PAGE COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS

NUMBER/PART Gray Shade = Original

1
Yellow Shade = Revised
03 = Title As the panelist checked the title, he noticed that the word ‘inability’ is
a negative thought. In lined with this problem, one of our literature
reviews was affected. Due to this problem, Mr. Nikko Pacanas
suggested that we should create a study which is correlational instead
of an experimental one. One reason he wanted us to change our design
is because aside from the problem in one of our variables, we might not
finish our study on time because it’s an experimental and we only have
few months to do it. From our previous title “Factors Affecting
Students’ Inability to Listen to the Lesson with Concentration”, it was
transformed to “Academic Listening Skills, and Concentration and
Memory in Relation to Academic Performance in English” which was
also suggested by our research professor Dr. Maria Agnes P. Ladia.

04 – 08 = Background Change the introduction since the study was shifted from experimental
of the study to correlational study. In the introduction, include why academic skill
is needed. You may also add some sample scenario. Follow the format
(Introduction, Relate the topic first in global down to local context,
research gap, urgency, then the aim or goal of the study.
08 – 26 = Literature Since the study will focus on the four topics, your variables will be four
Review as well. As given by Dr. Ladia, our variables are the academic
performance in English (Dependent Variable), (Independent Variables)
academic listening skills, and concentration and memory.
26 – 27 = Statement of The SOP should touch all your variables.
the Problem
27 = Hypothesis Sir Nikko said that the formation of the hypothesis is correct, however,
since the design and topic will be changed, you should also change
your hypothesis.
27 – 31 = Conceptual You should follow the IPO method. The description of your paradigm
Framework is too long, make it concise.
32 – 34 = Definition of The important terms you used in your title and in your study should be
Terms included in the DOT. How will you do it? Define the term lexically and
operationally.
35 = Methods of Study Sir Nikko commented that it’s good that we started the chapter 2 with a
short introduction and description.
35 – 36 = Research Sir Nikko suggested that we should search about the correlational
Design design. We need to support the design by putting some studies or
related studies about it. Include also how to collect the data, are you
going to use quantitative, like statistical methods?
36 = Research Locale According to Sir Nikko, we should not put anything in this part aside
from the place where we’re going to conduct the study.
36 – 38 = Sampling and It is good that you provided first the whole population of second year
Participants English major. Since your study will be changed, you need to think of a
sampling which you will get your respondents. Just make sure that you
will not be biased. If you will select your respondents from the whole
population of second year English major students, you need to include
all of them in your sampling process. Include as well if how are you
going to reach them once you’re done selecting them.
38 – 39 = Research Sir Nikko said that if we’re going to adapt a questionnaire, it should be
Instrument validated first by the validators who are professionals. Dr. Ladia also
told us that we’ll be needing at least three professional validators ho
 2

Republic of the Philippines

Tarlac State University
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
CENTER OF DEVELOPMENT
Lucinda Campus, Tarlac City
Tel. No. (045) 982-6062; fax No. 9045) 982-0110
Re- accredited Level III by the Accrediting Agency of Chartered
Colleges and Universities of the Philippines (AACUP),

“Factors Affecting Students’ Inability to Listen to the Lesson with

Concentration”
 3

“Academic Listening Skills, and Concentration and Memory in Relation

to Academic Performance in English”
________________________________
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements
for the Language Education Research (EL 120)

By:
BSED ENGLISH 3-2
RESEARCH TEAM 1
ABREJAL, Krissha Nicole
AGUILAR, Jovilyn Hannah
ARAÑO, Maria Sherwin
BARRIBAL, Pink Shermaine
BAUN, Gilmar
BAUTISTA, Angeline
BONDOC, Lery Joy
SANTOS, Justine Angelo

Research Adviser: Ma’am Frincess T. Flores

Submitted to:
Dr. Maria Agnes P. Ladia

April 08, 2022

Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter includes the background of the study, some related literature and studies of

foreign and local, conceptual framework, statement of the problem, hypothesis, scope and

limitations of the study, and the definition of terms used.

Background of the Study

Listening is essential because it allows us to comprehend information and thoughts. In

order to understand and think deeply what information what was listened to, listening therefore
 4

necessitates paying attention and staying focused on the job at hand despite interruptions. That’s

why it’s defined as focusing your thoughts on a single task or topic. A person specifically those

students who actively listens combines listening with focus. As a result, listening comprehension

is more significant than reading comprehension (Gschwend, 2014). Therefore, concentration is a

powerful predictor of listening comprehension, according to this evidence.

When someone is listening, he or she must focus on what is being said (Bethesda, 2007).

This will be a perfect way to comprehend and easily remember information. However, this is

more difficult since the brain processes auditory input faster than people can speak, causing

listeners to become distracted.

Previous studies have only looked at why and how concentration shields against

distraction, as well as how not concentrating while listening affects how students understand the

lecture. The researchers conclude from the first study that concentration shields against

distraction because (a) unwanted background processing is minimized and (b) the locus of

attention becomes firmer. We believe these two mechanisms are distinct; the former is linked to

intentional distraction suppression or inhibition, while the latter is linked to distracter blocking as

a result of increased attention facilitation to the attended stimuli (Egner & Hirsh, 2005). In the

second study that was conducted, Goh emphasizes the challenge of concentrating while listening

as a reason why students miss essential sections of the lecture, particularly the beginning parts.

These studies, however, are still limited, and there is even less information available about the

reasons why students lose concentration, particularly when listening.

As a result, more research into the elements that cause students to lose concentration while

listening to a lesson is needed. The most basic and powerful approach to connect with another

person, according to Dr. Remen (2014) is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most valuable gift we
 5

can give each other is our undivided attention or concentration. Listening intently is critical,

according to her remark. Apart from demonstrating our respect for that person, this is also a

terrific approach for us, as listeners, to comprehend what the person is saying. Students' inability

to concentrate while listening to the lesson is one factor that has a significant impact on their

ability to comprehend what is being taught. In order to come up with strategies, it is very

important to identify the sources of the problem.

Due of the covid-19 pandemic, classes particularly in the Philippines were switched from

face-to-face to online classes in March of 2020. Many changes occurred, causing issues and

difficulties for the students, one of which is their problem in listening to their lesson with

concentration.

Given the foregoing context, the goal of this research is to determine the factors affecting

the students' inability to listen to the lesson with concentration. Furthermore, the goal of this

research is also to determine what factor triggers more to students to be unable to listen with

concentration and identify if factors have an effect to the inability of the students to listen to the

lesson with concentration.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education sector has resulted in extensive

school and college closures around the world. Closures of schools in response to the COVID-19

outbreak have brought to light a number of challenges limiting educational access. COVID-19 is

on the rise, and a large number of children, adults, and teenagers are unable to attend schools or

colleges as a result (UNESCO, 2020). The impact of school closure on students’ academic

performance, according to Lah and Botelho (2012), is ambiguous. Ever since the pandemic

started, many things have changed, including the way we study, which has shifted from face-to-

face classes to online learning. As a result of this occurrence, several skills, such as academic
 6

listening skills, attention, and memory, are useful for a student to attain academic achievement,

particularly in learning English.

