Getting to the bottom of L2 listening instruction: Making a case for bottom-up activities
PDF

Keywords

listening pedagogy
bottom-up listening activities
dictation
listening proficiency

How to Cite

Siegel, J., & Siegel, A. (2015). Getting to the bottom of L2 listening instruction: Making a case for bottom-up activities. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 5(4), 637–662. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2015.5.4.6

Number of views: 1142


Number of downloads: 846

Abstract

This paper argues for the incorporation of bottom-up activities for English as a foreign language (EFL) listening. It discusses theoretical concepts and pedagogic options for addressing bottom-up aural processing in the EFL classroom as well as how and why teachers may wish to include such activities in lessons. This discussion is augmented by a small-scale classroom-based research project that investigated six activities targeting learners’ bottom-up listening abilities. Learners studying at the lower-intermediate level of a compulsory EFL university course were divided into a treatment group (n = 21) and a contrast group (n = 32). Each group listened to the same audio material and completed listening activities from an assigned textbook. The treatment group also engaged in a set of six bottom-up listening activities using the same material. This quasi-experimental study used dictation and listening proficiency tests before and after the course. Between-group comparisons of t-test results of dictation and listening proficiency tests indicated that improvements for the treatment group were probably due to the BU intervention. In addition, results from a posttreatment survey suggested that learners value explicit bottom-up listening instruction.
https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2015.5.4.6
PDF

References

Al-Jasser, F. (2008). The effect of teaching English phonotactics on the lexical segmentation of English as a foreign language. System, 36, 94-106. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2007.12.002

Anderson, A., & Lynch, T. (1988). Listening. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Anderson, J. R. (2005). Cognitive psychology and its implications (6th ed.). New York: Worth.

Brown, S. (2011). Listening myths. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Buck, G. (2001). Assessing listening. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Dunkel, P. (1991). Listening in the native and second/foreign language: Toward an integration of research and practice. TESOL Quarterly, 25(3), 431-457. doi: 10.2307/3586979

Field, J. (2003). Promoting perception: Lexical segmentation in L2 listening. ELT Journal, 57(4), 325-334. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/elt/57.4.325

Field, J. (2004). An insight into listeners’ problems: Too much bottom-up or too much top-down? System, 32, 363-377. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2004.05.002

Field, J. (2008a). Listening in the language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Field, J. (2008b). Bricks or mortar: Which parts of the input does a second language listener rely on? ELT Journal, 42(3), 411-432.

Field, J. (2012). Listening instruction. In A. Burns & J. C. Richards (Eds.), The Cambridge guide to pedagogy and practice in second language teaching (pp. 207-217). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Flowerdew, J., & Miller, L. (2005). Second language listening: Theory and practice. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Goh, C. (2000). A cognitive perspective on language learners’ listening comprehension problems. System, 28, 55-75. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0346-251X(99)00060-3

Goh, C. (2008). Metacognitive instruction for second language listening development: Theory, practice and research implications. RELC, 39(2), 188-213. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0033688208092184

Graham, S., Santos, D., & Francis-Brophy, E. (2014). Teacher beliefs about listening in a foreign language. Teaching and Teacher Education, 40, 44-60. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.01.007

Graham, S., Santos, D., & Vanderplank, R. (2011). Exploring the relationship between listening development and strategy use. Language Teaching Research, 15(4), 435-456. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1362168811412026

Howard, D. (1983). Cognitive psychology: Memory, language and thought. New York: Macmillian.

Jones, L. (2008). Let's talk 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Lynch, T. (2009). Teaching second language listening. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lynch, T., & Mendelsohn, D. (2002). Listening. In N. Schmitt (Ed.), An introduction to applied linguistics (pp. 193-210). London: Arnold.

Nation, I. S. P., & Newton, J. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL listening and speaking. New York: Routledge.

Nogami, Y., & Hayashi, N. (2010). A Japanese adaptive test of English as a foreign language: developmental and operational aspects. In W. J. v. d. Linden & C. A. W. Glas (Eds.), Elements of adaptive testing (pp. 191-211). New York: Springer.

Nemtchinova, E. (2013). Teaching listening. Virginia: TESOL International Association.

Renandya, W. A., & Farrell, T. S. C. (2011). “Teacher, the tape is too fast!” Extensive listening in ELT. ELT Journal, 65(1), 52-59. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccq015

Richards, J. C., & Burns, A. (2012). Tips for teaching listening: A practical approach. White Plains, NY: Pearson.

Rost, M. (2002). Teaching and researching listening. Essex: Longman.

Rost, M. (2014). Listening in a multilingual world: The challenges of second language (L2) listening. International Journal of Listening, 28(3), 131-148.

Siegel, J. (2014). Exploring L2 listening instruction: Examinations of practice. ELT Journal, 68(1), 22-30.

Siegel, J., & Siegel, A. (2013). Empirical and attitudinal effects of bottom-up listening activities in the L2 classroom. ELT World Online, 5, 1-25.

Vandergrift, L. (2004). Listening to learn or learning to listen? Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 24, 3-25.

Vandergrift, L. (2010). Researching Listening. In B. Paltridge & A. Phakiti (Eds.), Continuum companion to research methods in applied linguistics (pp. 160-173). London: Continuum.

Vandergrift, L., & Goh, C. C. M. (2012). Teaching and learning second language listening. New York: Routledge.

Wu, Y. (1998). What do tests of listening comprehension test? A retrospection study of EFL test-takers performing a multiple-choice task. Language Testing, 15(1), 21-44. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/026553298673885021

Yeldham, M., & Gruba, P. (2014). Toward an instructional approach to developing interactive second language listening. Language Teaching Research, 18, 33-53. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1362168813505395