Developing Listening and Critical Thinking Skills in the ESL Classroom

 

 

An Independent Learning Project Presented by

 

Samuel Villanueva

to

Daniel Mercado Cruz, PhD

 

Faculty Advisor

 

 

 

 

 

In compliance with partial requirement of the grade of

 

Master’s Degree in Education/ English as a Second Language (ESL)

 

 

Cambridge College

Cambridge, Massachusetts

February, 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner.
© 2016, Samuel Villanueva

 

This copy is not for public distribution.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank God, my greatest friend, who has always given me the strength to continue focusing towards the light. I thank my mother and sister who have been the wings that have brought me through the way and have helped me fight the good fight. My inspiration has been my spiritual father who taught me how to believe in myself. I also thank Kassandra my co worker and friend who once told me “ you’ll see, we’ll get to do this”.

Developing Listening and Critical Thinking Skills in the ESL Classroom

Abstract

By: Samuel Villanueva

Daniel Mercado Cruz, PhD

 

Formato: Este resumen se trabajará a doble espacio, en formato bloque, justificado a ambos lados (derecho e izquierdo).

 

No será de más de 300 palabras no menos de 200.

 

An abstract is a brief concise summary of the ILP. The abstract prepares the reader for the contents of the ILP.

 

The abstract should answer such questions as:

• What issue/problem does your ILP address?
• What argument did you try to prove or what solution do you give?
• How did you conduct this project?
• What are your results/findings/conclusions

 

TIP! The abstract is best written after the ILP is completed.

 

Table of Contents                                                                                                           Page

Do not add dots….

 

 

Abstract

 

Dedication, Acknowledgement,

 

 

Chapter 1 – Introduction

Problem Statement

Purpose

Justification

Research Questions

Expected Outcomes

 

 

Chapter 2 –Literature Review

 

 

References

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 1

                                                                   Introduction

When teachers assume that language is nothing more than a means of communicating, then it can be said that language acquisition is nothing more or less than learning how to communicate (Saoirse, 2012). Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate. According to this definition, it can safely be affirmed that acquiring a language is a process that is based on the ability to listen to, think about, understand and learn a language. It can be concluded then, that it is a communicative process where a receptor needs to understand a given message before it can respond effectively.

Acquiring a language was recognized by many language theorists in the past as a process which had been respected for a long time. The four language arts are listening, speaking, reading and writing. Each stage of the process leads towards the development of the next and so listening, being the first we experience even before birth, if not developed sufficiently, cannot provide the basis for the development of the other stages. The researcher has experienced that modern curriculums do not seem to emphasize the listening stage of natural language acquisition and that students have not developed sufficient listening and thinking skills to process information. The development of listening and thinking skills is necessary for language acquisition and overall academic progress.

Problem Statement

Through implementation of new instructional designs, listening has become the least considered skill within the teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL) learning process. Nowadays, language teaching has moved toward comprehension-based approaches, making listening to learn an important element in the English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom (Lund, 1990). In ESL classrooms, students reflect the incapacity of processing information because they have not developed sufficient listening and thinking skills. When students apparently listen to and decide that they do not understand the information, they seem to tune out and adopt a negative attitude towards learning a second language.

One of the factors that frequently limit student’s understanding of a language is the mental block they go through. Most of the time, students in ESL classrooms ask teachers to repeat information because they have not listened to, do not understand or have not thought over it. Listening and thinking are part of the communicative process. Students who demonstrate insufficient listening and thinking skills cannot process information or communicate correctly and most certainly do not demonstrate academic progress.

Teachers, like the researcher, may assume that listening and thinking is automatic in students and may not focus on these skills in the classroom because the curriculum does not emphasize them or because they have not identified this to be a problem they should give much attention to. This is probably due to the fact that some teachers believe that listening and hearing are the same. Apparently, it is essential that students are taught strategies or techniques for effective listening and thinking to ensure learning and language acquisition.

Purpose of study

According to the problem previously stated, it is imperative that ESL teachers discover effective means to develop listening and thinking skills in order to promote learning independency in ESL learners. Areas to be defined in this study include the levels and difference between hearing and listening, the relation between listening, thinking and learning and the factors that influence or interfere with the listening and thinking process. Ways for improving student’s inefficiency for listening and thinking towards learning English as a Second Language and other relevant facts will also be considered.

The researcher believes that this problem should be attended to. Many students may appear to have a negative attitude towards learning a second language when they are really having problems with listening and thinking effectively. Teachers must be committed to identifying and discovering solutions that will empower students learning and language acquisition.

Justification

The investigator, other ESL teachers and students will learn and benefit from this investigation and its findings. In spite of the fact that the researcher can only relate to his personal experience, it can be concluded that the problem stated in this investigation can portray a reality in any classroom subject across the globe. English is a global language and it is required in most schools to be taught as a major subject. Since students are expected to reach proficiency in this language and listening is the first stage, the author of this study believes that valuable time should be dedicated to developing this stage in every classroom before a student is demanded to process the information received and even yet, create new information from it. ESL teachers face a great challenge. They must meet the demands that state standardized tests impose upon them and prepare learners to use their sense of listening effectively in order to think critically and process information they can apply in their academic settings or daily lives.

This research project hopes to serve other ESL teachers as a reflective instrument towards understanding why students tend to have difficulty comprehending the lessons given in the classroom and motivating them in applying the results of this investigation to reach learning proficiency in their students and facilitate language acquisition.

Research Questions

The problem described in this chapter calls for immediate investigation for discovering the factors that interfere with students listening and thinking effectively in order to process information that will lead to acquiring a second language. The investigator believes that exploring for strategies and techniques that will help students overcome the receptive or mental blocks that limit their ability to progress academically will lead them towards adopting a better attitude towards acquiring a second language and in their overall communicative and learning process. The researcher reflected upon the following questions to guide this research:

1. What are listening and critical thinking skills?
2. What role does motivation play in the learning of listening and critical thinking skills in the ESL classroom?
3. What is the connection between listening and thinking critically?
4. What are the successful techniques and strategies for effective listening and critical thinking to ensure learning English as a Second Language?

Anticipated Outcomes

It is expected that the results discerned through these questions bring forth the answers that will help the author of this study have a better understanding of the challenges that ESL teachers and students face and which areas need to be attended. In addition, approaches and strategies are likely to be revealed and made accessible to teachers who need to address the problem described in this investigation. The examiner predicts acknowledging that the lack of listening and critical thinking skills is apparently one of the largest problems that limits the acquisition of any language and interferes with the necessary communicative process that leads to successful academic achievement. It is probable that the findings of this research expose the reasons for students lacking these skills that are so vital in each stage of language acquisition and in the learning process.

Since listening is an important aspect for students to receive information and thinking helps students access prior knowledge, the researcher foresees progress in student’s motivation towards learning a second language and projects they will be better equipped to understand and make connections with information that they can use to create new experiences or apply to their lives. The investigator awaits discovering strategies or techniques that will empower student’s abilities for processing information and promote a positive attitude towards the acquisition of a second language.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix

 

 

 

 

Tables (Optional)