45 seriously. None of the students made noise when the teacher played the recording.
Thus, it was evident that the students were not burdened by the text. The reading texts which were given to the students, in fact, gave positive
influences on most students. Several students in the interview undoubtedly stated that they preferred reading the text first before listening to the recording. However, it is
clear that the text had successfully helped them to prepare themselves before listening section. As the result, the students preferred having the text first before listening
section to directly listening to the recording in class. In the interview, they mentioned the reason:
Sebelumnya disiapin teks baru mendengar. Merapi, Interview Prepared by the text first and then listen to the recording.
Kalo aku lebih mudah kalo sudah diberi teks dulu. … Soalnya aku bingung sih kalo listening makanya aku perlu dipersiapkan jauh
hari sebelumnya. Krakatau, Interview It was easier for me if there was a text first. …Since listening is
confusing for me, I need to be prepared before listening section.
Different from six students who thought positively about the additional pre- listening material, one student perceived reading text negatively. She thought that
reading text was useless. In the interview, the participant confessed that she did not like reading. Her feeling, in fact, became a reason for her not to read the text.
Ya, yang jelas saya lebih suka belajar listening daripada reading. Kelud, Interview
I prefer learning listening to reading.
She also stated the reason for why she did not like reading. In the interview, she said: Membosankan, karena kalau misalnya nggak ngerti ya sudah
nggak ngerti, saya kan malas buka kamus. Kelud, Interview PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
46 Boring since if I did not understand the meaning of a word, I left
it. I am lazy to open the dictionary.
Therefore, it was useless to provide the text to her; in fact, she did not read the text before listening section. Furthermore, she stated that the text did not give her any
influences. She mentioned: Iyalah, sama aja ada teks atau nggak. Kelud, Interview
It was just the same whether I have the text or not.
She proposed that it was better for the teacher not to provide the students with the texts before listening section. She had an opinion:
Ya, kalau bisa sih langsung listening aja nggak usah pake reading- reading an. Kelud, Interview
It was better to come to listening section directly without having reading text.
According to Kelud, from the interview, she preferred listening to the recording directly in the classroom without any text before. The text burdened her since she did
not like reading. Besides, by having the reading text, it means that she had to read it before the class by herself. It spent much of her time. Therefore, the texts failed in
helping her to be well-prepared in listening section. Experiencing the process of learning, one student, Merbabu, had his own
perception which differed from the previous seven students. He confessed that the implementation of reading text before listening section was not burdened him since
he enjoyed reading very much. His confession was shared in the interview as below: Oh, … itu malah asyik bisa buat belajar. Merbabu, Interview
Oh, it was enjoyable for me. It could be used to learn. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
47 As a matter of fact, he accepted the text well and could take the advantage of the text.
Hence, his opinion is in line with Raygor and Raygor 1985: 3 that reading activity can be a great source of entertainment for some people. However, one student,
namely Merbabu stated his further opinion not to use the text if the purpose of learning was to practice the skill of listening. He explained:
… kalau mau belajar listening sebaiknya tidak perlu pakai reading teks terlebih dulu. Jadikan bisa belajar, walaupun nanti nggak
dong …. Merbabu, Interview … if we are going to learn listening skill, it is better not to use
reading texts, so we can learn, even though we cannot understand….
Overall, it is interesting that all students had their own perceptions about the
text. From the interview, it is found that 75 of the participants accepted the use of reading text as the medium to construct their knowledge before listening section in
class. They generally stated that the texts were useful and helpful. The 75 of the participants were not burdened by the text and perceived that reading text was needed
before listening section. However, one participant or 12, 5 who does not like reading, had negative perception about the text. She was burdened by the text since
she had to consult the dictionary. As the result, she only read one out of three texts given by the teacher. Her strong reason was that reading texts were boring. Another
participant who was really interested in reading had different perception about the texts. He explained that the text could be a medium for entertainment as well as
learning. He shared that he learned several difficult words from the texts. At the end of the interview, he mentioned that he actually was not burdened by the texts. Yet, he
argued that the texts were not necessarily given if the target of learning was to be able PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
48 to listen to the recording. In brief, all students’ perceptions toward the
implementation of reading text as a pre-listening material can be summarized as follows:
Table 4.1 Students’ Perception toward Pre-Listening Material
Students’ Perception Positive
Negative Reading text is needed
Reading text is helpful Reading text is useful
Reading text is not a burden Reading text makes listening
becomes easier Reading text is enjoyable
Reading text is useless Reading text is boring
Indeed, all perceptions influence on the scope of influences of the reading text in acquiring listening skill. Hence, the contributions or influences were discussed in a
greater detail in the following subsection.
B. The Influences of Reading Text while Listening to the Recording
Considering students’ perception on the implementation of reading texts before listening, it was found that most students stated that they were helped by the
texts. However, students’ different perceptions may possibly result in the various influences of the texts for them. In identifying the influences of reading texts, both
49 interview and questionnaire were triangulated as instruments to obtain the data. In
fact, the text which was distributed before listening section influenced the students in three aspects; readiness, comprehension, and language.
