CHAPTER ONE 

INTRODUCTION 

This study is concerned with “Teacher Beliefs on Using Cassette Player in 
Teaching Listening Skill.” This chapter consists of general background, review 
of the related literature, objectives of the study and significance of the study. 
General background further includes teacher beliefs, sources of teacher beliefs, 
teacher development through teacher beliefs, categories of teacher beliefs, 

teacher beliefs and students. learning, teaching language skills and short 

introduction of teaching aids. 

1.1 General background 
English language has become inseparable part of the present day world because 
it has been used as means of international communication. The use of English 
in information technology, media, business, etc. made it inseparable part of the 
present day world. Today, English is not confined only with its native speakers; 
it has become the language of all people of the world. 

English is taken as a foreign language in Nepal. It has become one of the most 
important languages to be learned for all people to become successful in local, 
national and international communication. English is taken as a global and a 
major world language. In this regard, (Harmer, 2008, p. 13) says, “A quarter of 
the world population speaks English.” So, it is the passport and excellent 
vehicle for the transmission of modern civilization in any part of the world. 

English is taught and learnt for different purposes in different countries. In 
Nepal, English is taught and learnt as a foreign language in school levels from 
1 up to 10 and as a compulsory subject in University level. It carries the load of 
100 marks. Here, my concern is to the secondary level English Curriculum. 
English is taught in secondary level for two main purposes: One is to enable 
students to exchange ideas with any nationality who speak and write English. 

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Another is to expose them to a vast treasure of knowledge and pleasure 
available in written and spoken English.” The course aims at developing 

students. communicative competence in the use of the English language. 

To fulfill these aims the secondary level school curriculum of English 
incorporates all four skills in the course. All units are well organized 
integrating these skills. Among them, listening and speaking cover 25 marks 
and reading and writing cover 75 marks. Text book is prescribed as a major 
teaching tool. Teachers can use other supplementary materials according to 
their needs. Among them, cassette player is one which is prescribed by 
curriculum development centre. It is one of the important audio aids used to 
practice listening and speaking skill. It allows the students to hear a variety of 
different voices apart from just of their own teacher. It gives them an 
opportunity to meet a range of different characters, especially where special 
people are talking. Students can develop their pronunciation and vocabulary 
from it. Cassette player helps to create interesting environment by providing 
variety of pronunciation. It helps to develop the students. habits on listening 
other English songs, news etc. and improves their English. So, when we use 
such materials, it is beneficial for students as well as teachers. Such type of 
prescribed materials should be used in language teaching. Despite these 
advantages, it is not sure whether they are used by the teachers in language 
teaching or not and how do they feel when they use cassette player in their 
classes? How practical is it in large classroom? Such questions are still not 
answered. 

1.1.1 Teacher Beliefs 
Teacher beliefs are important concepts which are studied in Teacher 
Professional Development (TPD) especially in reflecting teaching. The term 
refers to enhancing the skills and expertise in teaching. Similarly, reflecting 
teaching refers to self collecting data about own classroom and own roles and 
using data as a basis for self evaluation, for change and for professional 

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growth. According to Richards and Lockhart (2010, p. 9), “Reflecting teaching 
goes hand-in-hand with critical self explanation and reflection as basis for 
decision making, planning and action.” The concept of beliefs which has 
become a common feature of recent papers in education for the past decade has 
recently come into favor of ELT. In trying to understand how teachers deal 
with different skills and aspect of language, it is necessary to examine the 
beliefs and thinking process which underlie teacher.s classroom action. Every 
teacher hold beliefs towards their teaching consciously or unconsciously and 
these beliefs play an important role in many aspect of teaching. Beliefs are 
involved in helping individuals make sense of the world, influence how new 
information is perceived, and whether it is accepted or rejected. Therefore, 
beliefs are important concepts in understanding teachers. thoughts, processes, 
instructional practices and learning to teach. 

Teacher beliefs can be represented as a set of conceptual representation which 
store general knowledge of objects, people, events and their characteristic 
relationship. A substantial body of research suggests that development of 
teachers and their classroom practices are influenced by educational belief. 
Teacher beliefs are related to students learning through some event or sequence 
of events mediated by the teachers that happen in the classroom. These events 
might be taken as causes of students learning in the sense that the events 
happened in the classroom lead in the use of effective teaching. 

Teacher beliefs are the permeable and dynamic structures that act as a filter 
through which new knowledge and experience are screened for meaning. 
Teacher beliefs, therefore, serve as a personal guide by helping an individual to 
define and understand the world themselves. Teacher belief systems are built 
up gradually over time and consist of both subjective and objective dimensions. 
Some may be fairly simple, for example, the opinion that grammar errors 
should be corrected immediately. Other may be complex, for example, the 
beliefs that learning is more effective when it involves collaboration rather than 
competition. Teacher beliefs help teacher to make sense of the world, perceive 

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new information and technology and whether accept or reject the innovation in 
teaching. Similarly, teachers are highly influenced by their beliefs, which in 
turn are closely linked to their values, to their views of the world and to their 
concept of their place within it. So, teacher beliefs have a greater influence than 

teacher.s knowledge in determining how individual organize and define tasks 

and problems, and were better predictors of how teacher behave in the 
classroom 

1.1.2 Sources of Teacher Beliefs 
Beliefs are permeable and dynamic structures that act as a filter through which 
new knowledge and experience are screened for meaning. According to 
Richards in Lockhart (2010, p. 30), “Teachers. belief systems are founded on 
the goals, values and beliefs, teacher holds on the content and process of 
teaching and their understanding of system in which they work and their roles 

within it.” 

Teacher beliefs systems are built up gradually over time and consist of both 
subjective and objective dimensions. Richards and Lockhart (2010, p. 30) give 
the following sources of teacher beliefs: 

I) Teachers’ Own Experience as a Language Learner 

The most core teachers. beliefs are formed on the basis of teachers. own 

schooling as young students while observing teachers who taught them. These 
shows all the teachers were once students, and teacher beliefs are often 
reflection of how they themselves were taught. 

II) Experience of What Works Best 

For many teachers, experience may be the key source of beliefs. A teacher may 
experience that some teaching strategies work best and some do not. For a 
novice teacher, classroom experience and day to day interaction with 

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colleagues has the potential to influence particular relationships among beliefs 
and principles, and overtime, consolidate the individuals. permutation of them. 

III) Established Practice 

Within a school, college, language teaching institution, certain teaching styles 
and practices may be preferred. For example, in some schools, teaching 
vocabulary using students. mother tongue may be preferred. This produces 
novice teachers. beliefs towards mother tongue in teaching vocabulary. 

IV) Personality Factor 

Generally, personality includes extrovert and introvert. These personality types 
help to make preference or a particular teaching pattern, arrangement of 
activity. For example, an extrovert teacher loves to do a lot of drama in 
conversation class than an introvert teacher. 

