This research has been undertaken due to the problems encountered by the students in EFL listening classes.
MALANG – This research has been undertaken due to the problems encountered by the students in EFL listening classes. Listening has always been regarded as a very important skill in any language learning program because it offers the first form of input and helps build other skills. In an academic environment, students have to be able to understand spoken English well enough to engage in class discussions and comprehend the lesson. Thus, listening can be considered a receiving skill and at the same time a crucial element of communicative competence.
Nevertheless, many students still encounter problems in comprehending spoken English even at the university level. These problems arise when the students encounter fast-talking native speakers using unfamiliar words and various accents. Moreover, being an active skill, listening is difficult to control, unlike reading. Consequently, the students find it hard to follow the speaker’s line of thought and get a proper grasp of the meaning of the message.
Furthermore, these difficulties can be described not only in terms of language-related issues but also in terms of cognition and metacognition. Listening skills presuppose cognitive functions like attention management, retention of information, and information processing, while learners should control their thinking processes throughout the whole listening procedure. Many of them do not know what strategy to use before starting to listen to something, while monitoring comprehension and evaluating understanding is also important for successful listening. That is why their difficulties with listening can be attributed to the lack of proper metacognitive awareness.
In this case, students behave in a passive way, being unable to manage their listening activity independently. They depend upon external help from instructors, using repetition, transcription, and other aids when facing comprehension difficulties, instead of employing strategies to deal with such obstacles to learning. Therefore, it becomes clear that a proper educational approach should include not only work with the final product of listening, but also process management.
The research had its roots in both theoretical and practical concerns. Theoretically speaking, earlier researches showed that metacognitive strategies played an essential role in improving listening comprehension because they helped learners in planning, monitoring and evaluating comprehension. Nevertheless, those researchers usually paid their primary attention to the effectiveness of particular strategies or short-term intervention without developing any systematic framework that would be based on metacognitive aspects.
As for the practical side, the observations conducted in the class showed that students often found it difficult to perform different types of listening tasks, like identifying the main idea, listening to and comprehending oral messages, and paying enough attention to what is being said. In addition, the strategic incompetence of the students could be seen in the fact that they were not able to identify strategies used or regulate and control the process of comprehension in case of any malfunctioning.
In fact, the development of these passive behavior techniques is possible only because of the lack of metacognitive regulation, as these students do not develop listening skills on their own but rather depend on external sources. Thus, these deficiencies in theoretical terms, along with practical problems, create the need for creating a metacognitive model of learning that would bridge the gap between the two aspects. The present research tries to fill this gap by introducing the concept of the APMET model, which enhances existing metacognitive models with the addition of Awakening and Transcending stages.
Research Method
In this research, the Research & Development method was used through the ADDIE model. The ADDIE model entails five stages of development, including Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. The ADDIE model is the one that was chosen for this research since it allows an iterative process in developing instructional models. First, the listening needs of the learners were determined in order to be able to come up with a model that will meet their specific needs. Besides that, the model was designed, developed, and enhanced using the ADDIE model. At the same time, expert evaluation was carried out to guarantee the accuracy and appropriateness of the APMET model for practical usage in the classrooms.
Research Process
A needs analysis was first conducted at the beginning of the research in order to determine students’ problems with listening comprehension and needs for learning. This process allowed us to formulate results that served as the basis for designing an instructional model. A learning model named APMET was designed as a result of the needs analysis in which the principles of metacognition were adopted. Five stages of the model include Awakening, Planning, Monitoring, Evaluating, and Transcending. At each stage, students are guided in managing their listening comprehension processes. Finally, after validation, the model was implemented in six classroom sessions.
Results
Results show that the APMET approach is a valid and useful pedagogical tool to support students’ listening learning outcomes. Based on the expert validation process, it was found out that this model has good relevance in terms of content, theoretical concept and practicability, making it fit to be implemented in classroom instruction. On the other hand, in the process of implementing this teaching approach, students actively participated in each stage, especially in the steps of planning, monitoring, and evaluating their listening.
In addition, the respondents expressed positive perceptions about the guided lesson, especially in terms of their awareness regarding the process of listening and greater confidence in conducting listening activities. This positive attitude and perception were further supported by students’ listening learning outcomes, as indicated by the average score of 78.42, exceeding the performance criteria.
Conclusion
The APMET model entails a process that not only supports learners’ listening skills but also facilitates the development of their metacognitive thinking skills. The achievement of this goal can be made possible by the process involved in the stages of awareness, planning, monitoring, evaluation, and finally transferring the strategies learned to new situations. Through this process, the learner is facilitated in the regulation of the listening task rather than mere absorption of the information being provided. Through this process, the learning process becomes self-directed and active.
Recommendations
Additional research should be conducted to test the extent of this model’s applicability and effectiveness in a broader array of educational contexts and among various groups of learners. Furthermore, it is proposed that further research on using the APMET model in other language skills such as speaking, reading, and writing is conducted to investigate its efficacy in facilitating overall development of language skills. Such studies will provide useful information regarding the effect of learning based on metacognition not only for improving listening ability but also for developing communication competence as a whole.
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*) Oleh: Aulia Putri, Mahasiswa Program Doktor Pendidikan Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang.