The Current State of English Listening Instruction in. Taiwanese Senior High Schools

Transcription

1 The Current State of English Listening Instruction in Taiwanese Senior High Schools Pearl Chang Executive Secretary, Zuoying English Education Resource Center, MOE Taiwan Gieh-Hwa Lu National Overseas Chinese Experimental Senior High School I. Introduction The mission of English teachers in Taiwan's senior high schools is to teach four aspects of a single language: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. However, the predominance of test-driven instruction has always been a feature of Taiwanese education. As the content of the English test in two college entrance exams the General Scholastic Ability Test (GSAT) and the Department Required Test (DRT) focuses on English reading and writing, English teachers in senior high schools naturally tend to concentrate on teaching students how to read and write. Thus, English listening and speaking seem to be less of a concern in English teaching. As a matter of fact, listening in EFL is the Cinderella skill, and consequently learners haven t been able to own their own 'voices', being cast instead in the role of passive listeners Background Since the Joint Board of the College Recruitment Commission (JBCRC) has agreed that a test of English listening comprehension will be required for admission to college programs, the College Entrance Examination Center (CEEC) has formally implemented the Test of English Listening Comprehension (TELC), which will certainly have an impact on English teaching in senior high. More and more English teachers, aware of the necessity of teaching English listening, have been expressing their needs in the feedback after each seminar held by Zuoying English Education Resource Center (EERC). Therefore, the EERC has chosen the theme of English listening teaching as the research direction in Before the English Education Resource Center (EERC) starts to do research on English listening teaching, they would like to get a general picture of listening teaching in senior high environments. Although the formal college entrance examinations used to focus on English reading and writing, this does not necessarily mean that English teachers have been paying no attention to English listening. This is 1

2 why the EERC would like to investigate English listening teaching and testing in Taiwan's senior high schools. The EERC is trying to find out in the ways in which our senior high English teachers have already been carrying out listening training, to collect data from voluntary participants, and finally to clarify any gaps between policy and the real-world situation in the schools. Based on the investigation, the research completed by the EERC would then suggest more possible paths for English listening instruction and provide effective strategies for English teachers in senior high schools. 1.2 Purpose of Study The present study aims to examine the extent and content of English listening teaching (ELT) and listening testing (LT) in Taiwanese high schools. Purpose of the present study a) To present current ELT/LT environments in senior high schools b) To understand the subject knowledge and pedagogical skills in ELT/LT that English teachers require. c) To make an analysis of the difficulties that teachers are encountering on ELT/LT II. Research Method The study is an electric quantity survey, which was executed on June, All of the participants are anonymous and randomly selected from throughout the country. In total, 321 English teachers in Taiwan high schools participated. Their teaching experience ranges from one year to more than sixteen. The respondents also come from four different categories of school: general senior high schools, comprehensive schools, complete schools, and vocational schools. As the purpose of the study is to examine English listening teaching in senior high school, the investigation excluded those from vocational schools. So the final results are actually from the teachers from general senior high schools, comprehensive schools, and complete schools. The data was collected in two ways. One was conducted when the respondents attended the seminars held by the EERC, and the other used s collected by the EERC. The correspondence includes nearly all the English chairpersons of Taiwan senior high schools. Therefore, the respondents are English high school teachers from different areas of Taiwan. 2 2

3 Three Dimensions of the Survey a) The process of implementing weekly English listening tests: 1. My school implements English listening weekly tests. Yes No 2. The time my school implements English listening weekly tests is on. In class Others: Morning study hour No reply 3. The objects that take English listening weekly tests are. Only 10th graders 10th and 11th and 12th graders 10th and 11th graders Others: 4. The person responsible for designing English listening weekly tests is. My colleagues (English teachers) Others: The publishers 5. The time duration of English listening weekly tests is. Within 10 minutes minutes minutes Others: 6. The material used for English listening weekly tests is. (Multiple Selection) English textbooks Self-designed teaching materials English magazines Others: 3 b) The process of implementing monthly English listening tests: 1. My school implements English listening monthly test. Yes No 2. The objects that take English listening monthly tests are Only 10th graders 10th and 11th graders 10th and 11th and 12th graders Others: 3. The English listening monthly test is implemented. With the English subject and on the same exam paper With the English subject but on the different exam papers Solely 4. The person responsible for designing English listening monthly tests is. My colleagues (English teachers) Others: The publishers 5. The time duration of English listening weekly tests is. Within 10 minutes minutes minutes Others: 6. The material used for English listening weekly tests is. 3