V) Educationally Based or Research based Principles 

Teacher may draw on their own understanding of a learning principle in 
psychology, second language acquisition or education and try to apply it in the 
classroom. For example, some teachers believed in co-operative learning and 
they try to implement it in their teaching. 

VI) Principles Derived from an Approach or Method 

A teacher may believe in the effectiveness of a particular approach or method 
of teaching and consistently try to implement in the classroom. For example, if 
a teacher believes on communicative teaching, he will focus on communicative 
use of language in his class. 

1.1.3 Teacher Development Through Teacher Beliefs 
“Teacher development is a process of becoming best kind of teacher that, I 
personally can be” (Underhil, 1986, as cited in Head and Taylor, 1997, p.1). 

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Similarly, Richard and Farrell, (2010, p. 4) say, “Development generally refers 
to a general growth not found in a specific job. It serves as a longer term goal 
and seeks to facilitate growth of teachers. understanding of teaching and of 
themselves as a teacher”. 

By analyzing these two definitions, we can say that, teacher development is a 
continuous process of learning by the teacher. It is related to new experiences, 
new challenges, and the opportunity for teachers to broaden their knowledge. 

Teacher development is a bottom up process. It is a vast and complex field of 
study. Teacher beliefs play a central role in the process of teacher development 

and change in teachers. practice, are the result of change in teacher beliefs. 

As there are various strategies of teacher development, beliefs are one of them. 
For this Richard and Farrell (2010, p. 4) say: 

Strategies for teacher development often involve documenting different 

kinds of teaching practices, reflecting analysis of teaching practices, 

examining beliefs, values and principles, conversation with peers on 

core issues, and collaborating with peers on classroom projects. 

Teacher development can occur through subject matter knowledge, 
Understanding of curriculum and materials and pedagogical expertise but only 
these things are not sufficient. It needs reflective thinking too. 

1.1.4 Categories of Teacher beliefs 
The term category refers to the class or division of something. Here categories 

of teacher beliefs deal with teachers. beliefs towards factors which are related 

to teaching English. Regarding this, Gardner and Miller (1999, pp. 38-40) 
suggest five categories of teacher.s beliefs which are summarized in the 
following way: 

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I) English 

Teachers have different beliefs about why they and their learners should learn 
English (or any other language). This may be because it is an international 
language. It will help the learners to get better jobs or they perceived beauty of 
associated with the language. 

II) Learning 

Teacher beliefs about how language are learned, affect their approach to the 
language. These beliefs come from how they were taught and trained and their 
experiences as a teacher. 

III) Teaching 

Teacher beliefs about how they should teach are based on not only their 
training but also their personalities. Different teachers approach the same 
teaching situation in different ways because of their personality factors. 

IV) The Program and Curriculum 

Some teachers have distinct philosophies about the programs and curriculum 
they are using. Other may follow the institutions or government dictates. 

V) Language Teaching as a Profession 

Some teachers have distinct view on their profession. They think profession as 
a career with goals and opportunities. Other may not have such clearly 
established perceptions of their roles in teaching. 

1.1.5 Teacher Beliefs and Student Learning 
Teachers and students are two obligatory part of teaching learning process 
where the absence of one part makes the whole learning process useless and 

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unsuccessful. In this sense, what a teacher beliefs and how the student perceive 
their learning through that beliefs are most important facts. 

In this regard Richards and Farrell, (2010, P. 4) writes “What a teacher believes 
about both teaching and learning can have a major impact on classroom 
environment”. Teachers tend to implement classroom practices that reflect their 
philosophical beliefs. As we know, teaching is a very personal activity and is 
not surprising that an individual teacher brings to teach very different beliefs 
and assumptions about what constitutes effective teaching. 

Learning consists of acquiring and organizing principles through encountering 
experiences. It is a conscious process which monitors the progress of the 
speaker. Teacher.s beliefs about learning may be based on his/her learning, 
teaching experiences or may go back to his/her own experiences as a language 
learner. In a classroom, both the teacher and learners bring experiences that 
influence in subtle ways. The relationship between teacher.s beliefs and 
students. learning will be examined within the context of practical reasoning of 
a teacher. So, teacher beliefs have direct impact on students learning. 

1.1.6 Teaching Language Skills 
We teach language in terms of four skills: listening, speaking, reading and 
writing. These are often divided into two types: receptive skills and productive 
skills. Receptive skill is a term used for reading and listening, where meaning 
is extracted from the discourse. On the other hand, productive skill is a term for 
speaking and writing skills where students actually have to produce language 
themselves. 

While teaching, we should integrate all these four skills. Isolated teaching of a 
particular language skill may not lead the learners to language learning and 
development. We cannot completely separate listening skill from speaking, 
reading and writing. While teaching and practicing listening, other skills are 
inevitable because they appear automatically. Hinkel (2006, as cited in Harmer, 

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2008, p. 265) points out, “In meaningful communication, people employ 
incremental language skills not in isolation, but in tandem.” So, when we are 
engaged in conversation, we are bound to listen as well as speak because 
otherwise we cannot interact with the person we are speaking to. For example, 
lectures frequently rely on notes they have written previously and people 
listening to lectures often write notes on their own. Even reading, generally 
thought of as a private activity often provokes conversation and comments. 

Skill integration provides maximum learning opportunities for different 
students. So skill integration is a major factor in communicative language 
teaching. A teacher needs to weave threads of different skills and topics. When 
we look at the secondary level course, there is a good organization of these 
skills but we need to give main focus on a particular skill while teaching a 
single skill. 

1.1.6.1 Teaching Listening 
Listening is a receptive skill. Simply, it refers to the ability that enables the 
learners to identify and understand the natural or recorded speech. Speech 
involves pronunciation of consonant and vowel sounds, stress, rhythm and 
intonation. It is a primary requirement and directly related to these aspects of 
teaching. Furthermore, it is related to grammar and vocabulary. To receive real 
information, the listeners are obliged to identify and understand the sounds, 
stress, rhythm, intonation, grammar, and vocabulary of the language being 
learnt. 

According to Harmer (2007, p. 303) writes, 

“Students can improve their listening skill and develop their language 

input through a combination of extensive and intensive materials and 

procedures. Both extensive and intensive listening is very important to 

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provide the perfect opportunity to hear voice other than the teachers.. It 

enables them to acquire good pronunciation.” 

The materials used for teaching listening have a crucial role for the purpose of 
listening activity. A teacher has to prepare all such materials. They may 
involve textual as well as supplementary materials. Some of the materials can 
be prepared by the teachers and some of them can be collected or bought. 

Materials for listening can be obtained from a number of sources: such as 
different audio version on cassette or CD. The audio cassettes prepared to teach 
listening in a particular class are widely used as the non-authentic materials. 
This provides ideal source of listening material. Students can enjoy reading and 
listening at the same time using the reader both in the book form and on an 
audio track. Students can improve their listening skill by listening English 
news, songs, movies etc. 

