Considering Unconscious Listening to Improve the Speaking Skill of the Students of Business Administration Study Program of Politeknik Negeri

Semarang Indonesia
Nur Rini Politeknik Negeri Semarang Abstract: Listening and speaking have close relationship; improving listening skill will improve speaking skill. The speaking skill of students of D3 Business Administration Study Program of Politeknik Negeri Semarang Indonesia needs improvement; they spend little time to study listening. There are possibilities to improve the students listening skill consciously and unconsciously. Structured listening programs can be likely carried out by the students since they have their cellular phones completed with MP3 players in their convenient time to have listening activities unconsciously. It is promoted to use Effortless English System, which is developed by A.J. Hoge, Kristin Dodds and Joe Weiss since 2008. The idea is learning a native-like English speaking by relying much on 6 to 12 months listening activity. The lesson set consists of Learn Real English and Power English. They can be downloaded easily and it is suggested to transfer the lessons to MP3 player, I Pod or Cell phone to listen at anytime. Keywords: unconscious learning, listening skill, speaking skill INTRODUCTION At semester 6, the end of the D3 study program, it is a compulsory requirement that the students of Business Administration Study Program of Politeknik Negeri Semarang Indonesia to write their final projects or scripts. It will be examined before a board of examiners. The students should do the presentation in English. From the presentation it is hoped that the department can measure the results of or may evaluate the whole sixsemester English instructions. Moreover, by assigning the students to do presentation in English it may enhance the students motivation in learning to speak. However, there were many complaints from the teachers who examined the students English final project presentation. They found that the students did not speak well when they were doing the ten-minute presentation in English. The English and non English teachers are wondering about the fact since there is an English course in every of six semesters in Business Administration Study Program curriculum. This upsetting result encourages me to have a look at the syllabi of the study program. It is found that there are about 50% speaking sessions 25% writing session 15% reading session and only 10% spending for listening session. The little time spending for listening session is put at the semester 5, not at the early semesters. From an informal interview it is known that none of the English teachers conducted listening test. It reflected that listening is the most neglected sub language skill in the study program. It is not

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surprising that the students listening scores in TOEFL and TOEIC-like are low. Among the seven assessment aspects of speaking, fluency and pronunciation scores are the lowest. Speaking skill has a very close relationship with listening skill (Zhang, 2009). Much reading makes writing better and much listening will likely contribute to better speaking. My students do not practice listening enough; it is assumed it results in upsetting picture of the students speaking skill. Therefore, I am much interested in raising an issue of unconscious listening to improve the speaking skill of the students of Business Administration Study Program of Politeknik Negeri Semarang. LISTENING AND SPEAKING RELATIONSHIP Listening and speaking have very closed relationship (Richards 2008; Vandergrift 1999; Schmidt 1990). Zhang (2009) studied the effects of listening on speaking of 50 second-year students of Computer Science majors of Qingdao University of Science and Technology, China. The experimental group of 25 students was given appropriate listening and audio-visual authentic materials for a school year in the oral English class. The result shows that listening and speaking ability are closely related, and listening does have positive effects on improving college students oral English. There is a significant correlation between students listening and speaking ability. Listening to more appropriate authentic materials can help to improve students oral English. Therefore, it is advisable for college teachers to bring in more authentic listening materials into their class, and for students to try every possible means to get access to positive listening materials. There are no detail listening materials elaborated in the report. From that study I can assume that it is very possible to improve my students speaking skill by improving their listening skill. My next question is how to improve the students listening skill? There are two alternatives to improve listening skill attracting me to learn, shadowing and Effortless English System (EES). Hamadas experiment-based research with 73 Japanese high school first-year students in total examines if difficult materials can improve learners listening comprehension skills, two experiments were conducted (Hamada, 2011). The first study investigated whether learners listening comprehension skills would improve by shadowing (a paced, auditory tracking task with parrot style, using headphones and devised as a means of studying selective attention and practicing for simultaneous interpretation, Lamberts 1992 in Hamada, 2011) with difficult high school materials and what aspects of listening comprehension skills they would improve by the shadowing training. There were 44 Japanese first year high school students participated in the first study. There were 13 lessons taught using a high level English textbook from a Japanese publisher, Crown I. The second study used authentic difficult materials to support the result of the first study and examine the effectiveness of difficult materials from a different perspective. There were 29 high school third year students participated in the second study and practiced 17 sets of passages in Obama speech collection. This study result suggests that shadowing with difficult texts can also develop students listening comprehension skills, especially the skill to identify the sounds they are listening to. To develop more effective bottom up processing, this skill is crucial. This

