Viet Nam national university
Ha noi university of languages and international studies
Faculty of post-graduate studies

phạm thị kim liên

Students perceptions of note-taking skills to
prepare for the TOEFL iBT test at Equest English
center
(nhận thức về kỹ năng ghi chép thông tin của
học sinh đang tham gia các lớp luyện thi TOEFL
iBT tại Trung tâm tiếng Anh Equest)

M.A. MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 601410
Supervisor: Văn Th Thanh Bình, M.A.

Hanoi, 2011


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CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT
I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “Students’ perceptions of note-taking skills to prepare
for the TOEFL iBT test at EQuest English Center” is the result of my research for the Degree
of Master of Art at College of Language and International Studies, Ha Noi National University,
and the thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or tertiary
institution.


50 students who are currently studying for the TOEFL iBT at EQuest English Center, Hanoi.
Findings from questionnaires revealed that (i) most of the students hold positive attitudes
towards note-taking skills; (ii) many students perceived major benefits of note-taking skills
such as concentrating on lectures, remembering information in the lectures, organizing the
information after the lecture is over, answering the test questions better, feeling at ease; (iii)
they encountered some challenges in taking notes like listening to the talks and at the same
time take notes, missing important information while taking notes. Besides, findings also
showed that students perceived a lot of note-taking strategies and frequently employed those
strategies such as writing down important information for each main point; significant details;
using abbreviations, symbols; paraphrasing (using easier words); using outlining; organizing
notes visually; separating different ideas from each other; highlighting particularly important
information. Some suggestions for improving the effectiveness of note-taking skills have also
been given in this study. It is hoped that the study would contribute a small part to the
improvement of English teaching and learning, particularly to the training of note-taking skills
at EQuest English Center as well as to those who concern this issue.


iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration ………………………………………………………………………..
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………
Abstracts……………………………………………………………………………
Lists of abbreviations ……………………………………………………………...
Lists of charts ……………………………………………………………………...
PART A : INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………
1.Rationale ……………………………………………………………………
2. Aims of the study …………………………………………………………..
3.



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2.3. Participants ………………………………………………………………
2.4. The questionnaire………………………………………………………..
CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ……………………………….
3.1. Students’ attitudes towards note-taking skills …………………………..
3.2. Students’ perceptions of the benefits of note-taking skills. ……………..
3.3. Students’ perceptions of the difficulties in practicing note-taking skills ...
3.4. Students’ perceptions of note-taking strategies ………………………….
3.

5. Discussion ……………..……………..…

3.5.1. Students’ attitudes towards note-tak

3.5.2. Students’ perceptions of benefits of

3.5.3. Students’ perceptions of difficulties

3.5.4. Students’ perceptions of note-taking

3.5.5. Conclusion ……………..…………
3.

6. Summary ……………..……………..……

PART C: CONCLUSION ……………..……………..……………..…………..
1.


Chart 8: How frequently students use note-taking strategies
(The strategies that students used least frequently)

LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS
EFL: English as Foregin Language
ETS: Educational Testing Services Organization
HULIS: Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies
L1: English as the first language
L2: English as the second language
TOEFL iBT:

Test of English as Foreign Language, internet-Based Test


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PART A: INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale
Note-taking is regarded as a useful study skill because it can assist students not only in
remembering what they have heard or read, keeping them focused on the subject area and to
the task at hand (Kesselman-Turkel and Peterson, 1982), but also extending their attention
span during lectures (Rowntree, 1976). The reason is when taking notes, they use multiple
senses and multiple activities including reading or listening then writing, using brain and
muscles, etc. Besides, note-taking skill is considered an indispensable tool in preparing for the
exams in general, and the Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL) in particular. With the
emergence of the TOEFL program in which test-takers are not allowed to take notes, notetaking has become an interesting topic to a handful of researchers. They mainly concern
whether note-taking has facilitative effects on test takers' performance and to decide whether
note taking should be allowed or not. Some researchers are in favor of the view that notetaking is effective because it serves to focus on the main point of the lecture or conversations,
students are, thereby, more likely to answer questions accurately. Others are against notetaking because taking note during listening distracts learner's concentration ability, and that

test;