4 (Multiple Selection) English textbooks Self-designed teaching materials English magazines Others: c) English listening teaching: 1. My school gives the course English Listening and Speaking in. 10th grade 11th grade 10th and 11th grades 10th and 11th and 12th grades Not giving such course 2. I think playing the CDs supplemented with English textbooks is one way to teach English listening. Yes No 3. I would use supplementary audio-materials provided by the publishers to teach English listening. Yes No 4. According to my students English proficiency, I would design English listening activities in connection with the unit theme. Yes No 5. The time duration that I teach English listening in class is lasted. Within 10 minutes minutes Not doing any listening activities in class 6. The place I teach English listening is in. (Multiple Selection) The classroom [Using CD players, DVD players, the computer, the projector, and so on] The language lab Others: 7. The material used for teaching English listening is. (Multiple Selection) English textbooks English magazines Self-designed teaching materials Others: 8. When teaching English listening, the most difficulty I think lies in. (Multiple Selection) Selecting the materials Teaching time duration Designing activities Evaluating the effects Place and equipment [such as the classroom or the language lab] 4 9. If having a chance to attend seminars on English listening teaching, the topic that appeals to me would be. (Multiple Selection) Selecting the materials Teaching time duration Designing activities Evaluating the effects Place and equipment [such as the classroom or the language lab] 10. When preparing students for English listening comprehension tests, the most difficult I think lies in. (Multiple Selection) 4

5 Selecting the materials Designing the listening test Teaching time duration Designing activities Evaluating the effects Place and equipment [such as the classroom or the language lab] 11 If having a chance to attend seminars on preparing students for English listening comprehension tests, the topic that appeals to me would be. (Multiple Selection) Selecting the materials Designing the listening test Teaching time duration Designing activities Evaluating the effects Place and equipment [such as the classroom or the language lab] See the format of the survey in Appendix I. 1 III. Data Analysis 3.1 Data processing 321 questionnaires were sent to English teachers in Taiwan senior high schools through the database, and 235 responses were retrieved. A total of 193 valid samples were collected. 3.2 Background of the respondents Table 3.2A and 3.2B give the general background of these 193 respondents. In terms of teaching experiences, the present study includes both novice teachers and experienced teachers. So the study should more or less present a rough picture of how English teachers in Taiwan senior high schools regard ELT. As for the classification of the respondents schools, these respondents all come from academic senior high schools (106), comprehensive schools (50), and complete schools (37). 5 Table 3.2A: The respondents teaching experiences Teaching Experiences Above 16 No reply (Year) Number Table 3.2B: Classification of the respondents schools General senior Comprehensive Type of School Complete school high school school Number The original survey is conducted in Chinese version. 5

6 3.3 The Implementation of English Weekly tests Numbers of Schools Among 193 valid samples, 146 schools hold weekly English listening tests, and 47 do not. The result is listed in Table 3.3A Table 3.3A: Schools implementing weekly English listening tests Yes No Prime time Morning study hour is the first choice for those schools to implement weekly English tests. Among the 146 schools that implement weekly English listening tests, 100 schools stated that they hold them during the morning study hour. Holding the weekly English listening tests in class is the second most common choice. As for the remaining 9 schools, they use other available times to hold the listening weekly tests, such as morning assembly, evening study hour, or the class meeting. Two schools indicate that it depends on their English teachers, and one school schedules its weekly tests according to the dates of the monthly test. The result is listed in Table 3.3.B. Table 3.3.B: The prime time to implement weekly English listening tests Morning study hour In class Others School Students Being Tested Of the 146 schools that hold weekly English listening tests, 8 of them indicate that only 10th graders take such weekly tests.109 schools stated that both 10th and 11th graders take weekly listening tests. And 28 schools said that all their students have to take listening tests every week. The result is listed in Table 3.3C. Table 3.3C: The students taking weekly English listening tests Only 10th 10th and 11th 10th and 11th graders graders and 12th graders Others School Test Designer 135 schools stated that the publishers are in charge of designing the weekly English listening tests, while 9 schools claimed their English teaching staff are responsible for test content. One respondent noted that they just take advantage of the supplementary tests provided with the textbooks. The result is listed in Table 3.3D. 6

