Tài liệu Negotiating tasks in listening and speaking classes at dell of ussh, hcmc

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES ---- W X ---- NEGOTIATING TASKS IN LISTENING AND SPEAKING CLASSES AT DELL OF USSH, HCM CITY A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL) Submitted by NGUYỄN NHÃ TRÂN Supervisor NGUYỄN THỊ KIỀU THU, Ph.D. Ho Chi Minh City, January 2010 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis, entitled “Negotiating tasks in listening and speaking classes at DELL of USSH, HCM City” is my own work. This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution. Ho Chi Minh City, January 27, 2010 Nguyen Nha Tran i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, for her insightful comments and generous support during the preparation and completion of the thesis. Without her helpful guidance and kind patience, I could not have finished this thesis. I especially wish to send my thanks to Mr Truong Hon Huy and Ms Vo Thi Nu Anh for their invaluable assistance with the use of SPSS in the data analysis of the study; and Ms Nguyen Van Ha for her willingness to share her resources and experience. I am deeply grateful to all my teachers in the course for their instruction and dedication. This research project would not have been possible without the cooperation of the students in the two classes and I sincerely thank each one of them. My heartfelt appreciation is also expressed to my colleagues for their support and encouragement during the implementation of the thesis and the library staff at the English Resources Centre for their wonderful help. My special thanks also go to my friends who have supported me by way of expressions of trust, concern, and encouragement along the way. I particularly thank Mr Vo Duy Minh, whose insightful remarks and questions during our discussions are invaluable for the thesis. Finally, and most importantly, I am greatly indebted to my family for their support and patience throughout the course. ii ABSTRACT This thesis investigated the application of task negotiation (i.e. a process in which the teacher and students participate in a joint enterprise, discussing with each other what tasks to be done and how) in the listening and speaking class at the Department of English Linguistics and Literature of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Ho Chi Minh City. The research aimed to examine whether task negotiation could increase the students’ motivation and involvement, foster their autonomy and improve their learning effectiveness. To this end, the study was conducted in two first-year classes assigned to the researcher by the Department. The first class which agreed to try the new mode of teaching and learning became the experimental group and the other the control group. Both the experimental group (37 students) and the control group (40 students) took the listening and speaking tests before and after the experimental period. Data were also collected through a courseevaluation questionnaire delivered to both groups, individual interviews with 10 experimental students and some documents collated during the process of teaching the experimental group. The data analysis shows that despite the finding that there was no significant difference in student performance as a result of the different ways of teaching adopted in the two groups, task negotiation achieved a wider range of learning outcomes, including enhanced motivation, increased involvement, fostered autonomous learning capacity, high quality of students’ work, a sense of progress and a good relationship of understanding and support among the participants. Results also reveal the experimental group’s satisfaction with and acceptance of the teaching content and form compared with the control group’s mixed reaction. Considering the limitations of time, evidence obtained indicates that negotiation worked well in the listening and speaking class. The thesis therefore suggests applying classroom negotiation to the teaching and learning of listening and speaking. Some recommendations are made regarding the introduction of negotiation into the classroom, including the framework for negotiated decision-making, learner-needs analysis, learner training, small group structure and teacher qualities and expertise. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Statement of authorship ............................................................................................... i Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................ii Abstract........................................................................................................................iii Table of contents ......................................................................................................... iv List of tables................................................................................................................vii List of figures ............................................................................................................... ix Abbreviations................................................................................................................ x INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 1 0.1 RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH ...................................................................... 1 0.2 AIM OF THE STUDY............................................................................................. 4 0.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY......................................................................... 4 0.4 ORGANISATION OF THE REMAINDER OF THE STUDY .............................. 5 CHAPTER 1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY................................................. 6 1.1 THE NEW LANGUAGE SKILLS PROGRAMME AT DELL, USSH ................. 6 1.2 THE LISTENING - SPEAKING 4 MODULE ....................................................... 9 1.3 SUMMARY........................