1.1.6.2 Teaching Speaking 
Speaking is primarily a productive skill because language is manifested in 
speech. Of all the four language skills, speaking seems intuitively the most 
important. Speech consists of pronunciation of vowels and consonants, stress, 
rhythm, juncture and intonation. Teaching speaking does not only mean to 
teach these factors separately but to teach the learners how to communicate. In 
this regard, Harmer (2008, p. 343) writes, “If students want to be able to speak 
fluently in English they need to be able to pronounce phoneme correctly, use 
appropriate stress and intonation pattern and speech in connected speech”. 

Classroom activities that develop learners. ability to express their thoughts and 
feelings in terms of speech seem to be important components while teaching 
and learning a second or a foreign language. Although it is very difficult to 
design and administer adequate activities in the class, the teacher is obliged to 

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manage it because of the importance of speaking skill. Simple topic, interested 
topic and equal opportunities help to develop the students. speaking skills. 

1.1.6.3 Teaching Reading 
Reading, one of the receptive skills of language, is a way of grasping 
information from the graphic symbol. It is possible only when reading involves 
understanding. It is also an active receptive skill because a reader has to be 
actively involved in order to receive information. When reading a foreign 
language text, the reader has to try to understand the message and information 
contained in the text without the help of the native speakers of the language. 

Teaching reading refers to the process of making students able to grasp the 
information contained in the text. Information is simply grasped by means of 
visual symbols. Meaningful arrangements of symbols always carry 
information. So, the reading skill is viewed to enable the learners for further 
studies. . In this regard Harmer (2007, p. 283) writes “To get maximum 
benefits from the readings, students need to be involved in both intensive and 

extensive reading.” 

For second or foreign language learner, reading is only the feasible means of 
exposure because they cannot easily meet the native speakers of a language but 
a variety of reading text are easily available. The purpose of reading should lie 
in making the learners able to grasp information or messages, the writer tries to 
impart or convey the text. Teaching reading enables the learner to grasp the 
information imparted by the variety of text. The aim of teaching reading is to 
help students to read unfamiliar authentic reading texts at appropriate speed 
and with adequate understanding without the help of others. In our classes, 
reading is more focused than listening and speaking. For developing reading, 
extensive reading, intensive reading and scanning are very important. 

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1.1.6.4 Teaching Writing 
Writing is the skill associated with the productive aspect of language. It is also 
immensely important because it is the permanent and powerful medium of 
expression. It is the fourth or last skill of language in natural order. 

Writing involves the graphic symbols, i.e. letters or combination of letters 
which are related to the speech sound. Writing is much more than the 
production of graphic letter. It needs to produce a sequence of sentences 
arranged in a particular order and linked together in a certain way. The 
sequence of writing can be very short having any few sentences or very long 
having many sentences. The sentences should form a coherent whole 
establishing order and link. What the ordered and linked sentences form a 
coherent whole is called a text. So, in order to compose a text, conscious 
mental efforts of the writer are required. On the other hand, it needs to translate 
thought into language. So Harmer (2007, p. 325) writes, 

There are a number of approaches to the practice of writing skills both 

in and outside the classroom. We need to choose between them deciding 

whether we want students to focus on the process of the writing than its 

product, whether we want them different genres, and whether we want 

to encourage creative writing either individually or cooperatively. 

Our writings are expected to impart the message to the readers. Writing 
involves encoding of the message of some kind that is why, it is said that we 
are writing for the readers. While we are writing a text, we aim at translating 
our thoughts into language. Generally, our writing is read by others who try to 
decode the message because reading involves the decoding or interpretation of 
message. 

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Proper writing needs different aspects such as brainstorming, outlining, 
drafting, revising, and preparing a final draft. A reader of our writing can be 
absent and unknown to us as well. Our writing is to be explicit and complete 
within itself. 

1.1.7 Teaching Aids: A Short Introduction 
Teaching is beyond the explanation of content to the students. Teaching needs 
many supporting materials that can be used in the classroom situation to 
facilitate learning. Hence, anything that is helpful to teaching is teaching aids 
such as map, picture, real object, computer, overhead projector, CD, cassette 
player etc. As the topic says, they are not overall; rather they are the aids to the 
particular situation to make it understand more content easily for the learners. 
They can be of any types like: audio, visual or both audio-visual. They are 
designed to help the teachers save the time and effort, arouse interests on the 
part of the learners. Some of the examples of teaching aids are magazine, 
cutout, chart, diagram, picture, video, OHP and so on. So, only the proper 
materials can support the teachings that are needed to be manipulated for the 

learners. convenience in learning. They are very important in communicative 

language learning. 

1.1.7.1 Types of Teaching Aids 
In general, we can divide teaching aids into following types: 

i. Audio Aids 
These aids involve the sense of hearing. These aids attract the attention of 
listening to the particular content for the students. They are cassettes player, 
radio broadcasting etc. 

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ii. Visual Aids 
These involve the vision of the students to be more confidential and facilitated. 
They are locally available materials, pictures and photographs, maps posters, 
etc. 

iii. Audio-Visual Aids 
These types of aids involve both sense of audio and visual. Students can listen 
as well as see at the same time. They are computer, CD player, TV, etc. 

1.1.7.2 Importance of Teaching Aids 
Imparting Knowledge and education does not only need intellectual skills and 
subject knowledge but also ensures that content matter is understandable to the 
students in a simple and easy manner in a short span of time. So, teaching 
materials help the learner to learn better. Therefore, teaching aids are used to 
enhance learning skills in a systematic manner and relating them in the mind of 
learners for longer time duration. 

The term „teaching aids. itself is self-explanatory which suggests that the 
things brought into the classroom to support the students learning and include 
picture, wall chart, tape recorder, OHP etc. Teaching materials can be live or 
recorded. These materials have their own importance in teaching language. 

Words are not sufficient in teaching rather they should be put to concretize the 
situation for better understanding. In this regard, The Chinese proverb seems 
very significant to clarify the need of visual aids: 

I hear I forget 

I see I remember 

I do I understand. 

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In general, the importance of teaching aids in language classroom can be listed 
below: 

a. They make the ideas concrete what is abstract. 
b. They arouse curiosity and stimulate the learner to speak. 
c. They are helpful to make teaching effective. 
-create a live situation for presentation and practice. 
-reduce the teachers. effort and saving the time. 
d. They make learners more creative. 
e. They make classroom lively. 
f. They help a teacher meet individual differences. 
g. They bring more variety in the classroom. 
h. They brighten the classroom, they decorate the classroom. 
i. They provide the situation. 
j. They improve the students. and teachers. English. 
k. They sometimes are sources of information. 

1.1.7.3 Using a Cassette Player 
Cassette player is an audio aids used to practice listening and speaking skills. It 
allows students to hear a variety of different voices apart from just of their own 
teachers. It gives them an opportunity to meet a range of different characters, 
especially where real people are talking. 

