Enhancing speaking and listening skills through useful website for second year english majored students at thu dau mot university

THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
*************

GRADUATE PAPER
TITLE:
ENHANCING SPEAKING AND LISTENING SKILLS THROUGH
USEFUL WEBSITE FOR SECOND - YEAR ENGLISH - MAJORED
STUDENTS AT THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY

Student name: HA THI NGOC BICH
Student code: 1722202010028
Class: D17AVKD01
Course: 2017 - 2021
Major: ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Lecturer: AU MINH TRIET

Binh Duong, December, 2020


STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

Student full name: HÀ THỊ NGỌC BÍCH
Student code: 1722202010028

Title of paper: Useful websites to enhance speaking and listening skill for
students of Foreign Language Major at Thu Dau Mot University
I hereby confirm that I am the sole author of the paper presented. Where the
work of others has been consulted, this is duly acknowledged in the paper’s
bibliography. I have also not consulted any other unnamed online sources. All
verbatim or referential use of the sources named in the bibliography has been

specifically indicated in the text.

Binh Duong, December,2020
Signature

Ha Thi Ngoc Bich

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to thank all of the lectures at Thu Dau Mot
University for providing me with opportunities to gain more understanding and
experience through graduate thesis in education program so that I am able to
expand my knowledge and apply successfully to my study.
Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Au Minh Triet for
his patience, encouragement and useful advice of this paper. I also appreciate his
guidance and support for every single step of my paper.
Additionally, I am really grateful to all members of class D17AVKD01 for
their help, along with their enthusiasm in order that I could complete data
collection.
Thank you very much for kind cooperation during my research.
Sincerely,
Ha Thi Ngoc Bich

ii


ABSTRACT
The paper is going to figure out not only how second year English major

students make the most of useful websites in order to further improve their
speaking and listening skill, but also which ones are effective enough for learners
to take up enhancing ability in speaking, as well as listening English. There are a
wide range of definitions, along with elements by which the two skills above are
influenced so that the paper will contribute to students’ study process at Thu Dau
Mot University. So far, methods which have been used to collect results
afterwards are questionnaire and interview on the members of class
D17AVKD01. In addition, it is believed that the research conducted will
motivate and help students whose major is English get achievements in their
faculty.
Key words: speaking, listening, website English

iii


TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 1
I. General introduction ........................................................................................ 1
II. Research question ........................................................................................... 1
III. The purpose of the research .......................................................................... 1
IV. Significance of the research .......................................................................... 1
CHAPTER 2: OVERVIEW OF PREVIOUS WORK...................................... 2
I. Literature review .............................................................................................. 2
II. Definition........................................................................................................ 2
1. What is speaking? ........................................................................................ 2
2. What is listening?......................................................................................... 3
III. Factors ........................................................................................................... 5
IV. Overview of research ................................................................................... 5
V. Related research ............................................................................................. 7
VI. Conclusion .................................................................................................... 8

CHAPTER 3: PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION .................................... 9
I. METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................... 9
1. Research methods ........................................................................................ 9
2. Participants ................................................................................................... 9
3. Procedures .................................................................................................... 9
4. Instruments ................................................................................................... 9
II. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS .................................................. 13
1. Results ........................................................................................................ 13
2. Analysis...................................................................................................... 14
CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................... 19
I. Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 19
iv


II. Recommendations ........................................................................................ 19
References ............................................................................................................ ix
Appendices ........................................................................................................... xi
Appendix 1: QUESTIONNAIRE ....................................................................... xi
Appendix 2: EXAMPLE OF DATA INTERVIEW........................................... ix

v


LIST OF TABLE

Table 1.

The importance of websites .............................................................. 16

Table 2.

Attitudes towards speaking ............................................................... 17

Table 3.

Examples of interview data ............................................................... 18

Table 4.

The importance of websites .............................................................. xii

Table 5.

Attitudes towards speaking ..............................................................xiii

Table 6.

