Here, some important points in teaching listening will be discussed, which are the nature of teaching listening, principles for teaching listening, type of listening
activities and characteristics of the listening process. The discussions are as follows:
a. The Nature of Teaching Listening
Listening is a receptive skill. In this case, the listener receives and understands the input information. Because listening is receptive, we can receive
and understand the input higher than when we produce in speaking or writing. It is more complex than speaking or writing. When people listen, they combine the
information that they have already known with the new ideas to create meaning. Rost 1994: 141-142, as cited in Nunan 1999:200 says that listening in
the second language teaching and learning is important. It provides input for the learner. If the learner does not understand the input in the right level, the learning
process will be blocked. He also gives other three important reasons of focusing listening in the second language learning. They are as follows.
1 In spoken language, e.g. conversation, the learner can interact with others. 2 The learner is challenged to understand language as the native speakers are
when authentic spoken language is used. 3 Listening exercises help the teachers to draw learners’ attention to new forms
vocabulary, grammar, new interaction, patterns in the language. Listening plays an important role in the learners’ development in learning
other language. In the intermediate level, listening can stimulate the awareness of
details and learn accuracy, since the learners are studying and understanding grammar.
b. Principles for Teaching Listening
Morley 1971, as cited in Paulston and Bruder, 1976: 129-130 provides a general set of principles for teaching listening comprehension. They are stated as
follows: 1 Listening comprehension lesson must have carefully stated goals that should
meet the overall curriculum, and both teacher and students should understand what they are.
2 Listening comprehension tasks must be set with systematic planning which goes from simple to complex in accordance with students’ language
proficiency. 3 Listening comprehension lesson should stimulate active obvious students’
participation. Written response to listening comprehension material is the most overt type.
4 A communicative urgency for remembering should be viewed as the important aspect in listening comprehension lesson because it develops
concentration. This is done by giving the students the writing assignment or reading the vocabulary before they listen to the material.
5 Listening comprehension lesson should emphasize the present knowledge. One of the purposes of listening is to strengthen the students’ immediate
recall in order to increase their memory spans. Listening is receiving,
receiving needs thinking and thinking needs memory.
c. Types of Communicative Listening Activities
