The use of the Internet tool as an assistance for
first-year non-major students at Namdinh
University of Technology Education in basic
English self-study

Ngô Thị Thơm

Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ
Luận văn Thạc sĩ ngành: Lý luận và phương pháp dạy học tiếng Anh
Mã số: 60 14 10
Người hướng dẫn: TS. Đỗ Tuấn Minh
Năm bảo vệ: 2012

Abstract: This study looks at and reports the results of an individual experiment using
the Internet with web-based listening activities as a supplementary resource for
students‟ self-study listening comprehension. In the experiment, three major points
were investigated: 1) The investigation of the influence of utilizing web-based
listening activities on the skill of listening for details outcomes of the first-year non-
major students at Namdinh University of Technology Education (NUTE); 2) The
students‟ opinions and attitudes towards the application of web-based listening
activities in their listening self-study; 3) The difficulties students have during the
process of self-study. The suggested websites were tested with a group of 20 first-year
non-major students at NUTE. Students were asked to take the pretest and posttest and
answer a questionnaire. Analyses revealed that students had favorable attitudes
towards web-based listening activities which has positive effect on students‟ self study
listening comprehension. However, problems encountered by the students during the
experiment of using the web-based listening activities outside classroom were also be
pointed out.

Keywords: Tiếng Anh; Kỹ năng nghe; Internet; Phương pháp giảng dạy


in the suggested websites in their listening self-study?
(iii) What are the problems that students have during the self- study process of using web-based
activities to improve their listening comprehension skill?
4. Scope of the study
The study operates within the following scopes:
(i) Only the use of two activities: listening to the songs and ticking off items in the website
and listening to a short conversation and filling the gaps in the website
will be investigated.
(ii) The subjects chosen for this research are 40 students from 2 selected groups: ĐK6C and
CK14D; these students are studying basic English One Headway Elementary- Liz and John Soars-
Oxford University Press.
5. Method of the study
The method in this study is quasi-experimental research design which utilizes a survey
questionnaire for students. The writer suggests two websites for students to practice listening
comprehension on their own. One pre-test and one post-test are also used. The data collected for the
study is from the survey questionnaire and the two tests‟ scores.
6. Significance of the study
The data collected from the study can be analyzed and interpreted in terms of using websites and
web-based activities with songs and short conversations to promote the effectiveness of teaching
Elementary English listening comprehension in general and listening to do ticking off items and gap
filling in particular at this university.
The result of the study may also be expected to English teachers who have interest in applying
new technology in their teaching for higher teaching quality.
The study can lay grounds for further researches on the employment of web-based activities in
self-study listening comprehension skill as well as other skills.
7. Design of the study
The study consists of three main parts:
Part One „Introduction‟ presents the rationale, purposes, research questions, scope, method,
significance and design of the study.


1.2. Drawbacks of the Internet in language teaching and learning
The nature of the Internet itself can be a disadvantage at times. It may take time to access
information or browse the net and technical glitches can lead to frustration.
Lack of training and familiarity on part of the teachers can make it difficult to implement the
Internet in the language teaching and learning.
Costs related to training, as well as on-line costs of using a provider are issues that may interfere
with implementing such a technology in schools.
The Internet offers access to all types of issues and topics, some of which are unsuitable for
children, and this in itself may result in various problems.
Equity issues may also present difficulties when attempting to implement such technology in the
language teaching and learning.
Many institutions may also not have the computers or computing facilities necessary to
implement such type of technology and foreign language teachers are anxious about computers
since they often have little experience with it.
1.3. Web-based language learning (WBLL) activities
WBLL is language learning that involves the use of the web and exploits web materials,
resources, applications or tools.
There are some types of WBLL activities: pre-created web activities, task-based web activities,
problem-solving tasks and teacher-made web activities.
There are various websites available on the net, what they have to do is to register to be a
member and follows the guidelines to freely use activities the websites provide. One thing should be
paid much attention is to select appropriate ones for certain uses.
1.4. Listening comprehension- a brief theoretical overview
1.4.1. Definition of listening
Listening is as an important component in the process of second language acquisition .

