Using authentic materials to develop listening comprehension in the

USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS TO DEVELOP LISTENING COMPREHENSION IN THE

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
by Metinee Thanajaro

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education
in
Curriculum and Instruction
Dr. Judith L. Shrum, Chair Dr. John K. Burton Dr. Jim C. Fortune
Dr. Susan G. Magliaro Dr. Jan K. Nespor
18 January, 2000 Blacksburg, Virginia

Keywords: Authentic, English as a Second Language, Language Learning, Listening Copyright 2000, Metinee Thanajaro

UMI Number: 9974216



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USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS TO DEVELOP LISTENING COMPREHENSION IN THE
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
Metinee Thanajaro ABSTRACT
Listening, the most frequently used form of language skill, plays a significant role in daily communication and educational process. In spite of its importance, listening ability development has received only slight emphasis in language instruction.
Nevertheless, U.S. college classrooms, where comprehensive listening serves as a primary channel for learning, require that students function effectively as listeners. It is therefore important for ESL programs to prepare students for successful listening in academic lectures by implementing authentic listening materials in the ESL classes.
The fundamental purpose of this study was to examine the influences of aural authentic materials on listening ability in students of English as a second language. The secondary purposes of the study were to identify the learning strategies used by ESL students experiencing authentic listening texts and to determine the influences of authentic materials on ESL students' attitudes towards learning English. ESL students attending the High Intermediate Academic Listening and Vocabulary Development class at a language training center participated in this study. The sources of data for this descriptive study included interviews, questionnaires, and class observation.
Analysis of the interviews and the self-evaluation questionnaire revealed that the use of authentic materials in this ESL classroom helped increase students' comfort level and their self-confidence to listen to the target language. Analysis of the class observation and the learning strategy questionnaire revealed that ESL students usually paid attention when someone was speaking English. Students also relied on outside sources such as dictionaries, or other people such as relatives to understand unfamiliar

words. Finally, analysis of the class observation and the interview with students revealed that the use of aural authentic materials in ESL classroom had a positive effect on ESL students' motivation to learn the language. Recommendations are offered to ease learners' frustration that resulted from the use of unfamiliar vocabulary and the speed of authentic speech.

DEDICATION

To my beloved grandfather, Major General Amorn Kusinkird, and my parents

for their love and support,
for teaching me the value of listening

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Judith L. Shrum for her encouragement and guidance throughout my doctoral program and through this dissertation. I also would like to thank the committee members, Dr. John K. Burton, Dr. Jim C. Fortune, Dr. Jan K. Nespor, and Dr. Susan G. Magliaro for their advice, expertise, and time.
I would like to thank Judy Snoke, Ann Sarrafzadeh, and students at Virginia Tech Language Institute. This study would not have been possible without their assistance and participation. Special thanks go to Yasue Ohguro for her assistance as a translator and Somsri Siriwaiprapan for her time as a criterion observer.
My heartfelt thanks to my parents General Chetta and Khunying Orawan Thanajaro, my aunt Usa Kusinkird, and my beloved husband Major Prachya Chalermwat, for their support and everlasting encouragement throughout my educational years.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
RESEARCH QUESTIONS 4
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT LISTENING 4
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT AUTHENTIC MATERIALS 5
DEFINITION OF TERMS 6
ASSUMPTIONS 8
DELIMITATIONS 9
LIMITATIONS 9
ORGANIZATION OF THE DISSERTATION 9
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 11
LISTENING COMPREHENSION 11