THE LISTENING SKILLS OF BSEd SECOND YEAR STUDENTS IN COTABATO CITY STATE POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE

A Needs Analysis in Preparation and Evaluation Of Instructional Materials

By: Campong, Pahmia G. Maguinadanao, Arjuna Krisnah S. Ochavo, Rachel L. Paguital, Omolhair T. Ulong, Mark Salahuddin C. Usop Juharto L.

March 2012

Table of Contents

Page TITLE PAGE ... i Acknowledgement .. ii Table of Contents iii

Chapter I THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING Introduction .. 1 Statement of the Problem . 3 Significance of the Study .... 3 Scope and Limitation of the Study ... 4 Definition of Terms ... 4

II

Review of Related Literature and Studies Listening Skills .. 5 Factors affecting Listening Comprehension .. 6 Listening in Language Learning and teaching .. 9 Teaching Listening ..... 10

III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Design ... 13 Locale of the Study .. 13 Sampling Technique ... 13 Research Instrument .. 14 Validity and Reliability of the Instrument 14 Data Gathering Procedure .... 14 Statistical Tools .... 14

IV PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

Types of Listening Skills .... 15 Listening Skills . 17

V.

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS Summary ..18 Summary of Principal Findings .. 18 Conclusion . 19 Recommendations ... 19

Appendices Letter of Permission . 20 Survey Questionnaire . 21

LIST OF TABLES TABLES 1. TYPES OF LISTENING TEST 15 2. LEVEL OF THE LISTENING SKILLS OF THE STUDENTS .. 17 REFRENCES ...... 24

Chapter 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND Introduction People were given two ears but only one mouth. This is because God knows that listening is twice as hard as talking. Listening is the most common communicative tools for every individual according to Levine (2003). it is also plays a major role in good communication. It is no secret that people often need to be involved in a conversion of some sort as part of their work, in the family, social life and even at school wherein people have to talk and listen to others. for most people, being able to talk and hold up their end of the conversion is easy, it can be the listening that is not so easy as viewed by Keleigh (2007). Among the four macro-skills, listening is sometimes neglected, that is why Lerners ability to listen is sometimes failed to decode the meaning of the words when someone is speaking. in class, for instance, it is sometimes hard to remember everything you have heard when you neglected to listen to your teacher. As cited by call (1985), listening has been neglected or poorly taught may have stemmed from the belief that it is a passive skill and that merely exposing students to the spoken language provides adequate instruction in listening comprehension. Larry Vendergrift viewed that listening is probably the least explicit of the four language skills, making it the most difficult to learn.

in an educational setting where a foreign language serves as a medium of instruction, as is the case in Ethiopia, the role of listening skill is more significant than in the context where a native language is used. this is because the classroom culture dictates the daily teachinglearning tasks to be achieved largely through talking and listening. As a result, effective listening becomes one of the determinants of the students' success or failure as pointed out by Taron and Yule (1989). Gilman & Moody (1984) demonstrated in their research that adults spend 40-50% of communication time listening. Although listening played an important role in audio-lingual methods, students only listened to repeat and develop a better pronunciation (for speaking). Beginning in the early 70's, work by Asher, Postovsky, Winitz, and later, Krashen, brought attention to the role of listening as a tool for understanding and a key factor in facilitating language learning, Feyten, 1991 showed that listening has emerged as an important component in the process of second language acquisition. An the other hand, listening is an invisible mental process, making it difficult to describe according to vandergrift (2002). According to Wipf (1984), listeners must dicriminate between sounds, understand

vocabulary and grammatical structures, interpret stress and intention, retain and interpret this within the immediate as well as the larger sociocultural context of the utterance. For Rost (2002), in relation to his job as

broadcaster he cited that listening, in its broadcast sense, as a process of receiving what the speaker actually says (receptive orientation); orientation);

constructing

and

representing

meaning

(constructive

negotiating meaning with the speaker and responding (collaborative orientation); and, creating meaning through involvement, imagination and empathy (transformative orientation). Listening is a complex, active process of interpretation in which listeners matches what they hear with what they already know. At the tertiary level, the ability to listen effectively is a necessity. At that level, students are expected to understand different types of lecture, discussions, presentation, seminars, and other academic spoken

discourses. In addition, the academic task at the tertiary level demand that students should be able to take important notes to produce summaries, reports, and other acdemic writing, and for their further studies as stated by Berhanu 1993 and Mulugeta 1997. The present study, therefore deals with the types of listening test and student's listening skills.