7 Table 3.3D: People in charge of designing weekly English listening tests My colleagues The publishers Others (English teachers) School Time Duration Table 3.3E shows the range of test lengths. 146 schools hold English listening weekly tests. Of these, 35 schools keep the weekly English listening tests under 10 minutes; the tests at 60 schools are minutes long; 48 minutes hold minute tests. Only 1 school takes 40 minutes to implement the weekly English listening test. The remaining school lets individual English teachers set the test lengths. Table 3.3E: Duration of weekly English listening tests Under minutes minutes minutes Others School Materials When it comes to designing listening tests, the test-designers may refer to various materials. The results indicate that English magazines are used as the basis of weekly tests by 139 out of 184 schools, making them the most common choice of resource. English textbooks, which are used by 34 schools, are the second most popular choice. Only 8 schools said that they use self-designed teaching materials as the source of listening weekly tests. The other 3 stated that they use other materials such as vocabulary booklets, conversation books, or other standardized tests like GEPT or TOEIC. The outcome is listed in Table 3.3F. 7 Table 3.3F: Materials used for weekly English listening tests English textbooks English magazines Self-designed teaching materials Others The Implementation of monthly English listening tests Numbers of schools Table 3.4A shows the numbers of schools that hold English listening tests every month: 149 of them hold monthly English listening tests, while 44 do not implement such tests. Table 3.4A: Schools implementing English listening monthly tests Yes No 7

8 Students Being Tested Of the 149 schools that hold English listening weekly tests, 44 of them indicate that only 10th graders take such weekly tests.114 schools state that both 10th and 11th graders take weekly listening tests. Only 19 schools say that all their 10 th, 11 th and 12 th graders have to take listening tests every week. There two other schools that use different methods: One respondent shows that their 10th graders have to take such tests, but not all their 11th graders have to take monthly English listening tests only students of liberal arts need to take them. The other school stated that only 11th graders take monthly English listening tests. The result is listed in Table 3.4B. Table 3.4B: Students taking monthly English listening tests Only 10th 10th and 11th 10th and 11th graders graders and 12th graders Others School Measures As Table 3.4C shows, there are three ways that schools hold monthly English listening tests: (1) 26 schools implement the tests together with general English, putting them on the same exam paper; (2) 78 schools implement the English listening comprehension tests and the general English tests together but with different exam papers; (3) 44 schools state that the monthly English listening test is implemented on its own. 8 Table 3.4C: The implementation of English listening monthly tests With the general With general No reply English test and English but on By itself on the same the different exam paper exam papers School Test Designers Most schools ask the publishers for help to design the monthly English listening tests. 119 schools stated that this was the case. 24 schools indicate that it is their English teachers who design the listening monthly tests. 6 schools have other methods for designing the listening monthly tests; the details of these will be discussed in the Discussion and Findings section. The result is listed in Table 3.4D. Table 3.4D: People in charge of designing monthly English listening tests 8

9 My colleagues The publishers Others (English teachers) School Duration Most of the schools 62 out of 149 hold monthly English listening tests of less than 10 minutes. 42 schools state that the tests last minutes. 35 schools implement monthly English listening tests of minutes. Other schools' monthly English listening tests are of varying lengths. For instance, 1 school has 40 minute tests, 6 schools' are 50 minutes long, and 1 school's tests last for one hour. The result is listed in Table 3.4E. Table 3.4E: Duration of monthly English listening tests Within minutes minutes minutes Others School Materials English magazines are still regarded as the first choice for English teachers designing monthly English listening tests 139 out of 149 respondents whose schools implement monthly English listening tests ticked this option. 23 respondents use English textbooks as the materials to design the listening tests. Only 9 respondents say that they use self-designed teaching materials for their tests. 5 respondents state that they use other materials to design the tests, but they do not detail which materials they use in the questionnaire. 9 Table 3.4F: Materials used for monthly English listening tests English textbooks English magazines Self-designed teaching materials Others English listening instruction Numbers of Schools giving the course English Listening and Speaking According to the 99 curriculum, there are four English elective courses: English Listening and Speaking, English Grammar, English Reading and Writing, and English Writing. Evaluating what ability their students need to focus on more, each school may choose which elective courses to give. In Table 3.5A, it shows that 52 schools do not give the elective course English Listening and Speaking. As for those giving this elective course, there are four variations: 45 schools give the course in 10th grade, 39 in 11th grade, 43 in both 10th and 11th grades, and, amazingly, 14 from 10th to 9

10 12th grade. Table 3.5A: Schools giving the course English Listening and Speaking 10th and 11th 10th and 11th Not giving 10th grade 11th grade and 12th grades such course grades School Respondents attitudes: Toward playing the CDs supplemented with English textbooks The statement I think playing the CDs supplemented with English textbooks is one way to teach English listening is originally printed in Chinese 我認為播放英文課本 CD 就是一種聽力訓練. The result is shown in Table 3.5B. 158 respondents said Yes, while 35 respondents answered No. Whether this statement indicates the English teacher s attitude toward playing the audio-material when he teaches English listening or if it is a teacher's reflection on what he has done in class will be discussed in the 4.3 section, English instructors attitudes. Table 3.5B: Respondents attitude toward playing the CDs supplemented with English textbooks (C) 2. I think playing the CDs supplemented with English textbooks is one way to teach English listening. Yes No Respondents attitudes: Toward supplementary audio-materials provided by the publishers The purpose of the statement I would use supplementary audio-materials provided by the publishers to teach English listening is to learn the respondents attitudes toward supplementary audio-materials provided by the publishers. The result is listed in Table 3.5C. Table 3.5C: Respondents attitudes toward supplementary audio-materials provided by the publishers (C) 3. I would use supplementary audio-materials provided by the publishers to teach English listening. Yes No Designing English listening activities 10

