IMPROVING STUDENTS’ LISTENING SKILLS USING YOUTUBE

By: Wong Vincent & Chan Xian Wei

wongvinc90@gmail.com xianwei352@gmail.com

Abstract

English is one of the most important languages in the world and in Malaysia, and the educators
are always trying to make learning of the language more effective. In this paper, we explore the
significance of listening to learning English. The KSSR modular approach, which lists listening as
one of the first skills to engage, highlights the importance of listening for learners to achieve
success in the other skills. Although that is the case, listening skill prove hardest to teach due to
multiple deficiencies in our learning environment. This paper also discusses the impact of digital
tools in language learning. The 21st century has seen a boom in web tools, and with technology
playing such an important role in almost every aspects of our lives, we cannot ignore the option
of including technology in education. This paper focuses on YouTube as the web tool to aid pupils’
listening skill. YouTube will continue to be discussed more extensively in relation to how it can
help improve pupils’ listening skills in the following sections, with some examples and a lesson
plan to further illustrate our point.

Introduction

A language is considered a foreign language when it is taught as a school subject but is not
a medium of instruction or communication. In Malaysia, English is the second or foreign language
in most schools as Malay or Mandarin is the usually the lingua franca, either for communication
or instructional purposes; hence, English Language Learning has always been a subject of
fascination as educators seek to make learning of the language more effective.

Learning English in Malaysian classrooms has evolved with the times as we adopt more
current pedagogies. During KBSR, language learning was largely based on learning the basic
features of the language, such as vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure. It was considered
sufficient then for students to master the fundamentals of English, as classroom sessions were more
theoretical than practical. However, as the world and dynamic of societies change with the
advancement of technology and the Internet, the status of English has elevated as the social “glue”
that ties everyone together and allows for more exchange between people of different races and
nationalities. While fundamentals of the language are still essential, the communicative feature
takes centre stage these days, driving a wave of change across syllabi in schools. The
implementation of KSSR English in 2011 and subsequent introduction of CEFR in 2017 see a shift
to a more skill-based approach and increased emphasis on ‘can do’ rather than just knowing.

English in KSSR is teaching of familiar topics based on a modular approach of the four
skills – listening and speaking, reading, writing, and is usually summed up with a more relaxing
session of Language Arts, where pupils get to use the language in a more creative and free context.
As shown by the modular approach, listening is one of the main components in language learning;
in fact, modular approach lists it as the first skill to engage when pupils are introduced to a new
topic with a new set of vocabulary. Listening plays a crucial part in our daily life. According to
River (1981), we listen twice as much as we speak, four times as much as we read and five times
as much as we write. In other words, perception takes precedence over production, and listening
plays an important role in our everyday language input. Generally, listening is a process when we
make an effort to interpret the sounds that we heard. For our pupils, we should provide them with
high degree of success so that they are always motivated in building up their self-confidence and
developing their listening skill.

Besides the four language skills, KSSR also stresses on the inclusion of learning skills to
facilitate the learning process whilst strengthening essential skills for the complex life and work
environments in the 21st century. These skills are also known as 4Cs: Critical Thinking,
Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity. Critical Thinking involves logical thinking and
reasoning such as comparing, classifying, sequencing, predicting etc, while Communication is
expressing thoughts clearly and communicating coherent instructions. Collaboration occurs when
two or more people work together to accomplish a common goal and Creativity refers to the ability
to look at things from a different perspective and to produce new, diverse and unique ideas. In this
paper, we will further discuss Critical Thinking and Communication from 4Cs in relation to
Listening with the aid of YouTube.
1.1 Listening in English Language Learning

Richards (1990) and Schmidt (2016) provides a clear description of how listening
comprehension is achieved by native and non-native listeners. They refer to this listening process
as bottom-up and top-down processing. In top-down processing, igniting the previous knowledge
has become the priority in the process of leading the pupils to predict the information he or she is
going to listen to. This really tests their critical thinking. For an effective learning to occur, we
should play our role in providing context for listening by acknowledging them with the overview
of the texts in order to ensure the listener can relate what he is about to hear with what he already
knows.

However, bottom-up processing occurs when what is heard by the listeners does not trigger
his or her previous knowledge. In this issue, we should guide our pupils to communicate with the
texts in a proper way, for example through listening for meaning rather than pronunciation, word
knowledge, etc. Skimming and scanning are crucial in the process of trying to guess the meaning
of difficult vocabularies from the context. In this listening strategy, the pupils need to use their
creativity in term of focusing in whole-to-part which aids understanding the whole message.

