T1 112009066 Full text
The Students Perception toward Different Task Types in
Public Listening Class
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirement for Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Anangga Rahandika
112009066
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2013
The Students Perception toward Different Task Types in
Public Listening Class
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirement for Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Anangga Rahandika
112009066
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2013
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ii
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
This thesis contains no such material as has been submitted for examination in any course or
accepted for the fulfillment of any degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my
knowledge and my belief, this contains no material previously published or written by any
other person except where due reference is made in the text.
Copyright@ 2013. Anangga Rahandika and Prof. Dr. Gusti Astika, M.A
All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced by any means without the
permission of at least one of the copyright owners or the English Department, Faculty of
Language and Literature. Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga.
Anangga Rahandika :
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The Students Perception toward Different Task Types in
Public Listening Class
Anangga Rahandika
Abstract
Listening task is an important aspect for the students in learning listening. It
can help the students to improve their listening skills. Moreover, in the
listening class the students could do three to four different tasks. Based on the
use of various tasks in listening class, the research question for this study was
“What are the students‟ perceptions toward the use of various task types in the
public listening class?” This study aimed to describe the students‟ perception
toward the use of various task types in the Public Listening class. The research
participants were thirty students from Public Listening class in English
Department, SWCU. The data were collected using a close-ended
questionnaire. Thus, the students were not free to answer or give their
perceptions. The results of this study revealed that the students showed
positive attitudes toward the use of various task types in the listening class.
The students agreed that the various tasks were interesting for them and they
enjoyed doing the tasks. Besides, they also could learn better from the use of
various tasks. Then, they also develop their confidence through various task
types.
Key words: students‟ perceptions, learning listening, listening tasks, listening
class
Introduction
In daily communication, listening plays an important role. By listening, we would get
all information we need. Besides that, listening has an essential role in the students‟ language
improvement. As Krashen (1985) said, someone may improve his or her languages from the
information he or she listened. Listening is really important for the students to increase their
English skills, especially for the EFL students. There are some aspects that may influence
their listening skill, such as methods, activities, strategies, and task types. Each aspect is
important for the students to increase their listening skills.
This study focused on the task types used in listening class. Nunan (1998) cited in
Helgesen and Brown (2007) points out that using task in listening class gives you the way out
from all problems you face in listening. Tasks encourage students to listen for certain
purposes. Sometimes, they must search very specific information. At other times, they will
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listen for the general information and also make a conclusion. Helgesen and Brown (2007)
also state that there are three kinds of task in listening; listening for main idea, listening for
specific information, and making inferences. Those kinds of listening task are vital for the
students.
According to Nunan (2004), the tasks give two benefits for the students in the
listening class. The first benefit is to practice the students‟ listening skill, so they can improve
their skill. The second one is to assess their ability. Apparently, the students of listening
classes in the English Department have different skills and needs in learning English. Thus,
teachers do not always use the same task in each meeting. Usually they use three to four
kinds of tasks at once to teach their students. The most important is to make the students
obtain the benefit of learning listening.
Based on the discussion above, this study aimed to answer research question, “What
are the students‟ perceptions toward the use of various task types in the listening class?” This
study tried to describe the students‟ perception toward the use of different task types. It could
inform how these task types help the students learn English in the listening class and develop
their listening skill. Thus, it aimed to describe the students‟ perceptions about the various
tasks used in Public Listening class.
The description might provide useful information for the teacher of listening class in
preparing the listening tasks for the students. Also, it might provide insights for the students
about the use of various task types in listening class. Besides, the result of this study might
give other questions for further research into the students‟ performance in doing the various
task types in Listening class.
Literature Review
In a listening class, listening is an active process of making sense or trying to get
meaning of what the students hear. They must be able to understand what the speaker means
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when they use some words in particular ways to listen successfully, and not just simply
understand the word itself (Helgesen & Brown, 2007; Underwood, 1989). Becoming a
successful listener is really important for EFL students since they need to learn more
knowledge in the structure of the language as syntax, phonology, etc. They must be able to
listen successfully to get the input of the knowledge they learned. Moreover, Underwood
(1989) points out that learning listening makes the students manage what they hear, process
it, understand it, interpret it, evaluate it, and respond to it. Therefore, in language learning,
listening is crucial because it provides input for the students.
A. Teaching Listening
Listening is not easy and it has to be taught. The main aim of teaching listening is to
make the students fully and comfortably participate in conversations, as good listeners. Thus,
there are many materials for listening and theories of teaching listening nowadays.
In teaching listening, the teacher plays a very important role. The role of the teacher is
to become the support and guidance of students. Students will naturally ask the teacher if they
have some difficulties and the teacher will help them. Underwood (1989) also states that
there are some objectives for teaching listening. The first objective is to expose the students
to some different listening experiences. This objective can be done by using various listening
texts which contain a variety of tasks. Rixon (1986) affirms that the main point of this
objective is not to overuse one type of exercise. If the activities and exercises are always the
same and become a routine for the students, they may be bored. Besides that, another reason
why the teacher should vary the activities and exercises is because not all listening materials
are suitable for the same activities or tasks.
The second objective is making listening purposeful for the students. By providing
realistic tasks for the students, it makes the students relate what they are doing in the lesson to
their real life outside the classroom. The aim of this objective is to help the students see the
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reasons behind the exercise. However, the teacher may choose the exercises or tasks which
match with the students‟ needs.
The third objective is helping students understand what listening requires and how the
students approach it. Even when the teacher takes great care to the activities and tasks, it is
not guarantee that the students do not get difficulty in following the lesson. The teacher must
observe the students‟ reactions in the class first to understand the students‟ needs or
difficulties. Also, the teacher must be able to cover all students‟ questions during the class.
The last objective is building up students‟ confidence in their own listening ability. In
this objective, the teacher‟s role is to help the students succeed from their own experiences
and activities, for example, by giving time to students to discuss what they are learning at that
time or by giving real life activities. It is good for the students to simulate the real life
challenges in the classroom, like practicing bargaining in the class with their friends.
In teaching listening, the teacher must pay attention to the problem that the students
found. Rixon (1986) finds out that EFL students may face additional problems when listening
because of their limited experience of the language. When students face problems in the
listening task, it may give a bad impact to their performance and also disturb their listening
skill development. There are many kinds of problems which the students may face when
doing listening. The most common problem that the students face in the listening is the words
in the stream of speech that are difficult for the students to recognize.
Current research from Qian & Ying (2012) also stated that in the teaching listening
process, another challenge that appeared quite often was the students‟ vocabulary. Students
could hear the sentence, but make wrong choice in the comprehension and they even did not
know why. It happened because they heard the sound and the words, but they did not
understand what they heard. It meant they just did listening rather than listening
comprehension. The ultimate reason is the problem of vocabulary. A lot of students only
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understand the literal meaning of words and pay little attention to its metaphorical meaning.
Therefore, when they receive some information without some background knowledge, they
may hear something but may not get the meaning. Thus, teachers should enlarge students‟
vocabulary not only on the quantity of words but also the words‟ metaphorical meaning. It
will be a challenge for the students when they do the tasks in listening. However, with new
words or phrases in the listening, the students can learn or enrich their vocabulary and
structure, which will be great advantages for the students.
B. Listening Tasks
This study focused on the students‟ perception on various listening task types. Task
are defined as an activity that needs learners to gain a better learning from given information
through some processes of thought and using their available language knowledge (Prabhu,
1987). Listening task is really important for the students because it produces an „outcome‟.
From the outcome, the students will know their problem or their strengths and weaknesses in
English.
In teaching listening, the tasks which the teachers use in teaching play an important
role to assess the students. Nowadays, there are many kinds of tasks for teaching listening.
According to Rixon (1986), there are three different types of tasks based on the listening
stages; pre-listening, while-listening, and post listening. Each listening stage has different
types of tasks. The first task type is in pre-listening stages called pre-task. In the pre-task, the
students are asked to set up their own framework expectations against which to match what
they hear. A more complex and demanding tasks are used to give the students some
information before they started listening. Then, they listen to see how far the information the
lecturer gives agrees with or contradicts with the information they listen. There are many
tasks included in this task type. Some tasks that can be used in the pre-task are making list of
possibilities, labeling a picture, completing part of chart, etc.