11 The (C) 4. statement According to my students' English proficiency, I would design English listening activities in connection with the unit theme is to see whether the respondents are able to design English listening activities. The result comes out in Table 3.5D: 125 respondents reply Yes, while 68 answer No. Table 3.5D: Designing English listening activities (C) 4. According to my students' English proficiency, I would design English listening activities in connection with the unit theme. Yes No Duration The (C) 5. question is to see how long English teachers spend on teaching English listening in class. According to Table 3.5E, 145 respondents teach English listening in class for less than 10 minutes, and 34 respondents do it for minutes. 14 respondents say they do not do any listening activities in class. Table 3.5E: Duration of English listening teaching in class Within 10 minutes minutes Not doing any listening activities in class Place Place is also one vital factor to take into consideration with regard to English listening teaching. The (C) 6. question is multiple choice, and the results are shown in Table 3.5F. 188 respondents reply that they use the classroom to teach English listening as long as there is sufficient teaching equipment such as CD or DVD players, a computer, and a projector. As for the language lab, 59 respondents replied that they use it as the place to teach English listening. Besides these two places, other methods are used by some teachers. One respondent states he uses an online website to teach English listening, and the other two respondents say they speak in English in class, which is another way to train students English listening ability. Table 3.5F: Place to teach English listening The classroom with No reply CD and DVD The language lab players, the computer Others and the projector

12 Materials The materials used for teaching English listening vary from teacher to teacher, so the (C) 7. question is multiple choice. 161 respondents use English textbooks, 146 respondents use English magazines, and 57 respondents use their self-designed teaching materials. Besides these three options, English teachers utilize some other resources such as GEPT materials, websites, movies, English songs, lectures, or other English listening practice books. One respondent even suggests that multimedia teaching is also one route to learning English listening. The result is listed in Table 3.5G. Table 3.5G: Materials used for teaching English listening No reply English textbooks English magazines Self-designed teaching materials Others Difficulties in teaching English listening One of the purposes of the present study is to examine English teachers difficulties when they teach English listening. The question here is multiple choice. According to Table 3.5H, the biggest difficulty they encounter when teaching English listening is to design listening activities; 109 respondents chose this item. Controlling the duration of teaching English listening ranks the second place s 96 respondents chose this item. 70 respondents state that selecting the English listening materials is difficult, putting this into third place. As for the fourth most common difficulty, 56 English teachers feel that it is not easy to evaluate the effects of learning. Place and equipment seem the least problematic, as only 39 respondents choose this item. 12 Table 3.5H: The difficulties in teaching English listening Evaluating the Material Teaching time Activity Place teaching and selecting duration designing learning effects equipment and Needs for Assistance with English listening teaching Likewise, the (C) 9. question is multiple choice. However, this question is to investigate English teachers needs for assistance or advice when teaching English listening. Designing listening activities still ranks the first place; 175 respondents chose this item. 112 respondents do not know how to evaluate the learning effects, so this item ranks in second place. The number of respondents choosing the item of selecting the listening materials is close to that of respondents choosing the item of 12

13 evaluating the learning effects 102 believe they need to learn the principles for selecting listening materials. As for the item time duration of teaching English listening and the item place and equipment, 52 respondents chose the former, while 28 selected the latter. The result is listed in Table 3.5I. Table 3.5I: English teachers needs for English listening teaching Evaluating the Material Teaching time Activity Place teaching and selecting duration designing learning effects equipment and Difficulties in preparing for English listening comprehension tests As well as English listening teaching, we would like to collect what difficulties English teachers might encounter when they prepare their students for English listening comprehension tests. The (C) 10. question is also multiple choice. The most difficulty is found with designing listening activities ; 122 respondents chose this item. Designing the listening test is next; 102 respondents regard this as the most difficult part when preparing students for English listening comprehension tests. 78 respondents chose selecting the materials to prepare for English listening comprehension tests ; 68 respondents chose evaluating the effects ; and 51 respondents chose time duration of teaching students how to prepare English listening comprehension tests. Place and equipment is the least common difficulty felt by teachers preparing students for taking English listening comprehension tests. The result is listed in Table 3.5J. 13 Table 3.5J: The difficulties in preparing students for English listening comprehension tests Teaching Evaluating Material Activity the teaching Place and time Test designing selecting designing and learning equipment duration effects Need for preparing for English listening comprehension tests After looking at what English teachers feel is difficult when preparing their students for English listening comprehension tests, it is also significant to learn their requirements when they do it. Interestingly, in Table 3.5K, the rankings are similar to Table 3.5I. The first and the second places still go to the same items: 156 respondents chose the item designing listening activities, while 129 respondents chose the item 13