It is common for the presence of a situation whereby the pupils’ mastery in listening skill
is solely based on what they have learnt in the school as a result of being a passive listener. Based
on our teaching context, most of the language learners are authority-oriented learners by referring
to the learning types and preferred strategies, especially they prefer the teacher to explain
everything instead of becoming active learners. In tackling this issue, we have our role to provide
opportunity for the young learners to be familiar with the language and enable him or her acquire
it unconsciously, especially with the introduction of authentic texts. Kilickaya (2004) defines
authentic materials as exposure to real language and use in its own community.

The use of authentic texts allows the acquisition of knowledge which takes place
unconsciously by interacting with those texts (Melanlioglu, 2013). Somehow, the lacking of
comprehension to those texts has demotivated them and forces the teacher to repeat what the
speakers had just said. As a result, it does not meet the initial intention to portray authenticity. It
is true that the usage of a language should be rich in a learner’s environment in order to show the
effectiveness of the listening activity. Frequent use of the language will surely enhance the ability
to use the language fluently and appropriately. For example, some of the children are used to
speaking English at home and this has become their main medium of instruction. For sure, it sparks
off from the listening skill that has become part and parcel in their life. Undeniably, motivation is
an important aspect to determine the successive of language acquisition. For the pupils who are
living in rural areas, extrinsic motivation should be given in order to drive them towards integrative
motivation, which is a desire to be assimilated into the culture of the speakers of English. In another
word, to learn English as a foreign language, conscious learning of selected language items should
be supported by exposure to a lot of use of the items in real life situations to enable acquisition to
take place. However, that is the biggest hurdle in Malaysian classrooms and the community in
general as English is not widely spoken enough to enable our pupils to pick up the language in
more casual and natural circumstances. To counter this disadvantage, the introduction of digital
technology in the form of YouTube is a viable alternative to solve this issue by increasing learners’
exposure to various forms of authentic language.

2.1 The use of digital technology in teaching listening

Information technology provides access to search for various learning resources. The best
learning occurs when real world problems are paired with real world tools for problem solving
(Collins, n/a). First of all, the learning process for the pupils would be easier if they use digital
technology as the source to improve their listening skill . The theory of inquiry-discovery method
is one of the effective ways in promoting language learning (Cambridge International
Examinations, 2015). Pupils’ prior knowledge had been taken into consideration as they played
their roles in figuring the answers by themselves. In this case, the whole concept of digital
technology is surrounded by the inquiry-discovery theory as the pupils need to apply their self-
initiative in order to choose the knowledge that they want to acquire. Simply, the aim of using the
inquiry-discovery in teaching and learning activities was to provide the opportunity for pupils to
take their own initiative to observe, explore, ascertain, think, analyse, interpret, and finally develop
their awareness.
 According to Wittrock (1963), although implementing the inquiry-discovery theory in
teaching and learning is more complicated than direct teaching, the inquiry-discovery theory is
definitely more effective as it contains more positive learning transfer. For example, a teacher can
give some listening tasks based on the videos that had been uploaded in his or her personal website,
such as Weebly. The role of the pupils is to complete the listening tasks at their own pace when
browsing the Internet at home. From this activity, the pupils could see the values of the knowledge
gained and they show their effort in figuring the answers, which indirectly would help in memory
retention. In another word, avoiding the spoon feeding method is the main priority of using digital
technology as this does not permit the pupils to figure themselves. This stage is the important
starting point and acts as the booster in order to prepare themselves for the challenges in language
learning.

Thorndike (1913) suggested three laws on learning readiness and two laws have closer
context to digital technology. Firstly, when one is ready to carry out a certain action, and being
successfully carried out, then one will be satisfied with the action. In regards to digital technology,
this is all about self-initiative. Secondly, when one is not ready to carry out a certain action, but is
forced to do it, then such action will cause one to feel sad and unhappy. Most importantly, the
platform to provide the opportunity for the pupils to develop their listening skill should be
constructed by the teacher through the application of digital technology. This is a long term effort
for self-improvement from time to time when it comes to language learning.

3.1 Using YouTube to improve students’ listening skills.

A listening task with no purpose is no listening at all. Language serves the purpose of
transmitting messages and ideas to the other person; hence, listening is to make sense of an oral
speech so that effective communication can be established. By that logic, a listening task cannot
just stand on its own so that would defeat the most basic purpose of language. For a listening task
to be effective, the inclusion of Critical Thinking and Communication of the 4Cs is vital as it
reflects true elements of language use in the real world (Bastos & Ramos, 2009). There can be no
true listening without some form of thinking and understanding of the message, either explicit or
between the lines. This requires the skill of Critical Thinking as learners learn to grapple with the
multiple facets of language in use. Communication points to clear expression of thoughts and
coherence of instructions, which listening tasks will also be able to provide the learners as they
can imitate native speakers in the ways they use target language authentically. For the two elements
of 4Cs to be assimilated in a pupil’s listening, authenticity of listening tasks should not be
overlooked.

