Ngo Ngoc Hoa, Mr. Phan Minh Trung for their help with the data
collection for my study; all teacher and students of School of Educational Practice
participating in the study for their cooperation; all my colleagues and friends for their
support.
Last, I would like to send special thanks to my parents, to my husband, who
always listens to me and give me good advice. Thanks for his immense support,
understanding, and sacrifices.


ABSTRACT
This thesis was designed to investigate the aid of web system in teaching
listening skills, to save time on class, to evoking students’ positive attitudes and
motivation toward learning listening skills, and to increase students’ basic knowledge
at

School

of

Educational

Practice

–

An

Giang

University.

Website:

/>The research was conducted in the tenth grade at School of Educational PracticeAn Giang University. Both quality and quantity were used in this survey to explore the
advantages of the system to learners and teachers at SEP. SEP has four tenth grade
classes and the data was collected from these classes. Data was collected in the course
of the class sessions before, and after the application of the system. Questionnaires and
the pre-test and post-test were given to the students to analyzed to progress in the
students’ performance and listening skills as they continued using the web system.
The result demonstrated that having an improvement in the experimental. The
web system assisted to change students’ attitudes and motivation positively, to
facilitate the teaching of listening skill, to the progress among the students at SEP.
From this possible effectiveness of the web system through the evidence that was
showed by classes using the web system, this research suggests that the website

“English 10” is not only useful for teaching listening skills at the tenth grade but also
the other grades.


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Certificate of originality………………………………………………
Acknowledgements……………………………………………………
Abstract………………………………………………………………..
Table of contents………………………………………………………
List of figures………………………………………………………….
List of tables…………………………………………………………...
Abbreviations…………………………………………………………..

Page
i
ii
iii
iv
V
vi
vii

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION……………………………………...
1.1. Background………………………………………………………
1.2. Statement of purpose…………………………………………….
1.3. Research questions………………………………………………
1.4 Significance of the study…………………………………………
1.4 Delimitations…………………………………………………. ….
1.5. Overview of thesis chapters………………………………………

1
1
5
6
6
7
7

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………… …
2.1. Theoretical background to listening skill…………………….…
2.2. Synthesis of Web System Literature……………………………
2.3. Listening and Cognition…………………………………….......
2.4. English Language Learners, Academic Performance,
And Web System Technology…………………………………
2.5. Universal Design for Learning Listening Skills…………….. …
2.6. Text to Listening Technology…………………………………..
2.7. Relationship of the Literature to the Study……………………..

8
8
12
15

Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY…………………………………….
3.1. Research Questions……………………………………………...
3.2. Research Design………………………………………………...
3.2.1. Time and Setting…………………………............................
3.2.2. Sample Description……………………………………........
3.2.3. Instrument……………………………………………………..
3.2.3.1. The Web System Application ………………………….. ..

3.2.3.2. The Test ……………………...............................................
3.2.3.2.1. The format of test…………………………………….
3.2.3.2.2.Scoring………………………………………………...
3.2.3.3. Questionnaires ……………………………………………

23
24
24
25
25
26
26
33
33
33
33

17
18
19
22


3.2.3.3.1. Questionnaire for students……………………………
3.2.3.3.2. Questionnaire for teachers…………………………..
3.3. Data collection Procedures………………………………………..
3.4. Summary………………………………………………………….

34
36

37
39

Chapter 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDING…………………..
4.1 Response to Survey…………………………………………………
4.1.1. Student’s Response……………………………………………
4.1.1.1. Analyzing Questionnaires………………………………..
4.1.1.2. Analyzing Tests………………………………………….
4.1.2 Teacher’s Response……………………………………………
4.1.3 Comparison of the Teachers’
and Students’ Responses………………………………………
4.2 Finding………………………………………………………………..
4.2.1 Student’s Questionnaire…………………………………………
4.2.2 Student’s tests…………………………………………………...
4.2.3 Teacher’s response………………………………………………
4.3 Conclusion…………………………………………………………….

34
40
40
40
44
49

Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS……………...
5.1. Conclusion……………………………………………………………
5.2. Implications…………………………………………………………..
5.3. Suggestions on using the web system………………………………..
5.3.1. Equipments……………………………………………………...
5.3.2. Requirements……………………………………………………

69
69
73
74
74
74

BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………….