Examples of interview data ................................................................ ix

vi


CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
I. General introduction
Speaking is a productive skill which is supposed to be a mental process. In other
words, a speaker puts a psychological concept into some linguistic forms such as
words, phrases, and sentences used to transfer a message to a listener. On the
other hand, listening is one of receptive skills in the oral mode in order that the
interpretative action taken by someone to understand and potentially make
meaning of what they hear. It is obvious that both skills mentioned above have

become extremely crucial to English learners owing to their ambition in target
language. Many of them, therefore, have benefited from websites to enhance not
only speaking but also listening skill. Despite the fact that there are a wide range
of websites for students of Foreign Language Major to practice these skills, they
still find it difficult to choose suitable ones. Thus, this paper is going to
investigate how students to take advantage of useful websites to improve their
abilities and study effectively.
II. Research question
“Which websites are the most advantageous to improve your speaking as well as
listening skill?”
III. The purpose of the research
First of all, the research conducted to figure out a wide range of websites that
English major students are interested in and use them on a regular basis. Then, it
aims at making a list of useful sources for other students, especially for those
who have recently taken up English major, to make greatly progress in speaking
and listening skill.
IV. Significance of the research
The study is being looked forward to finding out the most helpful websites used
in common by English major students at Thu Dau Mot University so that they
can enhance their own abilities in speaking and listening. In addition, freshmen
whose major is English will find a variety of great websites necessary for
reference.

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CHAPTER 2: OVERVIEW OF PREVIOUS WORK
I. Literature review
The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of the improve speaking
and listening by website and the post-listening question techniques on English

listening achievement and to determine students' attitudes towards the two
approaches among the second - year English major students of the academic year
2020 at Thu Dau Mot University. This chapter presents relevant background
information necessary for this study. The first part deals with theoretical
background on listening and speaking that are further divided into definitions of
what is listening and listening in my opinion, what is speaking and speaking in
my opinion. Then, a framework for describing listening ability is reviewed.
Literature related to listening comprehension questions is reviewed in the
following section. Finally, related research studies carried out in the fields of
some website help students improve them English are presented.
II. Definition
1. What is speaking?
To begin with, Marin Bygate (1987) supposed that speaking is “a skill
which deserves attention every bit as much as literary skills, in both first and
second languages. Our learners often need to be able to speak with confidence in
order to carry out many of their most transactions. It is the skill by which they
are most frequently judged, and through which they may make or lose friends.”
In 1995, Nunan made this definition more obvious, he stated speaking was the
ability in using oral language for exploring ideas, intentions, thoughts, and
feeling to other people as the way to make the message clearly deliver and well
understand by the hearer. Then, Kathleen M. Bailey (2003) discovered that it is
clear to say speaking is a productive aural/oral skill as it consists of producing
systematic verbal utterances to convey meanings. After that, Marriam Bashir
(2011) provided Bailey’s previous work with not only complication but also
close relation between speaking and pronunciation.
There are may definitions of speaking according to experts. Harmer (2007:284)
states speaking is the ability to speak fluently and presupposes not only
knowledge of language features, but also the ability to process information and
language on the spot while Quianthy (1990:7) defines speaking as the process of
transmitting ideas and information orally in variety of situations. Nunan (in

Kayi, 2006:1) defines speaking as the use of language quickly and confidently
with few unnatural pauses, which is called as fluency. Speaking is the process of
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building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and nonverbal symbols,
in a variety of contexts (Chaney, 1998:13) Therefore, the researcher concludes
that speaking is the ability to produce the language and share their ideas.
In my opinion, Speaking is the delivery of language through the mouth. To
speak, we create sounds using many parts of our body, including the lungs, vocal
tract, vocal chords, tongue, teeth and lips. This vocalized form of language
usually requires at least one listener. When two or more people speak or talk to
each other, the conversation is called a "dialogue". Speech can flow naturally
from one person to another in the form of dialogue. It can also be planned and
rehearsed, as in the delivery of a speech or presentation. Of course, some people
talk to themselves! In fact, some English learners practice speaking standing
alone in front of a mirror.
Speaking can be formal or informal:
•

Informal speaking is typically used with family and friends, or people you
know well.
• Formal speaking occurs in business or academic situations, or when
meeting people for the first time.
Speaking is probably the language skill that most language learners wish to
perfect as soon as possible. It used to be the only language skill that was difficult
to practice online. This is no longer the case. English learners can practice
speaking online using voice or video chat and services like Skype app. They can
also record and upload their voice for other people to listen to.
2. What is listening?

