LISTENING COMPREHENSION

Dosen Pengampu: Yani Lubis, M.Hum

Disusun Oleh:
Hayati Eka Pratiwi (0307232044)
Husnul Mardiyah Daulay (0307233105)
Mutiah Nasution (0307232064)
Nashuha (0307231026)
Rahmat Siregar (0307233097)
Zahara Salma (0307233110)

PROGRAM STUDI MANAJEMEN PENDIDIKAN ISLAM

FAKULTAS ILMU TARBIYAH DAN KEGURUAN
UNIVERSITAS ISLAM NEGERI
SUMATERA UTARA
2024
 PREFACE

Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

Praise our gratitude to the presence of God Almighty, because it is thanks to His grace
that the author can complete this paper assignment properly and according to the specified time.
The outher would like to thanks Mr. Yani Lubis, M. Hum for providing guidance and direction
to us so that this assignment can be completed according to the specified schedule.

The author realizes that this paper still needs a lot of improvement. Because in many
ways it is still a collection of book sources and author sources used. For this reason, the author
is happy to receive criticism from readers for the sake of improvement. Finally, the author does
not forget to thank all those who have helped in preparing this paper.

Medan, 14 mei 2024

Author

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE ........................................................................................................................................ 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................. 2
BAB I ............................................................................................................................................... 3
INTRODUCTRION ........................................................................................................................ 3
A. Background of the paper ........................................................................................................ 3
B. Problem Formulation ................................................................................................................ 3
C. The Purpose Of The Paper ......................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER I .................................................................................................................................... 5
THEORY AND DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................ 5
A. Definition Of Listening Comprehension................................................................................. 5
B. Types of listening comprehension ........................................................................................... 6
C. Characteristic Of Listening Comprehension ............................................................................... 7
D. The factors of listening comprehension .................................................................................. 8
E. Example Of Listening Comprehension ................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER III ............................................................................................................................... 11
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................. 11
A. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 11
B. Suggestion .............................................................................................................................. 11
REFERENCE ................................................................................................................................ 12

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 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTRION

A. Background of the paper

The background of listening comprehension is rooted in the understanding that it is a

crucial aspect of language learning, particularly in English as a foreign language (EFL).
Listening comprehension is considered one of the four basic language skills, alongside reading,
speaking, and writing. It is a receptive skill that enables learners to understand the language
deeply, making it easier and more precise in producing language.
Listening comprehension is essential for various reasons. Firstly, it is a vital skill for
learners to face both local and national tests of English, which are often written tests. Therefore,
it is important for students to learn listening comprehension from kindergarten to higher
education levels. Additionally, listening comprehension plays a significant role in daily life,
not only in classroom settings but also in communication with others. It enables learners to
acquire information, develop what speakers say, and respond to what they have heard.
Listening comprehension skill is related to speaking and writing skill.1 Listening skill
on the foreign language learning is divided to two situation; those are direct and indirect
situation. Direct situation is such as conversation directly, speech, songs and etc., and indirect
situation is such as listening on conversation on the cassette. Nowadays, listening
comprehension has improved. For example, new technology has supported for the skill such as
cassette, VCD, video and etc that can improve listening comprehension skill.
The importance of listening comprehension is further emphasized by its role in foreign
and second language acquisition. With the increasing globalization and the widespread use of
media such as radio, television, and the internet, listening comprehension becomes a paramount
skill for effective communication in English, which is widely used as a global language.
However, listening comprehension can be challenging for language learners, especially those
learning English as a foreign language in non-native settings. They may struggle to acquire
good listening skills due to the need for more concentration and attention to comprehend
listening passages or materials, which include understanding dialogue and monologue texts.

B. Problem Formulation
1. What is a listening comprehension?
2. What the types and strategy of listening coprehension?
3. What the characteristic of listening comprehension?
4. What is the factors of listening comprehension?
5. What the example of listening comprehension?

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C. The Purpose Of The Paper
1. To identify of listening comprehension
2. To know the types of listening comprehension
3. To know the characteristic of listening comprehension
4. To know the factors of listening comprehension
5. To get deep understanding of listening comprehension