Surveying students' attitudes towards note-taking skills to prepare for the TOEFL iBT

-

Investigating students' perceptions of benefits of note-taking skills to prepare for the

TOEFL iBT test;
-

Discovering students’ perceptions of difficulties in practicing note-taking skills;

-

Examining students’ perceptions of note-taking strategies;
the

Giving some recommendations for EQuest teachers to help students improve

effectiveness of note-taking skills.
It is hoped that the study will be useful for teachers and students in general and for those at
EQuest English Center in particular.


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To reach the aims of the study, the following questions are given:
1.


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5. Significance of the study
The study highlights the importance of note-taking skill as a critical study tool to improve
English in general and to prepare for the TOEFL iBT test in particular. Its findings are
expected to be useful for instructors and students at EQuest to be aware of the essential role of
note-taking. The researcher of the study hopes that the suggestions provided will be helpful for
EQuest teachers to teach note-taking skills effectively.
6. Design of the study
The study is divided into three parts:
Part A is the introduction, which provides brief information about the study such as rationale,
aims, scope, methodology, significance and design of the study.
Part B including three chapters:
Chapter 1 deals with the literature review relevant to the study.
Chapter 2 describes the context of the study and how the study is conducted.
Chapter 3 presents data analysis and interpretation of the results obtained from the
questionnaires.
Part 5 is the conclusion which reviews what has been presented in the study and suggests
some implications for improving note-taking skills.


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PART B
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Definition of note-taking
Note taking is wildly accepted as a useful strategy for augmenting student attention and
retention of academic discourse (Dunkel, 1988). Note-taking is intuitively appealing to the
learners of English and is generally viewed as one class of mathemagenic activity that
facilitates the process of learning and remembering lecture material (Cleverhan, 1995;

notes is that learner can keep a permanent and convenient record of information and
knowledge. The function of external storage indicates that a learner’s performance will be
facilitated by the review of what is stored in a written form.
In studying the effects of note-taking on the retention and recall of lecture information,
Crawford (1925) stated that taking notes on a point did not guarantee its being recalled at the
time of quiz, but failing to take note of it decreased greatly its chances of being recalled (as
cited in Dunkel and Davey, 1989). According to Dunkel (1988), note-taking is perceived by
examinees as a strategy that facilitates remembering the lecture content. Kiewra (1989) also
claims that note-taking is beneficial for at least two reasons. Firstly, note-taking aids lecture
learning by activating attentional mechanisms and engaging the learner’s cognitive processes
of coding, integrating, synthesizing, and transforming aurally received input into a personally
meaningful form. Secondly, note-taking is seen as beneficial because the notes taken serve as
an external repository of information that permits later revision and review to stimulate recall
of the information heard. In a study of college students' theory of note-taking, Van Meter,
Yokoi, and Pressley (1994) noted that most college students take notes in most classes because
note taking is the primary means of creating “a record of information” that is presented in
lectures. Similarly, Rickards, Fajen and Sullivan (1997) stated that those who were allowed to
take notes related to the organization or content of the lecture recalled nearly the whole lecture
later. However, when they were not allowed to take notes, they did not remember the whole
text.