According to Rivers (1992), listening “involves active cognitive
processing – the construction of a message from phonic material” (p.18).
However, it was suggested by Purdy (1997), listening defined as “"the active and
dynamic process of attending, perceiving, interpreting, remembering, and
responding to the expressed (verbal and nonverbal), needs, concerns, and
information offered by other human beings" while Anderson and Lynch (1988)
argued what successful listening was, understanding was not something that
happened because of what a speaker said: the listener had a crucial part to play in
the process, by activating various types of knowledge, and by applying what he
knew to what he heard and tried to understand what the speaker meant (p.6). One
year later, Kenneth C. Petress (1999) proved that listening “can be learned and
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improved upon no matter one's age, gender, education, or previous skill level.
Like any skills, if it is allowed to go unused, it will atrophy. By closely
observing what good listeners in our midst do and how they do it, we can
sharpen our own listening skills”. Around four years later, Babita Tyagi (2013)
stated that this skill is a key so that messages are received effectively. In
particular, it is apparent that listening is a combination of hearing what another
person says and psychological involvement with the person who is talking.
By Richard Nordquist
Updated January 06, 2019
Listening is the active process of receiving and responding to spoken (and
sometimes unspoken) messages. It is one of the subjects studied in the field of
language arts and in the discipline of conversation analysis.
Listening is not just hearing what the other party in the conversation has to say.
"Listening means taking a vigorous, human interest in what is being told us,"
said poet Alice Duer Miller. "You can listen like a blank wall or like a splendid
auditorium where every sound comes back fuller and richer."

Author Marvin Gottlieb cites four elements "of good listening:
- Attention—the focused perception of both visual and verbal stimuli
- Hearing—the physiological act of 'opening the gates to your ears'
- Understanding—assigning meaning to the messages received
- Remembering—the storing of meaningful information" ("Managing Group
Process." Praeger, 2003)
He also cites four levels of listening: "acknowledging, sympathizing,
paraphrasing, and empathizing. The four levels of listening range from passive to
interactive when considered separately. However, the most effective listeners are
able to project all four levels at the same time." That means they show they're
paying attention, they show interest, and they convey they are working to
understand the speaker's message.
In my opinion, Listening is receiving language through the ears. Listening
involves identifying the sounds of speech and processing them into words and
sentences. When we listen, we use our ears to receive individual sounds (letters,
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stress, rhythm and pauses) and we use our brain to convert these into messages
that mean something to us.
Listening in any language requires focus and attention. It is a skill that some
people need to work at harder than others. People who have difficulty
concentrating are typically poor listeners. Listening in a second language
requires even greater focus. Like babies, we learn this skill by listening to people
who already know how to speak the language. This may or may not include
native speakers. For practice, you can listen to live or recorded voices. The most
important thing is to listen to a variety of voices as often as you can.
III. Factors
There are several factors having significantly effects on improving
speaking as well as listening skill, such as:

Accent plays a vital part in studying English as it reflects social and
educational background, together with unique interest of each individual. Flege
(1988) wrote that “speaking with a foreign accent entails a variety of possible
consequences for second language users, including accent detection, diminished
acceptability, diminished intelligibility and negative evaluation”. Accent,
therefore, has a considerable impact on communication in general, on both
speakers and listeners in particular.
Speed control extremely influences on speaking, along with listening
comprehension. Underwood (1989) found that “the greatest difficulty with
listening comprehension is that the listener cannot control how quickly a speaker
speaks''. In addition, speed is a vital element that creates fluent and smooth
conversations, especially whenever speaker is about to give instructions to
others.
English learners also find it hard to catch up with the conversation as they
occasionally lack vocabulary. In other words, they sometimes encounter an
unknown word which may cause them to stop and think about the meaning of
that word and thus cause them to miss the next part of the speech.
IV. Overview of research
The notion of "word" Vocabulary mastery begins with a word. So what is
a word? Michael McCarthy (1990) defined words as "free-standing items of
language that have meaning. For example: the word eating is free-standing in
itself, and that within it has another potentially free-standing element eat,
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independently meaningful from the second element -ing. Pyles and Algeo
(1970:96) said "when most of us think about language, we think first about
words. It is true that the vocabulary is the focus of language. It is in words that
sounds and meanings inter-lock to allow us to communicate with one another,
and it is words that we arrange together to make sentences, conversations and