Academic listening skill is a sort of listening that takes place in university English

classes. It entails a variety of listening activities aimed at ensuring that the topic is understood. It

is distinguished by one-way transactional language, which is used to transfer data and knowledge

(Chaudron, 1995; Flowerdew, 1994). A sample scenario when we can use academic listening

skills is for instance, when we were asked to answer questions right after the discussion. In this

kind of occurrence, if we employ academic listening skills, we can comprehend what the

discussion is all about and deliver a good answer. In line with the scenario, students’ academic

listening skills leads to lasting advantages in their academic career and beyond, including greater

ability to communicate, faster second language acquisition, and lower levels of frustration,

anxiety, and depression. According to Murphy (2012), concentration is an attentional process

that involves the ability to focus on the task at hand while ignoring distractions. Cognitive

research shows that it is vital for success in any field of skilled performance. It is therefore the

action or power of focusing one's attention or mental effort. Since concentration is the ability of

people to focus on anything they are learning, it is one of the supporting variables in language

listening skills. As a result, concentration is crucial in achieving these learning objectives (Avei

and Doghonadze, 2017). According to Rahiminia, E., Yazdani, S., and Rahiminia, H. (2020),

students' active participation owing to favorable interactions with instructors, in addition to

motivation, leads to higher concentration and better learning. Memory is another essential

component of learning, but it is also dependent on it because the information stored in one's

memory acts as the foundation for associating new information. It's a symbiotic relationship that

will continue to evolve throughout our lives. Also, how our memory works was mentioned.
 7

According to Lamba et al., (2014), memory and concentration are considered sisters, and in

earlier research, they discovered that 10% of students had poor concentration and 46% had

average concentration.

Academic performance has been the subject of several research studies, the majority of

which have focused only on the elements that influence students' academic success at various

levels. Farooq and Berhanu (2011) discovered that a student's academic performance in

Mathematics and English Language is significantly influenced by his or her parents' education

and socioeconomic level in Pakistan. According to a study done in Singapore by Jayanthi,

Balakrishnan, Ching, Latiff, and Nasirudeen (2014), a student's academic performance is

influenced by his or her desire in pursuing a subject, co-curricular activities, nationality, and

gender. Furthermore, Sibanda, Iwu, and Olumide (2015) discovered that regular study,

punctuality in school, and self-motivation are the most important determinants of students'

academic achievement in South Africa. Daily study hours, parent's socioeconomic position, and

age all have a substantial impact on academic success, according to Ali, Munir, Khan, and

Ahmed (2013). These studies, however, are still limited, and there is even less information

available about how academic listening skills, and concentration and memory are related to the

academic performance of the students in English.

Given the foregoing context, the goal of this research is to identify if there is a significant

relationship in the academic listening skills, concentration and memory, and the students’

academic performance in English.

Literature Review
 8

This section summarizes related literature and studies from both local and international

sources, which were structured around the variables of the current study. This section also

presented the study's framework, which will aid the researchers in their decision-making process.

Factor

The word factor in general is “one of the elements leading to a specific result or

circumstance,” as defined by Mifflin (2014; 2016). It’s deemed a factor if it’s an item or a set of

things that contribute to an outcome or if it has many actions that cause something to happen. In

a certain scenario, if something causes change or has an impact that causes the result to change,

that thing is a factor because it has an impact on the outcome. For a thing to be considered as a

factor, a thing must possess the characteristics of a factor. It should have the ability to function in

the role of a factor whether it is a person’s action or a product, it's considered as a factor.

A factor is a substance that has an effect or has an impact on our physical being, whether

positive or negative effect. The publisher Mifflin (2014; 2016) defines the term factor as “one

who acts for someone else; an agent.” As a result, the human aspect is indicated by this

definition. This issue can have an impact or affect people in a variety of ways, including

physically, psychologically, emotionally, and more. For instance, people and students who make

noises are what we called factors for a learner who is studying in a room where he or she is being

distracted by people walking by the corridor or by other students who are talking while he or she

is studying. They are the factors because the student is distracted by their noises.

In the idea of Iyer (2021), there are two types of factors, one of which is the negative

factor that causes a person to be dissatisfied. This, according to the author, has a variety of

effects on performance. People are influenced differently by these effective elements. Even if a

person is happy in their current position, they may lack the motivation to strive for their
 9

objectives. In this theory, the word factor was described as a substance or as a material that

brings a negative effect or impact to a specific thing.

The word factor was used several times by the researchers for their studies. Some of

which had focused on the factors affecting the listening skills of the students. Yang (2019) used

the word factor to his claim that various factors might have a positive or negative impact on

listening comprehension. In the study of Xuan & Simanjuntak (2017) they had found that

limitation of vocabulary, teaching strategy, limitation of materials and equipment, student’s

listening anxiety, and exposure to American English and culture are all factors that affect

students’ listening comprehension abilities.

One of the most difficult aspects of college English instruction has always been the

development of listening skills. Effective communication necessitates a strong mastery of

listening skills. However, the existing state of collegiate English listening instruction does not

meet the expectations. The typical teaching approach of college English listening, students’ weak

foundation in the English language, and various psychological impediments in the listening

process as mentioned in the study of Tong (2018) are the factors influencing college students’

capacity to develop their English listening skills. In this said issue, teaching strategy was

included, the nature of the students in language learning, and even the way the students think

were included as factors affecting the students’ listening skills.

Sugai, Yamane, & Kanzaki (2016) found that a factor such as slower speech tempo aid

listening comprehension, whereas other investigations have found the opposite. Another,

Nurkhamidah (2020) utilized the word factors to generalize the internal variables or aspects

which triggers the listening anxiety of the students. In addition, Vandergrift & Gho (2018)

utilized the word ‘factor’ to introduce the listening comprehension process and some of the
 10

learners’ elements that influence the process’ outcome, highlighting many of the mental

processes that occur in language listeners.

When it comes to elements affecting the listening skills in general, ‘factor’ was used

many times. In the study of Ardila, M.A.C. (2013), he found out that language particularly

accent is the main factor affecting listening. A language student may believe that conversing

with someone who speaks his or her target language will assist him or her in acquiring the

language. However, this notion appeared to be disproved, as the difference in accent was

highlighted as a factor affecting the language learner's listening ability. According to Chao

(2013), skilled listeners ranked hearing new words as the foremost factor that causes them to

forget what they've just listened. Moreover, natural factors have an impact on English listening

and speaking abilities (Liu, 2015). These natural factors include gender, geographical origin,

family, and other variables. Xuan & Simanjuntak (2017) found in their studies that limitation of

vocabulary, teaching strategy, limitation of materials and equipment, student’s listening anxiety,

and exposure to American English and culture are all factors that affect students listening

abilities.

Students’ Inability to Listen with Concentration

According to Faisal, I. (2019), that listening ability is one of the most important qualities

in language learning. Because learning English requires a lot of listening. Without learning the

art of listening, one cannot speak, read, or write. In addition, Al’Omairi, T., & Al Balushi, H.

(2015). Stated that attention is also critical component of learning. While Hwaider, S. (2017).

Also claimed that the challenge that the English learners are facing if there is lack of

concentration and that is the major issue. As Rakhman, F. R., Tarjana, S. S., & Marmanto S.

(2019). Also determine that Listening is a challenging skill to master and has the highest
 11

processing demand for non-native pupils when compared to other skills like writing, reading, and

speaking, according to this study. And noise, as an external issue, can also be a hindrance during

the listening process. It further noted that listening skills have been overlooked because they are

assumed to be automatic. It will follow and develop alongside other languages. Theories and

variable: Moreover, Basri, M. S., Murtadho, F., and Rafli Z. (2019). Are also concerned about

pupils' lack of enthusiasm and effort in improving their language and completing listening

comprehension practices because instead of paying attention, learners exhibit little interest or

passion, and they become inactive. And students who do not use their listening comprehension

skills properly will be unable to comprehend a message and will not receive the information they

require from their teacher. While Kaymak, Ö. S., & Demir, Ö. (2012). Also determine the effects

in not paying attention or lack of concentration of a student. This will cause them to make

mistakes when completing their assignments. Then quickly lose interest in the lesson, and as a

result, they will abandon their learning activities and have difficulties observing the rules and

behave in a manner that is harmful to the classroom environment when they do not provide their

complete attention. On the other hand, Hamouda, A. (2013). Also highlighted the findings in the

issues in terms of voice delivery that also cause the students to struggle in listening. Which is the

speaking speed, poor recording quality, and varied accents of the speakers as well as the

audience. In addition, Faisal, I. (2019), also stated that Internal factors such as unclear

pronunciation, limited vocabulary, poor grammar knowledge, unfamiliarity with the listening

topic, inability to concentrate, dislike of English, self-distrust, speech rate, and accent, and

external factors such as poor tape quality and noises around them while listening is some of the

factors that cause student’s lack of concentration. In addition to that he identified that this

information’s from the authors is broad because it doesn’t say if it’s significant in a negative or
 12

positive way, which is the information’s flaw. But the good thing is that it’s realistic, since it’s

actually happening, and it can be used in real-life situations.