75

APPENDICES……………………………………………………………

80

APPENDIX I Statistics Description of students Questionnaire…………..
APPENDIX II The reliability analysis of Student’s Questionnaire………
APPENDIX III Statistics Description of Dip and Sep teachers ………….
APPENDIX IV Pre-Test 1………………………………………………
APPENDIX V Post-Test 2………………………………………………
APPENDIX VI Questionnaire for students………………………………
APPENDIX VII Questionnaire for Teachers……………………………..
APPENDIX VIII How many times students online………………………
APPENDIX IX The Web System…………………………………………
APPENDIX X The way to up load a lesson……………………………….

58
60
60

62
65
68

80
86
87
91
92
93
101
105
106
110


LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 3.1 The web System…………………………………........................

27

Figure 3.2 The basic story………………………………………………......

28

Figure 3.3 Learn new Word Feature…………………………………. ……..

29

Figure 3.4 Spell A Word Feature…………………………………….. ……..

30

Figure 3.5 Task Feature………………………………………………………

31

Figure 3.6 Homework Feature………………………………………………

32

Figure 4.1 teaching aid of SEP teacher and DIP teacher ……………………

52

Figure 4.2 the useful of web system in teaching listening skills ……………

53

Figure 4.3 the effectiveness of saving time in class ………………………...

53

Figure 4.4 the aid of the web system in evoking listening studying ………..

54

Figure 4.5 the convenience of the web system in teaching listening skills …

54

Figure 4.6 Audio playback feature ………………………………………….

55

Figure 4.7 Learn new word feature …………………………………………

56

Figure 4.8 spell a new word feature…………………………………………

56

Figure 4.9 the usefulness of Task feature……………………………………

57

Figure 4.10 the usefulness of homework feature…………………………….

57


LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 4.1 Descriptive Statistics of SEP students………………..

41

Table 4.2 Pre-test of the control group ………………………...

44

Table 4.3 post-test of control group ……………………………

45

Table 4.4 Pre-test of experimental group ………………………

45

Table 4.5 Paired Samples Statistics ……………………………

46

Table 4.6 Paired Samples Correlations …………………………

47

Table 4.7: Paired Samples Test………………………………….

48

Table 4.8: Descriptive Questions of SEP teachers………………

50

Table 4.9: Descriptive Questions of DIP teachers……………..

51

ABBRIVIATIONS

CAST

: Center for Applied Special Technology

EFL

: English as a Foreign Language

ELLS

: English Language Learners

FLLD

: Foreign Language Learning Disability

IMI

: Interactive Multimedia Instruction

SEP

: School of Educational Practice

TLS

: Text to Listening

UDL

: Universal Design for Learning


CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Listening basically is a learning activity that may take different forms for
diverse people. The way a person listens is always different from the way another
person listens; this therefore implies that the behaviors and tools that a person employs
in a listening situation are always different from the ones used by another listener in the
same listening situation. When teaching listening skills, it is therefore important to
keep this in mind. Although there are a variety of listening skills that learners may be
taught, each has his own way of understanding and different people listen differently in
attempt to accomplish the same goal (Downs, 2008).
In the High School context, listening skills is an important learning concept
because a student can not read and write without listening first. Listening therefore is
the first basic learning skill that a student should effectively learn and make good use
during a learning environment. It is therefore the responsibility of the learning skills
tutor to establish new learning skills strategies that are tailored to meet the students
listening requirements. This is not an easy task and requires an in depth understanding
of the factors that come to play during the listening process (Graeme & Jean, 2003).
The acquisition of listening skills does not only depend on the tutor, but also the
listener‟s perspective and perception. This is the most challenging task to those
teaching listening skills- to alter the mind and perception of the listener in order to
eliminate a mental block. Another key factor that affects the listening process is the
learning environment. Such external factors always have an effect on the listening

