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In the 1970s, the status of listening began to change. Instructional programs began to include listening.

In the 1980s, listening was incorporated into new instructional frameworks, i.e., in communicative approaches.

In the 1990s, aural comprehension in S/FL acquisition became an important area of study.

But, Brown (1987) observed listening courses in many schools and many countries pointed out listening is still regarded as the least important skill. 2

Aural comprehension provides a base for the development of oral language.

Speaking does not of itself constitute communication unless what is said is comprehended by another person.

In reality, listening is used far more than other single language skill. “We can expect to listen twice as much as we speak, four times more than we read, and five times more than we write.”

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Model 1: Listening and repeating

Learner goals: to pattern-match; to listen and imitate; to memorize

Instructional material: audio-lingual style exercises & dialogue memorization.

Procedure: ask students to a) listen to a word, phrase, or sentence pattern; b) repeat it (imitate it); and c) memorize it (not always)

Value: Enable students to do pattern drills, to repeat dialogues, and to use memorized prefabricated patterns; to imitate pronunciation patterns

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Learner goals: to process discrete-point information; to listen and answer comprehension questions.

Instructional material: a student responds based on a listening-and question-answering model with occasional innovative variations on this theme.

Procedure: ask students to a) listen to an oral text along a continuum from sentence

length to lecture length; and

b) answer primarily factual question. Use familiar types of questions adapted from traditional reading comprehension exercises. Also called a “quiz-show” format of teaching.

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Value: 1) enable students to manipulate discrete pieces of

information, hopefully with increasing speed and accuracy of recall.

2) Increase students’ stock of vocabulary andgrammar constructions.

3) Do not require students to make use of the information for any real communicative purpose beyond answering the questions;

4) Is not interactive two-way communication.

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Learner goals: to process spoken discourse for functional purposes; to listen and do something with the information, that is, carry out real tasks using the information received.

Instructional material: a. Listening-and using (listen-and do)

response pattern. b. Complete a task, solve a problem, transmit

the gist of the information orally or in writing; listen and take lecture notes, etc.

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Procedure: ask students to 1) listen and process info. 2) use the orally transmitted language input

immediately to complete a task which is mediated thru language in a context in which success is judged in terms of whether the task is performed.

Value: the focus is task-oriented, not question-oriented. to use info., not to answer it. There are two types of tasks:

1) language use tasks: to give students practice in listening, grab gist of it and “make functional use of it”

2) language analysis tasks: to help students develop cognitive and metacognitive language learning strategies, i.e., to guide them toward personal intellectual involvement in their own learning.

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Learner goals: to develop aural/oral skill in semiformal interactive academic communication; to develop critical listening, critical thinking, and effective speaking abilities.

Instructional material: two-way communication by means of individual or small-group presentation or discussion, followed by audience participation in Q&A.

Procedure: ask students to participate in discussion activities that enable them to develop all three phases of the speech act: speech decoding, critical thinking, and speech encoding.

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Value: the focus is communicative/competence-oriented as well as task oriented. Learners have opportunities to engage in and develop the complex array of communicative skills in the four competency areas: linguistic competence, discourse competence, sociolinguistic competence, and strategic competence.

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Purpose: to bring students to an understanding that listening is not a passive skill, but an active receptive skill which requires as much work as does becoming skilled in reading, writing, and speaking in a second language.

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Listening in three modes:

Bidirectional (two-way) listening mode: Two (or more) participants take turns exchanging speaker role

and listener role as they engage in face-to-face or telephone verbal interaction.

Unidirectional (one-way) listening mode: auditory input comes from a variety of sources: overheard

conversations, public address announcements, recorded messages (telephone answering machines), radio, TV, lectures, religious services, etc. Being unable to interact, we respond by talking to ourselves or in self-dialogue manner. We may sub-vocalize or even vocalize these responses.

Autodirectional listening mode: or self-dialogue communication. In our thought process, as we

think, plan strategies, and make decisions, we talk to ourselves and listen to ourselves.

Judging from above, listening is not passive, but highly active, clearly participatory, verbal experience.

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transactional function: 1) message-oriented 2) focus on content and conveying factual or propositional information 3) giving instructions, explaining, describing, giving directions, ordering, inquiring, requesting, relating, etc. 4) The premium is on message clarity and precision. Speakers often use confirmation checks to make sure what they are saying is clear. 5) It’s “business-type” talk.

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Interactional function: 1) person oriented 2) the objective is the establishment and maintenance of cordial social relationships. 3) examples: identifying with the other person’s concerns, being nice to the other person, and maintaining and respecting “face.” 4) It’s “social-type” talk. Students need instruction and listening practice to

help them recognize when one of the two functions is operating and how they can respond appropriately.

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Bottom-up processing1) It refers to the aural comprehension process

in which the understanding of the “heard” language is worked out proceeding from sounds to words to grammatical relationships to lexical meanings, thus bottom-up processing.

2) Listener should pay close attention to every detail of the language input.

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top-down processing: 1) It involves the listener’s ability to bring

prior information to understand the “heard” language.

2) The prior knowledge makes the listener to make predictions about what the incoming message is expected to be at any point.

Teachers need to provide students with

practice in both kinds of language processing.

