i

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

MAI THỊ THU TRANG
REALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING LISTENING SKILLS
TO FIRST - YEAR NON - ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT
PHUONG DONG UNIVERSITY: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

( THỰC TRẠNG DẠY VÀ HỌC NGHE ĐỐI VỚI SINH VIÊN NĂM
THỨ NHẤT KHÔNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC
PHƯƠNG ĐÔNG: VẤN ĐỀ VÀ GIẢI PHÁP)
M.A. Minor Programme Thesis Field
: English Methodology
Code
: 601410
Hanoi, 2010 ii



Chart 1: Teachers‟ situational problems
Chart 2: Teachers‟ problems from listening materials
Chart 3: Teachers‟ problems from students
Chart 4: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of background noise in teaching listening
Chart 5: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of large class size
Chart 6: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of multi-level class
Chart 7: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of poor teaching equipments
Chart 8: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of unfamiliar topics to students
Chart 9: Teachers‟ solution to the problem of texts having different accents
Chart 10: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of fast speed of speech
Chart 11: Teachers‟ solutions when the listening text has unfamiliar sounds to students.
Chart 12: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of students‟ low motivation
Chart 13: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of students‟ low level of proficiency
Chart 14: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of students‟ anxiety
Chart 15: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem of students‟ limited vocabulary and structures
Chart 16: Teachers‟ solutions to the problem if students‟ lack of background knowledge
Chart 17: Students‟ situational problems
Chart 18: Students‟ problems from listening materials
Chart 19: Students‟ problems from students themselves
Chart 20: Students‟ solutions to the problems of background noise in listening lessons
Chart 21: Students‟ solutions to the problem of listening in large class
Chart 22: Students‟ solutions to the problem of listening in multi-level class
Chart 23: Students‟ suggestions for teaching equipments in listening lesson.
Chart 24: Students‟ solutions to the problem of unfamiliar topics
Chart 25: Students‟ solution to the problem of texts having different accents
Chart 26: Students‟ solutions to the problem of unfamiliar sounds
Chart 27: Students‟ solutions to the problem of texts having fast speed of speech
Chart 28: Students‟ solutions to their low motivation in learning listening
Chart 29: Students‟ solutions to the problem of difficult texts


viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration…………………………………………………………………………………
i
Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………….
ii
Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………
iii
List of tables…………………………………………………………………………………
iv
Table of contents…………………………………………………………………………….
vi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………
1
1.1. Statement of problem and rationale…………………………………………….
1
1.2. Aims of the study…………………………………………………………………
2
1.3. Research questions……………………………………………………………….
2
1.4. Scope of the study………………………………………………………………
2

13
3.4. Data analysis…………………………………………………………………….
14
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS……………………………………………………
15
4.1. Teachers’ problems in teaching listening……………………………………
15
4.2. Teachers’ solutions to the problems…………………………………………
17 ix

4.3. Students’ problems in learning listening……………………………………
24
4.4. Students’ solutions to the problems…………………………………………
27
CHAPTER FIVE: RESULTS DISCUSSION……………………………………………
35
5.1. Teachers’ problems in teaching listening…………………………………….
35
5.2. Teachers’ solutions to the problems…………………………………………
36
5.3. Students’ problems in learning listening……………………………………
37
5.4. Students’ solutions to the problems…………………………………………
38
CHAPTER SIX: IMPLICATIONS………………………………………………………
40
6.1. Implications for the university………………………………………………