behaviors of students (Graeme & Jean, 2003). The learning environment can be

1


characterized by factors such as: the number of students in a classroom, the teaching
skills applied by the tutor, the perception of the student towards the tutor, the tutor‟s
language dialect, the listening techniques applied, psychological factors and many
more. Those external factors can be dealt with and modified in order to enhance the
listening skills of the students (Battell, 2006).
Although learning institutions offer instructions that are directed towards
enhancing the listening skills of their students, the need for extra training can not be
achieved by traditional methods only (Kevin & Pauley, 2002). Most High schools offer
only one or two listening skills teaching courses per year, therefore resulting in
insufficiency of providing enough listening skills to the students. English educators are
therefore calling for the dire need to establish new technologies that can facilitate
teaching, learning, communication and most importantly, the listening skills (Nichols,
2009). One such technique is the use of Interactive Multimedia Instruction (IMI),
which is the use of interactive video disc. It has been reported that IMI is an effective
communication approach to teaching students listening skills, IMI has also been
reported to be effective than the conventional linear video tape or an instruction series
that is not interactive. A key advantage of the IMI is that there is less instructional time
by the listening skills tutor. One major challenge associated with IMI that there is no
affordable IMI software in the discipline of oral communication. In addition, if it was
available, a number of educators are not sure in terms of its effectiveness as a
technique of teaching oral communication skills such as listening (Rainbow Bridge
Publishing, 2002).
Teaching of listening skills is one of the most tedious tasks for English teacher
whose first language is not English. The primary reason behind it is that listening skills
are acquired over a long duration of time and requires continuous practice by the

students. The teaching of listening skills is always frustrating to students because there

2


are no bound rules like in mastering grammar. Contrary to speaking and writing skills,
listening skills does not have specific rules which therefore means that progress of a
student can not be easily quantified. One of the largest inhibitors in listening is the
mental block of the student (Nichols, 2009).
One of the largest factors that inhibit listening among high school students is the
mental block. During the listening process, a high school student can suddenly switch
his mind and decide that he / she can not understand what is being taught or said.
Psychologists argue that at this point, the students just get caught in an internal
conversation while trying to translate some words that might have been heard (Downs,
2008). The students mind is very complex and so is his /her listening abilities, some
students can decide to convince themselves that they can not understand English that is
spoken naturally by the tutor, possibly due to a number of facts such as the dialect of
the tutor, whether English is their first language or not or they may completely have
problems with listening to English as a whole (Nichols, 2009).
The significant approach to improving the listening skills of high school
students is to make them accept the fact that their understanding abilities are OK. This
serves more of a change in attitude and its effectiveness is relative depending on the
mind of the student and his perceptions. In scenarios whereby the English is the first
language for the students, the tutors therefore have to make sure that their students
listen to English as often as possible but only regulated short durations (Carte etal,
2000).
Listening skill is a critical aspect of education. Presently, different learning
institution use different approach to administer learning skills. This research study will
be carried on SEP which is located at Long Xuyen City. The school recently adopted
the use of the website to facilitate the teaching of listening skills among its students.

Presently, SEP teachers in SEP use the following teaching aids: textbooks, cassette,
3


and a compact disc that accompanies the text books. The time allocation for the
listening skills is not enough to meet the needs of each and every student in the class so
as to grasp the basic content that has been taught for a listening period. The class
setting consists of average and bad students, with the average pupils having a little bit
of understanding compared to the bad pupils. It has been reported that almost all
students are bored with the listening technique that is being used by the listening skills
tutor (Kratz, 2005).
Problem discussion
Quantifying the progress of listening skills is not only the difficult task but also
teaching listening skills. There are literally no ways to quantify the progress in the
mastery of listening skills compared to writing and speaking skills. This therefore
implies that the English teacher must therefore establish necessary teaching skills that
are tailored to meet the requirements of the students. Ensuring that a student acquires
the necessary skills requires more than a collaborative effort between the students and
the English teachers especially in cases whereby English is a second language for the
students (Groeber, 2008).
Most of the teaching techniques that are currently being employed in learning
institutions can not meet the learning needs of the students. In most cases, there is lack
of individual student being addressed in terms of listening skills. Another challenge
that faces the teaching of listening skills in the high school context is the perception of
the students towards English language as whole. English can be frustrating especially
to students that it is not a first language. In such situations, the listening skills tutor has
the challenge of ensuring that he /she use a different teaching approach that is
guaranteed not to distract the students and that the students have the right attitude
towards the listening skills lessons (Graeme & Jean, 2003).