Audio materials are portable and readily available in the market. They are 
extremely cheap too. When a teacher uses a cassette player in the classroom, it 
brings a variety of pronunciation and develops students. vocabulary power. So, 
it has many advantages in language teaching. For these reasons, school level 
curriculum has made provision for teaching and testing listening and speaking 
skills. 

While using the cassette player, we need to check the audio and machine 
quality before we take them into a class. If possible, we need to change the 

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position of the tape recorder also. While using, we can play and replay it 
according to our teaching purpose. If students are to get maximum benefit from 
a listening then we can replay it two or more times, since with each listening, 
(when we are helping appropriately) they will understand more than they did 
previously. In this regard, Field (1998, as cited in Harmer, 2008, p. 305) writes, 
“Students get far more benefits from a lot of listening than they do from a long 
pre-listening phase flowed by only one or two exposure to the listening text”. 
However, we do not want to boor the students by playing them the same 
recorded material again and again, nor do we want to waste time on useless 
repetition. According to Chang and Read (2006, as cited in Harmer, 2007, p. 
305), “ Whether students are „high-. or „low proficiency. listeners, they found 
that giving student background knowledge before they listened was more 
successful than either letting them some key vocabulary before they listened”. 
Of course, a teacher.s job is to help students become good listeners as well as 
the good speakers. 

1.2 Review of the Related Literature 
Every researcher needs to observe the fundamental background of the related 
subjects. Though a number of researchers have carried out the research on the 
use of different tools used in language teaching, among them, I have reviewed 
only few research works in the Department of English Education T.U. related 
to teaching English using different teaching tools. 

Adhikari (2008) conducted an experimental research on “Effectiveness of 
Using Computer in Teaching Vocabulary”. He aimed at finding the 

effectiveness of using computer in teaching vocabulary in contrast to traditional 
ways of teaching vocabulary. He concludes his research work stating that using 
computer in teaching vocabulary was a significantly effective way in 
presenting new vocabulary items in EFL classroom. 

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Khanal (2008) conducted research on “Attitudes of Higher Secondary Level 
Teachers Towards the Use of Computer and Internet.” This study was carried 
out to study the attitudes of higher secondary English language teachers of 
Kathmandu valley and their perception on the basis of their characteristics, 
relative computer and internet advantages, cultural perception, computer 
competence and the availability of computer and internet. He has concluded 
with the findings that majority of the teachers have positive attitudes towards 
computer and the internet. 

Gohiwar (2009) carried out research on “Effectiveness of Using Power Point in 
Teaching English Tenses”. He aimed to find out the effectiveness of using 
power point in teaching English in case of secondary level students in private 
school in Kathmandu valley. His conclusion is that the use of power point in 
teaching the English tenses is an effective way of presenting tenses in the 
classroom in the case of ninth graders students. 

Likewise, Chaudhary (2010) carried out research on “Use of Internet as a 
Language Learning Tool”. He found out that the highest number of students us 
the internet frequently and least of the students used it daily. These findings 
show that most of the students used internet as language learning tool. 

In the same way, Giri (2010) carried on a survey research on “Perception of 
Teachers and Students on Lecture Technique”. The aim of the study was to find 

out the perception of teachers and students on lecture technique in teaching 
English at higher secondary level. The population of the study was 10 teachers 
teaching at secondary level and 50 students of Nawalparasi district. 
Questionnaire was the major tool of his study. He has concluded that although 
different teacher perceives lecture technique differently, what is commonly 
found that it is a technique to conduct in the classroom to complete the course 
with in an academic year. 

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Similarly, Parajuli (2010) conducted research on “Teacher.s Beliefs on Using 
Visual Aids in Teaching”. His objective was to find out the teachers. belief on 
visual aids in teaching English at the primary level of Palpa district. The 
conclusion of this study was that the teachers are in favor of benefit of using 
visual aids. Most of the teachers opined that visual aids develop creativity of 
the students. 

A number of studies have been done in Department of English Education in 
order to find out the effectiveness of teaching aids and materials. But none of 
them have dealt with the teachers. beliefs on using cassette player in teaching 
listening and speaking skills. How the teachers feel when they use cassette 
player in their classes while teaching listening skill? What are their beliefs on 
using cassette player? What are the problems on using cassette player? Such 
questions are not answered. It needs further research to find out the answer of 
these questions. So, I will carried out this research to explore the beliefs of 
English language teachers on using cassette player in teaching listening skill in 
their classes. 

1.3 Objectives of the Study 
The objectives of the study were as follows: 

i. 
To find out the beliefs of secondary level English teachers on using cassette 
player in teaching listening skill. 
ii. 
To find out the problems faced by those teachers in using cassette player to 
teach listening skill in their classes. 
iii. To suggest some pedagogical implications of using cassette player in 
language teaching. 
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1.4 Significance of the Study 
This study tried to explore the English teacher beliefs on using cassette player 
in teaching listening skill. This study might be very significant in the sense that 
it helps to add a brick in the field of teacher development and ELT and it 
certainly helps the English language teachers to make their classes live and 
interactive. Moreover, this study is expected to be significance to all those who 
are directly and indirectly in language teaching and learning activities in 
general and to the students, text book writers; syllabus designers and language 
trainers and other further researchers in particular. 

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CHAPTER TWO 
METHODOLOGY 


To meet the objectives of the study, the following methodology was used: 

2.1 Sources of Data 
I used of both primary and secondary sources for data collection. The primary 
sources were used as the main sources for data collection and secondary 
sources were used in forming the theoretical part of the research. 

2.1.1 Primary Sources of Data 
Forty English language teachers of both community and private schools 
teaching at secondary level in Nawalparasi district were the primary sources of 
data in this study. 

2.1.2 Secondary Sources of Data 
I consulted different books related to English language teacher development, 
ELT methodology and techniques, journals, magazine, previous theses, articles 
and other books as well as internet websites related to the topic. Some of them 
were: Ur (1996), Head and Taylor (1997), Hedge (2000), Kumar (2006), 
Dornyie (2007), Harmer (2008), Richards and Lockhart (2010), Richards and 
Rodgers (2010), journals like: Journal of NELTA etc. 

2.2 Population of the Study 
The population of the study was forty teachers teaching English at secondary 
level in Nawalparasi district. 

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2.3 Sampling Procedure 
The English language teachers of different 20 schools (10 community based 
and 10 private) of Nawalparasi district were my study population. I used 
purposive non-random sampling procedure to collect the data from them. 

2.4 Tools for Data Collection 
Questionnaire was the major research tool of the data collection in this study. 
Two sets of questionnaires (see Appendix: II) were used to collect the required 
data from the teachers teaching at secondary level. The questionnaire was 
related to their beliefs on using cassette player and problems faced by them 
while using it in ELT. Both close ended and open ended questions were 
included in the questionnaire. 