1.1. Statement of problem and rationale
In the time of globalization, the ability to acquire and use English well is considered
the key to achieve success. Learning English is no longer a priority but a necessity in the
present time. It is the reason why many researchers and educators express their concern about
the methods to improve the quality of teaching and learning English.
In the context of Phuong Dong University (PDU), great concern is put on listening. Many
students have raised their worries about the weak improvement in their listening ability. The
students in Phuong Dong University, especially the first year non English major ones found it
difficult to perform listening tasks because of various reasons such as their low background
knowledge, limited vocabulary and structures, low motivation, act. Moreover, some students
stated that in their high schools, they did not have chances to access listening, therefore when
they move to university they lack experiences in acquiring this kind of skill. Others have
linked listening lessons with something much difficult and boring. For the teachers in PDU,
they revealed that sometimes they find it challenging to have a successful lessons and it is
really difficult to motivate students in learning listening skill. Although they have put great
effort to increase students‟ interest, students‟ motivation sometimes is low and the listening
lessons are stated to be boring and useless.
In addition, although in PDU, many researches were conducted in methods of English
teaching, not many of them were in listening. Most of them were to focus on speaking and
reading as well. It means that in this context, there remains a lack of research in the field of
listening.
This above situation has inspired me to conduct a research study on the reality of listening
and teaching listening to first - year non - English major students at Phuong Dong University:
Problems and Solutions.

1.2. Aims of the study
In general, the study is to investigate the current situation of teaching and learning
listening skills to the first - year non – English major students at elementary level at PDU.


major students to improve their listening skills. Therefore, it plays an important role in
enriching the methodology of teaching listening skills. Furthermore, the results of the study
will contribute and suggest ideas for later research on the same field.
3
1.6. Design of the study
The thesis consists of seven chapters:
Chapter one is the introduction to the study which presents the statement of problem and
rationale; aims of the study; research questions; scope of the study; significance of the study
and design of the study.
Chapter two focuses on the basic theoretical background from the literature review on
listening skills.
Chapter three presents the research methodology which describes how the research was
carried out.
Chapter four is on data analysis.
Chapter five presents and discusses the finding of the surveys. In other words, it helps to find
the answers for the four research questions.
Chapter six provides some recommendations for the development of teaching and learning
listening to the first year non English majors at PDU.
Chapter seven is the conclusion which summarizes the thesis and makes some suggestions
for further study.


negotiators and integrators in the process of learning listening. In this process, learners
activate both linguistic cues and nonlinguistic knowledge to achieve the meaning. In other
words, listening is the active combination of new input gained by what the listeners get and
their prior knowledge and experience. This view is valuable and worth considering in setting
up listening syllabus in the sense that it aims to build communicative competence to the
learners in listening lessons.
To conclude, listening demands many skills. It is an active process in which learners use their
prior knowledge to infer the message of the listening text.
2.2. Types of listening process
There are two ways of processing a text: top-down processing and bottom-up
processing.
According to Hedge (2000, p.230), in the bottom-up part of the listening process, the learners
understand the meaning of the listening text by using the knowledge of the language to
analyze all acoustic cues to capture the sense of the sound. More specifically, she states that
in this case, “we segment speech into identifiable sounds and impose a structure on these in
terms of words, phrases, clauses, sentences, and intonation patterns”. And “at the same time, 5
we use whatever clues are available to infer meaning from the developing speech”. Having
the same idea, Buck ( 2001, p.2) describes bottom-up process as “a one-way street” which
“sees language comprehension as a process of passing through a number of consecutive
stages, or level, and the output of each stage becomes the input for the next higher stage”. In
top-down processing, learners base on their schematic knowledge, the context to find the
meaning of the listening text. In order to capture the meaning, the learners link between the
spoken message and various types of prior knowledge which they had inside their head
(Hedge, 2000, p.232).
Top-down and bottom-up are not in opposite sides to each other, but are mutually
independent. Therefore, listening is “an interactive one in which linguistic information,
contextual clues, and prior knowledge interact to enable comprehension” (Hedge, 2000,

