Bottom-up Processing (BUP) for

Decoding in Teaching Listening

Skills: Analysis, Issues and
Suggested Activities
by Jayaron Jose

Gabriel Kislinger & Lukas Sturm

 gain deeper understanding of various aspects
of BUP and their application in a listening skill
lesson

Research identify different L2 acquisition challenges

specific to listening skill due to less emphasis
objectives on BUP for decoding in listening lessons

outline a few listening activities that can be

exploited to mitigate the gap in promoting BUP
for decoding in the listening classroom
Research questions

What is the significance of BUP for decoding What are some issues faced by learners
in listening lessons? pertaining to BUP for decoding in listening
comprehension, and some suggested
teaching/learning activities to address these
issues?
Methodology
Warrant: observation that BUP for decoding in teaching listening is
less emphasized compared to TDP in listening lessons

Claim: BUP for decoding may be given due attention to promote

EFL/ESL learners‘ listening skills

Grounds: literature review, researcher‘s own experience

What is the significance of BUP for
decoding in listening lessons?
Results
Significance in listening lessons
• achieve passive listening skill while practicing with BUP
• gaining understanding of different sound and sentence structures
• raise awareness of BUP in general
• not every listening task requires background information
• overall better understanding of listening tasks after practice with BUP
 What are some issues faced by
learners pertaining to BUP for
decoding in listening comprehension,
and some suggested
teaching/learning activities to address
these issues?
Results (1/2)
Issues
• too much dependence on previous knowledge due to poor BUP
 false guesses (negative effect on listening skills)
• overemphasis on TDP by teachers
• unawareness of intruding sounds
 word boundaries cannot be decoded
• difference between spelling and pronunciation often unclear
• spoken grammatical features often neglected in course books
• colloquial slangs seldom found in textbook listening activities
Results (2/2)
Suggested activities
• Learner training
• Word boundary issues – Intrusion & catenation
• Textbook listening vs. Colloquial speech
• Spelling and pronunciation – Stress, intonation & weak forms
 Connection to
course content
Vandergrift & Goh (2012), p. 19-20
Comprehension processes

Grimm et. al (2015), p. 124-127

Interrelatedness of BUP and TDP

CEFR (2001), p. 59-60

Reception strategies
 learners
learners
recognize key
develop a
words and
passive
sentence
listening skill
Relevance in structures

EFL classroom learners can

learners are
more
use different
prepared for
listening
listening exam
techniques
situations
Practical examples
Spelling & pronunciation
Aim:
create awareness of differences
between spelling & pronunciation,
practice stress & intonation
Procedure:
1) learners get in pairs
2) person A receives a handout with
sounds & letters
3) person B gets a handout with
questions about them
Textbook listening vs. Colloquial
speech
Aim:
decoding slangs in colloquial
speech in contrast to textbook
listening
Procedure:
learners match formal & colloquial
expressions they hear
Discussion
Question 1
Have you ever thought about
what kind of listening
strategies you use?

Question 2
Would you integrate BUP tasks
into your future classrooms? If
yes, why?
References
Jose, Jayaron. (2022). Bottom-up Processing (BUP) for Decoding in
Teaching Listening Skills: Analysis, Issues and Suggested Activities.
English Language Teaching, 15(12), 71-87.
https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v15n12p71