The Kinds of Listening
substitutions for audio tapes.
17
Recently, CDs and MP3s are even more obtainable.
Video can also be an excellent option. Harmer noted the specialties of video, like the availability of visual clues and cultural references, and simply being
interesting enough to boost students‘ motivation.
18
According to Rubin, there are three characteristics that should be considered when selecting video.
19
They are shown on Table 2.1.
Table 2.1 The Characteristics in Selecting Video
Aspects Characteristics
Video
1 There must be sufficient visual support in the forms of
physical settingprop, action, and interaction. The visual support is crucial to help learners form their understanding,
especially if there is a plot line involved in the passage. 2
The video must have good production value so there will be no distracting aural or visual noise.
3 The video should not be subtitled or dubbed. Rubin argued
that subtitles only help if the goal is to improve vocabulary mastery, not listening skill. It is because subtitles prevent
the students from listening to the sound and using visual clues, while dubbing obviously means no English at all.
Rubin‘s argument is also supported by Ur who stated that subtitle will be distracting for EFL learners, even if it is in
English.
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4 Length of segment should be considered based on the level
17
Robert Heinich, et al., Instructional Media and Technologies for Learning, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2002, 7
th
edition, pp. 175 – 179.
18
Jeremy Harmer, 2001, op. cit., p. 282
19
Joan Rubin, The Contribution of Video to the Development of Competence in Listening, in David J. Mendelsohn and Joan Rubin ed, A Guide for the Teaching of Second
Language Listening, San Diego: Dominie Press, Inc., 1995, pp. 154 – 157.
20
Penny Ur, Teaching Listening Comprehension, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984, p. 66.
Aspects Characteristics
of the listeners because elementary and intermediate listeners have very limited memory capacity and relatively
low background knowledge. The students may have troubles in catching up with long videos.
Language
1 The language used in the video should be appropriate for
the listeners‘ level. 2
If the language is dense, it will be more difficult to follow. A speech is dense when it has complex syntax. The order of
density from the most dense to the least dense is: newscast, interview, drama.
3 The presence of recognizable words and phrases may help
ease listeners‘ understanding. For example, it will be easier for Indonesian learners to watch a video about Borobudur
Temple than one about Pyramid because their background knowledge will come to their aid.
Learner
1 The learners‘ sex, age, and interest should be considered.
Learners tend to be more attracted to materials that represent their age or sex. They will also pay more attention
if the topic is interesting for them. For example, a class with majority of male students will pay attention to a video
about sport. 2
As previously stated, learners‘ proficiency must be carefully put into consideration when selecting the video.
The other way for listening exercise is by ‗live‘ listening. In ‗live‘ listening,
the students listen to a speaker who is present in the classroom. The speaker can be the teacher or even a guest native speaker. The activities can be expanded
creatively, like listening to a story telling by one of the students, and listening to live interview or conversation. This method has obvious advantages because the