step which helps learners to have the beginning idea about what they will listen to such as the
theme or the kind of language. And in this stage, the teachers are advised not just to ask the
listeners to do the listening and turn on the listening material, but to set up needed
background knowledge and find out the purpose for listening. When mentioning this stage,
Llurda (2006, p.76) reveals that pre-listening activities “are also there to lower feelings of
anxiety about a listening task”
Underwood (1989, p.31) introduces a range of activities for pre-listening including:
- the teacher giving background information;
- the students reading something relevant;
- the students looking at the pictures;
- discussion of the topic/situation;
- a question and answer session;
- written exercises;
- consideration of how the while-listening activity will be done.
2.4.2. While – listening stage
In while-listening stage, students are asked to do activities while they are listening.
The purpose of this stage is to check learners‟ comprehension and most importantly, to “help
learners develop the skill of eliciting messages from the spoken language” (Underwood,
1989, p.45) and to “motivate students to want to listen” (Underwood, 1989, p.44).
Davies and Pearse (2000, p.78) suggest some activities for while-listening stage:
- identify the exact topic, or an aspect of it;
- note two or four pieces of information;
- answer the question;
- complete sentences;
- complete a table, map or picture.
2.4.3. Post-listening stage 7
The post – listening stage includes tasks which are carried out when the listening gets

complain noise affects the success of their listening lesson. For teachers, they find it difficult 8
to control the class and to instruct students. For the students, they feel distracted and
sometimes can not capture the essential words and phrases due to the noise. The feasible
solution for this matter is to conduct listening lesson in lab room with good quality recorders
and CD players and it is necessary that students keep quiet during the lessons. It is not new
that many teachers and students reveals good class equipments assist listening.
With good quality recorder, it is easier for students to make out the sounds without noise.
Moreover, for the teachers, with video, computer and projector, they can have chance to
exploit visual aids to give students lively illustration for the lessons.
2.5.2. Problems from the listening materials
+ Unfamiliar topics
Listening texts can be about various topics in life including daily conversation, formal
meeting and class discussion which make students confused and anxious. Almost of words
and phrases are new to them and they do not have any background knowledge of these
topics. In this case, it is a need for students to practice as much as they can on the topics at
home. And teacher‟s role is providing students with essential background and systemic
knowledge.
+ Different accents
Listeners feel strange to various accents, and they are sure to meet the difficulties
when hear the new accent. When considering problem with accent, Buck (2001, p.35)
confirms: “accent is potentially a very important variable in listening comprehension” and
“an unfamiliar accent can make comprehension almost impossible for the listener”.
According to Tuyet (2007, p.34), it is advisable to have learners expose to English by
watching English films, listening to news in English which help them to get the chance to
listen to native speakers. By this, the problem of understanding different accent will be
solved.
+ Speed of speech

Students‟ low motivation is really a problem in listening lessons. As the matter of
fact, if the students get tired and feel not interested in the lesson, it will be difficult for them
to seek the success in the process of listening. This fact is also confirmed by White (1998,
p.13) as “listening well involves motivation and concentration”. Many researchers provide
the solutions for this kind of problem. Ur (1996, p.112) suggests teachers not to make “the
listening passage too long overall” and insists “breaking them up into „chunks‟ through
pause”. Hedge (2000, p.247) gives another suggestion which highlights that: “creating
purpose for listening can motivate students”. This view point is reasonable because if the
students make out the point of what they are performing, they will feel encouraged to join the
listening tasks. Teachers can gain this by “providing tasks which are as realistic as possible,
so that the students can relate what they are doing in the lesson to things that happen in real
life, outside classroom” (Underwood, 1989, p.21). Along with these, the students will get 10
disappointed when they always fail in doing tasks. Therefore, to motivate and encourage
students during the lesson, it is advisable for the teachers to “help students see how
successful they have been in doing the task” (Hedge, 2000, p.244). And Ur (1984, p.25)
expresses the same idea when he gives the confirmation as “task should be success oriented”,
it means “having learners do the activity more or less successful, not by having them fail”.
Tuyet (2007, p.35) provides one solution which states that: “teachers had better not treat the
activities as tests to be marked or scored”. Giving students background knowledge before
listening is also a good advice. The use of visual aids should be taken into consideration
when teachers try to seek the path to have students‟ motivation. Students themselves can seek
the interest in learning listening through English songs, movies and stories at home as well as
joining in pair-work and group-work in class.
+ Students’ low level of proficiency
Teaching listening to intermediate and advanced students is difficult, and for the
beginners, the case is more complex because they do not gain themselves a lot of experiences
with listening, plus their lack of linguistic and cultural knowledge of the language. Therefore,