Statement of the Problem Generally, this study was conducted to determine the listening skills of the BSEd second year students in Cotabato City State Polytechnic College. Specifically, this study attempts to answer the following: 1. What is the listening skills of the students in terms of: a. sound dicrimination b:. listening comprehension 2. What is the level of the listening skills of the students?

Significance of the Study The result of this study will the school administrators to develop a flexible curriculum suited to the present needs of the society, in order for their school to produce quality students ready to face the next year level. This study will also remind the teachers an insight on how to look for ways and means to improve their quality of instruction that will fit to the needs of the students. Furthermore, this study will also help give information to the students who have difficullty in terms of listening skills. Through this,

they will find out what are the possible treatment and activities in enhancing their listening skills.

Scope and limitations of the Study This study was focused and is limited to the BSEd second year students in Cotabato City State Polytechnic College enrolled on the school year 2011-2012. They will be made as student-respondents.

Definitions of Terms The following words or group of words below are defined to provide better understanding of the study. Listening - refers to the active process of receiving and responding to spoken and sometimes unspoken messages. Listening Skills - refers to the abilty of a person to listen. Listening Comprehension - refers to a person's abilty to listen and understand what he's hearing. Sound Discrimination - refers to ability to detect similarities and differences whem listening to sounds. Minimal Pairs - refer to the words that differ in only one sound.

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES This chapter presents review of related literature and studies that are found useful in the development of the present study.

Listening Skills Listening is a complex, problem solving skill and it is more than just perception of the sounds (Oxford, 1993:206). Listening includes comprehension of meaning bearing words, phrases, clauses, sentences and connected discourse. Ibtesam Al Amri also pointed out that listening is usually a hard skill to master in one's own language, let alone in another language. The main problem with listening, unlike reading, listeners have no control over the speed that they cannot go back to listen again. Although in class, the listening materials are recorded and can be played again for students to listen again, it is usually under the control of the teacher who declares: "Let's listen again" (Underwood, 1989:17). Sometimes, because of the teachers are speeding up their speech, listeners tend not to keep pace with the teachers message. Listening is one of the most challenging skills for ESL learners to develop as it is probably the least explicit of the four language skills (Vandergrift, 2004). Listening skills are essential in the workplace, the

family and the community at large. Careers in communications, management, planning, sales, and fund raising, to name a few, rely on good listening skills. Listening, however, is more than just being able to hear and understand what someone else says. Listening skills involve etiquette, asking for clarification, showing empathy and providing an appropriate response. Good listening skills include using body language that empowers the speaker. People who have good listening skills show respect to the speaker by not interrupting him while he is talking. Even if the speaker by not interrupting him while he is talking. Even if the speaker stutters or is slow to speak or select his words, being patient and restraining yourself from finishing his sentences. Good listening skills depend on good comprehension. Good listening skills are measured by the response of the listener. First, the response should validate the speaker with the etiquette and empathy. Next, it should show that the listener understands the message. When the message has been adequately delivered and received, the result should be an action or statement that demonstrates that there has been an transaction between the speaker and the listener.

Factors affecting listening comprehension English language learners often say listening is easier than speaking and they may be right to think that because listening is a receptive skill, not a production one. Listening involves factors that can

affect comprehension, sometimes in circumstances that they cannot control; when they listen to the radio, they cannot tell the speaker to slow down, to repeat or explain things for them, so it depends on their language proficiency to understand what he is talking about (Carmen Paduraru, March, 2011). She is also pointed out the following:

Clustering and Redundancy Clustering refers to people's predisposition for breaking down speech into smaller groups of words. English language learners need to learn how to pick up manageable clusters of words and not try to take in several sentences or to understand every single word in an utterance.

Redundancy

is

another

element

that

affects

listening

comprehension. Rephrasing, repetitions, elaborations and insertion of repetitive words like "you know" or "right?" can distract the listener from the content of the message. Learners need to acknowledge that these repetitions actually work to their advantage, as they give them more time to process the real information.