David, J., Sánchez, B., De Córdoba, U., De Eucación Básica, F., & Humanas, Y. C.

(n.d.), seeks to Promote Attention Span through Lessons with Differentiated Content Syllabus

Design. They asserted students’ interest and comprehending capacity to determine their

concentration in class in large part in a circumstance, such as a classroom setting. Because they

believe that student interest is another aspect to consider when determining whether or not a

student will concentrate during a class. While Hariyanto. (2021), on the other hand they believe

that if a learner is truly paying attention, he or she will follow and complete the learning tasks

correctly. Not only can attention determine a student’s participation in class, but it can also have

a significant impact on their learning outcome, because if students maintain good concentration

during a lesson, they will be able to deal with all questions related to the learning materials with

ease, resulting in a good grade and learning achievement. When listening to a lesson, a student

should not only pay attention, but also concentrate and comprehend what the lecturer is saying. If

a student pays attention and listens intently, he or she will undoubtedly learn, comprehend, and

get a high grade. In the perspective of Smith, E. E., & Kosslyn, S. M. (2014). that it is impossible

for an individual to be aware of and pay attention to everything at the same time, according to

the writer, this is even more impressive. In school, it might be challenging, especially when

conscious learning is taking place. Because the stimulus is presented at a different speed and in a

different manner, this forces students to think about what should be taken into account.

According to the authors, a person cannot always devote his or her whole attention, and so there

is not always a concentration to listen to the lesson that can actually affect the way he or she

learn, specifically the way the person understands the lesson. Compare and contrast: In these
 13

studies, there are five authors involve who beg to disagree and agree and stated solutions in

terms of cause and effects of student’s inability to listen. As David, J., Sánchez, B., De Córdoba,

U., De Eucación Básica, F., & Humanas, Y. C. (n.d.), Believe to agree that student interest is

another aspect to consider when determining whether or not a student will concentrate during a

class. While Hariyanto. (2021), on the other hand disagree because, they believe that if a learner

is truly paying attention, he or she will follow and complete the learning tasks correctly. While in

the perspective of Smith, E. E., & Kosslyn, S. M. (2014). They also agree that it is impossible for

an individual to be aware of and pay attention to everything at the same time, and according to

the writer, a person cannot always devote his or her whole attention, and so there is not always a

concentration to listen to the lesson that can actually affect the way he or she learn, specifically

the way the person understands the lesson. While the two authors Nurdiawati, D. (2018) and

Merilia, S. (2019). Asserts some solution to offer to solve those problems which are focus and

concentrate while listening class, concentrate on what is heard, and write things that are

important when listening to material spoken by native speaker. Merilia, S. (2019). Also proposed

the Metacognitive strategies, this will help students understand the way they learn and the steps

they take. Hence, learners will success in learning a language. Because metacognition is an

awareness of one's thought processes and an understanding of the patterns behind them. These

related works of literature are helpful in this study because they provided information about the

factors that effects the student inability to listen with concentration.

Listening ability is one of the most important qualities in language learning. Because

learning English requires a lot of listening. Stated that attention is also critical component of

learning. It further noted that listening skills have been overlooked because they are assumed to

be automatic. Speaking speed, poor recording quality, and varied accents of the speakers as well
 14

as the audience. Is also the cause to students to struggle in listening comprehension, in addition

to that information’s from the authors is broad because it doesn’t say if it’s significant in a

negative or positive way, which is the information’s flaw? Three authors have been involved to

disagree at agree and two author also stated some solution First author agree to believe that

student interest is another aspect to consider when determining whether or not a student will

concentrate during a class. On the other hand, the second author disagree because they believe

that if a learner is truly paying attention, he or she will follow and complete the learning tasks

correctly. Not only can attention determine a student’s participation in class, but it can also have

a significant impact on their learning outcome, because if students maintain good concentration

during a lesson, they will be able to deal with all questions related to the learning materials with

ease, resulting in a good grade and learning achievement. The last author also agrees that if a

person cannot always devote his or her whole attention, and so there is not always a

concentration to listen to the lesson that can actually affect the way he or she learn, specifically

the way the person understands the lesson. And Merilia, S. (2019) and Nurdiawati, D. (2018)

have proposed the solution and the Metacognitive strategies. This will help students understand

the steps they take to learn a language.

Academic Listening Skills

According to Ergin & Birol (2005), listening means understanding thoughts expressed in

speech, organizing and evaluating them, determining their interrelationships, and selecting one’s

worth remembering. Listening is also an activity that individuals engage in cognitive, affective,

and psychomotor-based ways and defined as a linguistic skill, should be carried out strategically

and sophisticatedly in any mode of communication. In addition, in the global context, the study

is academically successful to the university students, they used different cognitive, affective, and
 15

psychomotor-based strategies in practicing active listening. While, Li, H. & Hasegewa S. (2014)

stated that academic listening ability is considered to be very important for their academic life

yet listening comprehension ability is perceived as the most difficult to improve. In most foreign

students studying abroad academic listening strategies is proved to be effective in academic

listening. The learners are able to build up personal learning environments based on their

characteristics and conditions. At the same time, a feedback agent is to be implemented for

recommending proper object mashups to the learners according to their learning situations.

On the other hand, according to Valera, F. (2019), listening is an integral part of cross-

cultural interactions such as those which take place in a classroom with international students.

Since listening is an activity that is aimed at comprehension, one must be equipped with the skill

of understanding aural signals the foundation of a student’s ability to succeed in listening and

reading comprehension. This research explored East Asian students in local context who

experiences in relation to academic listening while studying in a higher education institution in

Baguio City, Philippines. It aimed to describe the international students’ academic listening

difficulties and helped identify the factors giving rise to these difficulties, and present possible

means through which these difficulties may be constructively addressed. Furthermore Hamouda

(2013) determines that despite the very important role that listening plays in second and foreign

language learning, it appears to be the most neglected among the language skills. In addition,

listening and speaking do not appear to be important in most of the textbooks and curricula, and

teachers give only little attention to these skills while designing their lessons, believing that it

will naturally develop in the course of language learning.

Moreover, Juarez, K. & Serrano, R. (2013) also stated that listening skills of teachers is

very significant in the classroom since the students need to be understood and be clarified in their
 16

needs because learning is motivated when a teacher listens to the students and meets the

necessities of the students in learning. This study shown its purpose to determine the significance

of the relationship between listening skills of secondary teachers and classroom environment in

public and private secondary schools and helped revealed that the listening skills of the

secondary teachers were related to the classroom environment. It can also be derived from the

result that listening skills and classroom environment are interrelated. It was recommended that

teachers should be capacitated to apply the attentive listening and interactive listening skills to

upgrade the level of achievement of the students in the classroom.

According to Singh, R. (2019), academic listening study is needed because it equips

learners not with a mechanical set of skills but with a fertile thinking but enables them to

holistically nurture their knowledge and skills. Metacognitive awareness, an advanced

understanding and execution of skills helps learners not only acquire knowledge of their own

cognitive processes but also manage learning activities. Picard, M., & Velautham, L. (2016)

reveals that effective listening development involves practice in real-life listening contexts that is

also a reason why we should do academic listening study it also helps emphasize the formal

lecture and development of note-taking skills and helped developed a range of activities where

listening input was accompanied by materials reflecting top-down and bottom-up strategies as

well as other cognitive and meta-cognitive skills.