14 designing the listening test. The third place falls to the item selecting the materials to prepare for English listening comprehension tests 107 respondents chose this. As for the fourth place, the item evaluating the effects, 105 respondents chose it. 59 respondents chose the item time duration of teaching students how to prepare English listening comprehension tests. And the item place and equipment ranks last: only 25 respondents chose this item. Table 3.5K: English teachers needs when preparing students for English listening comprehension tests Teaching Evaluating Material Activity the teaching Place and time Test designing selecting designing and learning equipment duration effects IV. Discussion and Findings Listening plays an important role in communication. Lee and Hatesohl suggest that [M]any of us spend 70 to 80 percent of our waking hours in some form of communication. Of that time, we spend about 9 percent writing, 16 percent reading, 30 percent speaking, and 45 percent listening. In order to communicate with others, we have to listen first. However, listening instruction is not as easy as reading instruction. This involves the characteristics of listening. Readers can control their reading speed, or read the texts over and over again. Yet listeners cannot do this. There is no fixed listening text for listeners. Thus, in terms of teaching a foreign language, instructors will naturally pay more attention to reading than listening. 2 In Taiwanese senior high schools, English teachers also emphasize reading and writing instruction instead of listening instruction. This results from the college entrance examinations, which stress reading and writing. However, the style of instruction in EFL classrooms in Taiwan might change, especially after the announcement of the implementation of the TELC. The following is mainly about what Taiwanese senior high schools have done for English listening teaching and testing, but it also reflects these English teachers attitudes toward English instruction Weekly and Monthly English listening comprehension tests According to the CEEC policy on TELC, it will just become a reference for college admission in the years 2013 and 2014; not until the year 2015 will the TELC be formally considered a subject in the college entrance examination. English listening comprehension tests have already been implemented in Taiwanese senior 2 Osada does a review of listening comprehension research over three decades and concludes that instructors neglect listening instruction due to its unique characteristics. 14

15 high schools, and they are held in two ways weekly tests and monthly tests. However, how they are conducted varies from teacher to teacher and from school to school. In order to provide possible suggestions for EFL teachers in Taiwan, it is necessary that we have to examine these two kinds of listening comprehension tests in Taiwan senior schools as well as the ways in which English teachers prepare for these tests. More than 3/4 schools implement English listening comprehension tests The implement of TELC should not dramatically impact English teaching in Taiwanese senior high schools because more than 3/4 of these schools already hold English listening comprehension tests. In Graph 4.1A, around 75.64% of schools hold English listening tests every week (Table 3.3A), while 77.2% of them hold monthly tests (Table 3.4A). It can be inferred that most schools understand the importance of English listening, so they arrange such listening comprehension tests in the form of weekly or monthly tests. Graph 4.1A: Schools implementing English listening weekly and monthly tests 15 Most test-takers are in 10 th or 11 th grade. After learning the number of schools implementing English listening comprehension tests, we also need to look at who takes English listening comprehension tests. 10th and 11th graders are most frequently required to take tests. In Graph 4.1B, over 60% of schools ask the 10th and 11th graders to take weekly or monthly English listening comprehension tests. There is another point worth noting: Around 14.5% of respondents reply that their listening weekly tests are taken by the 15

16 10th, 11th, and 12th graders, and about 9.8%of them state that all their students take listening monthly tests. In other word, some 12 th graders do take tests; 14.5% of schools hold listening weekly tests for them and 9.8% of schools hold listening monthly tests for them. Perhaps the fact that 12 th graders have to prepare for the college entrance examination explains why fewer schools give them regular listening tests in comparison to 10 th and 11 th graders. Graph 4.1B: Students taking English listening comprehension weekly and monthly tests 16 Who designs English listening comprehension weekly and monthly tests? English teachers or the publishers? According to Graph 4.1C, over the 60% of respondents stated that the publishers are responsible for designing the weekly and monthly English listening comprehension tests, while less than 13% of respondents said that it is they themselves who are in charge of designing the listening tests. However, after we scrutinize this statistical result, it seems that respondents have interpreted the question who designs the listening tests differently. This can be seen from the examples provided by the respondents in the item Others. Some said that English teachers design the tests and the publishers record them. Others said that the publishers design the tests, and then the English teachers select appropriate questions for the publishers to record. Still others stated that both English teachers and the publishers design the tests together and the publishers later record them. We have finally come to the conclusion that the statement of the question is too vague, and so there are so many results collected here. Next time we have the chance to research such a topic, we will divide the question about the design of English listening comprehension tests into two 16