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The second type is the during task. This task type is usually done in the whilelistening stage. Gilakjani & Ahmadi (2011) points out that the students do some tasks when
they are listening to the materials in the while-listening stage. The purpose of during task is to
help students develop their skill in describing messages from the listening section. There are
some tasks in this task type, such as making models, following a route, completing grids,
using lists, true/false, multiple-choice questions, cloze activity, etc.
The last task type is post-task. The post-task is usually done in the post-listening. The
post-task is more difficult than the pre-task and during task. The purpose of the post-task is to
expand the topic of listening text, and may transfer the material learned to another context.
Examples of the post-task are extending lists, matching with a reading text, summarizing,
identifying relationship between speakers, jigsaw listening, etc. Thus, the listening class will
not just involve a single of task, but it has sequence of tasks that relate to one another.
From many types of task involved in the listening class, the teacher should ensure
each task fulfills the task‟s characteristics. Task‟s characteristics are important for the
students to achieve the learning objectives. Willis and Willis (2007) propose that a task
should engage students‟ interest, focus on meaning, have a goal, have priority in completion,
and also relate to the real world activity. Here, the notion of engagement is essential since
without engagement or genuine interest, there can be no focus on meaning and goal. If
learners want to achieve the objectives, they have to engage the meaning.
C. Difficulties of Listening Task
While doing some tasks, students may find difficulties or challenges in the task. One
example of the challenge which students find is the different culture that they must deal with.
Students may be unfamiliar with types of listening task that are presented and organized in
the foreign culture. Qian & Ying (2012) affirm that listening is a component of language that
is closely linked with culture. Thus, many foreign cultures are also included in the listening
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tasks that make the task more difficult for students. Different languages and cultures often
utilize different listening expression. All pre-knowledge or expectations may be prepared
before the listening starts to help the students face cultural problems.
Furthermore, according to Brindley (1987) cited in Nunan (2004), there are three
factors involved in determining task difficulty. The first factor comes from the students. A
task becomes more difficult if the students have less confidence, less motivated, no prior
experiences, no language skill, and no relevant cultural knowledge. The second factor comes
from the task itself. A task becomes more difficult if it has complex cognitive demands, many
steps, no context, no help available, and grammatical accuracy required. Then, the third factor
which makes a task more difficult comes from the text/input of the task. A task becomes
more difficult if the inputs of the task have many facts, unclear presentation, few contextual
clues, and unfamiliar content.
Those task difficulty factors have a big impact to the students‟ performance in the
listening class. The teacher must try hard to create or design the tasks which are useful for the
students in learning English and make them perform better in doing the tasks.
D. Other Research or Findings about Listening Task
Current research stated that the tasks difficulties were reduced when the teacher
conducted various task types or sequence of tasks in listening tasks. By conducting various
tasks, students could learn better and their task performance also increased seen from their
result in the post task stages. Besides that, students also tended to improve their listening
skills (Xiao-lei & Tajaroensuk ,2012).
Ching & Chang (2008) also stated that varying the tasks could prevent the students
from confusion and boredom. Furthermore, Ching (2009) said that in varying the task, the
lecturers had to include support in listening tasks that could make the students were able to
perform better, not bored, and not lose confidence in their listening. Some listening support
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might be included in the task design, such as multiple listening options, pictures with clues or
question preview, to make the listening task more interesting and prevent students‟ boredom
or anxiety.
However, according to Sharif & Ferdous (2012), twenty percents of the students in
the listening class were not confident with the listening tasks. Participants in this study
expressed anxiety and frustration with the listening tasks when they did not know why they
listened to it, what they were supposed to be listening for, what kind of listening tasks they
were listening to, and what they were supposed to do in the listening tasks. Also, the students
had reported that if the listening tasks were not interesting or lack relevance to real life needs
or long as well as complicated, it would evoke difficulty with anxiety and boredom. Besides
that, eighteen percent of participants felt that if the listening tasks lacked comprehensibility,
they were not confident. Many have reported that less confident could be inspired by formal
and graded activities. Gardener et al. (1987) as cited in Sharif & Ferdous (2012) said that
whatever the type of listening was, research in foreign or second language learning has
shown that less confidence was something that directly undermined motivation and created a
negative affective response to the foreign language being studied. It would give bad impact to
the students‟ learning.
Therefore, according to Xiao-lei & Tajaroensuk (2012), the listening tasks had to be
able to help the students learn better, engage students‟ interest, and gain students‟ confidence.
If those factors are considered, the various tasks may create positive responses from the
students toward the English language being studied.
The Study
Method of Research
This study was a descriptive research about the students‟ perceptions toward various
task types in listening class. The setting of the study was Public Listening class in the English
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Department of Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga. The study selected Public
Listening class because the setting of this study was listening class. Also, this class used
various tasks to teach the students that became the main issue in this study.
Participants
The participants of this study were thirty students from English Department. They
were the students who took Public Listening class in the second semester. They were 2012
academic year students. They were selected using a purposive sampling technique because
they were taking Public Listening class and had already passed Interpersonal Listening
course. The participants of this study were thirty students in one class because it could make
the data more focus and valid.
Research Instrument
In collecting the data, a questionnaire was used to reveal the students‟ perception
toward the task types. The study was conducted by giving the questionnaire every time after
the class had finished, so the students could directly told their perceptions toward the tasks
they have just done in the class. This study used a closed-ended questionnaire to elicit their
perceptions of the tasks used in the Public Listening classes. The questionnaire was adapted
from the study by Xiao-lei & Tajaroensuk (2012). In answering the questions, the students
were asked to follow a five point likert scale: strongly disagree, disagree, undecided, agree,
and strongly agree. Before the questionnaire was distributed to all students, it was a tried out
with two or three students to check whether the questions in the questionnaire were
understandable. The questionnaire used in this study consisted of two parts. The first part was
about the questionnaire‟s objective and the participants‟ personal background. The second
part contained some questions for the participants about their perceptions toward the task
types. Also, based on the discussion above, the questionnaire focused on three categories that
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were perceptions toward the effect of various tasks in students‟ learning English, perceptions
on interest, and perceptions toward the effect on confidence as a learner (see appendix 1).
Data Collection Procedure
For the data collection, the questionnaire was distributed five times in the public
listening class. The questionnaire was given to the students after the class was over, so they
could tell their perceptions at ease because the questionnaires were directly given after the
class or after they had done the tasks.
Data Analysis
First, I calculated the average of the students‟ perceptions for each meeting based on
the five likert scales (Strongly Agree = 5, Agree = 4, Undecided = 3, Disagree = 2, Strongly
Disagree = 1). The second step, I calculated the average from the all five meetings
questionnaire. Then, the items or the questions were categorized as the adapted questionnaire.
There were three categories, perceptions toward the effect of various tasks in students‟
learning English, perceptions on interest, and perceptions toward the effect on confidence as
a learner. After that, I calculated the average of each category for every week. Thus, the
analysis produced averages for each category. In the final step, I drew the graphs of each
category to show the students‟ perceptions. The quoted examples from the data collected
were given to support each point in the process of analyzing the data. The data were analyzed
descriptively, and some supporting theories were used in the analysis.
Finding and Discussion
A. The Tasks that The Students Did in the Listening Class
In each meeting of Public listening class, the students did three to four different tasks.
The tasks were provided in the pre-listening, while-listening, and post-listening stage. In the
pre-listening, students did simple tasks such as guessing pictures, predicting the content of
listening text, reviewing vocabulary or grammatical structures, and constructing semantic
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web. The tasks chosen during pre-listening may prepare the students to make them aware to
what topic they were going to listen. In this stage the students often work in pairs or in a big
group of four to five students to finish and discuss the tasks together. Having finished doing
the task, they did a discussion to answer the tasks with the entire class and also with the
teacher.