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research raised the possibility that teachers can train students even using difficult texts, such as school textbooks and authentic materials. CONSCIOUSNESS AND UNCONSCIOUSNESS IN SECOND OR FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING In their lives people learn all life aspects consciously and unconsciously. Babies and small children learn most things about life unconsciously. A two year old boy in my neighborhood asks the same questions many times and repeats the answers. Amazingly, his speaking improves quickly. I find my two daughters, 23 and 10 years old, enjoy listening to and singing some English songs; and I think they sing pretty well. They listen to the songs frequently and sing along the recording while they are doing other activities. They do the activities on their own choices, happily without nervousness and pressures. I play the same songs in my van on about 20 minutes way to work and back home; after some weeks I find myself I can sing the songs. The boy does not have his intention to learn speaking and neither do my daughters and I have our intention to be singers, however, we can sing. I think when we are listening to the songs we learn singing the songs unconsciously. At school people learn most courses consciously. Some students enjoy the courses others do not. Teachers apply their teaching techniques to make the students learn the courses easier. Although Schmidt (1990) who believes that the notion of consciousness is useful because it ties together such related concepts as attention, short term memory, control vs. automatic processing, and serial vs. parallel processing does not deny the important role of unconscious processes in language comprehension and production. When we read or listen to an utterance in Javanese or Indonesian in which we are fluent we can catch its meaning but we do not aware of any part of the complex decoding processes that precede awareness. Schmidt (1990) states more about conscious and unconscious learning: a. Learning is sometimes said to be unconscious when the learner is not aware of having learned something. b. The conscious/unconscious learning contrast may refer to awareness at the level of noticing c. Conscious and unconscious learning maybe distinguished on the basis of intention and effort. d. The contrast may also be made with reference to awareness at the level of understanding. In this sense, unconscious learning means the unconscious inductions of principles, rules, or algorithms, whereas conscious learning means the establishment of such principles based on insight. e. Conscious learning may also be taken to refer to intentions at a more global level, learning according to a deliberate plan involving study and other intentional learning strategies f. Finally, conscious learning may be referred to the issue of conscious knowledge. I believe that adult learners in learning foreign language should include conscious and unconscious processes. So far, formal education mainly concerns on the activities which involve conscious processes. If my students are not asked to discuss the English system in the class sessions they will likely not produce correct forms and use them