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 CHAPTER II

THEORY AND DISCUSSION

A. Definition Of Listening Comprehension

Listening comprehension is the ability to understand spoken language accurately. This

skill is crucial in language learning since it enables learners to interact with native speakers and
participate in conversations. Listening comprehension is essential because it facilitates the
development of other language skills, such as speaking, reading, and writing. Listening
comprehension skill is related to speaking and writing skill. Listening skill on the foreign
language learning is divided to two situation; those are direct and indirect situation. Direct
situation is such as conversation directly, speech, songs and etc., and indirect situation is such
as listening on conversation on the cassette.
Nowadays, listening comprehension has improved. For example, new technology has
supported for the skill such as cassette, VCD, video and etc that can improve listening
comprehension skill. In the language learning, basically the teacher still focuses on the old
learning model; the students just listen the cassette and answer the teachers questions correctly.
It can make listening uninteresting material and get the minimum attention from the students.
This phenomenon happened in the almost country in the world. It is a great duty for the
language teacher. The most important element and fundamental for the interaction is the ability
to understand what the speaker has said. In recent years, listening has also been examined in
relation not only to comprehension but also to language learning. In this view of language
learning, listening is the way of learning the language. It gives the learner information from
which to build up the knowledge necessary for using the language. When this knowledge is
built up, the learner can begin to speak.
The importance of listening for second or foreign language acquisition has been underlined by
authors such as Feyten (1991). Yet is listening 1 the skill with which learners feel the most
comfortable? There is evidence that the opposite is true. Arnold (2000) comments on how
listening induces anxiety in learners, because of the pressure it places on them to process input
rapidly. Graham (2002), investigating the lack of popularity of language learning in England,
found that for intermediate learners, listening was the skill in which they experienced the
greatest difficulty.
Listening is a learning which provides the basis for the other language skills. By
listening to sound or spoken language, people are able to produce the language. Listening can
be done by using a media which is supported by sound. In addition, songs are one of the most
enchanting and culturally rich resources that can be easily used in language classrooms.
Students also enjoy listening to the songs. Song can be used to teach a variety of language items
such as sentence patterns, vocabulary, pronunciation, rhythm, adjective, and adverb. However,
pleasure listening is such an effective way of improving English especially English vocabulary.
Listening comprehension is the ability to understand spoken language accurately. It is
a crucial skill in language learning, particularly in English as a foreign language (EFL), as it

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enables learners to interact with native speakers and participate in conversations. This skill is
essential because it facilitates the development of other language skills, such as speaking,
reading, and writing.
Listening comprehension involves several stages, including planning, execution, and
assessment. During the planning phase, the listener determines why they are listening, to whom
they are listening, and other relevant factors. During the execution phase, the listener processes
the information by formulating hypotheses, creating mental images, observing and supporting
the speaker's gestures and movements, and analyzing and using cognitive skills.
The assessment phase involves determining whether what was heard was understood
by making summaries, forming questions, and other methods. This process is complex and
involves multiple elements, including the listener, the message transmitted, and the context in
which the message is delivered. Effective listening comprehension requires a range of skills,
including the ability to recognize and distinguish between sounds, understand the meaning of
individual words, comprehend the syntax of sentences, and make connections between the
spoken language and prior knowledge. It also involves the use of cognitive skills such as
attention, memory, and problem-solving.
Listening comprehension is a vital component of language learning, and its importance
is emphasized by its role in both academic and professional settings. It is a skill that can be
developed through practice, and various methods and strategies are available to support
learners in improving their listening comprehension skills.

B. Types of listening comprehension

The types of listening comprehension include:
1. Discriminative Listening
It is a crucial skill for effective communication in various contexts, from personal
relationships to professional settings. This is the simplest kind of listening, in which the
listener recognizes and differentiates between various sounds. The most fundamental kind
of listening is discriminative listening, in which the listener recognizes and differentiates
between various sounds. This kind of hearing is natural and developed from infancy, even
prior to verbal comprehension. To determine the meaning of a phrase or message, one must
use vocal cues, tone of voice, and other acoustic cues.
2. Comprehension Listening
This type of listening involves making sense of the sounds and words, requiring a
lexicon of words and understanding of grammar and syntax. It is the next step beyond
discriminating between different sounds and involves understanding the meaning of what
is being said.

3. Critical Listening
Critical listening involves evaluating and judging the message, assessing strengths and
weaknesses, and forming opinions. It requires significant real-time cognitive effort and
involves analyzing what is being said, relating it to existing knowledge and rules, and
weighing up the pros and cons of an argument.

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4. Empathetic Listening
Empathetic listening involves understanding and sharing the feelings of the speaker,
requiring a deep connection and emotional intelligence. It requires excellent discrimination
and close attention to the nuances of emotional signals, and involves feeling what the other
person is feeling.

5. Appreciative Listening
Appreciative listening involves enjoying and appreciating the message, often for its
aesthetic value or emotional impact. It involves seeking certain information that will
appreciate, such as that which helps meet our needs and goals. This type of listening is used
when we are listening to good music, poetry, or inspiring words.

6. Full Listening
Full listening involves engaging fully with the message, including both the content and
the speaker's emotions, and responding in a way that acknowledges the speaker's feelings.

7. Therapeutic Listening
Therapeutic listening involves using the connection with the speaker to help them
change or develop in some way, often in a therapeutic or counseling setting. Therapeutic
listening involves using the connection with the speaker to help them change or develop in
some way. This can happen in various settings, including therapy, social situations, and
work environments.