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................... 12 2.1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND TO THE RESEARCH.................................. 12 2.1.1 Negotiation.......................................................................................................... 12 2.1.1.1 A brief historical overview of the emergence of the concept of negotiation in language teaching and learning...................................................................... 12 2.1.1.2 Definitions of the term ‘negotiation’.............................................................. 15 2.1.1.3 Arguments for procedural negotiation ........................................................... 16 2.1.1.4 Guidelines....................................................................................................... 22 2.1.1.5 Contextual factors .......................................................................................... 26 2.1.1.6 Roles of learners and teachers........................................................................ 29 2.1.2 Tasks in language teaching and learning ............................................................ 31 iv 2.1.2.1 Task-based learning ......................................................................................... 31 2.1.2.2 Definition of a ‘task’ ........................................................................................ 32 2.1.2.3 Task components.............................................................................................. 33 2.1.2.4 Task types......................................................................................................... 36 2.1.2.5 Tasks and syllabus negotiation ........................................................................ 38 2.1.3 Listening and speaking...................................................................................... 38 2.1.3.1 Listening........................................................................................................... 38 2.1.3.2 Speaking........................................................................................................... 40 2.2 PREVIOUS RESEARCH ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROCEDURAL NEGOTIATION IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS IN VIETNAM ..................... 42 2.3 SUMMARY......................................................................................................... 43 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................. 44 3.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .................................................................................... 44 3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN......................................................................................... 45 3.2.1 Subjects ............................................................................................................. 46 3.2.2 Treatment .......................................................................................................... 52 3.2.3 Instruments........................................................................................................ 53 3.2.3.1 Tests ............................................................................................................... 53 3.2.3.2 Questionnaires................................................................................................ 54 3.2.3.3 Interviews ....................................................................................................... 56 3.2.3.4 Course-related documents .............................................................................. 56 3.2.4 Data collection procedures................................................................................ 57 3.2.5 Data analysis procedures................................................................................... 58 3.3 SUMMARY......................................................................................................... 59 CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ............ 60 4.1 DATA ANALYSIS.............................................................................................. 60 4.1.1 Post-test scores.................................................................................................. 60 4.1.1.1 Post-test listening scores................................................................................. 60 4.1.1.2 Post-test speaking scores ................................................................................ 62 4.1.2. Course-evaluation questionnaire....................................................................... 64 v 4.1.2.1Responses to the closed questions .................................................................... 64 4.1.2.2Responses to the open questions....................................................................... 74 4.1.3 Interviews.......................................................................................................... 87 4.1.4 Course-related documents................................................................................. 95 4.2 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ............................................................................ 97 4.3 SUMMARY......................................................................................................... 99 CHAPTER 5 IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..................... 100 5.1 IMPLICATIONS ............................................................................................... 100 5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................... 102 5.2.1 A framework for negotiated decision-making ................................................ 102 5.2.2 Learner-needs analysis.................................................................................... 104 5.2.3 Learner training............................................................................................... 