Due to the advancement of technology, enhancing the process of learning is easier with the
utilization of YouTube (Almurashi, 2016). Comac (2008) believes that YouTube offers an ideal
platform through which to incorporate audio blogs into the classroom and instructors can use such
blogs to manage oral assignments, interact with learners and to evaluate performance outcomes.
This is supported by Nejati (2010) who argues that YouTube is critical, particularly in relation to
enhancing future language learning, because such platforms play a “pivotal role in practicing the
target language and its pragmatics, engaging students in active and productive projects, preparing
them for likely future encounters in computer-mediated communication, learning more about other
cultures and preparing them for becoming autonomous learners”. In general, the users need to be
wise and selective in choosing the right videos to promote language learning, especially in listening
skill. According to Alimemaj (2010), she argues that this presents new challenges as well as
opportunities, because even though YouTube offers a vast array of clips of authentic examples of
‘everyday’ English used by ‘everyday’ people within a wide range of contexts, the poor sound
quality, pronunciation, and slang featured in many of these short videos can also make them more
difficult to understand than traditional listening platforms.

Apart from that, through YouTube, we can provide a variation of context for listening
purpose and are mostly authentic texts. Nuttall (1996) argues that "authentic texts can be
motivating because they are proof that the language is used for real-life purpose by real people.”
Researchers claim that when authentic materials are used with the purpose of students’ learning,
students will have a sense that the real language for communication is being learnt, as opposed to
classroom language itself.

In addition, thinking routines are defined in Project Zero ( 2010 ) as primary strategy for
organizing memory, as they are crafted to achieve specific goals, such as making connections or
deep inquiry. Young children can expand their repertoire of thinking strategies when they are
exposed to thinking critically (Bastos & Ramos, 2009). In this case, memory retention could be
acquired when there was repertoire of thinking strategies in term of the connectivity between the
listening input and purpose. By using YouTube, the teacher can easily find the texts that enable
the pupils to listen to the same listening input many times to the extent that each time serves a
different purpose. Different types of tasks can also be introduced to engage different 4C skills from
the same task, such as Critical Thinking when learners have to guess the implicit message from a
short exchange or Communication when learners replicate dialogues that they heard with minor
changes (Bastos & Ramos, 2009; Fleck, Beckman, Sterns, & Hussey, 2014). Finding the listening
input and listening tasks that pupils enjoy doing are important to nurture a positive attitude to
listening. According to Vygotsky (1978), by bringing to light what children understand, teachers
can help them reach a higher level of development.

To enhance the effectiveness of listening skill, it must accompany with listening tasks that
aim to test the pupils’ understanding (Schmidt, 2016). According to Rotter (2009), isolated bits of
information will not be memorized as effectively as those associated with existing information.
Due to this, the more associations that are made between the known and the new information, the
better it will be learned. Undeniably, listening and writing at the same time is difficult. The teacher
should use formats that require minimum writing, such as filling in gaps, completing statements,
multiple choice questions, true and false questions, circle the best answer, etc.

4.1 Discussion

The biggest obstacle that our pupils have in learning English is their exposure, or rather the
lack thereof, to the language. A lot of pupils just do not encounter the language and see its extensive
use to be able to appreciate it, let alone learn it. Teaching English in such a depraved environment
poses a big challenge as teachers are, in most cases, their only source of the language, and pupils
view language teachers and classroom activities and tasks as the only reasons for them to engage
the language, which is not much to speak of. Pupils quickly lose interest, especially when the
content becomes unbearable and they cannot catch up, first from lack of practice outside of
classroom context and later from demotivation, which inhibits further learning. It becomes a
vicious cycle.

Introducing authenticity will not only allow us to overcome the problem of lack of exposure
to language outside of the classroom, but also enriches the learning experience as it taps into their
existing schemata. Melanlioglu (2013) supports using authentic listening tasks as pupils will not
experience listening anxiety. These tasks will also prepare them for real-life communication and
speech forms, which will aid their listening comprehension (Almurashi, 2016). Of all the listening
texts available, YouTube proves to be easiest and richest source.

YouTube is no longer an unfamiliar web tool to both teachers and pupils alike, which is
what makes it such an interesting and convenient proposition to be added to the classroom (Lo,
2012). It is already widely used in teaching practices, with teachers relying on them to illustrate
scientific concepts or steps to make an artwork. The research done by Fleck et al. (2014) also
shows that pupils show an overall positive attitude to YouTube. In a language classroom, YouTube
can provide an abundance of authentic materials as the scenes depicted in these videos are real-
life situations where language is used to communicate and transmit messages (Fleck et al., 2014),
instead of scaffolded into simpler bits and pieces for the sake of teaching. While the emphasis on
form should not be neglected entirely, Melanlioglu (2013) states that making use of authentic texts
will free the learners from the ‘shackles’ of structure and form and instead direct their focus on the
message, making the whole process of dealing with L2 much less daunting. Pupils are also familiar
with it and the videos, so they feel less anxious about tasks that are based on YouTube, which can
greatly enhance their listening capabilities and memory retention (Melanlioglu, 2013).