17 parts: one about the content text, and the other about making records of the listening tests. In addition to designing the listening comprehension tests, there is still another issue t to be dealt with. That is, the principles of assessing listening. Do all the English teachers learn how to assess English listening? Furthermore, what criteria do they have to learn? All these will be investigated in future research. Graph 4.1C: People in charge of designing English listening comprehension weekly and monthly tests 17 Most schools implement English listening comprehension weekly tests of minutes and monthly tests of under 10 minutes. Juxtaposing the time duration of English listening weekly tests and that of monthly tests in Graph 4.1D, we may find out that duration varies from school to school. However, the common factor here is that most schools which implement listening tests keep them under 30 minutes. And we may keep observing whether the length of these listening comprehension tests is altered because of the implementation of the TELC. Graph 4.1D: Duration of English listening weekly and monthly tests 17

18 English magazines are the top choice for English listening comprehension tests. As we examine the ranking of materials used for English comprehension tests, we may immediately discover which materials English teachers prefer to use. English magazines are obviously rated first in the ranking of English listening comprehension tests. In Graph 4.1E, around 72% of respondents use these magazines as the materials for designing weekly and monthly listening tests. This result has a lot to do with the college entrance examination. Before the TELC, English teachers felt that listening was important, yet not important enough to spend time teaching it. Thus, English magazines provide a great solution for these teachers. English teachers assign their students these magazines and have them tested in weekly tests and monthly tests. However, the present study does not investigate the details of how English teachers employ these materials in class. How do they use these magazines to connect listening instruction to listening comprehension tests? Do their students just read the articles in the magazines and then immediately take the listening tests? Furthermore, based on what criteria do English teachers select these magazines as appropriate to their students English proficiency? All these issues must be considered in future research. Graphic 4.1E: Materials used for both English listening instruction and English listening comprehension tests English listening instruction In the process of studying a foreign language, we are concerned both with what and how to teach first and then what and how to evaluate. The present study would like to get a holistic picture of what our English teachers in Taiwanese senior high schools learn regarding English listening instruction, and then to examine how they 18

19 teach English listening in class. Furthermore, we would like to see if there is any connection between their listening instruction and listening assessment. Around 26.9% of schools do not offer the elective course English Listening and Speaking. According to the regulations of the 99 curriculum, every senior high school has four English elective courses: English Listening and Speaking, English Grammar, English Reading and Writing, and English Writing. Among these elective courses, the course English Listening and Speaking can be offered in the first or the second year. Students have to have one to two periods to learn English listening and speaking per week, if their schools offer such a course. Graph 4.2A shows the result of how respondents schools offer this elective course in different grades. From Graph 4.2A, there are two interesting points. Firstly, around 26.9% of schools do not offer the elective course English Listening and Speaking. Secondly, about 29.6% of schools believe English listening and speaking is pretty important so that they offer such an elective course in two grades: 22.3% offer the course in both 10th and 11th grades, while 7.3% offer it in all three grades. In other words, 7.3% of schools think that the 12th graders need to take the course. Will the number of schools offering the course English Listening and Speaking be change with the implementation of the TELC? This is another point worth considering. 19 Graph 4.2A: Schools giving the course English Listening and Speaking Are English listening comprehension weekly and monthly tests achievement tests or proficiency tests? Generally speaking, what students learn will later be assessed. Tests which 19