106 5.2.4 Small groups ................................................................................................... 108 5.2.5 Teacher qualities and expertise ....................................................................... 109 CONCLUSION......................................................................................................... 113 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 116 APPENDIX 1 Pre-questionnaire (in Vietnamese) ................................................. 123 APPENDIX 2 Pre-questionnaire (English version) ............................................... 124 APPENDIX 3 Post-questionnaire (in Vietnamese) ............................................... 125 APPENDIX 4 Post-questionnaire (English version) ............................................. 128 APPENDIX 5 The questions for the interviews with the ten experimental students (in Vietnamese) .............................................................................. 131 APPENDIX 6 The questions for the interviews with the ten experimental students (English version) ............................................................................ 132 APPENDIX 7 Course-related documents .............................................................. 133 APPENDIX 8 Language Study 4 Syllabus (in Vietnamese) ................................. 142 APPENDIX 9 Brief account of the negotiation in the experimental group........... 147 APPENDIX 10 The responses to the open questions in the post-questionnaire...... 150 vi LIST OF TABLES Chapter 2 Table 2.1 A framework for describing tasks.......................................................... 34 Chapter 3 Table 3.1 Year of birth........................................................................................... 47 Table 3.2 Gender distribution ................................................................................ 47 Table 3.3 Places where students attended high school .......................................... 48 Table 3.4 Students’ age when they started learning English ................................. 48 Table 3.5 Information regarding whether students had attended English courses at other places ........................................................................................ 48 Table 3.6 Students’ perception of their oral proficiency ....................................... 49 Table 3.7 Students’ opinions of the importance of oral communication skills ..... 49 Table 3.8 How much students liked studying listening and speaking ................... 50 Table 3.9 Descriptive statistics for the pre-test listening scores............................ 50 Table 3.10 Descriptive statistics for the pre-test speaking scores ........................... 51 Chapter 4 Table 4.1 Descriptive statistics for the post-test listening scores .......................... 61 Table 4.2 The output produced by the t-test analysis of the post-test listening scores...................................................................................................... 61 Table 4.3 Descriptive statistics for the post-test speaking scores.......................... 63 Table 4.4 The output produced by the t-test analysis of the post-test speaking scores...................................................................................................... 63 Table 4.5 Students’ opinions of the interestingness of the tasks ........................... 65 Table 4.6 Students’ opinions of the usefulness of the tasks .................................. 65 Table 4.7 Students’ opinions of the difficulty level of the tasks ........................... 66 Table 4.8 Students’ involvement in the tasks ........................................................ 66 Table 4.9 Students’ overall evaluation of the tasks ............................................... 67 Table 4.10 Student-student interaction .................................................................... 67 Table 4.11 Teacher-student interaction.................................................................... 68 vii Table 4.12 Students’ contribution to the classes...................................................... 68 Table 4.13 Students’ assessment of their increased self-confidence ....................... 71 Table 4.14 Students’ assessment of their progress in independence in listening and speaking learning ............................................................................ 72 Table 4.15 Students’ assessment of their increased interest in studying listening and speaking........................................................................................... 72 Table 4.16 Students’ assessment of the number of tasks......................................... 73 Table 4.17 Students’ assessment of the effectiveness of the module in improving their communicative competence .......................................................... 73 Table 4.18 Students’ satisfaction with the way of teaching and learning................ 74 Table 4.19 What students liked about the tasks....................................................... 75 Table 4.20 What students liked about the way of teaching and learning ................ 79 Table 4.21 What students liked about the teacher ................................................... 81 viii LIST OF FIGURES Chapter 2 Figure 2.1 Relationship between three kinds of negotiation................................... 20 Figure 2.2 A process syllabus.................................................................................. 24 Figure 2.3 A framework for analysing communicative tasks ................................. 35 Chapter 4 Figure 4.1 Experimental students’ perceptions of what they learned ..................... 69 Figure 4.2 Control students’ perceptions of what they learned............................... 