On the other hand , Stone, G., Lightbody, M., and Whait, R. (2013) determine that

academic listening skills is the current approach of prescribing that educator do more to rectify

students' skill deficiencies overlooks barriers that prevent greater incorporation of listening

instruction in the accounting curriculum. The approach identifies cross-disciplinary listening

development best practice and barriers to the widespread implementation of such practices in the
 17

typical accounting programmed, before determining and assigning interrelated listening

development roles to key stakeholders who will benefit from improved student listening. While

student listening, development is feasible under the proposed approach, shared contributions by

accounting students, the profession and educators are needed to achieve enhanced skills

outcomes.

Furthermore, Geranpayeh, A. and Taylor L. reviews past and present approaches to

testing listening for academic purposes, showing how these reflected prevailing views of

language knowledge and use. A socio-cognitive framework is used to analyze the nature of high-

level listening ability in a study context, exploring how a construct of academic listening might

be defined and how this can be operationalized in the form of valid, reliable and useful

proficiency measures.

According to Masoumeh, A. (2016), listening skills and listening comprehension, review

the components of listening that explain the teachers’ role in listening comprehension, and

present the general principles of listening comprehension. This literature review demonstrated

that learners’ listening comprehension skill can be improved by teachers’ assistance and the use

of appropriate learning materials and activities. In addition, LiubinienėL, V.(2022) stated that

listening is the vital skill providing the basis for the successful communication and successful

professional career. Effective listening skills enhance the ability to learn and adapt new

information, knowledge, and skills. Listening comprehension is more than extracting meaning

from incoming speech. It is a process of matching speech with the background knowledge, i.e.,

what the listeners already know about the subject. Moreover, Belo, A. (2018). Determine that

academic listening in education requires rethinking as the country faces the demands of

educational and socio-economic transformation of different kinds such to provide learners’

 18

opportunities to acquire knowledge; to have skills for literacy, numeracy, creativity and ability to

have free communication and listening skills.

Lakshmi, N. and Sunder, R. (2015) claimed that listening draws utmost attention

everywhere, and people have been seeking different methods to develop listening comprehension

skills. Using academic listening skills instruction in the teaching of language will be effective

and interesting method of achieving goals. These skills were effectively used in providing help in

foreign as well as native language skills, including listening comprehension.

Concentration

Concentration has been defined as “the ability to direct one’s thinking in whatever

direction one would intend”. We all can concentrate some of the time, but at other times our

thoughts are scattered, and our minds race from one thing to another. To deal with such times,

we need to learn and practice concentration skills and strategies. To concentrate, we must learn a

skill, and as with any skill this means practice repeated day after day until we achieve enough

improvement to feel that we can concentrate. Concentration is one of the supporting factors in

language listening skills because concentration is the ability of people to focus on something

they are learning. Therefore, concentration plays an important role in realizing these learning

purposes (Avei and Doghonadze, 2017). According to Rahiminia, E., Yazdani, S., and

Rahiminia, H. (2020), concentration as relative, it can be improved and strengthened by

changing some of the existing factors, and students’ active participation due to positive

interaction with professors, in addition to motivation, leads to more concentration and better

learning. For instance, students will enable to maximize their concentration, yet it is suitable for

long listening passage and the difficult. Ebubekir (2017) suggested that, especially for long

listening passage, students need to keep motivated to concentrate. Students need highlight some
 19

parts of a tape-script to get information relevant to their answers. Christine Wolfgramm, Nicole

Suter, and Eva Göksel (2016) claimed that the ability to concentrate is a strong predictor for

listening comprehension.

According to Sorqvist and Marsh (2015), students have different learning strategies to

increase their concentration and academic performance while studying and they believe that

people become quiet and less attention while their concentration harder. The smallest pause can

be a reason to listeners in ruining their concentration (Bingol et al., 2014, p. 20). Students must

pay attention while they listen because in limited time, they should grasp new information

(Hamouda, 2013, p. 129). When students fail to concentrate, they will miss some of information

which will affect their understanding of whole information. Therefore, to understand main idea,

there is a need for high concentration. Sumiyoshi and Svetanant (2017) claimed that students’

motivation can be the basis for the lecturer to predict students’ language performance after a

certain period. It can help students to concentrate better. In other words, concentration plays very

important roles in language learning. It suggests that to concentrate well, students need to be

motivated in various listening activities. That is why the lecturer needs to monitor whether his or

her students concentrate or not, which indicates how learning process is happening in the

classroom. The lecturer is not allowed to underestimate students’ concentration as she can

predict student’s listening achievement by looking at how students concentrate in the classroom.

With limited vocabulary and lack of concentration, students were unable to comprehend a

conversation they are listening to. Low motivation makes students unable to do listening with

concentration practices successfully too. As a result, it will be difficult for them to comprehend a

long passage, and they will not be able to identify the right meaning.
 20

Richard, L. (2018) provides a comprehensive overview of concentration across the

planes. He first lays the foundation for thinking about student engagement: It must be understood

that concentration is found through the interest of the child, which is guided by the sensitive

periods. When we understand the child’s development in this way, we can offer the most likely

“hooks” to catch the child’s interest and create engagement. He also believed that true interest

and the concentration that followed was only possible in an atmosphere of freedom. Silvia Basri,

M., Rafli, Z.and Murtadho, F. (2020) concluded that in concentration of Japanese listening skills,

the students still cannot pay full attention or make mistakes because of carelessness in doing the

given task. They have difficulties in constantly focusing while studying. Not being able to follow

the instructions or directions given to them in doing the task is not due to child’s inability to

understand, however it is by cannot paying attention to the learning. Students are easily

distracted by noise, moving objects or other stimuli and even forgetful during the learning

process. According to a journal published by Wan Idros Wan Sulaiman (2012), entitled

“Learning outside the Classroom: Effects on Student Concentration and Interest” claimed that

most of respondents in their research seemed to be happy adapting their learning outside

classroom. It can be an indication that out-of-class learning is an important factor to improve

students’ satisfaction and concentration.

Previous studies have only looked at the effect of listening to music on concentration and

academic performance, as well as academic performance and concentration in school. According

to Muslimah and Apriani (2020), major problems in the academic performance in school are

attention and concentration. While innovative teaching methods and remedial teaching can bring

change in academic performance, the basic problem of attention needs to be addressed. As a

result, more research study on why concentration is important, and so is the selection of a
 21

specialized concentration that is aligned with an individual’s aspirations. Moran, A. (2012) stated

that concentration is an attentional process that involves the ability to focus on the task at hand

while ignoring distractions. Cognitive research shows that it is vital for success in any field of

skilled performance.

Memory

As claimed by Illeris (2018), in higher education they understand that learning and

memory is symbiotic but not synonymous. Memory is necessary for learning, but it is also

dependent on learning because the information stored in one's memory serves as the foundation

for associating new knowledge. It's a symbiotic partnership that keeps evolving throughout our

lifetimes. Also, mentioned how our memory works. Lamba et al., (2014), said that memory and

concentration are being considered as sisters, and in previous research, they found out that 10%

of students had poor concentration and 46% had average concentration.