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Previous research on the effectiveness of teaching listening skills has reported
different results with regard to the context of study. In SEP school, they have recently
introduced the Website in order to aid the teaching of listening skills. This research
attempts to evaluate its effectiveness on the aid teaching listening skills at the High
School (Battell, 2006).
1.2 Statement of purpose
The main aim of the research study is to examine the use of the website in the
teaching of listening skills at SEP. The research will examine to what extent the
Website facilitates the teaching of listening Skills at SEP. On a broader perspective, the
research study will attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of the website in facilitating
listening skills. On a narrower perspective, the research will attempt to evaluate the
overall improvement in the teaching of listening skills on a one student.
The research indicated that five features of the web system were suggested by
researcher. Especially, “learn new word feature” and “the spell a word feature” were
put forward to enhance listening skills. Thanks to these features, learners listened
individual word again and again in standard. Moreover, students (the whole class) kept
up with the same/ basic knowledge in textbook when they get something unclear in
class thanks to learn at home or anywhere. In addition to, the web system was more
convenient than traditional method because they aided teachers to give more than
exercises for students to learn, and to save time in class. Besides that, they evoked
students‟ interested motion in learning listening skills.

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1.3 Research Questions
The research will attempt to answer the following research questions.

i. Does the website facilitate the teaching of listening skill at School of
Educational Practice?
ii. In what ways does the Website aid the teaching of listening skills at School of
Educational Practice?
iii. Does the web system report any progress among the students at School of
Educational Practice?
1.4 Significance of the study
The research will reveal the importance of using the Web System with two
particular suggestions “learn new word feature” and “spell a word feature” in the
teaching of the listening skills at School of Educational Practice. The results of this
study will also be beneficial to other learning institutions when teaching the learning
skills. The results of the study will also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the web
system in teaching listening skills. It will also recommend the necessary adjustments in
the use of the Web system while teaching listening skills.
Depending on the analysis of the results, other grades in high schools in Long
Xuyen City, and other levels can adopt the use of the web system in aiding the teaching
of listening skills. The research will also evaluate the student‟s attitude towards the
web system in the process of learning listening skills.

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1.5 Delimitations
This research will not only cover the whole of the High Schools in Long Xuyen
City, but will be limited only to School of Educational Practice. The research will only
involve the evaluation of the web system on the effectiveness of web system during the
teaching skills lessons at School of Educational Practice. The research will be further
narrowed down to one particular class. Each student‟s progress who uses the web
system in listening skills class will be evaluated on a weekly basis, according to a
given number of parameters that will be set to quantify the listening skills progress of

the students.
1.6 Overview of thesis chapters
Chapter one mentioned the background, the problems to the study, and
presented an overview of the whole thesis. Chapter two provided closely relevant
literature and research to the study. Chapter three involved the methodology including
research questions, research design, and instruments of the study. It consisted a brief
description of the experiment the researcher applied the web system to assist to teach
listening skills at SEP. Chapter four presented the results of the study and discussion of
the finding. Chapter five gave the conclusion and recommendations of the study for the
application the web system in listening skills and language teaching.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Theoretical background to listening skills
Listening skills form an important aspect in education; this therefore means that
the teaching of listening skills has been in existence since education began. Teaching
of listening skills is one of the most tedious tasks for English teacher whose first
language is not English (Carte, Gary, Lyman, & Diane, 2000). The primary reason
behind it is that listening skills are acquired over a long duration of time and requires
continuous practice by the students. The teaching of listening skills is always
frustrating to students because there are no bound rules like in mastering grammar
(Battell, 2006). Contrary to speaking and writing skills, listening skills does not have
specific rules which therefore means that progress of a student can not be easily
quantified. One of the largest inhibitors in listening is the mental block of the student.
In the process of listening, a student might suddenly decide to say that s/he doesn‟t
understand what is being taught or said (Graeme & Jean, 2003). This is the point when
they tune out or are caught up in an internal dialogue process trying to translate or find

meaning to a specific word that has been used. The problem becomes more
complicated when a part of the students convince themselves that are incapable of
understanding spoken English well and therefore end up creating problems for
themselves. The best way to help students to improve their listening skills is by trying
to convince them that not understanding is OK and a good sign (Graeme & Jean,
2003). This method is more of an attitude adjustment method and it makes it easier for
some of the students to accept that they are not able to understand. Another important
aspect in teaching is to try and convince the students to always learn to listen and do it
in bits. Supposing you want to keep fit and be in shape, you have to jog and on the first
day of jogging, you do up to seven miles. Chances are that you might not go out
8