Reduction and Colloquialism Reduction is natural to native speakers, that's why learners of English may find it difficult to "catch" the sense of the words even during a normal speech process. Assimilation and elision ("Djeetyet?" for "Did you eat yet?"), elliptical answers ("Where are you going?" "Home." for "I'm going home.") or contractions ("I'll" for "I will") are as hard to understand as the idioms and colloquial elements that native-English speakers normally use; some examples may be the very frequent forms 'wanna," "gonna'" or "y'all." Variables and Speed Except for lectures or speeches that are planned forms of speaking discourse, natural spoken language has several elements that change the message unintentionally. Learners should be able, with practice, to ignore them and to focus on the real content. Hesitations, pauses, false starts and self-corrections are variables that native speakers are used to hearing and can separate from the message. Rate of delivery of the message is another element that affects a proper listening comprehension. While a native speaker believes he is speaking at a normal speed, language learners think they speak too fast, especially because they need more time to "weed out" variables while paying attention to the message as it flows.

Prosody and Interaction Stress, rhythm and intonation are prosodic elements. The way words are stressed differ from other languages and the rhythm in English might not resemble the learner's first language, so he will find it difficult to master. Intonation may also differ; learners should become familiar with discriminating between the rising pitch ("Ready?") and the falling pitch ("Yes."). Lack of interaction is another negative element that affects listening comprehension. Even if, as a principle, listening does not require speaking, interaction can help learners practice negotiation, taking turns, starting, maintaining and ending a conversation.

Listening in language learning and teaching Listeners use metacognitive, cognitive and socio-affective strategies to facilitate comprehension and to make their learning more effective. Metacognitive strategies are important because they oversee, regulate or direct the language learning process. Cognitive strategies manipulate the material to be learned or apply a specific technique to a listening task. Socio-affective strategies describe the techniques listeners use to collaborate with others, to verify understanding or to lower anxiety. Research shows that skilled listeners use more metacognitive strategies

than

their

less-skilled

counterparts

(O'Malley

&

Chamot,

1990, Vandergrift, 1997a).When listeners know how to 1. analyse the requirements of a listening task; 2. activate the appropriate listening processes required; 3. make appropriate predictions; 4. monitor their comprehension; and 5. evaluate the success of their approach, they are using metacognitive knowledge for successful listening

comprehension. This is critical to the development of self-regulated learning (Wenden, 1998).

Teaching listening (Mendelsohn, 1998) notes a gap between the interests of listening researchers and classroom practitioners in that classroom materials do very little to develop metacognitive knowledge through raising learners' consciousness of listening processes. It is imperative to teach

students how to listen. This shifts the emphasis of listening practice from product to process and the responsibility of learning from the teacher to the student, thereby helping students become self-regulated learners. The following pedagogical sequence (Vandergrift, 1999) can develop an awareness of the process of (one-way) listening and help students

acquire the metacognitive knowledge critical to success in listening comprehension. A pedagogical sequence for development of two-way listening skills used largely in interaction with another speaker can be found in (Ross & Rost, 1991) or (Vandergrift, 1997b).

Planning for the successful completion of a listening task Pre-listening activities help students make decisions about what to listen for and, subsequently, to focus attention on meaning while listening. During this critical phase of the listening process, teachers prepare students for what they will hear and what they are expected to do. First, students need to bring to consciousness their knowledge of the topic, their knowledge of how information is organized in different texts and any relevant cultural information. Second, a purpose for listening must be established so that students know the specific information they need to listen for and/or the degree of detail required. Using all the available information, students can make predictions to anticipate what they might hear.

Monitoring comprehension during a listening task During the listening activity itself, students monitor their

comprehension and make decisions about strategy use. Students need to evaluate continually what they are comprehending and check: 1. consistency with their predictions, and

2. internal consistency; i.e., the ongoing interpretation of the oral text or interaction. Teacher intervention during this phase is virtually impossible because of the ephemeral nature of listening. Periodic practice in decision-making skills and strategy use can sharpen inferencing skills and help students to monitor more effectively.

Evaluating the approach and outcomes of a listening task Students need to evaluate the results of decisions made during a listening task. The teacher can encourage self-evaluation and reflection by asking students to assess the effectiveness of strategies used. Group or class discussions on the approach taken by different students can also stimulate reflection and worthwhile evaluation. Students are encouraged to share individual routes leading to success; e.g. how someone guessed (inference) the meaning of a certain word or how someone modified a particular strategy. In order to help students consciously focus on planning, monitoring and evaluation before and after the completion of listening tasks, teachers can develop performance checklists (see, for example, Vandergrift, 1999, 2002 ).Instruments such as these help students prepare for a listening task and evaluate their performance.

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This chapter presents the research design, locale of the study, nature of the sample, research instruments, validity and reliability of the instruments, data gathering procedure and statistical tools for analysis.