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With regard to the researches on note taking of EFL learners, Hale & Courtney (1991)
indicated that taking notes could help students recall the content easily. Hale & Courtney
(1994) also revealed that EFL students apparently had positive views about note taking in the
classroom and that also indicated that note-taking can be useful as an aid to remembering
lecture information, organizing the information and studying after the lecture is over,
answering the questions better, making them feel more at ease, and Therefore, note taking can

text. Lin (2004) also indicated that lack of vocabulary capacity was the main reason why the
students could not effectively take notes while listening. Besides, Engraffia, Graff, Jezuit, and
Schall (1999) shared the same view that students did not know what to write down because of
many unfamiliar vocabularies. Likewise, Chen (2006) revealed that students could not take
notes effectively because of lack of vocabulary capacity. Another difficulty was that students
spent much time in taking notes while listening to the text, which distracted them from
concentrating on the content of listening passages (Cheng, 1996). Similarly, according to Lin’s
(2004) study, students spent too much time in taking notes, so they could not concentrate on
their listening.
1.4. Strategies of note-taking
According to Dunkel (1988a), L1 and L2 note-takers who scored high on the post-listening
test had comprised a large amount of information in their notes and had detected and noted
information that subsequently appeared on the post lecture quiz. Test achievement was not
directly related to the quantity of the notes taken “but rather to the terseness of notations and
the inclusion of potential test information.” (pp. 269-270). Similarly, good notes were
compared to those that contained the most information in the fewest number of words
(Cushing, 1993). According to two-above researchers (Dunkel, 1988a & Cushing, 1993),
general strategy is noted down a largest amount of information in a least amount of words.
With regards to the strategy of note taking, the study by Van Meter, Yokoi, and Pressley (1994)
showed that students took down definitions, main points, important concepts and ideas, and
information not well understood or not familiar. They did not note down content that is
common knowledge.
Liu (2001) added that learners should be encouraged to “take down more content words when


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required to recall specific information,” and as it might be a lost cause to spell out words fully,
to establish a “personalized shorthand system”. According to Rost (2002), taking notes shifts
the focus from the text to the taking of the notes. Thus, skillful note-takers need to use

can combine their English-language skills to communicate ideas effectively. This ability is the
key to academic success.
Prior to the new generation TOEFL test was introduced to the world, note taking was not
permitted in taking the TOEFL tests (paper-based test, computer-based test, and institutional
testing program), cited in www.ets.org/toefl. However, in the TOEFL iBT test, candidates are
allowed to take note on any section of the test the same way they would do in a real college
class. They can use the notes when answering test questions. The notes are collected and
destroyed before the test takers leave the test center. The test lasts four hours, test takers
complete all four sections of the test in one day. Scores are reported online, so test takers can
view their scores online 15 business days after the test.
Among four sections in the new TOEFL iBT test: Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing,
only Reading part necessitates test takers’ note-taking skills the least. This section measures
the test taker’s ability to understand university-level academic texts and passages. Students
will be asked to read three to five passages and answer 12-14 comprehension questions about
each passage. The last question in each set is normally the summary or category question, in
which students can take notes from the reading passages to give answers more accurately. The
reason is that they do not view the text and those questions at the same time.
In the Listening section, examinees will hear two or three conversations and four or six
academic discussions, in other words, they have to listen to total six or nine listening passages
within one hour or one hour and a half. More importantly, questions will only be presented at
the end of each passage one by one. The conversations may take place during an office
meeting with a professor or teaching assistant, or during a service encounter with university
staff. Students are quite familiar with these conversations’ content while the academic


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discussions and classroom lectures reflect the kind of listening and speaking that occurs in the
classroom. Note-taking skill is allowed here, which may help candidates to retain major
details; to follow the lecturers’ speed as well.

really necessitates a high concentration of students. Without taking notes, their mind may
easily wander away. Besides, the questions of listening part only emerge after the listening
passage has finished. Researchers also support that the amount of notes approximates the
attention of students in lectures. For example, Borich (2004) claims that students are more
receptive to what they hear if they take down notes.
Second, writing down information will help them to remember main ideas and details, not only in
listening section but also reading, writing, speaking ones. While taking notes, they are using
listening and writing skills simultaneously, they are also using their brain and muscles. It is more
likely for them to remember what they have heard. Besides, note-taking skill is worthwhile
strategy, in case they forget details, they can refer back to their notes. According to Williams &
Eggert (2002) that students are already engaged in some memorization work while taking down
notes, especially when they are engrossed in deep comprehension of the source of their notes. Note
taking proves no less helpful in speaking tasks, note taking skill aids students’ memory when
combining information from the listening passage to give a response.