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Listening is an invisible mental process. Listeners must discriminate between sounds, understand
vocabulary and grammatical structures, interpret stress and intention, retain and interpret this within
the immediate and the larger socio-cultural context of the utterance .

later recall. What is remembered later and presumably what is stored in the long-term memory are
the gist of the message.
1.4.3.3. Prediction and selection
The listener predict what is likely to come next and select which stretches of material he will pay
maximum attention to. His prediction and selection come from the logic of details in the passage,
knowledge of the language and life experience.
I.4.4. Types of listening activities
(i) No overt response: Learner do not have to do anything in response to the listening, only
understand its main idea or enjoy it silently themselves: stories, songs, films, video, radio.
(ii) Short response: Obeying instructions, Ticking off items, True/ False- Right/ Wrong, Dectecting
mistakes, Blank-filling/cloze, Guessing definitions, Multiple choice items.
(iii) Longer responses: Answering open-ended questions, Note taking, Dictation, Paraphrasing and
translating, Summarizing, Long gap-filling.

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(iv) Extended responses: Problem solving, Information transfer, Interpretation.
1.5. Listening practice in relation to the web
1.5.1. Reasons for using the web for developing and improving listening comprehension
(i) Current students - the “Net Generation”- expect a language school or programme to offer
opportunities to use technology in their courses.
(ii) The use of technology outside the language classroom can make learners more autonomous.
Using technology allows language practice and self-study anywhere.
(iii) New information technology skills-Internet search skills can be transferred to real life.
(iv) The use of technology via web-based environment can be current.
(v) While listening to digital audio or watching a video clip, learners have the opportunity to pause,
listen and read a transcript or get instant feedback on what they have done.
(vi) Learners can access authentic websites. They can plan out their own use of web-based materials
in their own time. Then they become effective listeners and independent learners.
1.5.2. An example of free listening material source and web-based listening techniques and
activities

progress from elementary level to pre-intermediate level. The course book in this stage is the

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Headway series, including Headway Elementary and Headway Pre-Intermediate. This stage aims at
providing the four language skills and also some sub-skills such as using dictionary, searching for
the net, self-study. A variety of approaches and methods have been employed during the teaching
and learning process.
2.3. Participants
The participants included 40 non-major students at NUTE in their first year. The students were
divided into two groups: experimental group and control group, each has 20 students. These
participants were not randomly selected and they belong naturally to two available groups: ĐK6C
and CK14D. They are attending basic English One with the course book Headway Elementary by
Liz and John Soars- Oxford University Press. Among them, the male students outnumbered the
female with 24 (60%) and 16 (40%).
The experimental group practise listening for details themselves with the suggested websites
while the control group self-study listening comprehension following the traditional mode- use
analogue and tape-based format (cassette ). The experimental group consists of 20 students, 14
males and 6 females while the control group consists of 20 students, 10 males and 10 females.
2.4. Instruments
2.4.1 Pretest and posttest
In terms of the content, the tests simply consist of two parts:
The first part includes about fifteen pictures simple and familiar with students. What students
have to do is to listen to the song and click the correct words. This section aims at checking
students‟ ability to identify and tick the phrases being sung very quickly.
The second part requires students to listen carefully and complete the conversation by filling in
the missing words or sentences. There were about six gaps. This part tests students‟ ability to
remember and guess what is said in the dialogue. The exercise sometimes asks for knowledge of
grammar and vocabulary in a particular context.
2.4.2 A survey questionnaire
The survey questionnaire designed for students includes 17 questions and was administered to

Experimental Group
Control Group
Mean
11.15
10.75
Variance
5.292105263
4.723684211
Observations
20
20
Pooled Variance
5.007894737

Hypothesized Mean Difference
0

df
38

t Stat
0.565239359

P(T<=t) two-tail
0.575233262

t Critical two-tail
2.024394147

It might be that the experiment group and the control group started at the same level of listening

Confidence Level(95.0%)
1.076647305
1.035437512
Table 3: Descriptive Statistics for Pretest and Posttest scores of Control group
Control Group