to listen to, giving students chances to guess the meaning from the relevant clues and
presenting some important words and structures before allowing the students to do their
listening. For students, Rixon (1986, p.5) advises that they should use dictionary to find out
the meaning, ask teachers for explanation and repetition. One considerable solution stated by
this author for students is to “hold doubtful sections of what is heard in suspense and hoping
that clarification will come later”.
+ Students’ lack of background knowledge
Lack of background knowledge will cause the wrong interpretation to the listening
text given because “when we listen we use our background knowledge of the world to set up
expectations, and then we use those expectations to help us comprehend what we hear”
(Buck, 2001, p.8). Get the importance of this, Lingzhu (2003) states that it is advisable for
teachers to introduce the listening topic and after that, students write down as many words
and phrases related to the topic as they can. The problem also can be solved by giving
students some questions related to the text and having them answer to get prior knowledge.
In addition, looking at some pictures is considered a very exciting way for students to gain
background knowledge. One important point is that in listening lessons, students should be
active to ask teachers for help in case they do not have any background knowledge.

12
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1. The setting of the study
The study was carried out at the non-major English Faculty of Biotechnology (FOB).
The training course of students lasts 4 years and in this course, English is a compulsory

English so they did not take much care of learning English in their years at high schools.
3.3. The data collection methods and procedures
Both quantitative and qualitative methods are employed in this study. More
specifically, the research is carried out by exploiting survey questionnaires for both teachers
and students. A long with questionnaires, follow-up interviews are conducted to double
check the findings provided by survey questionnaires.
+ Questionnaire
One survey questionnaire is for 10 teachers to get their ideas on the learning reality,
problems experienced by them as well as their recommendations for improving the students‟
listening skills. The survey questionnaires for teachers are carried out directly with teachers.
The second survey questionnaire is made for the 100 non English major students to identify
their problems and solutions in learning listening. In detail, in 110 survey questionnaires
were delivered, the author received 100 back. Among 100 survey questionnaires, 30 were
conducted directly, 70 were carried out via email. The questionnaires for students are
translated into Vietnamese to make sure they understand all the questions properly.
The two questionnaires consist of three parts. The first part is about participants‟ general
information. The second parts is to state the problems encountered by teachers and students.
The second part is to find out teachers‟ and students‟ solutions to these problems.
The exploitation of survey questionnaire is good for this study because it is suitable for the
large sample of 10 teachers and 100 students.
+ Interview
After exploiting questionnaire, the study exploits two follow – up interviews for teachers and
students to get the more insightful information to support the findings. The author exploited
interviews for the reason that the results from survey questionnaires can be reliable enough.
Therefore, interviews double - check the findings from the questionnaires and get more
information for the study.
The interviews with 4 teachers were carried out directly and at the same time written down
by the author. The interviews with 8 students were conducted via telephone and in
Vietnamese and also written down by the author. The contents of the interviews focus on
teachers‟ and students‟ problems and solutions in teaching and learning listening skills. Each

15
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS
In this part of the paper, results from the questionnaires and interviews are presented.
The findings are presented in four major themes corresponding to the research questions, i.e.
teachers‟ problems in teaching listening, teachers‟ solutions to the problems, students‟
problems in learning listening, and students‟ solutions to their problems.
4.1. Teachers’ problems in teaching listening
Chart 1: Teachers’ situational problems
0
20
40
60
80
100
a b c d
a. Background noise
b. Large class
c. Multi-level class
d. Poor teaching equipments