69 ix ABBREVIATIONS CLT : Communicative Language Teaching CUP : Cambridge University Press DELL : The Department of English Linguistics and Literature L2 Second language : OUP : Oxford University Press SLA : Second language acquisition TBL : Task-based learning USSH : The University of Social Sciences and Humanities x INTRODUCTION This study aims at investigating whether task negotiation can be a viable teaching approach in listening and speaking classes at the Department of English Linguistics and Literature, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City. This introduction presents the rationale, the aim and the significance of the study and an overview of the rest of the thesis. 0.1 RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH Since the 1960s, learner-centredness has become a topic of widespread discussion in the language teaching literature. A lot of effort has gone into finding means of making language teaching more responsive to learners’ needs, characteristics and expectations, encouraging their active involvement in their own learning and educating them to become independent and ongoing learners. This preoccupation of learner-centredness is clearly evident in the emergence of a number of trends in the professional literature such as humanistic language teaching, communicative language teaching, learning strategy research, individualisation, learner autonomy and syllabus negotiation (Tudor, 1996). The last notion represents one of the most significant innovations in recent years which highlight the importance of learner independence, collaborative learning and shared decision-making (Breen & Littlejohn, 2000). In negotiative approaches, teacher and learners discuss with each other to decide what to learn and how to learn it. Proponents of this development believe that the syllabus which emerges from the negotiating process will be more flexible and relevant to learners’ needs and thus more motivating and will allow learners to play a more informed and self-directive role in their learning (Bloor & Bloor, 1988; Nunan, 1988b; Boomer et al., 1992; Nunan, 1992a, 1999; Tudor, 1996; Breen & Littlejohn, 2000). The fact that there is a growing number of teachers’ accounts of successful negotiated work in a wide range of educational settings (in Western and Eastern cultures, in state and private institutions, in small and large classes, with students of different age ranges and levels) demonstrates the 1 feasibility of negotiation in diverse contexts (Boomer et al., 1992; Breen & Littlejohn, 2000; Huang, 2006). This indicates the potential of this approach in the realm of language teaching and learning. In Vietnam, learner-centredness has become one of the buzzwords in the language teaching circle over recent years. Learner roles and ways to tailor the teaching to learners’ needs and encourage them to become active participants and self-directive learners have been the focus of many workshops and studies. There have, however, been few formal discussions and research projects on negotiation as a learnercentred approach to language teaching although interest in this development is high in the professional literature. It was this fact that motivated the present researcher in the first place to carry out the study in order to investigate how negotiation works in the Vietnamese context. Moreover, since the school year 2005-2006, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (henceforth USSH) – Ho Chi Minh City has implemented the credit system training, which has called for a change in teaching methods in order to meet students’ needs and actively involve them in the teaching and learning process. In response to this demand, the Department of English Linguistics and Literature (henceforth DELL) has re-designed the BA programme in general and the language skills syllabuses in particular. This behoves teachers at DELL to make their teaching more learner-centred and increase students’ independence and active engagement in their learning. As a teacher in the Language Skills Section of DELL, the researcher found it necessary to conduct a study to test the feasibility of negotiation as a learner-centred approach in language teaching at DELL, USSH. Another inspiration of the study is the concern over Vietnamese learners’ verbal communicative competence and the growing interest in communicative language teaching in Vietnam in recent years. For a long period of time, the language teaching in Vietnam has been dominated by grammar – translation methods, which results in the often heard complaint that Vietnamese learners are good at grammar, reading and writing but cannot conduct a short conversation. With the development 2 of the economy, Vietnam has become a popular destination for foreign tourists and investors; mastering spoken English has, therefore, become a must for learners of English. This demand leads to the shift of focus towards the aural/oral skills and communicative approaches to language teaching. This drove the researcher to undertake research on syllabus negotiation, a development which emerged from the communicative language teaching movement and has been vigorously upheld by a growing number of writers. According to Breen (2001) “collaborative decisionmaking about different aspects of the teaching – learning process in the classroom […] involves learners in authentic opportunities to use and develop their knowledge and capabilities” (p. 154). While engaging them in responsible decisions about their work, syllabus negotiation generates meaningful interaction among the participants in the classroom and thus contributes to learners’ language development. Above are the main factors that led to the implementation of the study on syllabus negotiation in listening and speaking classes. The research just focuses on the task level of the syllabus, however. One obvious reason is the existence of a predetermined syllabus in the context of the study. The other is the increasing recognition of the importance of tasks in syllabus design ever since the emergence of task-based learning. Research on second language acquisition area during the 1980s suggested that learners’ interaction and, through it, negotiation for meaning during task performance could facilitate their acquisition of linguistic knowledge and its social use. It is, therefore, proposed that task should be the key unit in the syllabus and teachers should provide appropriate tasks that can generate rich and meaningful interaction which will be facilitative of language acquisition. In addition, some writers have highlighted a connection between learner-centredness and learning tasks in the classroom (Wright, 1987; Nunan, 1989). Nunan (1989), for example, suggests learner role and teacher role as two components of a task and points out the need to involve learners in task design and selection. Given the significant implications for language acquisition and learner-centredness of tasks in classrooms, the researcher found it justified in undertaking negotiation between teacher and learners at the level of tasks. 