All these benefits point to YouTube being a useful tool to language teachers. An L2
classroom’s main objective is to educate its learners into effective language users, which would
mean using the language classroom in the real world. By the same definition, when we talk about
listening skills, it would also be referring to the ability to listen to the language being used in the
real-life contexts, where speeches will be simpler and more direct. Real conversations are also
littered with fillers and a lot of repairing will also occur. Stress, intonation and parsing can also
prove to be a challenge. There will also be a range of acceptable responses to forms of initiation
that depends on how the conversation develops that textbooks just cannot cover it all (Schmidt,
2016). YouTube, however, can prove to a friend as pupils will be exposed to how language can be
used creatively to express their thoughts and opinions, and there will be no shortage to the variety
of forms; and, as they are by first language speakers of English in everyday events that are possibly
relevant to them, pupils can feel a little more relaxed and confident in dealing with language
(Melanlioglu, 2013).
5.1 Example of a lesson plan on a chosen ELT topic that integrate the use of YouTube with
the learning outcome to improve students’ listening.

Daily Lesson Plan

Theme World of Knowledge

Topic Safety Issues
Learning Standard(s) 1.1.4 Able to speak on related topics with guidance.
1.2.4 Able to talk on topics of interest in formal situations with
guidance.
Objective(s) At the end of the lesson, pupils can:
a) get at least two main points from oral texts about safety
measures in different situations (i.e. fire, food, elevator…)
b) talk about the main points according to their situations.
Teaching Aids YouTube videos –
https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=qM8jW4sRfRk (Fire
Safety)
https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=eJZ1eDpys0M (Road
Safety)
https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=F-qeFLMkEng (Safe Food
Handling)
https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=3WKnSWpP1AA
(Escalator Safety)
https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=92-kIcS-8uI (Life Safety)
Mind map
SMARTBoard
Cross Curricular Knowledge Acquisition
Elements Preparation for the Real World
Activities Set Induction
1. Teacher talks about different real-life situations according
to the textbook, for example like lining up to go up the
bus, eating out, using electronic appliances etc.
2. Teacher prompts discussion from pupils and elicits
examples of dangers of each real-life situations from
them.

Pre-Listening
1. Teacher tells pupils that danger in most situations can be
averted by being more careful and taking precautions.
 2. Teacher gives instructions for task to watch YouTube
videos on safety precautions and measures during
emergencies and listen to key points.

While-Listening
1. Teacher groups pupils in pairs.
2. Teacher describes each video briefly and distributes mind
maps to pupils to take notes individually while watching
the videos.

Figure 1

3. Teacher plays the YouTube videos.

Figure 2

4. Pupils watch the videos and listen to the safety

instructions from each video, taking short notes of main
points.

Post-Listening
1. Teacher instructs pupils to talk to their pair about the main
points in the videos and review their notes together.
2. Pupils are then grouped into groups of four and continue
comparing notes and main points.
3. After pupils are done talking in groups of four, pupils take
turns to stand up and talk about one main point for each
 situation. Teacher writes down the points in a table on the
board.

Figure 3

4. Teacher concludes session when pupils no longer have

anything to contribute. Teacher may help fill in any points
that pupils missed out from the videos.
Closure
1. Teacher prompts discussion among pupils about the
importance of following these safety precautions i.e.
“Why do you think we should follow these safety
measures in these situations?”
Reflection
5.1 Conclusion

Throughout the history of English language teaching ( ELT ), most pupils never been taught
to listen ( Thorn, 2009, as cited in Schmidt, 2016). However, listening deserves to be a priority as
learners encounter the language in oral form more often than written, and as L2 users, they receive
more than they produce. Thus, listening is an essential skill for language learners to further develop
their competence in English (Barr et al., 2002; Owca et al., 2003, cited in Melanlioglu, 2013). As
teachers, it is our duty to exploit the convenience of listening as a means to facilitate language
learning as a whole. Digital tools present one of the many opportunities readily available to
teachers, and none is as accessible and cost-free as YouTube. The vast array of materials on
YouTube do not only provide a platform for learners to get in close proximity with the authentic
form English but also requires learners to think critically as they listen to the language being used
in context instead of in isolation as in the textbooks. Besides that, it also provides chances for
communication among pupils either by imitating the native language in the videos or discussions
in their own language (Fleck et al., 2014).
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