2.5 Process of Data Collection 
To collect the primary data, I followed the following procedures: 

a. 
At first, I surveyed the schools where cassette player is used as a teaching 
tool and prepared the list of schools and English teachers with the help of 
some selected teachers. 
b. 
Then, I consulted the authority explaining them the purpose and process of 
the study. 
c. 
After getting permission from the school authorities, I established rapport 
with the concerned teachers explaining them about the purpose of the study. 
d. 
Then, I requested them to help me by completing the questionnaire. 
e. 
Finally, I collected the distributed questionnaire back after some days from 
the date of distribution. 
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2.6 Limitations of the Study 
The limitations of the study were as follows: 

a. 
The study was limited to the teacher beliefs on using cassette player in 
teaching listening skills. 
b. 
The study was limited to the selected forty English language teachers of 
Nawalparasi district. 
c. 
It was also limited to questionnaire as a tool to elicit the data. 
d. 
The questionnaire was limited to the use of cassette player and teachers. 
beliefs on it. 
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CHAPTER THREE 

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 

This chapter deals with detail analysis of the data collected from primary 
sources. The data has been analyzed in terms of following broad headings 
using appropriate statistical tools, tables and figures: 

. 
Teacher Beliefs 
. 
Availability of Cassette Player 
. 
Appropriateness of Cassette Player 
. 
problems on Using Cassette Player 


3.1 Teacher Beliefs 
In set „A. of the questionnaire, in order to find out teacher beliefs on using 
cassette player, the respondents were given ten statements. They were asked to 
express their degree of agreement on five point scale viz. strongly agree, agree, 
uncertain, disagree and strongly disagree. The responses of first five statements 
are summarizes in table No. 1 and remaining others in table No. 2 and 3 in 
terms of three different themes. 

3.1.1 Teacher Beliefs on Using Cassette Player 
To find out the teacher beliefs on the use of cassette player in teaching listening 
skill at secondary level, altogether five statements were asked. The responses 
given by the teachers are presented in table no. 1. 

23 



Table No. 1 

Teacher Beliefs on Using Cassette Player 

S.N Statements Responses 
SA A U D SD 
NR % NR % NR % NR % NR % 
1. Using cassette player is an 
appropriate technique to teach 
listening skill at secondary level. 
8 20 65 2 5 4 10 0 0 
2. Using cassette player in English 
language teaching helps students to 
develop their pronunciation and 
vocabulary. 
14 35 22 55 4 10 0 0 0 0 
3. Using cassette player in language 
teaching allows students a variety of 
different voice apart from just their 
own teacher. 
18 45 22 55 0 0 0 0 0 0 
4. Listening cassette player in English 
language classes helps the students to 
develop their habit to listen English 
news and songs too. 
0 0 4 10 24 60 10 25 2 5 
5. Listening cassette player has an 
effective role to develop language 
input. 
12 30 26 65 0 0 2 5 0 0 

Legend: SA=Strongly Agree, A=Agree, U= Uncertain, D= Disagree, SD= 
Strongly Disagree, NR= Number of Respondents, %= Respondents in 
Percentage and SN= Serial Number 

Analyzing the above table, the first statement was given to find out whether 
they believed on using cassette player is an appropriate technique to teach 
listening skill at secondary level or not. Twenty percent of the total respondents 
strongly agreed and 55% agreed with this statement. All together, 85% of the 
total respondents believed that using cassette player is an appropriate technique 

24 



to teach listening skill at secondary level. While a little number, i.e. 10% 
disagreed with the fact. And 5% were not sure whether using cassette player is 
an appropriate technique or not. It shows that majority of the teachers believed 
on using cassette player is an appropriate technique to teach listening skill. 

Similarly, in response to the statement two, 35% of the respondents strongly 
agreed that using cassette player in English language teaching help students to 
develop their pronunciation and vocabulary. Fifty percent agreed with this view 
and 10% responded uncertain. None of them disagreed with the statement. It 
shows that majority of the respondents agreed on using cassette player in 
language teaching helps students to develop their pronunciation and 
vocabulary. 

Analyzing the responses of the statement three, 45% of the total respondents 
responded that they strongly agreed on using cassette player in language 
teaching allows students a variety of different voices apart from just of their 
own teacher and remaining; 55% agreed with this thought. No one was 
disagreeing with the statement. All respondents agreed with the fact. 

In the similar way, the statement four, was given to find out whether they 
believed on listening cassette player, helps the students to develop their habit 
on listening English news and songs or not, most of respondents, 60% 
responded that they were not sure whether it helps students to develop their 
habits on listening English news and songs or not. Twenty five percent 
disagreed and only a small number of respondents, i.e. 10% were agreed with 
this fact. 

Likewise, in response to the statement five, most of the respondents, 95% 
responded that they believed on using cassette player in language teaching has 
an effective role to develop language input. While a few teachers, i.e. 15% 
shown their disagreement on this view. It shows that most of the teachers have 
positive beliefs on using cassette player. 

25 



3.1.2 Teachers’ Response 
In this section, all together four statements were administered which aimed to 

find out teachers. responses on students participation in learning while using 

cassette player. The responses are analyzed in the following table. 

Table No. 2 

Teachers’ Response on Students’ Participations in Learning While Using 
Cassette Player 


S.N Statements Responses 
SA A U D SD 
NR % NR % NR % NR % NR % 
6. Students become very active in 
learning while using cassette 
player. 
8 20 26 65 4 10 2 5 0 0 
7. They show their interest in 
learning while using it. 
16 40 20 50 0 0 2 5 2 5 
8. They request you to bring cassette 
player in the classroom. 
14 35 20 50 3 7.5 3 7.5 0 0 
9. Listening cassette player in 
teaching helps to develop students. 
listening power. 
30 75 10 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Above table shows that, statement six was given to find out whether students 
become very active in learning while using cassette player or not. In response 
to this statement, 20% responded that they strongly believed on, students 
become very active in learning while using cassette player. In the similar way, 
65% agreed with this statement. A little number, i.e. 10% responded that they 
were not sure whether students become very active or not. While a few 
number, 5% show their disagreement with this statement. 

Likewise, a vast majority, 90% agreed on statement no. seven that is students 
show their interest in learning while using cassette player. None of the 

26 



respondents were found undecided of it though 10% were disagreed with the 
statement. It shows that most of the teachers believed that students show their 
interest in learning while using cassette player. 

Similarly, analyzing the responses of statement eight, 35% responded that they 
strongly agreed that students request them to bring cassette player in the 
classroom and 50% responded that they were agreed with this view. On the 
other hand, very few, i.e.7.5% disagreed with statement and equal number of 
respondents remained uncertain. 

Furthermore, the last statement of this section was formulated to know whether 
using cassette player in language teaching helps to develop students listening 
power or not. In response to this statement, almost all responded that they 
believed using cassette player in teaching listening skill helps to develop 

students. listening power. 

3.1.3 Effective Group for the Use of Cassette Player 
The last statement of this section was designed to find out whether using 
cassette player is more effective in small group of students or not. Based on the 
respondents, like in statement 9, all most all believed on the statement. It shows 
that using cassette player is more effective in small group. This can be clearly 
interpreted in table no. 3. 

