READING REPORT FOR LISTENNG STRATEGIES

READING REPORT

Listening Strategies

There are many way how to improve our listening skill. You don’t have to worry about it. We have to keep spirit and practice in all time. Furthermore, now is the modern era. There are many technologies provide us in listening. You can use internet, then do browsing. There are many links that serve about listening strategies and practice exercise in listening. After I read some article I finally found how to improve listening skill. Here, I’m going to tell you about listening strategies, and how listening skills improve our self in English.

Listening strategies is the one of the part in English. As we know that in English there are many 4 sides that we have to know. They are listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. Here, I’m going to explain you about listening part. Listening strategies are methods or systems that contribute directly to the comprehension and recall of listening input. According to the (http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/listening/stratlisten.htm) listening strategies can be classified by how the listener processes when they are listening. The listener taps into background knowledge of the topic, the situation or context, the type of text, and the language. This background knowledge activates a set of expectations that help the listener to interpret what is heard and anticipate what will come next, include      :

• listening for the main idea
• predicting
• drawing inferences
• summarizing

The listener has to understand on the language in the message, that is, the combination of sounds, words, and grammar that creates meaning. Bottom-up strategies include

• listening for specific details
• recognizing cognates
• recognizing word-order patterns

Strategic listeners also use metacognitive strategies to plan, monitor, and evaluate their listening.

• They plan by deciding which listening strategies will serve best in a particular situation.
• They monitor their comprehension and the effectiveness of the selected strategies.
• They evaluate by determining whether they have achieved their listening comprehension goals and whether the combination of listening strategies selected was an effective one.

Listening for Meaning

• Figure out the purpose for listening. Activate background knowledge of the topic in order to predict or anticipate content and identify appropriate listening strategies.
• Attend to the parts of the listening input that are relevant to the identified purpose and ignore the rest. This selectivity enables students to focus on specific items in the input and reduces the amount of information they have to hold in short-term memory in order to recognize it.
• Select top-down and bottom-up strategies that are appropriate to the listening task and use them flexibly and interactively. Students' comprehension improves and their confidence increases when they use top-down and bottom-up strategies simultaneously to construct meaning.
• Check comprehension while listening and when the listening task is over. Monitoring comprehension helps students detect inconsistencies and comprehension failures, directing them to use alternate strategies.

Based on (http://eff.cls.utk.edu/toolkit/support_listening_strategies.htm) there are many factors that can influence listening abilities, they are    :

• Physical factors (e.g., hearing loss, limited attention span, etc.)
• Emotional factors (e.g., conditions of trust that exist, level of listener's confidence)
• Fluency in English
• Clarity of the speaker’s speech
• Perception of the importance of the message
• Attitudes toward the speaker
• Difficulty making connections between new ideas and prior knowledge or constructing meaning

Actually there are 4 steps process that we have to do before we do listening. this steps really important that we have to know.

1.     Step 1

Build word – based listening skills

To be successful listeners, we have to hear words and phrases accurately. With the Warm Up, each unit begins by helping students understand high frequency words and phrases. Warm Up section introduces common words and phrases related to the unit theme.  With its interactive format, Warm Up gets all students involved at the outset of the lesson. As students become confident in their ability to “catch” commons words and phrases, they increase their capacity for listening to longer stretches of language.

2.     Step 2

Develop focusing strategies

It is important to have a purpose when we listen. Setting a purpose allows the students to become active listeners. In listening task, students are given a variety of task of focus their attention. A short follow – up speaking activity allows students to express their own ideas. They develop active listening strategies:

3.     Step 3

Practice idea – based strategies

Everyone experience difficulties when listening to a second language. While they work on building active word – based (bottom up) listening skills, it is also important that students practice idea based listening strategies. In Real World Listening, students work on key listening strategies. Ask, Respond, and Review.

4.     Step 4

Integrate what you have learn

Connecting to the topic is a vital part of becoming a better listener. Throughout each unit, students are given the opportunity to develop curiosity, active their knowledge, and express their ideas and opinions. Interaction link help students link listening and speaking.   Prepare :

·         Preparing helps you listen better.

·         Before you listen, look at illustrations and photographs. Think about the ideas.

·         Look over the vocabulary words.

·         Try to predict what the speakers will say.