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appropriately. As it is stated by Rutherford and Sharwood Smith (1985 in Schmidt 1990) that consciousness raising, drawing learners attention to the formal properties of language, facilitates language learning. Suppositions that support the important role of unconsciousness are given by Seliger (1983:187 in Schmidt 1990) obviously, it is at the unconscious level that language learning takes place and also Greg (1984:94 in Schmidt 1990) agrees that most language learning is unconscious. Krashens Acquisition-learning Hypothesis (1985 in Freeman and Long 1991:241-42) explains that there are two independent ways of learning an SL (Second Language): acquisition and learning. Acquisition refers to the subconscious process used by children developing their first language; learning is a conscious process, which results in a separate system of simple grammar rules, or knowledge about SL. It may come to a hypothesis that there is a room for Polytechnic students to improve their speaking by doing unconscious listening structured program in their own (leisure) time. LISTENING PROGRAM TO IMPROVE SPEAKING Teaching listening is not easy and it is likely the most challenging skill for many second language learners to obtain. As it is stated by Field (2008:334) that Acquiring the ability to understand what L2 speakers say is not an optional extra. On the contrary; listening is the principal means by which learners expand their knowledge of spoken forms of the target language. For the reason that there is very limited English class session provided in Politeknik Negeri Semarang I am paying attention on suggestion a program of listening for the students to do mostly in their own time. However, their listening activities should be monitored. The monitoring can be done by conducting class discussions on their comprehension on the recordings of the spoken texts they have been listened previously. The model is based on the approach used by the Effortless English System (EES). Effortless English System The American University Language Centre in Bangkok in 1984 started using The Listening Approach or Automatic Language Growth. It believes that any attempt to speak (or even think about language), before automatic speaking comes, will cause damage and limit final results. It uses a very long silent period. They found that during the silent period in which the students focus only on listening, after 6-12 months of intensive listening, they begin to speak spontaneously and naturally without effort and without thinking (J. Marvin Brown, 2001). It suggests adult language learner to learn to speak by listening not to learn to speak by speaking. The reason that children always end up as native speakers is because they learn to speak by listening. Effortless English System adopts that idea that is learning speaking by relying much on listening activity. The system has been developed by A.J. Hoge, Kristin Dodds and Joe Weiss since 2008. The primary goal of the system is to improve a native-like English speaking skill and it mainly focuses on everyday English through audio lesson sets within 6 to 12 months. The lesson set consists of Learn Real English and Power English. They can be downloaded easily and it is suggested to transfer the lesson to MP3 player, I Pod or Cell phone to listen at anytime. There are seven rules suggested by the system (http://learnrealenglish.com/): RagamJurnalPengembanganHumanioraVol.12No.2,Agustus2012

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1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6. 7.

Do not learn individual words. The system encourages the language learners to study phrases. It believes that by learning phrases the students will learn more quickly and have much better grammar. Do not study grammar. The system focuses on improving speaking skill. There are a great deal of psychological factors involved in speaking process, like anxiety, and nervousness. Being afraid of making grammar mistakes is likely the factor that most blocks the learner to speak. That is why the system forbids the students take with them grammar books. They are not allowed to discuss grammar. Listen first. The system believes that speaking has closer relationship to listening than reading. Therefore, it stresses on listening activities. The students should listen much the comprehensible spoken English text. Slow, deep learning is best. It is suggested the students listen to one spoken English text many times to let it deep into the brain. The learner should learn every word & phrase deeply. Use point of view mini-stories. Listening to very short stories can be a start. They are selected based on the tense which is the focus of learning. It is hoped that the grammar will be improved naturally. Only use real English conversations and materials. The stories should be authentic texts. It must be the recording of real native speakers speaking. Listen and answer not listen and repeat. After the students listen to one text many times, they have to answer the easy questions quickly. No time is allowed to think. This way will teach the student to think quickly.

EES beliefs and the Three Myths of Language Learning How EES sees the three myths of language learning: Adults cannot do like children do, Practice makes perfect, and Language must be studied are presented here. Adults cannot do like children do. EES considers that adults unconscious mind just does better in learning a new language. Children learn second languages perfectly, but adults almost never do. It seems that adults cannot learn like children, they may have lost the childs magic. The reality is adults have gained an ability that children do not yet have: the ability to reason, to translate, to memorize, and to analyze. This ability naturally becomes the adults primary conscious method of learning. This adult ability simply cannot match what a child without it is able to do. Practice makes perfect. Most teachers agree that practice makes perfect. However, children do not practice their language. When they know what they want to say, they say it; if they do not know what they want to say, they are quiet. They gain the know from their experiences in that language and culture, never from practice. Language must be studied. If it is apparent that adults study foreign languages, it is also just as apparent that children do not study. Children learn the foreign language without study; they live, they look, they listen, and they learn. They gather up experiences and simply try to understand whats going on around them. Both alternative methods of improving listening skill involve authentic materials and the use of headphone or earphone in the process of learning. With the ease of producing MP3 files, and the availability of free and paid recording (Please see the Appendix for the Website addresses) and editing software such as Audacity, listening program with