Table No. 3 

Effective Group for the Use of Cassette Player 

S.N Statement Responses 
SA A U D SD 
NR % NR % NR % NR % NR % 
10. Using cassette is more effective in 
small group of students. 
16 0 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

27 



In this way, the statements given in set „A. of the questionnaire are analyzed in 
different themes and tables according to the degree of agreement of the 
respondents. The finding and recommendations related to this section will be 
presented in chapter four. 

3.2 Availability of Cassette Player 
In this section, altogether five questions were asked to find out the availability 
of cassette player. All of the questions were related to whether cassette player 
is easily available in their schools or not, how frequently do they use cassette 
player in teaching skill and so on. 

Among them, the first question was asked to find out the technique followed by 
them while teaching listening skill.. In response to this question three possible 
answers: using cassette player only, I read text myself and using both 
techniques, were provided. Most of the respondents, i.e. 85% responded that 
they used both techniques; remaining 15% said that they used cassette player 
only. No one responded that they read text themselves to these questions. The 
responses obtained from them are presented in following figure. 

Figure No. 1 
Techniques of Teaching Listening Skill 


85% 
15% 
0 
Using both techniques 

Using only cassette 

player 
Reading text myself 

In the same way, the next question, i.e. question no. 12 was asked to find out 
whether cassette player is easily available in their school or not. It is found that 
28 


about 85% of the total respondents responded, cassette player was easily 
available in their schools, remaining 15% were not satisfactory with the 
availability of cassette player. 

Likewise, question no. 13 was asked to investigate how frequently they used 
cassette player in teaching listening skill. In response to this question four 
options: i.e. often, sometimes, rarely, never were provided. It was asked to find 
out the frequency of using cassette player. In response to this question, 20% of 
the total respondents said that they often used cassette player, 70% responded 
that they used it sometimes and remaining 10% responded that they rarely used 

cassette player. No one of them responded „never.. Those who responded that 

they used it rarely they further said, listening from cassette player was difficult 
for their pupils. It can be clearly seen in table no. 2. 

Figure No. 2 
Frequency of Using Cassette Player 


20% 
70% 
10% 
0% 
Often 
Sometimes 
Rarely 
Never 

The other two more questions in this section were asked to find out the school 
environment for the use of cassette player. The responses obtained from them 
are listed in table no. 4. 

Table No. 4 

School Environment for the Use Cassette Player 

29 



S.N Environment 
Yes No 
No. of 
Teachers 
Percent 
No. of 
teachers 
Percent 
14. Favorable environment to use 
Cassette Player. 
24 60 16 40 
15 Teachers are provided sufficient 
time to manage their equipments. 
32 80 8 20 

On the basis of above mentioned responses, it can be found that 60% schools 
had favorable environment for the use of cassette player and other 40% schools 
did not have. Those who responded that there was not favorable environment 
for the use of cassette player, they further said that crowded classroom and 
unusual load shedding create them problems for the regular use of cassette 
player. That.s why they could not use it regularly. 

In the similar way, in response to the question whether they are provided 
sufficient time to manage their equipment or not, 80% responded that they 
were provided sufficient time to manage their equipments. And, rest 20% said 
that they were not given sufficient time to manage their equipment due to 
unavailability of leisure period. 

3.3 Appropriateness of Using Cassette Player 
In this section, 4 questions (both-close ended and open-ended) were included 
to find out the appropriateness of the use of cassette player in teaching learning 
process. Among them, the first one was open-ended and other three were close 
-ended. 

The first open-ended question was asked to find out how appropriate do they 
thought the use of cassette player in teaching learning process. The major 
responses obtained from them are presented as below: 

. 
It is a primary skill to learn language. 

30 



. 
It is very useful to develop students listening power. 
. 
It helps to develop student.s pronunciation as well as vocabulary. 
. 
Students show their interest in learning while using it. 
. 
Use of cassette in language teaching, brings real life situation in the 


classroom. 
. 
It is an appropriate technique to teach listening skill but it is not 
sufficient to learn all language skills. 

The responses of other three remained questions are tabulated below: 

Table No. 5 

Appropriateness of Cassette Player 

S.N 
Appropriateness 
of Using Cassette Player 
Yes No 
No. of 
teachers 
Percent 
No. of 
teachers 
Percent 
17. 
Students understand the lesson 
clearly. 
28 70 12 30 
18. 
Contributes to the teacher professional 
development. 
40 100 0 0 
19. 
Really helps to meet the objectives of 
the course. 
32 80 8 20 

Analyzing the responses responded in the table above, question no. seventeen 
was asked to find out whether students understand the lesson clearly while 
using cassette player or not. Seventy percent of the total respondents responded 
that students understand the lesson clearly while using cassette player. And, 
rest 30% said that those who were poor in English did not understand. 

Likewise, question no. 18 was intended to find out whether using cassette 
player contributes the teachers. professional development or not. In response to 
this question, all of the respondents reported that using cassette player in 

31 



language teaching contributes to their professional development. They further 
said that it is very effective to develop their pronunciation too. 

In the similar way, in response to the last question of this section, which was 
asked to find out whether the use of cassette player in language teaching really 
helps to meet the objectives of the course or not. Majority of the respondents, 

i.e. 92% responded the positive answer to this question. It shows that most of 
the teacher believed on the use of cassette player in teaching learning process 
helps to meet the objective of the course. 
3.4 Problems of Using Cassette Player 
Though, using cassette player is an appropriate technique in teaching listening 
skill, it needs some technical knowledge and pre-plan. It is found that crowded 
classroom is the major challenge for teachers. Lack of appropriate knowledge 
and materials, ,long time load shedding, students understanding power are 
other challenges for teachers to use cassette player. 

Seven questions were included in this section regarding the problems of using 
cassette player. Among them the four questions (i.e. question no.20, 21 22, and 
23) were close ended and other three were open ended. The responses to the 
four close ended questions are summarized in the following table: 

32 



Table No. 6 

Problems in Using Cassette Player 

S.N Problems 
Responses 
Yes No 
No. of 
teachers 
Percent 
No. of 
teachers 
Percent 
20 Economics in terms of time. 31 77.5 9 22.5 
21 Toughest job for teacher. 4 10 36 90 
22 Possible in large number of 
classroom. 
2 5 38 95 
23 Ever faced other technical 
problems. 
16 40 24 60 

Analyzing the responses of question no. 20, mentioned in above table, a large 
number of respondents, i.e. 77.5% responded that using cassette player in 
teaching learning process is economic in terms of time. But remaining other 
22.5% respondents were not agree with this view. Those who said using 
cassette player is economic in terms of time further said that most of the 
exercises in the books are objective in nature. So, students understood it easily. 
It did not take long time to make them clear. 

Similarly, in response to the question whether using cassette player in teaching 
is the toughest job for teachers or not, 90% teachers responded that it is not 
tough job for them but teacher should have technical knowledge and pre-
planning, while other remaining 10% did not agree with this fact. 