discourse of all kinds".
Vocabulary item As in Penny Ur's definition of vocabulary, a new item of
vocabulary may be more than a single word. For example, post office and
mother-in-law, which are made up of two or three words but express a single
idea. Another term to call for vocabulary is "chunks" as stated by Schmitt, N &
MCCarthy, M (1997): "Some of the vocabulary people know is originally
learned as parts of multi-word chunks, often as phrases, idioms, or proverbs". A
useful convention is to cover all such cases by talking about vocabulary "items"
rather than "words".
Roles of vocabulary in second language learning the prominent role of
vocabulary knowledge in second language learning has been increasingly
recognized. According to Bogards, P. and B. Laufer (2004: 1), "... much has
been done in the field of vocabulary in the context of the acquisition of foreign
or second languages... The growth of interest in L.2 vocabulary since the days of
"a neglected aspect of language learning" (Meara, 1980) has also been reflected
in authored and edited books specifically devoted to vocabulary".
Michael West (1930: 514) stressed that "the primary thing in leaning a language
is the acquisition of a vocabulary, and practice in using it". McCarthy stated that
"the biggest component of any language course is vocabulary" (McCarthy, 1990:
viii). "No matter how well the student learns grammar, no matter how
successfully the sounds of L2 are mastered, without words to express a wide
range of meanings, communication in an L2 just cannot happen in any
meaningful way." 66 A leading linguist researcher Paul Nation notes:
"Vocabulary is not an end in itself. A rich vocabulary makes the skills of
listening, speaking, reading, and writing easier to perform". When learners'
working memory is not loaded with hesitation about the correct spelling,
pronunciation and contextual use of the words, they can concentrate fully on
higher level aspects of language such as using precise sentence structures and
appropriate expressions for the type of conversation that is going on. These all
show that the success of a student in becoming proficient in any language

depends in part on the extent and richness of his/ her vocabulary, so vocabulary
teaching should be part of the syllabus, and vocabulary should be taught on a
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well- planned and regular basis. To sum up, vocabulary is considered an
important aspect of learning a foreign language. Second language vocabulary
acquisition has become an increasingly interesting topic of discussion for
researchers, teachers, curriculum designers, theorists, and others involved in
second language learning and teaching.
So there are too many of the same meanings and pronunciations. That makes
difficulty for students. Web sites will help them better understand the meaning of
words and pronounce them properly.
V. Related research
The benefits of websites that have provided students with a variety of
materials in improving English skills have been evaluated and experienced by
numerous preceding researches. According to Gottwald (2002), the content of
existing websites devoted to second language research and indicated areas that
needed to be improved. At the same time, Kung and Chuo (2002) investigated
the potential role of English-as-a-Second/Foreign-Language (ESL/EFL) websites
to supplement in class instruction. Then, Murray and Reagan (2003) discussed
resources for students and teachers so as to make a list of English-as-a-SecondLanguage textbook companion websites. In particular, Nicholas, Debski and
Lagerberg (2004) devised a system for students to practice spelling individually
through an online tool, which tests for the students' performance on individual
rules of spelling while Smidt and Hegelheimer (2004) investigated how authentic
web-delivered video can inform ESL online instruction and enhance the
incidental acquisition of vocabulary and listening comprehension. After that, Son
(2006) reported the results of a study that examined an online discussion group
established for a computer-assisted language learning course and investigated
patterns of interactions generated through the online discussion and participants'

attitudes toward 5 the computer-mediated communication (CMC) activity. As a
result, various ideas were launched to assist English learners in enhancing their
skills. Furthermore, it was reported that Yip and Kwan (2006) carried out a study
of the usefulness of online games in vocabulary learning for some undergraduate
students which explored students’ potential for both speaking and listening. Last
but not least, Furukawa (2007) succeeded in how the SSS (Start with Simple
Stories) Website supported individual learners to improve their communication
skills in English through extensive reading.