1. Readiness
The basic influence of reading texts was to make the students well-prepared in the listening section. In learning, students needed to be well-prepared in order to
follow the lesson well. It was also needed in acquiring listening skill in class. The implementation of reading text before listening to the recording was seen as a helpful
medium for the students as stated by Goh 2002: 45 that the use of literary texts is suitable for listening. However, considering students’ experiences in using reading
text before learning listening, the students also accepted and agreed with the use of reading text before listening. The text, in fact, influenced the students’ readiness to
follow listening section. One student preferred being prepared by the text first to directly listening to the recording. She admitted that:
Mending yang sudah dipersiapkan jauh hari sebelum listening, soalnya aku ngerasa lebih mantap. Kerinci, Interview
It was better for me to be prepared before the listening section because I felt more confident.
… tambah pede. Aku sudah tahu nanti ceritanya seperti ini, gitu. Merbabu, Interview
… I was more confident. I had known how the story will be.
From the above statements, it was implied that the text influences students’ readiness. Students’ readiness, hence, affected the motivation to learn. They would be more
50 confident to follow listening section which first was believed as the hardest skill to be
mastered.
2. Comprehension
Students’ prior knowledge which was well-prepared before the lesson began was worth to be called as the key to the success of the learning. Furthermore, prior
knowledge provides another influence to the students in acquiring listening skill. This fact is in line with the theory stated by Nunan 1997: 4 that in learning listening, the
task to construct students’ knowledge should precede the listening process itself. From students’ opinion, it was found that prior knowledge which was well
constructed in their mind before the listening section affected their comprehension. Therefore, the second influence was related to students’ better comprehension. The
text influenced the students in following the plot of the story, grabbing the detailed information of the story, as well as answering questions.
a. Following the Plot of the Story
The students who had read the text before the class confessed that they could understand the story well. They were able to follow the plot of the story in listening
section. By reading the text first and then listening to the story from the recording, the story became clearer. Different students in the questionnaire stated their opinions
about the text based on their experiences. They stated:
When I have reading the text, it can help me to understand the listening to the story. Kelud, Questionnaire
51 When I have read the text, it could help me to understand the story
that I listened to. The text to make clear the story… . Merapi, Questionnaire
The text made the story clearer… .
Similar to what was stated in the questionnaire, in the interview, the students also
believed that the text given before listening section provided them with description on stories to be listened in class. Furthermore, the students clearly stated why the text
was seen as a helpful tool. They said: Membantu karena kita udah tau jalan ceritanya. Tidar, Interview
It helped me since we have known the plot of the story. Dari membaca tuh kita udah tahu urutan-urutannya dari
perkenalan terus nanti ada konflik-kofliknya. Bromo, Interview By reading the text, we have known the sequence of the story from the
introduction, then the conflicts.
In the questionnaire, the students who did not read the text shared their experience. They wrote:
Aku belum baca Sorry ya Reading text itu berpengaruh Karena terbukti denger Snow White yg dah tak baca lbh mudah drpd
denger Rapunzel yg blm baca. Merbabu, Questionnaire I have not read the text yet I am sorry. The reading texts have
influences for me It was easier for me to listen to Snow White than listening to Rapunzel which I have not read the text.
Kurang jelas karena belum baca... Kerinci, Questionnaire
The story was unclear since I had not read the text… From the statement written by both students, it is noteworthy that reading text, which
actually provided the students with background knowledge, contributed to the students’ understanding of the plot of the story while they were listening to the
recording. Therefore, by constructing prior knowledge from the reading texts, PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
52 students were able to follow listening section easily since they could follow the plot
of the story well. Moreover, the next influence was also found from the interview to the
students related to their better comprehension. From students’ opinion, the reading text could be said as a help for recalling information they had before listening section.
Two students clarified the influences of the text. They stated: … kalau sebelumnya sudah ada teksnya kan kalaupun ketinggalan
masih bisa ngikuti dari nginget-nginget yang sudah dibaca. Krakatau, Interview
If I have read the text, I am still able to follow the story whenever I missed particular part by remembering from what I have read.
Thus, it was apparent that reading text helped the students to follow the plot of the
story in listening section. Three from eight students 37,5 confessed that even though they missed particular parts of the story because of a certain reason, they
would be able to follow the story by activating their prior knowledge, i.e. by remembering information from what they had read. However, “one needs knowledge
to learn” Hein, 1996: 2. By providing reading text before listening section, the teacher had constructed students’ prior knowledge. Therefore, they did not come to
class as “empty vessels”. Prior knowledge constructed before the lesson was useful to help them understand the story completely. Further, the text which provided the
students with background knowledge would help them not to miss the context of the story as explained by a student:
… aku bandingkan dengan Rapunzel yang aku belum baca ya, itu bisa nangkap juga kok. Cuma pas yang dikatakan dia mengambil
rapunzel itu agak nggak dong, katanya dia nggak punya anak, kok sudah ada Rapunzel. Kehilangan konteks ceritanya sedikit.
Merbabu, Interview PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