jogging again because you over did it on the first day. Therefore, it is important for you
to start doing small and little steps and over time, you will be able to jog more miles.
Just like the person who wants to keep fit; high school students should also use and
apply the same approach to their listening skills (Groeber, 2008). It is therefore
advisable for students to listen for at least five to ten minutes even if they don‟t
understand, it would be a starting point. For this mechanism to work effectively,
students must not expect an improvement in understanding too quickly. It is therefore
very important for students to have and practice patience and wait for the results
(Rainbow Bridge Publishing, 2002).
Good listening skills among high school students is very important and a basic
necessity for them. Good listening skills will help students to be come more productive
and hardworking hence improving their grades and overall performance of the school.
A student has good listening skills is able to understand assignments and what is
expected of him at the end of the day. It also helps a student develop and build good
rapport with fellow students, teachers and sub ordinate staff thus building and
improving his listening skills (Nichols, 2009). A student is therefore able to learn better
in a team based environment besides being able to resolve problems with his

colleagues. In addition, a student is able to ask and answer questions in class or outside
the class room. Last but not least, a student is able to find meaning to what others are
saying (Kratz, 2005).
In order to listen well, there are some basic rules that can be followed to help
you understand what is being said. First and foremost as a teacher, you should
encourage your students to put down important notes. This not only helps in
concentration in class but also helps in taking in and understanding what is important
that is being said. In addition, it provides a valuable reference point to a student when it
comes to completing of assignments and revising for the exams (Nichols, 2009).

9


Secondly, you have to maintain eye contact; this increases your level of concentration.
A student who listens with the mind rather than the ears is less likely to think about
themselves and most likely to pay attention to what the teacher is saying. This is very
important not only for classroom use but also for the future use i.e. nurturing
relationships among friends and family. Secondly, ensure that you don‟t interfere with
the teacher as he is teaching (Kratz, 2005). This ensures maximum concentration in
class. Furthermore, it gives the teacher a chance to explain himself adequately and
fluently. It is also important to ensure that you sit still as you are learning. In addition,
lean towards the teacher and nod your head at intervals to affirm that you are listening.
This tells the teacher that you are together i.e. that you are listening and understanding.
Once the teacher is done with teaching, it is now your time to ask questions (Rainbow
Bridge Publishing, 2002). A good student listener is one who is attentive to what the
teacher doesn‟t say and knows that it is important just like what he is saying. To
overcome the barriers to listening, students must be aware of the following things that
may be barriers to effective listening. Avoid being biased and prejudiced, this helps
you to be open minded therefore you are able to listen to anything without filtering.
Language barrier is another thing that comes into play. A good student will try to over

come this by taking his time to listen and understand what is being said. In addition, he
will take a step of learning the language if he does not understand it. Listening in a
noisy environment will hinder your listening process, this is because there are lots of
interferences from the outside hence you will not listen effectively (Kratz, 2005).
While listening, avoid being worried, angered or fearful. Possessing these traits inhibits
you from listening effectively. Lastly a lack of attention hinders ones listening process,
therefore it is important for a student to be as attentive as ever in class so that he might
understand what is being taught.

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The process of listening starts as early as one is a child. It is important to help
children develop their listening skills as this will help them in future when they have
grown. This is done by ensuring that the child repeats what you said to him. As a
parent ensure you teach them how to maintain contact when talking or listening to
somebody as this helps increase their attention span. You have to read out loud to your
children and engage the child in your conversations. This is important as it helps them
develop the confidence to ask, react and assign meaning to what is being said or read
(Battell, 2006). The process of listening is real and has three basic processes that are
very vital. The first one is hearing which simply means listening enough to capture
what the speaker is saying. The second one is understanding, which means that you try
and assign meaning to what has been said in your own way. The third and the last are
judging. This is trying to figure out if what has been said really makes sense or has
meaning.
After teaching ensure that you summarize whatever you have said in a few
words. This is important for clarification purposes. A good teacher will always ask
questions at the end of lesson to find out whether the students have been listening or
not. Therefore, as a teacher, always ensure that you ask a question (Nichols, 2009).
Boote and Beile (2005) contend that researchers require a clear understanding of

the existing literature in a specific field before they can perform significant research in
that field. This literature review provided that prerequisite knowledge, established the
context for the investigation, and justified the need for educators to seek language
support mechanisms for second-language learners. Topics include: (1) synthesis of
Web System literature, (2) situated cognition, (3) cognition and listening, (4) ELLs,
academic performance, and Web System, (6) universal design for learning, and (7)
text-to-listening technology. The chapter ends with a discussion of the relationship of
the literature to the study.