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VI. Conclusion
In summary, the literature reviewed here noticed significant improvements
in academic achievement of students when differentiated instruction was
implemented. While differentiation requires increased time to prepare lessons,
increased student responsibility, and more district resources, the literature argued
that academic improvements made by students can outweigh the drawbacks.
Teachers can instruct students which website is most useful for the lesson,
varying what is learned, how it is learned, or how the learning is demonstrated,
as well as by readiness, interests, and/or learning profile. The literature appears
to argue that when instruction is differentiated, teachers report that students were
more engaged and performed better in the classroom and on standardized tests.
While this literature also found areas of concern it also argued that with careful
planning by districts and with sufficient time for support and training this
approach could be beneficial.

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CHAPTER 3: PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION
I. METHODOLOGY
1. Research methods
In order to collect data, methods included questionnaire and interview were
taken into consideration. The results which were sorted out later would provide
accuracy as well as possibility of the paper in order that second year English
major students could consider and put it into practice.
2. Participants
The study was designed to investigate how English major students in class
D18AV07 at Thu Dau Mot University have applied several useful websites to
make giant steps forward in second language. Especially, thirty-four respondents
of this class were interviewed which websites they supposed to help them boost
potential for both speaking and listening skill.
3. Procedures
To begin with, the data were gathered from English major students in class
D19AV07 at Thu Dau Mot University during the second semester of the 2020
academic year. The questionnaire was adjusted so that it was suitable for
respondents’ levels. In detail, every single member would receive a form of the
questionnaire and complete several questions as well as information included in
the paper. At the same time, the researcher would interview them to figure out
which websites had contributed to their study process and played a vital role to
enhance not only speaking, but also listening skill. As a result, interview data
were recorded, then translated into English, finally sorted out to make a list of
popular websites.
4. Instruments
Two forms of questionnaire for English major students in class D19AV07 were
mentioned respectively. Each survey questionnaire included five statements.
Then, a semi-structured interview among these members was conducted by
researcher so as to select which websites gained much popularity and
effectiveness in reality. In this case, students would offer the researcher their

experience while improving speaking and listening skill through websites.
Additionally, the semi-structured interview allowed the researcher to not only
modify, but also supplement other related questions to gather information.

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a. The Students’ Point of View about the Advantages on the Websites
Employment for Practicing English Listening Skills
Most students agreed that using websites for practicing listening skills can
help them improve not only their listening skills, but also other skills as well, and
it can help them to create autonomous learning strategies. Another one it is
convenient for them when using the websites for practicing listening skills
outside classroom and from book, anywhere and anytime. According to the
questionnaire and interview results, it was found that all students mentioned
about advantages into three points. Firstly, the use of website is convenient for
them to practice listening skills. Many websites provide various topics and
students can choose the topics they prefer and or those related to the topics they
are studying in English class. They also stated that it saved time and was
convenient. They don’t need to find materials for practicing listening skills from
library or book stores. Many informants said they can use the websites in part
time or in their free time at library, house, or dormitory and Internet café. These
are quite convenient and support time and place for them. Secondly, the students
find their suitable learning strategies to solve some problems by themselves.
Students can easily repeat listening materials again and again until they finally
get information about 51 listening materials and with the help of scripts, students
can find out where are the problems when they listen to those materials. Outside
classroom students can use the websites for practicing listening skills to prepare
themselves for listening test of their English class. This is quite helpful to create
autonomous learning environment. Finally, the use of websites enhances English