Memory is the ability to recall certain events, facts, and skills, whereas concentration is

the ability to focus one's attention on a single subject or aspect of the environment to the

exclusion of others. People are more likely to recall knowledge or events on which they

concentrate, which is the strongest link between memory and concentration. A person who is

focused on reading a book, for example, is more likely to retain material from the book than

lyrics from a background song. Another link between memory and concentration is that, in some

cases, memory directs concentration. People tend to direct their focus on the environment based

on their memories, as memory directs concentration. People tend to direct their focus on the

environment based on their memories, as memory can give context for concentration. As a result,

students can hardly memorize if they are not paying attention in class. Memory retention is

critical in students' academic lives. Students who struggle with retention, on the other hand, may
 22

struggle to remember class lectures. Atkinson & Shiffrin, 2016, “it is hard to imagine how

understanding memory could not be important…. memory is what we are, and what defines us as

individuals” Most people find it difficult to imagine a life in which the mind did not routinely

discard once-remembered details ranging from temporarily memorized facts and figures to the

characteristics of people and places they haven't thought about in years. Normal forgetting is an

essential component of memory, allowing people to discard information that they no longer

need. Of course, forgetting causes issues as well. Minor forgetfulness can be inconvenient at any

age, and it is possible that it will become more frequent and troublesome later in life. Pantziara &

Philippou, 2015, Even when their concentration is good, it may not be useful without memory.

Specifically, enhancing students’ motivation in the classroom is an important concern for

educators and researchers, due to its relation to students ‘achievement. The importance of

students’ memory retention is reflected in the vast amount of related research focusing on the

teaching and learning process. In this context, the researcher wishes to identify the factors that

may contribute to students' memory retention and its impact on academic performance in

mathematics. These factors include motivational practices and experiences, goal setting and

accomplishments, personalized learning, teaching strategies and learning activities, and

educational resources and learning devices.

The huge amount of relevant research concentrating on the teaching and learning process

reflects the relevance of students' memory recall (Pantziara&Philippou, 2015). In this context,

the researcher wishes to figure out what elements contribute to students' memory recall and how

it affects their academic success in mathematics. Motivational practices and experiences, goal

setting and accomplishments, individualized learning, teaching tactics and learning activities,

and educational resources and learning gadgets are all examples of these elements. Hunt (2015)
 23

also stressed the necessity of establishing a link between goals and real-world connections by

creating precise and demanding targets. Exploring the different components of the working

memory system (e.g., phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad) may help to disentangle

their involvement and importance in the relationships between intrinsic motivation and academic

functioning, according to Pascoe, L., & Giallo, R., et al. (2018).

Wu, N., Chen, Y., Yang, J., & Li, F. (2017) investigated the function of working memory

in the relationship between childhood obesity and academic performance, as well as whether

memory deficiencies in obese children are task-specific or domain-wide. Although recent

developmental research investigating the predictive potential of intelligence and working

memory (WM) for educational accomplishment in children have found evidence for both factors'

importance, results on the relative impact of IQ and WM on achievement have been mixed.

While IQ has been identified as a primary predictive variable in a few studies, Schneiderand, W.,

and Niklas, F. believe that WM may be a stronger predictor of academic accomplishment (2017).

Memory components, in addition to psychometric intelligence, have been shown to influence

academic accomplishment. Working memory, or the ability to process and remember

information, is particularly associated to success in a variety of cognitive activities such as

reasoning and verbal understanding.

Academic Performance in English

According to Wikipedia (2013), academic performance is the outcome of education;

it is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their educational goals.

Thus, performance is characterized by performance on tests associated with coursework and

the performance of students on other types of examinations.

 24

Various studies have been carried out on the factors that affect students’ academic

performance or achievement in schools, colleges, and universities. Some of the factors identified

and reported to have affected the academic performance of students in these different settings are

student effort, previous or prior educational performance, self-motivation, the social-economic

status of the students’ parents, the students’ age, number of hours of study per day, admission

points, different entry qualifications, tuition trends and the students’ area of residence (rural or

urban) (Ali, Haider, Munir, Khan and Ahmed, 2013). Academic performance determines the

human capital development of an economy; it enable students and parents to know the current

academic state of their students; and it determines the failure and success of an academic

institution (Narad & Abdullah, 2016).

Academic performance has been defined and explained by several authors. According to

Narad and Abdullah (2016) academic performance is the knowledge gained which is assessed by

marks by a teacher and/or educational goals set by students and teachers to be achieved over a

specific period of time. They added that these goals are measured by using continuous

assessment or examinations results. Annie, Howard and Midred (as cited in Arhad, Zaidi and

Mahmood, 2015) also indicated that academic performance measures education outcome. They

stressed that it shows and measures the extent to which an educational institution, teachers and

students have achieved their educational goals. Similarly, Yusuf, Onifade and Bello (2016)

opined that academic performance is a measurable and observable behavior of a student within a

specific period. He added that it consists of scores obtained by a student in an assessment such as

class exercise, class test, mid-semester, mock examination, and end of semester examination.

Again, Martha (2009) emphasized that academic performance of students is defined by a

student’s performance in an examination, tests, and in a course work.

 25

Several studies have been conducted in different countries to assess the factors which

contribute to academic performance of students at different levels. In Pakistan, Farooq and

Berhanu (2011) found that parents’ education and socio-economic status have significant effect

on a student’s academic performance in Mathematics and English Language. A study conducted

by Jayanthi, Balakrishnan, Ching, Latiff and Nasirudeen (2014) in Singapore revealed that the

interest in pursuing a subject, co-curricular activities, nationality of a student and gender affect

the academic performance of a student. Additionally, Sibanda, Iwu and Olumide (2015) found

that, regular study, punctuality in school and self-motivation are the key determining factors

which influence students’ academic performance in South Africa. Ali, Munir, Khan and Ahmed

(2013) also found that daily study hours, parent’s socio-economic status and age have a

significant impact on academic performance.

Moreover, Catherine (2015) found that socio-economic status of parents especially those

with high incomes has a significant impact on academic performance of students within the

Kitale Municipality of Kenya. Positive classroom environment has also been found as

determining factor of academic performance (MolokoMphale & Mhlauli, 2014). Maganga

(2016), Nghambi (2014) and Osei-Mensah (2012), indicated that the availability of teaching and

learning materials, competency of teachers and the environment in which a school is located

have an impact on students’ academic performance. Furthermore, students’ personality traits,

personal goals and motivation as well as the support from teachers and the teacher’s level of

experience significantly influence the academic performance of students (Ulate & Carballo,

2011).
 26

The discussion above suggests that academic performance of students is influenced by a

combination of factors which includes but not limited to: Parents level of education, socio-

economic status, interest in a subject, gender, regular studying, punctuality in class, self-

motivation, availability of teaching and learning materials, and competency of teachers, school

environment, personal goals, and personality traits. These factors could be classified into student,

teacher, school and parents’ factors.

However, the information mentioned above are still insufficient and the academic

performance is broad. That’s why in this study, the researchers will focus merely on the

academic performance of students in English.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to identify the factors affecting the students’ inability to listen to the

lesson with concentration, determine what factors triggers most, and ascertain the difference in

the listening skill of students exposed to the factors vs those who are not when it comes to

concentration

Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What are the factors affecting the students’ inability to listen to the lesson with

concentration?

2. Which factor best triggers the inability of the students to listen to the lesson with

concentration?

3. Do the factors have a significant effect in the inability of the students to listen to the

lesson with concentration?

4. What are the implications of the findings of the study to learners’ listening skills?
 27

This study aims to identify the relationship of the academic performance of second year

English major students in English to academic listening skills, and concentration and memory.

Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What is the academic listening skills status of the BSEd second year English major

students?

2. What is level of concentration and memory of the participants?

3. Is there a significant relationship in the academic listening skills, concentration and

memory, and the students’ academic performance in English?

Hypothesis

The factors have a significant effect in the inability of the students to listen to the lesson

with concentration.

There is a significant relationship in the academic listening skills, concentration and

memory, and the students’ academic performance in English.

Conceptual Framework

Figure 1 shows the conceptual paradigm for this study titled "Factors Affecting Students’

Inability to Listen to the Lesson with Concentration." The objective of this study is to determine

the factors influencing the inability of second year English major secondary education students at

Tarlac State University to listen to the lesson with concentration, identify which triggers most,

and finally, ascertain if the factors have a significant effect in the inability of the students to

listen to the lesson with concentration through the conduct of a pre-test before listening

concentration testing and a post-test after the intervention activity.