20 evaluate the effectiveness of teachers instruction and students learning are called achievement tests. Taking this into account, English listening comprehension weekly and monthly tests should be regarded as achievement tests. In Graph 4.1B, around 60% of schools require both their 10th and 11th graders to take weekly tests and monthly tests. However, only 22.3% of schools offer the elective course English Listening and Speaking, indicated in Graphic 4.2A. The possible explanations might be as follows. Firstly, the assessment has already been implemented in the course English Listening and Speaking, so there is no direct relationship between such an elective course and the weekly or monthly tests. Secondly, the purpose of English listening comprehension weekly and monthly tests is to assess what English teachers do in the general English course rather than other courses such as English Listening and Speaking. It is pity that the present study does not explore this more, leaving more ground to covered in future research. Yet, in fact, we know that most English teachers do not do English listening instruction in class, so we may infer a the third possibility. That is, English teachers do not know how to teach English listening, not to mention English listening assessing. That is why we may observe that some English teachers do English instruction without assessing the effects, or assess students English listening ability without doing any English listening instruction. 10 minutes is tolerable within a one-hour English class, Based on the characteristics of listening, it is better not to do one listening activity for a long time. Graphic 4.2B shows the respondents experiences of teaching English listening: About 75.1% stated that they do listening activities of less than 10 minutes, and 17.6% said that they conduct listening activities of minutes. In other words, over 92.7% do English listening activities of less than 30 minutes. So one could keep this in mind when planning to do listening activities. As for those who never do any listening activities in class, 7.3% choose this item. However, this result might be different after the formal implement of the TELC. 20 Graph 4.2B: Duration of teaching English listening in class 20

21 The language lab is not a requirement for teaching English listening, but the classroom equipped with basic technology is necessary. Seeing Graphic 4.2C, we may definitely indicate that the language lab is not a requirement for English listening instruction. Instead, the classroom has to be equipped with basic technology. Around 97.4% respondents stated that they use the classroom to train their students English listening ability. However, the classroom has to contain CD players or DVD players so as to play some audio-materials. Besides, if English teachers would like to utilize instant news from the internet as the materials for English listening, then a computer and the overhead projector are needed in the classroom. Collecting the data here, we find one interesting suggestion two respondents stated that their teaching is in English rather than in Chinese. As a matter of fact, in English classes, if English teachers teach and speak in English, they expose their students to an English-speaking environment, which is quite a good way to improve their English listening ability. However, how many English teachers are confident doing so in class? And how can we effectively help these teachers do their teacher talk in English? These questions can be covered in the future research. Graphic 4.2C: Location for teaching English listening English instructors attitudes English teachers play a crucial part in students learning English. Whether students can successfully learn the target language or English teachers effectively instruct the importance of the target unit in class both depend on the teachers 21

22 professional and pedagogical knowledge. This section is to investigate the thinking and behavior of English teachers in Taiwan senior high schools. By learning these, we may suggest possible ways to help them successfully carry out English listening instruction in class. Can playing the audio-materials be counted as one way of teaching English listening? As we have designed the questionnaire, we regard the (C) 2. statement as one kind of self-cognition. That is to say, we would like to see if the respondents have such a belief when they do English listening instruction. Graphic 4.3A shows that most English teachers share this belief over 4/5 of respondents agree that playing the audio-materials can be counted as one way to teach English listening, while the rest 1/5 of respondents disagree with this statement. The (C) 3. statement is also related to self-cognition. Around 82.3% of respondents reply they use supplementary audio-materials provided by the publishers in class in Graph 4.3B. In the (C) 2. and (C) 3. statements, the focus is on whether the respondents play the listening materials, and most respondents accept such a concept. These two statements do not further explore whether they do some learner-centered instruction such as material adaption or activity design for their students. So here is the purpose of the (C) 4. statement to learn how many of the respondents would truly design English listening activities for their learners. 22 Graphic 4.3A: Respondents attitude toward playing the CDs supplemented with English textbooks Graphic 4.3B: Respondents attitudes toward supplementary audio-materials provided by the publishers 22

23 The (C) 4. statement is: According to my students English proficiency, I would design English listening activities in connection with the unit theme, and the result is presented in Graphic 4.3C. However, here we get confused when we compare this graphic to Graphic 4.3D, Graphic 4.3E, Graph 4.3F, and Graph 4.3G. In Graphic 4.3C, 64.8% of respondents claim that they are able to design English listening activities to fit the unit theme. Yet, activity design is also what the respondents think of as the most difficult part of English listening instruction and as the most urgent need they would like to have addressed by the in-service program. We conclude that the problem lies in the word 會 used in the statement. In Chinese, 會 has two meanings: one refers to competence, and the other is willingness. If the respondents state that designing listening activities is what they urgently need help with, then we should interpret the result of Graphic 4.3C in the following way: Over 4/5 of the respondents indicate they are willing to design listening activities for their students, yet their professional and pedagogical knowledge of designing such activities is not sufficient. 23 Graphic 4.3C: Designing English listening activities Graphic 4.3D: The difficulties in teaching English listening 23

24 Graphic 4.3E: English teachers need for English listening teaching 24 Graphic 4.3F: The difficulties in preparing students for English listening comprehension tests 24