Finishing with the discussion, they continued the listening activity in the whilelistening stage. In the while-listening, the students did tasks, such as checking of items in a
list, searching for specific clues to meaning, completing cloze exercise, and listening for the
gist. The tasks in the while-listening usually focused more on the specific information of the
listening text. The tasks matched the instructional goal and the listening purpose of the
meeting. In the while-listening stage, the students did the tasks which were related to the
listening text. In this stage the students started to do the tasks individually, they did not allow
to work with their friends. After finishing the tasks individually, they discussed their answers
with the teacher by swapping their answer to the friends next to them, so their friend could
correct their answers.
After discussing the answers, they continued to the last part of the class, which was
post-listening stage. In the post-listening, the students did the tasks such as answering
questions related to the text, and giving opinion. Here, the tasks focused on outline of the
listening text. The tasks in the post-listening aimed to assess the students‟ performance.
Besides that, their results in the post-listening task were submitted as a report to the teacher.
In this stage, the teacher used different listening texts from while-listening stage. The
students worked individually to do the post-stage‟s tasks. After that, they did the tasks
seriously because the result of the tasks would be submitted to the teacher. After finishing the
tasks, they swapped their answer with the friends next to them and discussed the answers
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with the teacher. After correcting the answers, they gave scores to their friends‟ work based
on the correct answers. Then, they submitted their scores to the teacher.
B. The Students’ Perceptions toward the Different Task Types Use in Listening Class
This section discusses the students‟ perceptions toward the use of different task types
in the listening class. Based on Xiao-lei & Tajaroensuk (2012), there are three points
discussed connecting with various tasks types in listening class. There are the tasks should
help the students learn better, engage students‟ interest, and prevent students‟ unconfident
feeling.
From the factors above, I divided the findings of my research into three big
categories. The first category was based on the tasks that helped the students to learn better. It
described the students‟ perceptions toward the effect of various tasks types in learning
English. Then, the second category was based on the tasks that engaged students‟ interest. It
was the students‟ perceptions on interest. This category aimed to see the students‟ attitudes
toward the use of various task types. As the last one, the third category was based on the tasks
that prevented unconfident feeling. It was the students‟ perceptions toward the effect of
students‟ confidence as a learner. This category described the effect of the various task types
to the students‟ confidence in doing the tasks and also in learning English. Below was the
result of students‟ perceptions toward the use of various task types in listening class.
The table below shows the result of the overall averages. It showed that the students‟
general responses were positive (see Table 1).
Table 1. Students’ Overall Responses
First Week
Second Week
Third Week
Fourth Week
Fifth Week
Average
Q1
4.07
4.5
4.6
4.12
4.15
4.29
Q2
3.67
4.1
4.5
3.85
4.07
4.04
Q3
4.07
4.47
4.57
3.96
4.3
4.27
Q4
3.53
4.07
4.5
3.81
4.15
4.01
Q5
3.87
4.1
4.37
4.19
4.3
4.16
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Q6
3.97
3.97
4.57
4
4.19
4.14
Q7
4.07
3.9
4.3
3.92
4.04
4.05
Q8
4.23
4.23
4.1
4.08
4.04
4.14
Q9
3.83
3.87
4
3.96
3.93
3.92
Q10
4.33
4.13
3.77
4.04
4.22
4.1
Q11
4.03
4.17
4.07
4
4.26
4.11
Q12
3.7
3.9
3.6
4.12
4.15
3.89
Q13
3.93
3.97
3.97
4.12
4.22
4.04
The first row in Table 1 shows the items or the questions from the questionnaire, from
Q1 (Question number one) to Q13 (Question number thirteen). Then, the scores below each
item were the averages of the students‟ responses in five meetings, from the first meeting
until the fifth meeting. And the last row below the table showed the scores of the overall
averages of students‟ responses in each item from the five meetings. These results revealed
that the students had positive responses towards the use of various task types in Public
Listening class. It could be seen from scores of the students overall responses which were
above 3.5 points.
B.1 The Students’ Perceptions toward the Effect of Various Tasks in Learning English
According to Xiao-lei & Tajaroensuk (2012), a task should help students learn better.
In this first category, it showed the data of the students‟ perception toward the effect of
various tasks in learning English. This section presented the data of the first category through
Table 2 and Figure 1. This first category contained five items from the questionnaire; Q3, Q8,
Q10, Q11, and Q12. Those five items asked about the students‟ perception toward the effect
of various tasks in learning English. Then, the averages of all five items were presented in
each meeting to describe the development of students learning from various tasks.
Table 2. Perceptions toward the Effect of Various Tasks in Learning English
Meeting
1st Meeting
2nd Meeting
3rd Meeting
4th Meeting
5th Meeting
Q3
4.07
4.47
4.57
3.96
4.3
Q8
4.23
4.23
4.1
4.08
4.04
Q10
4.33
4.13
3.77
4.04
4.22
Q11
4.03
4.17
4.07
4
4.26
Q12
3.7
3.9
3.6
4.12
4.15
Mean
4.07
4.18
4.02
4.04
4.19
The first row in Table 2 was the items from the first category; Q3, Q8, Q10, Q11, and
Q12. The scores below each item were the averages of each item in each meeting, from the
first meeting until the fifth meeting. Then, the last column of the table showed the overall
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averages from five items in each meeting. From the overall averages stated in the table, this
study showed the development of students‟ responses (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Perceptions toward the Effect of Various Tasks in Learning English
From the data in the first category, the result showed that the students had positive
responses in each meeting (4.07, 4.18, 4.02, 4.04, and 4.19). Eventhough they had positive
responses, Figure 1 shows fluctuation of their perceptions. Figure 1 above shows that the
student got 4.07 points as their first responses in the first meeting. Then, they made progress
that could be seen through their responses in the second meeting. They got 4.18 points higher
than the first meeting. However, in their third meeting, their scores went down to 4.02 points.
This might be affected by the tasks in the third meeting which was too easy for the students.
In the third meeting, the class finished about an hour earlier because the students finished the
tasks quickly. Also, in the discussion session, the students did not ask much about the tasks.
The tasks might contain materials or vocabularies which the students had already known.
Thus, the students might think that they did not learn a lot in the third meeting. Afterward, in
the fourth meeting, the students‟ scores went up, but not too high to 4.04 points. Different
with the third meeting, the tasks in the fourth meeting were more difficult and complex for
the students. In the class, the students always asked the teacher about the tasks or the listening
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text in the discussion session. The students might feel confused with the tasks in the fourth
meeting, even though they got better learning than in the third meeting. Then, in the fifth
meeting, their score went up to 4.19 points. The tasks in the fifth meeting might also difficult
seen from the students who always asked questions in the discussion session. However,
different with the tasks in the fourth meeting, the students looked so enthusiastic. They might
learn some important things in the tasks which were relevant with their needs in learning
English.
B.2 The Students’ Perceptions on Interest toward the Use of Various Tasks
According to Ching & Chang (2008), making the students interested with the tasks is
important as it can help the students learn better. In this second category, it showed the data
of the students‟ perceptions on their interest in the listening tasks. The study presented the
data of the second category through Table 3 and Figure 2. The items for this category were
Q1, Q2, Q5, and Q9. Those items asked about the students‟ perception on interest toward the
use of various tasks. Then, the averages of all four items were presented in each meeting to
describe the development of students‟ interest toward the use of various tasks.
Table 3. Perceptions on Interest
Meeting
1st Meeting
2nd Meeting
3rd Meeting
4th Meeting
5th Meeting
Q1 Q2 Q5 Q9
4.07 3.67 3.87 3.83
4.5 4.1 4.1 3.87
4.6 4.5 4.37
4
4.12 3.85 4.19 3.96
4.15 4.07 4.3 3.93
Mean
3.86
4.14
4.37
4.03
4.11
As displayed in Table 2, the first row in the Table 3 had the items from the second
category; Q1, Q2, Q5, and Q9. The scores below each item were the averages of each item in
each meeting. Then, the last column of the table showed the average scores from the all four
items in each meeting. From the overall averages stated in the Table 3, this study showed the
development of students‟ responses (see Figure 2).