A conceptual framework is a support that the researcher believes best explains the natural

course of the subject under investigation (Camp, 2001). A conceptual framework therefore is
 28

linked to the concepts, empirical research, and important theories employed in advancing and

systemizing the researcher's knowledge. The independent variable in this study is ‘factor’, and

the dependent variable is ‘students’ inability to listen with concentration.’ As for the basis for

qualification for the respondents, students who are bonafide second year English major

secondary education students at Tarlac State University will take the pre-test given by the

researchers to determine the factors affecting or influencing their inability to listen to the lesson

with concentration. The results will be used by the researcher as their basis in the creation of

Listening Comprehension Testing (LCT). After that, the respondents will be divided into two

groups, one group is for experimental, and one is for control group. Only the experimental group

will undergo LCT that was organized and facilitated by the researchers. Right after the LCT,

both the experimental and control group will take the post-test.

Control Group

(Without intervention)

Students’ Inability
Factors Intervention
to listen with
Concentration Activity

Experimental Group

(With intervention)

Figure 1: Paradigm of the Study

 29

The independent and dependent variables are highlighted and given sole focus inside the

circles. The arrows show a direct relationship or connection to each variable, then variables to

implications. Single-headed arrows are for relationships that are one-directional. While double-

headed arrows are for relationships that are two-directional.

Inside the mother circle is the independent variable (factor), and inside the circle in the

center is the dependent variable (students’ inability to listen with concentration). Inside the two

big boxes are two groups of respondents, inside the big box in the upper part is the control group,

while in the lower part is the experimental group. The intervention activity was put in a small

box beside the center circle in the right side. Single-headed arrows were pointed both to the

experimental group and to the center circle (DV) from the mother circle (IV) indicating that

factors affect students’ inability to listen with concentration, and factors will be used for the

experimental group. A single-headed arrow was pointed to a small box (intervention activity)

from the experimental group indicating that only experimental group will undergo intervention

activity. Another single-headed from the small box (intervention activity) was pointed to the

center circle (DV) showing their connectivity. Finally, both big boxes (IV and DV) were

connected to the center circle (DV) showing that both are related to the center circle.

Figure 1 shows the conceptual paradigm for this study titled “Academic Listening Skills,

and Concentration and Memory in relation to Academic Performance in English.” The objective

of this study is to identify the relationship of the academic performance of second year English

major students in English to academic listening skills, and concentration and memory.

A conceptual framework is a support that the researcher believes best explains the natural

course of the subject under investigation (Camp, 2001). A conceptual framework therefore is

linked to the concepts, empirical research, and important theories employed in advancing and
 30

systemizing the researcher's knowledge. The independent variable in this study is ‘academic

listening skills’ and ‘concentration and memory’, and the dependent variable is ‘academic

performance in English.’ As for the basis for the qualification for the respondents, students who

are bonafide BSEd second year English major students at Tarlac State University and those who

were selected in the simple random sampling will take the survey and tests through

questionnaires.

Academic Listening
Academic Listening
Skills Status
Skills
(Questionnaire)
Academic Performance
in English

(Survey Questionnaire)
Concentration and
Concentration and
Memory Assessment
Memory
(Questionnaire)

Figure 1: Paradigm of the Study

The independent and dependent variables are placed inside the rectangles, giving them

highlights and sole focus. The same shape is used for the process. The arrows show a direct

relationship or connection to each variable. In the left part, the researchers put the independent

variables. In the center rectangles are the processes, and the single rectangle in the right part is

the dependent variable.

This study is concern with identifying the relationship in the academic listening skills,

concentration and memory, and the students’ academic performance in English through

conducting questionnaires to get the academic listening skills and the level of concentration and
 31

memory of the students. The researchers will also conduct a survey through using questionnaire

to get the students’ grades in lined with the variable ‘academic performance in English’.

Scope and Limitations

This study aims to identify the factors influencing students' inability to listen to the lesson

with concentration, determine which factor triggers the most, and ascertain the effects of factors

in the inability of second year English major students in Tarlac State University under the

Bachelor of Secondary Education program who belong to experimental group (who will

experience factors through LCT) and control group (who will not experience the factors) when it

comes to listening concentration. The participants in this study will be the selected students from

Tarlac State University's College of Teacher Education for the academic year 2021-2022. The

research will focus on second year BSED English major students who will meet the researchers'

requirements or criteria. The qualified students are those that have trouble concentrating in class.

Two groups of qualified students will be formed: experimental and control. For a set amount of

time, the experimental group will be given an intervention (experience the factors).

This study aims to identify the relationship in the academic listening skills, concentration

and memory, and the students’ academic performance in English. The research will focus on

second year BSEd English major students who will be selected randomly through the used of

simple random sampling. The researchers will use messenger as their main means of

communicating with the respondents. Messenger is the easiest messaging and calling app to

reach out other people. In a questionnaire study of the campus ecology, de Bakker, Sloep, and

Jochems (2007) report that students use Messenger for (in order of frequency): discussing tasks

with colleagues, sharing files, cooperating on tasks, discussing course material, gathering content

for coursework, reflecting on colleagues' work and teacher guidance.

 32

Definition of Terms

The various terms used are listed below. The following are defined conceptually and

operationally for careful and clearer understanding.

Factors. This refers to circumstance, fact, or influence that contributes to a result or

outcome. In this study, ‘factors’ will be used as something that affects the students’ inability to

listen to the lesson with concentration.

Affect. It refers to making a change or impact in an object or making a change in the

attitude/behavior of an entity. In this study, the word ‘affect’ will be utilized as an influence to

distinguish how the factors act on the inability of the students to listen with concentration.

Affecting. This means to act on and cause a change in someone or something. This term

will be interrelated to the word influencing since this term will be used in this study as something

which will influence the inability of the students to listen to the lesson with concentration.

Students. According to Wikipedia, a student is primarily a person enrolled in a school or

other educational institution and who is under learning with goals of acquiring knowledge,

developing professions, and achieving employment in a desired field. In this study, students are

the focus. They are described as people in the school who are unable to concentrate while

listening to their lesson due to the factors.

Inability. This refers to a condition of being unable to do something. In this research

study, it will be defined as a state of being unable to concentrate when listening to a lesson that

leads to the difficulty of the students.

Listening. This is the receiving language through the ears, and it involves identifying the

sounds of speech and processing them into words and sentences. Listening in this study is
 33

something that should not just be defined as the ability to hear or listen, it should be incorporated

with concentration, so that the students will be able to understand what he or she’s listening to.

Lesson. Is an amount of teaching given at one time; a period of learning or teaching and a

section which a course of study is divided, especially a single, continuous session of formal

instruction in a subject. This term will be described in this study as something that is quite

important, so the students should listen with concentration to learn and understand this lesson.

Concentration. This is an attentional process that involves the ability to focus on the task

at hand while ignoring distractions. In this study, concentration is described as an ability that it is

vital for success in understanding what the students are listening to; an ability that’s being

affected by the factors.

Comprehension. This refers to the action or capability of understanding something. In

this study, comprehension will be interrelated to the word concentration. When students are

concentrating to what they are listening, they will definitely understand the lesson or the

information.

Academic Listening Skills. Academic listening is a special kind of listening which

allows a person to encounter, understand, learn, discuss, and remember new ideas. In our study,

academic listening skills will be used to identify the students’ status in their listening skills

which will be helpful in determining whether the academic performance of the students in

English have a positive or negative relationship with it.

Concentration. This refers to the action or power of focusing one's attention or mental

effort. In this study, the term concentration will be used by the researchers wherein they will get

its level and identify if it’s related to the academic performance of students in English.
 34

Memory. This is the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information. The

term memory will be utilized by the researchers in this study, and they will determine its level

and see if it is related to students' academic performance in English.