Chart 1 states situational problems that teachers encountered in teaching listening.
The prominent problem given by them is multi-level class (90%). In PDU, the number of
students in English class is from 31 to 35. Therefore, 6 teachers (60%) claimed that they had
to administer listening lessons in large classes. The large classes made a lot of noise which

students
c. Speed of speech
d. Unfamiliar sounds to
students

When being asked about the problems from listening materials, 80% of the teachers
revealed that they met obstacles when the listening texts have fast speed of speech.
Unfamiliar sounds to students caused big problem to teachers (60%) because of the fact that
most of the students are beginners in listening and their pronunciation is not good. 60% of
the informants blamed on different accents to students while only 30% of them stated that
they find the listening texts have unfamiliar topics to students.
From the interviews, the fact is that 50% of the teachers interviewed said that the speakers
often speak too fast. The third teacher said: “Well, most of students are not good at listening,
they can not catch up with the speed of speaker”. One teacher confirmed that listening texts
having unfamiliar sounds to students is a problem in teaching listening.
Chart 3: Teachers’ problems from students
0
20
40
60
80
100
a b c d e
a. Students' low
motivation
b. Students' low level of
proficiency
c. Students' anxiety
d. Students' limited
vocabulary and structures

during the listening lesson

With the purpose of investigating teachers‟ solutions to background noise in listening
class, question 1 is designed. Background noise often happens in large class, therefore the
highest percentage of response to the solution to the problem is using cassette, CD, VCD and
DVD with good quality and asking students to keep quite during the listening lesson.
However, none of the teachers chose to teach in the laboratory room.
The result from the interview stated that coping with background noise, teachers often asked
their students to keep quiet and exploit pair-work and group-work.
Chart 5: Teachers’ solutions to the problem of large class
0
20
40
60
80
100
a b c
a. Set up classroom
rituals and routines
b. Exploit pair-work
and group-work
c. Ask for smaller
class

The teachers‟ solutions for problem of large class are presented in chart 5. Exploiting
pair-work and group-work was most of the teachers‟ choice (5 teachers). Setting up
classroom rituals and routines was favored by 66% (teachers). And there is a fact that only
one out 6 teachers required the faculty of English to arrange them smaller class.
From the interviews, we can see that when teaching in large class, teachers preferred to
exploit pair-work and group-work, especially in pre-listening and while-listening as one of

and group-works the best choice. Another choice is teaching all students at the same rate, and
giving more competent students more difficult exercises at home. By this way, they could
satisfy the need of all students.
Chart 7: Teachers’ solutions to the problem of poor teaching equipments
0
20
40
60
80
100
a b c d e
a. TV
b. CD player
c. VCD, DVD player
d. Computer
e. Projector

In reality, almost of English non major classes only offer cassette players. A
significant fact to note down is that 100% of teachers (5 teachers) hoped to teach in classes
with modern equipment like T.V, CD players, VCD players and DVD players. 3 others stated
that it is good to use computers in listening class. The same number required projectors. 19
The result from the interviews shared the same ideas when almost of the teachers suggested
that classes should be equipped with modern facilities like T.V, CD players, VCD players
and DVD players. Every time, only cassette player, the teacher needed at least CD player, but
there is none. There is a lab, but not many wanted to teach in the lab because “the quality of
the lab is not good”.
Chart 8: Teachers’ solutions to the problem of unfamiliar topics to students

other teachers before class, read all
or part of the tapesript out in your
accent, then design the listening task
for student
d.Encourage students to have
conversation with native speakers
e.Expose students to different accents
in class

We can see from the table that the highest percentage of teachers (66.66%, equivalent
to 4 teachers) would like to have their students listen to a lot of English both in class and at
home to get used to different accents. Half of teachers (3 teachers) agreed to expose students