Furthermore, the next question was asked to know whether using cassette 
player in crowded classroom is possible or not. In response to this question, 
majority of the respondents, 95% responded that using cassette player in 
crowed classroom was impossible. They further said that crowded classroom 
was the major problem for the use of cassette player. It would be possible only 

33 



when students were divided into different groups. The main problem in 
crowded classroom was to manage the classroom. 

In the similar way, in response to the last close ended question, most of the 
teachers, 92% responded that they face the problems of load shedding. Due to 
this problem, they couldn.t get enough time to use cassette player in their 
classes. On the other hand, 8% responded that they checked it before they used. 
So they did not face any technical problems while using it. 

Likewise, question no. 24 was intended to find out the reasons behind not using 
cassette player. All the teachers had given their views on it. The major views 
obtained from them are listed below: 

. 
When cassette player is not available. 

. 
Lack of technical knowledge and materials. 

. 
Crowded classroom. 

. 
Lack of interest in teachers. 

. 
Lack of electricity. 

. 
Lack of the interest of the students. 

. 
Sometimes noise may disturb other classes and create problems to 

them. 

In the similar way, the second last question was provided to find out the view 
of teachers on the use of cassette player in teaching listening skill. In response 
to this question almost all the teachers, i.e. 96% are in favor of using cassette 
player and further said that it should be strictly followed by all teachers to 
develop students. listening skill. 

The last question was asked for some suggestions towards using cassette 
player. Each and every teacher had written their suggestions. Some major 
Suggestions are listed below: 

34 



a. 
Cassette player should be easily available. 
b. 
Schools should have proper environment to use it, such as appropriate 
classroom and material. 
c. 
Language teacher should be trained. 
d. 
Listening skill should not be neglected. 
e. 
It should be made available not only in urban areas but also in rural area. 
f. 
English teachers should be focused to use it. 
35 



CHAPTRER FOUR 
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION 


On the basis of analysis and interpretation of the information obtained, the 
following findings have been drawn. The findings are followed by the 
recommendation for pedagogical implication. 

4.1 Findings 
The major findings of the study are as follows: 

a. 
Using cassette player is an appropriate technique to teach listening skill. 
About 85% of the total respondents agreed with this view and show their 
positive perception on it. 
b. 
Majority of the respondents, i.e. 98% believed on using cassette player in 
teaching listening skill, helps the students to improve their pronunciation 
and vocabulary and develop their listening power. 
c. 
Around 80% of the total respondent said that students show their interest 
in learning and participate actively while using cassette player. 
d. 
Most of the teachers said that they used both techniques, i.e. sometimes 
using cassette player and sometimes reading text themselves to teach 
listening skill and very few, 15% used cassette player regularly. 
e. 
Eighty five percent teachers responded that cassette player is easily 
available in their school. 
f. 
Small classrooms are more effective for the use of cassette player in 
comparison to the crowded classroom. Almost of the teachers believed in 
this view. 
g. 
Unusual load shedding is the main cause to create difficulty for the 
regular use of cassette player. 
h. 
It is found that unavailability of cassette player, lack of technical 
knowledge and materials, crowed classroom, lack of interest in teachers 
and students are some major reasons behind not using cassette player. 
36 



i. 
Lack of technical knowledge and corruption in cassette player are other 
problems for teachers. 
4.2 Recommendations 
The following recommendations are made for the pedagogical implications on 
the basis of findings obtained through the analysis and interpretation of the 

data. 

a. 
As the result of the study indicates teachers. 
positive view in the use of 
cassette player; appropriate environment for its use should be created and 
it should be used regularly in teaching listening skill. 
b. 
The use of cassette player helps the students to develop their 
pronunciation and vocabulary. All teachers should be encouraged to use 
cassette player in language teaching. 
c. 
Time should be managed properly by the teachers as well as institutions 
should also provide enough time to them to use cassette player. 
d. 
It is found that only 15% of the teachers used cassette player regularly. 
Remaining language teachers also should be compelled for its regular 
use. 
e. 
It is found that cassette player is easily available only in 85% of the 
school. So there should be the availability of cassette player in all the 
schools and educational institutions. 
f. 
Medium sized classrooms should be managed so that using cassette 
player will not be affected by overcrowding. 
g. 
Every institution should manage the alternative power to support the use 
of cassette players so that no obstacles will appear while operating 
cassette player and helps the class to run thoroughly. 
h. 
All the teachers should be trained regarding the techniques of using 
cassette player. 
i. 
Updated cassettes and cassette players should be provided to the teachers 
so that they can run their class smoothly. 
37 



REFERENCES 


Awasthi, J.R. (2097). Attitudes of different group of people toward English 
language in Kathmandu district. An unpublished M.Ed. thesis, T. U., 
Kirtipur 

Adhikari, D. (2007). Effectiveness of using computer in teaching vocabulary. 
An unpublished M.Ed. thesis, T.U., Kirtipur 

Bhattarai, A. (2001). Writing a research proposal. Journal of NELTA, vol. 6, No 

1. 
Best, J. W. and khan, V. J. (1996). Research in education. New Delhi: Prentice 
Hall 
Brown, D. (2003). Principles of language learning and teaching. Cambridge: 
Newbury House 
Bitchener, J. (2010). Writing an applied linguistics thesis or dissertation. New 
York: Palgrave Macmillan 
Carter, R. and Nunan, D. (2001). Teaching English to speakers of other 
languages. New York: Cambridge University Press 
Cross, D. (1991). A practical handbook of language teaching. London: Prentice 
Hall 
Chaudhary, R. A. (2010). Use of internet as a language tool. An unpublished 
M.Ed thesis, T. U., Kirtipur 
Doof, A. (1998). Teach English: A practical handbook of teachers. Cambridge: 
Cambridge University Press 
Dornei, Z. (2007). Research method in applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford 
University Press 
Gardner, B. and Miller, L. (1999). Establishing self access: from theory to 
practice. London: Cambridge University Press 
Gohiwar, M. K. (2009). Effectiveness of power point in teaching English 
tenses. An unpublished M.Ed. thesis, T. U., Kirtipur 
Giri, Y.N. (2010). Perception of teacher and students on lecture technique. An 
unpublished M.Ed. thesis, T. U., Kirtipur 

38 



Head, K. and Taylor, P. (1997). Reading in teacher development. Oxford: 
Heinemann ELT 
Harmer, J. (2008). The practice of English language teaching. London: 
Longman 
Hedge, T. (2008). Teaching and learning in the language classroom. Oxford: 
Oxford University Press 
Kagan, G. (1992). Implication of research on teacher beliefs. Journal of 

Educational Psychologist, 27, 65-90 

Kumar, R. (2006). Research methodology. Delhi: Pearson Education 

Khanal, N. (2008). Attitudes of higher secondary level teachers towards the 
use of computer and internet. An unpublished M.Ed. thesis, T.U., 
Kirtipur 

Larson Freeman, D. (1986). Techniques and principles in language teaching. 