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2.2 Synthesis of Web System Literature
Advances in technology challenge current second-language acquisition theory
and outpace advances in language learning practices (Chapelle, 2009). The bulk of
existing research on the efficacy of web system is focused on young learners with
learning or physical disabilities. Alper and Raharinirina (2006) conducted a metaanalysis of 60 articles published in English-language refereed journals between 1998
and 2003 on the topic of web system and skill acquisition of persons with disabilities.
The majority of studies (53%) involved persons with learning disabilities; only 25% of
the selected articles pertained to persons over 22 years of age, the age range of the
population identified for this investigation.
Jeffs and Morrison (2005) conducted a similar analysis of over 400 scholarly
web system articles published between 2000 and 2004. They found only five percent of
the current research on web based technologies focused on the diversity dimensions of
culture, race, or gender. The above findings are consistent with earlier literature
research investigations. Edyburn (2004a) conducted a comprehensive one-year metaanalysis of the 2003 special education technology literature and noted that the majority
of publications focused on Pre-K to Grade 8 classroom applications. Edyburn also
reported that the top two disabilities studied were communication disorders and
learning disabilities.
MacArthur, Ferretti, Okolo, and Cavalier (2001) synthesized 15 years of

research on the use of web system to support literacy among students with mild
disabilities and concluded that more research is needed on the integration of web based
technologies with literacy instruction in classroom environments. Previous research on
the efficacy of web based technologies provided a range of findings. Although the
majority of studies support the efficacy of web based technologies in listening skills,
not all investigations found positive results.
12


Twyman and Tindal (2006) reported similar findings of no statistical difference
in the comprehension rates of students using a computer-adapted history text, as
compared to those using a traditional textbook. Brown and Augustine (2001) found no
significant difference between test scores for those with listening-related disabilities on
tests administered orally versus a paper-based test; however, a confounding variable
was postulated: Students with poor listening skill may have retained less content
because the material for the test was presented in traditional manner using textbook and
cassette.
Dawson, Venn, and Gunter (2000) compared the effects of teacher read versus
computer assisted reading models. Although they found the teacher model to be the
most effective, the computer model was deemed more effective than the use of no
model. Tumlin and Heller (2004) reported mixed results with the use of word
prediction software for increasing typing fluency. They found the effectiveness of the
web system varied depending on pre-intervention typing speed or the severity of
physical disability. Although some investigations found no significant difference in
either comprehension or reading rates between students who used computer assisted
reading versus independent silent reading, (Sorrell, Bell, & McCallum, 2007).
Others reported performance increases with web based intervention. Lange,
McPhillips, Mulhern, and Wylie (2006) demonstrated the positive effects of webbased tools (speech synthesis, spellchecker, homophone tool, and electronic dictionary)
across several domains of literacy. They found the use of web based technologies
increased listening skills, reading comprehension, decreased spelling errors, and

improved homophone error detection.
Lee and Vail (2005) reported positive effects of computer-based reading
instruction on children with listening disabilities. Weikle and Hadadian (2003)
discussed the effectiveness of a broad range of technologies that enhance emergent
13