3 To sum up, presented in this section of the chapter are the inspirations for the study on task negotiation in listening and speaking classes at DELL, USSH. Task negotiation refers to the discussion between all members of the classroom regarding what tasks to learn and how to do them. The research aims at examining first whether this mode of teaching and learning can be applied in the Vietnamese context in general and in DELL context in particular and second whether it can help better address students’ needs, generate genuine motivation, develop responsible learning and increase learning effectiveness. 0.2 AIM OF THE STUDY The objectives of the study are: (1) to investigate the feasibility of classroom negotiation in Vietnam in general and at DELL, USSH in particular; (2) to seek empirical evidence of the effects of task negotiation on the teaching and learning of listening - speaking at DELL; (3) to examine students’ attitudes towards the adoption of negotiation as an approach to the teaching and learning of listening speaking; and (4) to offer recommendations concerning the use of negotiation in listening - speaking classes. To this end, an experimental method was employed. The subjects of the study were students in two Listening – Speaking 4 classes at DELL of USSH. Data were collected from four sources, i.e. test scores, questionnaires, interviews and courserelated documents. 0.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The fact that there has been little research concerning the practicality of negotiation in language teaching in Vietnam in general and at DELL of USSH in particular in spite of the growing interest in this teaching mode in the professional literature demonstrates the importance of this study. Moreover, the research is of even greater significance in light of the shift of focus towards learner-centred and communicative approaches that help enhance learners’ communicative competence 4 and encourage them to assume a more informed and active role in their own learning. It is the researcher’s hope that the study can reveal some insight into negotiation as an approach to language teaching and offer some recommendations concerning how negotiation can be adopted in the Vietnamese context. 0.4 ORGANISATION OF THE REMAINDER OF THE STUDY Apart from the present introductory chapter, which states the rationale, aim and significance of the study, and the conclusion at the end, the thesis consists of five main chapters: Chapter 1 provides the background to the study with a description of the new language skills programme and, particularly, the Listening - Speaking 4 module at DELL of USSH. Chapter 2 is the literature review, presenting an overview of the theoretical background and the related research in the Vietnamese context. Chapter 3 focuses upon the methodology of the study with a presentation of the research questions and the research design, including the participants, treatment, instruments, and data collection and analysis procedures. Chapter 4 deals with a detailed analysis of the data collected and a discussion of the research findings. Chapter 5 sets out the implications of the research results and then offers some tentative recommendations regarding the application of negotiation in listening and speaking classes at DELL. 5 CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY For an understanding of the study context, this chapter looks in detail at (1) the new language skills programme and (2) the Listening - Speaking 4 module at DELL, USSH. 1.1 THE NEW LANGUAGE SKILLS PROGRAMME AT DELL, USSH Since the school year 2007-2008, the teaching of language skills at DELL has undergone a great change with an emphasis upon the application of the integrated skills approach. Previously, the four sets of skills were taught separately; students spent three periods studying, for example, listening, and listening only, and then the next three periods on speaking, and merely speaking. This teaching mode is, however, not congruent with real-world situations which require the simultaneous use of different skills. For instance, a student who attends a workshop will listen to the presenter and read the power point slides at the same time; (s)he may also take notes and then talk with the presenter and fellow students. For this reason, it is essential that language skills be taught in an integrated fashion (Harmer, 1991; Celce-Murcia & Olshtain, 2000; Thornbury, 2005). In the context of the shift to the credit system training, which reflects the emphasis on learner-centredness, DELL has re-designed all the language skills courses in an attempt to meet students’ reallife communicative needs. Listening is now taught in conjunction with Speaking; Reading, Writing and Grammar are no longer separated. In one class meeting, students practise listening and speaking or reading, writing and grammar in 5 periods (each period lasts 50 minutes in the credit-based system compared to 45 minutes in the year-based system). At the time that the study was carried out, although students learnt Listening - Speaking and Reading - Writing - Grammar in two separate classes, they earned only one mark at the end for the subject called Language Study. The Listening - Speaking module accounted for 40% of the total mark and the Reading - Writing - Grammar module made up 60%. This meant that if a student failed the Language Study course, (s)he had to repeat both modules. 