SKKN Improve listening skills for weak students by redesigning some tasks in the while listening part – English 11 (pilot program) in the direction of the Department's test approach

LISTENING TEST IN SCHOOL YEAR 2022-2023
Semester exam score
BEFORE
AFTER
At the beginning of semester 1
At the mid- term of semester 2
11A5
(40 Sts)
11A8
(40 Sts)
11A5
(40 Sts)
11A8
(40 Sts)
Good
(9-10)
0 (0%)
0 (0%)
1 (2.5%)
0 (0%)
Quite good
( 7-8.5)
0 (0%)
0 (0%)
10 (25%)
6 (15%)
Average
(5.5-6.5)
25 (62.5 %)
20 (50 %)
16 (40%)
15 (37.5%)
Bad
≤ 5
15 (37.5%)
20 (50 %)
13 (32.5%)
19 (47.5%)
 The chart illustration: The results of listening test in school year 2022-2023
	The figures in the above chart demonstrates that the students’ listening test quality has improved significantly. The number of good marks in the second test is higher than the first one. The number of students having bad score also has decreased dramatically.
	 In the first test, there are fifteen (37.5%) among students in class 11A5 have bad scores. However, this number has dropped to thirteen students (32.5%) in the second test. Similarly, the number of students with bad marks in class 11A8 has decreased from twelve students (50%) to nineteen ones (47%). 
	At the beginning of the semester 1, no one in both classes have good mark. However, this number has inched up considerably, with a rather modest number of one student. And the number of students having quite good marks has increased from zero ( 0%) to ten students (25%). It can be said that the application of this topic has greatly helped students to improve their listening skills. This is a continuous effort of teachers and students in grades 11A5 and 11A8. 
	I think, if we apply this method in other grades will be certainly affected. With only two listening tests at the beginning of the first term and the second midterm, we can also see the progress of our students during the school year. Although the progress has not really been outstanding, this is also a good sign for both teachers and students who are trying to improve their listening skills.
Table 4. 2: The average final score of English subjects of class 11A5 and 11A8

11A8
11A5
The 1st Midterm exam score 
4.08
5.08
The 2nd Midterm exam score 
5.15
6