Research Design The researcher used descriptive method. The variables such as types of listening test and listening skills of the students were identified.

Locale of the Study This study was conducted solely in Cotabato City State Polytechnic College.

Sampling Technique The respondents of this study were the selected BSEd second year students of Cotabato City State Polytechnic College, school year 20112012. A total of 60 students-respondents took the listening test. The researchers used random sampling technique.

Research Instrument The research instrument of this study was a researcher-made. It contained only part 1 which is the listening test for the students.

Validity and Reliability of the Instrument The research instrument was subjected to the validity and reliability testing. Three English teachers were the evaluator of the instrument.

Data Gathering Procedure The researchers prepared a letter asking for permission from the dean of College of Education in CCSPC to allow the researchers to conduct the study to the selected BSEd second year students. The research instrument will be retrieved right after answering such.

Statistical Tools The researchers will use frequency, percentage, and weighted mean as statistical tools in analyzing data.

CHAPTER 4 PRESENTATION ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter presents the data gathered in the study together with interpretation and analyses of these data.

Types of Listening Test The skill of listening may be tested in two ways: through sound discrimination and listening comprehension. Sound discrimination refers to the ability to distinguish sounds in minimal pairs while listening comprehension refers to a persons ability to listen and understand what hes hearing. TABLE 1 TYPES OF LISTENING Sound Discrimination
Scores Frequency Percentage Description Very Satisfactory Scores

Listening Comprehension
Frequency Percentage Description Very Satisfactory

18-20

10

18-20

12

20

15-17 12-14 9-11 Total

22 17 15 60 Mean: 13.87

37 28 25 100

Satisfactory Fair Poor

15-17 12-14 9-11 Total

28 15 5 60

47 25 8 100

Satisfactory Fair Poor

Mean: 15.27

As presented in Table 1, in the sound discrimination test, 6 (10%) of the respondents were rated as very satisfactory for obtaining the scores from 18 to 20. The scores from 15 to 17 had the highest frequency which means that many of the respondents displayed satisfactory performance. 17 (28%) of them got the scores from 12 to 14 which is fair. And from the scores of 9 to 11, 15 (25%) respondents were rated as poor. In the listening comprehension test, 12 (20%) of the respondents were rated as very satisfactory for obtaining the scores from 18 to 20. The scores from 15 to 17 had the highest frequency means that many of the respondents displayed satisfactory performance. 15 (25%) of the respondents got the scores from 12 to 14 which is fair. And 5 (8%) got the scores from 9 to 11 which is described as poor. This test had a mean value of 15.27 which belong to the satisfactory description.

TABLE 2 LEVEL OF THE LISTENING SKILLS OF THE BSEd SECOND YEAR STUDENTS N=60 Scores Frequency Percentage Description

36-40 31-35 26-30 21-25 Total

3 21 26 10 60

5 35 43 17 100

Very Proficient Proficient Fairly Proficient Poor

As presented in table 2, 3 (5%) of the respondents were rated as very proficient for obtaining the scores from 36 to 40. 21 (35%) of them got the scores from 31 to 35 which is proficient. The scores from 26 to 30 had the highest frequency which means that many of the respondents displayed fairly proficient performance. And 10 (17%) obtained the scores from 21 to 25 which is described as poor. This result of listening skills test had a mean value of 29.65 which fell under fair description. This means that students displayed average in the test.

CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION This chapter presents the summary, conclusions implication of the study as well as recommendations.

Summary The main problem of this study was to determine the listening skills of the BSEd second year students. Specifically, this study sought to answer the following: 1. What is the listening skills of the students of terms of A. Sound Discrimination B. Listening Comprehension 2. What is the level of the listening skills of the students? There were 60 student-respondents coming from the College of Education in Cotabato City State Polytechnic College. Through the supervision of the adviser, a researcher instrument was made. It also underwent validity and reliability testing. Summary of Principal Findings 1. Students have difficulty in sound discrimination test. 2. With regard to the level of their listening skills, the students obtained an average mean of 29.65.

Conclusion Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that the listening skills of the students were good. Moreover, discrimination. the students encountered difficulty in sound

Recommendations On the basis of the findings and conclusions to this study, these recommendations are suggested. 1. Teachers should employ appropriate activities to enhance the listening skills of the students especially in sound

discrimination. 2. Although the students got an average mean, still there is a need for them to improve their listening skills.

