everything said by the lecturer and hence it is necessary to train them to select
something important and relevant while listening. The main difficulty of lecture
comprehension does not only pertain to the grasp of key points. In fact, according to
verbal protocols, what test-takers feel challenging is to grasp the supportive details
and their logical relationship or in another word, how the detailed propositional
units are organized to construct the whole discourse.
Instructors sometimes overemphasize the importance of writing down substan-
tial words, i.e., nouns and verbs. Students particularly pay attention to those words
while listening to the lecture and try very hard to write them down. Even under the
conditions that those preferred substantial words cannot help them construct
meaning as a whole or conflict with more extended information, they might also get
hold of the assumed“important”words. In teaching academic listening, teachers
need to bear in mind that meaning construction goesfirst. The substantial words
written down during note-taking are only considered helpful for future information
retrieval. Comprehension is prioritized in higher level of listening and meaning
construction coexist with note-taking, though the two processes compete for limited
cognitive capacity.
Field (2008) was strongly opposed to the traditional way of listening instruction
where students were simply deprived of the opportunity to decide what information
is important and what propositional units should be retained for further handling.
Usually, it is the teacher who decides which part of the recording should be played
and what key points should be mastered by students. So, students are not given the
opportunity of practicing“one of the most important components of listening
skill-the evaluation of information in terms of whether it does or does not contribute
usefully to the discourse representation”(Field 2008: 244). This argument could
resonate in those students who are considered totally passive receivers in the tra-
ditional listening classroom. In order to improve students’motivation in selecting
information for their own use, task-based exercises, e.g., let students decide their
selection of words or chunks, piece them together in a coherent manner, evaluate
and compare different versions of the selections and organizations, etc., should be
given in the listening classroom.
Teachers can also check students selection of information by examining their
notes. We might have the experience that students cannot distinguish statements of
arguments from details in their notes. Or sometimes, they just write down a group
of words without any structure and indicators for importance. Students’ good
note-taking can be used as a sample for others to follow. Teachers can also organize
group discussions, giving students chances to share their successful note-taking
experiences with others.
9.6.2 Meaning Construction
Field (2008: 90) has argued that difficulties associated with meaning building are
intangible than those associated with decoding. In the decoding process, teachers
164 9 Conclusion and Recommendations