THE EFFECT OF A TEACHING APPROACH AS OPPOSED TO A TESTING APPROACH ON THE LISTENING COMPREHENSION ABILITIES OF TEACHER TRAINEES IN WEST MALAYSIA

Abstract

The aim of the study was to provide a description of a "teaching" approach for the teaching of Listening Comprehension, so that it could be a viable alternative to the existing "testing" approach in Malaysian Teacher Training Colleges. The study made a Comparison of the "teaching" approach (experimental) and the "testing" approach (control) in 2 main ways: 1. the cognitive effects in the acquisition of selected listening comprehension skills. 2. the affective effects of the 2 approaches. The study was conducted in 2 parts. In the first part an experiment was conducted to compare the cognitive effects of the approaches in the acquisition of selected listening comprehension skills. The sample consisted of 60 semester 2 students from the Mohd Khalid Teacher's Training College, Johor Bahru. The student teachers were divided into 2 groups of 30 each. - a control group and an experimental group. The experiment was conducted in 2 stages. Stage A and Stage B. In stage A, no significant differences due to approach were noted on the test of total mean gain scores on a pre- and post-test. So a second experiment stretching over an additional seven weeks was conducted. This time the t scores showed a significant difference. As motivation was seen to be an important factor in promoting listening comprehension, a survey of the affective effect of the approach was undertaken during the second part of the study. A questionnaire was administered to the students who participated in the experiment. The questionnaire revealed that the 'teaching' approach had a more positive affective effect, when compared to the `testing' approach. The results of the study suggest, that a "teaching" approach can be a desirable alternative to the "testing" approach. The results of the test, indicated a significant difference in the acquisition of selected listening comprehension skills. The implication of the findings is that, teacher educators can think of adopting a ‘teaching' approach in the teaching of listening comprehension in Malaysian Teacher Training Colleges. The materials and lessons that were planned for the experiment, may also be useful to teacher trainers as examples. Besides, teacher educators may be able to use a method, that transforms the low proficiency students from passive spectators to active participants.