Oxford: Oxford University Press 

Nunan, D. (1998). Language teaching methodology. New York: Prentice Hall 

Parajuli, A. (2010). Teachers’ beliefs on visual aids in teaching English at 
primary level. An unpublished M.Ed. thesis, T.U., Kirtipur 

Richards, J. C. and Farrell, Thomas S. C. (2010). Professional development for 
language teachers: strategies for teacher learning. Cambridge: 
Cambridge University Press 

Richards, J. C. and Lockhart, C. (2010). Reflective teaching in second language 
classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 

Richards, J. C. and Rodgers, T. S. (1986). Approaches and methods in 
language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 

Secondary Level School Curriculum. (2064). Bhaktapur: CDC 

Ur, P. (1996). A course in language teaching practice and theory. Cambridge: 
Cambridge University Press 

39 



40 



Appendix: I 

Name List of Schools Surveyed 

S.N. Community Based schools S.N. Private schools 
1. Jagannath Higher Secondary School, 
Bhumahi 
1. Gyanjyoti Academy Higher 
Secondary School, Bhumahi 
2. Wakwani Higher Secondary School, 
Jargha 
2. Ramnagar Academy, 
Bhumahi 
3. Mahakabi Devkota Higher 
secondary School, Sunwal 
3. Sayapatri Highr Secondary 
School, Parasi 
4. Dibya Jyoti Higher Secondary 
School, Chisapani 
4. Little Angle Higher 
Secondary School, Parasi 
5. Pawan Highr Secondary School, 
parasi. 
5. Sakura Memorial Higher 
Secondary School, Sunwal 
6. Adarsha Higher Secondary School, 
Parasi 
6. Pineer Secondary School, 
Sunwawl 
7. Jansewa Secondary School, 
Bisasaya 
7. Lumbini Higher Secondary 
School, Sunwal 
8. Basanta Secondary School, Basa 
Basahi 
8. New Star Secondary 
School, Bannakatti 
9. Janata Higher Secondary School, 
Sukrauli 
9. New Life Higher Secondary 
School, Bardaghat 
10. Daunee Devi Higher Secondary 
School, Bardaghat 
10. Bashantapur Zenith English 
Boarding School, Basa 
Bashai 

41 



Appendix II 

Questionnaire to the Teachers 

Dear sir/madam, 

This questionnaire is the part of my research entitled, “Teachers Beliefs on 
Using Cassette Player in Teaching Listening Skill” 
under the supervision of 
Mr. Khem Raj Joshi, Teaching Assistant, Department of English Education, 
T.U., Kirtipur. You are kindly requested to give your responses through the 
following questionnaire .The correct information provided by you will be of 
great value for completing my research. I sincerely assure you that your 
responses will remain confidential and used only for research purpose. 

Megha Rijal 

Name of the informant: 

Name and address of the school: 

Qualification: 

Teaching experience: 

42 



Set: A 

a. Teacher Beliefs on Using Cassette Player 
. 
Please put a tick ( ) for each statement to give your opinion. 

S.N Statement Strongly 
agree 
Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly 
disagree 
1. Using cassette player is an appropriate 
technique to teach listening skill at 
secondary level. 
2. Using cassette player in English language 
teaching helps students to develop their 
pronunciation and vocabulary. 
3. Using cassette player in language teaching 
allows students to hear a variety of 
different voices apart from just their own 
teacher.. 
4. Listening cassette player in English 
language classes helps the students to 
develop their habit to listen English news 
and songs. 
5. Listening cassette player has an effective 
role to develop language input. 
6. Students become very active in learning 
while using cassette player. 
7. They show their interest in learning while 
using cassette player. 
8. Students request you to bring cassette 
player in the classroom. 
9. Listening cassette player in teaching helps 
to develop students. listening power. 
10. Using cassette player is more effective in 
small group of students. 

43 



Set: B 

b) Availability of Cassette Player 

11. How do you teach listening skill at secondary level? 
i) Using cassette player ii) Reading text myself 
iii) Using both techniques mentioned in (i) and (ii) 
12. Cassette player is easily available in your school? 
i) Yes ii) No 
13. How frequently do you use cassette player to teach listening skill? 
i) Often ii) Sometimes 
iii) Rarely iv) Never 
If you choose RARELY or NEVER go through the following questions. 
You said that you rarely or never use cassette player. WHY? Tick the reason 
which is suitable for you. 

a) I don.t believe that using cassette player is an appropriate tool for 

teaching listening skill. 
b) I don.t have any ideas about using cassette player. 
c) Listening from cassette player is too difficult for my people. 
d) Cassette player takes too much time in class. 
e) If other, please specify. 


…………………………………………………………………………… 
…………………………………………………………………………… 

14) There is favorable environment for the teacher to use cassette player in 
your school? 
i) Yes ii) No 

If no, support your answer with some reasons. 

………………………………………………………………………………… 
………………………………………………………………………………… 
………………………………………………………………………………… 

15) Teachers are provided with sufficient time to manage their equipment in 
your school? 
i) Yes ii) No 

44 



c. Appropriateness of Using Cassette Player 
16. How appropriate do you think the use of cassette player in language 
teaching? 
………………………………………………………………………………… 
………………………………………………………………………………… 


17. Do the students understand lesson clearly? 
………………………………………………………………………………… 
………………………………………………………………………………… 


18. Do you think the use of cassette player in teaching contributes to the 
professional development of a teacher? 
………………………………………………………………………………… 
………………………………………………………………………………… 


19. 
Do you think the use of cassette player in language teaching really help to 
meet the objectives of the course? 
………………………………………………………………………………… 
………………………………………………………………………………… 


2o. Do you think, the use of cassette player in teaching learning process is 

economic in terms of time? 

i) Yes ii) No 
Support your answer with some reasons. 
………………………………………………………………………………… 
………………………………………………………………………………… 


21. Do you think the use of cassette player in teaching learning process is the 
toughest job for teachers? 
i) Yes ii) No 
Why do you think so? 

………………………………………………………………………………… 
……………………………………………………………………………….. 


45 



22. Do you think the use of cassette player in large class is possible? 
………………………………………………………………………………… 
………………………………………………………………………………… 


23. 
Have you ever encountered with any technical problems while using 
cassette player? 
i) Yes ii) No 
If you have encountered mention some of them. 

………………………………………………………………………………… 
………………………………………………………………………………… 
………………………………………………………………………………… 


24. What is the reason behind not using cassette player in teaching listening 
skill? 
………………………………………………………………………………… 
………………………………………………………………………………… 


25. What should be done for easy application of cassette player in the class? 
………………………………………………………………………………… 
………………………………………………………………………………… 


26. What is your view on using of cassette player in teaching language skill? 
………………………………………………………………………………… 
………………………………………………………………………………… 


Thank you for your kind cooperation. 

46