Pretest
Posttest
Mean
10.75
11.3
Standard Error
0.485987871
0.49257647
Standard Deviation
2.173403831
2.202868943
Sample Variance
4.723684211
4.852631579
Range
7
7
Sum
215
226
Count
20
20
Confidence Level(95.0%)


t Stat
4.583753826

P(T<=t) two-tail
0.000048

t Critical two-tail
2.024394147

A conclusion can be drawn that there was a statistically significant difference between the posttest
means of the experimental group and the control group. Hence, the null hypothesis- there is no
difference between the posttest scores of the experimental group and the control group- is rejected,
in other words, the treatment was effective.

Chart 2: Pretest and Posttest Mean Increase
14.5
11.15
11.3
10.75
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Pretest Posttest

synthesis of the two groups‟ test scores show that the experimental group make a better
improvement in the ability of listening for details. The two groups‟ pretest scores comparison
analysis helps to strengthen the conclusion that the improvement made by those who participating in
the web-based listening activities is not due to chance.
3.1.3. Research question 3
3. What are the problems that students have during the process of using web-based activities to
improve their listening comprehension self- studying?
The questions from 9 to 15 aim at finding out the problems students cope with during self-study
process. The author focuses on the problems of the amount of instructions, the time, the cost as well
as other difficulties websites.
Most participants did not have serious problems. The most explicit disadvantage is the problem
of time-consuming. Not enough exchange between students and the teacher as well as the teacher‟s
guidance come second. Other troubles are phonetic and lexical problems, negative attitudes with the
tasks‟level misorder, expenses. Most students would use these websites to support their learning and
introduce to other learners.
3.2. Implications
The use of web-based listening activities in the two suggested websites to self- practise
listening for details can serve as an effective tool that remarkably supports non-major students at
NUTE in their listening comprehension improvement.
The web-based listening activities in this study can be introduced widely to other groups at the
university with higher language proficiency levels, and also English for Specific Purposes. Teachers
can explore more common and useful websites and introduce to students to practise other language
skills.
Whichever websites are explored, some notes should be considered: the sections in the websites
must be at the students‟ English proficiency level; students need to be made familiar with searching
the Internet for self-study and they should be provided with certain basic knowledge of Information
Technology and necessary skills to work on the net.
Teachers should take some following characteristics of good web listening lessons into
consideration: Are organized, Give comprehension help, Supplement, Challenge students, Are
oriented to the global village, Build listening skills.

institutions in Vietnam, too.
2. Limitations of the study
The study contains some following limitations:
The first inevitable one is the size of the experiment. Also, the experimental subjects‟
proficiency levels was elementary, this narrows the range of students‟ levels so partly prevented the
author from getting a full idea of the effect of web-based activities at all proficiency levels. .
The second limitation is the subjects‟ gender, 60% of the subjects are males. As such, it may be
unreasonable to make sure that the similar findings could be concluded when carrying out the
research among a wider range of gender.
The third one lies in the fact that the application of web-based listening activities was
experimented in such a short period of time (four weeks). As such, it was impossible for the author
to study the participants‟ background information as well as other factors that may at the same time
also affect students‟ learning results.
The next one is that as this is the first time the author has applied the experiment of web-based
activities use for students‟ self-study, this means they explore the suggested websites to study
themselves out of class time which leads to incomplete control from the teachers.
One more limitation is that when it comes to the web, the author likes to surf the web and
recommend useful websites to students and even use them in class sometimes. But she is definitely
not creating webpages herself.

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Finally, it would not be fair to end without pointing to some limitations of the web. The web is a
great medium for form-focused learning. But that also implies that when it comes to open-ended
questions, the reliability of the web medium in checking the accuracy of the answers is low.
3. Suggestions for further study
The findings and limitations of the study indicate some suggestions for further research.
The first suggestion is the application of the study with a bigger sample.
The second is that the study can be carried out with different language proficiency levels and
other skills developing as well.
The next is the intergrating technology especially the Internet with web-based activities into the

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