Listening is more than merely hearing words. Listening is an active process by which students receive, construct meaning from, and respond to spoken and or nonverbal messages (Emmert, 1994). As such, it forms an integral part of the communication process and should not be separated from the other language arts. Listening comprehension complements reading comprehension. Verbally clarifying the spoken message before, during, and after a presentation enhances listening comprehension. Writing, in turn, clarifies and documents the spoken message.
Teacher may use several listening tests to check comprehension, evaluate listening skills and use of listening strategies, and extend the knowledge gained to other contexts such as predicting; may expand on the topic or the language of the listening text; or may transfer what has been learned to reading, speaking, or writing activities.
Furthermore, several activities or types of test and assessment will be discussed more in this paper in emphasizing how teacher assess’ students’ listening comprehension with paper entitled “Listening Assessment”.
1) Listening nature
Greatest significance to foreign language teachers because it:
• It offers the most natural form of input
• It is a highly valuable skill in its own right
• It is a prerequisite of meaningful speaking and authentic interaction
In order to identify the techniques of testing listening comprehension we have to understand:
Types of listening function of intonation, rate of delivery, stress, rhythm:
• Short, impersonal material: announcements in airports, train stations, information about office hours, the weather.
• Longer impersonal material: lectures, reports, presentations
• Interpersonal interchanges: conversations, greetings, invitations, compliments, eavesdropping.
• Aesthetic and entertainment functions: songs, poems, movies.
• Instructional functions: orders, dictations, true and false tests, fill-in exercises
2) Listening assessment procedures and tests
Procedure in assessing listening can be drawn in its taxonomy of listening task:
• Doing – the testee responds physically to a command.
• Choosing – the testee selects from alternatives or pictures, objects, texts.
• Transferring – the testee draws a picture of what is heard.
• Answering – the testee answers questions about a message.
• Extending – the testee provides an ending to a story heard.
• Duplication – the testee translates the message into the native language or repeats it verbally.
• Modeling – the testee may order, for example, a meal after listening to a model order.
• Conversing – the testee engages in a conversation that indicates appropriate processing of information.
There is a variety of ways to test the listening comprehension of students. It then examines the appropriate-response technique, and it concludes with the test of extended communication.
Limited Response
Limited response consists of three simple effective ways to test the listening skill beginning for adult or children. One involves listening and interactive response. Another uses listening and pictures. The last involves listening and simple talk response.
Interactive response
Using an interesting little quiz is one of its characteristic. For instance, Interactive response can be used by using true or false options in a question. “T” regarding to true and “F” refers to false. In class, for example, students are asked to listen a following dialogue/statement and to consider whether the dialogue is true or not. Example:
Listening materials:
Several statements in an audio CD or read by teacher:
1. Pink is favorite color for men
2. Men is wearing blues
3. Lipstick is one type of cosmetic
Students’ worksheet:
Listen what the speaker says, consider those statements are true or false and please give marks () for the right statement.
Number of
Statement
True/False
1 (T)/(F)
2 (T)/(F)
3 (T)/(F)
Picture Cues
Visual of various kinds have long been used to test listening comprehension. When using a set of three or four related pictures, keep these ideas in mind; there does not have to be a story line relating pictures to each other. The same set can be used for several questions. It’s important to give them the duplicate so each students has his own, or making a transparency and using an Overhead Projector (OHP) to display them in the class.
Ask response
One way to test students’ listening comprehension is trough asking their response. When testing, students do various things to show how well they understand.
Example:
“Stand up please. And then walk to the door. After that you do this, turn on the light. Then before you sit down, put the small book here on the top shelf.”
The other activity of asking response can be done by drawing task and giving a person map.
Advantages and limitations of Limited response
Advantages
This is suitable for persons not able to read and write in the target language.
This involves flexible techniques: some are interesting to children, and several techniques are useful for young people and adults with intermediate to advanced skills.
The questions are generally quite easy to prepare.
Limited-response items are generally rather objectives as well as quick and easy to score.
Limitations.
Suitable picture for picture-cue items are not always easy to find.
Equipment (such as OHP, Printer or other machine) is usually needed to reproduce drawings for certain task-response and picture-cue items.
Multiple-choice appropriate response
There are three guidelines to keep mind when preparing multiple-choice appropriate response items to test listening comprehension: focus on meaning, keep the options simple; and learn to adjust the difficulty of the items.
Example:
In audio cassette, we may hear:
(When Lina leaves, they’ll hire you, won’t they?)
A. Yes, you will B. Yes, he is leaving C. Yes, they will.
The correct reply is “C”, notice that students have to response an understanding both of appropriate meaning and grammar.
Advantages:
It’s fast and easy to correct.
It can be scored consistently and reliably.
It’s an integrative, communicative measure of listening.
Limitations:
It’s more difficult to prepare than tests for beginners.
Cheating is fairly easy, unless alternate forms used.