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authentic materials can be created easily (Man-Man, 2006). Furthermore, the production of listening program with authentic materials provides students with plenty of meaningful language use, which is highly desirable for second language acquisition (Nunan, 1998). The individual activity is also suited for less confident learners, since it reduces the anxiety brought about by real-time interaction (Gardner, Day, & MacIntyre, 1992 in Man-Man, 2006). With imagination and creativity, second language teachers will be able to make the best use of the technology for developing their students listening and speaking skills. The needs to improve the present syllabi of semesters 1 and 2 by including the listening lessons especially for unconscious activities in Business Administration Study Program of Politeknik Negeri Semarang Indonesia and also provide the department with a model of the listening program are urgent. The model I would like to suggest is based on EESs beliefs. The model will include the authentic materials and the use of MP3 player and earphone or headphone. It is likely possible since nowadays almost all university students have mobile phones completed with Bluetooth, MP3 player and earphone. They engage in plenty of listening practice while traveling or doing other activities. Moreover, Hammer (1991) states that one vital source of language the students can listen to is the teacher. But it is also important for students to be exposed to other voices and that is why listening to tapes is so important. They must ensure that they give students as much listening material (on tape or video) as possible. The first answer to the question about how to teach pronunciation is that students should be given as much exposure to people speaking the language correctly as possible. The use of authentic materials for listening is very essential. The students must be exposed to a lot of listening that fits their learning needs. CONCLUSION I convince that studies (they can be experimental studies) on applying unconscious listening structured program are worth conducted and that the findings will contribute important information to improve the syllabi of semester 1 and 2 of Business Administration Study Program and provide the study program with the model. Therefore, it will endow English teachers with confidence providing intensive listening program for at least one semester to improve the speaking skill of the Students of Business Administration Study Program of Politeknik Negeri Semarang Indonesia. The listening program is suggested to carry out in students spare time. REFERENCES Borg, W.R., and M.D. Gall. 1983. Educational Research: An Introduction. New York: Longman Brown, M.J., and K. Brown. 2001. From the Outside in: The Secret to Automatic Language Growth. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Field, John. 2008. Listening in the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Freeman, D. Larsen and Michael H. Long. 1991. An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Research. London: Longman Group UK Limited.

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Hamada, Yo. 2011. Improvement of Listening Comprehension Skills through Shadowing with Difficult Materials. THE JOURNAL OF ASIA TEFL Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 139-162, Spring 2011. Available at. http://www.asiatefl.org/journal/journal1.html accessed 1 June 2011 Harmer, J. 1991. The Practice of Language Teaching. New York: Longman Nieveen, N.2007. Formative Evaluation in Educational Design Research. An Introduction to Educational Design Research. Proceedings of the seminar conducted at the East China Normal University, Shanghai (PR China), November 23-26, 2007 http://www.slo.nl/downloads/2009/Introduction_20to_20education_20design_20rese arch.pdf/ accessed 2 June 2011 Nunan, D. (1998). Second language teaching and learning. Boston: Heinle & Heinle. Richards, J.C. 2008. Teaching Listening and Speaking. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Schmidt, R.W. 1990. The Role of Consciousness in Second Language Learning. Applied Linguistics. Vol. 11 No. 2 1990. SZE, Paul Man-Man. 2006. Developing Students Listening and Speaking Skills Through ELT Podcasts. Education Journal, Vol. 34, No. 2, Winter 2006. The Chinese University of Hong Kong 2007 http://www.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/en/ej/ 200600340002/0115.htm . accessed 3 June 2011 Vandergrift, L. 1999. Fasilitating Second Language Listening Comprehension: Aquiring Successful Strategies. ELT Journal Volume 53/3 July 1999. Oxford University Press. Zhang , Yan. 2009. An Experimental Study of the Effects of Listening on Speaking for College Students. English Language Teaching, CCSE Journal. September 2009. Vol 2 No. 3. Available at www.ccsenet.org/journal.html accessed 1 June 2011. www.effortlessenglishclub.com accessed 29 December 2010. www.learnrealenglish.com accessed 19 June 2010. APPENDIX Website addresses to download listening materials ELT Podcasting General directories To search for ELT podcasts in general podcast Directories: http://www.podcastalley.com/ http://www.digitalpodcast.com/ http://www.podcast.net/ http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/podcasts.html (podcast directory inside iTunes) Directories of educational podcasts http://recap.ltd.uk/podcasting/ (first U.K. directory of educational podcasts) http://epnweb.org/ (The Education Podcast Network: Click on English Language Arts) ELT podcast directories http://www.pod-efl.com/ http://iteslj.org/links/ESL/Listening/Podcasts/ (Internet TESL Journal)