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Richards (1990) proposes a model ofmaterials design for second or foreignlanguage listening comprehension thatcombines language functions (interactionaland transactional) and language processes(top-down and bottom-up). In conclusion, he suggests students shouldnot be required to respond to interactionaldiscourse if it is being used for a transactionalpurpose, nor should they be expected to use abottom-up approach to an aural text if a top-down one is more appropriate.

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Richards’ Functions/Processes Chart Richards combines the functions and the processes into the following very useful chart. Interactional

transactional **In the bottom-up mode: Cell 1: Listening closely to a joke (interactional) in order to know when to

laugh. Cell 3: Listening closely to instructions (transactional) during a first driving

lesson.**In the top-down mode: Cell2: Listening casually to cocktail party talk (interactional). Cell4: Experienced air traveler listening casually to verbal air safety

instructions (transactional) which have been heard many times before.

1 23 4

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Bottom-up Top-down

my own thought: If the focus is on fluency of speaking, don’t

mind any wrong usage of grammar or vocabulary from the students, e.g., in a discourse instruction (top-bottom instruction). If the focus is accuracy, correction is needed, e.g., phonics or words instruction (bottom-top instruction).

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“It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it!”

In bidirectional interactive communication, messages are conveyed in at least three ways: linguistic (i.e., the words and their meanings), paralinguistic (i.e., vocal meaning or features, i.e., intonation, stress, rhythm.) and extralinguistic (i.e., the meaning transmitted via body language)

In unidirectional communication, only linguistic and paralinguistic information are applied.

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Linguistic messages (the words): “But that’s not what I meant!” ~some misunderstanding.

--1.Affective interpretation must be a part of listening comprehension activities.

2. Instructional experiences must be contextualized and reflect real-world situations and feelings.

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Some attitudinal language functions: 1. Intellectual attitudes:

expression and comprehension of agreement/disagreement; confirming/denying; accepting/declining; forgetting/remembering; possibility/impossibility; capability/incapability; uncertainty; obligation, permission, etc.

2. Emotional attitudes: expressing pleasure/displeasure; interest/lack of

interest; surprise; hope; fear; worry; satisfaction/dissatisfaction; disappointment; preference; gratitude; sympathy; intention; wants and desires, etc.

3. Moral attitudes Moral attitudes are expressed in the language of

apologizing; expressing approval/disapproval; appreciation; indifference; regret, etc.

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Remember that listening is a language act involving three features: (a sum-up)

1. Information processing: Listening comprehension is an act of

information processing in which the listener is involved in bidirectional, unidirectioinal or autodirectional communication.

2. Linguistic functions: interactional or transactional functions. 3. Dimensions of cognitive processing: It involves simultaneous activation of both top-

down and bottom-up engagement in order for listeners to construct what they believe to be the intended meaning of the spoken message. 24

The purpose of oral communication in the real world is to achieve a genuine outcome, be it simple (e.g., enjoying sociable conversation) or complex (e.g., understanding intricate instructions).

What is an outcome? An outcome is a realistic task that people

can envision themselves doing and accomplishing something. An outcome is an essential component in both two-way and one-way communication listening comprehension activities (Sinclair, 1984).

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Six categories of outcome are discussed below:

Outcome 1: Listening and Performing Actions and Operations. -- It includes responses to things such as directions,

instructions, and descriptions in a variety of contexts. Examples are listening and drawing a picture/locating routes on a map/selecting a picture/identifying a person/performing hand or body movements as in “Simon Says”/Operating an equipment/carrying out steps in a process (examples are all on p.79).

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Outcome 2: Listening and Transferring information--two types of transferring information: Type 1: Spoken-to-written (i.e., hearing information and writing it) Type 2: Spoken-to-spoken (i.e., hearing information and transmitting it in speech)

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Outcome 3: Listening and Solving Problems--One kind of the activities is games and puzzles, i.e., solving a riddle, asking questions in order to identify something, etc.,

:

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Outcome 4: Listening, Evaluating, and Manipulating Information (p.80) i.e., writing information received and

reviewing it in order to answer questions or solve a problem, evaluating arguments in order to take a position, making predictions from information received, summarizing the gist of information received, organizing unordered information into a pattern of orderly relationships, etc.

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Outcome 5: Interactive Listening-and-Speaking: Negotiating Meaning through Questioning/Answering Routines

--Procedure: One student from a small group give a brief

presentation (personal story, anecdote, etc.) → Each listener is required to ask at least one question in a questioning/answering routine. The listener is given a card listing a question type and he/she should be asking that kind of question. →

The questioning/answering routine goes on until clear meaning has been negotiated.

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Outcome 6: Listening for enjoyment, pleasure, and sociability

--This outcome can include listening to songs, stories, plays, poems, jokes, anecdotes, etc.

--Questions on personal topics, e.g., your favorite hobby, plans for the future, your opinions on topical or local issues, are suggested in class.

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--Listening, the language skill used most in life, needs to be a central focus, not limited to three-times a week, nor only to language laboratory tapes.

--Listening instruction needs to include both two-way interactive listening activities and tasks and one-way reactive Listen-and-Do activities and tasks.

--Materials developers should pay careful attention to principles of design, communicative outcomes, language functions, language processes, and affective considerations.

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