skills for students. Most students reported that using the websites can help them
improve English listening skills. Moreover they thought that this kind of
practicing listening skills enhanced them not only listening skills, but also they
could improve other skills while they listened through websites, such as
pronunciation, speaking, reading, vocabulary learning. During the time they
listened to the native speakers’ sound, they also tried to follow and repeat the
sound, in order to familiar with pronunciation, native accent and intonation, and
they spoke better after then. When they looked at the sound script, they knew
new words and vocabularies as well.
b. The Students’ Problem on the Websites Employment for Practicing
English Listening Skills
The problems when using the websites to practice listening skills were
technical problems, the Internet connection was quite slow, the processes and
instruction of the websites are complicated. Some students did not have their
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own personal computers. Somebody had a lot of schedules to do, so it was
limitation for them to get good chance to practice listening skills outside
classroom. Another problem was students’ background knowledge. Students
didn’t know some new words, they were unable to get used to the native
speakers’ intonation and pronunciation. These are quite difficult for them to
improve their listening skills by the use of websites. According to the students’
answers from questionnaire and interview part, it is found that there are three
main points that they revealed about their problems when using the websites for
practicing listening skills. The first problem of their practicing listening skill on
the websites is their personal limitation. Some of the students did not have their
own personal computers, they either could not practice outside classroom, or go
somewhere, such as library, computer lab room, English Language Learning
Center, or Internet cafe, but from the questionnaire, the students stated that they

rarely went to these places for that. Although many students had their personal
computer, someone reported that they didn’t use the websites for practicing
listening skills outside classroom because they had a lot of plans to do, such as
taking courses, joining university activities like clubs and sports, and doing part
time job. Such those students lose many chances because of their limitation.
Secondly, some of students reported they didn’t think that using websites could
improve their listening skills since they have little background knowledge. The
students claimed that while they were practicing and listening to the native voice
on the websites, they felt sometimes the speed of listening materials was too fast
and they could not get the information. They could not catch the words or
sentences because they were unable to get used to the speakers’ intonation and
pronunciation. Difficulty of vocabularies, phrases and words was also their
problems to find the meaning. In this case they stated that they need teacher to
explain and suggest when they had the problems while they used the websites.
Another problem was the technical problems. Some websites were quite slow, it
took time to wait to open or download listening materials. Some websites were
quite complicated to use and they could not operated by themselves. A few
students said they felt using websites was quite complicated and finally they will
give it up. That is to say, those students needed someone like a teacher or their
friends help them to choose suitable websites or guided them how to choose
suitable materials for practicing listening, did it step by step.
c. difficulties of students in speech and communication in English
Limited Amount of Vocabulary This problem occupied top of the results
according students' answers. Students have difficulties in memorizing
vocabularies and English terms. On the other hands, most of the students also
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have problems in applying derivation rules. 13 out of 20 students (27.08%),
mentioned that they have suffered of limited amount of vocabulary inside the

classroom. An evidence of that is as follows: Student number one said," When I
try to make a conversation with another, problem of a limited vocabulary faces
me".
Confusion, Worry, Embarrassment, Shyness and Non-Confidence. This
difficulty presented results less than the first one, as these problems led the
students to unsatisfied performance through the oral communication. 8 out of 20
participants (16.66%), mentioned that they have suffered of confusion, worry,
embarrassment, shyness and non-confidence inside the classroom. An evidence
of that is as follows: Student number three said, "Sometimes, I feel confused,
because I feel afraid of using wrong words".
Problems of Using Incorrect Grammar Many students have erroneous
usage of English grammar and incorrectly utilizing structures of sentence during
the conversation, for example using verb forms doesn't match either the subjects
or tense, or using the sentence missing verbs. 7 out of 20 students (14.58%),
mentioned that they have suffered from problems of using incorrect grammar
inside the classroom. An evidence of that is as follows: Student number four
said, "I suffered from weakness of using English language rules".
Based on the literature review and knowledge and experience related to the
research area, a knowledge test for the variable ‘Speaking’ was designed and
submitted to a validation process by three experts, in the first case in the area of
language teaching and in the second, information technology. Observations and
suggestions were provided, and the final instruments were prepared. The
speaking test was applied to the experimental and control groups before and after
the educational intervention, in order to identify student knowledge on a 44-point
scale and establish the relationship between variables. The WhatsApp
pedagogical questionnaire was only applied to the experimental group in order to
analyze the differentiated educational experience. The data were tabulated and
processed based on operational tools, using Microsoft Excel, to present
frequency distribution, percentages, and descriptive measures in table format.
The Student’s t-test was used to test the hypothesis, where the theoretical and