8. Dialogic Listening
Dialogic listening involves engaging in a conversation where both parties are actively
listening and responding to each other, fostering a deeper understanding and mutual respect.
Dialogic listening involves learning through conversation and an engaged interchange of
ideas and information. It is sometimes known as "relational listening" and is crucial for
building deeper relationships.

9. Relationship Listening
Relationship listening involves listening to develop or sustain a relationship, often
focusing on the emotional and social aspects of communication.

C. Characteristic Of Listening Comprehension

In order to be able to have a comprehension in the listening it is necessary to have clear
some characteristics. The most appropriate characteristics of listening comprehension
include:

1. Recognition: connecting, recognizing the components of a message (sounds, words,

linguistic elements such as pronouns, verbs, among others).

2. Selection: select the most important words in the message (names, verbs, key words among
others), then group the selected details in level of importance.

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 3. Interpretation: is the understanding of the information that was heard. This means knowing
the intention and purpose of the message, its main ideas and the importance of the most
significant part of the message the speaker is giving.

4. Anticipating: activating the information you have in order to use it in advance on a specific
topic and to be able to understand it better by having the right bases such as language and
body expressions.

5. Infer: to be able to infer the data of the sender, this means that it is possible to extract the
information from the situation that is being presented at the moment with non-verbal codes
such as gaze, facial and body movements among others as a complement to being able to
understand the discourse much better.

6. Retain: remember key words and ideas in order to know how to interpret them. Retaining
in the long term memory is important to get the most out of a message that is heard.

These characteristics are important for effective listening comprehension as they

involve the listener actively engaging with the message, recognizing and selecting relevant
information, interpreting the speaker's intention, anticipating and inferring meaning, and
retaining key details for later recall. To know the linguistic code to be able to listen and
understand better. The message always has a sequence and congruence in order to be able to
relate sounds and words and bring them ideas of thought.

D. The factors of listening comprehension

There is a current awakening in Education to the importance of listening comparation

Goldstein puts it: "in Our society wedding and listening constant the basic tools of planning as
well as the prime media of social intercourse. In these fulfilment of this Roles the importance
of reading has never been questioned more recently, particularly since the Advent of radio the
significant of listening is receiving increased attention".

No doubt the advent of communication skills programs, as substitutes for traditional

courses in college freshman English, has had much to do with developing interest in listening.
At a Chicago conference held in February, 1947, call. ed by a joint committee from the Speech
Association of America and the National Council of the Teachers of English, it was reported
that communication programs in this country now total 300 in number. Most of these programs
emphasize that the process roles of communication is predominantly composed of four skills:
reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

In many instances the directors have instituted units of instruction in reading writing,
and speaking, and then have appointed committees to study listening comprehension, and to
report what kind of training in this skill, if any, should be included in attempts to improve the
over-all process of communication. The five most commonly cited factors Of the twenty factors
shown in table 1, five were reported by at least twothirds of the forty students involved in the
study. Figure 1 shows these five factors and the number of students who reported them. Each
of these factors is discussed next & excerpts from verbal reports are included so that the reader
can know the context in which these perceptions were revealed. The names to which the
excerpts have been attributed are not the real names of the students in the study.

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 Research in both first and second language comprehension has shown that human beings
frequently make use of prior knowledge when trying to understand information (Carrell, 1983;
Weissenreider, 1987; Anderson & Lynch, 1988; O’Malley, Chamot & Kupper, 1989; Long,
1989, 1990; Lund, 1991; Chiang & Dunkel, 1992; Schmidt-Rinehart. 1994). As the verbal
reports have just revealed, the students were very much aware of the crucial role of prior
knowledge in assisting their listening. Their belief in the influence of prior knowledge is likely
to have been the reason for their use of several top-down comprehension strategies identified
in the main study (See Goh, 1998a & 1998b).

E. Example Of Listening Comprehension

The examples provided are exercises and activities designed to improve listening
comprehension skills in language learners. These exercises are categorized into different levels
of difficulty and include various formats such as audio recordings, podcasts, and videos. They
are designed to enhance the listening skills of students in grades 2-12, with a focus on English
learners. The exercises include:
Patrick is a student living in Switzerland and his native language is Swiss-German,
however, he wants to learn Spanish because he wants to travel to South America for a student
exchange. Patrick knows that the native language of this continent is Spanish, so he starts to
study Spanish before starting his trip.
He began to study Spanish from scratch as he had no basis in the language, thus
developing and improving his cognitive skills for the processing of information from the
language he is learning. In his learning process are the communicative skills he needs to acquire
to be able to speak, understand and process Spanish naturally.
Listening Comprehension is vital in this process because it is a fundamental part of the
first steps in immersing yourself in the new language. Listening carefully will lead to imitating
sounds, identifying them and being able to repeat in the best way what your teacher is teaching
you. In this process, little by little, your memory will generate that what you learn is related
and that you will be acquiring the skills of listening to generate new knowledge.
There are some example of listening comprehension, mainly:
1. Sleepover Game: This is a fun team-building activity where students are divided into
teams and given a statement to pass on to the next team member. The goal is to write the correct
statement on the board, which requires active listening and following directions.
2.Guided Listening: Students are given a piece of graph paper and guided through verbal
directions to find a specific location. This activity helps develop spatial awareness and listening
comprehension.
3. Debates: Students engage in debates on various topics, which requires active listening to
opposing views and responding effectively. This activity fosters critical thinking and effective
communication.
4. Podcast Listening: Students listen to podcasts on a specific topic and then complete
comprehension exercises such as summarizing the main ideas or answering questions about the
content. This activity helps develop listening comprehension and vocabulary.