25 Graphic 4.3G: English teachers need to prepare students for English listening comprehension tests English teachers in Taiwan senior high schools urgently wish to acquire professional and pedagogical knowledge on English listening. As collecting the responses from 193 English teachers in Taiwan senior high schools, we discover that most of their schools have already done something for English listening before the implementation of TELC. This includes giving the course English Listening and Speaking and holding weekly and monthly English listening comprehension tests. For English listening instruction, most English teachers use English language magazines, English textbooks, and other teaching materials to train their students English listening ability. Have these English teachers, while doing English listening instruction, ever reflected on the effectiveness of their instruction? Perhaps this is another topic that future research may deal with. Whatever these English teachers have done regarding English listening instruction, we have discovered that the respondents do believe that they need help with this aspect of teaching. We have compared the difficulties the respondents encounter and the in-service training they hope to have with regard to English listening instruction. Designing listening activities is seen as the biggest difficulty when they teach English listening, and almost 97% of the respondents hope the in-service training program will cover the topic of how to design English listening activities. In addition to the desire to learn how to design listening activities, over 50% of the respondents express that they would also like to learn how to evaluate students listening performance and how to select teaching materials. Based on these 25 25

26 requirements, EERC will consider providing in-service training programs covering these topics. Graphic 4.3H actually reveals two other interesting points. The first is about the locations and equipment used for English listening instruction. As previously discussed, Graphic 4.2C shows where English teachers do English listening instruction, and a classroom equipped with basic technology is the place these teachers most frequently use. By comparing the result in Graphic 4.2C with the outcome in Graphic 4.3H, we may infer that place and equipment are not not seen by English teachers s urgent problems in terms of English listening instruction. It is professional and pedagogical knowledge about English listening that they want for the moment when the CEEC formally implements the TELC. The other interesting point revealed from Graphic 4.3H concerns the duration of instruction. 36.3% of the respondents stated that this is a difficulty for them when they do English instruction; however, the item teaching time duration is only fourth in their list of needs for in-service training. Here we infer this still has much to do with their professional and pedagogical knowledge. There are various factors affecting English teachers when they conduct listening instruction. Whether they control the time well, whether their activities motivate their students, whether their design effectively facilitates their students' acquisition of listening strategies, and whether they can properly react to their students immediate replies in class; all of these affect the success of English listening instruction. If English teachers learn more about how to teach English listening, controlling the length of activities will become less difficult for them. 26 Graphic 4.3H: What English teachers need in English listening instruction 26

27 Scrutinizing Graphic 4.3I concerning English listening comprehension tests, we find the ranking of what English teachers feel difficult is consistent with that of what they need from the in-service training. They need to gain professional and pedagogical knowledge concerning English listening comprehension tests. Based on the findings, the EERC will plan further coverage of related topics for English teachers in Taiwanese senior high schools. Table 4.3I: What English teachers need when preparing students for English listening comprehension tests 27 IV. Conclusion and Implications The present study roughly investigates the measures that senior high schools take and the attitudes English teachers have with regard to English listening instruction. We find that there is much room for improvement in English listening instruction in Taiwan. With the implementation of the TELC, our English listening instruction in Taiwan senior high environments may change. Two aspects require further observation: The new measures the administrations need to take Since the TELC will become a formal subject in the college entrance examination in 2015, senior high schools will have no choice but take action to adapt to the new college entrance policy. That is to say, more schools may decide to to offer the course English Listening and Speaking. More schools will implement weekly and monthly English listening comprehension tests. Without doubt, more 27

28 schools are expecting their 12th graders to take these weekly and monthly listening tests as well. All of these issues should be considered further. The importance of in-service training English teachers in Taiwan senior high schools do need to enrich their subject and pedagogical knowledge on English listening. The EERC has to provide teachers with more in-service training programs related to the topic. In this way, as more and more English teachers learn how to do effective English listening instruction, our students English listening ability will be enhanced. It is great that the CEEC has announced that it will implement the TELC, even though both English teachers and the administration will have to do more to adapt to such a new policy. The chances are that English listening instruction in senior high schools can thus be improved and students will be able to acquire more listening practice. In the long term, this will benefit our English education in Taiwan

29 Reference Holden, W. R. (2004). Facilitating listening comprehension: Acquiring successful strategies. Bulletin of Hokuriku University, 28, Lee, D., & Hatesohl, D (1993, Oct). Listening: Our most used communication skill. University of Missouri Extension. Retrieved Sept , from Nobuko Osada (2004). Listening comprehension research: A brief review of the past thirty years. Dialogue, 3, Vandergrift, L. (1999, July). Facilitating second language listening comprehension: Acquiring successful strategies. ELT Journal, 53/3,