calculated t delineated the acceptance/rejection region for the null hypothesis:
“The use of WhatsApp does not influence English speaking knowledge for
ESPOCH students.” The diagnostic phase included the planning, execution, and
evaluation of training sessions based on modules for each topic, with the
following components: Topic, Skill(s), Learning Style, Time and Period,
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Objectives, Materials, Technological Resources, Required Applications, Prior
knowledge Needed, Possible Difficulties and Limitations. Six lesson plans were
developed based on the TOEIC test (Test of English for International
Communication) and three lesson plans (7, 8 and 9) based on the KET exam
(Key English Test), as per level A2. The lesson plans were prepared using tables
with specific information and requirements for the different speaking activities in
the TOEIC and KET exam (2016). The lesson plans were designed under TOEIC
and KET parameters, with their corresponding rubrics and evaluation guides. A
workbook was prepared alongside the lesson plans, detailing the processes
corresponding to the speaking activities included in the lesson plans. Lesson plan
7 was implemented under KET parameters and corresponding rubrics and
evaluation guides. A workbook was prepared alongside the lesson plans, for the
part corresponding to the 13 speaking questions included in the lesson plans.
II. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
1. Results
The number of students using website as a tool to enhance their ability in
speaking and listening experienced a significant rise after survey. The results
afterwards showed that useful websites considerably motivated English major
students to make good progress at university. Since the statistics collected from
questionnaires and interview were apparent enough, the researcher could make a
list of well-known websites for reference.
The results of the survey are presented first. The survey was designed for

this study about the effectiveness or lack of effectiveness of enhancing speaking
and listening skills through useful website for second year English major
students at Thu Dau Mot University.
The link to the survey was e-mailed out to all students D18AV07. The
survey had the consent form at the beginning and then the survey questions
following. When answering, participants were not required to provide any
identifying information. Of the 35 potential participants for the survey, 26
responded, which equates to 74% response rate. Table 1 represents how often
participants use differentiated instruction in their classroom, which gave the
researcher an understanding of how valid the participants responses would be
and what participants based their responses on.
After the survey closed, an e-mail request was sent out asking for
volunteers to participate in a 15-30minute interview about their opinions on
effectiveness of enhancing speaking and listening skills through useful website
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for second year English major students at Thu Dau Mot University. Of the 35
possible participants and 26 actual participants, 10 volunteered to be
interviewed. Questions in the interview were developed specifically for this
study and were designed to further explore students such as effectiveness,
positives, negatives, and current use in the effectiveness of enhancing speaking
and listening skills through useful website for second year English major
students at Thu Dau Mot University. All participants in the interview had to sign
a consent form the interviews lasted about fifteen to twenty minutes and took
place at various locations designed to provide most convenience to participants.
Once the interviews had taken place, participant’s answers were typed and emailed back to participants for their verification. The answers below are the
participants’ verified responses. Responses were grouped together based on
similar themes and phrasing. All ten responses for each question are provided in
brief to maintain anonymity. The first interview question was "Which websites

are the most advantageous to improve your speaking as well as listening skill?”
Six of the ten participants responded that differentiated Website and this website
help them a lot is effective. Four of the six went on to say that it is best or
effective to meet the needs of individual students. Two of the six added that it is
effective if given enough time to plan. Another participant said that he/she has
not done a lot of it, but sees how it could be effective if done well.
2. Analysis
The importance of websites in speaking and listening improvement
The Table 1 indicated the majority of English major students in class
D18AV07 agreed that improving their language skills through websites was
effective, along with gaining some remarkable achievements in their tasks at
university (1.05; 1.1). Especially, they made a big advancement in pronunciation
and intonation so that their speaking was greatly enhanced (1.05). Besides, they
also realized their listening comprehension was getting better at the same time
(1). All of them were highly aware of the variety of sources of practical
information that was the reason why they visited several websites to seek for
suitable levels in English (1.1; 1.1).
The survey was analyzed to assess the percentage of teachers with specific
opinions, from strongly disagree to strongly agree, about the effectiveness or
lack of effectiveness of differentiated instruction in the English classroom. Based
on the array of responses, it was possible to regroup into one of five groups:

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1 = Strongly agree (SA)
2 = Agree (A)
3 = Neutral (N)
4 = Disagree (D)
5 = Strongly disagree (SD).

and assign percentages to each group. For example, sixty-percent of
students surveyed found the websites strongly increased student understand the
lesson and improve the pronunciation in the English classroom. These
percentages were used to discuss the perceived effectiveness. The interview was
used to investigate how students developed their conclusions about the
effectiveness of using websites in lesson. These responses were also categorized
and percentages given on how many fell into a category.