Academic Performance. It is the measurement of student achievement across various

academic subjects Teachers and education officials typically measure achievement using

classroom performance, graduation rates and results from standardized tests. It is also important

for the successful development of young people in society. In this study, this term will be used as

a description on how well the English major second year students at Tarlac State University

perform in their major subjects.

English. An Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch, which is

the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countries.

In this study, the term English will be emphasized as a subject, and as the language which the

students are learning.

Relation. This refers to the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are

connected; a thing's effect on or relevance to another. In this study, this term will be used as

something which associates academic listening skills, and concentration and memory to the

academic performance of students in English.

Chapter 2

METHODS OF STUDY

This chapter encompasses seven components. These are the research design, research

locale, sampling and participants, research instruments, data gathering procedure, data analysis,

and potential ethical issues.

 35

Research Design

An experimental design will be used in this study. Experimental research is conducted

when a researcher wants to determine the cause-and-effect interactions between two or more

variables (Tanner, 2018). Furthermore, an experiment is a study in which an intentional

intervention is provided to observe its consequences (Mitchell, 2015). As a result, in this study,

an experiment will be used, in which an independent variable will be modified while the

dependent variable will be measured.

In this study, the researchers will use correlational research as the design because this

study aims to identify the relationship of the academic performance of second year English major

students in English to academic listening skills, and concentration and memory. Correlational

research, according to Fraenkel and Wallen (2009), is a study aimed at determining the cause-

and-effect link between two or more variables. Furthermore, according to Creswell (2012), "a

correlation is a statistical test that determines the tendency or trend for two (or more) variables or

two sets of data to fluctuate consistently." According to Ary, et. al (2010), correlational research

seeks out the relationship or correlation between variables in positive or negative correlation,

with the coefficient of correlation determining the level of correlation. It can be said that the

detection of correlation among variables is based on its correlation coefficient. From the

descriptions above, this study constitutes correlational research, which is included into

nonexperimental quantitative research, because it consists of numerical data, no variable

manipulation, and it purposes to identify the correlation between four variables, namely

academic performance in English, academic listening skills, concentration and memory.

Furthermore, the participants' data will be collected using a quantitative manner in this

study. The researchers will be able to focus on objective measurements and statistical,
 36

mathematical, or numerical analysis of data that will be gathered through questionnaires and

surveys using this strategy (Babbie, 2010).

Research Locale

This study will be conducted at Tarlac State University (TSU). The researchers selected

the university to identify if the factors have an effect in the inability of the second year BSED

English major students’ listening concentration. The study will be implemented using

questionnaires through Google forms, which is one of the most prescribed web applications for

conducting surveys.

This study will be conducted at Tarlac State University (TSU). The researchers selected

the university to ascertain the relationship of the academic performance of second year English

major students in English to academic listening skills, and concentration and memory.

Sampling and Participants

The population of the study will be the second year BSED English major students at

Tarlac State University in the academic year 2021-2022. These second-year students are divided

into four (4) sections: English 2A, with 37 students; 2B, with 35 students; 2C, with 35 students;

and 2-1, with 28 students. The total population of second year BSEd English major therefore is

135.

In selecting our respondents for our study, since we have one hundred thirty-five (135) in

total as the population of the second-year English major students. The researchers will ask all of

them to answer the questionnaire prepared by the researchers. If there’s an instance that the

number of students who passed the criteria is more than the needed number of respondents, sixty

(60) of them will be invited to participate and be part of our study as our respondents. After

confirming those respondents, right away we will be assigning them randomly by using an online
 37

roulette to divide them into two groups as part of the grouping procedure. We’ll be putting their

names in the roulette; we will be spinning it thirty times since we need to divide them equally.

The thirty names that will be pointed by the roulette’s hand will be our experimental group,

while the remaining thirty will be our control group. After grouping them, we will be creating

separate groups on the MS TEAMS where all the students who belong to the experimental and

control group will be included or added separately. This will be a way for the researchers to

easily monitor and conduct the activities, specifically the intervention activity. After the

intervention, the researchers will ask both groups to answer the post-test as their final test in this

study.

According to Fraenkel and Wallen (2009), the minimum acceptable sample size for

correlational study is not less than thirty (30). They also claimed that if the data which is

obtained from a sample is smaller than 30, it may provide inaccurate result of the degree of

correlation. Due to this reason, the researchers will be selecting thirty-five (35) respondents from

the 135 total population of second year Based English major students. In selecting the

respondents, the researchers will use simple random sampling. Simple random sampling

according to Easton, V.J. and McColl, J.H. (1997) is the basic sampling technique where we

select a group of subjects (a sample) for study from a larger group (a population). Everyone is

chosen entirely by chance and each member of the population has an equal chance of being

included in the sample. Every possible sample of a given size has the same chance of selection.

In this sampling, the researchers will use the fishbowl draw to select the 35 respondents out of

135 total population unbiased. To do this method, the researchers will ask for a copy of names in

each section. Then, they will write down the names of all the members of the population on

strips of paper. The researchers will place the strips in a bowl or in a container. Once they
 38

already put all the names and shake the bowl, the researchers will pick 35 strips of paper

containing the names of the respondents. After selecting them, we’ll be informing them that they

were selected randomly. Once the respondents were finalized, the researchers will give them

instructions and information of what will happen in the study.

Research Instrument

A research instrument allows the researchers to gather significant data that can help

determine the factors affecting the students’ inability to listen to the lesson with concentration,

identify what factor triggers most, and ascertain the difference in the inability of the second year

BSEd English students who will experience and who will not experience the factors when it

comes to their listening concentration. In this study, the researchers will utilize questionnaires

and Listening Concentration Experiment (LCE) that will be prepared and organized by the

researchers. For the pre-test and pos-test, the researchers will use questionnaires, and for the

intervention activity the researchers will use LCE which will be created by them. Since the

researchers are the ones who creates the questionnaires and the activity, there is a need for

validation. For the validation of these questionnaires and activity, the researchers will use

content validation. Content validity refers to the extent to which the items on a test are

representative of the entire domain the test seeks to measure. Upon checking the content validity,

the researchers will create a list of all that the questionnaire is meant to measure and check the

items on the questionnaire against the list. In this way, the researchers ensure that every item

corresponds to a desired measurement and that everything that should be measured is actually

measured. The researchers will also use face validity to look at the questionnaire as a whole and

its individual items and make sure that every item and activity will measure what it should

measure.
 39

A research instrument allows the researchers to gather significant data that can help

ascertain the relationship of the academic performance of second year English major students in

English to academic listening skills, and concentration and memory. In this study, the researchers

will utilize survey questionnaires. Aligned to the variable ‘academic listening skills’, the

researchers will use Academic Listening Skills Status questionnaire that’s formulated and

created by them. In getting the grades of the participants from their English major subjects, the

researchers will utilize survey through the use of questionnaire. For the variable ‘concentration

and memory’, the researchers will adopt Concentration and Memory Assessment Questionnaire.

The said questionnaire will be adopted from Study Skills Assessment Questionnaire (2021). All

the questionnaires and survey which the researchers will use will be content validated by experts.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researchers will ask permission from the research professor to conduct the study. As

soon as they are permitted, they will then ask permission from the CTED dean to conduct the

said study and the survey. The researchers then administered the initial survey to identify the

students who had experienced and who are currently experiencing inability to listen to the lesson

with concentration. The researchers then will use purposive sampling to select the participants.