6 Students therefore had to try their best to improve all of their skills and their grammar and, inevitably, vocabulary and pronunciation at the same time. In parallel with the reconstruction of the language skills courses, all the textbooks have been replaced by the new ones: the Interactions Mosaic series (4th edition) published by McGraw-Hill/Contemporary. The specific textbooks used in the four language study courses, which students at the time of the study had to complete in the first year, are as follows: - Language Study 1: Interactions 2 (Low Intermediate – Intermediate) (4th edition) (Units 1 – 9) - Language Study 2: Interactions 2 (Low Intermediate – Intermediate) (4th edition) (Units 10 – 12) and Mosaic 1 (Intermediate – High Intermediate) (4th edition) (Units 1 – 6). - Language Study 3: Mosaic 1 (Intermediate – High Intermediate) (4th edition) (Units 7 – 12) and Mosaic 2 (High Intermediate – Low Advanced) (4th edition) (Units 1-3). - Language Study 4: Mosaic 2 (High Intermediate – Low Advanced) (4th edition) (Units 4-12). This series is a four-skill comprehensive one with updated academic content, skillbuilding exercises and communicative activities. Although there are separate books for Listening - Speaking, Reading, Writing and Grammar for each level, the units in all the books share the same topics, which promotes the intertwined link in the development of the skills and the language areas, namely grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. In the Reading - Writing - Grammar class, students, after reading passages about a topic and discussing, have to write a paragraph or an essay. The grammar points needed to complete this writing task are provided in the Grammar book. In the Listening - Speaking class, students listen to a lecture about the same theme and practise note-taking skills and then do some speaking activities (e.g. roleplay, discussion and mini-presentation) related to the topic in hand. In short, all the exercises for building skills and enhancing language areas in each unit revolve 7 around a theme, which simulates real-world communication tasks in which the same experience or topic requires the use of different skills. The new language skills program requires much effort from students. First of all, as has been mentioned, students have to improve all the skills in order to pass language study courses. Second, they need to be active, responsible and independent. This is manifest in the students’ duties clearly stated in the syllabuses: - read the materials and do the exercises before each class - make necessary preparations as required by the teacher - actively participate in the lessons - do the exercises – inside as well as outside the classroom – assigned by the teacher - consult materials relevant to the lessons - take the initiative in studying issues of interest - attend at least 80% of the time in class. A reasonable excuse is needed in case of absence. (See Appendix 8 for the Language Study 4 Syllabus) The aim of fostering students’ independence is also reflected in the recommendation of some reference books and, particularly, many useful websites for improving their English and learning how to learn. Further, out of nine chapters required for each course, there is always one chapter for self-study at home under the teacher’s guidance. In short, the development of the new language study syllabuses is a great advance in the attempt to make teaching more learner-centred. The integrated skills approach is adopted in the hope of enhancing students’ communicative skills. Further, more effort is put into increasing students’ responsibility and fostering their autonomy, which is one of the main goals of the credit system training. 8 1.2 THE LISTENING - SPEAKING 4 MODULE The experiment was implemented in the Language Study 4 – Listening - Speaking class. The detailed course syllabus, designed by DELL, is provided in Appendix 8 of the thesis. Out of 120 periods allotted for the Language Study 4 course, the Listening Speaking module took up 50, out of which 40 periods were devoted to class time, 5 to self-study and another 5 to the mid-term test and the teacher’s feedback on the test results. Students attended one five-period class each week in 8 weeks. At the time when the study was conducted, students took the mid-term test in the fifth or sixth week and the end-of-term test after finishing the whole course. Apart from the speaking mid-term test, which was decided by each teacher, students of all the listening - speaking classes took the same test papers, selected by the Head of the Language Skills Section from the papers submitted by the listening - speaking teachers. As for the grading policy, the mid-term test accounted for 30%, the endof-term test 60%, and student’s participation the rest 10%. The participation mark was based on the student’s regular attendance, careful preparation for the lessons and active participation in class. Regarding the marks for the mid-term and end-ofterm tests in the listening - speaking module, each set of skills took up 50%. The objectives of the whole Language Study 4 course in general and the Listening Speaking 4 module in particular are developing students’ communicative competence, equipping students with the subskills necessary for real-life situations, and improving students’ grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. The textbook used in the Listening - Speaking 4 module is Mosaic 2 Listening/Speaking 4th edition (by Jami Hanreddy and Elizabeth Whalley, 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., New York). It is designed for the High Intermediate and Low Advanced levels. As the last book in the series, it aims at sharpening the skills the other books help students build up in the first three Language Study courses. Specifically, it provides students with: 9