listening, someone can communicate with other people using the target language without any distraction.
There are two models of listening: bottom-up and top-down. Bottom-up processing is using incoming data as a source of information about the meaning of
the message. The process of decoding the sounds is in a linear fashion. It begins with the analyzing of successive levels of organization sounds, words, clause, and
sentences until the intended meaning is conveyed. According to Anderson and Lynch 1988, as cited by Richard and Renandya 2002: 239, the listener takes
and stores message sequently as the same way as the recorder does, i.e. one sound, one word, one phrase, and one utterance at a time. Thus, bottom-up
processing should be developed by teachers to practice learners’ listening ability in the form of exercises. Whereas, in top-down processing listeners use the
background knowledge they have to process the input. Top-down processing requires the learners to be active in constructing meaning based on expectation,
inferences, intentions and other relevant prior knowledge. In applying this prior knowledge to particular situation, comprehension proceeds from the top-down.
The actual discourse that is heard is used to confirm expectations and to fill out the specific details.
Other knowledge that should be known by the teacher in giving listening exercises is:
a. Principles for Teaching Listening
Morley 1971, as cited by Kristiningrum 2000: 13, provides a general
set of principles for teaching listening comprehension as described in the following part.
1 Listening comprehension lesson must have carefully stated goals which should meet the overall curriculum, and both teacher and students should
understand them. 2 Listening comprehension tasks must be set with step by step planning which
goes from simple to complex in accordance with students’ language proficiency.
3 Listening comprehension lesson should stimulate active overt 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
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. 6 Listening comprehension lesson should “teach” not “test.” Checking the
students’ answer should be viewed only as feedback to let the students know how they did and how they made progress.
b. Methodological Models for Teaching Listening
Hammer 1991, as cited by Kristiningrum 2000: 14, suggested five basic stages of the methodological model for teaching receptive skill. The stages
are explained as follows. 1 Lead in
In this stage, the students and teacher familiarize themselves with the topic of the listening exercises. The reason for doing this is to create expectation and
to stimulate the students’ interest in the subject matter. 2 Teacher directs comprehension tasks
In this stage, the teacher makes sure what the students should do whether they should fill in the blank, give some signs or other things on what they
heard. Here the teacher explains and directs the purpose of listening. 3 Students listen for task
In this stage, the students listen to the utterances and do the task that the teacher has constructed.
4 Teacher directs feedback In this stage, the teacher helps the students to see whether they can
perform the task successfully and how well they did the task. 5 Teacher directs related task
In this stage, the teacher organizes some kinds of follow-up tasks related to the lesson.
4. The Understanding of Task-Based Learning