listening skills in children with disabilities. Silver-Pacuilla (2006) explored the efficacy
of web based technologies for adult students with learning disabilities in improving
literacy skills and noted the gap in research involving secondary and postsecondary
populations. Beck (2002) demonstrated how both low-tech and high-tech web based
technologies can support literacy development in pre-school children previously
diagnosed with speech and language developmental delays.
Venkatagiri (2002) described the benefits of speech recognition technology for
learners with communication disorders. Hecker, Burns, Elkind, Elkind, and Katz
(2002) reported the positive effect of assistive reading software on post-secondary
students diagnosed with attention disorder. Situated Cognition Cook and Polgar (2008)
define cognition as the process of understanding and knowing. The cognitive process
encompasses a series of skills and related tasks including listening, attention, memory,
problem solving, learning, and language. Schunk (2004) discusses the role cognition
plays in the overall learning process. According to Schunk, the cognitive processes of
conditional knowledge, metacognition, understanding, concept learning, problemsolving, transfer, and self-regulation are all components of the cognitive learning
model.
A number of cognitive theories have been developed to explore the learning
process as it applies to educational settings. Situated cognition (Driscoll, 2005), for
example, explains cognition in terms of the relationship between learners and their
learning environment. Proponents of this model see learners as social beings and
participants in communities of practice. Learning is influenced by ability to make
knowledge meaningful through interactions with the world. Advocates of situated
cognition seek to understand learning as it relates to the situation at hand. Learning

does not reside solely in a person's mind, but rather in the relationship between the
person and the situation (Schunk, 2004).

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2.3 Listening and Cognition
Listening is a complex process that requires a combination of motor, sensory,
and cognitive skills. Motor skills allow us to physically acquire and manipulate reading
materials. Sensory skills allow us to view text through the visual senses, or
alternatively in auditory (speech) or tactile (braille) format (Cook & Polgar, 2008). The
cognitive component of listening and reading includes the various processes that allow
a person to derive meaning from the set of language symbols found in text (Johnston,
Beard, & Carpenter, 2007). This view is shared by Lipka, Siegel, and Vukovic (2005),
who argued that deficits in these three cognitive processes can be used to diagnose a
listening disability in either first or second-language students.
Listening skills is the most prevalent form of academic disability, but the
challenge in diagnosing listening disabilities in ELLs is to differentiate cases where a
limited language proficiency level is interfering with the learning process from cases
were the language deficiency is actually masking an undiagnosed Listening disability
(Wagner, Francis, & Morris, 2005). Winzer and Mazurek (1998, as cited in Winzer,
2005) report that limited English proficiency levels are often incorrectly diagnosed as
learning disabilities because the characteristics displayed by ELLs are similar to
behaviors associated with learning disabilities and communication disorders. The
disproportionate rate of non-whites in special education programs is often attributed to
poor English language proficiency levels (Artiles, Trent, & Palmer, 2004).
Meskill and Hilliker (2005) argued that uninformed teachers often mistakenly
label a child as having a disability because of the student's limited ability to
communicate in English. These children require support in developing their academic
language literacy, rather than being labeled as disabled. It has been reported that the

language barriers facing undergraduate ELLs have parallels with mild learning
disabilities (Burgstahler, 2002). Some even argue that a separate learning disability
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(Foreign Language Learning Disability or FLLD) can be diagnosed for students
struggling to learn a second language (Reed & Stansfield, 2004).
Although there is limited support for FLLD (Sparks, 2006), research suggests
that students whose first language is not English may have barriers to learning that
could be overcome by web system resources traditionally provided to individuals with
learning disabilities. Learners from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
are likely to be disadvantaged with the introduction of educational technology (Brown,
2005). Even though cultural groups tend to have learning style elements that
differentiate them from other cultural groups, there is limited research in the area of
culture and its influence on web system decision-making (Parette, Huer, &
VanBiervilet, 2005).
Unfortunately, there is limited research on the assessment and identification of
listening learning disabilities for ELLs (Bernhard et al., 2006). There are challenges in
diagnosing learning disabilities in second-language students, but current research in the
area of neuroimaging shows promise for more reliable diagnosis of language related
disabilities in both bilingual and multilingual learners (Simos, Billingsley-Marshall,
Sarkari, Pataraia, & Papanicolaou, 2005).
Recent research with the use of non-invasive functional brain imaging
demonstrates that skilled listening and reading behavior is supported by lefthemisphere brain networks across multiple languages (Pugh, Sandak, Frost, Moore, &
Mencl, 2005). Pugh et al. also report the presence of a neurobiological signature for
reading disabilities for monolingual readers across several languages. As compared to
non-impaired readers, learners with reading disabilities under utilize their left
hemisphere posterior dorsal and ventral systems. Future research in the area of
neuroimaging will hopefully allow educators to isolate student cognitive deficits from
language deficiencies, but in the meantime it is important to recognize that ELLs with

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