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Figure 2. Perceptions on Interest
The data in the second category showed that the students showed a development of
their interest toward various task types in listening class. The students had positive responses
toward the various task types in the listening class seen from the overall average (3.86, 4.14,
4.37, 4.03, and 4.11). Figure 2 shows that the students‟ responses gained a positive progress
from the first meeting to the second meeting; from 3.86 points to 4.14 points. Surprisingly, in
the third meeting the score was so high (4.37 points). It might happen because the tasks were
too easy for the students as explained before in the first category. The students might enjoy
doing the tasks because the tasks were easy and interesting. However, they made regression
that could be seen through their score in the fourth meeting. They got 4.03 points, lower than
the third meeting. This regression indicated that the tasks in the fourth meeting might be
complex and difficult for students. After that, in the fifth meeting, the students gained
positive responses. It might indicate that the various tasks in the fifth meeting were
interesting for the students.
B.3 The Students’ Perceptions toward the Effect of Various Tasks on Confidence as a
Learner
According to Sharif & Ferdous (2012), students‟ confidence has a huge impact on
task performance, moreover for the students in language learning. The last category in this
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study was the students‟ perceptions toward the effect of various tasks on confidence as a
learner. The study presented the data of the third category through Table 4 and Figure 3. Q1,
Q2, Q5, and Q9 were the items for this category. Those items asked about the students‟
perception toward the effect of various tasks on confidence as a learner. Then, it also
presented the averages of all four items in each meeting to describe the development of
students‟ confidence toward the use of various tasks.
Table 4. Perceptions toward the Effect on Confidence as a Learner
Meeting
1st Meeting
2nd Meeting
3rd Meeting
4th Meeting
5th Meeting
Q4
3.53
4.07
4.5
3.81
4.15
Q6
3.97
3.97
4.57
4
4.19
Q7
4.07
3.9
4.3
3.92
4.04
Q13
3.93
3.97
3.97
4.12
4.22
Mean
3.88
3.98
4.33
3.96
4.15
Similar to Table 2 and 3, the first row in the table 4 was the items from the third
category; Q4, Q6, Q7, and Q13. The scores below each item were the averages of each item
in each meeting. Then, the last column of the table showed the scores of the overall averages
from the four items in each meeting. From the overall averages stated in the Table 4, this
study showed the development of students‟ responses (see Figure 3).
Figure 3. Perceptions toward the Effect of Various Tasks on Confidence
17
The data in the third category showed that the students developed their confidence
(see Figure 3). Also, the students had positive responses seen from the averages (3.88, 3.98,
4.33, 3.96, and 4.15). From the averages, the graphic line shown in Figure 3 was almost same
with the graphic line in Figure 2. In the first meeting, the score was so low (3.88 points). The
students might feel nervous when doing the tasks because it was their first meeting and they
did not prepare enough. However, students‟ responses gained a positive progress from the
second meeting to the third meeting; from 3.98 points to 4.33 points. In the third meeting, the
students felt so confident in doing the tasks because the tasks were too easy for them.
However, the score went down that could be seen in their fourth meeting. They got 3.96
points, lower than the third meeting (4.33 points). This decrease indicated that the students
might not feel confident because the tasks in the fourth meeting were complex and difficult
for them. After that, in the fifth meeting, the students provided better responses; the score was
4.15 points. It indicates that the students felt confident in doing the tasks.
Conclusion
This study would like to find out the students‟ perceptions toward the use of various
tasks types in listening class. Thus, the research question for this study was “What are the
students‟ perceptions toward the use of various task types in the public listening class?” This
study aimed to describe the students‟ perception toward the use of various task types in the
Public Listening class. Overall, this study produced data that described the student‟s
perception toward various task types in the listening class. It showed that the students had
positive attitudes on the use of various task types in the listening class. Besides that, the
students stated that various task types helped them in learning English. Also, it showed that
the students were developing their confidence in learning English.
As pedagogical implementation from the findings, the writer of the study could
understand the importance of the use of various tasks in the listening class. Besides that, the
18
students who took listening course could understand about what they get from the use of
various tasks. Also, it would be better if the lecturers in the listening class used various task
types in teaching listening because it could be more motivating. Besides that, the lecturers
should create interesting and creative tasks to attract the students in learning listening
considering their needs.
This study had two limitations. The first one was this study focused on learning
context in listening class. Second, this study only involved one class of Public Listening class
that consisted of thirty students. Further research may involve more classes to cover more
issues on the use of various tasks in listening. I would also suggest that, further research
needs to look at the students‟ performance on the use of various task types in the listening
class.
19
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This thesis would not have been finished without the support of many people.
I would like to praise ALLAH SWT who has given me the life and always gives me
blessings. I wish to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Bapak Astika, who were
abundantly helpful and patient in guiding me to finish this thesis in a limited time. Deepest
gratitude also goes to Ibu Christiana Sidupa as my thesis examiner. Without her knowledge
and assistance this study would not have been completed. I would like to thank to students of
Public listening and my friends, Lutpek & Jalu who were willing to share their thought,
experiences and knowledge for this thesis. I also wish to express my love and gratitude to my
beloved family who always supported me. Special thanks also go to “my sweetheart”,
Novatiara Fury Pritasari who always helped me in conducting this thesis.
20
REFERENCES
Ching, A. & Chang, S. (2008). Listening Strategies of L2 Learners With Varied Test Tasks.
TESL Canada Journal, Vol. 25, No.2, 933-940.
Ching, A. (2009). EFL Listeners‟ Task-based Strategies and Their Relationship with
Listening Performance. The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language,
Vol. 13, No. 2, 101-112.
Gilakjani, A. P. & Reza Ahmadi, M. (2011). Study of Factors Affecting EFL Learners‟
English Listening Comprehension and the Strategies for Improvement. Journal of
Language and Teaching and Research, Vol. 2, No.5, 977-988.
Helgesen, M. & Brown, S. (2007). Practical English Language Teaching: Listening. New
York: The Mcgraw-Hill Companies.
Krashen (1985). The Input Hypothesis: issues and implications. Harlow: Longman.
Nunan, D. (2004). Task-Based Language teaching. New York: Canbridge University Press.
Prabhu, N. (1987). Second Language Pedagogy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Qian, L. & Ying, S. (2012). An Experimental Study on Metaphorical Teaching Method in
College English Students‟ Listening. Sino-US English Teaching, Vol. 9, No. 1, 833839.
Rixon, S. (1986). Developing Listening Skills. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
Sharif, M. Y. & Ferdous, F. (2012). Sources and Suggestions to Lower Listening
Comprehension Anxiety in the EFL Classroom: A Case Study. English Language
Teaching Vol. 5, No. 10, 11-23.
Underwood, M. (1989) Teaching Listening. New York: Longman Inc.
Willis , D. & Willis, J. (2007). Doing Task-Based Teaching. New York: Oxford University
Press.
Xiao-lei, D. & Tajaroensuk, S. (2012). Effects of the Pre-Task Planning Mode on the
Listening Comprehensions of Chinese EFL Learners. Sino-US English Teaching, Vol.
9, No.6, 1197-1203.
21
APPENDIX
1.
Questionnaire
Dear friends, I am conducting a research about The Students‟ Perceptions toward the use of
different task types in the public listening class. The information will only be used for my
study, it also will not be disclosed to public, and for it will not affect your grade but help me
to get the valid data, please answer the questions honestly. Many thanks.
NIM
:
Baru / Ulang :
No. HP
:
(it is optional, but if you can help me for further
research on interview, I am very glad if you mention your phone number)
Give the check mark ( ) for your choice.
No
Statements
1.
I enjoyed the various tasks today.
2.
The tasks I performed in the class
were interesting.
3.
I learned a lot from list tasks today.
4.
I gained confidence in my ability to
do the tasks in this class.
5.
The various task types in this
listening class made this class more
interesting.
6.
I found the various tasks was
challenging.
7.
The various task types were a
challenge but I enjoyed it.
8.
I learned the meanings of words or
phrases that were difficult from the
tasks.
9.
The tasks I performed in the class
were relevant to my life need in the
Strongly
Agree
Agree
22
Undecided
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
English language.
10.
The information from the tasks
contributed to my knowledge about
other aspects in English, such as
grammar and vocabulary.
11.
My listening skills in English
improved as a result of the different
task types used in this listening
class.
12.
I learned more English from the
tasks in listening class today than I
would have learned from other
tasks in other English class.
13.
The task types in this listening class
helped me perform better on the
other courses.