Since the reading of multiple-choice options is required, students need literate in English.
Testing extended communication
Based on survey, listening tests would not be complete without look at the exams of extended oral communication. This type is used for listening short lecture contexts, social/business context and real life situations dialogue.
Example:
A: Check in here?
B: yes, can I see your ticket please?
A: here it is. I’m going to L.A
B: nonsmoking. And can I get an aisle seat?
A: all right. That’s 8-D. Put your bag on the scale, please.
B: sure.
Here are some typical questions:
What is costumer doing?
A. Buying an airplane ticket.
B. Checking in at an airline terminal )*
C. Checking on someone’s flight.
Or, can be applied in open-ended response:
What is costumer doing? _________________________
Advantages:
These closely approximately real-life communication.
These are fast and easy to correct.
These can be scored consistently and reliably.
Limitations:
There is a need for students to be able to read English.
It’s rather difficult to find or prepare natural-sounding listening passages.
There is possibility of students cheating on the tests.
3) Types of Listening Assessment
Listening is one of the more difficult aspects of the language arts to assess. It cannot be easily observed and can be measured only through inference. However, there are both informal and formal strategies and instruments that teachers can use to help them in their assessments.
Informal Assessment
The most effective assessment of listening may be teachers' observations and students' self-assessments. Students initially may not be aware of how well they listen and, therefore, need teacher guidance. Self-assessments of students should be followed with one-on-one discussions about student progress. Teachers can also videotape students while they are listening and follow up with discussion.
Sample Self-assessment List for Listening
Give mark () for the appropriate column:
It’s a questionnaire to know how students learn to listen:
Sample Listening Behavior Check List for teacher
Give mark () for the appropriate column:
Name of Student: Date Observed
Listening behavior and habits
(Devine, 1982, p.50.)
Formal Assessment
More formal listening assessments can be prepared by teachers based on objectives and perceived needs. Some examples follow.
Excerpts from different genres of literature (e.g., prose, poetry, play) can be used as follows:
Prepare a set of ten questions on the excerpt.
Set a purpose for the listening activity
(e.g., "Listen to determine the setting of the following passage.").
Have students listen to the excerpt (pre-taped or teacher-read).
Have students respond in writing to the prepared questions.
A score of 70% or better on basic recall and basic inferential questions indicates that the student has comprehended the passage.
Questions can also be designed to determine if students comprehend critically and creatively.
Students can paraphrase, summarize, analyze, make notes, complete a listening guide, or write a response to a spoken or multimedia presentation. The assessment tasks can be as simple as listing significant ideas and arguments, answering a series of questions, or identifying connotative meanings of key words. They can be as challenging as formulating their own questions; identifying irrelevant details; identifying fallacies, bias, or prejudice; using the information presented and applying it to a new situation; or judging the effects of various devices the speaker may use to influence the listener or viewer.
Devine (1982) gives examples of other types of listening assessments.
After placing ten details on the chalkboard, the teacher reads a ten-minute story aloud. After listening to the story, students are asked to jot down the four or five details that are most important to the outcome. The responses provide insights into students' listening ability.
Students listen to a story and, afterwards, write down three key qualities of the character and their reasons for selecting these. While listening to the story a second time, the students listen for and record details that prove their assertions about the character.
Even though listening is a difficult language strand to evaluate, assessment must take place to validate its place in a curriculum and to provide feedback to students. The feedback should be specific, concise, and as meaningful as possible. As with all evaluation, it needs to be continuous.
4) Scoring the Listening Test
Tests may be classified into non- productive exercises (only listening is involved; it is objective) and productive (integrated with other skills e.g. writing or speaking; it is subjective).
Non-productive listening tests
• Multiple-choice questions
• True-false questions
• Multiple-choice cloze
• Matching
• Sequencing
• Information transfer
Productive listening tests
• Open-ended questions
• True-false (false items to be corrected by the testee)
• Listening cloze
• Summarize
• Note taking
• Completion tasks
• Dictation
Non-productive tests can be scored objectively. Cloze, dictation, gap-filling can be scored semi-objectively. For reasons of practicality and reliability, these tasks should be selected. For reasons of wash back, productive tasks are recommended.
Rating Scale for testing listening
8. Handles all general listening operations; shows confidence, competence similar to those in his/ her native language, able to compensate for difficulties.
7. similar to nine, low repetition, repairs, adjusts listening strategies for purpose.
6. Extracts the majority of messages with minor loss of details, few corrections.
5. Handle moderately listening operations; extract most of the message; need for repetition.
4. Loss of detail, little grasp of subtlety, frequent need of repetition, and difficulties in handling input at normal speed.
3. Only the gist of the message, need for repetition, and difficulties in handling input at normal speed, no compensation for errors.
2. Comprehension of isolated points, dependent on repetition, a narrow range of language.
1. Little confidence, comprehends only basic messages, unable to compensate.
(Dumitru DOROBĂŢ, 2007)