You also have to understand about these methods         :

 

                                                                                                             

Guess              :

·         Guessing can make you a more successful listener.

·         Make your best guess at the parts you don’t understand.

 Focus             :

·         Focus = listen with a purpose.

·         Before you listen, look at the listening task or questions.

·         While you listen, focus on the task and questions. Listen for key words.

·         If there are some words you don’t understand, that’s ok. Keep listening.

Ask                  :

·         Good listeners ask a lot of questions.

·         While you listen, think of questions: what do you want to know?

Respond         :

·         Responding of part of listening!

·         While you listen, pay attention to the speaker’s ideas ad intentions.

·         After you listen, respond to  the ideas:  what do you think?

Review            :

·         Reviewing builds your “listening memory.”

·         After you listen, think about the meaning of what the speakers have said

·         Try to say the meaning in your own words.

Ø  Before doing listening test/ practice                                                :

1)     Prepare your equipment to do listening test/exercise

It’s very important ways, because you have to write some key words when you are hearing the conversation. For example, pencil, an eraser, or pen.

2)     Make sure you have get your high concentration

You not only prepare your tools, but you must have concentration when listening. It will bother you, if you are still thinking about your problems or unimportant things. I’m sure,  if you have your concentration 50% it will run well.

3)     Make sure there’ll be no any disturbing that will bother you when you are listening.

You must focus toward to the listening sections. You have to avoid about all things that might disturb you when listening. For instance, you have to avoid your mobile phone or other things.

4)     Making an agreement that you will get high score

Make sure yourself that you can do it. You have to believe that you can answer all of the questions on the question sheets. Don’t worry or tremble about the questions. Or, you can buy something as the presents to yourself, because you have already done the listening section, or, perhaps you are sure that you will get good score.

Ø  When you are listening                                                  :

There is much kind of questions in listening that always appear such as, short dialogues, pictures, longer conversation, and also talks. Here, I’m going to tell you about it.

Short Dialogues

1.       Difficulties that often happen in short dialogues

The problems that always happen in this part, we can’t too nimble compare the speed in dialogues. For instance, while we are doing the question number one, but the next question and dialogue had begun. Or, when you guess the question number two, the third question and dialogues had done.

2.       The easy way to solve the problems in short dialogues

A.      Read or listen the choice answer’s in pas, before the next question coming.

B.      Use the respite between the question ad dialogues to read the next questions. You have to pay attention to this way, because you have to listen for the next questions. So, read fast. It helps you to answer the next questions.

C.       Concentration. Don’t lose your concentration, because you can’t follow the dialogues neatly.

D.      Put your main attention to the second speaker, because, usually in this part there are many questions which purposed to the second speaker.

E.      If you can’t answer the questions, guess it. Don’t too much think about you can’t do or not, or your answer will be true or false. It will disturb your concentrations.

Longer conversation and Talks

1.       Difficulties that often happen in longer conversation

A.      In this part, there are many key words or information that you have to remember you will see some difficulties. You have to understand and comprehend what they are talking about.

2.       The easy way to solve the problems in longer conversation

A.      Usually they start with “Direction”

B.      You have to habituate of the command or direction.

C.       If you have precept about the direction. While the speakers are saying about the direction, you can use that time to see questions below on your questions sheets.

D.      Do the concentration about that question, because you might get some general descriptions or information when you are seeing the questions.

E.      Then, if the questions are going to start, you have to listen carefully to get the details information. Listen to their names, places, or specific activities. For example, who is the speakers, what is their relationship each other, what is their activities, what is their job and so on. The questions almost same as in their conversations.

F.       Don’t worry if you can’t understand about the topic what they are talking about.

G.      If you get some difficulties in understanding about the general descriptions, look your questions sheets while you are hearing their conversation. Then, listen to the speaker what they are talking about and appropriate it with your choice.

Ø  After you had listening                                                  :

Do relax after you had listening. actually there are 2 types of people who do something after listening (or, whether test, and so on). First, they want review about the previous activities (listening test). They like to shared their answer and discuss it with their friends. Second, they are silent ones. They didn’t like to discuss it. They are afraid, because it will make stress toward to them. Actually, it depends on us. Basically, keep spirit and practice for listening.  you have to believe that “Practice makes perfect.”