23
Public Listening Class
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirement for Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Anangga Rahandika
112009066
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2013
The Students Perception toward Different Task Types in
Public Listening Class
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirement for Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Anangga Rahandika
112009066
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2013
i
ii
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
This thesis contains no such material as has been submitted for examination in any course or
accepted for the fulfillment of any degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my
knowledge and my belief, this contains no material previously published or written by any
other person except where due reference is made in the text.
Copyright@ 2013. Anangga Rahandika and Prof. Dr. Gusti Astika, M.A
All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced by any means without the
permission of at least one of the copyright owners or the English Department, Faculty of
Language and Literature. Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga.
Anangga Rahandika :
iii
iv
The Students Perception toward Different Task Types in
Public Listening Class
Anangga Rahandika
Abstract
Listening task is an important aspect for the students in learning listening. It
can help the students to improve their listening skills. Moreover, in the
listening class the students could do three to four different tasks. Based on the
use of various tasks in listening class, the research question for this study was
“What are the students‟ perceptions toward the use of various task types in the
public listening class?” This study aimed to describe the students‟ perception
toward the use of various task types in the Public Listening class. The research
participants were thirty students from Public Listening class in English
Department, SWCU. The data were collected using a close-ended
questionnaire. Thus, the students were not free to answer or give their
perceptions. The results of this study revealed that the students showed
positive attitudes toward the use of various task types in the listening class.
The students agreed that the various tasks were interesting for them and they
enjoyed doing the tasks. Besides, they also could learn better from the use of
various tasks. Then, they also develop their confidence through various task
types.
Key words: students‟ perceptions, learning listening, listening tasks, listening
class
Introduction
In daily communication, listening plays an important role. By listening, we would get
all information we need. Besides that, listening has an essential role in the students‟ language
improvement. As Krashen (1985) said, someone may improve his or her languages from the
information he or she listened. Listening is really important for the students to increase their
English skills, especially for the EFL students. There are some aspects that may influence
their listening skill, such as methods, activities, strategies, and task types. Each aspect is
important for the students to increase their listening skills.
This study focused on the task types used in listening class. Nunan (1998) cited in
Helgesen and Brown (2007) points out that using task in listening class gives you the way out
from all problems you face in listening. Tasks encourage students to listen for certain
purposes. Sometimes, they must search very specific information. At other times, they will
1
listen for the general information and also make a conclusion. Helgesen and Brown (2007)
also state that there are three kinds of task in listening; listening for main idea, listening for
specific information, and making inferences. Those kinds of listening task are vital for the
students.
According to Nunan (2004), the tasks give two benefits for the students in the
listening class. The first benefit is to practice the students‟ listening skill, so they can improve
their skill. The second one is to assess their ability. Apparently, the students of listening
classes in the English Department have different skills and needs in learning English. Thus,
teachers do not always use the same task in each meeting. Usually they use three to four
kinds of tasks at once to teach their students. The most important is to make the students
obtain the benefit of learning listening.
Based on the discussion above, this study aimed to answer research question, “What
are the students‟ perceptions toward the use of various task types in the listening class?” This
study tried to describe the students‟ perception toward the use of different task types. It could
inform how these task types help the students learn English in the listening class and develop
their listening skill. Thus, it aimed to describe the students‟ perceptions about the various
tasks used in Public Listening class.
The description might provide useful information for the teacher of listening class in
preparing the listening tasks for the students. Also, it might provide insights for the students
about the use of various task types in listening class. Besides, the result of this study might
give other questions for further research into the students‟ performance in doing the various
task types in Listening class.
Literature Review
In a listening class, listening is an active process of making sense or trying to get
meaning of what the students hear. They must be able to understand what the speaker means
2
when they use some words in particular ways to listen successfully, and not just simply
understand the word itself (Helgesen & Brown, 2007; Underwood, 1989). Becoming a
successful listener is really important for EFL students since they need to learn more
knowledge in the structure of the language as syntax, phonology, etc. They must be able to
listen successfully to get the input of the knowledge they learned. Moreover, Underwood
(1989) points out that learning listening makes the students manage what they hear, process
it, understand it, interpret it, evaluate it, and respond to it. Therefore, in language learning,
listening is crucial because it provides input for the students.
A. Teaching Listening
Listening is not easy and it has to be taught. The main aim of teaching listening is to
make the students fully and comfortably participate in conversations, as good listeners. Thus,
there are many materials for listening and theories of teaching listening nowadays.
In teaching listening, the teacher plays a very important role. The role of the teacher is
to become the support and guidance of students. Students will naturally ask the teacher if they
have some difficulties and the teacher will help them. Underwood (1989) also states that
there are some objectives for teaching listening. The first objective is to expose the students
to some different listening experiences. This objective can be done by using various listening
texts which contain a variety of tasks. Rixon (1986) affirms that the main point of this
objective is not to overuse one type of exercise. If the activities and exercises are always the
same and become a routine for the students, they may be bored. Besides that, another reason
why the teacher should vary the activities and exercises is because not all listening materials
are suitable for the same activities or tasks.
The second objective is making listening purposeful for the students. By providing
realistic tasks for the students, it makes the students relate what they are doing in the lesson to
their real life outside the classroom. The aim of this objective is to help the students see the
3
reasons behind the exercise. However, the teacher may choose the exercises or tasks which
match with the students‟ needs.
The third objective is helping students understand what listening requires and how the
students approach it. Even when the teacher takes great care to the activities and tasks, it is
not guarantee that the students do not get difficulty in following the lesson. The teacher must
observe the students‟ reactions in the class first to understand the students‟ needs or
difficulties. Also, the teacher must be able to cover all students‟ questions during the class.
The last objective is building up students‟ confidence in their own listening ability. In
this objective, the teacher‟s role is to help the students succeed from their own experiences
and activities, for example, by giving time to students to discuss what they are learning at that
time or by giving real life activities. It is good for the students to simulate the real life
challenges in the classroom, like practicing bargaining in the class with their friends.
In teaching listening, the teacher must pay attention to the problem that the students
found. Rixon (1986) finds out that EFL students may face additional problems when listening
because of their limited experience of the language. When students face problems in the
listening task, it may give a bad impact to their performance and also disturb their listening
skill development. There are many kinds of problems which the students may face when
doing listening. The most common problem that the students face in the listening is the words
in the stream of speech that are difficult for the students to recognize.
Current research from Qian & Ying (2012) also stated that in the teaching listening
process, another challenge that appeared quite often was the students‟ vocabulary. Students
could hear the sentence, but make wrong choice in the comprehension and they even did not
know why. It happened because they heard the sound and the words, but they did not
understand what they heard. It meant they just did listening rather than listening
comprehension. The ultimate reason is the problem of vocabulary. A lot of students only
4
understand the literal meaning of words and pay little attention to its metaphorical meaning.
Therefore, when they receive some information without some background knowledge, they
may hear something but may not get the meaning. Thus, teachers should enlarge students‟
vocabulary not only on the quantity of words but also the words‟ metaphorical meaning. It
will be a challenge for the students when they do the tasks in listening. However, with new
words or phrases in the listening, the students can learn or enrich their vocabulary and
structure, which will be great advantages for the students.
B. Listening Tasks
This study focused on the students‟ perception on various listening task types. Task
are defined as an activity that needs learners to gain a better learning from given information
through some processes of thought and using their available language knowledge (Prabhu,
1987). Listening task is really important for the students because it produces an „outcome‟.
From the outcome, the students will know their problem or their strengths and weaknesses in
English.
In teaching listening, the tasks which the teachers use in teaching play an important
role to assess the students. Nowadays, there are many kinds of tasks for teaching listening.
According to Rixon (1986), there are three different types of tasks based on the listening
stages; pre-listening, while-listening, and post listening. Each listening stage has different
types of tasks. The first task type is in pre-listening stages called pre-task. In the pre-task, the
students are asked to set up their own framework expectations against which to match what
they hear. A more complex and demanding tasks are used to give the students some
information before they started listening. Then, they listen to see how far the information the
lecturer gives agrees with or contradicts with the information they listen. There are many
tasks included in this task type. Some tasks that can be used in the pre-task are making list of
possibilities, labeling a picture, completing part of chart, etc.