The chart illustration: The average final score of English subjects of class 11A5 and 11A8
	The bar charts show the average scores in the 1st(first) mid-semester and 2nd(second) mid-semester of two classes: 11A8 and 11A5
	Overall, two classes are tending to take a jump forward slightly and the average score of 11A5 is always higher than it of 11A8.
	Class11A8 seems not to have a good performance in the 1st mid-semester as the average score is just about 4. But then reach the point of over 5 in the 2nd mid-semester which is 1 score difference. The same trend also happened to 11A5, in the 2nd mid-semester saw a one-score increase from about 5 to 6. As we can see in the chart, class11A5 clearly always have a higher average score in each mid-semester in compare with 11A8. The difference is about one-score higher when consider the average score of every mid-semester. In summary, although the final score is not high, it can be seen that both classes 11a5 and 11a8 have tried very hard. I really appreciate their efforts
	After applying this initiative to teaching, the lessons are more exciting than before, students pay attention to engage the lesson. The students who have low scores are bolder and actively involved in group or pair activities. They are willing to raise the hands to do the tasks when having teacher's requirement. When students are interested in the lectures, I feel that the efforts in investing to prepare the lessons are no longer difficult. It is the positive and effective response of student after each activity that motivates me and my colleagues in my teaching process and makes us more enthusiastic with our profession.
	When I conducted a survey to investigate students about learning listening skills after applying the new method, I was very surprised that their attitudes about learning changed dramatically. Below is a table of summary of students' attitudes towards English language learning
Table 4.3: The results of surveying of students’ attitude toward learning listening
Question number
Content
1
What do you think about the importance of learning English?
- Very important: 90%
- A little important: 8%
- Not important at all: 2%
2
Do you feel boring when learning listening skill?
- Yes: 13% - No: 87%
3
Do you feel that the content of the redesigned listening lessons is suitable for your level?
- Yes: 85% - No: 15%
4
How do you feel like the adapted activities designed?
A. very much: 75 %	B. not very much: 15%	 
C. little: 10%	D. not at all : 0%
5
How do you feel like the lesson when teacher redesign the tasks in the textbook?
A. very much: 80 %	B. not very much: 15%	 
C. little: 5%	 D. not at all : 0%
	According to what is shown from the table 3, it can be realized that almost all the students are aware of the importance of learning English (90%), very few of them think that learning English is a little important or deny the role of English nowadays. They show no fear no boredom when learning listening in class. There are about 85% of students think that the tasks are suitable for their level, 15% think that the exercises are not suitable. About 80% feel like the lesson when teacher redesign the tasks in the textbook. Most of students (with 75%) agree that adapted activities in while listening part that attract them to the lesson and motivate them in learning. They pay much attention to the teacher's lesson and are enthusiastic to raise their hands to answer the teacher's questions or contribute their ideas to the lesson. However, there are still some students who are a little active or not active at all and often passive in the classroom. They rarely take part in classroom activities and prefer to work individually. Moreover, these students often show their unwillingness and shyness when being asked to do the tasks or answer the questions; they just do what are required, listen and write down. They do not want to cooperate with others. I believe that, the number of these students will decrease in the near future.
PART C: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
	In this experience initiative, I have recommended some adapted activities for while-listening part instead of using original tasks in text book class 11. I hope that I can help my colleagues and even myself solve the problems of teaching listening skills with the aim of reducing stress for students in each listening lesson. I am really delighted when my students can enjoy the lesson and communicate with each as well as have numerous opportunities to get good jobs in modern society. 
	This study has contributed to innovating teaching methods through active and effective activities. Thus, students can develop their thinking in order to solve the issues. Thanks to the data collected from the document study, classroom observation and questionnaires we have come to the conclusion that the listening skill of weak students has improved a lot. They have no fear when doing listening exercises. They have positive attitudes towards English language learning because they are aware of the important role of learning English nowadays. Moreover, the adapted learning activities are also quite interesting and widely used in real classes. Especially, these activities are suitable for the student’s ability. Thereby, it can promote the movement of learning English in particular and the quality of education at my school in general. 
	Although, the students are no longer afraid of learning listening and have been more active in acquiring knowledge and consciously developing comprehensive skills, the study of my own teaching methods certainly has many limitations. I hope that I will receive the supportive ideas from the readers. I also expect that the readers, especially my colleagues can find something useful for the teaching job. 
	And I wish the topic of designing the adapted activities in my while-Listening section will be able to be widely applied in practice. Moreover, I think that the design of these activities is not only used in grade 11 but also can be done for grade 10 and 12. In addition, we can also apply these methods for other skills such as speaking or reading. However, to make full use of their advantages, I would like to make some recommendations as follows:
1. Students need to prepare the new lesson carefully at home.
2. Students should spend more time practicing listening regularly, from easy to
difficult and from basic to advanced.
3. For teachers, they must consider the level of students to adjust the teaching
method.
4. Schools need to equip with adequate facilities for students’ learning listening such as speakers, projectors
5. There should be an English club to encourage students to develop their
speaking and listening skills.
REFERENCES
1. "Listen". oxforddictionaries.com. Oxford University. Retrieved 5December 2018
2. 
3. Listening comprehension - CTU
4.
5.
6. Cole, Peter G. and Chan. L. K. S. (1994), Teaching Principle and Practice,
Prentice Hall.
7. AUTHOR Cheung, Yun Kul TITLE The Importance of Teaching.
8. Rubin, Lois, Hebert, Catherine, (1998), Model for Active Learning, College
Teaching, 87567555, winter98, vol.46, Issue 1, p. 26.
9. Pitts, J. and Horton, C. R. (2000), Strategies for Active Learning, the National Conference on the Adult Learners, Atlanta, Georgia
10. Sách giáo khoa Tiếng anh 11 (mới) – Bộ Giáo Dục và Đào tạo – Nhà Xuất Bản Giáo Dục.
11. Eggen, Paul and Kauchak, Don (1999), Educational Psychology, Merill,
Prentice Hall, Inc, New Jersey
12. Brophy, Jeremy (1998), Motivating Students to Learn, Mc Graw- Hill Companies
13. Grabe, Mark and Grabe, Cindy (1996), Integrating Technology for Meaningful
Learning, Houghton Mifflin Company
14. Barthes, Roland (1985). The Responsibility of Forms: Critical Essays on Music, Art, and Representation. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1: Summary table of English exam scores of grade 11
APPENDIX 2: Survey Sheet
The survey on the URGENCY of solutions to improve listening skills for weak students by redesigning some activities in the while-listening section of the pilot 11 English program
Solution 1. Using Gap-fill instead of answering the questions in task 3 - Listening of Unit 1 – GENERATION GAP and Unit 6 – GLOBAL WARMING
Solution 2. Using Game for task 3 – Listening of Unit 2 - RELATIONSHIP
Solution 3. Using Mind map instead of answering the questions in task 3 – Listening of Unit 3 – BECOMING INDEPENDENT
Solution 4. Using Multiple choice instead of filling the gap in task 3 – Listening of Unit 4 – CARING FOR THOSE IN NEED and task 2 – Listening of Unit 7 – FURTHER EDUCATION
Solution 5. Using Chart instead of completing the table in task 4 – Listening of Unit 5 – BEING A PART OF ASEAN
Solution 6. Using app Kahoot for task 3 – Listening of Unit 8 – OUR WORLD HERITAGE SITES 
Solution 7. Using pictures instead of filling the gap in task 4- Listening Unit 9 – CITIES IN THE FUTURE
How do TEACHERS/STUDENTS assess the URGENCY of solutions to improve listening skills for weak students applied to each unit in the textbook?
SOLUTIONS
Not urgent
Less urgent
Urgent
Very urgent
Solution 1