Appendix A Letter of Permission from the Dean of College of Education

March 23, 2012 The Dean College of Education, CCSPC Cotabato City Madam: The undersigned are bona fide students of Cotabato City State Polytechnic College. Presently, they will be conducting a study entitled The Listening Skills of the BSEd Second Year Students in Cotabato City State Polytechnic College. In view of this premise, they would like to request from your good office to allow them to conduct their survey questionnaire to your third year students. They will be used as respondents of their study. Your positive response to this humble request will merit to the success of this study. Thank you and may God bless us all. Very respectfully yours, Campong, Pahmia G. Maguindanao, Arjuna Krisnah S. Ochavo, Rachel L. Paguital ,Omolhair T. Ulong, Mark Salahuddin C. Usop, Juharto L.

________________________ Researchers Noted by: Instr. Arbaya Haron-Boquia Adivser

Appendix B

The Listening Skills of the BSEd Second Year Students in Cotabato City State Polytechnic College This questionnaire is designed to get information from the second year students. Please answer all the questions objectively. This response you will provide shall be the major basis of this study. Name: ____________________________ Age: __________ Year & Section: ______________ Gender: Male Female

Part 1: Listening Test

Sound Discrimination A. Instruction: Write Yes if the two words heard in each pair have the same sounds; No, if they have different sounds. 1. meat met 2. still steel 3. draw draw 4. green grin 5. feel - feel 6. deer dear 7. pray - pray 8. law - low 9. praise phrase 10. hear hear

B. Instruction: Write S if the initial consonants in each pair sound the same; NS, if they sound different. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. pill fill thought taught best vest sip sit cool call 6. feel fill 7. hear tear 8. fear fare 9. look luck 10. past fast

Listening Comprehension A. Instruction: Listen to the conversation between Joanna and Kyle in school. Circle the letter of the answer that best completes the sentence based on the conversation. Joanna: Hi Kyle! Have you written your essay in English 101? Kyle: Not yet. I had to attend the choirs rehearsal last week. Joanna: Ah yes! I heard you are competing in Malaysia next month. Kyle: Right. But I have been missing some classes because of it. Joanna: You could probably ask our teachers for some make-up assignments. Kyle: Im planning to, this week. Im going to the library now to write my essay. Joanna: Good luck! See you in class. Questions: 1. Joanna and Kyle are classmates _____________. a. Only in English 101 b. In several subjects c. All subjects 2. Kyle has been absent from classes because he has attending _____________. a. Choir practice b. Basketball practice c. Swimming practice 3. The choir is scheduled to compete in Malaysia ________________. a. Next week b. Next month c. Next year 4. Kyles problem is he has not ____________________. a. Been attending classes b. Passed his essay c. Spoken to his professors 5. Which statement best describes Kyle? a. He is a happy-go-lucky student b. He prioritizes his extra-curricular activities over his academic subjects. c. He tries to balance his academic duties with his son nonacademic interest.

B. Instruction: listen to the passage carefully. Fill in the given passage to complete the paragraph. It was a perfect day. The sun shone in a clear blue sky and Diana felt that all was right with the world. It wasnt just the weather that made her feel this way. It was also the fact that her husband gad finally agreed to let her keep the house and to pay her a small fortune every month I couldnt be better. It was a ________ day. The sun ________ in a clear blue sky and Diana felt that all was _______ with the world. It wasnt just the _________ that made her feel this way. It was also the fact that her husband had finally ________ to let her ______ the house and to pay her a small ________ every month I couldnt be ________. C. Instruction: listen to the dialog. Fill in the lines to complete the sentence. Woman: Do you think you can give me hand with this? Man: Id love to help but Ive got to go round to my mother in a minute. The ____________ asks the man if he can ____________ her but ____________ he has to visit his __________ in a ____________.

References Webliography http://web.squ.edu.com/lan/Micro%2520Gallery/forum/Forum8 /ibtesam_on_listening.pdf http://www.ehow.com/about_5127470_defintion-listeningskills.html http://www.ehow.com/info_8113766_factors-affecting-listeningcomprehension. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/a-frameworkplanning-a-listening-skills-lesson http://freedownload.is/ppt/paper-listening-study http://llas.ac.uk/resources/gpg/67 http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid= 5B80E6C853A3F31F088A76EC391660.journals?fromPage=online &aid=223381 http://www.talkwaseda.net/dialogue/no03_2004/2004dialogue03_k4.pdf http://www.eduavtionscotland.gov.uk/studyskills/firstlevel/get/li steningskills/resources/index.asp