5
The second type is the during task. This task type is usually done in the whilelistening stage. Gilakjani & Ahmadi (2011) points out that the students do some tasks when
they are listening to the materials in the while-listening stage. The purpose of during task is to
help students develop their skill in describing messages from the listening section. There are
some tasks in this task type, such as making models, following a route, completing grids,
using lists, true/false, multiple-choice questions, cloze activity, etc.
The last task type is post-task. The post-task is usually done in the post-listening. The
post-task is more difficult than the pre-task and during task. The purpose of the post-task is to
expand the topic of listening text, and may transfer the material learned to another context.
Examples of the post-task are extending lists, matching with a reading text, summarizing,
identifying relationship between speakers, jigsaw listening, etc. Thus, the listening class will
not just involve a single of task, but it has sequence of tasks that relate to one another.
From many types of task involved in the listening class, the teacher should ensure
each task fulfills the task‟s characteristics. Task‟s characteristics are important for the
students to achieve the learning objectives. Willis and Willis (2007) propose that a task
should engage students‟ interest, focus on meaning, have a goal, have priority in completion,
and also relate to the real world activity. Here, the notion of engagement is essential since
without engagement or genuine interest, there can be no focus on meaning and goal. If
learners want to achieve the objectives, they have to engage the meaning.
C. Difficulties of Listening Task
While doing some tasks, students may find difficulties or challenges in the task. One
example of the challenge which students find is the different culture that they must deal with.
Students may be unfamiliar with types of listening task that are presented and organized in
the foreign culture. Qian & Ying (2012) affirm that listening is a component of language that
is closely linked with culture. Thus, many foreign cultures are also included in the listening
6
tasks that make the task more difficult for students. Different languages and cultures often
utilize different listening expression. All pre-knowledge or expectations may be prepared
before the listening starts to help the students face cultural problems.
Furthermore, according to Brindley (1987) cited in Nunan (2004), there are three
factors involved in determining task difficulty. The first factor comes from the students. A
task becomes more difficult if the students have less confidence, less motivated, no prior
experiences, no language skill, and no relevant cultural knowledge. The second factor comes
from the task itself. A task becomes more difficult if it has complex cognitive demands, many
steps, no context, no help available, and grammatical accuracy required. Then, the third factor
which makes a task more difficult comes from the text/input of the task. A task becomes
more difficult if the inputs of the task have many facts, unclear presentation, few contextual
clues, and unfamiliar content.
Those task difficulty factors have a big impact to the students‟ performance in the
listening class. The teacher must try hard to create or design the tasks which are useful for the
students in learning English and make them perform better in doing the tasks.
D. Other Research or Findings about Listening Task
Current research stated that the tasks difficulties were reduced when the teacher
conducted various task types or sequence of tasks in listening tasks. By conducting various
tasks, students could learn better and their task performance also increased seen from their
result in the post task stages. Besides that, students also tended to improve their listening
skills (Xiao-lei & Tajaroensuk ,2012).
Ching & Chang (2008) also stated that varying the tasks could prevent the students
from confusion and boredom. Furthermore, Ching (2009) said that in varying the task, the
lecturers had to include support in listening tasks that could make the students were able to
perform better, not bored, and not lose confidence in their listening. Some listening support
7
might be included in the task design, such as multiple listening options, pictures with clues or
question preview, to make the listening task more interesting and prevent students‟ boredom
or anxiety.
However, according to Sharif & Ferdous (2012), twenty percents of the students in
the listening class were not confident with the listening tasks. Participants in this study
expressed anxiety and frustration with the listening tasks when they did not know why they
listened to it, what they were supposed to be listening for, what kind of listening tasks they
were listening to, and what they were supposed to do in the listening tasks. Also, the students
had reported that if the listening tasks were not interesting or lack relevance to real life needs
or long as well as complicated, it would evoke difficulty with anxiety and boredom. Besides
that, eighteen percent of participants felt that if the listening tasks lacked comprehensibility,
they were not confident. Many have reported that less confident could be inspired by formal
and graded activities. Gardener et al. (1987) as cited in Sharif & Ferdous (2012) said that
whatever the type of listening was, research in foreign or second language learning has
shown that less confidence was something that directly undermined motivation and created a
negative affective response to the foreign language being studied. It would give bad impact to
the students‟ learning.
Therefore, according to Xiao-lei & Tajaroensuk (2012), the listening tasks had to be
able to help the students learn better, engage students‟ interest, and gain students‟ confidence.
If those factors are considered, the various tasks may create positive responses from the
students toward the English language being studied.
The Study
Method of Research
This study was a descriptive research about the students‟ perceptions toward various
task types in listening class. The setting of the study was Public Listening class in the English
8
Department of Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga. The study selected Public
Listening class because the setting of this study was listening class. Also, this class used
various tasks to teach the students that became the main issue in this study.
Participants
The participants of this study were thirty students from English Department. They
were the students who took Public Listening class in the second semester. They were 2012
academic year students. They were selected using a purposive sampling technique because
they were taking Public Listening class and had already passed Interpersonal Listening
course. The participants of this study were thirty students in one class because it could make
the data more focus and valid.
Research Instrument
In collecting the data, a questionnaire was used to reveal the students‟ perception
toward the task types. The study was conducted by giving the questionnaire every time after
the class had finished, so the students could directly told their perceptions toward the tasks
they have just done in the class. This study used a closed-ended questionnaire to elicit their
perceptions of the tasks used in the Public Listening classes. The questionnaire was adapted
from the study by Xiao-lei & Tajaroensuk (2012). In answering the questions, the students
were asked to follow a five point likert scale: strongly disagree, disagree, undecided, agree,
and strongly agree. Before the questionnaire was distributed to all students, it was a tried out
with two or three students to check whether the questions in the questionnaire were
understandable. The questionnaire used in this study consisted of two parts. The first part was
about the questionnaire‟s objective and the participants‟ personal background. The second
part contained some questions for the participants about their perceptions toward the task
types. Also, based on the discussion above, the questionnaire focused on three categories that
9
were perceptions toward the effect of various tasks in students‟ learning English, perceptions
on interest, and perceptions toward the effect on confidence as a learner (see appendix 1).
Data Collection Procedure
For the data collection, the questionnaire was distributed five times in the public
listening class. The questionnaire was given to the students after the class was over, so they
could tell their perceptions at ease because the questionnaires were directly given after the
class or after they had done the tasks.
Data Analysis
First, I calculated the average of the students‟ perceptions for each meeting based on
the five likert scales (Strongly Agree = 5, Agree = 4, Undecided = 3, Disagree = 2, Strongly
Disagree = 1). The second step, I calculated the average from the all five meetings
questionnaire. Then, the items or the questions were categorized as the adapted questionnaire.
There were three categories, perceptions toward the effect of various tasks in students‟
learning English, perceptions on interest, and perceptions toward the effect on confidence as
a learner. After that, I calculated the average of each category for every week. Thus, the
analysis produced averages for each category. In the final step, I drew the graphs of each
category to show the students‟ perceptions. The quoted examples from the data collected
were given to support each point in the process of analyzing the data. The data were analyzed
descriptively, and some supporting theories were used in the analysis.
Finding and Discussion
A. The Tasks that The Students Did in the Listening Class
In each meeting of Public listening class, the students did three to four different tasks.
The tasks were provided in the pre-listening, while-listening, and post-listening stage. In the
pre-listening, students did simple tasks such as guessing pictures, predicting the content of
listening text, reviewing vocabulary or grammatical structures, and constructing semantic
10
web. The tasks chosen during pre-listening may prepare the students to make them aware to
what topic they were going to listen. In this stage the students often work in pairs or in a big
group of four to five students to finish and discuss the tasks together. Having finished doing
the task, they did a discussion to answer the tasks with the entire class and also with the
teacher.
Finishing with the discussion, they continued the listening activity in the whilelistening stage. In the while-listening, the students did tasks, such as checking of items in a
list, searching for specific clues to meaning, completing cloze exercise, and listening for the
gist. The tasks in the while-listening usually focused more on the specific information of the
listening text. The tasks matched the instructional goal and the listening purpose of the
meeting. In the while-listening stage, the students did the tasks which were related to the
listening text. In this stage the students started to do the tasks individually, they did not allow
to work with their friends. After finishing the tasks individually, they discussed their answers
with the teacher by swapping their answer to the friends next to them, so their friend could
correct their answers.