Once the researchers are done selecting their participants, they will be assigning half of the

participants to be in the experimental group while the remaining half will be assigned as part of

the control group. This will be done through an online roulette where the researchers will put all

the respondents’ names, then spin it thirty (30) times since we need to divide them into two

groups. Then, the researchers will conduct a pre-test using the Factors Questionnaire Test which

will be prepared by the researchers themselves. Both experimental and control group will take

the pre-test. After collecting the data from the pre-test, the researchers will analyze the results
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thoroughly to find the answer for the first problem which is “What are the factors affecting the

students’ inability to listen to the lesson with concentration?”. The information or the answers of

the respondents in the pre-test will be useful in conducting the next part which is the intervention

activity. Both the group will be subjected for listening, but only the experimental group will

receive the intervention activity, wherein they will listen to short audio discussions with the

presence of the factors which the respondents had answered from the pre-test. After that

procedure, both groups, experimental and control, will take the Listening Comprehension Test

for the posttest.

A post-test will be given to both groups at the end of the study to determine if the factors

have an effect in the inability of the students to listen to the lesson with concentration by looking

on the difference between the average score of the experimental and control group.

The researchers will ask permission from the research professor to conduct the study. As

soon as they are permitted, they will then ask permission from the CTED dean to conduct the

said study and the survey. The researchers will select the participants through the use of simple

random sampling, particularly using a fishbowl draw method.

Once the researchers were done selecting the participants, they will then proceed to the

data gathering. Data are the important thing that the researcher should get in conducting research.

Fraenkel and Wallen (2009) state that “data refers to the kinds of information researchers obtain

on the subjects of their research.” Hence, data are considered as the important thing that should

be collected before being analyzed. In accordance with the type of this research, which is

quantitative research, the data which will be used are numerical data. Thereby, the data in this

study are the average scores which will be based on the scale that indicates how often statement

applies to them. Since the researchers must correlate the academic performance in English to
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academic listening skills, and concentration and memory, same procedure of gathering the data

will be used. Furthermore, the procedure to collect the data which will be done by researcher are

as follows:

- The researchers will check first the attendance of the respondents/sample.

- Then, they will explain the instruction to do the test.

- The researchers will give an hour for the respondents/sample to answer the survey

questionnaire for the academic listening skills and the level of concentration and

memory.

- The researchers will then score the academic listening skills and the level of

concentration and memory test.

- The researchers will get the average score per respondents.

- Since there is a need to get the average of the students from their English major subject

grades, the researchers will ask permission to the Dean of the College of Teacher

Education to get the students’ grades and use these as part the process.

- Once the researchers are permitted, they will then administer another survey to get the

grades of the respondents through using questionnaire. The grades needed are from the

major subjects from first year (both first and second semester final grades), and second

year (first semester final grades). Their major subjects are as follows:

 EL 100: Introduction to Linguistics

 EL 101: Language, Culture, and Society

 EL 102: Structures of English

 EL 103: Principles and Theories of Language Acquisition and Learning

 EL 104: Speech and Theater Arts

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 EL 105: Technical Writing

 EL 106: Mythology and Folklore

 EL 107: Language Programs and Policies in Multilingualism Societies

 EL 108: Children and Adolescent Literature

- Once the grades are collected, the researchers will get the average of the grades per

participant.

- After the process, the data gathered will be subjected for an analysis.

Data Analysis

This section consists of formula and computation analysis that the researchers will use in

calculating the data which will be collected for addressing the research questions.

What factor triggers the most?

The mean (average) of a data set is found by adding all numbers in the data set and then

dividing by the number of values in the set. To unveil the first problem which is identifying

which factor affects most in the inability of the students to listen to their lesson with

concentration, statistical mean will be used by the researchers. Since there are thirty (30) students

in the experimental group, we will be getting the summation of scores per factor, then, we’ll be

dividing it into the total number of students who belong in the experimental group. For a clearer

view, listed below are the symbols used in statistical mean with their corresponding meaning,

and the formula which the researchers will use.

SYMBOLS = MEANING
X-bar = Mean
∑X = Summation of Scores
N = Total number of respondents
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FORMULA:

X-bar = ∑X / N

The factor which will get the lowest mean will be the factor that triggers most to the
inability of the students to listen to the lesson with concentration, since the result will be based
on the scores of the students per factor.

Do the factors have an effect in the students’ inability to listen to the lesson with
concentration?
To unveil this problem, there is a need to get the summation of the mean per factor from
the experimental group, and the summation of the mean per item from the control group. Listed
below is the formula that the researchers will use.

FORMULA:

∑(X-bar) = X1+X2+X3+…
=?

Once the researchers had thoroughly computed the summation of mean per factor/item
separately from the experimental and control group, the researchers will look on the difference
between the result from the experimental and control group. According to Anaplan (2022),
column charts are effective for emphasizing the difference between values. Used to compare
change between groups over time, column charts are easiest to read when the differences in data
value are relatively large. In this part, the researchers will use a column chart to easily analyze
the data and show the difference in the average of experimental group and control group.
It is important to look on their difference in terms of their average since the result will
serve as an indicator if the factors (which will be experienced by the experimental group) have
an effect to the inability of the students to listen with concentration.

This section consists of formula and computation analysis that the researchers will use in
calculating the data which will be collected for addressing the research questions.
 44

In analyzing the data, the researchers will utilize Pearson’s correlation formula to find the
correlation coefficient between two variables. According to Ary et. al. (2011), the Pearson
formula is a very useful statistic showing the correlation between two variables. Therefore, the
researchers will use this formula because it is one of the most positive measurements of
correlation. Here is the formula of Pearson r:

Photo by Fernando, 2021

The term X refers to the result of academic listening skills test/level of concentration
and memory test, and the term Y refers to the average grade of a participant. In addition, Ary
et. al. (2010:135), state that if the Pearson r approaches +1.00, it means that there is a strong
positive relationship between both variables. Meanwhile, if the Pearson r approaches -1.00, it
indicates the strong negative relationship between both variables. However, if the Pearson r
approaches 0, it shows a weak relationship between both variables.

It can be concluded that:

r = +1.00 indicates the strong positive correlation between X and Y
r = -1.00 indicates the strong negative correlation between X and Y
r = 0 indicates the weak correlation between X and Y

In this study, the procedures that the researchers will do in analyzing the data are as
follows:
- The researchers will get the average score of each participant for both academic listening
skills and concentration and memory test (X).
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- Next, the researchers will also get the average of each participant’s grades from their
English major subjects (Y).
- For an easy analyzation, the researchers will use a table containing the data which will be
used in the computation. Tables according to Durbin C.G. Jr. (2004;49(10):1233–1237)
are used to organize data that is too extensive or complicated to be fully described,
allowing people to see the results quickly. The table will be divided into eight (8)
columns consisting of the participants; the average score per respondents (x); the average
of each participant’s grades from their English major subjects (y); (x – x-bar); (y – y-bar);
(x – x-bar) (y – y-bar); (x – x-bar) square; and (y – y-bar) square. For a clearer view,
below is an illustration of the table of data.
Table 1
Sample Table of Data
(x) (y) (x – x- (y – y- (x – x- (x – x- (y – y-
PARTICIPANTS bar) bar) bar) (y – bar) bar)
y-bar) square square
P1
P2
P3
P4
P5
x-bar: y-bar: ∑= ∑= ∑=

Potential Ethical Issues

In this research study, students will be assured that any information they provide will be

kept confidential, protected, and used solely for the purpose of this study, which is to determine

the factors affecting the students' inability to listen to the lesson with concentration, identify

which factor triggers the most, and determine if the factors influence the students' inability to

listen to the lesson with concentration. Before the study begins, the researchers will receive

ethical approval. The researchers will make certain that data privacy is rigorously adhered to.
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Furthermore, to preserve privacy, develop a lasting relationship, and provide excellent results,

the researchers will save all the data which will be collected from the participants in a secure

database.

The participants can withdraw from the study if they desire. The researchers will

adequately describe the study instruments to the participants and will not change their purpose.

Furthermore, the researchers will inform the participants of the data collection timeline.