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Themes
1. Websites are very important to my
English improvement.

The choices of the students
SA A N
D
SD Mean
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
33
1
0
0
0
1

2. I believe that websites provide me
with a wide range of techniques to
enhance speaking and listening skill.

30

4

0

0

0

1.1

3. I am able to apply many techniques
from websites to reality.

29

3

2

0

0

1.2

4. I make much progress by using
websites to study.

25

5

4

0

0

1.3

5. I am going to upgrade my speaking 27
2
5
0
0
1.3
and listening English through useful
websites for a long time.
Table 1. The importance of websites in speaking and listening improvement
Students’ opinions about speaking and listening improvement through websites
The data collection from Table 2 revealed that most students had benefited
from websites to improve their speaking and listening in English. Websites, thus,
were supposed to be the most convenient and effective tools for English learners
in order to enhance their skills (1; 1.1). Moreover, they found websites extremely
various as they were provided with a great deal of information from many
sources. In fact, many students in class D18AV07 had discovered advantages of
using websites for the purpose of upgrade both speaking and listening so that

they could apply a lot of techniques to study process at school (1.1; 1.2; 1.3).
Particularly, one of the most crucial reasons that these people kept studying
through websites was the constant update on materials, in this way they were
able to make the two skills mentioned above better and better (1.3). There were
some students who had not got any achievements in their improvement yet, it
was possible as they had not found suitable websites or the websites they were
using were not at their levels.

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Themes
1. There are websites which help you
correct
your
pronunciation
and
intonation.
2. There are websites which help you
improve listening comprehension.

SA
(1)
32

A
(2)
2

34

0

Responses
N
D SD Mean
(3) (4) (5)
0
0
0
1.05

0

0

0

1

3. Websites consist of useful materials 30
4
0
0
0
1.1
for you to improve your speaking and
listening.
6
1

0
0
1.1
4. You visit websites frequently to 27
practice speaking and listening English.
5. Using websites to improve speaking 32
2
0
0
0
1.05
and listening skill is effective and
convenient.
Table 2. Attitudes towards speaking and listening improvement through
websites
To sum up, the students’ evaluation for the statements mentioned above was
really positive. They saw the point of importance in speaking and listening
enhancement so that they would adjust study methods for the purpose of
pursuing ambitions in target language. They were also conscious of which
websites were suitable for their levels, then maintained going to those ones to
develop their skills.
Students’ recommendations on effective websites
Looking at the interview data, it was clear that students’ language skills
were enhanced. The Table 3 illustrated English learners’ suggestions about
preferable websites which they were in the habit of applying to their study. Most
of them thought was the most advantageous
website since it consisted of a wide range of levels, for example, for kids,
teenagers, and adults. This link was beneficial for those who were fond of British
accent and IELTS examination. Next, English learners appreciated
as every lesson obviously included three levels,

especially it provided transcripts, together with difficult words attached below.
As far as they might see, this website offered them many kinds of topics so that
students not only practiced speaking and listening, but also explored new
understanding. Last but not least, it was suggested that />Page 17 of 20


brought students a lot of experience through hot issues, they could find out
various specific vocabulary as well as getting knowledge outside their countries.

Interview Data Examples
Students 1: “I highly recommend for those who
wants to improve their speaking and also listening.”
Student 2: “I’m interested in visiting to listen
English, then practice my speaking skill as well.”
Student 3: “I love , this website is actually fantastic to
improve both speaking and listening.”
Table 3. Examples of interview data about websites that English students
major recommend
To conclude, these are three famous websites that was greatly recommended
by English major students at D18AV07 as they could recognized the strengths
and positive results when using them. In fact, students managed to improve their
speaking and listening while they also unwound their minds and approached new
experience
through
accessing
practical
websites.

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