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 5. Active Listening Exercises: These exercises involve paraphrasing, asking specific
questions, and summarizing what the speaker has said. They help students develop active
listening skills by focusing on the speaker and the message.
6. T-Chart, Pair, Defend: This strategy involves students working in pairs to discuss a topic
and then defending their arguments. It helps develop critical thinking and active listening skills.
7. Non-Verbal Listening: Students practice active listening by paying attention to non-
verbal cues such as facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice. This activity helps
develop empathy and understanding.
8. Content-Oriented Listening: Students listen to a message and focus on the content,
whether it makes sense, what it means, and whether it’s accurate. This activity helps develop
critical thinking and content analysis skills.
9. Time-Oriented Listening: Students listen to a message and focus on how quickly it gets
to the point. This activity helps develop time management and prioritization skills.
10. Barriers to Effective Listening: Students learn about common barriers to effective
listening such as noise, attention span, and distractions. This activity helps develop awareness
and strategies for overcoming these barriers.
These exercises and activities can be adapted to suit different age groups and learning levels,
and are designed to improve listening comprehension skills in various contexts.
As for the sentence of examples listening comprehension that is:
a) Patrick is a student living in Switzerland and his native language is Swiss-
German, however, he wants to learn Spanish because he wants to travel to South
America for a student exchange. Patrick knows that the native language of this
continent is Spanish, so he starts to study Spanish before starting his trip.
b) He began to study Spanish from scratch as he had no basis in the language, thus
developing and improving his cognitive skills for the processing of information
from the language he is learning. In his learning process are the communicative
skills he needs to acquire to be able to speak, understand and process Spanish
naturally.
Listening Comprehension is vital in this process because it is a fundamental part of the
first steps in immersing yourself in the new language. Listening carefully will lead to imitating
sounds, identifying them and being able to repeat in the best way what your teacher is teaching
you. In this process, little by little, your memory will generate that what you learn is related
and that you will be acquiring the skills of listening to generate new knowledge.

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 CHAPTER III

CONCLUSION

A. Conclusion
Accurately comprehending spoken language is known as listening comprehension. This
ability is essential to language learning because it allows students to engage in dialogue and
communicate with native speakers. Because it makes it easier to develop other language
abilities like speaking, reading, and writing, listening comprehension is crucial. Speaking
and writing abilities are linked to listening comprehension. There are two types of situations
in which listening skills are used when learning a foreign language: direct and indirect.
Situations that are considered direct include speaking, listening to a conversation on a tape,
and having direct conversations.
The conclusion of listening comprehension involves the ability to understand spoken
language accurately. This skill is crucial in language learning since it enables learners to
interact with native speakers and participate in conversations. Listening comprehension is
essential because it facilitates the development of other language skills, such as speaking,
reading, and writing.
B. Suggestion
we hope this material can be understood by everyone. And there are still many errors
in this paper. We apologize for our mistakes and really accept the input that friends provide.

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Rivers, Wilga M. "Listening comprehension." The Modern Language Journal 50.4 (1966): 196-204.

Richards, Jack C. "Listening comprehension: Approach, design, procedure." TESOL quarterly 17.2

Graham, Suzanne. "Listening comprehension: The learners’ perspective." System 34.2 (2006): 165-182.
(1983): 219-240.

Nichols, R. G. (1948). Factors in listening comprehension. Communications Monographs, 15(2), 154-163.

Boyle, Joseph P. "Factors affecting listening comprehension." ELT journal 38.1 (1984): 34-38.

Goh, Christine. "How much do learners know about the factors that influence their listening
comprehension? ." Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics 4.1 (1999): 17-42.

The Impact of Cultural Background on Listening Comprehension of Saudi EFL Students Mohammad
Hamad Al-khresheh Department of English Language Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Northern
Border University, Saudi Arabic

“Strategies Applied By Students To Cope With The Problems In Listening Class: A Case Study In Department
Of English 4 Education Of Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta I2017

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