Solution 2




Solution 3




Solution 4




Solution 5




Solution 6




Solution 7





The survey on the FEASIBILITY of solutions to improve listening skills for weak students by redesigning some activities in the while-listening section of the pilot 11 English program
Solution 1. Using Gap-fill instead of answering the questions in task 3 - Listening of Unit 1 – GENERATION GAP and Unit 6 – GLOBAL WARMING
Solution 2. Using Game for task 3 – Listening of Unit 2 - RELATIONSHIP
Solution 3. Using Mind map instead of answering the questions in task 3 – Listening of Unit 3 – BECOMING INDEPENDENT
Solution 4. Using Multiple choice instead of filling the gap in task 3 – Listening of Unit 4 – CARING FOR THOSE IN NEED and task 2 – Listening of Unit 7 – FURTHER EDUCATION
Solution 5. Using Chart instead of completing the table in task 4 – Listening of Unit 5 – BEING A PART OF ASEAN
Solution 6. Using app Kahoot for task 3 – Listening of Unit 8 – OUR WORLD HERITAGE SITES 
Solution 7. Using pictures instead of filling the gap in task 4- Listening Unit 9 – CITIES IN THE FUTURE
How do TEACHERS/STUDENTS assess the FEASIBILITY of solutions to improve listening skills for weak students applied to each unit in the textbook?
SOLUTIONS
Unfeasible
Less feasible
Feasible
Very feasible
Solution 1




Solution 2




Solution 3




Solution 4




Solution 5




Solution 6




Solution 7





The result of teachers’ survey
The result of students’ survey
APPENDIX 3: Some images of students about learning listening in class
Students are doing listening task by using Kahoot
	Students are learning listening lesson
APPENDIX 4: Listening test
TEST OF LISTENING COMPREHENSION SKILLS (Test No.1)
Name: Class: Time: 20 minutes
Part 1: Listen to an interview with Paloma and Juan. Tick true or false.
Statements
True
False
1. Paloma and Juan’s teacher is organising the jumble sale.
x

2 . Paloma’s mother is going to make a cake for the jumble sale.

x
3. Paloma is going to bring her old clothes to the jumble sale.

x
4 Juan is also going to bring old things.
x

5. Juan is going to paint a picture of a village.
x

Part 2: Listen to a man asking for information in a travel agency. Listen and put a tick (√) A, B or C. 
6: The plane leaves at.	
	A. 12 a.m	B. 2 p.m	C. 3 p.m
7: The bus station is in.	
	A. Bill street	B. Hill street	C. Mill street
8: The journey to the airport takes. 
 	 A. 1 hour 15 minutes	B. 1 hour 30 minutes	C. 1 hour 45 minutes
9: The man’s ticket to Buenos Aires will cost 
	 A. £240	B. £300	C. £320
10 : The coach costs	
	A. £13.50	B. £14.50	C. £30.50
TEST OF LISTENING COMPREHENSION SKILLS (Test No.2)
Name: Class: Time: 20 minutes
I/ Listen and decide whether statements are true or false
Statements
True
False
1. The Great Wall of China was listed as a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987
x

2. It was mostly built during the Ly Dynasty.

x
3. It started in 1386 and took 200 years to complete

x
4. It stretches for about 600km from east to west

x
5. The ancient people used stones to build the roadway
x

II. Listen and choose the best answer A,B,C or D for the following questions.
1. Yuko won the gold medal in women’s swimming. She set a new world record time of...
	A. 200 seconds 	B. 1 minute 58 seconds	
	C. 1 minute 38 seconds 	D. 1 minute 48 seconds
2. Lily got an average of_______points in her gymnastics event.
	A. 9.5 	B. 5.9 	C. 15	 D. 5
3. Lee Bong-ju jumped _______and he won the gold medal in men’s long jump.
	A. 8.5 m 	B. 8.9m 	C. 9.8m 	D. 18m
4. The bar that Vichai had to jump over was at________
	A. 3.2m 	B. 2.3 m	 C. 2.0 m 	D. 2.5 m
5. Which of the following sports events was NOT mentioned in the report?
	A. swimming 	B. long and high jumps
	C. gymnastics 	D. weightlifting