Finally, organized notes will help them to develop a well-organized speech or essay in the time
allotted. Taking the TOEFL iBT test, examinees have to constantly work under time pressure,
without effective note-taking skill, it may be arduous for them to get high scores. For example,
in integrated speaking tasks, within 20 to 30 seconds to prepare, a well-organized note may
contribute to a well-organized speech. Not to mention, integrated writing part if students
neither note down the important ideas from the reading nor major ones from the listening, they
will probably encounter difficulties in organizing a concise and effective essay within required
time.


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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

2.1. The context of the study

Teachers of these courses are all bachelor and Master of Arts in English teaching, more
importantly, they have real experience of taking the official TOEFL iBT test. As a teacher
here, the author has realized that not all students take notes when learning TOEFL iBT, they
may encounter difficulties in note-taking, or they may perceive that note-taking does not help.
Thus, this urged me to carry out this study into EQuest students’ perceptions of note-taking
skills to prepare for the TOEFL iBT test.
2.2. Methodology
In order to serve the purpose of collecting data, 50 students from 5 classes at EQuest Center
were invited to participate in the study. The questionnaire was employed with emphasis on
their perceptions of note-taking skill. According to Cohen and Manion (1985), surveys are the
most commonly used descriptive method in educational research, and may vary in scope from
large scale investigations to small scales studies carried by a single researcher. Questionnaire
was also chosen as the means of collecting data because of its advantages such as low cost
(Evalued, 2006), respondents had time to think their answers, information was collected in a
standardized way (Milne, 1999). Questionnaire was provided in the appendix 1.
After the data was collected, the researcher analyzed the data from the questionnaire. The
methods used to analyze the data collecting from the questionnaire were descriptive and
statistical analysis


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2.3. Participants
The total number of the students participated in the survey is 50 students who are preparing for
TOEFL iBT, they are about 16 to 25 years old. There level of English is intermediate or high
intermediate (75-90 TOEFL iBT scores). They are planning to take the TOEFL iBT within 3
months with the goal of applying for scholarship to study undergraduate or graduate. Their
expected score ranges from 90 to more than 100 out of 120 points.
2.4. The questionnaire
A questionnaire is designed to gather data about their opinions of note taking skills. The


Think that other students should take notes when taking the

TOEFL iBT test?
4

Think that note-taking is important to get a better score in

the TOEFL iBT test?


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As can be seen from chart 1, all of the students chosen (100%) answered for question 1
that they take notes when studying for the TOEFL iBT test.
On the other hand, regarding question 2, not all of them use their notes to answer test
questions. 90% of the samples mentioned that they use their notes to address the tasks in the
TOEFL iBT test. 10% stated that they do not use their notes, yet they still take notes. Perhaps,
they may feel anxious without taking notes.
In terms of the importance of note-taking, a great majority of students (94%) said that
learners should take notes, whereas only 6% of the sample revealed that learners should not.
Concerning question 4, most of the students (94%) believed that note-taking can help
them to earn better score in the TOEFL iBT test, while 6% did not think so.
The results shown in chart 1 generally reveal that students at EQuest had positive
attitudes towards note-taking skills. The number of students who hold negative attitudes
towards this activity was minority. They show conflicting views when stating that learners
should not take notes and note-taking skill is not important to get better score, they still take
notes when preparing for the TOEFL iBT test. They possibly think that note-taking skill is
important in a particular aspect, rather than enable them to achieve high score in the test.
In order to know what the students perceive of the benefits of note-taking skills, the


1

Find note-taking skill useful to prepare for the TOEF

2

Taking notes helps to concentrate on the lectures.

3

Taking notes helps to remember the information in th

4

Taking notes helps to organize the information after t

5

Taking notes helps to answer the test questions better