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http://a4esl.org/podcasts/ (activities for ESL students: a project of the Internet TESL Journal) (EnglishCaster) Examples of ELT Podcasts Comprehensive http://www.englishteacherjohn.com/podcast/ (The English Teacher John Show) Whole lessons around podcasts http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/ (complete lesson plans with accompanying exercises, tasks, and podcasts; each lesson based on a news story) http://www.eslpod.com/website/index.php (each ESL Podcast lasts 1020 minutes, and has three parts: 1. An dialog or story read a bit slower than normal speech. 2. An explanation of some of the expressions and phrases used in Part 1. 3. A repetition of the dialog or story at a native rate of speech.) Vocabulary, idioms, slang, etc. http://www.englishcaster.com/idioms/ (English idioms and slang) Scripted conversations http://www.e-poche.net/conversations/ (each conversation episode is accompanied by its script; new words in the script are linked to pictorial illustration) Jokes http://www.manythings.org/jokes/ (jokes in English; each short joke comes with the text) Songs http://englishpodsong.blogspot.com/ (English Pod Song) ELT Podcasts 133 http://www.manythings.org/songs/ (Learn a Song podcast: learn to sing folk songs, campfire songs, and group singing songs that native English speaker sing) Phonetics http://phoneticpodcast.com/ (a podcast about pronunciation of English) English through stories http://www.englishthroughstories.com/ (a weekly story lasting 1020 minutes, followed by explanation of some of the expressions used in the story) Conventional listening comprehension http://mylcpodcasts.blogspot.com/ (Madrid Young Learners Podcasts: Listen to a passage and answer Wh-questions; listen to a song and fill out the gapped lyrics text, etc.) Student podcasts (podcasts created by learners) http://bylpodcasts.blogspot.com/ (Barcelona Young Learners EFL Podcasts: individual students express thoughts on a topic assigned by teacher) http://www.downthepond.podomatic.com/ (Down the pond: group presentations by students at a junior high school in Japan, on aspects of Japanese culture) RagamJurnalPengembanganHumanioraVol.12No.2,Agustus2012

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http://www.bardwellroad.podomatic.com/ (The Bardwell Road Centre Podcast: various oral tasks performed by students at the language center) http://www.aidenyeh.podomatic.com/ (read-alouds by students) http://englishpodsong.blogspot.com/ (radio plays performed by a class of students in Germany) Discussion form on podcasting in ELT http://www.extremetechnoelt.com/moodle/index.php (ExtremeTechnoELT: a community for advanced users of IT and programmers who are involved in ELT) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/podcasting_elt/ (Podcasting for ELT at Yahoo Groups) Articles on ELT podcasting http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/resources/podcast.shtml (Podcasting for ELT by Graham Stanely, November 17, 2005; Teaching English, British Council & BBC) http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ej36/int.html (Podcasting: Audio on the Internet Comes of Age by Graham Stanley, TESL-EJ, Volume 9, Number 4, March 2006)

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