After discussing the answers, they continued to the last part of the class, which was
post-listening stage. In the post-listening, the students did the tasks such as answering
questions related to the text, and giving opinion. Here, the tasks focused on outline of the
listening text. The tasks in the post-listening aimed to assess the students‟ performance.
Besides that, their results in the post-listening task were submitted as a report to the teacher.
In this stage, the teacher used different listening texts from while-listening stage. The
students worked individually to do the post-stage‟s tasks. After that, they did the tasks
seriously because the result of the tasks would be submitted to the teacher. After finishing the
tasks, they swapped their answer with the friends next to them and discussed the answers
11
with the teacher. After correcting the answers, they gave scores to their friends‟ work based
on the correct answers. Then, they submitted their scores to the teacher.
B. The Students’ Perceptions toward the Different Task Types Use in Listening Class
This section discusses the students‟ perceptions toward the use of different task types
in the listening class. Based on Xiao-lei & Tajaroensuk (2012), there are three points
discussed connecting with various tasks types in listening class. There are the tasks should
help the students learn better, engage students‟ interest, and prevent students‟ unconfident
feeling.
From the factors above, I divided the findings of my research into three big
categories. The first category was based on the tasks that helped the students to learn better. It
described the students‟ perceptions toward the effect of various tasks types in learning
English. Then, the second category was based on the tasks that engaged students‟ interest. It
was the students‟ perceptions on interest. This category aimed to see the students‟ attitudes
toward the use of various task types. As the last one, the third category was based on the tasks
that prevented unconfident feeling. It was the students‟ perceptions toward the effect of
students‟ confidence as a learner. This category described the effect of the various task types
to the students‟ confidence in doing the tasks and also in learning English. Below was the
result of students‟ perceptions toward the use of various task types in listening class.
The table below shows the result of the overall averages. It showed that the students‟
general responses were positive (see Table 1).
Table 1. Students’ Overall Responses
First Week
Second Week
Third Week
Fourth Week
Fifth Week
Average
Q1
4.07
4.5
4.6
4.12
4.15
4.29
Q2
3.67
4.1
4.5
3.85
4.07
4.04
Q3
4.07
4.47
4.57
3.96
4.3
4.27
Q4
3.53
4.07
4.5
3.81
4.15
4.01
Q5
3.87
4.1
4.37
4.19
4.3
4.16
12
Q6
3.97
3.97
4.57
4
4.19
4.14
Q7
4.07
3.9
4.3
3.92
4.04
4.05
Q8
4.23
4.23
4.1
4.08
4.04
4.14
Q9
3.83
3.87
4
3.96
3.93
3.92
Q10
4.33
4.13
3.77
4.04
4.22
4.1
Q11
4.03
4.17
4.07
4
4.26
4.11
Q12
3.7
3.9
3.6
4.12
4.15
3.89
Q13
3.93
3.97
3.97
4.12
4.22
4.04
The first row in Table 1 shows the items or the questions from the questionnaire, from
Q1 (Question number one) to Q13 (Question number thirteen). Then, the scores below each
item were the averages of the students‟ responses in five meetings, from the first meeting
until the fifth meeting. And the last row below the table showed the scores of the overall
averages of students‟ responses in each item from the five meetings. These results revealed
that the students had positive responses towards the use of various task types in Public
Listening class. It could be seen from scores of the students overall responses which were
above 3.5 points.
B.1 The Students’ Perceptions toward the Effect of Various Tasks in Learning English
According to Xiao-lei & Tajaroensuk (2012), a task should help students learn better.
In this first category, it showed the data of the students‟ perception toward the effect of
various tasks in learning English. This section presented the data of the first category through
Table 2 and Figure 1. This first category contained five items from the questionnaire; Q3, Q8,
Q10, Q11, and Q12. Those five items asked about the students‟ perception toward the effect
of various tasks in learning English. Then, the averages of all five items were presented in
each meeting to describe the development of students learning from various tasks.
Table 2. Perceptions toward the Effect of Various Tasks in Learning English
Meeting
1st Meeting
2nd Meeting
3rd Meeting
4th Meeting
5th Meeting
Q3
4.07
4.47
4.57
3.96
4.3
Q8
4.23
4.23
4.1
4.08
4.04
Q10
4.33
4.13
3.77
4.04
4.22
Q11
4.03
4.17
4.07
4
4.26
Q12
3.7
3.9
3.6
4.12
4.15
Mean
4.07
4.18
4.02
4.04
4.19
The first row in Table 2 was the items from the first category; Q3, Q8, Q10, Q11, and
Q12. The scores below each item were the averages of each item in each meeting, from the
first meeting until the fifth meeting. Then, the last column of the table showed the overall
13
averages from five items in each meeting. From the overall averages stated in the table, this
study showed the development of students‟ responses (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Perceptions toward the Effect of Various Tasks in Learning English
From the data in the first category, the result showed that the students had positive
responses in each meeting (4.07, 4.18, 4.02, 4.04, and 4.19). Eventhough they had positive
responses, Figure 1 shows fluctuation of their perceptions. Figure 1 above shows that the
student got 4.07 points as their first responses in the first meeting. Then, they made progress
that could be seen through their responses in the second meeting. They got 4.18 points higher
than the first meeting. However, in their third meeting, their scores went down to 4.02 points.
This might be affected by the tasks in the third meeting which was too easy for the students.
In the third meeting, the class finished about an hour earlier because the students finished the
tasks quickly. Also, in the discussion session, the students did not ask much about the tasks.
The tasks might contain materials or vocabularies which the students had already known.
Thus, the students might think that they did not learn a lot in the third meeting. Afterward, in
the fourth meeting, the students‟ scores went up, but not too high to 4.04 points. Different
with the third meeting, the tasks in the fourth meeting were more difficult and complex for
the students. In the class, the students always asked the teacher about the tasks or the listening
14
text in the discussion session. The students might feel confused with the tasks in the fourth
meeting, even though they got better learning than in the third meeting. Then, in the fifth
meeting, their score went up to 4.19 points. The tasks in the fifth meeting might also difficult
seen from the students who always asked questions in the discussion session. However,
different with the tasks in the fourth meeting, the students looked so enthusiastic. They might
learn some important things in the tasks which were relevant with their needs in learning
English.
B.2 The Students’ Perceptions on Interest toward the Use of Various Tasks
According to Ching & Chang (2008), making the students interested with the tasks is
important as it can help the students learn better. In this second category, it showed the data
of the students‟ perceptions on their interest in the listening tasks. The study presented the
data of the second category through Table 3 and Figure 2. The items for this category were
Q1, Q2, Q5, and Q9. Those items asked about the students‟ perception on interest toward the
use of various tasks. Then, the averages of all four items were presented in each meeting to
describe the development of students‟ interest toward the use of various tasks.
Table 3. Perceptions on Interest
Meeting
1st Meeting
2nd Meeting
3rd Meeting
4th Meeting
5th Meeting
Q1 Q2 Q5 Q9
4.07 3.67 3.87 3.83
4.5 4.1 4.1 3.87
4.6 4.5 4.37
4
4.12 3.85 4.19 3.96
4.15 4.07 4.3 3.93
Mean
3.86
4.14
4.37
4.03
4.11
As displayed in Table 2, the first row in the Table 3 had the items from the second
category; Q1, Q2, Q5, and Q9. The scores below each item were the averages of each item in
each meeting. Then, the last column of the table showed the average scores from the all four
items in each meeting. From the overall averages stated in the Table 3, this study showed the
development of students‟ responses (see Figure 2).
