LISTENING SKILL

Teaching Listening by Using Information Technology (IT)

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We can hear sounds from our ear, so it is called we are listening. "Listening" is receiving language through the ears. Listening is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process. Listening is the first of the four language skills, which are

• Listening
• Speaking
• Reading
• Writing

Whereas listening is the first skill that has to be mastered by the students who learning English, but the skill is quite difficult, because the students has to know the meaning and some vocabularies that utter from the speaker. Based on the source: http://www2.nkfust.edu.tw/~emchen/CALL/unit5.htm

There are two approaches to the teaching of listening skills, the natural approach and the total physical response (TPR). 

• The Natural Approach

The natural approach, developed by Krashen and Terrell (1983), focuses on comprehensible input and the optimum affective state of the learner. 

• Total Physical Response 

 Total physical response, developed by Asher (1977), is frequently used as a technique within a variety of teaching approaches and methods rather than strictly as an approach unto itself. It focuses on psychomotor associations and lowering of the affective filter.

Both approaches have  their strengths and weaknesses, but in order to make the teaching and learning listening skill be more effective and fun for the students, teacher should use some methods that can easily improve the students' understanding in learning listening. One of the ways is by using Information Technology (IT) that has been improved in the development era. For example we can use recording tape from the native language, listening songs to improve the vocabularies, listening western movie to learn the way they pronounce some words, or by using software Listening skill games that can be learned by students while they are playing it.

So, I think the use of Information Technology (IT) to the teaching and learning process in listening skill is important and have some benefits for both of the teacher and the students. The benefits of teaching Listening by using IT such as making the students be more active in class, create fun learning for students, etc. But, there are also some weaknesses in using Information Technology for teaching Listening skill for students, because the tools that are support the teaching and learning by using IT such as tape recorder, LCD, etc should be prepared by the teacher, and teacher take more attention to handle the students, and take more effort in controlling the students activity in class.