15
Figure 2. Perceptions on Interest
The data in the second category showed that the students showed a development of
their interest toward various task types in listening class. The students had positive responses
toward the various task types in the listening class seen from the overall average (3.86, 4.14,
4.37, 4.03, and 4.11). Figure 2 shows that the students‟ responses gained a positive progress
from the first meeting to the second meeting; from 3.86 points to 4.14 points. Surprisingly, in
the third meeting the score was so high (4.37 points). It might happen because the tasks were
too easy for the students as explained before in the first category. The students might enjoy
doing the tasks because the tasks were easy and interesting. However, they made regression
that could be seen through their score in the fourth meeting. They got 4.03 points, lower than
the third meeting. This regression indicated that the tasks in the fourth meeting might be
complex and difficult for students. After that, in the fifth meeting, the students gained
positive responses. It might indicate that the various tasks in the fifth meeting were
interesting for the students.
B.3 The Students’ Perceptions toward the Effect of Various Tasks on Confidence as a
Learner
According to Sharif & Ferdous (2012), students‟ confidence has a huge impact on
task performance, moreover for the students in language learning. The last category in this
16
study was the students‟ perceptions toward the effect of various tasks on confidence as a
learner. The study presented the data of the third category through Table 4 and Figure 3. Q1,
Q2, Q5, and Q9 were the items for this category. Those items asked about the students‟
perception toward the effect of various tasks on confidence as a learner. Then, it also
presented the averages of all four items in each meeting to describe the development of
students‟ confidence toward the use of various tasks.
Table 4. Perceptions toward the Effect on Confidence as a Learner
Meeting
1st Meeting
2nd Meeting
3rd Meeting
4th Meeting
5th Meeting
Q4
3.53
4.07
4.5
3.81
4.15
Q6
3.97
3.97
4.57
4
4.19
Q7
4.07
3.9
4.3
3.92
4.04
Q13
3.93
3.97
3.97
4.12
4.22
Mean
3.88
3.98
4.33
3.96
4.15
Similar to Table 2 and 3, the first row in the table 4 was the items from the third
category; Q4, Q6, Q7, and Q13. The scores below each item were the averages of each item
in each meeting. Then, the last column of the table showed the scores of the overall averages
from the four items in each meeting. From the overall averages stated in the Table 4, this
study showed the development of students‟ responses (see Figure 3).
Figure 3. Perceptions toward the Effect of Various Tasks on Confidence
17
The data in the third category showed that the students developed their confidence
(see Figure 3). Also, the students had positive responses seen from the averages (3.88, 3.98,
4.33, 3.96, and 4.15). From the averages, the graphic line shown in Figure 3 was almost same
with the graphic line in Figure 2. In the first meeting, the score was so low (3.88 points). The
students might feel nervous when doing the tasks because it was their first meeting and they
did not prepare enough. However, students‟ responses gained a positive progress from the
second meeting to the third meeting; from 3.98 points to 4.33 points. In the third meeting, the
students felt so confident in doing the tasks because the tasks were too easy for them.
However, the score went down that could be seen in their fourth meeting. They got 3.96
points, lower than the third meeting (4.33 points). This decrease indicated that the students
might not feel confident because the tasks in the fourth meeting were complex and difficult
for them. After that, in the fifth meeting, the students provided better responses; the score was
4.15 points. It indicates that the students felt confident in doing the tasks.
Conclusion
This study would like to find out the students‟ perceptions toward the use of various
tasks types in listening class. Thus, the research question for this study was “What are the
students‟ perceptions toward the use of various task types in the public listening class?” This
study aimed to describe the students‟ perception toward the use of various task types in the
Public Listening class. Overall, this study produced data that described the student‟s
perception toward various task types in the listening class. It showed that the students had
positive attitudes on the use of various task types in the listening class. Besides that, the
students stated that various task types helped them in learning English. Also, it showed that
the students were developing their confidence in learning English.
As pedagogical implementation from the findings, the writer of the study could
understand the importance of the use of various tasks in the listening class. Besides that, the
18
students who took listening course could understand about what they get from the use of
various tasks. Also, it would be better if the lecturers in the listening class used various task
types in teaching listening because it could be more motivating. Besides that, the lecturers
should create interesting and creative tasks to attract the students in learning listening
considering their needs.
This study had two limitations. The first one was this study focused on learning
context in listening class. Second, this study only involved one class of Public Listening class
that consisted of thirty students. Further research may involve more classes to cover more
issues on the use of various tasks in listening. I would also suggest that, further research
needs to look at the students‟ performance on the use of various task types in the listening
class.
19
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This thesis would not have been finished without the support of many people.
I would like to praise ALLAH SWT who has given me the life and always gives me
blessings. I wish to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Bapak Astika, who were
abundantly helpful and patient in guiding me to finish this thesis in a limited time. Deepest
gratitude also goes to Ibu Christiana Sidupa as my thesis examiner. Without her knowledge
and assistance this study would not have been completed. I would like to thank to students of
Public listening and my friends, Lutpek & Jalu who were willing to share their thought,
experiences and knowledge for this thesis. I also wish to express my love and gratitude to my
beloved family who always supported me. Special thanks also go to “my sweetheart”,
Novatiara Fury Pritasari who always helped me in conducting this thesis.
20
REFERENCES
Ching, A. & Chang, S. (2008). Listening Strategies of L2 Learners With Varied Test Tasks.
TESL Canada Journal, Vol. 25, No.2, 933-940.
Ching, A. (2009). EFL Listeners‟ Task-based Strategies and Their Relationship with
Listening Performance. The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language,
Vol. 13, No. 2, 101-112.
Gilakjani, A. P. & Reza Ahmadi, M. (2011). Study of Factors Affecting EFL Learners‟
English Listening Comprehension and the Strategies for Improvement. Journal of
Language and Teaching and Research, Vol. 2, No.5, 977-988.
Helgesen, M. & Brown, S. (2007). Practical English Language Teaching: Listening. New
York: The Mcgraw-Hill Companies.
Krashen (1985). The Input Hypothesis: issues and implications. Harlow: Longman.
Nunan, D. (2004). Task-Based Language teaching. New York: Canbridge University Press.
Prabhu, N. (1987). Second Language Pedagogy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Qian, L. & Ying, S. (2012). An Experimental Study on Metaphorical Teaching Method in
College English Students‟ Listening. Sino-US English Teaching, Vol. 9, No. 1, 833839.
Rixon, S. (1986). Developing Listening Skills. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
Sharif, M. Y. & Ferdous, F. (2012). Sources and Suggestions to Lower Listening
Comprehension Anxiety in the EFL Classroom: A Case Study. English Language
Teaching Vol. 5, No. 10, 11-23.
Underwood, M. (1989) Teaching Listening. New York: Longman Inc.
Willis , D. & Willis, J. (2007). Doing Task-Based Teaching. New York: Oxford University
Press.
Xiao-lei, D. & Tajaroensuk, S. (2012). Effects of the Pre-Task Planning Mode on the
Listening Comprehensions of Chinese EFL Learners. Sino-US English Teaching, Vol.
9, No.6, 1197-1203.
21
APPENDIX
1.
Questionnaire
Dear friends, I am conducting a research about The Students‟ Perceptions toward the use of
different task types in the public listening class. The information will only be used for my
study, it also will not be disclosed to public, and for it will not affect your grade but help me
to get the valid data, please answer the questions honestly. Many thanks.
NIM
:
Baru / Ulang :
No. HP
:
(it is optional, but if you can help me for further
research on interview, I am very glad if you mention your phone number)
Give the check mark ( ) for your choice.
No
Statements
1.
I enjoyed the various tasks today.
2.
The tasks I performed in the class
were interesting.
3.
I learned a lot from list tasks today.
4.
I gained confidence in my ability to
do the tasks in this class.
5.
The various task types in this
listening class made this class more
interesting.
6.
I found the various tasks was
challenging.
7.
The various task types were a
challenge but I enjoyed it.
8.
I learned the meanings of words or
phrases that were difficult from the
tasks.
9.
The tasks I performed in the class
were relevant to my life need in the
Strongly
Agree
Agree
22
Undecided
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
English language.
10.
The information from the tasks
contributed to my knowledge about
other aspects in English, such as
grammar and vocabulary.
11.
My listening skills in English
improved as a result of the different
task types used in this listening
class.
12.
I learned more English from the
tasks in listening class today than I
would have learned from other
tasks in other English class.
13.
The task types in this listening class
helped me perform better on the
other courses.
23